Quote:
Originally Posted by Hack&Lube
Must be the age of the building?
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Yes and no? I looked at a condo at Prince's Crossing about 2+ years ago. A 2 bedroom was going for something like $240k or so but condo fees were mid $700s IIRC. Oh, it was tempting, but the condo fees were so idiotic that I decided no. It was a damn nice unit too, but those fees were also mind blowing (you could rent a unit for only a few hundred more than the condo fee a few blocks away, let alone a mortgage and additional costs). Those fees have always been high in that building. I have no idea why (Amenities maybe?).
The 1970s units aren't bad buys to be honest. Yeah sure, you get some mid level condo fees ($300-400) but you know exactly what is up for repairs and can consider whether a special assessment is looming. Grab the financial statements, read the board minutes and if a special assessment seems to be looming, haggle hard. Generally, many have been renovated in recent years to compete, so they're not going to be run down pieces of junk.
Do research, wander around the building a bit to see what the area is like. I almost landed a steamy pile of #### with a unit at Rocky Mountain Court. Looked at 2 units there, decided I didn't like the location, and the upkeep looked kinda shoddy. Being 20 floors up with a crappy elevator seemed kinda risky. So I decided against it and moved on. Then, this happened:
http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/five-compa...laws-1.1017218
A year or two back, I recall a new development somewhere on the West side of DT (less than 1-2 years old) had burst piping or something and a special assessment. Just because it's new doesn't mean it's headache free (I think it was Luna).
Yep, looks like it was:
http://lunacondo.files.wordpress.com...dec20final.pdf