Adventures In Real Estate

The Fort Lauderdale luxury real estate market is prime for the picking.

Some of the exquisite features are:

• Over 7,431 Square Feet
• 5 bedrooms with 5 full baths and 2 half baths
• 80 Feet of Unobstructed Ocean Access Waterfront Property with New Dock
• 3 Car Garage
• Media/Theater Room
• Adult Gameroom with Wet Bar and Fireplace Overlooking the Waterway
• Beautifully appointed Library/Den
• Downstairs VIP Suite
• Elevator
• Whole House Generator and Impact Windows
• Tropical Pool Overlooking the Water
• Lavish Dream Kitchen Featuring the Best Appliances Money Can Buy Complete with Cooks Island
• Rich Polished Saturnia Marble Floors Throughout

These are just a few features of this home.  The price is $4.4 million and is a steal in this market.  When I toured the home today I met with the builder and discussed with him his plans to sell.  He explained to me that he will be taking a huge loss and is willing to work with the new buyer in any way he can.  It is obvious to see that if a builder is meeting agents at a house to show it personally there is a great deal to be had!!

For a more detailed view please click here for a Virtual Tour of this Home.

I am sure there will be many people that will be telling me how they wish they could have taken advantage of the market in 2008 but waited because they thought the market would drop m

ore and missed out.  What many do not know is that there is NO way to pinpoint the bottom of the market.

Don’t miss outon opportunities like this because this type of downturn in the market only happens once in a century.  For more information on this home or any other for that matter feel free to call me.

Miami’s hottest new address is The Residences at Island Gardens located on Watson Island perfectly situated between South Beach and the magic cities downtown.  We all know the state of the market right now,  however sales have been swift at The Residences.  Part of this is due in fact to the ultra - luxurious amenities that you will see later in this blog and the other is the fractional form of ownership.

When I first heard of fractional ownership I thought like most people of timeshares.  I could not have been any farther from the truth.  Fractional ownerships have a myriad of benefits that far surpasses anything a timeshare can offer.  I have plenty of information that back this available but I will not go into it in depth here.  Last year alone fractional ownership sales exploded over 20% accounting for over $1.98 billion in sales.  Yes that is Billion with a “B”,  and that’s with consumer confidence down in a bad market!

There will also be a Super Yaght Harbor at Island Gardens.  The Harbor is the only one of its kind in all North America that 50 super yaghts from 80 to 300 feet can moor simultaneously.  The harbor will serve as a true international port of entry.  The Deep Harbor will of course offer superior service to all yacht owners that dock there.

The following are some of the amenities offered to owners:

• North Americas ONLY Deep Harbor for Super Yachts
• Management available by exclusive Shangra - La Resorts
• Lush Botanical Gardens provided by the famous Fairchild Tropical Gradens
• Cutting - edge shopping and world class dinning on site ( over 60 shops )
• Exclusive private beach club located on famed South Beach
• A private fleet of 3 Rolls Royce Phantoms and 12 Mercedes E - Class for owners
• Daily housekeeping
• 24 hour concierge
• Butler and room service
• Membership in the Yacht ownership program ( use of a 3 stateroom 65 ft Tiera yacht )
• Privileged access to CHI the world class spa at Shangra- La
• Resort style residence private pool
• Pre - arrival grocery shopping
• Condos are fully furnished by Italy’s most famed designer Piero Lissoni
• 1000 ft waterfront promenade of palms

The residences are being offered from the  mid $200’s.  There is truly not another development in Miami that provides so much of a lifestyle for such an affordable price.  A select few will have the opportunity to own all of the fractional interests in the penthouse units.  One of the largest penthouse units recently sold at Art Basel in Miami for $15 million.  There are a select number of penthouses still available but with these amenities will not last long.

I am trying very hard to not have this blog post sound like a sales add but there is truly so much offered at The Residences at Island Gardens that it is hard not to get excited.  This will far surpass any development that the City of Miami has ever seen and will set the bar for luxury lifestyle.  If you had the opportunity and means to own here why wouldn’t you?

Please click HERE for an informative virtual brochure on this amazing opportunity.

Please feel free to call me direct for additional information and an informative overview of all being offered.

Direct 954-295-4734

The first developments that we will be looking at in this weeks blog topic on the Flagler Village area are the Foundry and Mill Lofts.

If you are not familiar with the Flagler Village neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale please refer to my previous post. The Foundry and Mill Lofts are being developed by Hooper Development. Hooper Development is a community based development group that has already built the wildly popular Avenue Lofts. Avenue Lofts, The Mill and Foundry Lofts are located in what has been coined FAT village. FAT village stands for Flagler Arts and Technology District and is located on the West side of Flagler Village.

The Foundry Lofts and Mill Lofts consist of “Hard Loft” spaces complete with imperfections and cracks that help it achieve the look of the 1930’s factory loft conversion. The spaces range in size from 1050 square feet to approximately 1600 square feet. The spaces run true to the 1930’s era look by including the following :

• Hard wood floors
• 12?-14? foot ceilings
• Large expansive windows
• Exposed mechanical duct-work
• Gas range cooktops

Some additional modern day features will include:

• Stainless steel appliances
• Europen style custom cabinetry
• High speed wireless Internet
• Heated swimming pool
• Covered parking.

If you have not yet seen the Foundry and Mill Lofts I would strongly recommend that you take a look. Just follow the LINK and give me a ring.

Walking through the loft style buildings is a very unique experience. It is very refreshing to see this type of development in Fort Lauderdale. As you walk around the buildings you will find shops and cafes such as Brew Urban Cafe. The Brew Cafe is located on the ground level of Avenue Lofts which is an easy walk from The Foundry and Mill Lofts. Residents can enjoy a menu of specialty brewed coffeee of the day, an afternoon smoothie, or frozen drink. They may also relax at the end of the day by meeting friends and enjoying a glass of wine or a micro-brewed beer. The cafe also offers Internet access.

There are many great buys out there right now due to the current market conditions. It is my opinion that when the market starts to turn you will see accelerated appreciation in the Flagler Village area due to its development potential, convenience, and neighborhood feel. The affordability factor is here for now, with prices starting as low as the upper $200’s, but it will not be around for long. If you are thinking of buying, you owe it to yourself to check out the opportunities being offered in these great buildings.

In the days ahead, I will be featuring some other great development opportunities in the Flagler Village area. Feel free to sign up for my BLOG and get my latest posts directly to your e-mail or Internet reader.

In the Mid 80’s the Flagler Heights section, as it was called back then, was not the place to be, to say the least.

The neighborhood was run down and forgotten. The historic neighborhood once called Flagler Heights, renamed Flagler Village, is undergoing a major revitalization that will make it one of the most desirable neighborhoodsin all of Broward County. The Flagler Village area consists of 151 acres of Fort Lauderdale’s East side community redevelopment area. The boundaries of Flagler Village are Broward Boulevard on the South End, North to Sunrise Boulevard on the North end, and from US-1 to the railway corridor. Developers with a vision began purchasing the land years ago while it was still in despair hoping to develop affordable “urban living environments“. That vision has since paid off. Many “mixed use” projects are now in the works and being offered at very reasonable prices!

The following are a few of the ongoing unique developments that I will be blogging about in the upcomming weeks. They are all currently available in the Flagler Village area:

• The Foundry and The Mill Lofts
• The Exchange Lofts
• The Heights at Flagler Village
• Strada 315
• Bamboo Flats

Flagler Village is less than 5 minutes from most of Fort Lauderdale’s entertainment and fine dining. There is a real “neighborhood feel”to Flagler Village. Quaint cafes and restaurants are within walking distance. Flagler Village is very pedestrian friendly, offering trolley service throughout the village by A & E trolley. There are plans for a light rail system that the city just received funding for. The proposed rail system will include Andrews Avenue, 2nd Street, 3rd Avenue, and Las Olas Boulevard.

Flagler Village truly marches to its own beat. In the weeks ahead I will feature some of the many ongoing communities that are emerging within this bohemian feeling neighborhood. Do you have a story to tell about the emerging Flagler Village? Let us know about it!

Tarragon Corporation, the developers of the Las Olas Riverhouse, has announced its recent sale of 100 E. Las Olas Boulevard for $15 Million to Simmons Vedder & Co.

100 E. Las Olas was originally planned to be a 25 story high rise adjacent to the Riverhouse. The tower was to be adjoined to the Riverhouse by a sixth floor terrace. The first two floors of the tower were designed for mixed use which would have included a day spa and fine dinning to name a few. The prices were to range from $600,000’s to over $900,000.

The tower upset many of the current Riverhouse owners since 100 E. Las Olas would be blocking some of their views. The Riverhouse owners will not be able to breath an early sign of relief just yet. The new owners Simmons Vedder & Co. do plan to have involved discussions with Riverhouse owners and neighboring commercial owners to make sure the building will be in context of its urban setting. Simmons and Vedder has not yet released how tall the new building will be but it will contain a mix use of retail, office, and hotel options.

The sale of the property by Tarragon was spurred by their need to become more liquid to reduce their dept in the current market. Tarragon Corp also sold the following two properties :

• The Vintage at Abacoa in Jupiter, Florida
• Kennesaw Farms Apartments development in Gallatin, Tennessee

The sale of all three properties totaled $91,367,000

We are seeing a renaissance happening in various areas of Downtown Fort Lauderdale. The diversity of different types of housing options being offered at this time is huge. The city is starting to develop unique neighborhoods with very different feels such as Flagler Village, The Himmarshee area, and the Las Olas ( Colee Hammock) areas. The buyer sits firmly in the drivers seat in this market and it will be very interesting to watch as buyers start to reemerge and developers begin to move forward around the downtown area.

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Today I had the pleasure of touring a new listing of ours in the Atlantic tower on Fort Lauderdale Beach.  Atlantic tower is the premier hotel condo building on Fort Lauderdale Beach.  The lucky new owner of this sky home will enjoy one of the largest direct oceanfront terraces in all of Fort Lauderdale Beach.  The terrace is absolutely breathtaking and I will include a picture of it in my blog.  Looking out onto the Atlantic today was amazing as surfers rode the waves and guests enjoyed tropical drinks poolside below.  Here is a brief description on the home if you may know a friend or contact that is looking for the ultimate in luxury oceanfront living.

This luxurious penthouse provides direct oceanfront views from every room. Experience an unsurpassed oceanfront lifestyle in this elegantly furnished residence with five star service and amenities including a full service European Spa, fitness center, swimming pool, cafe & gourmet dining, concierge and a magnificent stretch of ocean and beach. A sumptuous interior features imported marble and granite, European wood cabinetry and designer series kitchen and bath finishes.  Offered at $2,995,000.

INSIDER INFORMATION :  WE WILL BE GETTING A NEW LISTING IN THE ATLANTIC TOMORROW.  THE LUXURY RESIDANCE WILL INCLUDE 1 BEDROOM AND 1 FULL BATH AND WILL ENJOY UNUBSTUCTED CITY VIEWS.  CHECK BACK SOON FOR PICTURES!!  THIS WILL BE PRICED IN THE MID 400'S MAKING IT ONE OF THE BEST DEALS ON THE BEACH.

Below is the over 1000 square foot oceanfront terrace.

I hope you enjoyed this post and I would love suggestions from all of you as to what you would like to learn about the Fort Lauderdale luxury market.  Remember to sign up for my blog and share with your friends.  You will always be able to get updated insider information here and here about listings before they hit the MLS.