News   GLOBAL  |  Apr 02, 2020
A Message to Our Readers
 9.5K     0 
News   GLOBAL  |  Apr 01, 2020
EarthCam Time-Lapse Documents Rafael Viñoly-Designed New Stanford Hospital Construction
 40K     0 
News   GLOBAL  |  Apr 01, 2020
Resort Town
 5.3K     0 

J

just1time

New Member
Member Bio
Joined
Jul 1, 2009
Messages
59
Reaction score
0
I have been scarred by the aggressive jaws of condo-buying.
I bought a condo few years back which turned out to be the worst mistake of my life. I was very young, naive and misguided by an agent who ripped me off and put me in an undesired location in etobicoke. I just wanted to own something at a young age and fell victim to the deceit of this agent.

That experience kind of caused me to have a phobia towards condos. But I want to live downtown and every townhouse I have seen are way out of my budget. I have decided to overcome my fear of buying a condo again and have been looking for months. My agent just showed me a listing at Cityplace Montage :2bedroom +2bathrooms+study + parking and locker included asking $340,000.

It is a unit on the 23rd floor with 783sq ft+ 35 sq ft= 818sq ft in total area with maintenance fee at $420 including everything except hydro.
I need some advice on this purchase, is that a good price for the building and floorplan? I was thinking about putting an offer in at $320,000. Does anyone have the original purchase price for a unit like this during the pre-construction sale years back? Also,What is a price you would consider good for this unit?

Also, maintenance fees really scared me as my last condo went up to about $700 per month cause of assessments and mismanagement.
Is $420 on average an ok amount for maintenance for a 2+2 818 sq ft unit in that building? should I anticipate a spike in the maintenance fees down the line?

I plan to stay in this condo for at least 5years and my greatest concern in regards to condos is resale.I don't want to be tied up when its time for me to let go. Does anyone foresee a hardship in regards to reselling units in this building in 3-5yrs time?

Thanks alot for taking the time to read my stuff and whatever input you provide.
Just1time
 
Last edited:
This seems like a great price to me. There are 1 bdrms that go for that price. You'll get a range of opinions on Cityplace, so you'll need to judge that yourself based on the numerous threads on the topic. Do you have the floor plan by any chance?
 
Some claim CityPlace will be a 'ghetto' in 5 - 10 years, a la St. JamesTown. I would see if you could find a nice condo elsewhere in the core, or even along the subway line.
 
I'm not sure that the area will deteriorate to the point where it could be accurately described as a legitimate 'ghetto', 'student ghetto' perhaps, but it occurs to me that the shine will very likely fade on any appeal that this development holds to a buyer. Much of the appeal has probably be generated from large bulk buying syndicates and in 5 yrs time when that segment fades you will probably find more discerning eyes who will look more closely at the inferior build quality, high concentration of transients and the insular nature of the community.

So you're best bet is probably that whatever forces are impacting the condo market in 2015, they will impact it more negatively in this location.
 
$408/sq.ft seems reasonable to me, for a downtown location such as this. As someone mentioned earlier, there are varying opinions on City Place condos. From what I've heard, some are well built and others are not. I have seen the floor plan, and it is a little bit cramped for a 2+2+den. Therefore instead of putting a dining table by the kitchen and living room, I would opt for a kitchen island which would give you much needed kitchen counter space. All in all, I don't think you will lose on this one. Maintenance fees will stay the same for the first couple of years and if the building is managed well, I don't think that there will be a major spike in fees. As far as being tied up in 5 years or so, I don't see this happening. You're in the core and there will always be demand for downtown condos. As long as the condo is managed well and financially sound, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. I don't think you will have overpayed if you go in at $320K, but I wouldn't go higher than 330K. Good luck!
 
hey

thanks guys
I will be going to look at the building and the unit today so we'll see how it goes.
I will give my feedback later on today.
Any other experiences/opinions on the building,builder or purchase are still welcome.
thanks
just1time
 
you should also do a calculation to see if it's financially sound to buy and sell in 5 years ... with RE commissions, land transfer taxes (LTT/TTT), legal and closing fees,

PLUS you should calculate you would pay to rent vs. own and how much equity will you actually accumulate, if any, during those 5 years.
 
I think that's a great price. I have seen smaller units in that building sell for higher. Make sure you are happy with the layout.

Montage is a building in transition, it registered a couple of months ago and like all condos will probably go through some changes until it stabilizes. The new condo board there will likely tackle these.

Generaly the units have great finishes, good build quality and the amenities available are better than average. The rent to own ratio is pretty high, which you will find consistent with most buildings that offer those size suites in the downtown area. This should reduce over time.

If you like fast internet connections you'll probably want to set up a 100Mb account with Telus fibre that is exclusive to that area.
 
Great price! As a Realtor, I just saw it this morning and thought it was a great deal. I'm not too fond of the floorplan (basically because the wall isn't big enough to put my TV, sound system etc...) but I think it's very well priced! Go for it!
 
Other people have way better insight into condo pricing specifics than I do.

My comment is that I like how you have a plan. If you want to live downtown go for it, make that become a reality. Fortune will favour the bold.

People will call me crazy in this present environment but on the cautionary side I personally believe that people should be able to withstand historically standard tests of affordability as a prerequisite for buying at the moment. This means 25% down and monthly payments in the 7-8% range. I'm not talking about your mortgage payment being 1/3 of your income or other such non-sense, but will you go bankrupt if you have to pay 7.5%? If the answer is no, go ahead and buy. If the answer is yes then what is the upside potential you could realize on the property? Could you rent out an extra room or realize a solid return by fixing the place up if you had to? If the answer is yes, you might consider buying anyway because your asset has a built-in safety factor. If no such potential exists you really should not be buying.
 
cdr108 said:
you should also do a calculation to see if it's financially sound to buy and sell in 5 years ... with RE commissions, land transfer taxes (LTT/TTT), legal and closing fees,

PLUS you should calculate you would pay to rent vs. own and how much equity will you actually accumulate, if any, during those 5 years.
Click to expand...

How would you calculate how much is going towards equity for the first few years of your mortgage?

Also generally speaking what is the commission you would pay when selling?
 
hey

UPDATE:
checked out the unit today.
I really like the location but the building is very average in my opinion.
No wow factor to put it in simple terms. Didn't get the feeling that it would be able to compete with some other newer condos of same age not to talk about condos that might come up in later years. In other words, I think it will get dated pretty fast. But its location might make the building prime....we'll have to wait and see.
Onto the inside;
I liked the lobby alot but didnt like the connecton to the 4K spadina building....it meant more traffic in and out of the building in my opinion.
First thing I didnt like was the narrow corridors with really low ceilings. If i stretched , i could almost touch the top with my head. Jumping would be suicidal. Right from the corridor it felt like a dormitory.
The unit itself looked very simple...in fact too simple for a condo in this day and age. Again, inside the condo, no wow factor.
The layout looked very great on paper but in reality was very cramped. Bedrooms were just ok in regards to floorplan but the kitchen and living which was open concept felt like one small room. adding an island would almost take up half of the entire kitchen/living room.
the master bedroom is tiner than tiny and again the floorplan messed it up. put a bed in there and thats it. you cant put a tv on the wall or fit a dresser cos of the barn door style and whatnot...amongst other hinderances.
A train passed by and I could hear it.But I have to admit that it was not too disturbing.
Since I listed what I dont like, it is only right to list some things I felt were nice....
For an investor, it is a great unit. the two rooms had their own separate bathrooms and toilet with direct access making each room self-contained.
The view from the balcony facing north looks nice and would look even sweeter at night.
The building is in close proximity to some fun areas: rogers centre, CN tower, st. lawrence...there are three banks right at the bottom of the building and a sobeys also.
Also, even though i dont think it matters, i noticed only younger people in the building. Younger as in student-looking as opposed to young-professionals.

That was about it for me. When I think about it, I feel like I was too harsh on the condo cos I have seen too many luxury condos. If the building is not considered a luxury condo, then it should be known that the other condos i used in assessing it were all luxury condos and thus my judgement on the building is not justified.
So, all in all, it might not be a great building but it is nice.
Overall, I have seen better but as an investment property I would definitely consider it.Only worry being whether reselling in the future might be tough.


Thanks
just1time
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top