Jamey Prezzi

When people refer to Miami, they often encompass Miami Beach in the term. But to local Miamians, Miami is on the mainland and Miami Beach is not. Thus Miami is not Miami Beach and vice versa. Although very connected in day-to-day life and work, the two are completely different areas of living and lifestyle.

South Beach is an area of Miami Beach from about 23rd street South to 1st Street. It is unlike any other place I have ever traveled to or lived. It encompasses a lot of people packed into to about 23 blocks from the uber rich to the working class folks.

It is by no means "cheap" to live in South Beach. The cost of living is right up there with any other major city but definitely a little more affordable than a city like New York. I have heard South Beach termed as "the six borough of New York." South Beach is very diverse and multicultural. People of all different walks of life, live, work and play in South Beach.

Although Collins Avenue, Washington and Ocean Drive are heavily traveled areas of South Beach for shopping, dining and hotels; Lincoln Road is the center of life on South Beach. Lincoln Road is where the tourists meet the locals through shopping, dining and really great people watching.

Transportation in South Beach is very simple. Drive, walk, scooter, hail a cab or take the South Beach Local. Depending on where you are going and the timing of your destination, South Beach can be a tough place to park. There are garages and paid meters all over the city but if you are living in South Beach, it is definitely a plus to find a unit with assigned parking. If you are lucky to live in a building with assigned parking, keep in mind that most of the units in buildings with assigned parking typically only come with one spot. (**And yes, that goes for two and three bedroom units too). Often people walk around South Beach to their destinations and most of the areas around South Beach are very pedestrian friendly. Vespas and scooters sell like hotcakes here.

Finding a place to live in South Beach can be a full time job. If you want to rent, it's good to know that most of the units in South Beach are individually owned, so often, the owners use Realtors to market their property for rent and secure a new tenant. Usually the landlord pays the Realtor's fees for this service. If you want to buy, there are many factors to consider and it's super important to use an experience agent in the area.

Prices for renting or buying in South Beach are all up and down the scale. Your budget will definitely determine how you live in South Beach.

For rent there are 1 bedrooms with square footages in the 400's from $800 per month all the way up to a furnished unit with 800 square feet in a luxury building for $10,000 a month.

For sale there are 1 bedrooms with square footages in the 400's from $120,000 all the way up to a luxury 1 bedroom on the market in the W for $1.75 million.

My recommendation whether buying or renting on the South Beach is to first determine your budget and from there your options will often appear very clear.

Key issues to consider when buying in South Beach:

• What's the financial stability of the building?
• Are there any assessments (for paint, concrete work, window replacement) pending or anticipated in the future? If so how much work is anticipated and at what cost?
• Is the building updated? If yes with what; electrical, plumbing, hurricane impact windows?
• If the building does not have hurricane impact windows are the owners allowed to install shutters?
• Does the building have reserves for future projects? If yes, how much?
• Pet or no pet building? Pets for renters or no pets for renters?
• Does the building allow rentals? How often in a year can you rent?
• Does the unit come with assigned parking? Is it covered, valet? How much does valet cost for the unit owner? How much does valet cost for a guest?
• and much, much more..........

South Beach Neighborhoods:

1. South of Fifth (also known as SOFI). SOFI is one of the pricier areas to live in South Beach.
Popular Buildings that are located in this area are:

• Continuum I
• Continuum II
• Apogee
• Portofino
• Murano at Portofino
• The Yacht Club at Portofino
• Murano Grande
• Icon
• The Courts
• Cosmopolitan
• and a lot of smaller, more boutique buildings.

2. West Avenue Neighborhood
Popular Buildings that are located in this area are:

• Bentley Bay
• The Floridian
• South Bay Club
• Mirador
• Mondrian
• The Waverly
• The Flamingo
• Capri

3. Flamingo Park

4. Collins Park

• Setai
• The W
• Roney Palace (connected to theGansevoort Hotel)

Myths dispelled:

1. You have to speak Spanish to live and work in Miami Beach. From my experience this has not been true. Although you will hear Spanish quite frequently in your ear here, unless you live in a heavily Spanish speaking suburb or your job requires Spanish as a language, you don't "have" to speak Spanish in Miami.

2. There are a ton of units for rent on the market, landlords are desperate and will take anything. Not true. Most landlords working with an agent has access to a database that displays the comps for the building, typically they go with the market rates of what other renters have already rented out similar units.