Buying parking spots

[MadMax]

I tend to disagree....so if person A bought a penthouse unit worth a million dollars at Aura and person B bought a one bedroom 550 square foot unit worth 250k, you think that the person in the penthouse is going to get stuck with a parking spot by the garbage bins and the person with the one bedroom is going to get his/her own service elevator? I think the premium paid for the overall unit should get consideration but that's just my own opinion.

 

[UrbanVigor]

Just as the units are sold first come, first serve, I believe the same should be the case for parking spaces.

 

[zeeden]

So if its ok to pay a floor premium I think it should be ok to pay a parking premium.

 

[MadMax]

So if its ok to pay a floor premium I think it should be ok to pay a parking premium.

Floor premiums add value to a unit...ie. if you go to sell, usually a unit on a higher floor will sell for more than the same unit on a lower floor. The same can't be said about a parking spot....you can't get more money for your unit come re-sale time if your parking spot is closer to the elevators.

 

[Urban Newbie]

Floor premiums add value to a unit...ie. if you go to sell, usually a unit on a higher floor will sell for more than the same unit on a lower floor. The same can't be said about a parking spot....you can't get more money for your unit come re-sale time if your parking spot is closer to the elevators.

I disagree. Now, I don't think you can get a TONNE more if your parking spot is near the elevators, but it would definitely be a bonus/added incentive.

My parking spot is phenomenal - right near the elevators and nearly double width (I can fit two cars in it if visitor parking is full). There are a few like this in the lot and I'd like to think they'd be a bonus worth touting should I ever decide to sell.

 

[Eug]

A penthouse for a million bux getting first dibs on parking?

Well, maybe that million bux has already built-in the cost of paying for first dibs on parking, so in that sense I might agree.

OTOH, I don't think someone paying $300000 for a 10th floor 1-bedroom condo should necessarily get priority over someone paying $220000 for an 8th floor studio. It's not uncommon for both of these types of places to not want parking at all, so they shouldn't have to have "dibs on parking" built into the price.

I disagree. Now, I don't think you can get a TONNE more if your parking spot is near the elevators, but it would definitely be a bonus/added incentive.

My parking spot is phenomenal - right near the elevators and nearly double width (I can fit two cars in it if visitor parking is full). There are a few like this in the lot and I'd like to think they'd be a bonus worth touting should I ever decide to sell.

Yup. Even if a spot was only 50% larger, some would definitely pay way more for it. For example, you could park both a motorcycle and a car in the same spot.

BTW, when I sold my condo townhouse, it was for the highest price ever for the complex for that specific type of unit. (Most of the 2-bedroom townhouses were identical, or else mirror images.) My place sold for almost 6% more than the 2nd highest (a couple of months prior).

The main advantages I had were:

1) Engineered hardwood floors in the living room. Some had carpet.
2) Attached parking, directly accessible from the inside of the unit. I had a separate door which led right to my parking spot, which was 1/2 of a 2-car garage. Several of my neighbours had the same 1/2 of a 2-car garage, but had to go outside their unit to access it.

The two main disadvantages I had were:

1) Significant shading by the adjacent mid-rise condo building. Many of my neighbours had full sun most of the time.
2) Approx. 0.6% higher 5-year fixed interest rates, which started about 3 months prior, so many newer buyers coming onto the market couldn't get the much lower rates.
3) Cheap carpet upstairs, and cheap finishes and appliances in the kitchen. I had a gas stove, but it was a low end one.

I might have just been lucky, but I suspect the much better parking helped a bunch.

 

[X2 Buyer]

I disagree. Now, I don't think you can get a TONNE more if your parking spot is near the elevators, but it would definitely be a bonus/added incentive.

My parking spot is phenomenal - right near the elevators and nearly double width (I can fit two cars in it if visitor parking is full). There are a few like this in the lot and I'd like to think they'd be a bonus worth touting should I ever decide to sell.

I think it really depends. Unless the spot is really far away from the elevator or awkward / narrow spaces, when people shopping around they generally accept an ok spot as long as you have a parking space. For locker it is even less concerned - when I was selling my condo unit I only told the buyer's agent we had a locker and would give them the number later because I could not remember at the time so the offer was signed first.