Joe Hernandez of Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman.

MIAMI—South Florida's aging condominium stock, especially buildings sitting on oceanfront land, is ripe for glitzy redevelopment as developers push to expand a skyline where little to no prime, undeveloped land remains.

Real estate lawyers who specialize in condo terminations reported a busy 2016 season, despite the noted slowdown in the region's luxury condo market. As undeveloped land becomes scarce, builders have turned to more creative measures: Redevelop aged buildings on underutilized sites, preferably near the water.

“Developers are seeing a lot of opportunities particularly along the coast with older condominiums that may have been built in the '50s, '60s and '70s that are now pretty much functionally obsolete,” said Joe Hernandez, a real estate lawyer with Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman.

For unit owners of dilapidated condo properties whose repairs outweigh their existing value, a condo termination may be the only viable option.

“The owners in those condos then face a tough problem because things get more and more expensive to maintain,” said Hernandez, who is a partner with the firm in Fort Lauderdale.

While condo terminations have been happening for years, the shortage of well-located development sites has catalyzed a recent flurry of activity, said Howard Vogel, a partner with Rennert Vogel Mandler & Rodriguez.

The Miami real estate lawyer said his clients are actively searching for older buildings, particularly those whose condo declarations are most conducive to terminations — even as the market for high-end condos has slowed. Developers are taking a more long-term approach, which points to the development community's confidence in the region's condo market.

“They saw how quickly the market recovered after the last downturn and how important it is to be well-positioned for the recovery,” Vogel said.

Click here to read the article in full at the Daily Business Review.

Weiss Serota Helfman

For unit owners of dilapidated condo properties whose repairs outweigh their existing value, a condo termination may be the only viable option.

“The owners in those condos then face a tough problem because things get more and more expensive to maintain,” said Hernandez, who is a partner with the firm in Fort Lauderdale.

“They saw how quickly the market recovered after the last downturn and how important it is to be well-positioned for the recovery,” Vogel said.

Click here to read the article in full at the Daily Business Review.

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Condo Terminations Expected to Rise

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