Nine amenities that condo buyers just don’t need

From the South Florida site: The term “luxury” can be deceiving, especially when it comes to condominium amenities, former Douglas Elliman Florida CEO Vanessa Grout wrote in a Forbes article. The Miami native, who now works at New York-based investment firm Vector Group, offered nine amenities that condo buyers should stay far, far away from. They are custom kitchens, outdoor space, finishes and fixtures, space-age materials, audio video systems, prodigy developers, doormen, tax schemes, and superfluous niceties such as “champagne toasting chambers” and mini-golf greens.

Plus, a developer who does not specialize in building high-end will likely not make the condo truly luxury, Grout wrote.

“If he or she is a rookie, they should offer you a discount, not demand a premium,” she said.

“We must look for those qualities that time doesn’t change: location, unobstructed views and light, architectural uniqueness, ceiling heights and sheer square footage,” she wrote. “And shrug at the stuff that doesn’t matter.” [Forbes] — Mark Maurer