Which oceanfront condos in Bal Harbour, Surfside and Mid-Beach are most private?

Ocean House Surfside is the most private on our file: 25 homes, each reached by a private elevator with its own lobby, and no hotel. Rivage Bal Harbour adds the most land, about 2.7 acres with about 200 feet of private shoreline, for about 56 homes, From $14,100,000. The Perigon gives every home private elevator entry, From $12,500,000. The Shoreclub Private Collection shares its site with an Auberge hotel, From $4,850,000.

The same five questions, put to each building from the developers' published material:

Ocean House Surfside. Price point: on request. Delivery: no date on the fact sheet. Unit mix: 25 residences of two to five bedrooms. Position: 9309 to 9317 Collins Avenue, Surfside, on the ocean. Operator: the developer, MTP Oceanside LLC; no brand, no hotel.

Rivage Bal Harbour. Price point: From $14,100,000. Delivery: no date on file. Unit mix: about 56 homes over 25 stories, three to six bedrooms, about 3,300 to 12,600 square feet. Position: about 2.7 oceanfront acres, about 200 linear feet of private shoreline. Operator: Related Group and Two Roads Development; no hotel.

The Perigon. Price point: From $12,500,000. Delivery: no date on file. Unit mix: about 73 homes of two to four bedrooms, private elevator entry to each. Position: 5333 Collins Avenue, Mid-Beach, shoreline on the ocean and on the bay. Operator: Starwood Capital Group and Mast Capital; no hotel.

The Shoreclub Private Collection. Price point: From $4,850,000. Delivery: no date on file. Unit mix: about 49 homes in three forms, the Tower, the House and the Beach House, in an 18-story building. Position: 1901 Collins Avenue, about three oceanfront acres, behind the landmarked Cromwell House facade. Operator: Witkoff, with Auberge Resorts Collection as hospitality partner.

Four things, in order of how much they matter day to day.

How many people share your elevator. A private elevator that opens only to your home means nobody passes your door. Ocean House publishes private elevators with dedicated lobbies. The Perigon publishes private elevator entry to each residence. Rivage and the Shoreclub do not state it on our file; ask by line.

How many neighbours there are. Twenty-five homes is a different building from 73. Fewer owners means fewer faces in the lobby and fewer guests, and a smaller budget shared by fewer people.

Who else uses the building. A hotel on site brings guests, staff and visitors who are not owners. At the Shoreclub, Auberge is the hospitality partner and the developer names hotel interiors, so ask which entrances, pools and elevators residents share with hotel guests and which are theirs alone.

The arrival. Ocean House lists a covered porte-cochère, a double-height lobby and 24-hour valet. Ask each building where the car stops, who sees it, and whether there is a separate service entrance for deliveries and staff.

Who serves you, and where they come in. A private household brings staff, drivers and deliveries, and each one needs a way in that does not cross the owners' lobby. Ocean House lists staff quarters with a service kitchen and a mailroom with package receiving. The Shoreclub lists a driver chauffeur room. Rivage lists house cars, so fewer outside drivers arrive at all. Ask each developer to show the service route on the plans, from the street to your kitchen door.

Our page on the small building question explains what a small building gives and what it costs.

Partly, and the word needs care. In Florida, the wet sand below the mean high water line is public. What a building can own is the dry sand above it and the right to keep others off that strip. Rivage publishes about 200 linear feet of private shoreline; The Perigon about 200 linear feet on each side. Ask what the survey shows and who patrols it.

Our page on what private beach access means in Florida explains the line and the questions for the survey.

The deed is recorded with the county and is public. Some owners hold a home through a company or a trust so the owner's name does not appear on the deed. That is a question of structure, tax and liability first, and only partly of privacy, since state filings, banks and the title company still know the owners. Read LLC, trust or personal name and take the question to counsel before you sign, because the buyer named in the contract is the buyer.

Ocean House Surfside suits the buyer who wants the fewest neighbours and the most private arrival, with a garage for six cars and staff quarters. You give up a large amenity program and a published price. Read whether Ocean House is worth it.

Rivage Bal Harbour suits the buyer who wants land and shoreline as well as privacy, with marina services and house cars. You pay the highest entry here. See the Rivage dossier and The Perigon or Rivage.

The Perigon suits the buyer who wants private elevator entry and a resident-only restaurant in a building of about 73 homes. You give up some of the quiet of a smaller building. See The Perigon dossier.

The Shoreclub Private Collection suits the buyer who wants Auberge service and three acres at the lowest entry of the four. You give up the privacy of a residents-only address. See the Shoreclub dossier.

The Bal Harbour and Surfside zone page and the Mid-Beach zone page map the coast; for part-time owners, read living part-time on the beach. For a family moving here full time from Texas, read relocating from Dallas to Surfside or Bal Harbour. The desk asks each developer, in writing, how many homes share each elevator and which spaces hotel guests may use, before you visit.