Closed sales of note so far in June include a beautifully remodeled direct ocean 6th floor Constellation 3/2 with ocean and river views and one of the best floor plans in Cocoa Beach. It sold for $935,000 before hitting the market. Twelve of the 27 sold units so far this month sold in the first seven days on the market. Slightly more than half of these sales were cash deals. Twelve of the 27 sold for more than $300 per square foot with the weekly rental units that closed bringing substantial premiums to those in buildings that prohibit short-term rentals which are the vast majority of local condos. Skyrocketing vacation rental rates have pushed the prices of units in the handful of short-term rental buildings to unheard-of levels. Two bedroom oceanfront units with the ability to do vacation rentals have pushed over $600,000.
The condo collapse in Surfside happened one year ago this month and it seemed that there were going to be no impact after the Florida legislature earlier this year chose not to act on the Florida BAR task force recommendations. Absent legislative action, property insurers took steps to protect themselves and are increasing premiums and in some cases cancelling policies on a wide scale.
Coming in from left field, the biggest impact so far has been an addendum to the Fannie Mae condo questionnaire. The condo questionnaire must be completed by a condo association for a prospective purchaser who is buying with a mortgage and the answers must conform to Fannie Mae guidelines if the mortgage is to be approved. In the past the main potentially deal-killing issues were ratio of residents to renters, percentage of past due owners, number of units owned by same entity, reserves, insurance and existence of current litigation. The full review questionnaire since March 2022 is much more probing with pages of questions about building condition, date of last structural inspections, findings of that inspection and plans to correct and fund those findings. A respondent who is lucky enough to have a recent satisfactory inspection is likely to be given pause by questions on page two about the association's "awareness" of any safety or structural issue. This is sure to strike some fear in the poor soul who is asked to complete the questionnaire as is the question about "planned" special assessments. That expands the existing requirement to disclose special assessments from those that have actually been issued to any that are "planned". There are also new questions about date of last reserve study and balance of the reserve account. It's safe to expect some Board members and managers to refuse to complete the new full-review questionnaire.
One bright spot in this (so far) is that the limited review condo questionnaire has only limited changes so buyers in buildings that can't satisfactorily answer the full-review questions can put 30% down and hope to be able to pass the shortened review questions. Note that limited reviews will still contain broad questions about "planned" assessments and deferred maintenance. Owners in older buildings with deferred maintenance would be well-served by pressuring their Board to address structural issues sooner than later. Inability to satisfactorily answer the condo questionnaire will limit a seller to cash offers only, potentially impacting selling prices. However all this plays out, I stand by my prediction that expenses for owners in older Florida condos are going to continue to soar.
Sellers of condos need to know whether or not their association can pass the full (or limited) condo review so they don't waste time accepting a low down payment mortgage offer that is destined to fail. Same goes for owners in the not-few local buildings that can't pass any questionnaire. Those buildings have been relegated to cash deals only for years but I still see the occasional contract go contingent with a mortgage knowing that it will be back on the market soon. This is always an inexperienced or out-of-town agent who isn't familiar with the building. Sellers should ask prospective listing agents what issues buyers seeking a mortgage will be facing in their building so that they can avoid the disappointment of a failed contract. A listing agent who can't answer that should be removed from consideration.
I'd love to hear from readers who've renewed their flood policies since April 1. Have your rates gone up? How much? I expected substantial increases especially for those in flood zones but haven't heard anything in the two months since the changes took effect.
Anyone who'd like to read the new full review condo questionnaire can email me at condoranger@hotmail.com for a copy. I would advise any Board members or owners planning to sell to familiarize themselves with the questionnaires.
"Money is a lot like alcohol. It doesn’t change a person. It amplifies who they are." _anonymous
