[Du520]

What do you guys think?

http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?propertyId=8454117

mls: C1655026

What would you pay for this area?

Thanks,

 

[coin purse]

It looks like a nice pad in a great location. The one thing I couldn't tell from the photos was what floor it was on.

Was the view from the balcony not shown for a reason?

 

[Du520]

Hey,

It's ground level surrounded by a courtyard & about 15 similar units. It has its own patio that can easily fit some furniture, a table, and a barbecue. It's got its own entrance from the courtyard. I think it's classified as a "condo townhome" which is how I saw it listed on a realtor's webiste.

Thanks,

 

[Maltese]

I have no idea what the condo is worth but maintenance fee of $570/month is pretty high. This amount is in addition to what you'd pay for taxes.

 

[Sampson]

You'll want to investigate the condo fees further. Such high fees from a presumably newer building (looking at exterior condition) can be a very bad sign. It could mean that there are repairs that require funding in the near future, or the condo reserve fund is underfunded.

Condo fees will also be higher with more common areas, swimming pools, elevators, gyms etc, but if that building doesn't have those, you'll want to check it out.

If you plan on making an offer, make sure your realtor gets copies of the condo board AGM and normal meetings, get a copy of the last condo reserve fund study, financial audits, annual budgets and all other pertinent documents. Then carefully read through them and make sure there aren't any major problems/repairs in the works.

 

[MoneyGal]

Slightly OT: one of the problems I have with condo fees (or perhaps I should phrase that as one of the issues I see with condo fees) is that when you own a home, you can make your own choices about repairing and renovating, including delaying or not undertaking those repairs.

However, when you are a condo owner, those choices are largely out of your control - you are required to essentially fund a reserve fund for the corporation to draw on for repairs.

I'm not suggesting it is a *good* idea to delay or avoid repairs to a house or any other building -- I just think of condo fees as not just forced savings, but savings over which you personally have little control.

 

[HaroldCrump]

IOW, it's a slush fund for the property management company - part of it finances its overheads and the other part must be disappearing under "expense" accounts of certain nature.
When the properties are new, relatively few repairs would be required.
By the time a property ages enough to require regular and heavy maintenance, the fees would anyway have gone by several times in the meantime.
For a new-ish complex, the fees are just another form of "tax" - one more person/agency to dip into your pocket.

 

[Cal]

The asking price is probably reasonable....not that I would pay that much for a 1 bedroom.....

but the condo fee....$570 per month....thats $570 per month that could go towards your mortgage.

 

[OhGreatGuru]

Real estate is only 'worth' what people are willing to pay for it. Given the location in the middle of downtown Toronto the price is not shocking. Condo fee seems high, but I have no idea what the going rate is for condos in that location. You might inquire further as to what services are included in that fee - parking for instance?

 

[iherald]

The maintence fees are about 50c per square foot. Not amazing, but not terrible.