Kurz Real Estate Broker Stumbles Upon Rare Portfolio in Miami

Erick Vargas unexpectedly stumbled upon a rare real estate offering while on the hunt for a personal investment.

The Kurz Real Estate Corp. broker-associate responded to a "For Sale By Owner" listing for two duplexes in Miami-Dade County. He saw it as a rosy investment play.

But Vargas soon found out the seller had a lot more than two duplexes to offer.

South Dade Properties Inc., a company managed by Dora Piccini, also owned 35 residential properties in south Miami-Dade, a never-sold portfolio spanning the Homestead and Cutler Bay areas.

While the portfolio made up of 34 duplexes and one single-family home was off the market, Vargas had an ideal buyer in mind.

"When I found this deal, I knew he would be interested," Vargas said, recalling when he introduced the portfolio to his client, Miami real estate investor Abiel Ballesteros.

The duo instantly began negotiating with the Piccini family.

"What made this deal different is the properties were owned by the same family since the '60s," Vargas said.

The family built the homes decades ago and have rented them since.

Vargas helped ink a $4.13 million deal, which broke down to about $118,000 per property or $60,000 per actual unit. There were 69 units total, he said.

Vargas said the most challenging aspect was to coordinate 69 individual property inspections with dozens of different families.

"You don't find deals like this anymore, where the entire portfolio is owned and maintained by the same family for such a long time," he said. "I was able to negotiate an amazing deal for the buyer, who is looking forward to keeping [the properties] for a few decades to come as well. It's the type of deal where everybody wins."

The seller was represented by ONE Commercial Real Estate's Robinson Seda and Eduardo Gil.

Kurz Real Estate is a fledgeling real estate brokerage firm based in Miami's Coconut Grove. The firm launched in August 2016 and is on track to employ 100 agents in its first year of business.