Fairview House, Sunny Isles Beach: What Buyers Should Check

Fairview House is a small bayfront boutique in the middle of Sunny Isles Beach — twin 9-story buildings at 17500 and 17600 North Bay Road, built in 1979, with about 88 residences between them under one association. It is not oceanfront: the buildings face the Intracoastal Waterway on the west side of North Bay Road, with the beach about a five-minute walk east — and the trade for giving up direct sand is one of the lowest dues bills in the city, with one- to three-bedroom residences from about 880 to 1,570 square feet that have recently sold from $300,000 to $445,000. The draw is the combination of a heated bayfront pool, a community boat dock, garage parking with two or more spaces per unit, and monthly dues in the $400s that include cable TV and internet. The complication is the paperwork: the two towers carry two different street addresses (17500 for the South tower, 17600 for the North tower), and the published unit count conflicts across sources — 88, 54, and 76 in three different places — so a buyer should confirm the tower, the unit count, and the dues for the specific residence rather than taking any directory's headline figures at face value. One listing describes the building as completely renovated; that is listing copy, and the milestone report is the document that says whether the 1979 structure has actually been kept up.

The facts

Address: 17500 & 17600 N Bay Rd, Sunny Isles Beach, FL 33160 — 17500 N Bay Rd is the South tower (units numbered S###) and 17600 N Bay Rd is the North tower (units numbered N###). Both addresses appear in MLS records for the same subdivision, "Fairview House Condo," and the association's principal address is 17500 N Bay Rd.
Completed: 1979 (every source agrees).
Stories: 9 in each tower.
Residences: about 88 in total — but the count conflicts across sources: one source gives 54 and another gives 76.
Developer: not verified in any public source checked.
Architect: not verified in any public source checked.
Unit mix: one- to three-bedroom residences, about 880–1,570 sq ft (1BR 880–1,110; 2BR 1,110–1,450; 3BR 1,320–1,570).
Waterfront: bayfront on the Intracoastal Waterway; listings describe it as a five-minute walk to the beach.
Parking: garage parking with two or more spaces per unit (per listings); covered and guest parking in MLS amenities.
Association: Fairview House Condominium Association, Inc. — filed December 27, 1979, active; principal address 17500 N Bay Rd, mailing address 17500 N Bay Rd #201. One association covers both towers.

Amenities and day-to-day living

Fairview House runs a deliberately small program: a heated bayfront pool with Intracoastal views, a picnic area, a community boat dock, laundry facilities on every floor, an on-site manager, card/code access, bike storage, and storage. There is no gym, restaurant, or valet here — the amenity list is the pool, the dock, and the garage, and the dues reflect that. The market is quiet and steady: 42 recorded sales in the building's MLS history, with recent closings including #S301 (1,320 sq ft) at $445,000 in May 2026 (listed at $495,000), #N403 (880 sq ft) at $350,000 in February 2026, and #N603 (880 sq ft) at $300,000 in March 2025. One-bedrooms at 880 sq ft have traded around $300,000–$350,000; two-bedrooms at 1,320 sq ft around $445,000–$495,000. Rentals are happening — a furnished two-bedroom at 17500 N Bay Rd rented at $2,900 a month and a penthouse at $2,850 — and the building sits within walking distance of the beach, restaurants, shops, and the Norman S. Edelcup K-8 school.

What to check before you buy

Monthly cost — the dues are low, but confirm them per unit and what they include. One directory gives a monthly HOA range of $295–$575 and says dues include cable TV, internet, and water; listing examples cluster at $433, $465, and $466 a month on 1,320 sq ft two-bedrooms — about $0.33 per square foot, among the lowest in the city. One listing calls them "the lowest HOA fees in area $433 per month with cable and internet included." Confirm the dues for the specific unit against the adopted budget, including whether any special assessment is running — low dues in a 1979 building are a question, not just a bargain, if reserves are thin.
Milestone inspections — cycles began decades ago; ask for the latest report. Built in 1979, Fairview House's milestone inspections began around 2004 on the 25-year coastal rule and now run every ten years, with the latest cycle falling around 2024 — derived dates, not confirmed. Ask the association for its most recent completed milestone report and its Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS), and confirm the 40-year certification status. No verified milestone report or certification was found in public sources. One listing states the "building completely renovated" — that is listing copy, not an association document, and the milestone report is what confirms the structure's condition.
Subsidence — not on the study's list, which is a real positive. Fairview House does not appear on the published list of 35 barrier-island buildings the University of Miami's 2024 InSAR study found settling between 2 and 8 centimeters from 2016 to 2023. The study's authors said no building was found unsafe, and the absence of Fairview House from the list is a point in its favour, not a guarantee: ask the association whether any engineering review or monitoring has been done.
Reserves and assessments — unverified. No building-wide reserve figure or assessment history was found in public sources. Given the building's age and the low dues, the reserve study and the last three years of board minutes are essential reading — the question is whether the low monthly cost is funded by adequate reserves or by deferring work.
Owner-occupancy — unverified. No owner-occupancy ratio was found in public sources. If you are financing, your lender will check it — confirm it before you are under contract, not after.
Rentals — happening, but the written rules were not verified. Listings state a unit "can be rented right away," with no waiting period mentioned, and rentals are visibly listed. One broker page gives "short-term rental guidance: 30 or 90" without explaining whether that is a 30-day or 90-day minimum — that figure is ambiguous and should not be relied on. No rental minimum, annual cap, or approval process was verified in public sources. Confirm the current lease rules with the association before buying for income.
Pets — essentially unverified. One rental listing for a Fairview House unit records "Pets Allowed: 1." No pet policy — size, number, or breed limits, or any owner-versus-renter distinction — was verified in public sources. Confirm against the association rules if a pet is part of the plan.

Who this building suits

Fairview House suits a buyer who wants the quietest, lowest-cost way into bayfront living in Sunny Isles Beach — a one- or two-bedroom from the low $300,000s, with a heated bayfront pool, a boat dock, garage parking for two cars, and dues in the $400s that include cable and internet, five minutes from the beach — and who is comfortable doing the diligence a 1979 building demands: read the milestone report, the reserve study, and the assessment history before signing, and confirm the tower address and the dues for the specific unit. It is a poor fit for a buyer who wants direct oceanfront, a full amenity program, a newer tower, or firm rental and pet answers from public sources — the beach is a walk away, there is no gym or valet, the unit count conflicts across sources, and the rental and pet rules were not verified. If you are choosing between this and another tower, send Mike the buildings you are comparing and he will walk through the finances with you, building by building.

Next step

If Fairview House is on your shortlist, start with the free Sunny Isles Beach Buyer's Building Guide. It walks through the checks that matter before you sign — milestone inspections, reserves, assessments, owner-occupancy, and the questions to ask any association.

Download the free guide

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Lux South Florida Real Estate