Emerald City Condos (ELAD Canada) - Real Estate -

Grasshopper said:
I passed by the site and saw workers today.
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The ones on strike are Elevator Union, Roofing Union, and Drywall labour union. I do not believe only elevator, roofing worker, and drywall worker are the only workers working on the project. You probably saw other workers who are none of these.
 
The union strike cannot go longer than 45 days or they are forced back to work. it shouldn't move our dates much! I will check with Natalie tho
 
vanessa523 said:
The union strike cannot go longer than 45 days or they are forced back to work. it shouldn't move our dates much! I will check with Natalie tho
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Natalie did tell me that she didn't think the elevator strike could last too long - something about too many 911 calls because of broken elevators would probably result in being legislated back to work?

Also, she did say that they're closed over the holidays (thank goodness!) so if they can't close prior to December 14 or so, you're looking at the new year. She estimated that final closing may be June 2014 (when you pay land transfer taxes, start your mortgage and stop paying that glorified "rent" to the builder) but that's obviously subject to change in light of the strike. Albert, (the mortgage guy) on the other hand, seemed to think final closing would be closer to 4 months from occupancy, although times apparently can range from 4-6 months on average.
 
amavel_melle said:
Natalie did tell me that she didn't think the elevator strike could last too long - something about too many 911 calls because of broken elevators would probably result in being legislated back to work?

Also, she did say that they're closed over the holidays (thank goodness!) so if they can't close prior to December 14 or so, you're looking at the new year. She estimated that final closing may be June 2014 (when you pay land transfer taxes, start your mortgage and stop paying that glorified "rent" to the builder) but that's obviously subject to change in light of the strike. Albert, (the mortgage guy) on the other hand, seemed to think final closing would be closer to 4 months from occupancy, although times apparently can range from 4-6 months on average.
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How much is the glorified "rent" that we have to pay to the builder before you start your mortgage? Is there a formula? If it is too high, can I opt out to not live in the condo yet until I start to pay mortgage instead of paying the "rent" to the builder?

I have not locked in a mortgage rate yet. When is the best time to do it? I heard banks can only lock in for 180 days.
 
newbuyer said:
How much is the glorified "rent" that we have to pay to the builder before you start your mortgage? Is there a formula? If it is too high, can I opt out to not live in the condo yet until I start to pay mortgage instead of paying the "rent" to the builder?

I have not locked in a mortgage rate yet. When is the best time to do it? I heard banks can only lock in for 180 days.
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http://www.truecondos.com/5-things-to-know-about-occupancy-fees/
I believe we will find out our occupancy fees around August or so. According to the above site, occupany fees are roughly equivalent to interest payments on the amount you still owe to the builder (i.e. purchase price - deposits, which means if you were buying this cash and weren't going to make monthly mortgage payments, you'd still have to pay this fee). I don't know if interest rates would be based on prime (3%) or the going mortgage rates or the rates for a loan...? It MAY be hidden away somewhere in some of the thick condo documents but I don't have them on me atm so I can't verify.

Regardless, no, you cannot NOT pay the occupancy fee. There's no way around it. From my understanding, the building can't get "condominium status" until x% of the building is occupied (I've heard it must be 80% occupied, others say 100% occupied before the builder can apply for condo status. Either way, the higher up you are, the shorter your occupancy period). You can't own something that doesn't officially exist, and the building does not until it gets condo status.

I'd suggest getting your pre-approvals in place now because if something changes financially later, that may impact your approvals (e.g. if you currently have a roommate paying you rent, that could count towards your income now). It doesn't hurt to lock in rates now because you're not bound to any rate or lender until you sign. It's just a safe guard to lock in their high rates now in the very unlikely event that interest rates sky rocket in the near future. At this point, with neither occupany or final closing confirmed, I'd say get your pre-approvals from different lenders now (and take any locked in rates they can give if possible - some can lock in for longer, others can't) and make sure you've got enough saved up for your last 5% deposit, closing fees, land transfer taxes (we'll have to pay 2 - Ontario AND Toronto tax!) etc.

Hope this helps!:)
 
amavel_melle said:
http://www.truecondos.com/5-things-to-know-about-occupancy-fees/
I believe we will find out our occupancy fees around August or so. According to the above site, occupany fees are roughly equivalent to interest payments on the amount you still owe to the builder (i.e. purchase price - deposits, which means if you were buying this cash and weren't going to make monthly mortgage payments, you'd still have to pay this fee). I don't know if interest rates would be based on prime (3%) or the going mortgage rates or the rates for a loan...? It MAY be hidden away somewhere in some of the thick condo documents but I don't have them on me atm so I can't verify.

Regardless, no, you cannot NOT pay the occupancy fee. There's no way around it. From my understanding, the building can't get "condominium status" until x% of the building is occupied (I've heard it must be 80% occupied, others say 100% occupied before the builder can apply for condo status. Either way, the higher up you are, the shorter your occupancy period). You can't own something that doesn't officially exist, and the building does not until it gets condo status.

I'd suggest getting your pre-approvals in place now because if something changes financially later, that may impact your approvals (e.g. if you currently have a roommate paying you rent, that could count towards your income now). It doesn't hurt to lock in rates now because you're not bound to any rate or lender until you sign. It's just a safe guard to lock in their high rates now in the very unlikely event that interest rates sky rocket in the near future. At this point, with neither occupany or final closing confirmed, I'd say get your pre-approvals from different lenders now (and take any locked in rates they can give if possible - some can lock in for longer, others can't) and make sure you've got enough saved up for your last 5% deposit, closing fees, land transfer taxes (we'll have to pay 2 - Ontario AND Toronto tax!) etc.

Hope this helps!:)
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How much do you think closing cost and land transfer taxes?
 
Are you guys hearing the Occupancy date could be in Nov, 2013 provided the strike is resolved shortly and the Final Closing is next June 2014 for phase 1? What surprises me is the number of months between Occupancy and the Final could be up to 8 months. Seems way too long, no?
 
animatrix said:
Are you guys hearing the Occupancy date could be in Nov, 2013 provided the strike is resolved shortly and the Final Closing is next June 2014 for phase 1? What surprises me is the number of months between Occupancy and the Final could be up to 8 months. Seems way too long, no?
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I do not think that is all that unusual from date of first occupancy through to registration - from what I have heard on an anecdotal basis, sometimes could be more, other times less. What I find unfair is that the 'Interim Rent' charged by the developer during the pre-registration period is based on the first year pro-forma operating budget, which includes an initial estimate of the reserve fund contributions. So the developer is collecting interim rent which includes a portion which was intended to be allocated to the condominium's reserve fund. As there is no requirement under the legislation for those funds to be turned over to the condominium, or otherwise credited to the reserve fund, they are retained by the developer as part of their profit margin. My understanding is that this is a standard practice among all condo developers in Ontario.
 
I guess everyone must have gotten the email update today. The elevator workers are being ordered to back to work on Monday and they are going to send us a letter for the confirmed occupancy date which will be on June 2014.

It was supposed to be October 2013 right? But how come few weeks strike has postponed the date to June 2014?
 
newbuyer, where did you hear that the confirmed occupancy date has been moved from October 2013 to June 2014?
 
I think there is some confusion over occupancy date and closing date:

Occupancy Date: (For my particular unit this was supposed to be November 14th - I assume because of the month long strike it will be delayed as such)

The purchaser is allowed to move into or occupy the property

The purchaser is paying occupancy fees to the builder (i.e., rent) which are outlined in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale

You are NOT paying a mortgage at this point

Closing/Registration Date: (We are all speculating at this point - some posters have said June 2014 but it could be less or could be more - no one knows at this point

This occurs upon registration of the building

You, the purchaser, legally owns the property and has possession of the property i.e., your condo

Your mortgage term begins, you start making mortgage payments and paying down your mortgage quickly
 
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