Owner'S Project Requirements Office, Condo & Retail Tower: Fill & Download for Free

Buying and owning real estate is an exciting investment strategy, that can be both satisfying and lucrative. Unlike stock and bond investors, prospective real estate owners can use leverage to buy a property by paying a portion of the total cost up front, then paying off the balance, plus interest, over time. While a traditional mortgage generally requires a 20% to 25% down payment, in some cases, a 5% down payment is all it takes to purchase an entire property.But what if you could buy a future property at today’s prices? Let’s say you are looking to invest in real estate today, but are not ready to deal with any of the hassles real estate investment comes with, like neighbors, or renters, or maintenance and repairs. Pre-construction condo investing probably sounds like a good solution. Is it risky? Yes, anything not done with proper research and data is a sure risk but if you do your research and work on it the reward is worth it.What is Pre-construction condo InvestingPre-construction condos are cheaper because the developer is still fundraising and would like to get as much money as possible before breaking ground. You also may be able to have a say in your actual floor-plan, effectively designing your own home, which you can’t get with a finished property.When you invest during the pre-construction phase, all you have to do is wait a couple of years, and the value of your condo will have gone up significantly. And you won’t have any property related expenses during that time.Of course, there are many things you have to take into consideration, and you should certainly not rush into this kind of a decision. As we said earlier, pre-construction condo investing can be risky, but a lot of research can eliminate most of the risks, living you with a fantastic reward.BenefitsIf you are patient and there is no hurry to move right away, the pre-construction condo is the best opportunity for you.Early investors are also more likely to be offered options on splitting deposits. So, rather than paying the full 20% up front, there are more likely to be options for paying 5% quarterly, depending on the developer. That leaves you more money in the bank to keep earning interest, which is a useful benefit for smaller or first time investors.Other than the possibility to design your own floor plan, you should also be able to get the upgrades you always wanted, turning this property into your dream home. A dream home that someone else will build for you.As an early investor, you are more likely to get a pick of the premium units with the best views or access to facilities. Those little extras will help sway or help you have a more competitive rent when it comes to tenants if you plan on renting it out later. It will also help increase the value of your property if you plan on selling.FactsHere is a Fact that might be something you are looking for.According to the Toronto Real Estate Board, the average price of a Condo in Toronto in 2015 was $366,939. In 2018, the average price rise to almost $900 to $100 per square foot depending upon the location. This means the same Condos will now be priced between $630,000 to $700,000. This means the Condo prices in Toronto increased by about 55 percent in the last four years.Every market is different, of course, not all the condos in every city increase at the same rate, but condos in a big city will likely appreciate at a fairly steady rate.Also, with pre-construction condos, your buying price is lesser than the current price of finished condos, which means that your condo will be ready to make you quite a bit of money once it’s actually completed.Consider these ThingsThere are some cost and important things need to be considered before making a buying decision. Here are some of the things you need to knowWaitIt is not uncommon for targeted move-in dates to be extended several times and by many months, as a builder could legally cite "unavoidable delay" situations, such as building-trade problems.Mortgage Lock for a longer timeBuilders tend to work with preferred mortgage providers, who, if you qualify, would give you a special interest rate locked in over an extended period, compared to what a lender not associated with the builder would allow. Check whether the expiry date for the locked-in rate has a chance of being extended if your home's completion is extended. You also do not have to stick with the lender preferred by the builder.HSTIn the case of new condos, HST is applied. If you’re going to live in the unit yourself, you’ll likely qualify for an HST rebate. If you’re an investor, there is a similar (but different) rebate, but you’re only eligible if you rent the condo out for at least a year, If not, you may have to pay thousands of dollars in HST upon closing. Get the legal advice about whether you qualify for the HST rebate before you buy a condo.Closing CostYour real estate, legal and mortgage professionals can help you determine how much extra you will be paying in closing costs – which are on top of what you are paying for the home itself. Roughly, these extra costs can add from 1 to 3 percent or more to the price of your home, and typically include legal fees, enrolling in the provincial warranty program, title insurance, property tax adjustments, and land-transfer taxesRent before OwnIn the case of a pre-construction condo, you do not officially own it until the building is registered – which happens when it is mostly all lived in and passes conditions set out by the provincial land registry office. The registration process can take three months or longer, after which the title of your condo will be transferred to you – and that is when any mortgage or other payments you make are put towards ownership. While awaiting registration, you will be able to move in – during this "interim occupancy" period, you must pay monthly "occupancy fees"There are risks in everything but if proper research is done you can easily avoid these risks and get the benefit of one of the most rewarding investments.Read EverythingMake sure you read and understand the contract. Make sure you understand the payment plan. Make sure you look for any additional costs, outside of the contract. Also, research the developer, their previous project, and read all you can find about them. Make sure they’ve been successful in the past, with their previous developments.Ask QuestionsYou are an investor in a construction project, which means the developer should be going out of their way to accommodate you and your questions. Take advantage of this, and ask anything you think will be useful for your research. Also, look into finding people who have invested in projects with the same builder, and who have already moved into their condos. Their advice will be invaluable.ChangesYou are picking floor plans, and views, and kitchen counters ahead of time, but be prepared for one or more of these things not to turn out exactly the way you wanted them. This happens a lot in construction.DelaysIt is likely that there will be delays. Add a year or two to your expectations, and you should be fine. That’s just another year or two your property will be appreciated without any additional investment.Get Professional HelpMake sure a lawyer looks at the contracts, and you may even want to hire an intermediary company to deal with the developer for you. They are likely to already know all the best developers, their reputation, and can negotiate for you.ConclusionAnything will be a profitable investment if proper research is done. Investing in Pre-construction condos is one of the best and safest forms of investments. While the condos are constructed they appreciate their price and in some markets reach beyond your expectation. It is one of the best and safest ways for new investors to start their investing venture.

Can Baltimore be better? A previous job required that I spend a lot of time in the projects. Some of the things I saw were heartbreaking. I believe it originally traces back to the heroin epidemic of the 60s and 70s -- later the crack epidemic -- and of course heroin is still going strong. At this point certain behaviors have been engrained over multiple generations.I wanted to love Baltimore. I've lived on the 800 block of N. Calvert Street in Mount Vernon and on the border of the West Side on the 100 block of West Saratoga (bordering Lexington Market). On Calvert I would see a non-stop stream of people being released from central booking. I saw a lot of bad things on Saratoga because it was a main east-west route to the West side. I later started a company and had my office in the 11th floor office condos at The Belvedere... lots of shootings both inside and outside of the club in the basement. Keep in mind that these were considered "nicer" areas of Bmore.I finally decided to move out of the city after being hit by a drunk driver and watching the police chase him for many blocks only to let him go. It was then covered up because they accepted bogus information from the driver (spoiler: cops were friends with the driver) and I had to have the 911 and dispatch tapes pulled to prove to my insurance company what had actually happened (plot twist: I later found out that I knew pretty well the owner of the car... he had lent it to this guy). I already couldn't trust most of the residents, but I realized it wasn't safe for me if I could not trust the cops either.Now, with that, if I were to start anywhere, it would be the with drug problem. I have no idea what you could actually do as millions have been spent with no visible return on investment. I do suspect that there are a lot of untreated mental health issues (which can easily lead to addiction), so maybe start there?ETA: I just came across something that says the DEA estimates that there are 60,000 heroin addicts in Baltimore City. That is a full 10% of the population.

Let’s get some basic vocabulary down:A “condo association” is a bunch of “units,” together with “common areas.” A common situation is that the entire condo association comprises a single building, with the units being individual dwellings and the common areas being things like the foyer, the parking lot or garage (if any), a front or back yard, a pool or gym if it’s a fancy building, etc.To be sure, some condos are detached buildings. For example, I own a small condo that my wife and I use as an office. It’s a standalone building, in an association that also includes two other buildings (with each building having three units). Out west, where space is plentiful, you’ll often have “master planned communities” that comprise maybe 50 or 100 single-family houses, but it’s basically one big condo association.The association itself has a governing body, often called a condo board. The condo board can include typical roles, like president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, etc. They are elected periodically (usually every year or two). The governing body is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the association, like making sure the common areas are in good shape and that all the common expenses are paid.Where does the money come from? From the unit owners. Unit owners regularly pay fees (typically every month) into the general fund of the condo association. Some of that is used for recurring bills, and if the governing body so chooses, some of those fees are put into a “reserve fund.” This fund is what will pay for dealing with emergencies.There are also rules. The rules set forth the “do’s and don’t” of living in the association. They might include things like a limitation on the number of type of pets units owners can have, limitations on whether (or for how long) a unit owner can rent their unit, etc. Most rules have some requirement along the lines of unit owners must be good neighbors, and the rules will set forth more specifically what that means, and what the consequences for not being a good neighbor are. The rules usually include the mechanism for how to change the rules. E.g., does the change have to be approved by 50% or more of the unit owners? 70%? Etc.Having said all that, there are pros and cons.Among the pros:It’s often cheaper to live in a condo (but see corresponding con #1).It’s less of a headache, in the sense that you have to do less of the busywork associated with home ownership. You don’t have to mow the grass, shovel the snow, etc. Depending on the association, you might even have a professional maintenance person on call, or even on site.In some cases, there’s a little more of a “community” than just living in a single house. Some condo associations, for example, have regular social events held in common areas. Or at the very least, there are almost always condo association meetings where you at least have the opportunity to be in the same room as your neighbors, if you so choose.Among the cons:Condos are usually cheaper because they’re small. Even if the square footage of your unit is the same, you usually don’t have your own back yard or things like that.To some extent, you’re living at the mercy of other people. At any moment, the condo board can pass a rule that might impact your lifestyle. For example, they might make a “no loud music after 8:00 pm” rule. Who knows.Okay, “no loud music” is a little silly, but this issue can pop up financially in a serious way. For example, the majority of the condo association might get the idea that it’s time for some important preventative maintenance. Let’s say there’s inadequate money in the reserve fund to pay for this project. In that case, the condo association can make a “special assessment,” and basically force all the unit owners to cough up some cash to make the project happen. Depending on what is going on in your life at that point, that may be inconvenient.Or the reverse can happen. I owned a condo (that I rented out) in a six unit association. The five other units were owned by a single company, who also rented out all those units. The company was very much in slum lord mode.One day a maintenance issue came up that could be done either “cheap” or “right.” I wanted it to be done right, but the slum lord company just wanted to protect the bottom line. So they put the proverbial band-aid on it, and it routinely came back to bite us. (They sold all their units at some point, so eventually the issue was fixed “right.”)