What seemed like a great investment opportunity in South Florida’s hot real estate market is now leading to a couple demanding their money back.
“We hope this nightmare will be over soon,” buyer Hani Levy told NBC6 Investigates.
A nightmare, Levy says, began as a dream for her and her husband, who owns a construction company. The plan was to invest and build homes in their Fort Lauderdale neighborhood after they discovered a vacant lot for sale around the corner from their house.
Levy shared the ad for the property they purchased in September 2023. It advertised the property as “new construction, suitable for residential use.” Levy said she and her husband came forward and purchased the property for $350,000.
Levy said they contacted the agent and told him what they wanted to do with the property.
She said the plan was to build two or three houses. But there was a problem that no one told her about.
The access road to the property is not public, meaning that technically you do not have access to your own property.
The property is located at 2950 SW 17th Place and happens to be one of the properties with homes on the other side of the narrow street.
“I found out that I actually have no legal access to this road,” Levy said.
She was told that the property itself was landlocked and had no access to the public road at SW 30th Terrace.
“This means that all our dreams are thrown overboard,” she said.
The couple filed suit against the seller and the real estate agent in February, claiming they failed to disclose “critical restrictions, particularly the lack of road access…” that would prevent development.
“I truly believe this important information was withheld from me,” Levy said.
The seller’s attorney and her agent told NBC6 Investigates that they deny all allegations made in the lawsuit.
Apparently, the seller did try to ensure that someone could build on the property before the sale. His lawyer filed a document exempting the property from a building restriction that would have prevented new construction.
Levy shared several emails she sent to the city inquiring about the possibility of developing the property and said she also visited the site in person to gather information.
After the sale, she received an email from the planning department stating that the city “requires access to a public right of way…” and continued, “Apparently the property is not buildable.”
“There are so many things they could have done to avoid this,” Levy said.
A spokesperson for the City of Fort Lauderdale issued the following statement from the city’s Development Services Department:
“Prior to purchase, they were provided with general information about the property’s zoning. The City was not asked to inspect the actual property. Every private real estate transaction is between parties and involves certain disclosures and information exchanged in good faith between seller and buyer. The City may be a resource a buyer utilizes as they carefully evaluate the property’s development potential. Understanding the City’s zoning regulations, including permitted uses and development standards, is often part of a buyer’s due diligence. Ultimately, it is up to the buyer to utilize the available information to make a final decision.
In this case, the buyer received general information about the permitted uses and development standards of the development area. After the purchase, the new owner approached the City with a specific development plan and received feedback on the development barriers and potential solutions to overcome those barriers. The City continues to work with the owner and understands the unique circumstances they face.”
Levy says she and her husband have since negotiated with a neighbor to add a strip of land to their property that now extends to the public road. They hope that expanding their property will give them the green light to build.
“We don’t have a clear answer from the city yet as to whether they are satisfied,” Levy told NBC6, “whether this is good enough.”
The couple said they also approached neighbors who own the private road and asked if they could buy a piece of it to gain access to their property, but those homeowners declined.
When NBC6 Investigates visited the property, some residents expressed concern that new construction on the property would put neighboring properties at greater risk of flooding, which is already a problem on their street.
