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1 Bloor East, DEAD AND BURIED (Bazis, -2s, Varacalli)

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Didn't these brokers claim they'd be ruined by the land transfer tax?


From today's Star:

Condo seekers hire stand-buys
Anxious realtors pay others to camp out in the cold at Bloor St. building until sales commence Tuesday
Nov 08, 2007 04:30 AM
Joanna Smith
Staff Reporter

Almost 90 people are taking turns camping out on a sidewalk to reserve spaces for real estate agents who want to buy condos in a new 80-storey tower in the heart of downtown Toronto.

Brokers are anxious to be ahead of the rush when luxury condos at One Bloor East, a $450-million project on the corner of Yonge and Bloor, go on the market for realtors next Tuesday at noon.

Some brokers – who are allowed to buy a maximum of three condos each on a first-come, first-served basis – were among the people in line. Others were distant acquaintances of realtors who decided it would be a lot easier to pay someone else to wait for them.

"I'm skipping work to be here," said a 22-year-old woman in a white toque and burgundy sleeping bag, who did not want to give her name.

She would not divulge exactly how much she was being paid for her services, but her 24-year-old boyfriend Jeremy Shulman, camping out beside her, said the compensation would be enough to cover the couple's rent for three months and buy them a new television set.

"It's enough to want to take a week off work," said Shulman, a cook.

"We're very well taken care of," said his girlfriend, pointing out heat lamps, two paid-duty officers watching out for their safety and a curbside catering service. "If I want sushi, I get sushi."

Winston Mak, 23, from Tradeworld Realty Inc., was one of the brokers waiting himself.

"It's not a new concept, but this has to be a new record," said Mak, who like many people began waiting Monday at 9 a.m. "I mean, nine days in the cold, it's got to be a first."

Monica Geiman, 23, was helping keep everything orderly with a list of 89 people who had to show up for attendance every two hours during the day and every four hours at night, or risk the chance of losing their place in line.

She also would not divulge her salary, but said it was "well over $1,500" in total – enough to cover a cruise vacation, "and then some."
 
If people are willing to line up for days or weeks to see Star Wars why would anyone question the validity of people being paid off to stand in line for a couple condo units? $10, 2.5 hour movie investment vs several hundred thousand dollar investment (whether it's a good or bad investment is clearly debatable).

As for the money laundering comment - new regulations for home builders and developers regarding Terrorist Financing and money laundering are being put in place by FINTRAC. Department of Finance pre-published new regulations that would make real estate developers subject to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act. Proposed regulations were posted on the Canada Gazette’s web site on October 6th.
 
I agree Mike in TO is very knowledgeable by reading all his posts. It's great he is willing to share his insights because some people will actually mislead you for their own gains (for whatever reason). My agent said 1 Bloor has already gone up in price by about $80,000. Not sure whether it's true or not but she actaully got a small unit herself.
 
hey vultar, ever thought of giving advice without calling people stupid or dumb or idiots?

I swear to god you sound like a child. seriously. however intelligent and knowledgeable you might be, it's absolutely and ridiculously nullified by your complete and unsubstantiated arrogance.

I come to this site in peace to enjoy the growth of this city, the people, and what we're building.

please stop ruining that experience for me.
 
Looks like the board and moderates have spoken and vultur is off the board. I appreciate varying opinions on the status of luxury condos in Toronto, of course there will be some doubters, some believers, some in the middle, but the way vultur attacked this and other projects and also got personal with his attacks was a bit much.

I heard a friend who lives in the area tell me they've set up a tent in front of the sales center? What's up with that? Is that going to be a sales center or are they shielding the crowd from the elements?

Any predictions on how well this "presale" going to go? I don't think the builders will be completely honest with their numbers. I've heard anywhere from 50% to 100% on one day. I think its more like 50% with over 500 units. When exactly does the "general sale" to the public start? I can only speculate, but I think that they will hold a certain number of units behind and sell them at much higher rates for the public and these units will "miraculously" appear on the market.
 
Tensions Run High Outside Downtown Condo Sales Office
Tuesday November 13, 2007
CityNews.ca Staff

They suffered through the rain, wind and cold. They huddled under blankets on uncomfortable deck chairs, many of them for a full week. All this for a chance to scoop up one of the condominium residences at 1 Bloor, the latest and hottest downtown building.

But tensions were running high Tuesday morning as the sales centre opened and some people were accused of jumping the line.

"It's crazy," complained Winston Mak, one of those who'd been holding a place in line since last week. "We just got butted after nine days and nights of sleeping out here in the cold. We've been through the elements: snow, rain, wind. Anything that nature's thrown at us, we've been through it."

People shouted "Go by the list! Go by the list!" in reference to an apparent list of prospective homebuyers drawn up last week based on who arrived in line when. The condo will be built at 1 Bloor St. East, at the corner of Bloor and Yonge Sts.

"Basically, everyone is here representing a real estate agent as a private deal for 1 Bloor East. They've showed solidarity among each other to ensure our interests are at heart," noted Adam Szalai, another of those who'd been waiting for several days. "The building has told us that our list that we've created to try and create harmony so that every agent benefits and every person in line benefits is no longer valid.

"Now I've just been stopped by police from wedging people in line where they really should be, and people who've come here half an hour ago are ahead where they don't deserve to be," he said.

Based on the current schedule the 80-storey building, purportedly the tallest of its kind in Canada, will be ready at some point in 2011.

Source
 
Its been all over the news regarding 1 Bloor. Apparently some guy threatened to kill someone else when they lost their spot in line. Its been a crazy week there is seems.
 
Self-government at Bloor and Yonge
At 2 p.m. this afternoon, a soggy line of 120 people, including a bicycle courier, young people, men in suits (one holding a dog in his arms), women in heels, and a homeless man on crutches, stood in the rain in an alley near the corner of Yonge and Bloor Streets.

“Okay, people, it’s time!†bellowed Adam Szalai, and as the line snaked forward, a woman checked off the names on a clipboard with a blue vinyl cover. “See you at four o’clock,†she said.

For a week, a crowd has camped here at the city’s heart, paid a few hundred dollars a day by real estate agents to hold spots in a line for condos coming to this corner. And in a sign of civilization’s triumph over anarchy, the campers have evolved their own government, with rules to protect those who obey them.

“I was the person who had experience, I said, ‘Let’s make rules,’ †said Yoon Hyun Choi, a Homelife real estate agent representing three Korean condo customers, who had camped in front of another sales office earlier in the year. “They are doing a very good job.â€

The line also shows that, despite wild currency swings and debt crunch worries, condos in Toronto remain a red-hot commodity.

Bazis International, a real estate developer based in Kazakhstan, wants to build an 80-storey tower -- Canada’s tallest residential building -- on this corner (city approval is pending). The sales office opens tomorrow. Seven days ago, youth representing Hersh Litvack, a high-flying real estate agent in the Toronto suburb of Thornhill, staked out 11 spots on the sidewalk in front of the sales office. As the line grew behind them, they noticed fights breaking out, so they set up a list.

People now must not line up, but every place-holder must appear for roll call: every two hours until 6 p.m., then every three hours until midnight, and once at 4 a.m.

“That book is like the ring in The Lord of the Rings,†explained Monica Geiman, pointing to the blue vinyl binder that holds the list.

One agent came up and pleaded with Mr. Szalai, who helps run the list, to reinstate a crying woman who had missed roll call because she was in the bathroom. He refused.

“I am not willing to risk the delicate balance that I have with all the races, classes and people in this line,†he said.

The campers have erected what they call “shantyville,†a patchwork of blue, green and red tarpaulins propped up on umbrellas duct-taped to folding chairs. Heat lamps powered by propane cannisters, Styrofoam coffee cups, water bottles and cigarette butts littered the site. On the sales centre behind them, a sign reads, “Condominiums from $300,000 to $2-million.â€

Ms. Geiman, 23, a sprite of a woman with short black hair who lives with her parents, recently quit a job at a childrens’ clothing store and said, “I do nothing.†But a taste of the homeless life as a place-holder here has convinced her to find a career.

“This has taught me a lesson,†she said. “You gotta have a profession, move up in life. We’re really lucky to have the heaters and stuff. I feel bad for the homeless people. This opened my eyes a little more.â€

Elliott Rudner, 24, who also lives with his parents, learned a quite different lesson: that life away from technology can be peaceful.

“It’s nice out here,†he said. “I have a lot of trouble sleeping in my room because of the technology: my computer, the video games, the constant world out there. I’ve very big in to YouTube and Facebook. Out here, with the combination of the cold air and the negative 30 sleeping bags, for me it’s the ideal temperature to go sleeping in. It’s a vacation.â€

Sammy Leung, holding spot no. 20 in the line for Tradeworld Realty, said, “The wind was the worst.†But real estate agents hav a tougher job, he said: “It’s easier to sit here than to convince someone to buy a condo for $800 a square foot.â€
 
Chaos erupts in lineup for pricey condos

The well-mannered line that has held for more than a week in front of the condo sales centre at Yonge and Bloor streets has degenerated into crowding, name-calling and chaos this morning.

At 6 a.m., two well-coiffed women in long black coats planted themselves in front of the red velvet rope that contains the line for the 80-storey tower that Bazis International seeks to erect on this corner. The women announced that, since they were the only agents present, they formed the front of the line.

‘‘This is an agent's only party, the cops told us, and we're the only agents here,’’ said agent Nadine Robbins. “Too often at these sites there's a mad rush to the front of the line."

But Vaios Sikiotis, an agent with Southvale Realty, is apoplectic. He said he has respected the line for a week.

‘‘It's cruel,’’ he said, pointing to the agents at the front of the line. ‘‘It's very very very unfair.’’

Adam Szalai, a representative of Hersch Litvack, who is a Re/Max agent, was among those who created a list of people in line, by which everyone had abided up until this morning. ‘‘All our hard work is for nothing.’’

Meantime, a phalanx of police and reporters watch as the tension grows.

Bazis has scheduled a sales event for agents at 6 p.m. All this fuss has done more to sell the condos than any ads the firm might have bought.
About 15 minutes ago, a Bazis employee went to the sign advertising the condos at prices between $300,000 and $2-million, to make an adjustment. The cheapest condo is now going for $500,000, the most expensive $8-million.
 
At $500,000 for 500 square feet, it ain't worth it. Add to that any height premium and you'd have to wait a very, long time to profit off this.
 
Hydrogen said:
At $500,000 for 500 square feet, it ain't worth it. Add to that any height premium and you'd have to wait a very, long time to profit off this.
Click to expand...

Units across the road at Uptown are still in the $600psf range and units at Casa, X Condo or Couture are just a hop, skip and a jump away at under $500psf - too many people have bought into the hype surrounding the project rather then doing their homework on comparable projects by established builders nearby. They are taking a significant risk here if they expect prices to keep going up.
 
Mike in TO said:
Units across the road at Uptown are still in the $600psf range and units at Casa, X Condo or Couture are just a hop, skip and a jump away at under $500psf - too many people have bought into the hype surrounding the project rather then doing their homework on comparable projects by established builders nearby. They are taking a significant risk here if they expect prices to keep going up.
Click to expand...

Yeah but a hop, skip and a jump seems like waay too much of a commute!
 
Hydrogen said:
At $500,000 for 500 square feet, it ain't worth it. Add to that any height premium and you'd have to wait a very, long time to profit off this.
Click to expand...

I am not sure that its a price increase for a 500 square foot unit. It may be that the lower priced/small units are gone and that the cheapest unit is now $500,000.
 
^ don't sales start at 6?

This ludicrous hysteria makes me believe that market is indeed overheated.
 
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