Condo living in Waterloo Region

[Momo26]

Cannot argue there. HIP perhaps a close second?

[taylortbb]

Cannot argue there. HIP perhaps a close second?

They certainly seem to do design and sales well. I don't think they've completed any towers in Waterloo Region yet though, so we'll have to see what the final experience is like. I don't know what HIP and Momentum do differently, but they're clearly much better at selling things than anyone else is locally.

[rangersfan]

They did the Trio on Belmont.

[Tony_Plow]

One thing that I've always wondered is why Momentum's common areas are always so poorly finished. They don't seem to be in the same league as Auburn, HIP, VanMar, etc. in terms of the quality of their finishes.

[Momo26]

Which come to mind in terms of poor common areas for Momentum?

[Viewfromthe42]

The42

[tomh009]

The42

1 Victoria also nothing special (outside the units). I'd like to take a look at one of the HIP buildings some day.

[Tony_Plow]

The42

1 Victoria also nothing special (outside the units). I'd like to take a look at one of the HIP buildings some day.

I think every building Momentum has put up to date has pretty basic finishes in its foyers/hallways/party rooms/ and other common areas.
The42, Red, and 1Vic are all cheaply finished.
I really hope they do better with Charlie West and Garment St/Vic.
I expect that people will be really impressed with the common area finishes at 155 Caroline (Vanmar) and Circa (HIP).  The common areas in Andrin's building at Duke and Young are not bad either.
Auburn produced amazing common areas at Arrow Lofts.  Even the common area finishes at the BarrelYards (also Auburn) are pretty nice.
The common areas in the Momentum buildings are on par with student housing - I'm always surprised that their units command such a high price (e.g. Charlie West pricing was very close to Circa) - I guess investors don't care.

[Spokes]

Cannot argue there. HIP perhaps a close second?

They certainly seem to do design and sales well. I don't think they've completed any towers in Waterloo Region yet though, so we'll have to see what the final experience is like. I don't know what HIP and Momentum do differently, but they're clearly much better at selling things than anyone else is locally.

Ya they're good, but if they're second, it's not a close one.  They don't have the track record yet.

[tomh009]

I expect that people will be really impressed with the common area finishes at 155 Caroline (Vanmar) and Circa (HIP).  The common areas in Andrin's building at Duke and Young are not bad either.
Auburn produced amazing common areas at Arrow Lofts.  Even the common area finishes at the BarrelYards (also Auburn) are pretty nice.

144 Park has pretty nice common areas, too.

You see the lobby and the hallways every time you arrive at or leave your unit, and I think it's a bit silly to skimp on those finishes when you've already spent a massive amount of money on the rest of the building.

[robdrimmie]

I'm curious how much the common areas add to the value of the units. My guess is very little. If the unit itself is great and the location is right, I can't imagine being too concerned about it, especially for the folks buying units to rent.

In buildings where most of the residents are also the owners, do the condo boards end up putting money into common areas for more than just up-keep?

[Rainrider22]

I'm curious how much the common areas add to the value of the units. My guess is very little. If the unit itself is great and the location is right, I can't imagine being too concerned about it, especially for the folks buying units to rent.

In buildings where most of the residents are also the owners, do the condo boards end up putting money into common areas for more than just up-keep?

You are correct on both points.  As a Condo owner who rents out units, and with my personal experience as living in a condo I can advise that typically Condo Boards are interested in refreshing the common area.  It makes an immediate impact on value and resale.  The common area provides the equivalent of curb appeal and it is a barometer to how well the building itself is managed.  When I buy a condo I look for a couple of things, what is the balance of the "reserves" on the certificate and what does the up keep appear to be.

[Momo26]

What is a good balance to have in the reserves per floor, per unit etc? How do you judge it?

[tomh009]

What is a good balance to have in the reserves per floor, per unit etc? How do you judge it?

It all depends on the building age and condition. Apart from the visual clues, that important document is the reserve fund study, which forecasts the major repairs and the funds needed to cover those. If you can't get a copy of this report, I would look at the reserve fund contributions in the budget: are they stable or rapidly increasing -- the latter would indicate that the reserve fund study has indicated the reserve is insufficient. High but stable would indicate that the fund is not sufficient and thus high contributions are being made to avoid a special assessment at a later time. 


As a benchmark, I think our reserve contribution is something like $0.12/sqft, about a quarter of our budget. Some older condos where insufficient maintenance was done, or no reserve fund studies were made to ensure sufficient contributions, will have far higher contributions (see Eaton Lofts for an example of this).

As for new condos, the fund starts at zero. And developers tend to be rather optimistic on the reserve contributions. Once the first reserve fund study has been done, those chickens will come home to roost.

[Rainrider22]

What is a good balance to have in the reserves per floor, per unit etc? How do you judge it?

It all depends on the building age and condition. Apart from the visual clues, that important document is the reserve fund study, which forecasts the major repairs and the funds needed to cover those. If you can't get a copy of this report, I would look at the reserve fund contributions in the budget: are they stable or rapidly increasing -- the latter would indicate that the reserve fund study has indicated the reserve is insufficient. High but stable would indicate that the fund is not sufficient and thus high contributions are being made to avoid a special assessment at a later time. 


As a benchmark, I think our reserve contribution is something like $0.12/sqft, about a quarter of our budget. Some older condos where insufficient maintenance was done, or no reserve fund studies were made to ensure sufficient contributions, will have far higher contributions (see Eaton Lofts for an example of this).

As for new condos, the fund starts at zero. And developers tend to be rather optimistic on the reserve contributions. Once the first reserve fund study has been done, those chickens will come home to roost.

Very well explained.... I always tend to go for somewhat older established buildings.  They has a track record to review.  And if I couldn't get a copy of the most recent certified study, I would walk away...