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utopianbl

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Hey Urban Toronto,

This forum is a fairly new search google directed me to. And I'm happy to have found this.

Me and my wife are looking to buy a condo ( a place called home) within the next few months (ideally possession by 1st of October). Our biggest problem - we know a big NOTHING about the condo scene. While we are trying to read and catch up there is just too much information and very little time. Hence, we look to you for support and help.

Our preferences

1) Downtown, with views of CN Tower, Rogers Center, Lake view and Highrise, all in one - meaning corner suites or something facing east.
2) Must be within $350,000 to $450,000 all in
3) Ideal floor 20 above.
4) Brand new condo preferred but not a necessity
5) 2 Bedrooms + 1 Parking + 1 Locker.
6) Location should be 5 to 10 mins drive to Gardeners.
7) 900+ SQ FT
8) Like to keep Maint costs below $500 as much as possible.

Well so thats it, are we aiming for too much? Can you give me any ideas of good properties to be gunning for?

Also I've been told my "knowledgeable" friends that this is not the best time to purchase a condo - that I should wait for 4 to 5 months as the flooding of condos in downtown market will have a negative effect on condo prices. Is there any truth in this? Should I wait or should I go for it?

So many thanks for helping us out.
 
utopianbl said:
Also I've been told my "knowledgeable" friends that this is not the best time to purchase a condo - that I should wait for 4 to 5 months as the flooding of condos in downtown market will have a negative effect on condo prices. Is there any truth in this? Should I wait or should I go for it?
Click to expand...

As a realtor who deals primarily with condos, I will tell you that I am waiting on my own purchases BUT:

1) those are primarily investments
2) I don't need it
3) won't be disappointed if prices do increase and I end up not buying
4) I've been waiting for over a year and expect to be on hold for another 2 or 3 years.

Waiting is a gamble in your favour but 4 to 5 months puts you into November/December. The hot market in December is the "expecting a large January bonus" market.


Second, if you're looking at new condos (you as first owner) you may not want to wait. If a slowdown occurs prices here will not decrease as margins are very tight but buildings will take significantly longer to be built.

A ready unit (30 to 60 day move-in time) which has never been lived in comes with a huge premium over pre-construction or even 2 year old -- so I wouldn't think price is a concern here anyway :).


Buying a 2year+ old resale might, depending on the part of the city you are considering, show a price drop over the 12 months of a few percent. Some parts of the city are and will continue to climb in value.
 
www.MLS.ca is great way to get familiar with the prices and inventories. There are also free condo magazines on most street corners... Condo Guide being the best... go through them to get an idea about current projects... They range from immediate occupancy to years away
 
cityplace sounds perfect for you... perhaps the harbour view estates buildings...
 
Here is a link to an MLS search on your criteria
http://www.mls.ca/PropertyResults.a...50000-500000-0&mrt=0-0-4&trt=2&of=1&ps=50&o=A

(note, I filtered it on the M5V postal code. But there are other buildings in the M5T and others that would also meet your criteria. But M5V is the centre of where you described)

And here are a couple of blogs on mortgages/realestate. The greaterfool blog is overly pessimistic/sky is falling. But it gives you a very different perspective that you will get from people who make their living in the RE market.

http://www.greaterfool.ca/2008/07/28/four-years/
http://www.canadianmortgagetrends.com/

My advice is to read everything you can, and to question everything that everyone tells you.
 
It's been said a number of times on this forum and countless other places, that "timing" the real estate market, as in trying to "time" the stock market, is a fool's game. No one, whether in the real estate business or not, has a crystal ball. Since you make it clear that this place is to be your home, as opposed to an investment, why not just go ahead and buy, move in, enjoy, and don't beat yourself up wondering each week if you should have waited.

You have a fairly lengthy list of preferences. Your preference #1 in particular pretty much limits you to a relatively restricted area. It would include primarily buildings at CityPlace, a few buildings along the harbour front (Queen's Quay addresses or at Bathurst and Fleet Streets), or west-facing units at "Pinnacle Centre" (Bay and Harbour Streets) or the two existing buildings at "Infinity" (Bremner Blvd. and Simcoe Street). If you could be a bit flexible on this requirement especially, you would open a wide range of other possibilities, in perfectly good downtown locations.
 
Wow. 1 Day and already I have received such invaluable responses. Indeed thank you all very much.

As you have stated I'm looking to buy a place, and this is as good a time as any. I have searched the MLS and googled various websites senseless over the past few days. To get my bearings right in the current market, what would you folks suggest be the ideal range for a condo per sq FT for a

1) Yonge and Lakeshore
2) West facing view
3) Upgraded appliances etc
4) Higher floors - 30 to 40 with corner suites

Is 425 to 450 reasonable per SQ FT? Or too low? Is this a good metric to gauge the valuation of property?

Finally when I finished school I had missed some OSAP payments (the reason being that I was on a tour across Asia-Africa and I was irresponsible with my payments here - my fault completely). Because of this my credit ratings are in the low 600's which I acknowledge is quite rubbish. I am looking to put a 40,000 downpayment, do you think this would inhibit me getting mortgage loan? Are the interest rates tied to my credit rating?

I know this will open a whole new array of questions - but I thought of keeping it all in this thread.

Once again folks

Many thanks
 
^... 450 /sq ft is realistic. An agent, can tell you what you should be expecting based on previous sales history for that building. As for your credit score... you should speak to a mortgage broker, but I think it's doable.
 
Credit problems fade over time, especially if you have a credit card or two which you are keeping in good status. The banks are being a bit more picky now than they were even a year ago, but with 10% down you should be able to get a mortgage, if not through the bank, then a mortgage broker.
 
To answer your question

I think for the specs that you are looking for $450 is a bit low.

I know from personal experience that cityplace - a brand new building @ cityplace, higher floor 30's & 40's corner units, upgraded appliance with parking and locker would be in the $500 - $600 range depending on a lot of variables.

If you would like to pm me, I can give you details on that.
 
If you want to see CN Tower, Skydome, and lake area you would need to be located near Front street to see down. If you buy from apartments on west end facing east, there's city place, but like they've said, there's a hefty premium especially in large corner units. I would suggest an east view 1+1 so you can see both north and south. If you have a north unit, you might not be able to see the lake. If you have a south unit you may or may not be able to see the CN Tower. If you want to stay at east of sky dome facing west, there's infinity. I've heard infinity 1 and 2 are bad. I think there are no upgrades and the management sucks so fees are going up. Infinity 3 seems to have improved. They have upgrades but I don't know how the management will be like. The prices are attractive compared to Ice next door. I recommend a west view from infinity 3 so you see both north and south. Nothing is blocking you either if you're over 16th floor. You will look across steam whistler. But there aren't many stadium units left in the upper level by the time it hits the street. I know most of the higher units are gone. Palace suite seems to cost slightly more than Stadium. Further east is 18 yonge but I don't know if it will get covered by all the buildings west of it once they're built (2 ice towers, 2 MLS, telus, 18 york)
So, your best bet would probably be buildings north of front or city place unless you want to take a chance with infinity. (don't bother with 300 front, it's way out of hand. You'd be better off with Ice if you get 300 front. It's cheaper)

Oh btw did I mention infinity has a deposit structure? it doesn't matter what your price, everyone makes same payment schedule depending if you are 1 bdrm, 1+1 or 2. btw I'm not a sales agent. I've just been looking at condos.

I should mention too. WestOne looks better than N1/N2. WestOne has upgrades :) If you go past certain floors, the bathroom counter is granite/marble. I think lower ones use corian. I'm not sure which one is better. N1/N2 has no upgrades. The cityplace might become a good residence for you if you have kids. They're building a public/catholic school there. However there's also going to be public housing near there. I don't know how that would affect prices or the area once they're built.
 
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