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Custom kitchens, other amenities condo buyers don’t need: Vanessa Grout
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, the doorman, tax schemes, and superfluous niceties such as “champagne toasting chambers” and mini-golf greens.
Regarding developers, Grout said a developer who does not specialize in building high-end will likely not make the condo truly luxury. 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