Category Archive for ‘Coconut Grove Condos’

We have some friends who live at the Ritz Carlton Residences here in Coconut Grove. They recently invited us (me, my wife Kelly, and daughter Taylor) over for lunch and to spend the afternoon with them in the pool. I have been over to the Ritz several times to have lunch or drinks at the bar. But this time, I got a true sense of what it feels like to be a resident at the Ritz Carlton so I wanted to share that experience with my readers.

Upon entering the lobby at the Ritz Carlton, Coconut Grove we instantly felt a sense of calm wash over us. The staff was over the top friendly as they said “Good morning”, “Have a good day” and “Good to see you again” at every pass. Our lunch at the Bizcaya Grill (The Ritz Carlton’s fine dining restaurant) was excellent and surprisingly unstuffy. In fact, they gave Taylor plenty of crayons to color with and didn’t even blink an eye when she wanted to play the drums with her breadsticks. The food was as good as any fine restaurant here in the Miami. My wife had a Maine Lobster Salad on top of grilled foccaccia and I had a wonderful Tomato and Mozzarella salad.

After lunch we went upstairs to the pool. The pool staff was great, offering us towels and drinks as soon as we walked through the gate. Our friends wanted a particular drink that only the bartender downstairs knew how to make. “No problem” said the waiter at the pool. Without hesitation he took our orders and had them filled at the bar downstairs as opposed to the pool bar.

Now I would expect this kind of service as a hotel guest at the Ritz. But they offer unmatched service to their residents as well. In fact, as a Ritz Carlton resident you probably get even better service because you form relationships with the staff.

Many people would be surprised to know that in terms of a luxury condo building, the Ritz Carlton, Coconut Grove is pretty affordable. There is currently a 2 bedroom, 2 bath unit for sale for only $560,000. Of course the prices also go all the way up to $2,000,000. In terms of buying at the Ritz Carlton in Coconut Grove, you can choose to live in one of two towers. The tower located closest to the Bay is all individually owned units. The other tower features both hotel rooms and individually owned condos. It is a personal preference as to whether you prefer one tower over the other. Some people prefer the one that is strictly condo units because it offers more privacy. However, if you live in the hotel tower, you have a larger lobby and are closer to many of the amenities. Both towers have their own pool.

All in all, we had a wonderful experience as guests of the Ritz Carlton. I think my wife and daughter got used to being pampered and could too easily envision living there and ordering room service from bed. That reminds me, I think my daughter Taylor has a book about a little girl named Eloise who lived at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.

To read other posts regarding the market at the Ritz Carlton Coconut Grove, click here.

To view all condos for sale at The Ritz Carlton Residences in Coconut Grove, click here.

Construction has broken ground at The Residences at Vizcaya (3535 Hiawatha Avenue, Coconut Grove). There will be 18 condo units total, and 9 units have already sold. Construction is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2009, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they weren’t finished until 2010. Builders are typically very optimistic about their completion date. I am happy to see developers building small scale boutique condos here in Coconut Grove (as opposed the mega waterfront buildings that have recently been proposed and denied).

The units at The Residences at Vizcaya are high end with pre-construction prices running in the $3,000,000 to $4,000,000 range. There will be two docks and boat slips will be available.

The developers are also in the process of renovating Steele Park that is located at the entryway to the Residences at Vizcaya. They will be putting in new picnic benches, trees, sod, lighting, new dogipots and a waterfountain.

You may also be interested in: Residences of Vizcaya, A Hard Hat Tour

If you are interested in purchasing a condo in Coconut Grove, you should be aware of the monthly maintenance fees (also known as Condominium Association fees).  A maintenance fee is charged to each owner to cover the costs of upkeep, maintenance, insurance (fire, hurricane and liability), water and sewer, electricity for common areas, trash removal and administrative costs.  Typically, the maintenance fees are based on the amount of square footage in each unit.

Be aware that maintenance fees can increase over time, and the owner can also be charged with “special assessments”.  Special assessments occur when there is not adequate money in the reserve account to pay for large capital improvements (such as painting, new roof, or repaving).  You may want to ask your realtor when you are considering buying in a specific building whether or not there have been any major assessments lately, or if there are any special assessments pending.  If the realtor knows the answer to this question, they are required by law to tell you.  If you are looking to buy in an older building and there have not been any assessments in the past few years, you might want to prepare yourself for one to be incurred sooner rather than later.

One recent issue that has been in the news lately is the effect of foreclosures on Condominium Assocations.  If a building has many units in distress and owners are not paying their fees then the rest of the building will suffer because there won’t be enough money to properly maintain or insure the building.   This will either cause higher fees for everyone else, or result in a poorly maintained or under insured property. 

Below is a list of some of the maintenance fees found in Coconut Grove Condos:

• Grovenor House: 2,640 square foot unit has monthly maintenance fee of $2,238.00
• L’Hermitage: 3,490 square foot unit has monthly maintenance fee of  $1,041.00
• Grove Garden: 1,981 square foot unit has monthly maintenance fee of  $1,624.00
• Grove Isle: 1,882 square foot unit has monthly maintenance fee of $947.00
• Ritz Carlton Residences: 2,100 square foot unit has monthly maintenance fee of $1,940.00
• South Two Seven Lofts: 701 square foot unit has monthly maintenance fee of $343.00
• Yacht Harbor: 2,407 square foot unit has monthly maintenance fee of $1,033.00
• Grove Tower: 1,142 square foot unit has monthly maintenance fee of $921.00
• Grove Hill Tower: 4,480 square foot unit has monthly maintenance fee of $3,294.00

These prices may seem stiff, but things could be worse…..I just sold a condo on South Beach where the monthly maintenance fee is almost $10,000.

I received the below question from a reader this week:

“I have a friend that was wondering if there was a way to access an MLS search engine that he could use a filter for finding properties that meet his criteria and possibly auto email updates of them as they become listed or change their price.  Do you know of such a search engine?”

Funny you should ask….you can create your own custom home search right here on my website. 

Just go to Property Search, click on “Register” (at the top of that page) fill in your name and email address and you are off. 

You can be your own Realtor! 

You will receive updates when your criteria match anything new that comes on the market, or when a property reduces its price to within your range.

You will receive one confirmation email, but after that, you won’t get any spam from me or anyone else.

Another great tool, click on any of the Coconut Grove Condos listed on the left sidebar and you can see all of the units available in each building.