Miami Condo Fiasco

Yesterday I drove down to Miami for an interview with Diana Olick. The taping lasted much longer than I had anticipated but I’m not complaining. Diana interviewed three of us. The other two people (Jamal and Barry) had also purchased condos. Barry seemed pretty eager to tell his story even though he was the luckiest of us three. He and a group of investors had already flipped over 25 units and made several million dollars.

He had been left with two units which will go to closing soon and he is following the litigation route to get his deposit back. Jamal, on the other hand, had purchased a unit in 2005 (at the cusp of the real estate boom) and had to close. I really felt bad for him. He paid top dollar($425,000) for a not so desirable unit (7th floor) and closed with a 30-year fixed mortgage. On my drive back I kept racing through all my answers in my head thinking ‘did I say something stupid?’. I’m sure I did. James Jacoby, who coordinated everything, treated me very well and added that CNBC ‘edits responsibly’. I’m sure it will come out well. The piece airs November 7th.