I am interested in buying a condo. The land is bare and nothing has been built. They tell me its 80 - 90% sold already. Could it be that they want to sell the most expensive and most hard to sell condos before they let the rest on to the market?
Condo sales - Do these bastards tell you it is 90% sold when it is not?
- Thread starter Doctor Zoidburg
- Start date
A seller lie? never happens..... lolDoctor Zoidburg said:
If the condos they have 'available' are what you are looking for what does it matter if they are holding back lesser quality ones?
If they're not what you're looking for walk away... if they are hiding other ones I imagine they will quickly become available to you.
I have no way of proving this, but I believe it very strongly to be true. There's a condo I know of that recently claimed to be sold out, which if true would be a miracle of biblical proportions based on the length of time on the market and the recent market conditions.
You should ask how many units have been released. Often the condo is sold in stages with units being released in groups. It is often, but by no means always, the case that prices are increased for subsequent releases. Alos sometimes they hold the penthouses and best units for the last release. Generally no construction can begin until they have sold a minimum of about 60-65% of units depending on builder.
Ask them to show you unit-by-unit plans, and indicate which ones have been sold, when those sales close, and under what conditions. My guess is they'll start to get somewhat more evasive.
If they won't even show you unit-by-unit (e.g. their construction plans with a "dot" to mark a sold unit), then it may be 90% of something less than the whole. (E.g. they'll come out later and say "more units now available!")
If they won't even show you unit-by-unit (e.g. their construction plans with a "dot" to mark a sold unit), then it may be 90% of something less than the whole. (E.g. they'll come out later and say "more units now available!")
You should ask how many units have been released. Often the condo is sold in stages with units being released in groups. It is often, but by no means always, the case that prices are increased for subsequent releases. Alos sometimes they hold the penthouses and best units for the last release. Generally no construction can begin until they have sold a minimum of about 60-65% of units depending on builder.
Possibly because construction won't begin until a certain percentage of units are sold. So if they lie to you about that percentage, you could be waiting a lot longer than you expect...Moraff said:
Yes. Financing is usually conditional on reaching a certain percentage of pre construction sales. This mitigates the risk for the lender.Keebler Elf said:
The little red stickers on the floor plans? LOTS of developers just put a bunch of stickers on the floor plans to fake sales. They try to generate urgency for you. While there are many honest developers out there, there are many that are not. Caveat Emptor.
Before buying a condo, you should read this article:
http://kurtismycfo.com/eNewsletter/Kurt's Enewsletter Volume 18 Sept 2009.pdf
http://kurtismycfo.com/eNewsletter/Kurt's Enewsletter Volume 18 Sept 2009.pdf
Yeah, but if they're lying to you about the percentage of units sold then don't be surprised if they're lying to you about the construction date too. And I would think an accurate construction start date is pretty hard to predict.
Possibly you are correct... I've never been involved in building condos. But if they won't start breaking ground until about 60% sold then I would expect by 90% they should have at least a ballpark figure of when it's going to start because they should have been lining stuff up by then.Keebler Elf said:
Of course that assumes they aren't lying to you.....
There are two points for construction date to be determined. The first is meeting all the conditions required to get a building permit or at least a foundation permit.(including resolving site issues) The second is meeting all the conditions required for getting the financing approved. Once you have those, setting an accurate start date is relatively easy.Moraff said:
The problem is that the developer will likely give you whatever information they think will close the deal and you won't know. Lots of projects have been canned lately.
I would insist on construction start and end dates to be included in the contract, ideally with penalties. Also, I would get my lawyer to look over the fine print. Ensure the units have to be completed to my satisfaction.
Unfortunately, at least when Toronto's market was riding high, I have a feeling I would be laughed out of the condo office. The way things are now, you might have more success.
I've heard stories of couples winding up homeless or living with relatives because "new" homes arrived months (or years) late.
Unfortunately, at least when Toronto's market was riding high, I have a feeling I would be laughed out of the condo office. The way things are now, you might have more success.
I've heard stories of couples winding up homeless or living with relatives because "new" homes arrived months (or years) late.
Yes many sales persons lie about what percentage is sold.
Also they will make the prime units as sold to sell of the less attractive ones first.
If a project is 90 percent sold construction should already be underway.
Check when the building permit was applied for at city hall.
Ask someone there what is going on. Are the builders waiting for a permit or other approval?
Also they will make the prime units as sold to sell of the less attractive ones first.
If a project is 90 percent sold construction should already be underway.
Check when the building permit was applied for at city hall.
Ask someone there what is going on. Are the builders waiting for a permit or other approval?
Construction Start Dates
There are new TARION rules that deal with exactly this point with remedies and penalties attached. I finance a lot of these things.... so pm the condo name and I'll tell you if the 90% sales achieved is true or not.Cassini said:
Bingo!!! They say sold out relative to the number of units that were released at that point, it's misleading BS, but they away with it cause it's not regulated.toguy5252 said:
I might also add, many units are owned by the developer, friends, family, etc... and then released near occupancy date so they can maximize their selling price as the market increases in price during construction. They have been doing this for years and made handsome profits.
