Tag Archives: home warranty program
Loft conversions perk up neighbourhoods
Excerpt from an article by Elvira Cordileone – Toronto Star
Creation of new communities is revitalizing when old areas are getting new residents
Have lofts become urban trailblazers for revitalization of older neighbourhoods?
Jeanhy Shim, president and editor of Urbanation, a publication that tracks the condo market in the GTA, thinks so.
“Lofts helped lead the way in creating new neighbourhoods in downtown, east and west,” Shim says, adding they are also helping revitalize such areas as the Junction, Roncesvalles Village and Leslieville.
One such example is Bloorline Lofts.
Bloorline Lofts was once a mattress factory. In fact, when construction started, crews unearthed metal springs buried all around the building.
Edwin Brdlik, who is marketing the Bloorline Lofts, says the conversion is finished and the building has been registered. Converting old buildings into lofts took off in cities such as New York and Chicago 50 years ago, Brdlik says.
The first legal loft conversion in Toronto (41 Shanly near Dufferin and Bloor Sts.) didn’t take place until 1982 when the city finally realized older buildings were simply going to waste.
People who buy a loft in a converted building choose it because they want the character and uniqueness of the space, says Brdlik.
The larger marquee buildings, such as the former Tip Top Tailors and the Toy Factory, have already been transformed, but he says the city still has a small supply of small to medium buildings ripe for conversion.
The Bloorline Lofts are “hard” lofts, units carved out of an existing, usually older building. (Hard lofts are considered renovations and aren’t covered by Tarion, the province’s new home warranty program.)
Once a mattress factory, the Bloorline Lofts condo project is helping to revitalize the Bloor Street West and Lansdowne Ave. neighbourhoods.
Shim says “soft” lofts – units in brand new buildings with the high ceilings, large windows and open-concept layouts of the genuine loft – came along after 1995, when the supply of authentic lofts was limited as the number of buildings that could be converted dwindled.
Brdlik says lofts, both hard and soft, cost $300 to $400 a square foot, compared to $265 to $350 for a typical condo unit. That’s because it costs more to convert an older building while maintaining its special character – which is its appeal – than it does to build from scratch, and the higher ceilings found in new loft-style buildings translates into fewer units than a comparable condo building, which drives up the per-unit price.
According to data provided by Shim, the GTA has a total of 230 new condo projects, with 48,000 units on the market. Loft developments (both hard and soft) account for only 10% of all projects.
But because they’re usually small with fewer units than the typical condo, lofts account for only 5% of available resale units.
“Lofts in conversion projects do phenomenally well. They speak to certain types of people – mainly young professionals – with their openness, high ceilings and a bit of funkiness,” Shim says.
Read the rest of the article here
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Buying a New Toronto Condominium from a Builder
The Purchase and Sale Agreement and Cooling-off Period
A condo owner’s rights are more restricted than other homeowners.
The Purchase and Sale Agreement
Before you sign the purchase and sale agreement, check with your real estate lawyer to know your rights and protect them.
Get it in writing. If you have specific needs for how you want your unit completed, set them out in the agreement of purchase and sale. Never rely on statements made by the salesperson.
The 10-day Cooling-off Period
You may cancel your contract and receive a refund of your deposit with interest within 10 days of the time you receive a copy of the signed purchase and sale agreement or the disclosure statement (whichever comes later). In some cases, you may have more time to cancel the contract if there has been a material change as defined in the Condominium Act.
Your Builder’s Obligations
The builder must provide you with a disclosure statement, which contains a table of contents and specific information including:
* a general description of the property
* any pet restrictions
* the budget statement
* the number of units the builder intends to lease
* the estimated completion date for the construction of amenities
* the existing or proposed Declaration and By-laws.
The table of contents helps buyers find information quickly and easily in the Declaration, By-laws, or Rules. You should review the disclosure documents with your lawyer.
Your Closing Expenses
At the time of closing, you should expect to pay the following expenses:
* mortgage payment
* land transfer tax
* lawyer’s fees
* adjustments and other taxes
* the Ontario New Home Warranty Program fee.
Other financial obligations will include:
* monthly common expense (maintenance) fees
* the down payment (paid when you sign the agreement of purchase and sale)
* utilities (if not included in the maintenance fee).
The Tarion New Home Warranty Plan
The Tarion Warranty Corporation (Tarion) delivers the Ontario New Home Warranty Plan on behalf of the Government of Ontario. Tarion protects buyers of new condo units, if the builder is registered with them.
For example:
* Deposits or down payments (up to a maximum of $20,000 plus interest) will be returned if the builder goes bankrupt. (Note: Condo purchasers are also protected for deposits over $20,000 by the trust and excess deposit provisions of the Condominium Act.)
* Units and common elements are insured against defects.
Between six and 10 months after your new condo is registered, an architect or engineer must conduct a performance audit on your new condo. The common elements must be part of this inspection so that any deficiencies are identified on the year-end warranty claim form that’s submitted by the condo corporation – as the owner of the common elements – to Tarion. The performance audit also includes a survey of owners, asking them about any damage to their units caused by defects in the common elements.
Tarion will not accept warranty claims submitted by individual unit owners with respect to common elements. The warranty claims process involves specific steps – steps condominium corporations must take to submit a warranty claim; repair periods for builders to perform work on warranted items; and steps Tarion will take to become involved if necessary.
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960
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Buyers in loft conversions need protection
Excerpt of an article by Ellen Moorehouse – Toronto Star
Christopher Hume actually gave 5 “A” ratings a few years back, four of those top marks went to small loft conversion projects. In all cases, the buildings, whether a former peanut factory or office building, had outlived their original usefulness. But builders with vision practiced the ultimate in recycling and transformed obsolete structures into lofts that revitalize neighbourhoods, preserve history and enrich our housing stock.
Undertaking a loft conversion is not easy. Just ask anyone who has tried a house renovation, where the unexpected is the rule and cost overruns a fact of life.
Recently, Condo Living featured a story about St. Andrew’s Mill, a spectacular loft conversion in Fergus, Ont., where builder Murray Koebel admitted costs just crept up on him.
Loft conversions obviously pose a risk for buyers, just as they do for the developers, and, as lawyers will point out to any purchaser contemplating a loft project, it’s caveat emptor.
While the Ontario government has mandated Tarion, formerly the Ontario New Home Warranty Program, to protect buyers of new houses and condominiums, there’s no such protection for purchasers in loft conversion projects.
There are more than 100 loft conversions in the city, and the number is growing. There’s no reason why Tarion shouldn’t cover them.
Not only does the buyer in a loft conversion project not get the benefit of warranty protection against deficiencies, but there are no qualification requirements for the builder doing the project, nor is there any way to monitor the number of deficiencies the builder may have failed to rectify in previous projects. Tarion performs all of these functions for the new homes and condos sector.
Finally, first-time buyers in loft conversion projects are not eligible for the land transfer tax rebate of up to $2,000. Only newly built houses or condos bought from a builder in the warranty program are eligible.
Loft conversion projects, however, are not within Tarion’s scope, says Mary Mullens, Tarion’s general counsel.
“Our legislation was intended for brand-new construction. That’s not to say these aren’t good points, but loft conversions are not within our mandate,” she says. “If they were, that’s a major change, and it would be a complex new business to enter into. Risk assessment and appropriate security would vary from building to building depending on its age and condition.”
In the meantime, purchasers in a loft conversion project have to go in with their eyes open.
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960
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Incoming search terms
Related posts:
- Buyers in loft conversions need protection Excerpt of an article by Ellen Moorehouse – Toronto Star...
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- Loft conversions perk up neighbourhoods Excerpt from an article by Elvira Cordileone – Toronto Star...
- Loft conversions boost neighbourhoods The first legal loft conversion in Toronto (at the old...
- Buyers praise heavenly loft conversions Since 1999, when loft conversions went into full swing around...
