Best Deal at Marina Blue – 1 Bedroom/1.5 Bath – Completely Built-Out – $295K
July 31, 2008 by Lucas Lechuga
This 1 bedroom/1.5 bath condo, on the 20th floor, is the best deal currently available at Marina Blue. The condo comes with marble floors throughout, Wenge built-in closets and window treatments in the living room and bedroom. The condo has 843 square feet of interior space, a 152 square foot balcony that stretches the length of the unit and comes with stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, custom Italian-style kitchen cabinetry and washer/dryer.
The lowest priced 1 bedroom condo currently offered at Marina Blue is listed for $290,245. However, that unit is located on the 5th floor and comes "decorator-ready" (no flooring, no window treatments and no built-in closet). Additionally, the view just doesn't compare to this condo located on the 20th floor with direct views of Biscayne Bay, Key Biscayne and the Downtown Miami skyline. The most comparable deal currently available at Marina Blue is located 3 floors higher and is listed for $319,000 but, again, it comes "decorator-ready".
A picture of the kitchen in this condo at Marina Blue, as well as some of the living room space.
The view of Downtown Miami is great from this one bedroom condo at Marina Blue, as well as the view of the water.
A shot of the Wenge built-in closet in this 20th floor condo.
The balcony of this one bedroom condo at Marina Blue has 152 square feet of marble flooring.
Marble floors in the bathroom, dual sinks, a "Wet Room" with glass-enclosed shower and bath tub, a bidet and toilet.
The washer/dryer in this condo at Marina Blue resides in the half-bath located near the entrance.
Contact me if you'd like to view the best deal at Marina Blue in person.
I love the bathrooms in the Marina Blue. Especially the Master bath in the 2 BR’s and the only bath in the 1 BR. I like the shower stall as well as bath tub and the bidet. Good quality fixtures too.
Can’t say it’s a deal at this time. that needs to drop another 100k. At the price now it’s $3.49 a Sq Ft.
It’s a 1 bd for crying out loud. 2 Bds are gettign in the 200’s so why would you buy here for almost 3oo? Finished or not its still high at $3.49 a square. That puppy needs to hit $200 a sq.
According to this article, Marina Blue’s lender, Corus Bankshares is “possibly” still owed $51 Million.
Does anyone know which Corus-funded condo developments are in “nonaccrual status”?
http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2008/07/28/daily33.html
but I do love the views and that carrera marble, it just never goes out of style and is very versatile. Although I doubt it’s real carrera marble. I understand this Italian marble is very expensive and it comes out darker/murkier than it used to. It may be a Chinese product which is very similar in appearance, and, you guessed it, much cheaper.
What about the street noise from Biscayne Blvd ?
Isn’ it very loud, can you use the balcony ?
perez,
Corus:
Read the blog of Sep 10th, 2007 from Lucas.
There you’ll find a large choice of “candidates”.
perez,
Corus:
Probably one the nonaccrual loans is the loan to Onyx.
Viz, thanks, I went back and read Lucas’ Sept 10 post, and of course he was correct, things look like they have gotten worse for Corus; stock prices have fallen ~66% since his Sept. post.
iStar, which shares some debtor developers with Corus, has even fallen further since that post; their stock is down about 76% from September.
Is there a name change in iStar’s future? How about iReorganize or iFall?
Do people really prefer marble floors over hardwood?
I have to agree that considering a $300k one bedroom as a steal is probably not reallistic in this market. Even built out and on the 20th floor.
The unit does look great, but the kitchen/main living area is tiny! Marble is also great and so is the closet and bathroom, but come on!
I bet that 1BR’s will hit the low $200’s in this building in a year. There are 29 units for sale on MLS with with an average list time of 79 days. Out of those 29 units, 15 have been listed on MLS over the past month! You have to assume that this will go up as more units are closed.
Lucas, not sure if you have updated the closing rates for these buildings, but I bet there are about 150 or so to close or for sale by the developer.
And this doesn’t even consider any of the consecuences of a bank takeover or a Corus meltdown!
From the artcicle: “So there is still material loss potential in quite a few of the loans.”
lucas
in this market, i don’t see how anyone can bust a 300k nut on this even if it’s nice. the neighborhood is still a dump…and that’s what matters to end users. not to mention, this is a textbook young professional unit. problem is, how many young professionals are there to scoop these properties up? i don’t think many 27 y/o have 60k saved up to buy this pad.
as for corus, it has bottomed out. outside of countrywide, was my best option trade a year ago.
Visionary,Corus will be ,in my opinion,one of the future Banks that are going to go under.
With respect to ONYX ON THE BAY,i heared that the developer is under big law suits here and in Argentina for personal loans!!. The worst is yet to came!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
That “kitchen” is the deal-breaker. No cabinet space, and the refrigerator is about 6″ from the front door. Terrible.
I suspect the closets are Wenge colored veneer. More importantly the acoustical floor underlayment will most often cost more than the tile itself. Most tile jobs in Miami won’t include the accoustic underlayment. Sucks to be the downstairs neighbor.
The kitchen is on par with a low 200 grand unit. They should have used a hard chrome supply line for the guest bath toilet.
Not a deal. Not close. The market is in freefall. This price is only about 2 months ahead.
Looks like a very nice unit, but with poor access in and out, along with Heat Game/concert traffic and inability to walk anywhere make it a dealbreaker….
– it could sell to someone outside of miami. in nyc, san fran (and a few cities outside of the US), 250k will literally buy you nothing. and it’s new and has a nice view. i wouldn’t buy it but i can see someone from out of town take it.
– was at braman bmw palm beach … it was dead. though it was dead locally, their internet business apparently was doing well – the guy i know there sold 8 cars to the same guy from italy while i was there. sight unseen … just from pictures on the net.
these markets are all highly fragmented. many are doing horrible … some are doing the best they’ve ever done (raw agricultures, anything oil related, fertilizer related, some hard raw materials, exporters, etc …). though the majority of americans are having a real tough time …
guillermo – I met with the Onyx on the Bay developers last week and they seemed pretty relaxed. I know that they sold a block of units last month and there’s another 6 or 7 that closed in July. so I don’t know what rumour you heard about the developer, but I beg to differ. I did some due dil before I bought a unit there finally and looks like they’re going to pay off Corus. at least that’s what the bank told me.
Ha! we should have an offline wager on SunTrust’s bankruptcy. it won’t happen. – Invest your money in Corus puts. that’s where you can make a few bucks and buy your dream condo. but I’m only a modest banker from the UK, so what do I know
I think Ha! needs some therapy….
Jcrimes – I couldn’t agree more. The only buyer who would be interested in this would be a young person. It’s barely big enough for one person, so I doubt a couple would want this. What young person has $300,000 to blow on a closet with nice views? Also, it’s not the safest neighborhood so you’re either on your balcony, living room or car. You’re not walking anywhere to enjoy the outdoors. Given all of that, it’s probably worth under $200,000.
IMHO, of course.
ha!, why did you change your name? What’s your previous avatar? Ace ? Mo?
GRANT,i hope that you are not working on my Bank as a banker!!!!!!. If you bougth as an investor an appartment on ONYX ON THE BAY, your investment should be off by at least 75% in last year(a vulture fund has offer 23 cent on last year’s price for 8 appartments!!),that is a good deal for the Developer and Corus Bank!!!.
What are the carrying costs involved with this unit? How much can it be rented for?
ha! don’t forget to take your pills
guillermo – what makes you think that I’m not that fund. we paid a price that I’m happy with, so be happy for me.
I’d estimate carrying costs of about $2,600 with 20% down. Maintenace alone at about $600 a month on 1000 square feet (with balcony).
I’ve seen some nice 1 bedroom units with good views on Craigslist going for $1500 to $1700.
A thousand bucks out-of-pocket per month to rent it out. Not a great idea.
The maintenance fee is $447. You don’t count the balcony when calculating the maintenance fee.
Your rental estimate is right on target though.
Grant,do you think with a purchase price of $145 sq.ft. the developer can paid off the loan??.
Downtown area has top rated schools. Major reason why families are moving into this area.
Why is your handle ha! by the way? For a time I too enjoyed rubbing the neophytes noses into econ. 101, but now I don’t know. It’s not fun when people — not just greedy flippers — are hurting. You proved the point. I proved the point. Now it’s time for solutions.
Unfortunately offshore oil drilling, gas holidays, and $1000 checks (O, you should know better) aren’t the answer. Behavioral change beginning with yours truly should do the trick. Ahhh.
Nice to solve the world’s problems. Now back to this imported micro beer that I wont recycle …
Many of you mentioned Corus Bank recently. Take a look at their second quarter statement:
http://www.corusbank.com/acrobat/Q208.pdf
I understand the angst and even some bitterness – i’m in healthcare and completing the last year of an 8-year training process for a job that I love. The downside has been sitting on the sidelines while many of my friends in real estate and mortgages bought lavish properties – looking to retire when i have yet to “hang the shingle.”
I was working with a realtor about 4 months ago to get a feel for the area and she said: “I actually wish I hadn’t gone to college and moved straight to Miami to get into this business.” I was dumbfounded – I had never actually heard someone say they wished they had less education! I suppose the proverbial pendulum is swinging.
Here’s an article that explains “The Great Correction” that we’re witnessing. Thanks to all for a truly educational blog.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/anniversary-credit-crisis-more-pain/story.aspx?guid=%7B0FB57E25-4C42-48B8-956D-FE9F71C3F027%7D&dist=morenews_ts
guillermo – good question. yes, because the bank wrote off a large portion of the loan. Expect that they’ll do the same with some other condo loans as well. Corus shareholders paid for this.
On Corus:
Page 14 of their financials shoe the total RE exposure of the bank. This is for Condos
Loan Portfolio By Major Metropolitan Area
Total Commitment as of June 30, 2008
# Condominiums # Amount
Miami/Southeast Florida:
1 7 $ 1,453,000.000
Tampa
4 85,000,000
Orlando
3 30,000,000
Other Florida
5 362,000,000
Florida Total
29 $ 1,969,000,000
Anybody know if the “Donald Trump of the Tropics” is on the hook for any of this?
Fom zilbert:
“We sold this condo for $2.3M, which is the highest ever paid for a single unit at ICON South Beach (excluding Penthouses and combined units). At almost $1100/sf, this also sets a new sales record for a single condo unit sale in the same building. Our data comes from the Southeast Florida MLS.”
Who is buying at this price???
miami 2008,
people who don’t live in miami.
I agree it wont surprise me if this unit hits the under $200k mark.
What a place. If I didn’t live in SoCal I would make a move on this one. Great photos. How big is the kitchen? We recently worked on a condo in downtown Miami and completed the floor plans and photos. Check it out.
Is this the “Blue” building with a bunch of shortsales listed on the condo deals page?
How would this be the “best” deal when #2708 has been listed at 279k for over 200 days?
No. Marina Blue is a completely different building located in a different neighborhood.
The best feature is the closets!! they look great