Fort Lauderdale Real Estate News

Clients of mine just bought this Riverside floor plan WaterGarden Condo in downtown Fort Lauderdale on the 30th floor. This unit boasts spectacular views of downtown Ft Lauderdale, the Nu River, Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean. This condo features 2 bedrooms, 2 baths + Den, approx 1600 square ft of living area, a large open balcony with forever views. WaterGarden Condo offers residents luxurious amenities and is located just 2 blocks from shopping and dining on Las Olas Blvd. Sales Price was $700,000 and closing date was May 28, 2008.

If you are looking to buy, rent or sell a condo at WaterGarden, please contact me today.

A Question of Outside Condo Property Taken to Court

The hurricanes of 2004 and 2005 were difficult on the state of Florida, but since then there has been an issue between Florida condo boards, unit owners, insurance companies, and the state that has made the hurricanes even more difficult to deal with. What’s the deal? The outside property belonging to any one condo unit in South Florida.

If a hurricane destroys things such as a condo’s hot tub, grill, lounge chairs, and Jacuzzis, who has to pay to repair or replace them? This has been an issue of debate since the hurricanes came to the state and ravaged many of these items. The issue was first raised when two years ago the Department of Business & Professional Regulation decided that condominium associations were liable for the damages if the property outside of a condo unit was damaged and these rulings became effective across the state.

This issue was brought to the forefront when a Florida condo association in Doral was receiving numerous requests from owners to have their items replaced or repaired that were damaged while in a condo common area. Problems ensued because everyone including the unit owners, the condominium association, and the insurance companies were all being given different information.

The association did not want to have to pay more than $1.5 million a year in insurance costs, so they brought the matter to the department and asked them to interpret the state law. The department ruled against the association, which appealed.

On July 2, 2008 the 3rd District Court of Appeal called into question this matter again when they decided that the rulings mentioned above were “utterly unfair.” The court was under the impression that everyone shouldn’t have to pay for the property of one. This court ruling backs a law that was signed on June 30th by Governor Charlie Crist. The problem is that many people say that the law, CS, SB 601, isn’t clear enough and it may not even be enforceable.

A spokesperson for the department stated that it will ask the 3rd District Court of Appeal to hear the case again. This is a sign that the Department of Business & Professional Regulation is not happy with the new law and wants to appeal it. If the law is appealed, this issue could be brought to the Florida Supreme Court to be heard. It is not yet known if the new law signed by the governor will be enforceable or upheld.

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The St Regis Hotel & Resort on Fort Lauderdale Beach will no longer be managed by Starwood Hotels which owns the St Regis brand name. As of August 11, the 220-unit resort owned by Castillo Grand LLC will no longer be affiliated with the St Regis name. According to a spokesperson, the contract cancellation decision by Starwood Hotels came after several undisclosed disputes.

The St Regis Fort Lauderdale Condo-Hotel opened on Fort Lauderdale Blvd (A1A) across from the Atlantic Ocean in May 2007, promoted as a prestigious landmark, offers lavish hotel suites as well as luxurious condos for sale ranging in price from just under $2 million and up

Update: Ritz-Carlton will take over operations beginning August 11th marking the St Regis it’s fourth South Florida property including hotels in Coconut Grove, Key Biscayne and South Beach.

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Fort Lauderdale Real Estate Listing and Sales Activity for the month of June reports an upward swing over last months figures reporting positive numbers for single family sales (32%) and condo-townhome sales (10%).Average Sales price for single family homes is up 8% while condos-townhomes are down -9%.

Pending Sales for both types of property are also in positive territory: Single Family (6%) and condo-townhouse pendings (2%).

Monthly supply of Inventory is down for both single family (-25%) and condo-townhouses (-12%).

More detailed information at Fort Lauderdale Real Estate Listing and Sales Activity.

Don’t Let Great Condo Rental Opportunities in Fort Lauderdale Pass You By

If you’re like a lot of renters you have been watching the rental prices of Fort Lauderdale Condos go up and then fall back down over and over again the last couple of years. Many renters are content to just sit by and watch the rise and fall of the housing prices. Yet, just when they are going to take action they watch the condo slip away either in a price that creeps back up or to another renter who got to it faster. There are a lot of condos for rent in Fort Lauderdale and instead of just sitting by and waiting for the right opportunity to fall into your lap or waiting for the right price to come along, why not search for it?

Find the Perfect Property for You!

Instead of settling for what is out there or flipping through the rental section of your newspaper wondering what will be the best choice, why not search for Fort Lauderdale condo rentals in a much more straightforward fashion? When you come to our real estate site, you will find it really simple to search for apartments for rent including luxury rentals! There is no need to search high and low through several different sources. Instead, you have one source that you can trust to put you in contact with all of the great properties on the market.

Instead of watching the prices on rental properties rise and fall and settling for less than you may need or paying more than you can afford, you can search through our website with ease and find just what you are looking for. Rentals are sorted by price, so you can look for Rentals under $2000 per month, Rentals under $3,000 per month, Rentals under $4,000 per month and luxury rentals $4,000 and more. We understand that you have very specific needs and we allow you to search for those until they are met. Whether you need a long term rental or one of the beautiful short term luxury rentals, there is a tool for you to use to ensure that you’ll find the property that will best fit your needs!

John Sabia is a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Real Estate in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and can be reached at (954) 847-5002 (work) and 954-850-2397 (cell).

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