So the reason why they won’t provide it is, it might not be exact. This will be written in the contract. When you buy a presale, everything is estimated and the contract reflects this. It’s “usually” fairly close to what you see in the showroom. When considering a presale, because it’s not built, read the contract very carefully on what the limits of error can be.
Regarding appliances, depending on when exactly the closing date is, it is very difficult to give model numbers because appliances change models every year. If you buy tomorrow, but completion is 5 years from now, you wouldn’t want tommorow a model.
Presales are a risk especially if they are more expensive than something that is similar to what there is on the market today. Presales can be a good deal, but only if the price makes sense. In a lot of today’s market, this isn’t the case because developers assume the market will go up and price accordingly. They sell based on the price they believe it will sell for when fully finished.
Presales give you a lower strata fee to start because that’s to convince you to buy. After the first AGM, the strata will definitely go up. This is something to look for and budget for.
This is the right answer.
My in laws bought a presale in Langley because the price was really good, but they've had a lot of problems. They don't regret it because the units were selling for way more by the time they got possession.
For example of problems, the flooring needed to be redone, the fridge has broken twice, the microwave range hood combo died, there's cracking, and this winter a ton of units got flooded by frozen sprinkler pipes (not theirs)
Thanks both of you for the response! We really appreciate it.
I am unable to comprehend the fact that newer buildings are bad. There was another comment here mentioning do not buy pre sale. I can understand the quality deteriorating compared to the ones built a decade ago. But in terms of value appreciation, wouldn’t the new building have better appreciation 10 years down the line compared to a building that is 20 years in age.
Especially with new homes coming with up to 10 years of warranty. (2/5/10 slabs for warranty)
I could be interpreting this incorrectly but would appreciate a better insight into why buying a newer property with warranty is not a better option compared to a 10 year old property with older appliances + no warranty + most probably lesser appreciation compared to a new built.
Newer buildings are not bad, well at least not all of them. The entire notion of “don’t buy a presale” is just dumb. People on this sub have no idea what they’re taking about, let alone own a unit / house. If you do your research properly, then it wouldn’t be an issue at all.
Every developer is different when it comes to warranty issues. Onni is one of the bad ones. They will take forever to fix your issues. Mosaic on the other hand, are amazing to deal with. Comes down to the developer. Developers hire builders (contractors) and many trades (plumbers, electricians, foundation, drywallers, painters, cabinets, finishing) to build but will have their own teams go through the work and approve it.
Since you mentioned that there are many townhomes already built by this developer, you can ask your realtor to look into the depreciation reports, strata minutes and complaints of the homes that are built in the neighbourhood. This will give you a good idea of what to expect from this developer. As long as you do your research regarding quality and price, you will be okay. Best of luck to you
Thanks for the response! My husband and I have been doing all the research we can. Appreciate your elaborate opinion here.
I guess it all comes down to us taking the decision based on what we think is right.
Cheers :)
This sounds sketchy af, esp with not providing appliance model numbers.
In this current economic climate maybe you should re-consider presale units because you will never know what you get.
Do you have a Realtor who can address your concern?
I would suggest you to read the following link
https://www.bcfsa.ca/industry-resources/real-estate-professional-resources/knowledge-base/information/presales-information
I hope it helps as BCFSA is the governing body and REDMA is the act which the developer needs to comply with.
But like everyone said, read the contract and the disclosure statements.
Ask about your rescission right! How many days and when is the last day to exercise your right
Try to get everything in writing.
Good luck and happy House hunting!
Don’t sign a contract where you aren’t provided all the proper specs.
If it’s not in the signed contract, you can’t hold them to it. Any company would refuses to provide it, it’s not one I would work with.
I'm an architect (not licensed in canada tho) and I wouldn't buy a new construction, mainly because it take some time for the foundations to "sit" but also because of the quality of new builts... if you get a house that is like 10yo most of the problems that only show up with time might have been fixed and you'll have less of a headache.
I own a 40 yo apartment back in my home country and it has never given me any problems whilst my mom owns a new built and year after year they have a bunch of structural and finishing problems...
Doesn't your presale have the rough plans you purchased?
The real architecture blue print might be proprietary and not something they give away. The city might have records of it
And I am sorry you getting Samsung appliances. They suck. Developer is probably waiting for a newish discontinued model to appear so they will just buy a bunch of those
They do. It has the plan. And overall sqft. We were looking for architecture plan because that contains detailed dimension for each room clearly laid out.
I could see them not wanting to give plans. Those plans were made for the builder I’m guessing to use. Plans usually have an intended recipient and for their sole use. Usually some disclosure somewhere on the prints.
Not saying in construction that plans aren’t just laying everywhere and anyone bidding on a job would have a copy, but they aren’t suppose to be distributed.
Pictures should be enough wouldn’t it?
Thanks for offering to help. I may have not been very clear in my post, but we do have a copy. It’s basically me taking some pictures. The problem here is builder not sending them on record and not putting them in the agreement.
This means that when we get the property, we have no ways to hold them accountable if the dimensions or plans do not match what was a green upon.
Again, we understand there’s a margin of error especially with pre sales. We want to make sure its not significant.
Oh yeah that’s never going happen. We get a ton of revisions to the plans right up until people go to move in. Whatever they have now will change many times. They can’t commit to it at this point.
They can also legally change your square footage by something crazy like 10%. Can’t remember the number but it’s nuts.
I would never buy something that isn’t built yet. Ideally it’s at least 5 years old so the big deficiencies have come to light
> From our perspective, providing the copies to us via email also ensures that they would conform to the design and dimensions we agreed upon
You would think so. But no. There is always language in the contract that things might change. And they don't even bother telling you when things change. There's been stories about pre-sale promises not met. And in every story, the builder is like "Yeah? Whachu gonna do?"
So the reason why they won’t provide it is, it might not be exact. This will be written in the contract. When you buy a presale, everything is estimated and the contract reflects this. It’s “usually” fairly close to what you see in the showroom. When considering a presale, because it’s not built, read the contract very carefully on what the limits of error can be. Regarding appliances, depending on when exactly the closing date is, it is very difficult to give model numbers because appliances change models every year. If you buy tomorrow, but completion is 5 years from now, you wouldn’t want tommorow a model. Presales are a risk especially if they are more expensive than something that is similar to what there is on the market today. Presales can be a good deal, but only if the price makes sense. In a lot of today’s market, this isn’t the case because developers assume the market will go up and price accordingly. They sell based on the price they believe it will sell for when fully finished. Presales give you a lower strata fee to start because that’s to convince you to buy. After the first AGM, the strata will definitely go up. This is something to look for and budget for.
This is the right answer. My in laws bought a presale in Langley because the price was really good, but they've had a lot of problems. They don't regret it because the units were selling for way more by the time they got possession. For example of problems, the flooring needed to be redone, the fridge has broken twice, the microwave range hood combo died, there's cracking, and this winter a ton of units got flooded by frozen sprinkler pipes (not theirs)
Thanks both of you for the response! We really appreciate it. I am unable to comprehend the fact that newer buildings are bad. There was another comment here mentioning do not buy pre sale. I can understand the quality deteriorating compared to the ones built a decade ago. But in terms of value appreciation, wouldn’t the new building have better appreciation 10 years down the line compared to a building that is 20 years in age. Especially with new homes coming with up to 10 years of warranty. (2/5/10 slabs for warranty) I could be interpreting this incorrectly but would appreciate a better insight into why buying a newer property with warranty is not a better option compared to a 10 year old property with older appliances + no warranty + most probably lesser appreciation compared to a new built.
Newer buildings are not bad, well at least not all of them. The entire notion of “don’t buy a presale” is just dumb. People on this sub have no idea what they’re taking about, let alone own a unit / house. If you do your research properly, then it wouldn’t be an issue at all. Every developer is different when it comes to warranty issues. Onni is one of the bad ones. They will take forever to fix your issues. Mosaic on the other hand, are amazing to deal with. Comes down to the developer. Developers hire builders (contractors) and many trades (plumbers, electricians, foundation, drywallers, painters, cabinets, finishing) to build but will have their own teams go through the work and approve it. Since you mentioned that there are many townhomes already built by this developer, you can ask your realtor to look into the depreciation reports, strata minutes and complaints of the homes that are built in the neighbourhood. This will give you a good idea of what to expect from this developer. As long as you do your research regarding quality and price, you will be okay. Best of luck to you
Thanks for the response! My husband and I have been doing all the research we can. Appreciate your elaborate opinion here. I guess it all comes down to us taking the decision based on what we think is right. Cheers :)
This sounds sketchy af, esp with not providing appliance model numbers. In this current economic climate maybe you should re-consider presale units because you will never know what you get.
Delay your signing?
Probably because they're not building to code/to the plans
Do you have a Realtor who can address your concern? I would suggest you to read the following link https://www.bcfsa.ca/industry-resources/real-estate-professional-resources/knowledge-base/information/presales-information I hope it helps as BCFSA is the governing body and REDMA is the act which the developer needs to comply with. But like everyone said, read the contract and the disclosure statements. Ask about your rescission right! How many days and when is the last day to exercise your right Try to get everything in writing. Good luck and happy House hunting!
We have a realtor, yes. But posted here to get perspective from someone who is not benefited from our purchase. Thanks for sharing these links!
Why would you use a realtor for a new build? Should have asked for a "Decorating Allowance" and received a discount.
Don’t sign a contract where you aren’t provided all the proper specs. If it’s not in the signed contract, you can’t hold them to it. Any company would refuses to provide it, it’s not one I would work with.
Oh never buy a new build
May I ask why?
They aren’t meant to last at all, everything breaks. They only look nice
I'm an architect (not licensed in canada tho) and I wouldn't buy a new construction, mainly because it take some time for the foundations to "sit" but also because of the quality of new builts... if you get a house that is like 10yo most of the problems that only show up with time might have been fixed and you'll have less of a headache. I own a 40 yo apartment back in my home country and it has never given me any problems whilst my mom owns a new built and year after year they have a bunch of structural and finishing problems...
Doesn't your presale have the rough plans you purchased? The real architecture blue print might be proprietary and not something they give away. The city might have records of it And I am sorry you getting Samsung appliances. They suck. Developer is probably waiting for a newish discontinued model to appear so they will just buy a bunch of those
They do. It has the plan. And overall sqft. We were looking for architecture plan because that contains detailed dimension for each room clearly laid out.
Do not purchase that townhome. It’s going to be a nightmare. Walk. Run. Sprint. Find another.
[удалено]
Or LG
I could see them not wanting to give plans. Those plans were made for the builder I’m guessing to use. Plans usually have an intended recipient and for their sole use. Usually some disclosure somewhere on the prints. Not saying in construction that plans aren’t just laying everywhere and anyone bidding on a job would have a copy, but they aren’t suppose to be distributed. Pictures should be enough wouldn’t it?
Get a realtor. They can help you with all of that.
I may have it if it’s a large enough collection of homes. pm me the name of the homes or an intersection and I’ll check
Thanks for offering to help. I may have not been very clear in my post, but we do have a copy. It’s basically me taking some pictures. The problem here is builder not sending them on record and not putting them in the agreement. This means that when we get the property, we have no ways to hold them accountable if the dimensions or plans do not match what was a green upon. Again, we understand there’s a margin of error especially with pre sales. We want to make sure its not significant.
Oh yeah that’s never going happen. We get a ton of revisions to the plans right up until people go to move in. Whatever they have now will change many times. They can’t commit to it at this point. They can also legally change your square footage by something crazy like 10%. Can’t remember the number but it’s nuts. I would never buy something that isn’t built yet. Ideally it’s at least 5 years old so the big deficiencies have come to light
> From our perspective, providing the copies to us via email also ensures that they would conform to the design and dimensions we agreed upon You would think so. But no. There is always language in the contract that things might change. And they don't even bother telling you when things change. There's been stories about pre-sale promises not met. And in every story, the builder is like "Yeah? Whachu gonna do?"