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Palace Pier Condo - Real Estate -

These apartments are really big, what's the square footage? That may account for the higher monthly maintenance fee which I think are in the 50 cent+ range. They also have unusual services like security + concierge + valet parking, shuttle bus service and such plus I believe hydro is included.
 
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is this normal for Toronto condos? close to $1200 a month for a condo being offered for $325,000?

http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?propertyId=8807053

will this happen with all Toronto downtown condos? out of control fees? it appears to me by the sheer number of condos listed in this building that people have trouble giving these things away, due to the fees.



Palace Pier condos have alot of amenities (i.e. indoor pool, squash courts, racket courts, tennis courts, 24/7 concierge, etc)

their fees are also all -inclusive at $0.75 PSF vs. newer ones which are billed separately for alot of items like electricity, parking, lockers, etc on top of the maintenances fees (which are really $0.50 PSF compared to the sales brochure of $0.42)
 
hey

i always wonder what the outcome is when people can no longer afford the maintenance fees for a condo.what happens?
can they sell the building or what?
also, from this, does it make sense to say that eventually every condo will have a high maintenance fee as time passes?
 
i always wonder what the outcome is when people can no longer afford the maintenance fees for a condo.what happens?
can they sell the building or what? also, from this, does it make sense to say that eventually every condo will have a high maintenance fee as time passes?

As noted above condo fees include (or exclude) lots of things and you need to compare apples with apples and you also need to find out what the state of the Reserve Fund is. Reserve Funds are to pay for major repairs and replacements and buildings 25+ years old tend to need major things like new roofs, new elevators. If the fund was not properly funded in the early years then the contributions to it will increase greatly as the building reaches this critical 25-30 year time. (Monthly fees include $ for the Operating Budget plus $ for the Reserve Fund.)
If an owner can no longer afford the monthly fees I guess they need to sell and move somewhere cheaper or the Corporation needs to save money (and thus have lower fees) by no longer providing some of the 'extras".
 
yeah it's quite big: 1550 sq ft - that explains it. those were the good old days eh, when they built condos a decent size.
 
I love that building. The architecture still makes it the best condominium in the area. I imagine it's pleasant to live in with the large units and many amenities. Plus, you can cycle downtown by trail.
 
I had the "privilege" of working with someone in the mid-80's who lived in there and was in several times. Mom & Dad bought the pad for him, a three bedroom that had a living room as big as the house that I grew up in. My memory of just riding the elevators in there was magical. I don't know what it's like today but back then it was truly opulent.
 
Nowadays for that size would be a Penthouse suite and in that area the new ones are selling for close to 1 mil.

I think this is actually the point. You save on taxes (about 85 cents/$1000 valuation) but perhaps pay more on condo fees monthly. Previous posts correctly pointed out that you need to compare what is and is not included in the fees and compare apples to apples. There are alot of amenities in that building. For the size, even if you spend $5000 more/year on fees, if it costs1/2 to a 1/3 the price of a new condo, how many decades do you have to wait to recover the difference in cost (let alone the carrying cost/lost opportunity on the additional funds tied up).

If you like the building, the area, and the room, there may be alot of logic in purchasing here but as correctly stated in the first post, $1200/month is your starting point and it will go up from there (with likely a big hit this year and next as the PST gets added to the GST on everything in the reserve fund so expect a 6%+ increase this year if it is like most condos in the city.
 

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