Forest Hill Condos, The (Lash Development, The Goldman Group) - Real Estate -

I heard from my lawyer; they have received the interim occupancy figures and the maintenance fee in there is almost 20% more than what was in the disclosure. Apparently, there is no recourse - the builder can do this and get away with it.
 
Update: I spoke with the Builder....in large part this increase is due to the HST - so we have McGuinty to thank for it. It's still way too much. Hopefully, when the new board is formed, they will look at some cost cutting measures.
 
Hi:
I'm new to the UT and bought in 500 - don't move in til the end of June. Does anyone have any idea when the building will be registered?
 
For those who have already moved in, how is the service on the part of the Builder, in terms of having questions/concerns answered?
 
hey guys, moving into my unit in 3 weeks -- getting very anxious! How was everyone else's move-in process? Any tips/stories to share with the rest of us? Thanks in advance!
 
Take some photos of your unit and common areas please. I posted many photos of this building while under construction, even almost got killed while getting an update about a year ago (car ran into me on my bike--bastard), so it's only fair y'all show me the interior!
 
PDI - Take your time - don't be rushed and know that probably 75% of the stuff will not be done by the time you move in. I would recommend you hang around for a few days and nag the builder and construction folks to get your stuff done otherwise...good luck.

Looks like there is only one person handling the PDI AND looking after all issues - not the most effective or efficient setup. Most questions will not be answered unless you manage to track someone down in the lobby and again be a pest.

On the other hand the finishes in the unit are lovely and views spectacular; nice 9ft ceilings. Concierge is excellent.

They removed the tarp in the lobby so it does not look like a construction zone but it is not yet fully furnished. Amenities are not yet done. Depending on where you are located, it is NOISY.

All in all nice, with the usual growing pains....

PS: Make sure your movers completely shrink-wrap ALL your furniture. Otherwise, your stuff will be sprinkled with construction dust by the time it makes its way into your unit.
 
Thanks for the tips. Figured the amenities would not be ready yet, so I assume that includes the gym? I'd also be interested in hearing what some of your closing costs were, especially for other first time home owners. Thanks!
 
Thanks for the tips. Figured the amenities would not be ready yet, so I assume that includes the gym? I'd also be interested in hearing what some of your closing costs were, especially for other first time home owners. Thanks!

Gym is not ready yet....
Closing has not yet occurred. Although the builder refers to it as "final closing", it is actually the interim closing. The final closing as we think of it is the "unit transfer" (and will happen after the building is registered). And.......the unit transfer is expected to happen at the end of June! So, depending on your occupancy date, you will be paying the occupancy fee for only a period of a few weeks. Other than that no substantial costs yet (other than the insane hike in maintenance fees). I guess we'll all find out at the end of June.
 
That's great to hear that they anticipate unit transfer to be the end of June! My move-in date is in the middle of June, so hopefully I won't have to pay much in occupancy fees. As for the increased maintenance fees, I spoke to my lawyer about it and got it all figured out. There was an updated disclosure book sent out back in Dec 2007 which outlined many changes to our agreement due to their plans to build 530 St Clair, so we all had the opportunity to back out of our agreement if we chose to at that point. In that disclosure book was an increased budget for common expenses, and a percentage breakdown for each unit. So for example, under the original budget your common expenses were $250/mo, now under the new budget it is $300/mo. Well there is another section that states that if the condo is not registered by Dec 31, 2008, the budget will increase by 6% every year until registered. So technically we should be paying $300/mo + 12%, but based on the latest numbers I got from the builder they have only increased it by 6%.
 
I spoke to developers today. The building has been registered, documents sent to lawyers and owners will have about four weeks to arrange financing. This means we don't pay HST on the transaction. Transfer should be sometime around mid-July.
 
Great news! I just moved into my unit earlier this week and so far I've been quite happy. However my unit is still having some water and heat pump issues. Sometimes the AC just won't respond unless I turn the breakers off and back on, but then it only goes for 10-15 minutes. Also this morning I had no water to the unit, I emailed the lady in charge of PDI and it was turned on right away. But tonight I have no hot water and when I emailed her they said they would be in tomorrow morning. Hopefully it will be back on for my morning shower!
 

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