Page 4 - SFL Cooperator Fall 2020

Events
The South Florida Cooperator Introduces
FREE Webinars—a New Resource for Boards
and Managers at soflcooperator.com/events
The South Florida Cooperator
, a Yale
Robbins publication, has been a resource
for the boards, managers, and residents of
condos, HOAs, and co-ops for nearly two
decades, both in print and online—and we
are pleased to announce a new addition to
our toolkit. Yale Robbins Productions has
launched Cooperator Events, a new series
of FREE educational ‘town-hall’ style webi-
nars, sponsored by leaders in the multi-
family industry and focusing on issues and
challenges facing today’s boards. We have
assembled expert panels on everything from
legal questions around the COVID-19 pan-
demic to optimizing your insurance cover-
age to disinfecting your community’s pool.
Registration and attendance are FREE to
all—just visit soflcooperator.com/events,
choose the webinar you’d like to attend, and
sign up. It’s that simple. You’ll get an email
link and reminders for the event, and will
have the opportunity to submit questions for
the panelists before AND during the webinar
itself. Past events are archived and available
on-demand on soflcooperator.com/events.
Serving on your board is a big job, and a
big responsibility, but sound, timely advice
from industry veterans can help lighten the
load and make your building or association
run more smoothly. We’re committed to
helping you achieve that, and look forward
to ‘seeing’ you at an upcoming webinar!
Trends
Pandemic Elicits Workarounds for
Residential RE
Real estate transactions are still taking
place—even amid the pandemic-related
restrictions on businesses imposed by states
and condo associations, as well as wide-
spread economic uncertainty—albeit with
some modifications. This has held true par-
ticularly in South Florida, where an already
robust market is showing signs of tenac-
ity through the crisis, and those involved in
the transactions are getting creative to make
them happen.
In a
South Florida Reporter
article, buy-
ers are advised of some workarounds that
may allow them to successfully purchase a
home during this time. One of those, says the
Reporter,
is using virtual tours, in which an
agent can show clients all aspects of a prop-
erty on a live video call. Another option is
looking specifically for pre-construction or
new-construction homes. Agents involved
with such properties are accustomed to
showings that rely on renderings and virtual
reality. If a buyer is looking to customize or
make specific selections for a home, this may
be a good way to accomplish that, suggests
the
Reporter.
Once a deal is in hand, effectuating the
closing requires some other new maneuvers.
Law.com reports that lawyers at the Miami
office of Greenberg Traurig have taken to
holding their closings in supermarket park-
ing lots and gas stations, passing documents
and forms through car windows. “They are
all wearing masks and gloves,” Greenberg
shareholder Andrew Sharpe tells Law.com,
adding that “There is also the notary so they
can confirm their identity and signatures,
stamp the documents, and close the deal.
They don’t have to leave the car.”
The lawyers are also taking advantage of
a recently enacted Florida law that allows
online notarizing. (Some other states with-
out a similar law issued emergency rules
to permit remote notary work during the
COVID-19 pandemic, notes Law.com.) The
law, which took effect in January 2020, per-
mits the parties to schedule and process a
notarization remotely. “It’s another tool and
option for people,” says Greenberg share-
holder Meredith Singer, part of the firm’s
condo team along with Sharpe. “If it becomes
more convenient and easier, then maybe it
will become the norm. Obviously, there may
be a lot of reasons why people will want to
visit, so in-person deals will continue. The
more convenient something is, it’s usually
embraced.”
In terms of the actual move, the
South
Florida Reporter
advises careful research and
planning. Fewer moving and cleaning com-
panies are operating during the pandemic,
so booking their services might take a little
longer than it would in normal times. They
should be required to wear masks and gloves
and to maintain social distance during their
work; take these precautions into consider-
ation when scheduling so that service pro-
viders have the time and space they need to
perform their work safely, advises the outlet.
Transactions
South Florida Luxury Condos Continue to
Sell Amid Coronavirus
According to reporting from the
Palm
Beach Post
and the
Miami Herald,
sales of
multi-million-dollar condo units along the
South Florida coast are continuing even in
the midst of the pandemic and resultant
economic fallout.
The
Palm Beach Post
reports that a
condo at 2 N. Breakers Row in Palm Beach
sold for $7.675 million in May—almost
$1 million more than the sellers had pur-
chased the unit for in late 2017. The three-
bedroom, 3,243-square-foot, fourth-floor
condo is in the south building of the five-
story, two-building development, accord-
ing to the
Post
. The main rooms overlook
The Breakers’ golf course, while the master
bedroom, with a balcony, has a view of the
ocean. The purchasers also bought a pool-
side cabana at the property. The purchase
price represents a $200,000 reduction from
its early January listing of $7.875 million.
In a trio of reports, the
Miami Herald
details the purchases of three high-end con-
dos in recent weeks. One is a 7,630-square
foot condo in the 10-story Palazzo del Sol
on Fisher Island that sold for $12.2 mil-
lion, plus another $800,000 for the unit’s
custom designer furnishings. Listing agent
Cyril Matz of Douglas Elliman says it is the
highest resale to date in the 2016 building,
according to the
Herald
.
The condo has five bedrooms, five bath-
rooms, a 2,913-square-foot terrace, a cus-
tom wine cellar, a billiards room with a bar,
a library, and a study. It sold at a 12% dis-
count, down from $13.86 million after 92
days on the market.
The
Herald
also reports on a $10 mil-
lion penthouse purchase in the 57-story
Missoni Baia—which is still under con-
struction for a May 2021 estimated com-
pletion. The two-story, 7,791-square-foot
unit on the 56th and 57th floors features
east-to-west views and has three bedrooms
and four bathrooms, says the Herald, plus
its own infinity-edge pool, movie theater,
game room, gourmet kitchen, library, and
gym (to say nothing of the building’s com-
mon amenities including an Olympic-size
swimming pool, a gym with Pilates and
yoga rooms, private cabanas, tennis courts,
and a pet spa).
Edgardo Defortuna, chief executive offi-
cer and president of Fortune International
Group, which has been handling market-
ing for the Edgewater development since
sales began in late 2017, says, “The pan-
demic has slowed sales, but this [sale] indi-
cates a strong appetite for our market.”
Topping the sales is another penthouse
represented by Fortune International that
the
Herald
reports sold for $21 million to an
undisclosed U.S. buyer. The 10,760-square-
foot home spans the entire 51st floor at the
52-story Ritz-Carlton Residences in Sunny
Isles Beach. The condo’s 7,760-square-foot
interior includes four bedrooms, six bath-
rooms, a half bath, service quarters, a gym,
a theater, and a den. Outside, a garden,
pool, and terraces cover 3,000 square feet.
Amenities at the tower that are accessible
to residents in better times include a spa,
two pools, and a kids room.
The Ritz Residences’ other three pent-
houses are expected to close in the next
few months, said Manuel Grosskopf, chief
executive officer of Château Group, who
co-developed the Sunny Isles tower with
Defortuna.
Down-Market Condo Sales Reveal a Different
Story
Bay News 9 contends that coronavi-
rus has had a severely chilling effect on the
condo market—at least in some parts and
price-points of Florida. According to the
outlet, Volusia County real estate agent Ron
Wysocarski, CEO of Wyse Home Team
Realty, has seen condo sales around the
Daytona Beach area taking a steep dive amid
the coronavirus pandemic.
According to his assessment, “The condo
is typically a second home—maybe a vaca-
tion or an income property—and those are
not in as much demand given the situation
right now with COVID.”
Wysocarski indicates that sales numbers
are down 45% this year compared to March
and April of last year, according to Bay News
9. “I’ve got to imagine there are a few out
there pretty concerned because it is a little
lean right now for many agents,” he tells the
outlet.
While trying to be cautiously optimistic
that things will level off, Wysocarski admits
to Bay News 9, “[L]et’s face it, if there is a
round two of this, all bets are off,” refer-
ring to the second wave of coronavirus that
experts agree is all but guaranteed to occur
in the fall.
Appointments and
Transitions
Palmer Promoted to CAO at American
Landmark
Multi-Housing News
reports that Rachel
Palmer has been promoted to chief admin-
istrative officer at American Landmark in
Tampa. She has been with the company since
2017 serving as executive vice president of
operations with a focus on resident retention
and marketing. Last year, she oversaw the
national launch of one of the company’s new
customer service programs. In her new role
as CAO, Palmer is responsible for managing
a portfolio of 90 communities across the U.S.
Palmer started her career in 2004 as a
leasing associate at Landmark Residential,
where she was eventually promoted to vice
president. She then moved to Invitation
Homes as director of operations from 2013
to 2017.
Palmer is a licensed sales associate by
the Florida Department of Business and
Professional Regulation. She previously
served on the board of directors for the Bay
Area Apartment Association in Tampa.
n
Please submit Pulse items to
Darcey Gerstein at
darcey@cooperator.com
Industry Pulse
4 THE SOUTH FLORIDA COOPERATOR
—FALL 2020
SOFLCOOPERATOR.COM
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