My building is a teardown but the land is worth a fortune

Miami, Florida
Commercial Real Estate Investing
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My building is a teardown but the land is worth a fortune

Sean Cassidy
Investor · Miami Beach, FL · Member since 2015 · 9 posts · 2 votes

Hey everyone, I live in a 60 year old building on the Bay in Miami. Because nobody in Miami pays their condo fees, the building is falling apart and needs to be torn down. It is worth something though as it has all surface parking and a huge bayfront lot. The lot is probably 150 yards wide by close to 300 yards deep. Units in the building directly next door start at about $2.5 million. So my question is, is there any way I can present this to a commercial real estate firm and make some money for myself? I am not a realtor or even an owner but this will happen and I want to be part of it. There is a bidding war already starting but the bids are low and I am guessing not enough to get the deal done. I am guessing it would take at least $100 million to get the owners to sell. My very uneducated guess.

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Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
4y
Quote from @Sean Cassidy:

Hi Chris and Ecaterina. The building is obviously broke and barely passed inspection. They took down the website and stopped the bulk trash removal among other things to save money. I do not agree there are a lot of bayfront properties left that are big enough to build a big tower on. They do seem to have offers but they are low I believe. ONe for about $350k a unit and another for about $250k a unit. This works out to $84 and %63 million. Units have been selling for $250k. Just a thought I had as I am sure this is going to happen within 5 years. BUt it looks like it would be tough for me to get involved.


 well if its 5 years out  go get your license go work for a top shelf Commerical brokerage and then specialize in these condo conversion tear downs.. Create a real career for yourself.  You have the idea you now have to get in the game and I can tell you no developer doing a 100 million dollar deal is going to pay you some big fee.  But if you have legit listings on the building and are representing the sellers legally thats HOW you make MONEY in this type of real estate  .  you have the idea now get in the game 

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  • Alex Ramirez
    Rental Property Investor · Houston, TX · Member since 2019 · 184 posts · 147 votes
    4y

    Hi @Sean Cassidy. You should definitely talk to a local bank to see how they can help you. Many lenders will fund the construction of your property as long as the numbers make sense. Then when the project is done, you simply refinance and pay your loan off and get another long term loan (I.e conventional loan with a fixed interest rate). Sounds like you got a very nice peace of land. Best of luck to you. 

    0Reply
  • Raymond J. RodriguesBusiness Member
    Lender · Miami, FL · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 797 votes
    4y

    @Sean Cassidy where do you live? 

    [email protected]619-456-8311
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  • Chris SeveneyBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Investor · VA · Member since 2015 · 21k+ posts · 19k+ votes
    4y

    @Sean Cassidy

    What type of building is it? Is it a condo building or an apartment building?

    If it’s a condo building then every owner would need to agree to sell and chances of that happening are almost nill as most people think their property is worth 2x more than it actually is.

    Even if it isn’t don’t want to be Debbie downer but Highly unlikely you will get any part of the deal. A property worth that much would go through commercial brokers and they typically don’t pay bird dog fees from what I have been told

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  • Ecaterina Katerina Morosan
    Real Estate Agent · Miami, FL · Member since 2022 · 238 posts · 102 votes
    4y

    I would have to agree with @Chris Seveney here. Finders fees are illegal in Florida. You would have to be licensed to be a part of the deal. Also, developers (even more than anyone else) are looking for good deals. If the numbers don't make sense, and the sellers are asking for above market value, most likely they won't take it unless land is very limited (an island or a city hub). 

    Being a local real estate agent in Miami, I know that there is still plenty of land available for development here where the developers don't have to deal with multiple residents and tear down. 

    Also, the building should've passed the after Surfside inspection enforced by State of Florida. If the building is in tear down condition, it would never pass the inspection just like many buildings in the area where people had to evacuate within a week.

    Try to contact your association in regards to the inspection results or Miami-Dade county to see if the building was scheduled for the inspection. Curious what they say.

    Hope this helps. And I'm happy to answer more questions.

    1Reply
  • Sean Cassidy
    OP
    Investor · Miami Beach, FL · Member since 2015 · 9 posts · 2 votes
    4y

    Hi Chris and Ecaterina. The building is obviously broke and barely passed inspection. They took down the website and stopped the bulk trash removal among other things to save money. I do not agree there are a lot of bayfront properties left that are big enough to build a big tower on. They do seem to have offers but they are low I believe. ONe for about $350k a unit and another for about $250k a unit. This works out to $84 and %63 million. Units have been selling for $250k. Just a thought I had as I am sure this is going to happen within 5 years. BUt it looks like it would be tough for me to get involved.

    0Reply
  • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
    4y
    Quote from @Sean Cassidy:

    Hi Chris and Ecaterina. The building is obviously broke and barely passed inspection. They took down the website and stopped the bulk trash removal among other things to save money. I do not agree there are a lot of bayfront properties left that are big enough to build a big tower on. They do seem to have offers but they are low I believe. ONe for about $350k a unit and another for about $250k a unit. This works out to $84 and %63 million. Units have been selling for $250k. Just a thought I had as I am sure this is going to happen within 5 years. BUt it looks like it would be tough for me to get involved.


     well if its 5 years out  go get your license go work for a top shelf Commerical brokerage and then specialize in these condo conversion tear downs.. Create a real career for yourself.  You have the idea you now have to get in the game and I can tell you no developer doing a 100 million dollar deal is going to pay you some big fee.  But if you have legit listings on the building and are representing the sellers legally thats HOW you make MONEY in this type of real estate  .  you have the idea now get in the game 

    Podcast Guest on Show #222
    JLH Capital Partners51 Review
    WebsiteView Page
    3Reply
  • Bonnie Griffin KaakePro Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Denver, CO · Member since 2021 · 666 posts · 389 votes
    4y
    Quote from @Sean Cassidy:

    Hey everyone, I live in a 60 year old building on the Bay in Miami. Because nobody in Miami pays their condo fees, the building is falling apart and needs to be torn down. It is worth something though as it has all surface parking and a huge bayfront lot. The lot is probably 150 yards wide by close to 300 yards deep. Units in the building directly next door start at about $2.5 million. So my question is, is there any way I can present this to a commercial real estate firm and make some money for myself? I am not a realtor or even an owner but this will happen and I want to be part of it. There is a bidding war already starting but the bids are low and I am guessing not enough to get the deal done. I am guessing it would take at least $100 million to get the owners to sell. My very uneducated guess.

    Hi Sean, Are you considering purchasing the building? If so, there are real benefits available to the investors if they are open to it. 

    [email protected]303-475-4459
    0Reply
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