Latest Article on Deposit Recovery Services and Condo Preconstruction Contract rescissions.
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Latest News Article on Deposit Recovery Services and condominium contract rescission
Reprinted from the Daily Business Review
South Florida lawyers are increasingly tapping into the cyber world to capture a share of the growing business of helping buyers recover deposits from pre-construction and condo conversion projects.
Web sites such as recovermydeposit.com and depositrecoveryservices.com are popping up across the Web. The lawyer-run sites inform buyers of their rights under Florida law and possible remedies, and offer them help. But to be able to offer this service, lawyers said, they have had to relearn specific state and federal laws that were little used in the past.
Attorneys are digging deep but barely finding case law to shed light on possible remedies for their clients, Miami Beach real estate attorney Aaron Resnick said.
Resnick launched recovermydeposit.com last month in response to the poor information on the subject, he said.
“This is so new,” said Resnick, who left Gunster Yoakley & Stewart in 2005 to start his own firm. “People don’t know where to go for help. I saw a lot of people asking family members and friends for advice and referrals.” recover my deposit
The last time a similar deposit recovery debacle occurred was in the late 1980s during the savings and loan crisis. This time around, developers learned from contract flaws exposed more than 20 years ago and wrote contracts with built-in protections.
But today’s agreements show a new variation of gray areas when it comes to interpreting the condo laws.
“These are new flaws that haven’t been tried in court,” Aventura real estate attorney Robert Cooper said.
His three-attorney law firm spends 90 percent of its time working on deposit recovery cases. Cooper, with 17 years in the field, said he needs no Web site to attract clients.
One of the most common complaints among frustrated buyers includes long construction delays and uncertainty in condos completion dates. Often, buyers are entitled to recover their deposits if developers fail to close within two years from the date they signed a contract, Resnick explains on his Web site.
People began buying units not yet built nearly five years ago. They put down 10 percent to 20 percent of the asking price to secure one or more condos as the housing market was entering one of the largest booms in South Florida’s history. But construction delays or bad timing caused developers to start closings at the same time the housing market crashed early this year. Some buyers no longer wanted the units.
In January 2003, Rick Rodriguez Piña put down $64,800 for a $324,000 condo in Downtown Dadeland in Kendall. Construction of the seven-building project suffered several setbacks. The developer, Downtown Dadeland Residential Condominiums, finally began closings in Piña’s building a few months ago — two years later than planned.
Piña said he unsuccessfully tried to contact the developer in May to negotiate a credit, such as an extra parking space, to compensate for the time he waited for the unit. He chose not to close.
“I lost an opportunity to invest my money,” he said. “My point was: What are you going to give me for the lost opportunity?”
Last month, he sued Downtown Dadeland, which defaulted in a $224 million construction loan and handed over the project to its lender, Goldman Sachs Mortgage in November. The developer owed Goldman nearly $125 million and had yet to complete three buildings. Piña claims the developer breached the contract by failing to finish the unit in 2005, as stipulated in their agreement.
Weston attorney Richard Buckley is handling a similar case. His client, Ramiro Cardenas and his wife, Rita, want back the $38,350 they gave CABI SMA Tower for a $383,500 condo at the proposed Capital At Brickell South in downtown Miami. The tower initially was to be completed by 2010. But early this year, the developer sent letters to buyers changing the date to 2012.
In the case of Buckley’s clients, a court would have to decide whether changing a project’s completion date is a “material change” to the original contract. If so, Florida law gives buyers 15 days after they are informed of any material change to cancel their contracts.
“What is a material alteration? That’s where the gray area is,” Buckley said. He is seeking to develop a class action of similarly situated residents at CABI.
Cooper said one of his clients wants out of his contract because the developer was supposed to build a project to include a marina with 48 boat slips. Because of permitting issues, the developer is now building only three boat slips.
“In most of the contracts I review, buyers have grounds to recover their deposits,” Cooper said.
Deposits could be returned when a developer delivers a smaller unit or changes the design of the building and the amenities agreed in a contract. If buyers didn’t receive all the condo documents required by law when signing the contract, they could cancel the agreement.
Complaints such as Piña’s and Cardenas’ moved Fort Lauderdale lawyer Eric Bronfeld to launch depositrecoveryservices.com three months ago.
His office receives nearly 15 inquiries daily through the site. Some come from as far away as England and Jamaica, he said. Not all the inquiries translate into business, but his three-attorney team is getting busier by the month. About 30 percent of his firm’s time is spent dealing with deposit recovery cases, up from 2 percent a year ago.
“We are not here to kill or destroy deals,” he said. “We want people to close if that is in their best interest. But if it is not, I want people to know what their remedies are.”
Please email or call to speak with a Florida Real Estate Law Firm concentrating on Deposit Recovery and Condominium Pre-Construction Contract Rescissions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please email or call to speak with a Florida Real Estate Law Firm concentrating on Deposit Recovery and Condominium Pre-Construction Contract Rescissions.
Law Offices of Eric L. Bronfeld, P.A.
PO Box 22506
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33335
954-527-1512(South Florida Area)
1-877-527-1512 (Toll Free outside South Florida)
info@depositrecoveryservices.com
http://www.depositrecoveryservices
DISCLAIMER: The Law Offices of Eric L. Bronfeld, P.A. have NOT prepared or reviewed these materials. This blog is for informational purposes only.
They are not legal advice and have not been written by a Florida or New York Real Estate Attorney.
This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Online readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.
Do not send us confidential information until you speak with one of our attorneys and get authorization to send that information to us.
Latest News Article on Deposit Recovery Services and condominium contract rescission
Reprinted from the Daily Business Review
South Florida lawyers are increasingly tapping into the cyber world to capture a share of the growing business of helping buyers recover deposits from pre-construction and condo conversion projects.
Web sites such as recovermydeposit.com and depositrecoveryservices.com are popping up across the Web. The lawyer-run sites inform buyers of their rights under Florida law and possible remedies, and offer them help. But to be able to offer this service, lawyers said, they have had to relearn specific state and federal laws that were little used in the past.
Attorneys are digging deep but barely finding case law to shed light on possible remedies for their clients, Miami Beach real estate attorney Aaron Resnick said.
Resnick launched recovermydeposit.com last month in response to the poor information on the subject, he said.
“This is so new,” said Resnick, who left Gunster Yoakley & Stewart in 2005 to start his own firm. “People don’t know where to go for help. I saw a lot of people asking family members and friends for advice and referrals.” recover my deposit
The last time a similar deposit recovery debacle occurred was in the late 1980s during the savings and loan crisis. This time around, developers learned from contract flaws exposed more than 20 years ago and wrote contracts with built-in protections.
But today’s agreements show a new variation of gray areas when it comes to interpreting the condo laws.
“These are new flaws that haven’t been tried in court,” Aventura real estate attorney Robert Cooper said.
His three-attorney law firm spends 90 percent of its time working on deposit recovery cases. Cooper, with 17 years in the field, said he needs no Web site to attract clients.
One of the most common complaints among frustrated buyers includes long construction delays and uncertainty in condos completion dates. Often, buyers are entitled to recover their deposits if developers fail to close within two years from the date they signed a contract, Resnick explains on his Web site.
People began buying units not yet built nearly five years ago. They put down 10 percent to 20 percent of the asking price to secure one or more condos as the housing market was entering one of the largest booms in South Florida’s history. But construction delays or bad timing caused developers to start closings at the same time the housing market crashed early this year. Some buyers no longer wanted the units.
In January 2003, Rick Rodriguez Piña put down $64,800 for a $324,000 condo in Downtown Dadeland in Kendall. Construction of the seven-building project suffered several setbacks. The developer, Downtown Dadeland Residential Condominiums, finally began closings in Piña’s building a few months ago — two years later than planned.
Piña said he unsuccessfully tried to contact the developer in May to negotiate a credit, such as an extra parking space, to compensate for the time he waited for the unit. He chose not to close.
“I lost an opportunity to invest my money,” he said. “My point was: What are you going to give me for the lost opportunity?”
Last month, he sued Downtown Dadeland, which defaulted in a $224 million construction loan and handed over the project to its lender, Goldman Sachs Mortgage in November. The developer owed Goldman nearly $125 million and had yet to complete three buildings. Piña claims the developer breached the contract by failing to finish the unit in 2005, as stipulated in their agreement.
Weston attorney Richard Buckley is handling a similar case. His client, Ramiro Cardenas and his wife, Rita, want back the $38,350 they gave CABI SMA Tower for a $383,500 condo at the proposed Capital At Brickell South in downtown Miami. The tower initially was to be completed by 2010. But early this year, the developer sent letters to buyers changing the date to 2012.
In the case of Buckley’s clients, a court would have to decide whether changing a project’s completion date is a “material change” to the original contract. If so, Florida law gives buyers 15 days after they are informed of any material change to cancel their contracts.
“What is a material alteration? That’s where the gray area is,” Buckley said. He is seeking to develop a class action of similarly situated residents at CABI.
Cooper said one of his clients wants out of his contract because the developer was supposed to build a project to include a marina with 48 boat slips. Because of permitting issues, the developer is now building only three boat slips.
“In most of the contracts I review, buyers have grounds to recover their deposits,” Cooper said.
Deposits could be returned when a developer delivers a smaller unit or changes the design of the building and the amenities agreed in a contract. If buyers didn’t receive all the condo documents required by law when signing the contract, they could cancel the agreement.
Complaints such as Piña’s and Cardenas’ moved Fort Lauderdale lawyer Eric Bronfeld to launch depositrecoveryservices.com three months ago.
His office receives nearly 15 inquiries daily through the site. Some come from as far away as England and Jamaica, he said. Not all the inquiries translate into business, but his three-attorney team is getting busier by the month. About 30 percent of his firm’s time is spent dealing with deposit recovery cases, up from 2 percent a year ago.
“We are not here to kill or destroy deals,” he said. “We want people to close if that is in their best interest. But if it is not, I want people to know what their remedies are.”
Please email or call to speak with a Florida Real Estate Law Firm concentrating on Deposit Recovery and Condominium Pre-Construction Contract Rescissions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please email or call to speak with a Florida Real Estate Law Firm concentrating on Deposit Recovery and Condominium Pre-Construction Contract Rescissions.
Law Offices of Eric L. Bronfeld, P.A.
PO Box 22506
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33335
954-527-1512(South Florida Area)
1-877-527-1512 (Toll Free outside South Florida)
info@depositrecoveryservices.com
http://www.depositrecoveryservices
DISCLAIMER: The Law Offices of Eric L. Bronfeld, P.A. have NOT prepared or reviewed these materials. This blog is for informational purposes only.
They are not legal advice and have not been written by a Florida or New York Real Estate Attorney.
This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Online readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.
Do not send us confidential information until you speak with one of our attorneys and get authorization to send that information to us.
Labels: attorney, closing, condo, condominium, condominium lawyer, deposit recovery, florida condominium attorney, lawsuits, miami, preconstruction, South Florida
posted by Deposit Recovery Services @ 2:27 PM
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