Oct 16, 2007 11:34 pm US/Eastern
Miami Condo Dreams Become Condo Fiasco
by David Sutta
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
Three years ago when Zack Preble stood on a Miami corner, the horizon was very different.
He thought $355,000 for a 1/1, 850 square foot apartment was a steal he could flip.
"There were those that said it was going to collapse, but we thought we would be out before, and um, well I was wrong," said Preble.
With a closing a few months away, the only thing flipping now is him.
"The Related group met their part of the deal," said Preble. "I've got to find a way to meet my end."
Enter condofiasco.com, a website he's established to vent his frustrations, and as of late, sell pieces of his condo for $35.50. The idea came from Dennis Hope, who sold lots on the moon.
"He made $9 million doing this and I thought wow, if he can sell something that really is not real and I have something that is real, is tangible, you can look at it, so why don't I just cut up my apartment into 10,000 pieces and sell each one for $35.50?"
It might sound creative, but it turns out federal law prohibits Zack from doing this. So now he's selling virtual pieces of his apartment.
"I'll tell you what if you do buy a piece, if you spend $35.50 on my website, give me a call, I'll invite you into my apartment and we'll talk about it."
While he's hoping someone will rescue him, he's debating losing his $70,000 deposit, or worse.
"Back when we signed the contract, we said if we don't close we're just going to have to move in with the kids in here, and we got 2 kids," he said. "It's a one bedroom apartment; we're pretty close."
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