Montreal Real Estate Blog » Development & Construction

On Montreal Ritz Carlton, Condos and Diamonds

Deya Bautista — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:18:28 +0000

Remember the Ritz Carlton closing in the summer of 2008? Two weeks ago it was announced that the Project – estimated for 150 millions, with 130 rooms and 48 luxury apartments, will be delivering by December 2011 or January 2012.

And, get this: More than HALF of the units are already sold AND the majority of buyers are QUEBECERS.

The Ritz’s CEO expected less local buyers. And I admit, I did too.
A friend once said (about the project): There is no way that Montrealers are jumping to buy a 2 to 12 million dollar condo when they can get a house for that amount (I listened and softly disagreed). And he continued: Even the ones who have that amount of money won’t do it. Only New Yorkers do that kind of purchase.

New yorkers and Torontonians. At the time of that conversation, there was no news about multi-million condo purchases like the 28 Million dollar condo in Toronto.

Back to the Ritz Carlon Condo- and before I forget to mention: The jeweler Tiffany will be opening shop in the Montreal Ritz. Good enough reason to purchase a 12 Million dollar condo? You tell me.

In the market for a condo? Contact me to view the best units in town!

Posted By: Deya Bautista - Real Estate Broker working as part of the McGill Immobilier team. Specializing in high end condos in downtown and Old Montreal. For buying or selling contact Deya at: 514.917.7889 http://montrealrealestateblog.com/

How to Protect Yourself When Buying New Construction

Deya Bautista — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:20:51 +0000

Following up with the article: New Condo Building Collapsing. Another great article by William Marsden from the Gazette, on how to protect yourself when buying new construction. The tips are quite interesting, I will add my own comments between the square brackets [ ]

The New Home Guarantee covers new condos that are part of small, one-to-fourstorey condo buildings. Highrise condo buildings are covered by private insurance plans.

Like all insurance policies, it’s important to understand fully the conditions of the Quebec government’s plan so you can protect yourself at every step during and after the construction process.

HERE ARE SOME TIPS:

1. Check with the Régie du bâtiment that the contractor is properly licensed and check his experience. Just because he holds a licence to install a foundation doesn’t necessarily mean he knows what he’s doing. [ Very Important!! - also check for any awards won by them, written articles and reviews about their company etc]

2. Make sure you read the entire condo purchase agreement so that you know exactly what you are buying and so that you understand your rights and liabilities relating to your condo and your building’s common spaces. This will help you make sure that at the end of construction, you get exactly what you were promised and that you are not liable for unforeseen payments to, for example, unpaid subcontractors.

3. The warranty covers up to $39,000 as a down payment. So don’t pay more than that. If the contractor goes bankrupt, you will probably lose anything above that amount. [ Again, do your homework about the previous work from the company to establish their credibility, financial strength, etc. Some units, depending their price, will require more than 39K as a downpayment ]

4. Get to know your fellow condo owners as soon as possible. Don’t wait until after construction is finished to form a condo association. Hire your own inspector to assure the work is done properly while the building is still under construction. Get the inspectors to supply written reports on the progress. If you can’t afford an inspector, call the city and get them to inspect the construction progress.

5. At the end of construction, your association must hire an inspector to inspect the entire building. Make sure that you get everything you paid for and that the work conforms with the building code. If the inspector finds any problems, make sure they are repaired before the condo association accepts ownership. DON’T make your final payment until all the work is completed to your satisfaction. Contractors might make empty promises and harass you for the money. If you give in, you’ll might never see them again.

6. Make sure that any communication with the contractor is done by registered mail so that you have an official record. You must make any claims on the warranty within six months of finding the problem, so you have to have a record of all communications. And make sure you send notification of faults immediately after they are discovered by registered mail to the administrators of the New Home Guarantee program. According to the Régie, many owners find they are not covered because they allowed a contractor to delay the work past the six-month period and then had no record of communications to prove their claim. [ Email will also work. Keep records of all of the messages sent and received ]

7. The guarantee lasts only five years.

8. Remember, in the end, only you can look after your interests. [ I could not agree more.]

Interesting: Développements McGill Family Investment Program

Deya Bautista — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 17:00:08 +0000

I came across this great new program for young buyers in Old Montreal, specifically for students (and their parents) wanting to purchase a condo with low downpayment. Développements McGill created a new Family Investment Program that offers a fantastic purchase options. Here are the details:

“We have formed an partnership with the Royal Bank (RBC) to enable families with children aged over 18 studying or working in Montreal to enrich their family assets by buying a new condo in a booming neighbourhood with one of the highest value appreciation rates on the Island of Montreal,” said Stéphane Côté, President of DevMcGill.

The partnership lets DevMcGill offer first-time buyers very advantageous terms, including:

joint mortgage application by parents and children, if desired, making it easier to get a pre-approved loan;
the child’s name only on the property deed, qualifying the condo as a principal residence and exempting it from capital gains tax when it is resold;
very modest down payment (starting at 5% of the selling price);
guaranteed interest rate until construction is completed to shelter the buyer against any rate increases;
$1,000 rebate on notary’s fees when the transaction closes.

To read the full press release visit their website: English version. Version Français

For more information on the Family Investment Program and the M9-3 project, visit the sales gallery at 800 Wellington St. in Montreal or the DevMcGill.com site.

About Développements McGill: For 10 years, Développements McGill has been building intelligent living spaces for tomorrow. Its award-winning projects, including Le Couvent Outremont at the base of Mount Royal, Le Caverhill, Le 777 and Le Orléans in Old Montreal, and Square Benny in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, speak to the imagination.

Checking up on Swatow: Chinatown’s Newest Development

Deya Bautista — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:23:56 +0000

Photo: Deya Bautista

We were due to give you an update on the latest (and best looking) chinatown construction. So, here you have it: The all new and completely finished Swatow Plaza. Looking sharp, looking proud. It even looks sexy, if that can be possible for a building. There is only one tenant moved in, and so far it looks like the rest of the building is pretty much empty. Not sure what kind of shops will be occupying the shopping plaza, let’s just hope it isn’t going to be another import-type of business. Looking forward to new restaurants, boutiques and whatever higher-endish business they can come up with.

This is a sneak peek of the first tenant, an antique furniture store. Not yet 100% settled in, but the owner Mr Cheung seems quite accommodating.

Will be posting on the new shops as they move in. Any additional info you may have on the new shops coming to the Plaza please share them on the comments section!

Swatow: Brings a New Flair to Chinatown

Deya Bautista — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:22:03 +0000

The new development of the commercial building in Chinatown has symbolically adopted the name Swatow,

“Swatow, a city significant in 19th-century Chinese history as one of the treaty ports established for Western trade and contact, was one of the original Special Economic Zones of the People’s Republic of China established in the 1980s, but failed to blossom like other cities such as Shenzhen, Xiamen and Zhuhai.”

I find the name Swatow is appropriate for this new development, it symbolizes the beginning of a new commercial center in this neighbourhood which can stimulate more economic activity.

This construction style may start a new trend, with further projects taking on a modern design with a traditional Chinese flair.

The 20 million dollar project was anticipated to be finished at the end of 2008, although they did not meet their deadline, at the speed they are going now, I would not be surprised to see it finished before the end of this summer.

What this project has to offer: Office space, Store fronts, Restaurants and two underground levels of parking.

Read additional info on this project at MtlUrb Forum

The Super Hospital Begins Construction: Demolition Site on St Antoine.

Deya Bautista — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:49:29 +0000

This building was scheduled for demolition for quite sometime now. According to a condo-owner on Rue Gosford (old Montreal), this building’s land will be the new location for Montreal’s Super Hospital (CHUM?)
Although I haven’t really confirmed if this is true or not, but word is, this site (st Antoine between Gosford and st-Denis) will be completely developed for the Super Hospital Complex. The buildings facing the demolition site, are also included in the plans.

“The Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal is to contain 700 single-patient rooms that could easily be converted to double-bed units, because the basic equipment is already in place, explained Dr. Guy Leclerc, the CHUM’s chief of cardiology.
(…)

Aside from providing specialized care, the CHUM site will also have a university teaching and research mandate, with 6,000 students coming through annually, noted Dr. Denis Roy, executive director of the CHUM. The hospital complex will be bounded by René Lévesque Blvd. to the north, St. Denis St. to the east, St. Antoine St. to the south and Sanguinet to the west.”

I’ve read that its construction was planned to start as early as the spring of 2010, and will be completed by early 2014. Just last week they began the demolition, and at a very rapid pace.
Here is what the place looked like as of last Saturday.

I can foresee the traffic jams at the exit of the 720 to Berri. The noise it will create for the next couple of years, for those who live in the area (including myself) but the great thing: the value that will add having a super hospital near by. The selling value and rentals will definitely increase, since the staff (specially Doctors) will need a place to stay near by, which is fantastic news for those who already own and/or wish to purchase in the area.

Griffintown: A no-go without the city’s financial help

Deya Bautista — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:32:24 +0000

Just two weeks ago we had news about the Griffintown Project scaling down to 30% from its original size.
Yesterday we had news via La Presse, that Devimco is asking the city of Montreal to step in with financial help, otherwise the project won’t be finished until 2013.

The city’s response: “We’ll evaluate the request and see what we could do”.

Be sure to read more on that soon.