Sep 5, 2008
In Miami and Miami Beach, the rental of condos has become a buyer's market (to put it mildly)
If you were in Miami and Miami Beach in 2004 through early 2006, you saw a forest of construction cranes lining the horizon. Financed in part by capital from South Americans rushing to move their savings into safety, financed in part by unsophisticated U.S. speculators (like a distant relative of mine) seeking a killing, dozens of high-rise condos were built not simply along the beach but in nondescript inner areas of the south Florida city miles away from the water.
In one of those winters, Roberta and I rented a condo for two weeks from a Latin American woman of modest means who had bought the apartment, sight unseen, from an ad in one of her local newspapers. Frantic to get her money out of South America, she was told she could cover maintenance costs with rental income. No one told her that Miami Beach's "season" ran for less than four months a year and that no market existed for condo rentals in the eight other spring, summer and fall months. (She subsequently lost the apartment to bankruptcy).
Well, the real estate bubble burst, especially in Florida, Arizona, and other sun belt locations. And people awoke to find that Miami and Miami Beach, in particular, had far more condos -- glamorous, high-rise condos with balconies and splashy lobbies -- than the market warranted. Numerous condos went through bankruptcy, others were halted mid-construction, still others are renting their apartments at fire-sale prices.
I spoke yesterday by phone with a Floridian real estate agent who told me the condo bargains were extraordinary for the coming winter months. Surprisingly, he was especially keen on the use of Homeaway.com and VRBO.com for the short-term rental of bargain-priced condos at cut-rates -- without using an agent! He said the situation was almost as bad (for the owners) in vacation homes of Orlando, Florida, where too many special communities of rental properties were developed and homes are desperately looking for short-term rentals. One such two-bedroom home in an Orlando neighborhood is presently being offered for $65 a night.
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In one of those winters, Roberta and I rented a condo for two weeks from a Latin American woman of modest means who had bought the apartment, sight unseen, from an ad in one of her local newspapers. Frantic to get her money out of South America, she was told she could cover maintenance costs with rental income. No one told her that Miami Beach's "season" ran for less than four months a year and that no market existed for condo rentals in the eight other spring, summer and fall months. (She subsequently lost the apartment to bankruptcy).
Well, the real estate bubble burst, especially in Florida, Arizona, and other sun belt locations. And people awoke to find that Miami and Miami Beach, in particular, had far more condos -- glamorous, high-rise condos with balconies and splashy lobbies -- than the market warranted. Numerous condos went through bankruptcy, others were halted mid-construction, still others are renting their apartments at fire-sale prices.
I spoke yesterday by phone with a Floridian real estate agent who told me the condo bargains were extraordinary for the coming winter months. Surprisingly, he was especially keen on the use of Homeaway.com and VRBO.com for the short-term rental of bargain-priced condos at cut-rates -- without using an agent! He said the situation was almost as bad (for the owners) in vacation homes of Orlando, Florida, where too many special communities of rental properties were developed and homes are desperately looking for short-term rentals. One such two-bedroom home in an Orlando neighborhood is presently being offered for $65 a night.
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Labels: accommodations, miami, orlando
Jun 15, 2007
A stay at the Clay is an exciting (and cheap) way to enjoy Miami Beach
If I were asked to name the single best hotel bargain in America, I'd probably refer to a charming, "roaring twenties" pile once inhabited by the likes of Al Capone and Desi Arnaz in South Miami Beach, Florida. It's called the Clay Hotel; its nicely furnished private rooms have phones, TV and air conditioning, and yet they rent this summer for only $56 a night per double room with shared bath and $80 per double room with private bath. The hotel also has dormitory-like hostel facilities for young or unpretentious travelers that are among the best of their kind and cost only $23 to $28 per person per night. And yet the Clay is within an easy walk of the beach, a quick stroll from the Lincoln Road pedestrian mall and restaurant row and all the rest of the sizzling scene in South Beach. Call 800/379-2529 or log on to www.clayhotel.com.
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Labels: accommodations, budget, miami
May 22, 2007
Meet dogma, a frank philosophy
During a recent trip to Miami, Florida, I ate a hot dog whose creators claim it will become the next fast food sensation of the United States. The stand at which it's sold is called Dogma -- sub-titled "A Frank Philosophy." Unlike the usual soft and bland boiled hot dog, this one is grilled, and it's hard and sometimes somewhat spicy, and served on a carraway-seeded roll, all for $2.45, a meal in itself. You cover it with up to four toppings, including chopped onions. The current Dogma hotstand is at 7030 Biscayne Boulevard, in Miami, but a new and bigger one has followed in the heart of South Beach at 1500 Washington Avenue, near the famous Lincoln Road. If you're in Miami Beach, you might want to enjoy an historic opportunity of witnessing a business that may one day challenge McDonalds.
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Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
