It looks like the legal fight between developers and unit owners of an aging North Miami condo complex is starting to boil over.
This week, developers of the ultra-modern Apeiron project and the condo associations of the Jockey Club lobbed lawsuits at each other aimed at control of the condo complex’s common areas.
Apeiron Miami, led by Horst Schulze, Michael Bedner and Muayad Abbas, wants to build an ultra-modern condo and hotel complex on 13 acres of common grounds at the Jockey Club condo complex at 11111 Biscayne Boulevard, which it purchased for $3.25 million in 2014. Plans call for two 40-story towers with a total of 90 hotel rooms and 240 condos, with the residences receiving service from the hotel portion. As it stands now, the Jockey Club complex has three condo towers, two of which are 21-stories and one is 13-stories. They were built between 1971 and 1982 and house 411 units in total.
In March, the Apeiron team ran into trouble when the condo associations of two Jockey club towers — Jockey Club I and Jockey Club II — filed suit to try and stop the development, alleging Apeiron was trampling over a pair of binding agreements dating back to 1977 and 1995 that essentially blocked all further development at the club.
The situation became even messier when Jockey Club III pledged support for Apeiron, with the other two associations alleging their counterpart had been bought out by the developer to the tune of $10 million.
These most recent suits were filed in quick succession to the 11th Judicial Circuit Court of Miami-Dade County.
On one end, the Jockey Club I and II associations are alleging that Apeiron is trying to wrest control of maintenance for the common areas, and that Jockey Club III has stopped making any contributions to the shared maintenance costs.
Glen Waldman of Heller Waldman, the plaintiff’s attorney, told The Real Deal that Apeiron’s strategy is to leverage control of the common areas to help gain county approvals for its project.
Waldman said that could lead to neglect for a number of necessary maintenance issues in the complex, because Apeiron wouldn’t want to fix something it is going to demolish in the future.
“On their best day, they won’t be shoveling the ground for one to two years,” he said. So Apeiron is basically saying “‘We’re not going to fix it, because eventually we’re gonna build here.”’
The suit the associations have filed is seeking damages and relief from Apeiron, which would legally prevent it from taking over management of the Jockey Club’s common areas, as well as requesting that Jockey Club III continue making its maintenance payments.
The point of view painted in Jockey Club III’s suit, however, is much different. It alleges that the Jockey Club’s maintenance has been severely mismanaged, with no official budget, work done without permits that has drawn notices of violation from the county, and no payroll records for employees.
Jockey Club III filed an emergency motion with the court to have a third-party receiver appointed for managing the common areas, though the judge has since ruled that the situation is not an emergency.
“We’re optimistic that we have clear legal standing to proceed with Apeiron at the Jockey Club, and we look forward to delivering a first-rate project that includes major property improvements that will benefit all Jockey Club residents,” Abbas, one of the Apeiron’s developers, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, current residents – many of whom support Apeiron – are now stuck paying the steep legal bills that their Condo boards have saddled them with by filing these lawsuits.”
A 63-unit apartment building in the Venetian Isles area of Hollywood has traded hands for $7.2 million.
Jacob El-Harar sold the building at 5230 Hollywood Boulevard to Burke Leighton Asset Management, Emile Farah, CEO of the Farah Group, told The Real Deal. Farah, as well as Jean Kelly and Zena Bardawell of the Farah Group, represented both sides of the transaction.
ew York-based Burke Leighton is a private equity investment company that owns and manages residential and commercial real estate properties, according to its website.
“The buyer is going to keep it as an income producing property,” Farah told TRD. “It’s a beautiful building. It is well kept and it has been totally remodeled and is almost fully leased.”
Farah said Burke Leighton financed the deal with $4.7 million in commercial mortgage backed securities (CMBS) financing, from a group led Miami Beach-based LNR Property that also included Berkadia and KeyBank. “Those loans are not easy to get approved, but our client, the buyer, was approved immediately,” Farah said.
Broward County property records show the building was last purchased in July 2012 for $4.05 million.
Miami-Dade’s biggest brokerages offer a handful of incentives to bring in and keep agents – including high commission splits, online tools and tailored training.
The Real Deal ranked real estate firms in Miami-Dade County by the number of actively licensed agents and spoke to executives about recruiting strategies, commissions and top sales for the year.
Here are the top five:
Beachfront Realty, a tri-county firm based in Aventura, takes the lead in the number of actively licensed agents. Ed Roberts, owner of Beachfront Realty, said the firm doesn’t charge hiring fees and provides a 90 percent commission. “That’s why we’re so big,” he said. “All of our recruiting is word of mouth.”
As of mid-October, Beachfront agents sold 1,052 properties with a combined $1 billion in sales so far this year, Roberts said. He said the firm’s top sale this year was $8.5 million for a unit at the Continuum South Beach.
“In our case, the larger majority is condo sales, developer sales and single-family home sales,” he said.
Keyes, a family owned and operated company, has 11 offices in Miami-Dade County. The full service firm has an in-house mortgage partner, and title and insurance companies. Statewide, Keyes hires more than 1,000 agents every year, targeting both newly licensed agents and, using corporate recruiters, agents from other firms.
Steve Reibel, vice president of recruiting, said that commission splits between the agent and company vary “pending the level of production that associates bring in.” He said it ranges from 60 percent for associates, to nearly 90 percent.
To date, Keyes has more than $2.9 billion in sales volume this year. The top transaction was the sale of a 37-unit condominium building, Harbor Point, at 5000 North Ocean Drive in Riviera Beach for $15 million.
“At the end of the day, it’s about doing more transactions,” Reibel said.
Florida Realty offers agents 100 percent commission with a $400 fee per transaction, according to the company’s website. “We make a little on a lot of people instead of a lot on a few people,” the website reads.
The Miami-based firm has two offices, one in Hialeah and one in the Kendall area.
Juan Baixeras, owner of Florida Realty, could not be reached for comment.
Coldwell Banker recruits anywhere between 200 and 250 agents a year in Miami-Dade, regional senior vice president Duff Rubin said. Rubin said the company uses a tailored quiz that analyzes the skills of potential agents to see if they’re a good match.
“It gives us a look into their weaknesses,” he said.
Rubin would not disclose the company’s commission split policy but said, “We as a company try to be more of a value-proposition brokerage,” including Coldwell Banker’s tools, management and support. “Commission splits are typically based on production. You’re only as good as your production,” he said.
Each quarter, the firm reaches between $1 billion and $1.5 billion in sales, he said. Rubin would not disclose year-to-date earnings or annual earnings.
Coldwell Banker’s most prominent team, The Jills, are involved in a dispute over claims they allegedly altered the MLS to hide listings. Luxe Realtor Kevin Tomlinson allegedly tried to extort Jill Eber and Jill Hertzberg for $800,000, threatening to go public with his claims if they didn’t pay up.
EWM, a Coral Gables-based Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, has eight offices in Miami-Dade.
Ron Shuffield, EWM president, said the firm focuses on full-time hires, both newly licensed and those who have been in the industry. “I think a lot of people don’t realize it’s not a part-time job,” Shuffield said.
“Most people who come to work with us are people who have some kind of connection to the company,” he said. “We’re not doing mass mail-outs.”
Shuffield would not disclose the company’s commission split policy, but said that the tools EWM offers make up for the difference in commission splits.
EWM’s top transaction this year was the $33 million sale of 5800 North Bay Road to Phil Collins. The full service firm is on track to close anywhere from $2.8 billion and $3 billion in sales this year.
As of mid-October, Beachfront agents sold 1,052 properties with a combined $1 billion in sales so far this year, Roberts said.He said the firm’s top sale this year was $8.5 million for a unit at the Continuum South Beach.
To date, Keyes hasmore than $2.9 billion in sales volume this year. The top transaction was the sale of a 37-unit condominium building, Harbor Point, at 5000 North Ocean Drive in Riviera Beach for $15 million.
Coldwell Banker’s most prominent team, The Jills, are involved in a dispute over claims they allegedly altered the MLSto hide listings. Luxe Realtor Kevin Tomlinsonallegedly tried to extort Jill Eber and Jill Hertzberg for $800,000, threatening to go public with his claims if they didn’t pay up.