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What to look for when considering re-sale value?

HelloToday

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Hello everyone,

I did do a search before posting this and didn't come up with much :)

What are some of the ideals when it comes to re-sale? Corner unit, high floor, facing a certain direction, far away from elevators??? I've been keeping an eye on Toronto developments the past 6 months in anticipation of buying, and as I get closer, I'm starting to think: "Well, whats the best unit to have - not only to live in for the next 5yrs, but to get the most value for when I sell"

Thoughts appreciated,
 
premiums are usually asked for s/w or s/e corner units on high floor away from elevators
 
On resale, go for the best appealing location. You can purchase the best layout/view/whatnot in Regent Park, but on resale, you'd never be able to get the interest in it due to its perceived iffy location.
Brightness is next, so south or south-west exposures, south-east if you don't mind getting woken up extremely early in the morning in the summers. Views are iffy, never look into somebody else's unit, of theirs into yours, i.e., unit should have privacy so you can walk around naked with no drapes drawn and not have the feeling that somebody's 'looking'.
Outdoor space is always a plus.
Maintenance fees that are still reasonable on an older resale unit, with no history of special assessments, is great, means it's a better-run building. Even the new buildings are going to be screwed because they're occupied with more renters than owners, and try to form a board of directors with the vast majority of owners living out of the country, good luck, and is a recipe for developers controlling the board and PM and making sure that all problems AREN'T addressed before they wave goodbye forever, and special assessments are then used to make up any oversights as a result of having inadequate board of directors and property management companies with allegiances to the developer and not the board.
Next would have to be if it has higher ceilings or just your plain 8' ceilings, or in some cases, 7ft-9.5in ceilings as in some of the older buildings that went through the last condo bubble bust in early 90's, where developers thought they could actually save money buy reducing the height of ceilings by a couple inches to save concrete costs, go figure (as in a lot of the buildings in the Bay-Wellesley neighbourhood built in early 1990's). Since most new buildings offer 9' ceilings or more, going back to 8' or less really is a turn-off to most people when trying to get a new condo feel but on resale budget.
 
Thanks, the points intuitively make sense. What of balconies and terraces? Although I am not big on them myself, I think they add value - especially the larger ones with a BBQ connection.
 
I would also look for a healthy reserve fund. If the condo has been well managed by the board, it should have a strong reserve fund if it's been around for several years.

Low or very low maintenance fees in older building can actually be a sign of a huge problem and mismanagement. There was an article printed a while back (will try to find it) about a building somewhere in North Toronto where the board and unit owners have kept the maintenance fees low for years, not built up the reserve fund and not invested in maintenance and necessary upgrades. Now the building needs serious work but the condo corporation doesn't have the funds to pay for them. Prices for units in that building are substantially lower than comparables in the area.
 
Some good points above. Just wanted to reiterate ttc access (10 min or less walk to subway is ideal) and maint fees/reserve fund. Take a look at status certificate, minutes from annual meetings, see what's going on. Fees are doubled edge sword: we want them low, but if they are too low it could be a sign of being ill prepared for unexpected repairs. As an icing on the cake type of thing I'd look at view, I'd you can get a good one, great, but with the way development is going in the city, uninstructed views are few and far between. As long as I'm not 16 inches away from another building (see link below), then I'm not that concerned. Still, it's good to be aware of what's being zoned in and around your area, sites like UT are so valuable in this regard.

Beware of what could happen to your view:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysrCmm8iksQ

And

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6Dbdt_ogpo
 
Great idea about getting a look at the annaul report. This not only tells you the status of the reserve fund and other key financial information - but also gives you an idea of what the board is like (i.e. how active, how involved, do lots of people run for spots on the board, what recommendations do they put forward at annual meetings, what upgrades are planned, etc.). You want a board that cares and is making decisions that are best for both the long and the short term interests of the asset you're about to purchase.
 
On resale, go for the best appealing location. You can purchase the best layout/view/whatnot in Regent Park, but on resale, you'd never be able to get the interest in it due to its perceived iffy location.
Brightness is next, so south or south-west exposures, south-east if you don't mind getting woken up extremely early in the morning in the summers. Views are iffy, never look into somebody else's unit, of theirs into yours, i.e., unit should have privacy so you can walk around naked with no drapes drawn and not have the feeling that somebody's 'looking'.
Outdoor space is always a plus.
Maintenance fees that are still reasonable on an older resale unit, with no history of special assessments, is great, means it's a better-run building. Even the new buildings are going to be screwed because they're occupied with more renters than owners, and try to form a board of directors with the vast majority of owners living out of the country, good luck, and is a recipe for developers controlling the board and PM and making sure that all problems AREN'T addressed before they wave goodbye forever, and special assessments are then used to make up any oversights as a result of having inadequate board of directors and property management companies with allegiances to the developer and not the board.
Next would have to be if it has higher ceilings or just your plain 8' ceilings, or in some cases, 7ft-9.5in ceilings as in some of the older buildings that went through the last condo bubble bust in early 90's, where developers thought they could actually save money buy reducing the height of ceilings by a couple inches to save concrete costs, go figure (as in a lot of the buildings in the Bay-Wellesley neighbourhood built in early 1990's). Since most new buildings offer 9' ceilings or more, going back to 8' or less really is a turn-off to most people when trying to get a new condo feel but on resale budget.

Gr8 Post!!!
 
I really like the idea from another forum member in another thread about building size. While many people on this forum love tall and large projects I feel as though there is an intrinsic suppression of value in large buildings or complexes. The reason is as simple and fundamental as supply and demand. Basically, if you buy in a really big complex or building there are guaranteed to be a lot of people offering the same thing you are at any given point in time. Even if there is strong fundamental demand for your unit and the location, at any given time other people will also be marketing the same product. You won't notice this effect as much during boom periods but during slow-downs or slumps finding a buyer for your unit when there are 10 others exactly the same who can't sell in your building will be like a nightmare.


Furthermore, the relative level of build-out of your neighbourhood matters as well. If your area is already fully built out it makes a big difference relative to an area where at any point in the future they could just build thousands of new units in close proximity to yours. There is a size effect at play in this phenomenon as well. If height restrictions capped buildings in your area at 5-storeys you would have a supply glut cap and prices would be elevated. If anyone can build a 100-storey building at any time the market dynamics of your area are intrinsically unstable.
 

I find it fascinating (which is probably a bit twisted) what has happened to a number of views in downtown Toronto. There are examples everywhere of views that have disappeared. However my favourite are the ones where the previous view has now turned into a wall that's less than 10 meters from your window. I haven't watched these videos (will do so later). So some of my favourites may be captured there. One example is a number of units in the Hudson (King and Spadina) with east facing views where Charlie has gone up smack against Hudson windows. Crazy. Talk abou losing a ton of light! I also feel sorry for the folks in the small loft (forget what it's called) on the south side of King just west of where Minto King is being built. Unless I'm crazy, that's the only window some of those units have. The impact on resale (and general livability must just suck).
 
Just to add...

Ditto on what others have said about ceiling height. I just moved out of a downtown place that had 10 1/2 to 11 foot ceilings. Made the place feel huge.

It was fantastic.
 
I also feel sorry for the folks in the small loft (forget what it's called) on the south side of King just west of where Minto King is being built. Unless I'm crazy, that's the only window some of those units have. The impact on resale (and general livability must just suck).

It's actually not as bad as it seems.
I recently purchased a unit at Gotham Lofts (the building next door to Minto775) being fully aware of the new development.
The selling agent did fully disclose the development next door at their open house and had the Minto renderings on display.
I had access to floorplans and building elevations of the Minto building as my office worked on that project, so I could determine the impact on the light and views. While the new building will block the east views, the east facing units of Gotham will still get some direct sunlight and will infact gain western light from the reflections from the new glass building.
I also heard that Gotham's condo association was very vocal on Minto's original design which they manged to get Minto to redesign the west side of the development, which delayed the development somewhat.

From the street it looks like the Minto building butts right against the Gotham, but the Gotham building is T-shaped in plan (wider on King Street) and the Minto building has a section carved out on the west side of the property, creating a courtyard between the two buildings. The design of the courtyard is very nice and will serve as a nice view below, especially at night. Minto is also adding lots of guest bicycle parking and a Bixi station near the entrance before the courtyard which will also serve my building well.

Dispite the obvious construction next door, there were lots of interested people at the open house weekend and I had to compete with 5 other offers in the end. During the open house the agent was curious to see me unfold drawings and examining the views from the window at various angles. I didn't want to share much information to jepordize my chances in getting the place from the competing offers.

Back to resale values, I actually saw excellent resale potential here because:
1. Location:
Right on King West, but away from the chaos of the bars and clubs east of Bathurst, and steps to Stanley Park and Trinity-Bellwoods which is great for dog owners and joggers.
2. Building:
This is a true loft with post & beam construction which is rarity. It is also a boutique building with less than 50 units and based on the condo documents has only two renters currently in the entire building, which is great for pride of ownership and less wear and tear of the common elements. It also has a gym, a few meeting/party rooms, and a shared concierge which is extremely rare for such a small building.
Also being a building almost a 100 years old you can't find any other condo with so much character and history.
3. Unit features:
The 10-foot high ceiling is a great plus, the room sizes are very generous (the bedroom is twice the size of most bedrooms in new condo construction), the bedroom also has a window, real solid hardwood floors which could be refinished, and the unit I bought had a gas stove which is a huge plus for me.
4. Sales history:
Units rarely come on the market and when they do they sell extremely fast.
 

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