Real Estate & Property Law
South Florida Developers Winning Cases Brought by Unhappy Condo Buyers
Posted Sep 9, 2008, 08:41 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Several buyers of new condos in South Florida who are dissatisfied with their properties are failing to get courts to allow them to cancel the deals.
Many condo investors in the state had intended to buy condominium units and flip them for a quick profit, an unlikely prospect now that the Miami market has four years’ worth of unsold inventory, the Wall Street Journal reports. Average condo prices in the state are down 22 percent from a high in 2005.
The Wall Street Journal story reports on several court cases. They include:
• A federal court in Miami tossed two dozen lawsuits by owners who say a brochure promised an “Olympic style” swimming pool at Opera Tower in Miami, but the pool was smaller than Olympic size. The court said the contract stated the exact size of the pool in square feet and the developer delivered as promised.
• A Florida appeals court refused to allow two investors to back out of their contract to buy condos in Marina Grande in Palm Beach County, ruling that rising insurance and utility prices were not “material changes” permitting cancellation under state law.
• A Miami-Dade jury ruled against an investor who said she never received the required documents for her purchase of a condo at WCI Communities' One Bal Harbour. The jury said the plaintiff had failed to prove she didn’t receive the materials.
• In a pending lawsuit, a couple claims the developers of the Ocean Marine Yacht Club in Hallandale Beach touted the marina there, but never secured the permits to build it.