An interesting story came to my attention recently – a family living in Fort Myers. Fla, are the sole tenants in a 200 unit condominium development. The 32-storey building boasts all the usual luxury amenities: marble flooring, pool overlooking a river, games room and gymnasium; but is somewhat lacking in “atmosphere,” seeing as the lights are off in the entire building and the only human contact the family has is the automated message from the elevator that says, “going up,” every time they enter. AP
According to the Associated Press, all the other prospective tenants pulled out and the Vangelakos family from New Jersey were left holding the ball after taking a $336,000 mortgage on the condo. Having exclusive use of a 32-storey condo building might sound appealing, but it also sounds a little eerie.
This aptly demonstrates the level of over building in this part of the market that went on in the boom years. Just last week we covered another luxury hotel-condo development that was sold en masse for less than 6% of the original prices. I see several analysts touting Florida as an “investment destination,” and I would have to suggest this may not quite be true. Certainly Florida will always have an appeal, but the possibility of parts of the market not recovering ever is quite strong.
Sole tenant looks down from the 7th floor
Anyone looking at Florida as an investment needs to take a close look at the area around any potential investment. This one for example. I must admit, the prospect of not having to listen to my noisy neighbors is a tempting one, but not having any neighbors at all in a 200 unit development? Doesn’t sound like a good investment at any price. Realistically, how long can the owners of the building afford to maintain it for one tenant?
The original plan for “Oasis Condominiums,” called for 5 towers spread over 20 acres and was billed as “Fort Myers’ most desirable address, an exclusive home of privacy, waterfront splendor and exquisite harmony with nature.” A little more “privacy,” than was expected. Two towers have been completed – the Oasis I, with it’s sole tenant and Oasis II which is part-occupied, with the few buyers who did eventually complete opting to switch to the other building, which has a better view. The chances of the other towers being completed any time soon seem pretty slim, but the basic maintenance costs for the finished ones will be much the same whether the towers are full or empty. Hard to predict what the future holds, but there stands a good chance of this one never being finished.
Oasis luxury condominiums
