RELATED GROUP PULLS OUT OF TRUMP TOWERS IN SUNNY ISLES BEACH, FLORIDA

Related Group, one of the most prominent condo developers in South Florida has ended its relationship with the Dezer family and their project of Trump Towers located by the ocean between 158-160th Street and Collins Avenue.

Related Group and Jorge Perez at its helm helped shape the oceanfront skyline in Sunny Isles Beach when in 2001 they opened Ocean One at the Northern tip of Sunny Isles Beach followed shortly by Ocean Two, Ocean III and lastly Ocean IV. They joined forces with Michael and Gil Dezer who own a lot of the oceanfront land in the area and developed three more towers at the Southern end of Sunny Isles Beach which they called Trump Tower I, Trump Tower II and Trump Tower III. Each tower consists of 271 units and is 45 stories high. Units range from 1463-2928 sf under air and are 2-3 bedrooms. All feature Ocean or Intracoastal views (or both). The complex has 4 pools in total, spa and gym in every building and a restaurant in Trump Tower II services all three towers.

Related had a 50% share in TRG Sunny Isles VII, the company behind the oceanfront project, until Jan. 13 2010 when the Dezers took full control, according to the Florida Division of Corporations. In 2007, TRG Sunny Isles obtained a $345.7-million construction loan from Wachovia Bank, now owned by Wells Fargo. On Dec. 31, Wachovia modified the loan and extended its maturity date. A mortgage filed with Miami-Dade County did not disclose the due date.

Of the three Trump Towers, one tower is almost sold out, another has a substantial amount of units sold, and the third is vacant. The unit prices have dropped nearly 40% since pre-sales started five years ago and are now selling between $350-$400/ft. Original pricing was set at $650-$750/ft The units are delivered decorator ready (purchasers need to finish flooring, paint, install closet systems and window treatments).

"We have no comment other than to confirm we have satisfied The Related Group's lender obligations, and we have sold the two projects (Trump II and Trump III at Sunny Isles) to former partners in these developments," Betsy McCoy, Related's vice president and associate general counsel, said in an e-mail to the Daily Business Review

Related Group has been responsible for building over 50,000 units in South Florida. Most

notably they built Ocean I, II, III, IV in Sunny Isles Beach, Murano at Portofino, Icon South Beach and Apogee in Miami Beach, Icon Brickell (a project of 1500 condos that is also under financial stress and the Developer is currently negotiating to hand over the project to the Lenders on condition they can still continue to manage), 50 Biscayne, 900 Brickell, Loft Downtown in Miami, Beach Club I, II, III in Hallandale Beach and Trump Hollywood in Hollywood Beach.

Perez's personal net worth has also declined. He was ranked at No. 197 on the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest people in 2006, when his net worth was estimated at $1.8 billion. Last year, he fell off the list when his net worth dipped below $900 million, according to Forbes.

All this overbuilding during the high. has left phenomenal Buying Opportunities available today.

Click info@golanteam.com to request an email of all available floorplans at Trump Towers or to send us an email so we can discuss the best pricing opportunities available for you. You can also reach us by phone to 786-271-1235.

Are Developers Bankers? Are Bankers Developers?

In the past it was so simple. You needed a loan you went to a Bank. You needed to buy property you went to the Developer. Nowadays this line has been totally obscured. Last week, Stephen Ross of The Related Companies applied to form a bank. Here the Developer has now decided to become the Bank. Then you have several banks that have foreclosed on projects and are now selling them at discounted rates to Bulk Buyers and other investors. There the Banks have become the Developers/

Honestly, being in Real Estate has never been more tricky or confusing. Last Friday evening the FDIC closed the doors of Chicago Bank, Corus Bank. Corus Bank like so many of the other 92 banks that have failed this year invested heavily in Condo Construction Loans. In fact in just our area of South Florida they financed over $3,000,000,000 Yes that is THREE BILLION DOLLARS of construction loans. Notable projects include:

$288,115,000 for the construction of Jade Ocean in Sunny Isles Beach..
$216,000,000 for the downtown Paramount Bay
$191,800,000 for The Mint Downtown
$130,400,000 for The Ivy Downtown
$139,000,000 for Trump International Hotel and Tower in Fort Lauderdale
$135,000,000 for Phase II at the Continuum in South Beach
$130,000,000 for Artech in Aventura
$124,700,000 for the Caribbean in Miami Beach (note the outstanding balance of this loan was just settled for $50m by a NY investor)
$86,000,000 for Hampton South in Aventura
$83,175,000 for The Akoya in Miami Beach
$42,272,000 for The Solis in Sunny Isles Beach
$30,298,000 for The Peninsula in Aventura


Currently the FDIC is deciding whether to divide the bank’s assets and liabilities into Real Estate holdings and Bank holdings. Whichever way it goes, I guarantee you are going to see a feeding frenzy of Developers or Deep Pocket investors who will prance on the chance of buying these loans at a few cents on the Dollar. If this happens one can only ask how it will affect the pricing of this units still to come on the market. If you remember an earlier blog we did on the state of affairs in the Brickell area we discussed the construction of 23,000+ units in the last five years. Already almost 50% of these units are available for sale or resale (through the Developers or through the Multiple Listing Services) and we have seen Bulk Deals going for as low as $150/ft.

As a seasoned Real Estate team we can definitely say the opportunities out there are like nothing you have ever seen before. You need patience, education but there are definitely opportunities for the taking.

If you are interested in discussing your Real Estate needs further, call us at 786-333-6200, post a comment or email us confidentially at info@golanteam.com