The Great Miami Condo Crash: A Chronicle

Tonight’s Keynote Speaker Joins Starwood Capital’s Team

condovultures — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:14:28 +0000

Jonathan M. Pertchik, the former chief restructuring officer for luxury condo developer WCI Communities which built several South Florida towers before seeking bankruptcy protection for a time, will have plenty to discuss as the keynote speaker at tonight’s Condo Vultures® seminar.

Pertchik has just been named the chief operating officer for the newly created residential division of Starwood Capital, which last fall beat out several bidders for the $3 billion portfolio of the failed condo construction financier Corus Bank.

Starwood Capital acquired the failed Chicago bank’s portfolio in a complex deal that allows the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. – the appointed receiver – to share in the upside realized by Starwood in selling off the Corus assets.

Before resigning from WCI in January, Pertchik was instrumental in facilitating luxury developer’s emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2009. In his last nine months with WCI, Pertchik successfully sold off $112 million of assets.

The upcoming Condo Vultures® seminar entitled “An Insider’s Look At Closing A Bulk Deal” will examine what it takes to actually complete a large distressed transaction.

More than 40 bulk condo deals for 3,300 units at a combined price in excess of $900 million have closed in South Florida since July 2008, but many more prospective buyers have failed in their attempts to close a big deal.

Founded in 1946, WCI Communities – which built the One Bal Harbour and Mosaic luxury condominium towers – filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August 2008 after failing to refinance $1.8 billion in debt that was set to mature, according to the company’s website.

In the past 15 years, Pertchik has also worked as the managing principal of The Staubach Company South Florida and an attorney directly servicing the Resolution Trust Corp. during the end of the Savings & Loan crisis.

Anyone involved in the cottage industry of bulk transactions cannot afford to miss this event from 5.30 pm to 8 pm on Tuesday, March 23, at the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay Hotel.

A one-hour networking session begins at 5.30 pm, and will be followed by a 90-minute program with a questions-and-answers session.

Registration is required. Admission is $45 in advance, and $50 at the event.

For more information, please contact John Fakler, the executive editor of CondoVultures.com, at 800-750-0517 or by email at JFakler@CondoVultures.com.

Peter Zalewski of Condo Vultures® can be reached at 800-750-0517 or by email at peter@condovultures.com . Don’t forget to sign up for our weekly Market Intelligence Report™ for detailed condo reports. Looking for a property at a deep discount? You are encouraged to take a peek at the Vultures Database™ or view our Video Gallery. Looking for bulk projects direct from developers or lenders? Visit the Condo Vultures® Bulk Deals Database. Our new books, the Official Condo Buyers Guide to Miami™ , Official Condo Buyers Guide To South Beach™, Official Condo Buyers Guide to Sunny Isles Beach™, Miami’s Great Condo Crash: A Chronicle of the Boom and Bust™ , and the First-Time Home Buyers Guide To South Florida™ are now available. Want to see every foreclosure filed in South Florida since 2007? Check out our Foreclosure Database™.

Downtown Miami Land Trades For $39 Million

condovultures — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:00:24 +0000

A Boca Raton company has paid $39 million for nearly 300,000 square feet of vacant land situated on nine parcels in Downtown Miami, according to a new report from the Condo Vultures® Bulk Deals Database.

The newly created PWV Group 1 Holdings LLC, with Gary N. Gerson as registered agent, paid $130 per square foot on Sept. 21 for 27 lots located a block west of four new highrise condo towers on Downtown Miami’s Biscayne Boulevard, according to CondoVultures.com research.

The seller, six corporations controlled by AI Holdings (USA) Corp with Tamir Kazaz as chief financial officer, paid a combined $32.3 million, or $108 per square foot, for the land, which was acquired between August 1999 and March 2006, according to Miami-Dade County records.

The powerful Africa Israel fund controls AI Holdings (USA) Corp, according to a notarized document recorded with the deed.

“The purchase price works out to a gross premium of 21 percent for the seller minus expenses, and there have been many of them,” said Peter Zalewski, a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures® LLC. “For the buyer, the purchase price is 8 percent less than today’s assessed value of $41.6 million, or $139 per square foot, for property tax purposes.”

Peter Zalewski of Condo Vultures® can be reached at 800-750-0517 or by email at peter@condovultures.com. Don’t forget to sign up for our weekly Market Intelligence Report™ for detailed condo reports. Looking for a property at a deep discount? You are encouraged to take a peek at the Vultures Database™ or our Video Gallery. Interested in buying multiple units from developers or banks? Be sure to visit the Condo Vultures® Bulk Deals Database. Our new books, the Official Condo Buyers Guide to Miami™ and Miami’s Great Condo Crash: A Chronicle of the Boom and Bust™ are now available. Want to see every foreclosure filed in South Florida since 2007? Check out our Foreclosure Database™.

Copyright © 2009, Condo Vultures® LLC

Regulators Shut 2 Florida Banks, Lose $140 Million

condovultures — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:05:24 +0000

Regulators have seized three bank, two headquartered in Florida and one in Oregon, resulting in an estimated loss of $185 million to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

First State Bank, a Sarasota, Fla.-based institution with assets of $463 million and deposits of $387 million, was shuttered on Friday, Aug. 7, producing a loss of $116 million to the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund. The FDIC ensures deposits up to $250,000 per account.

On that same day across town regulators were seizing the Community National Bank of Sarasota County, with assets of $97 million and deposits of $93 million. This failure resulted in a loss of $24 million to the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund.

The deposits of both Sarasota banks were assumed by Stearns Bank of St. Cloud, Minn. This is not the first time that the FDIC has worked out a deal with Stearns Bank to assume the deposits of a failed institution.

In June, Stearns Bank took over the deposits of the failed Minnesota institution Horizon Bank with assets of $87.6 million and deposits of $69.4 million.

For the year, regulators have seized six Florida-based institutions with combined assets of $14.2 billion and deposits of $9.8 billion. The six Florida bank failures of 2009 have resulted in an estimated loss of $5.4 billion, according to CondoVultures.com research based on FDIC data.

Florida ranks fourth in the country in 2009 for the greatest number of bank failures behind Georgia’s 16 closings, Illinois’ 13 closings, and California’s eight closings, according to the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based consultancy Condo Vultures®.

FDIC Prepares To Open Failed Bank Office Next Month In Florida

condovultures — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:20:07 +0000

Federal regulators are staffing up for next month’s scheduled opening of what is poised to be a 500-person bank failure and asset sales office in Florida.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, which insures individual accounts up to $250,000, plans to open a “temporary” east coast office on Jacksonville’s south side of town in September.

“Throughout its history, the FDIC has used these offices to keep temporary asset resolution staff closer to the concentration of failed bank assets they oversee,” according to an FDIC statement. “As the work diminishes, the temporary satellite offices are closed.”

Industry watchers expect a surge of bank failures to occur in Florida in the upcoming months as the sunshine state is one of the hardest hit real estate markets yet only six of the 94 FDIC institutions to fail since January 2008 have been headquartered in Florida.

By comparison, neighboring Georgia leads the nation in bank failures with 21 seizures, or 22 percent of the overall total closings, since 2008, according to Condo Vultures® LLC research based on FDIC data.

The FDIC’s satellite office is viewed by many industry watchers as further proof that a series of Florida bank failures is imminent in the upcoming months. The FDIC is not dispelling the speculation.

“You put the office as close to the bulk of your work,” FDIC spokesman David Barr told CondoVultures.com.

Free First-Time Home Buyers Seminar On Tuesday

condovultures — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:58:41 +0000

Individuals planning to attend Tuesday’s First-Time Home Buyers Dos and Don’ts seminar are encouraged to register as soon as possible for the free event given the strong response.

With the $8,000 first-time home buyers federal tax credit scheduled to expire in November, many purchasers are scrambling to figure out how to qualify for the Obama administration incentive before the offer disappears.

Many of the answers will be provided at Tuesday’s Condo Vultures® seminar on what every first-time home buyer needs to know before purchasing a deeply discounted residence in South Florida.

“The combination of the Obama tax credit and decreasing inventory in the $350,000 and under category is making this a competitive time for buyers in South Florida, especially on product located in coastal areas,” said Peter Zalewski, a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures®.

Bulk Deal Closes At 94% Discount In South Florida

condovultures — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 20:48:05 +0000

A South Florida private equity group purchased 51 new, oceanfront condo-hotel units in the luxury One Bal Harbour complex at $63 per square foot, a discount of 94 percent off of the $1,100 per square foot average recorded sales price, according to a new report from Condo Vultures® LLC.

Elcom Condominium LLC with Jorge E. Arevalo and Thomas D. Sullivan in South Miami paid $2.6 million for 41,047 square feet of saleable space in the 124-unit Regent Hotel tower located on the west side of the 26-story, trophy complex in exclusive Bal Harbour.

Bankrupt residential development company WCI Communities, Inc., based in Bonita Springs, Fla., was the seller of the condo-hotel with 106,051 saleable square feet. WCI’s chief restructuring officer Jonathan Pertchik signed the deed.

“Nearly 60 percent of the One Bal Harbour condo-hotel project closed at an average price of $1 million per unit before Elcom Condominium stole the remaining 40 percent of this high-end project for $51,000 per unit,” said Peter Zalewski, a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures®. “Condo-hotels are not for everyone but at $63 per square foot one has to think there are buyers for this quality of product at that price.”

This is the eighth bulk deal – and second in Bal Harbour – of new or significantly improved residential product to close since July 2008, according to the Condo Vultures® Bulk Deals Database. Four deals have closed in Greater Downtown Miami and an additional two transactions have closed in West Palm Beach.

Bank Foreclosing Oceanfront Site Seized By Federal Regulators

condovultures — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 01:26:54 +0000

Federal regulators have seized the South Dakota bank foreclosing on a nearly $12 million oceanfront condo development site in Greater Miami Beach.

BankFirst of Sioux Falls, S.D., was shut on Friday, July 17, less than a month after the 14-year-old institution filed to foreclose on a 1.1-acre site development site located between Collins Avenue (State Road A1A) and the Atlantic Ocean.

A 43-story tower featuring one unit per floor is proposed for the site located in the northeast Miami-Dade County city of Sunny Isles Beach, according to a CondoVultures.com article.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. estimates losses of $91 million from BankFirst’s failure. Prior to shuttering the two-branch bank with assets of $275 million, regulators entered into a purchase agreement for BankFirst’s $177 million loan portfolio to be acquired by Beal Bank Nevada in Las Vegas.

BankFirst filed the foreclosure action, also known as a Lis Pendens and/or Notice of Default, in Miami-Dade Circuit Court on June 17 seeking repayment of $11.7 million on a predevelopment loan originated in 2006, according to the Condo Vultures® Foreclosure Database™.

Originally purchased for $9 million, or $181 per square foot, in July 2001, the 49,830-square-foot development site is now assessed for tax purposes at $15.7 million, or $315 per square foot, by Miami-Dade County. BankFirst’s loan was made at $235 per square foot.

South Florida Bank Seizures Fall 16% In Q2 of 2009

condovultures — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:35:52 +0000

Banks repossessed 16 percent fewer South Florida properties in the second quarter of this year than were seized during the same period a year ago despite an increased number of foreclosure filings in the tricounty region, according to a new report from Condo Vultures® LLC.

Lenders repossessed 5,992 properties in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties between April and June of 2009 compared to seizing 7,098 properties in the second quarter of 2008. In 2007, lenders seized 2,167 South Florida properties in the second quarter, according to the report produced using court records.

“Government intervention – whether it be foreclosure moratoriums or mortgage modification programs – is the primary reason for the decrease in the number of repossessed properties,” said Peter Zalewski, a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures® LLC. “That being said, the number of foreclosure filings are back on the rise in the tricounty South Florida region. It is difficult to predict if the foreclosure actions will ultimately end up as Real Estate Owned by banks known as REOs or simply nonperforming mortgages.”

More than 52,000 foreclosures have been initiated in South Florida in the first half of the year, putting the tricounty region on pace for more than 100,000 actions in 2009.

By comparison, lenders filed about 38,000 foreclosures actions in the first six months of 2008 and more than 75,000 actions for the year. In 2007, banks filed nearly 8,000 actions in the first half of the year and more than 32,000 for the year, according to data from the Condo Vultures® Foreclosure Database™.

Another factor contributing to the decreasing number of bank repossessions in South Florida despite the increasing number of foreclosure filings is the lengthy legal process necessary before a lender can repossess a residence.

South Dakota Bank Files $12M Foreclosure On Oceanfront Site In Miami Beach Area

condovultures — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:52:14 +0000

A $12 million foreclosure action has been launched against an oceanfront development site in Sunny Isles Beach that is to house a proposed 43-story luxury condominium tower featuring only one unit per floor, according to the Condo Vultures® Foreclosure Database™.

BankFirst of Sioux Falls, S.D., filed the foreclosure action, also known as a Lis Pendens and/or Notice of Default, in Miami-Dade Circuit Court seeking repayment of $11.7 million on a predevelopment loan originated in 2006. BankFirst’s loan is secured by a 1.1-acre development site located between Collins Avenue (State Road A1A) and the Atlantic Ocean.

“This is not the first oceanfront development site to go into foreclosure in Greater Miami Beach,” said Peter Zalewski, a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures®. “A courthouse auction is scheduled for September on a slightly larger development site also located between Collins Avenue and the Atlantic Ocean. The judgment amount on that site, however, is twice as much.”

A few miles south on Collins Avenue, a 1.4-acre oceanfront property zoned for a high-rise condo tower in Sunny Isles Beach is scheduled to be auctioned off in the next 60 days to the highest all-cash bidder, according to CondoVultures.com.

$40 Million For Chinese Drywall Repairs Set Aside By Miami Developer

condovultures — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:26:20 +0000

Early estimates in response to dozens of lawsuits have determined that defective Chinese drywall is present in at least two percent of the 20,000 single-family houses developed in Florida between 2006 and 2007 by Miami-based homebuilder Lennar Corp.

The number of defective residences may grow even higher as Lennar’s research has just begun to determine how many other homes the Miami company built in earlier years in Florida that contain Chinese drywall, which causes metal corrosion, foul smells, and physical irritation to some individuals.

Lennar initiated the research for Chinese drywall in response to 43 lawsuits from homeowners that have been filed against the homebuilder in state and federal courts.

“The company is currently unable to reasonably estimate its future exposure relating to defective Chinese drywall,” according to Lennar’s second quarter filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. “However, the company is continuing its investigation of homes it delivered during the relevant time period in order to determine whether there are additional homes, not yet inspected, with defective Chinese drywall and resulting damage.”

Based on the initial findings, Lennar has set aside nearly $40 million to repair about 400 single-family houses in Florida with the defective drywall but is prepared to increase that amount based on future findings, according to the SEC filing.

Florida is estimated to have about one-third of the 100,000 single-family homes constructed nationwide with defective Chinese drywall, according to CondoVultures.com.

This estimate does not include defective Chinese drywall that may have been used to build out some of the high-rise condo towers that were developed throughout the state during the boom years of 2003 to 2007.

At least one high-end condo tower in Greater Miami is known to have defective Chinese drywall present and several other new skyscrapers are suspected of also having the defect present, said Peter Zalewski, a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures® LLC.

Peter Zalewski of Condo Vultures® can be reached at 800-750-0517 or by email at peter@condovultures.com. Don’t forget to sign up for our weekly Market Intelligence Report^TM for detailed condo reports. Looking for a property at a deep discount? You are encouraged to take a peek at the Vultures Database^TM or our Video Gallery. Interested in buying multiple units from developers or banks? Be sure to visit the Condo Vultures® Bulk Deals Database. Our new books, the Official Condo Buyers Guide to Miami^TM and Miami’s Great Condo Crash: A Chronicle of the Boom and Bust^TM are now available. Want to see every foreclosure filed in South Florida since 2007? Check out our Foreclosure Database^TM.

Copyright © 2009, Condo Vultures® LLC