550 Wellington West (Freed Developments) - Real Estate -

[Dan_550]

You are correct - the Diner will be in the facade. I came across some common area floorplans that were part of their liquor license application. The good news is you will never be thirsty here, the bad news is drinks will cost a fortune!

 

[Exodus]

i'm a bit confused between the "Thompson Hotel" that is connected to 550 Wellington, and the "Thompson Residences" which Freed was launching this month. Are they the same thing?

Secondly, are purchasers liking 550 Wellington thus far? I'm an interested buyer, but not quite sure if this is a good project to live in. Overall, I love the modern and clean/minimalist design of Freed's projects. 550 Wellington seems to be in a nice part of downtown, close to little shops/restaurants and a park. I'm a little turned off by the proximity of the balconies to each other and lack of privacy. And are all the amenities pay-per-use? ie. the infinity pool?

 

[MikeMang]

i'm a bit confused between the "Thompson Hotel" that is connected to 550 Wellington, and the "Thompson Residences" which Freed was launching this month. Are they the same thing?

Secondly, are purchasers liking 550 Wellington thus far? I'm an interested buyer, but not quite sure if this is a good project to live in. Overall, I love the modern and clean/minimalist design of Freed's projects. 550 Wellington seems to be in a nice part of downtown, close to little shops/restaurants and a park. I'm a little turned off by the proximity of the balconies to each other and lack of privacy. And are all the amenities pay-per-use? ie. the infinity pool?

Thompson Residences is the new development on the old Travelodge site. 550 Wellington is the name of the project containing the Thompson Hotel and the nearly completed condo project (55 Stewart).

From my understanding this is how things will go down:
55 Stewart residences will have full use of the amenities at the Thompson Hotel. That includes the pool and gym. The only exception is when the hotel is hosting private events. Thompson Residences people WILL NOT be able to use the pool or gym (they will have their own). Residence of both projects will have use to hotel pay per use services such as housekeeping. So the only thing the Thompson Residences has that makes it Thompson is the access to pay per use services of the hotel. The reason they chose that name is because they are trying to sell a `hotel inspired`lifestyle.

If you want to know about the 550 Wellington project, go check out the facebook group on the project. You can get a good feel for where people are at by reading over the comments on the wall. I can`t comment on the project just yet because i have yet to be inside. My PDI is March 16, and occupancy a week later.

If you are concerned about balcony privacy, you should look at some of the units above the hotel. The balconies don`t face each other. The units are also supposed to have higher ceilings and there are only 7 units a floor.

 

[MiguelZ]

You have 5 years from the day the building is registered to have all deficiencies fixed.
If the developer were Atria or Navhar Properties, they will string you along for 5 years, making promises and doing nothing, until they can legally walk away.

This is true.

 

[johnr]

With 550 Wellington condo fees rising 30% after the first year to almost $0.70, I think the resale values will decline.

 

[TheKingEast]

With 550 Wellington condo fees rising 30% after the first year to almost $0.70, I think the resale values will decline.

wtf?

 

[Stratford1]

I follow this area on MLS and notice a lot of listings for 55 Stewart/550 Wellington on the market, these days.


http://www.loftsellers.ca/SUPPLEMEN...5-Stewart-St-103-Toronto-ON-M5V2M9/01001,3050

Let's talk condo fees: for above link a 860 sq foot two level "townhouse", at $488,000, it states about $550 month in condo fees.

That's $6600/yr on fees alone. What do you get? As I understand it, hydro is not included. Nor is you own owner's insurance (I may be wrong on this point). Property taxes are of course extra.
Let's figure another $250/mo - at least - for insurance and property taxes.

All-in that's at least $10,000 /year of your after-tax income just for living here... but wait:

If you buy the unit you'll pay two land transfer taxes: Ont. and T.O. Add at least 1.5% of price: another $7000 capitalized on mortgage, plus interest.

Only paid 10% down? Then pay at least another $7000 in CMHC insurance fees: another $7000 capitalized onto mortgage, plus interest.

Plus a few thousand of closing costs. This means you add almost $20,000 to your mortgage just in these fees from day one in closing costs.
Even if you threw $2000/mo at this debt , factoring in interest your first 2 years of paying 2000/mo goes towards these closing costs!

And don't forget almost $1000/mo for the condo fees, property taxes, insurance plus cable, internet etc.

$3000/mo for two years and you've not touched one penny of mortgage interest or principle!!

What a scam (for the banks).

You might as well rent it for $3000/mo all-in for a few years, and save your 10% Downpayment of $48,000, saving $20000 in closing costs and land transfer taxes - then take this $68,000 and invested in a mix of income paying funds. e.g I know one conservative mutual fund at $11.50/unit that pays .08/unit each month in income. That's $475 in monthly income if you invest this $68,000 into a fund like this one. Just as an alternate example.

Best part is you can walk away withouth another 4% in selling realtor fees and closing costs when you move on (and these days who lives in the same place for more than a few years - we are very mobile).

 

[johnr]

That townhouse unit has been on the market for a while and is facing the construction of a new building. A smaller unit that is 830 sf facing the park is asking $599,000 or $720 psf. I think the buyers in this building are willing to pay a premium because of the Thompson brand. From what I've heard, there are fewer lenders willing to provide mortgage loans for this building because of the hotel component.