Sunny Isles Beach, tower by tower

Age and the building's obligations

Towers here range from buildings that are well past the 30-year mark, where Florida's milestone inspection and a funded structural reserve study now shape monthly charges and assessments, to towers completed in the last decade, where those obligations are years away. Two apartments with similar views can carry very different ownership costs for that reason alone.

How the condominium is organised

Some towers record cabanas, storage or commercial spaces as separate units within the condominium; others are recorded under their street address rather than their marketing name. Reading the county record and the declaration tells you what you are buying and which association you are joining.

Lines and floors

In most towers each floor repeats the same lines, so units of the same line differ mainly by floor, condition and view. Where lines are combined on upper floors, the floor plan and the legal description become the reference.

Rules

Leasing terms, approval processes, pets and renovation rules differ from one association to the next and decide whether a tower suits a full-time resident, a part-year owner or an investor.

For owners, Raphael prepares a pricing review built on the unit's line, floor and condition, the association's documents and the sales that genuinely resemble it. For buyers, he assembles a selection of what is available in the towers you are considering, with the documents to read before an offer.

Interested in a tower that is still under construction? New Residences Miami covers pre-construction.