Looking at buying a condo...

[CaramonLS]

So, in your opinion, which builders have you had the most success with long term? Who has had their condo fees shoot up through the roof? Who's condos just plain bite? What should I be avoiding when I look at purchasing a condo to avoid getting owned by a cash call?

I've heard not so good things about Point of View... which is unfortunate, considering I'm primarily looking for something in the NW - it seems they've built everything affordable there.

Advice?

[killer_carlson]

check your pm

[Winsor_Pilates]

-Point of View is bad, I've seen their finished products and they are very poor. Heard bad things about their service as well
-Battistella makes poor buildings IMO (exp. Chocolate).
-Intergulf makes good stuff, bad I've sold for them and it was a bad experience, so I'm a little anti-intergulf.
-I bought from Cove Properties and everything seems to be good so far. I don't have possession of that one yet, but their other finished buildings are built well.
-Anthem properties is one of my BC clients and they're building Waterfront which is great but expensive.

As far as condo fees and things like that, just take a good look at the budget and what's in it. What's included in the condo fee is far more important than the actual number. If you want lower condo fees, avoid buildings with swimming pools and choose a building that uses electricity for appliances/heating.
Buy a concrete construction unless you're trying to save $$. Woodframe is cheeper but you'll hear everything your neighbours do and the building will need more upkeep as time goes on.

If you do decide on one, and need help reviewing the disclosure documents send me a PM. I've read through hundreds of them. If there's specific developers you want an opinion on let me know too. If they've done anything in BC, I can give a pretty good review.

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

i bought a rental property from pointe of view. Never did rent it because by the time it was built with so many screw-ups I didn't trust it'd still be standing in a few years - so I sold.

[Kjesse]

Pointe of View is exactly what it claims to be, which is an affordable, low cost builder.

They comply with the building codes, as all builders must.

If you want something higher end, go pay more and you'll get it.

[Nage Waza]

Originally Posted by Delgar

Pointe of View is exactly what it claims to be, which is an affordable, low cost builder.

They comply with the building codes, as all builders must.

If you want something higher end, go pay more and you'll get it.

No, they are not what they claim to be. Do they claim to sell you a product and not have cabinet doors for you when you move in? Then still not provide them a year later? Do they claim to not have the floor properly installed and then make you wait a year to fix it, even though the flooring guys were in the building daily during the same period?

Pointe of View would never claim to be what they truly are: a company that could care less about someone once they have their money.

[Shin Pad]

Absolutely stay away from Pointe of View. I bought a condo from them 7 years years ago as an investment property (I sold it since then). There is nothing good about them. The product is poor, the service is poor, and they are just jerks to deal with. I bought my condo at least a 18 months before it was completed. I wanted 2 parking stalls, and after a bit of negotiation, I was able to get it. I put down an extra $2000 for the extra parking stall. Anyway, two weeks before I was to take possession, I get a letter in the mail saying that they couldn't give me the extra parking stall and that I would only get one. Remember - these jerks had my down payment for the parking stall for 18 months. When I phone them to ask what was going on, they basically told me that my only recourse was to cancel the sale of the Condo. They were fairly rude about it. Anyway, I ended up taking the condo, and they sent me back the $2000 deposit (without interest).

I got the last laugh though - they are so screwed up and unorganized, that not only did they give me my $2000 back (by cheque), they also took it off the price of the condo - so I got my $2000 back twice. I never told them about it, and they never did catch the error.

Anyway, I would never deal with them again.