A short-lived partnership between Miami real estate broker and investor Emile Farah and Aventura businessman Amram Adar ended on a sour note when Farah sued Adar over a $17 million land sale in North Miami Beach.
Farah, who runs USA Lending and Realty, claims in the Miami-Dade Circuit Court lawsuit that the 18-acre land deal was part of a joint venture he and Adar formed in 2013 to acquire and flip properties. In the Sept. 24 complaint, Farah and his attorney Robert Stok state that Adar promised the broker a 10-percent equity stake and a 3-percent commission fee in these deals. Stok said Farah is owed at least $500,000 for the broker fee and “seven figures” for his equity stake.
Adar and his brother-in-law Jacob Elharar, who is also named in the suit, control the Delaware-registered company Moore 77 LLC that bought the land at 15780 West Dixie Highway. They purchased the acreage from Tampa-based Antigua at NMB Development, according to the suit.
Adar said he is unaware that Farah is suing him and Elharar. He denied the North Miami Beach land was included in his partnership with Farah.
“I never gave him a promise of 10 percent on that property,” Adar said, adding that Elharar owns 100 percent of Moore 77. “I believe Emile is due a referral fee and the buyer, my brother-in-law, offered him $25,000.”
According to Farah and Stok, the partnership between the broker and Adar focused on properties in Brickell and surrounding neighborhoods. Eventually, they branched out as far north as Fort Lauderdale and as far west as Naples. The lawsuit claims the ex-partners had numerous contracts to buy properties together.
Adar, who moonlights as a wedding singer and released an album in 2011, disputes that claim.
“Nothing happened with those deals,” Adar said. “We always tried to do something, but it didn’t work out.”
Farah said Adar took advantage of him by working out of his Brickell office and using his real estate connections. In the case of this deal, Farah claimed that in March, Boynton Beach-based real estate broker Rick Marchetta came by the office, inquiring if Farah had any listings in the neighborhood. Farah said he instantly recognized Marchetta as the broker who represented Antigua, the previous buyer of the 18-acre lot. In 2004, Farah represented a former owner who flipped the land to Marchetta’s client, who paid $6.1 million for the designated brownfield site. The land was previously used by a gas distributor and would require state-mandated environmental remediation before redevelopment can occur.
Marchetta “told me he had it listed and that his client was looking to sell it,” Farah said. “I introduced him to Adar.”
When reached, Marchetta declined comment, citing the pending lawsuit.
Farah said he allowed Adar to handle negotiations, never suspecting he was going to get cut out of the deal.
“He was still working out of my office when they closed,” Farah said. “He kept promising to bring me the check. Then he disappeared.”
A summons was issued to all defendants in the case on Sept. 29, according to court records.
A buying binge led by Miami Beach-based developer Michael Simkins is generating seven-figure deals along a four block stretch of Overtown, Miami’s historically African-American neighborhood.
“Prices have increased dramatically,” Simkins told The Real Deal of the area, which is one of the city’s poorest communities. “When we started purchasing land, it was in the $20 a square foot range. It is now approaching $150 a square foot.”
Overtown runs from Northwest Fifth Street to 20th Street and is bounded on the west by the Miami River and State Road 836 and on the east by the Florida East Coast Railway tracks on Northwest First Avenue. In addition to Simkins, a handful of other buyers have proven to be increasingly bullish on apartment buildings and vacant parcels between Northwest Eighth and 12th streets and Northwest First and Third avenues.
The properties that have been snapped up are in close proximity to three grand-scale, mixed-use developments: All Aboard Florida’s MiamiCentral, Miami Worldcenter, and Simkin’s proposed Miami Innovation Tower, the signature piece to a technology district he wants to develop in Park West, the neighborhood directly abutting Overtown.
“The area we are focused on was the main commercial corridor for historic Overtown,” Simkins said. “The Overtown of the 1940s was a thriving place. The neighborhood has soul and character.”
During the Jim Crow era, the neighborhood was known as “Colored Town” and was a bustling business and entertainment center for Miami’s black community. It’s where entertainers like Count Basie, Cab Calloway and Josephine Baker stayed when they performed in Miami. However, the construction of I-95 through portions of Overtown decimated the neighborhood’s prosperity. Riots in the 1980s further eroded Overtown.
Today, the annual median household income for Overtown residents is $17,450, according to recent U.S. Census data.
Nevertheless, investors like Simkins have recently paid top dollar for Overtown properties. In mid-October, he closed an all-cash $2 million deal there for two apartment buildings with a combined 28 units and three commercial units. Simkins paid $116 per square foot for the 16,300-square-foot assemblage .
“These buildings will be renovated with our own dollars and continue as rentals,” Simkins said. “The people living there will hopefully continue living there, as well as other Overtown residents.”
He said market-rate rent in Overtown for a one-bedroom unit is $700, compared to $1,963 in Miami, and a two-bedroom unit is $850, compared to $2,911 in Miami, according to RentJungle.com.
That deal marks the third seven-figure Overtown property transaction involving Simkins in the past 10 months. In February, Simkins paid $94 a square foot for three vacant lots totaling 13,750 square feet . In June, he bought two vacant parcels totalling 15,000 square feet on Northwest 11th Street and Northwest Second Avenue for $92 a square foot.
Simkins is not alone. In January, Bahia Apartments LLC, a company registered to Horacio Segal and Marcela Segal, a North Miami-based real estate broker, paid $3.5 million for three apartment buildings with a combined 26,887 square feet. That’s $130 a square foot. According to Miami-Dade records, Bahia obtained a $2.4 million loan from Ocean Bank that it used toward the purchase.
In July, an entity called Beacon 87 Member Inc. purchased a 75-unit apartment building for $3.68 million — about $107 a square foot. According to state incorporation records, Beacon’s manager is Joanne Rosen, a partner in New York City-based real estate investment and development firm, Beacon Advisors, LLC. The seller DJ Acquisitions 1136 paid $2.6 million for the property in May 2014.
The more recent prices are a far cry from what Simkins paid only a year ago. The developer purchased a 24-unit apartment complex at 1160 Northwest Second Avenue for $330,000 in November 2014. Today, the property has a market value of $1.6 million, according to the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser’s website. He also paid $555,000 for a two-floor retail building at 937 Northwest Third Avenue in October 2014.
The same year, Simkins purchased another 22 lots between Northwest Ninth and Tenth streets and Northwest Second Avenue and Second Court for a combined $14.1 million. Aside from the city of Miami Park West/Overtown Community Redevelopment Agency, he believes he has the largest portfolio in Overtown.
“It’s an unprecedented level of investment,” he said. “We are committed to really reviving and redeveloping Overtown into what it has always been.”
But Overtown still faces challenges, according to Emile Farah, chief executive of the Farah Group of Companies. Farah assisted in brokering Simkin’s most recent deal. “Whoever wanted to buy it had to come with cash,” Farah said. “It’s difficult to get financing for Overtown properties.”
Banks will only lend money based on the rental income a building produces and not on the property’s appraisal price, he said. “In that area, rents are averaging $600 and are starting to go up to $700 a month,” Farah said. “The income approach doesn’t justify making a deal for most buyers.”
Farah said the area remains a tough sell, despite All Aboard Florida and other major projects. But we was optimistic about the impact of Simkins’ acquisitions. The developer “has a vision for the future of the neighborhood,” he said.
My name is Cousin Farah I frequently fly internationally usually at least twice a year. On this last trip between Miami and Beirut I had the misfortune of flying with British Airways. Myself and my family had the worst experience on the way back to the U.S. from Beirut. When we left Beirut and I arrived at London Heathrow we were told by British Airways staff that we cannot get on the flight into Miami as we will not make it to the gate in time. I told the first British Airways attendant that if I booked with your company your job was to make sure that I have enough time to go from one concourse to another. Their answer was yes it is the job of British airways to make sure that you have enough time to come to the next flight.
Even though we ran towards the next gate as soon as our flight landed at Heathrow; we were welcomed by a rude British Airways employee. So, I asked if I could speak to a supervisor and as the supervisor arrived he was explaining to us the reason that we could not got on the flight to Miami. Again I asked him isn't it correct that it is British Airways' job to make sure I have enough time to go from one concourse to another? And again his answer was yes was getting a little confused. If it is the job of British Airways then why is it that I am not on that plane already that is in the air? As I demanded that to see someone higher than him he started being rude with us and letting us know that at this moment there is nothing else he could do and what we should do is“go land yourselves”!!!!?????
Go land ourselves? I had no idea what this meant, and as I kept asking for some help and some translation, the BA staff go ruder and ruder and more and more offensive to me and my family. The supervisor even advised all his staff not to talk to us.
Besides the fact that they were not being helpful to book us on the next flight saying there aren’t any, my research, their website, and therefore my understanding led me to believe that there are several flights from Heathrow Airport to Miami international. As we were trying to get information from the staff of British Airways where to go and what to do next, none of them (not even one) would talk to us or discuss our next flight. Here we are, in Heathrow international airport with an airline that is not friendly and that has the worst customer service and that is a racist airline. Since almost of the employees there where advised not to speak to us, we were standing there like idiots, stranded and not knowing what to do. We had no one to talk to, get help of direction from. My wife then said let me talk to them and as she tried to talk to them, the supervisor advised her that none of his staff or himself would have a discussion or any discussion with us. Again, he said,“go land yourselves”. We are flying British Airways and their staff was rude, we were in an English speaking foreign country and felt completely in comprehensive to the language and culture. Tired, upset, confused what to do next, we sat there dumfounded.
Finally, my wife requested Airport Security because at this point we felt threatened by the BA staff and had no where else to get help from except for law enforcement. So, thankfully they were very helpful and kind towards us, we go lucky with the head of security who was very sympathetic to the way we were treated. He informed us that“ and yourself” means to go through customs and immigration and land in the country. After that, we had to go to the BA booking counter and rebook our flights to Miami for the next day. I was totally amazed by the service, the rudeness, the arrogance, and the insensitivity.
We were than met by another British supervisor who thought she was being human and a thought she was acting like a human being but she was as fake and as plastic as they come. She didn't want to help us and was advised by supervisor on the inside only to book us another flight for the next morning and as a“punishment” to us, not give us a hotel/lodging or food. Even-though our flight was delayed due to their fault. Can you believe this came from a supervisor? We were asking ourselves how an international airline such as British Airways threatens its clients that way. After three hours and a half we were able to finally get a lousy hotel room and lousy food. We had to go out in the cold weather (not having the clothes for it as our luggage was who knows where) and the inconvenience, a mistake made by British Airways.
While discussing our situation with many people, including Brits; it seems that all of them have had the similar problems with British Airways.
Do not fly British Airways,
do not fly British Airways,
do not fly British Airways.
They are rude and incompetent and racist,
they are rude and incompetent and racist,
they are rude and incompetent and racist.
Written by Cousin Farah & Zena Farah-Miami-April 25 -2015
Emile “Ur-cousin” Farah
phone: (305) 754-1000
Email: farah@theworldforsale.net
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MIAMI, FL (Oct. 22, 2015)
— When major developers need to find a prime piece of property in Miami's urban core, they turn to the Farah Group of Companies.
In the latest example of Farah Group's real estate dealmaking prowess, the company produced a rare acquisition opportunity near Downtown Miami for developer Michael Simkins. CEO Emile “Ur-Cousin” Farah and USA Lending Realty Vice President Zena Bardawell and Sales and Marketing Director Jean Kelly teamed up to arrange the sale of an Overtown apartment site to Simkins, who plans to develop the Miami Innovation Tower and eight additional buildings in the neighborhood.
“With so much development and investment activity occurring in and around Downtown Miami, it has become extremely difficult to find sites in the area,” Farah said. “That's where we come in. We have a 35-year track record of producing results for real estate clients when others cannot.”
USA Lending is owned and operated by Farah Group, which recently opened a new corporate headquarters at Synergy Workspaces in Downtown Miami's One Biscayne Tower. The company is hosting a special event to celebrate its new headquarters on Nov. 12.
In the Overtown deal, the Farah team facilitated the all-cash, $2 million sale of two apartment buildings totaling 28 units and three commercial units at 1117 NW Third Ave. and 220 NW 11th Terrace to Simkins. The site is located just west of Downtown Miami and the future All Aboard Florida station.
As part of the transaction, Farah worked out a deal with Simkins to allow existing tenants to remain at the apartment buildings in the short-term while the developer finalizes project plans for his Overtown portfolio. That was one of several obstacles Farah had to overcome to complete the sale. Other potential buyers could not obtain financing, so Farah had to find an all-cash buyer.
Farah Group specializes in complex transactions. Last summer, Farah brokered the $17 million sale of 18 acres in North Miami Beach known as Biscayne Village. The land was previously used by a gas distributor and designated as a brownfield site. Farah successfully educated the buyer about the future development potential of the site.
Shortly after completing the North Miami Beach deal, Farah, Bardawell and Kelly arranged the $6 million sale of a West Brickell hotel development property to Venezuelan developer William Hammani.
“In deals like these, our role goes beyond bringing a seller and buyer together,” Farah said. “We help our clients create a long-term vision for a site and assist them in carrying out that vision.”
To learn more about Farah Group's current real estate investment opportunities, visit "http://www.farahreacquisitions.com/".
About The Farah Group of Companies
Led by Emile “Ur-Cousin” Farah, The Farah Group of Companies specializes in all types of real estate transactions in Miami and beyond. Farah Group is often hired to facilitate complex deals involving a variety of distressed assets, including commercial bank-owned properties, short sales and bank notes. Headquartered at Synergy Workspaces in Downtown Miami's One Biscayne Tower, Farah Group has direct contact with bank asset managers throughout the world. That gives the company access to all property types, including multifamily communities, shopping centers, warehouses and developable land.
About Emile “Ur-Cousin” Farah
Emile “Ur-Cousin” Farah has been CEO of The Farah Group of Companies for more than 35 years. During that time, Farah has successfully completed the sale of a variety of real estate portfolios and rehabilitated thousands of square feet within buildings. Originally from Jerusalem, Farah is also a renowned philanthropist and community leader. He formed the Naim and Marie Foundation in honor of his parents. The foundation helps raise money for causes supporting the construction of new schools, orphanages and medical centers in areas like the Middle East. Farah has also been recognized for donating to the American Cancer Society and organizations supporting Autism awareness.
Farah is also the The World Ambassador ,. In that role, he travels around the world to encourage the exchange of culture, research and business between Cities worldwide.
Whether you are planning to invest your own sweat equity in a complete kitchen remodel or simply hope to make a few quick changes over the weekend, when every penny counts it’s important to choose projects that will make a big impact for the lowest price possible. Stay focused on the results you are after (put on blinders when you walk past those $1,000 light fixtures) and be willing to get your hands a bit paint splattered, and you can certainly achieve beautiful results on any budget.
From paint and hardware to DIY projects and sources for budget materials, these 15 ideas will help you plan your kitchen update.
1. Swap out lighting: Stylish new pendant lights can easily become the new focal point of the room. The hand-blown glass pendants shown here are a beautiful, versatile choice, and at less than $200, they won’t break the bank.
2. Add new hardware: Classic hardware is a worthwhile upgrade, subtly enhancing the look and feel of the entire space. Just keep an eye on the price per piece when shopping, because it adds up fast — especially if you have a large kitchen with lots of cabinets.
Count the number of pulls and knobs in your kitchen so you can quickly determine if the hardware you have your eye on will fit your budget — with plenty of beautiful pieces available for $10 and under (like the brass pulls shown here) there is no need to blow the budget.
3. Upgrade accessories: With limited opportunities for decoration, it’s important to make the most of the little things. Corral frequently used items on a woven tray, prop up a few wooden boards on your counter and display pantry items with pretty packaging.
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This relatively modern tilt slab showroom / warehouse was constructed in the mid - late 1990’s and was the successful home of ‘Ideal Electrical’ for approximately 20 years. It is an extremely central and high profile location on Dalrymple Road which boasts more than 25,000* passing vehicles daily. It also features excellent access to major road networks and close proximity to well-known new and used car dealers along with Townsville’s enormous homemaker centre known as ‘Domain Central’, all only metres away.
- Located on the corner of Industrial Road & Timber Street- Site area: 2,002* square metres- Zoned Medium Impact Industry- Frontage to New England Highway- Level site- Two street access- Security fenced- Concrete hardstand
* Freestanding building.* Main road exposure.* Easy access to arterial roads.* Rear lane access.
Property Features:- Scenic Views of Brisbane's CBD & Mt Coot-tha- 96 Meters of Street Frontage- Flood Free 1974 & 2011- Fully Fenced & Secure Site- One Title With Sub Division Potential- Development Upside