Buying a condo or home on Miami Beach is different than buying in other places.
A lot of my friends (& me too) who bought here years ago always have the same “I wish I had known…” or going forward “xyz is definitely on my “must have” list.
If you are not a local, you probably never thought of these “must haves” so I thought I would share a few with you.
Top 10 Miami Beach Buyer Tips, that you probably never thought of….
1. PARKING: We have big drainage issues on the beach. See the picture above. Even some of the newer buildings had big drainage issues in their garages during the last thunderstorm. Meaning the car is totaled. Where is your car going to be parked? If it’s on the street then whenever it rains, you need to be super careful, our streets flood. If it’s in a garage, how high?
2. HIGH FLOOR/LOW FLOOR: We do live in a city and some times a city atmosphere can draw in not so nice characters, what floor are you comfortable living on?
3. ALLEY VIEWS: If you have a window on the alley of a street? What’s going on in that alley? Some of my friend’s alleys are quiet, while others are not.
4. HOW OLD IS THE BUILDING AND WHAT’S UP WITH THE CERTIFICATION? In Miami Beach we have different certifications based on the age of the building. This can be pricey assessments if a new assessment is in order.
5. RENTING RESTRICTIONS: Planning on only living in your unit a few months out of the year? Be sure to check with the condo association to find out about the rules for renting. Every building is different and although you would assume us to be a “friendly tourist destination” most condo owners don’t want “tourists” in and out of their buildings. So short term rentals (less than six months) are usually restricted.
6. HURRICANE SHUTTERS OR WIND RESISTANT WINDOWS: I am not an expert on the wind speeds of hurricane resistant materials but it’s important to know that we do live in an area prone to hurricanes. They do come some times. As a condo owner, it’s important to me to have my windows and sliding glass doors protected.
7. SHADY AREAS: Again, we do live in a city. I highly recommend before buying to cruise past the property during the day & the night.
8. MOTORCYCLE AND SCOOTER PARKING: Not all buildings allow parking for motorcycles and scooters, if you have one be sure to ask about parking.
9. WHO’S THE MANAGEMENT COMPANY? Not that you have so much control over this but it’s good to know how is the building being managed? Is it self managed, off site property management or on site? Who’s responsible for what?
10. SECURITY: Is it important for you to have 24 hour on site security? Or is less okay? The great thing with 24 hour security is more peace of mind, the other side is that security equals more monthly expense to run the building.
Actually I could go on and on. In reality many of these situations are determined by your price point. If you are buying in one of the newer luxury buildings, many of these items are not even an issue. If you have to be a little more frugal, you will need to pick and choose what’s most important to you.
