Bidders Show Up to Vie for Bankrupt South Beach Condo Conversion

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(MIAMI BEACH, FL) -- Nineteen bidders, each clutching $75,000 deposit checks, vied for Fairway Village, a bankrupt 118-unit South Beach condo conversion that was sold for $6.2 million or $53,000 per unit - nearly half of its original purchase price.

A new report from CondoVultures.com states one-year-old Alton Michigan LLC of Palm Beach County, FL, with RAM Realty II REIT as managing partner, bought the property at a Chapter 7 liquidation auction, outbidding 18 other individuals and groups.

The property is at 1920 Michigan Ave., which is at the intersection of Alton Road and Michigan Avenue in Miami Beach's South Beach neighborhood.

Other bidders competing on the nine-building complex included Cyric Chiosa, Tony Dipiazza, Ryan Freedman, Andrew Gale, Bruce Litsky, Miguel Poyastro, Horacio Rozenblum, Daniel Stauber, Chaim Scmochet, and Thomas Sullivan, according to U.S. Bankruptcy Court records.

The nine buildings total 84,976 gross square feet of Art Deco-type walkup units, according to LoopNet. Their average range is 477 square feet to 678 square feet.

"There is a strong interest in distressed residential product in South Beach," says Peter Zalewski, a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures, LLC.

"The fact that nearly 20 groups showed up at the auction with $75,000 deposits in hand to bid is proof of just how deep the demand really is in South Beach," Zalewski says.

"Unfortunately, many of the distressed projects in South Beach have already been acquired or secured which is why the buyer interest was so strong for the Fairway Village."

Zalewski says South Beach has some of the most expensive real estate in South Florida with prices hovering around the $1,000 per square foot mark in certain buildings.

Overall, the area is home to nearly 16,400 units located in 147 projects with at least 30 units, according to the newly released Condo Vultures Official Condo Buyers Guide To South Beach.

This is only the sixth bulk deal to close in Miami Beach since July 2008, Zalewski says. During this time, there have been 37 transactions for more than 3,100 units for a price of nearly $900 million, according to the Condo Vultures Bulk Deals Database.

Source: http://www.realestatechannel.com/us-markets/residential-real-estate-1/real-estate-news-peter-zalewski-miami-beach-condo-foreclosures-distressed-miami-real-estate-fairway-village-condo-vultures-alton-michigan-llc-ram-realty-ii-reit-1942.php