The placid view from a $3.59 million home (asking) in the 33139.

Floating residential ships already exist, but the focus on a brand name is a (brand) new trend, one that will be showing up more as famous hotel flags and health and wellness groups go to sea.

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is one of the first to offer a new take on luxury lifestyle. Just announced are the Four Season Ocean Residences, an urbane blend of upscale hotel, high-end cruise ship and top-drawer condominium, all rolled into one 48,600-ton deluxe vessel, due in 2010.

The green-ship design with smokeless engines is being developed by BV International Ocean Holdings, Ltd., a joint venture between Bayview Financial and Ocean Development Group, which will operate the marine services.

The Four Seasons will circumnavigate the globe for 250 days a year, docking at the world’s major ports and some exotic destinations. The mid-sized residential vessel is capable of entering smaller ports and environmentally sensitive areas from Antarctica to the Amazon. Also, stops are scheduled to coincide with major events such as Carnival in Rio, the America’s Cup and the London Olympics.

Buyers can choose from 112 whole ownership residences ranging from 797 square feet to 7,860 square feet. All living spaces and bedrooms have floor-to-ceiling circular windows and doors to a terrace, with no interior bedrooms. Prices range from $3.75 million to $39 million. What do owners get for their money besides floating space?

Public space occupying 70,000 square feet is enough for indoor and outdoor restaurants and lobby bar. There’s also a library, wine cellar, gourmet market and demonstration kitchen (cooking as entertainment!).

All the expected amenities are on board, including a resort-style pool, steam room and sauna and beauty salon, and for the active life, there’s a fitness and aerobics center, walking and jogging track, driving range, putting green and golf simulator.

With Four seasons Hotels and Resorts responsible for the management of the residential portion of the vessel, including all guest services and amenities, an on-board crew of around 220 and Four Seasons’ concierge service ‘round the clock, life aboard should be quite tolerable!

Spectrum

Introducing an occasional series to highlight the range of prices for a roof over your head in Miami-Dade. In the current buyers’ market, the asking price could drop 5 to 10 percent (even more if you’re really lucky), depending on factors such as location, realistic starting price and the anxiety level of the sellers.

For $379,000 (list price), you can buy 1,620 square feet under a/c, in a 1950-vintage ranch house at 900 NE 80th St. in the Shorecrest neighborhood, east of Biscayne Boulevard, zip code 33138. The three-bedroom/two-bathroom house sits on a 55-by-124-foot lot and offers original wood floors, new open kitchen, new roof and other updates. There’s a large rear deck and a separate garage that could be converted into a guest cottage. Listing agent is Jack Coden of the Jack Coden group at Keller Williams Realty in Miami.

For $3.599 million, reduced from $4 million (listing price), you can purchase 4,000 square feet of living space at 302 South Coconut Lane, Palm Island, Miami Beach, zip code 33139. The tri-level home with contemporary architecture has five bedrooms/four bathrooms plus maid’s quarters. The pie-shape corner lot features 85 feet of water frontage with direct views of downtown Miami. There’s a large boat dock, lift and swimming pool. Allan Kleer with Fortune International Realty, Miami Beach office, has the listing.

Affording a Model

Building sufficient affordable houses to meet the demand may be slow going in Miami but every success is cause for celebration. Last week, two families (cheered on by city of Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones — District 5 and Barbara Gomez, director of the Department of Community Development) were celebrating the completion of two new affordable single-family homes on NW 58th Street, in Model City, on land provided by the city of Miami. Each of the qualifying households earns less than 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) and each received $78,252 in financial assistance, in the form of a second mortgage, to aid them with the purchase of their new home. Buyers also received assistance from Miami-Dade County.

The developer, Palmetto Homes of Miami, Inc., a minority-owned, affordable home-building company, is currently developing another six homes in Model City with the assistance of the city of Miami, according to a city news release.

Opening and Closing

Hindsight is great for soothsayers and lawyers, but is a hard pill to swallow for Miami-focused, pre-construction “investors.”

As condos near completion, many people who jumped on the “make a ton of money” bandwagon are realizing, to their horror, that they can’t afford to close or don’t want to. Developers in turn are concerned that some buyers don’t want to close because of the South Florida housing downturn (farewell to flipping, etc.). Under state law, a buyer can cancel a contract if a “material” amendment is made to the condominium documents that “adversely” affects the buyer.

Thank you to Miami Beach real estate agent Kevin Tomlinson of EWM Realtors for his advice to buyers who can’t or don’t want to close on their Miami preconstruction condo. (Disclaimer: The following is opinion based on his experience, with no legal advice implied.)

1. Check the last date signed on your contract with the developer. When did it become an executed agreement by all parties? By state law, the developer has to deliver the unit within a specified time from the date you signed the contract. If the developer doesn’t finish the project within the time allowed, and you haven’t signed any extensions or new contracts that “re-up” (make it a new contract with a new date), you may be able to rescind on that fact alone.

2. Call the developer. Tell him that you can’t possibly close on the unit and ask to be released from the agreement. This is a long shot, but worth a try if the project is a success and the developer can take the condo back and make good money reselling it.

3. Check for any last-minute changes to the condo documents and/or operating budget. Right before closings begin, developers will file any last-minute changes to the condo documents. There might be a “material” change that is “adverse” to the buyer.

4. Hire a good real estate lawyer. Shame on a buyer who purchases an expensive condo and never has his attorney read and review the contract with the developer before the buyer signs it.

Tomlinson sums up: Getting out of your contract is NOT going to be easy, so at the end of the day be prepared to close or lose your deposit.

Bungalow Bungle        

The print edition last week dropped a footnote to the item on the Miami Bungalows exhibition now on view at the Historical Museum of Southern Florida in downtown Miami. So here it is: The British version of the bungalow is a small one- or one-and-a-half-story house, stylistically different from the American version, with a pitched roof but minus a big porch or balcony. The architectural style was imported from India, then part of the British Empire, about a century ago and became very popular with retirees at seaside resorts (no stairs to climb). The word bungalow derives from the Gujarati, which in turn came from Hindi meaning “Bengali,” used elliptically for a “house in the Bengal style.” Somehow I prefer the folk version that says the name came from an Indian builder surveying an unfinished structure and instructing his crew, “Just bung a low roof on it!”

Helen Hill is a freelance writer specializing in real estate and lifestyle topics. Please send news items on Miami-Dade real estate to hhill@miamisunpost.com.

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