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Ofcourse you don’t want to lose thousands of dollors in new home or condos…..Read this.

You don’t want to be among those buyers who lose years  in wait and thousands of dollors in investment to find out that the units they purchased on paper look nothing like what they imagined while signing the dotted line.  Save yourself from committing these deadly mistakes. I dont want you to  lose your hard earned money.

 

Builder reputation and track record builders track record is the most important research you can do when buying preconstruction condos. Do your homework and ask friends or realtor first who have dealt with developers or know someone who is reputable in the industry. Check the TARION builder website, and see if there are any claims against the builder? How is the builder’s customer service? How did they completed their previous projects?  what is their quality? you can take a round of the neighbourhood with their previous project to get the vibe about the builder? Is the builder best known for luxury homes? high rise? single family homes? towns? what was there previous successful projects? 

Don’t base your judgement on model homes.   Model homes have tons of upgrades and high end finishes but you might be getting the bare bones. For example Check ceiling heights of the model-suite. Ceiling heights in most condos are 8-feet or 8’6″, but their model suites have 10+ foot ceilings to make the suite feel more spacious. Be careful what you are getting.  model units usually come with additions and a highdollorser ceiling to attract more buyers, such as granite counter tops, high end applicances in the kitchen and hardwood flooring throughout, high end tiles. It is important to understand what comes standard with unit and know what extras and upgrades you will have to pay for.

Selecting the right floor plan can make you $50,000 more than other unit. Builders have team of pricing expert who analyse and price the units apporpriately but they are not perfect all the time.  I have bought one of my client a unit which was not shown on model suite but was a great floorplan, now he is making $30,000 more than other units are making. Paper floorplans are not easy to walk through, what may appear to be an excellent layout to the lay-eye might be filled with inefficient space, doors that swing into odd locations, and small unusable rooms. A 1-bedroom 340SF suite is in fact very tight. If you cant read the floor  plan trust the professinal.

Dont trust the prints and building layouts. What size beds and furniture are shown in the layout? Often floorplans have “condo-sized” furniture shown in the layout, making it hard to imagine full-sized furniture. Ask for room’s dimensions? or keep the measuring tape with you when touring model suite and compare it with furniture at your home. 

Learn the neighbourhood. Know the Area, learn the specialities, read the neighbourhood review online or ask me, the better or more promising an area is, the more you can expect to profit from your condominium after it’s completed. Examine the area by looking at nearby stores and public establishments such as schools, libraries or even the public transit. The more central your location is, the more attractive your condo will be. Pre-construction condos in the downtown area of Toronto are likely to be close to the main public places.

Know the maintainance fee. Condo maintenance fees could be scary, might not fit in your budget. Condo fee is your percentage share of the costs to run the building as a whole, utility bills along with maintenance work such as window cleaning, snow shovelling, housecleaning, gardeners, and so on. Beyond these basics, building might offer beefed-up security, concierge service, underground parking, gym, pool with trainers or you may have access to special perks like a rooftop patio or guest suite. All of these will be reflected in the monthly fee, it might be possible that you wont be using many of these services.

Review your purchase agreement with laywer.  you have 10 days as cooling of period, in which you can cancel the agreement at any time, after this agreement will be binding on you. Make sure you review the purchase document with your laywer.   Understand the Legalities, get everything is writing.  Often times builders will allow amendments to their standard agreements. The two areas that are too often overlooked are Closing Costs and Assignment Guidelines.  Make sure development charges are capped, if not negotiate the development charges to be capped. I’ve seen a few people unpleasantly surprised with substantial closing fee’s and/or a “no assignment” clause. 

 

The Bottom Line:

If you are buying pre-construction, get educated and trust the professional dealing with pre-construction condos.   Feel free to contact me at 416 414 8888 for your real estate needs, for buying and selling.

Other reads which might interest you.

Secret sauce when investing in a condo. 

My two cents when for first time home buyers…

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