Opportunity in the Midst of Disaster

The Chinese pictograph for disaster contains the symbol for opportunity.

Last June, disaster struck the seaside town of Sunrise, FL. A high-rise condominium collapsed leading to 98 deaths. “We saw cracks in the concrete pillars in the underground garage, but didn’t think much of it.” Cracked concrete is never a good sign, people.

The high-rise condo was more than fifty years old. Many of its residents had lived there for the duration and had paid off their condo mortgages. They were living on a private beach and paying only the monthly maintenance fee. That’s a great deal.

Meanwhile, condos were built in less-desirable nearby locations with lease fees ten times greater than the old-timers were paying. Oceanfront units exceeding 3,000 SF were going for $10 million. Landside units at 800 SF (“efficiency apartments”) ran $400 K.

Then the old high-rise collapsed and oceanfront lots with utilities were suddenly available. Opportunity knocked and developers leaped at it like a starving shark. Luxury condos are now being constructed, presumably with adequate support columns.

Who should be among the first to reserve a luxury condo there but those Great Opportunists, Jared and Ivanka. They will cough up $38 K per month, $456 K per year (plus that pesky maintenance fee), for a weekend beach getaway spot. Half a million per year for a seaside vacation home may seem a little “Let them eat cake” to the common people, but we must recognize the sacrifices Jared and Ivanka made in service to our country from 2017 to 2021. They deserve a break.

Only smart people like Jared and Ivanka could pick up the “opportunity” in the “disaster” that was the condo collapse.