Posts Tagged ‘savel blogs’

DID YOU KNOW… the location of your condo may determine who pays for the status certificate!

Wait…do you even know what a “status certificate” is? And why you should be asking for one when purchasing a condo?

In the simplest terms, a Status Certificate is set of documents prepared by a condo board to illustrate the financial health of the building! A typical certificate will show a variety of facts including: how many units are being leased in the building, any shortages in payments of maintenance fees (for the particular unit) and the amount levels of the reserve fund.  They take 10 days to prepare (though most boards I’ve dealt with produce them sooner) and can be obtained by the unit owner.  They’re typically requested when a buyer submits an offer to purchase.  The purpose of the documents is better educate the potential buyer on the financial status of the condo and point out any pitfalls that may lay ahead if the decide to go through with the purchase.  A Real Estate lawyer is often best to review the Status and relay it’s info to the purchaser!

Now that we know what it is and why it’s needed, it’s time to answer the almighty dollar question “Who pays for it?”

Up until a few weeks ago, it was to my understanding that in Canada the seller is the one who pays for it…but after talking with Matt Richling, a colleague selling real estate in Ottawa I learnt different!  In Ottawa it’s common practice for the buyer to be the one who pays the fee. Which would make sense since it’s the buyer who’d be most interested in it’s findings. Fortunately for buyers in Toronto that’s not the case, and the seller typically pays for the status.  Your Realtor should always have the “Cost Talk” with you to better inform you of all the expenses that tend to pop up above and beyond the sticker price!

I ALWAYS recommend putting in a clause requesting a copy of the status and having a Real Estate lawyer review it.  Regardless of who pays for it…it only costs $100 and could save you a million headaches in the future!  If you’re looking at buying place of your own downtown…feel free to call or email…I’d love to help!

In less than a month one of the 5 candidates pictured above will be your new mayor.  The thought of it to me is both exciting and scary…exciting because of all the opportunities a fresh mind can bring to the City BUT scary because none of the potential candidates have shown that side of them.

I’ve attended 3 mayoral debates in person and watched several on TV. All of the candidates have made some big promises from abolishing the Toronto Land Transfer Tax to extending Allen Rd!  But not one has addressed their agenda for condos…with over 2,100 condo corporations registered in Toronto, there are a lot of issues that these mayoral hopefuls need tackle!

For example, if there are 30 condominium units stacked high on one parcel of land, why does each pay property tax at the same percentage rate as a single home on a plot of land?  Shouldn’t there be an incentive for living in a maximized use of limited land?  Will the next City Council approve as many condo developments as the last?  What are the Councillors plans to reduce urban sprawl, and keep more residents in the City?  With roughly 50,000 people making Toronto home every year, are we building enough condos to house them…or too much?

Thankfully the Toronto Chapter of the Canadian Condominium Institute will be holding a debate this Thursday (September 30, 2010) at the Novotel North York Hotel (3 Park Home Avenue) to tackle some of these exact questions!  The debate starts at 2 pm and is free to attend, but registration is a must…and if you care about the future of condos in Toronto, I’d say attendance is must as well!!!

As one of the top sellers at the Treviso Community, I’m able to offer all purchasers who work with me the following exclusive discounts and bonuses… but only for a limited time!

Get 5% Cash Back ($12,000-$30,000)
AND Free Assignments – Regular $5000
AND $3000 Yorkdale Gift Certificate OR Travel Voucher 

Special Deposit Choice for Treviso 1 and 2
$2000 with the Offer
Balance to 5% in 30 Days
5% in 120 Days
$2000 Every 3 Months (for additional 5%)

Or

$2000 with the Offer
Balance to 5% in 30 days
10% BMO Interest Only Loan and Vendor Pays the Interest

FIRST 20 2 & 3 BEDROOM SUITES SOLD AT TREVISO 2 ONLY GET AN ADDITIONAL $10,000 CASH OFF
AND a N’espresso Espresso machine at closing, offered originally and exclusively when I represent you in the purchase of a unit at Treviso! Contact me TODAY!

All cash back offers can be deducted off the purchase price or be adjusted on final closing. Bank of Montreal loan program is subject to approval.  Mortgage pre approvals are required on all sales. Balance to 20% is required on occupancy date for all deposit structures noted above.  All promotions, discounts offers are valid until April 30, 2012.  All promotion offers may be changed and/or cancelled at any time without notice.

After yesterdays post describing the master plan of the site… Lanterra Developments announced their latest condominium: Treviso Condominiums!

Finally a name and rendering have been given to the Dufferin and Lawrence project.  The “After” image is a bit blurry, but it looks like a good mix of red brick and glass for the first tower! The new rendering is a big improvement from the “Before” seen on the Lanterra website over the past few years.

Prices are being advertised as starting from $179,900 with no official launch date announced yet! Send me an email or give me a call if you’d like to be notified when units hit the market!

As one of the top sellers at the Treviso Community, I’m able to offer all purchasers who work with me the following exclusive discounts and bonuses… but only for a limited time!

Get 5% Cash Back ($12,000-$30,000)
AND Free Assignments – Regular $5000
AND $3000 Yorkdale Gift Certificate OR Travel Voucher 

Special Deposit Choice for Treviso 1 and 2
$2000 with the Offer
Balance to 5% in 30 Days
5% in 120 Days
$2000 Every 3 Months (for additional 5%)

Or

$2000 with the Offer
Balance to 5% in 30 days
10% BMO Interest Only Loan and Vendor Pays the Interest

FIRST 20 2 & 3 BEDROOM SUITES SOLD AT TREVISO 2 ONLY GET AN ADDITIONAL $10,000 CASH OFF
AND a N’espresso Espresso machine at closing, offered originally and exclusively when I represent you in the purchase of a unit at Treviso! Contact me TODAY!

All cash back offers can be deducted off the purchase price or be adjusted on final closing. Bank of Montreal loan program is subject to approval.  Mortgage pre approvals are required on all sales. Balance to 20% is required on occupancy date for all deposit structures noted above.  All promotions, discounts offers are valid until April 30, 2012.  All promotion offers may be changed and/or cancelled at any time without notice.

A few weeks after I posted my story entitled “What Are They Building at Dufferin and Lawrence?“, Howard Moscoe wrote to residents of the area with even more details about the exciting redevelopment!

According to his newsletter:

More than 9 acres of development has been approved for the northeast corner of Dufferin Street and Lawrence Ave West.  This includes the Shoppers Drug Mart Plaza and the former Party Packagers buildings to the east along Lawrence Avenue.  After two years of community meetings and negotiations, the developer appealed the City’s position to the Ontario Municipal  Board and the result was a settlement that looks something like this: Read the rest of this entry »

As the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival rolls into town, there’s one star that rises above the rest…Festival Tower! Rising 42 stories into the Toronto skyline, the building is both condo residences and Film Festival Headquarters. The residential units above are named after Hollywood celebrities from past and present.

At the base of this King and John condo sits a 5 story podium called the TIFF Bell Lightbox.  The Lightbox is features a three-storey public atrium, 5 public cinemas, 2 galleries, 3 learning studios, a centre for students and scholars, a bistro, a restaurant, and a lounge!  On September 12th, 2010 the Lightbox will open its doors to the public!

It seems like just yesterday I was writing my inaugural post to announce the start of Toronto FC’s 2010 season…so I guess it’s only fitting that with this one I announce the end of it as well!  On October 16th, 2010 “the boys in Red” will be playing against the Columbus Crew for their final regular season game (fingers crossed that they make the  playoffs).

If you’ve yet to make it down to BMO and catch the team play, I highly suggest you take advantage of the deal the UBC and U of T Alumnus have put together:

Tickets are $52 each and gets you access to the exclusive Rogers Club, let’s you mingle with fellow UBC and Uof T alumnus, watch the soccer game at BMO Field, AND most importantly… help the Regent Park youth! For every seat sold, the two alumnus will donate $5 to sponsor Regent Park youth from the Pathways To Education™ program. The goal is to raise enough funds to bring at least 5 students to the game!

You can purchase your tickets and read more about this great intiative at the UBCTO Alumni website.

Goooooooooooooooooooooooooo REDS!!!

It’s not everyday you get see your home featured in a music video….but thanks to Arcade Fire and Google, you can!  The Wilderness Downtown is an interactive film by Chris Milk featuring Arcade Fires latest song – We Used To Wait. Check it out at The Wilderness Downtown dot com.

Visitors are asked to input the address of their childhood home, what happens next is one of the coolest/creative video experiments I have ever seen!  I don’t want to reveal too much, so try it out for yourself, and when you’re done put in a few Yorkville addresses for fun ;)

If you’re still living in your childhood home and would like to experience the wilderness downtown for yourself… send me an email or give me a call I’d love to help!

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