The Condo Game [CBC Documentary]

[NorthYorkEd]

CBC condo bashing again? Nothing else to cover?

I enjoy the condo lifestyle. But if there are industry improprieties or red flags on the horizon, what is wrong with being aware of that and being honest about it? Seems to be a lot of people who have already made up their minds before seeing the actual documentary.

 

[SP!RE]

This privileged knowledge pose you keep striking is increasingly annoying.

The baseless and uninformed opinions of many UTers is increasingly annoying. The constant siding with developers is frustrating.

Not sure how my post sounds "privileged". Anyone here can listen to what building scientists and architects have to say. I am not a building scientist myself, nor was I claiming to be. But I know well enough to heed their opinions instead of the folks trying to sell condos.

 

[TheKingEast]

I work in residential construction and will tell you that some builders are as unscrupulous as all hell. That's not to excuse workers who don't take any real pride in their work, of who there are many.

Not to mention the Urbancorp build-massacre I live in is a joke as far as workmanship, finishing, and materials go.

I'd love to watch this documentary, just to see which other builders (other than TAS, which I am VERY familiar with) do rubbish work.

I've snooped around several condos that were in various stages of construction and the crap I saw really soured me to builders. I'm sure some do a good job, but not many. I've heard horror stories about Urbancorp. Yikes.

 

[MisterF]

All of these issues exist with detached housing as well. Detached houses are poorly built and get old just as condos do, probably more so. A criticism of residential builders is not a criticism of condos or high density living.

 

[SunriseChampion]

All of these issues exist with detached housing as well. Detached houses are poorly built and get old just as condos do, probably more so. A criticism of residential builders is not a criticism of condos or high density living.

Truth.

I actually work in custom residential, and for the money being thrown around I see a lot that makes feel bad for SOME of the clients.

I say some because a lot of them are selfish, arrogant, and entitled c-words.

 

[Bojaxs]

All the more to get into a trade skill such as plumbing, electrical, etc. and make money fixing other people's mistakes or shoddy work.

 

[TheKingEast]

All the more to get into a trade skill such as plumbing, electrical, etc. and make money fixing other people's mistakes or shoddy work.

I think these guys are making a killing by fixing shoddy workmanship.

 

[SunriseChampion]

They aren't fixing anything, a lot of them....believe me.
A lot of the time fixers just make it worse.

 

[gabe]

All the more to get into a trade skill such as plumbing, electrical, etc. and make money fixing other people's mistakes or shoddy work.

All in all the people that hire them and do not check them out first get what they deserve and pay for. People are gullible by nature and they just want the cheaper price and listen to the best sales pitch. My brother in-law is an electrician with 25 years experience, he makes a killing fixing shoddy repair work done by some fly by nighter.

 

[TrickyRicky]

I look forward to watching this if I catch it while I'm at home.

Regardless if you are pro or anti condo there are two facts we can't escape from in this city. They are:

First, like it or not condos are playing an ever increasing role in shaping our city not only physically but more importantly socially. Second, the long-term implications of this social change as well as the physical sustainability of this building type are untested.

Yes, high-rise buildings have been around for a long time and condos have been around for a long time. But what does a long time mean? Is 25 years (a standard design life for residential housing) a long time? Is 50 years a long time? Is 100? Compared to free hold single family dwellings or mid-rise structures that have thousands of years of history we are essentially building condo cities of the future that have no precedent in the history of civilization.

 

[NorthYorkEd]

I look forward to watching this if I catch it while I'm at home.

Regardless if you are pro or anti condo there are two facts we can't escape from in this city. They are:

First, like it or not condos are playing an ever increasing role in shaping our city not only physically but more importantly socially. Second, the long-term implications of this social change as well as the physical sustainability of this building type are untested.

Yes, high-rise buildings have been around for a long time and condos have been around for a long time. But what does a long time mean? Is 25 years (a standard design life for residential housing) a long time? Is 50 years a long time? Is 100? Compared to free hold single family dwellings or mid-rise structures that have thousands of years of history we are essentially building condo cities of the future that have no precedent in the history of civilization.

Also, were most of these newer condos built as actual homes, intended to be occupied by owners and families, or as commodities to be quickly flipped and/or rented for profit? My concern is not about condos per se, but about the true forces driving the boom in GTA condo construction. I think many of these buildings are cheaply produced and will cause considerable heartache and troubles for those who purchased during the feeding frenzy. It was fueled by greed and an almost manic house-lust, not by a desire for smart design, well-planned communities, or long-term benefits to the city.

People put more effort into researching and deciding which smartphone to buy than into weighing the pros and cons of plunking down half-a-million dollars for nothing more than a drawing with a bunch of smiling stock photography models sipping lattes while strolling through magnificently adorned lobbies.

 

[TheKingEast]

Don't forget. The show airs tonight at 9PM on CBC.

 

[TheKingEast]

Also, were most of these newer condos built as actual homes, intended to be occupied by owners and families, or as commodities to be quickly flipped and/or rented for profit? My concern is not about condos per se, but about the true forces driving the boom in GTA condo construction. I think many of these buildings are cheaply produced and will cause considerable heartache and troubles for those who purchased during the feeding frenzy. It was fueled by greed and an almost manic house-lust, not by a desire for smart design, well-planned communities, or long-term benefits to the city.

People put more effort into researching and deciding which smartphone to buy than into weighing the pros and cons of plunking down half-a-million dollars for nothing more than a drawing with a bunch of smiling stock photography models sipping lattes while strolling through magnificently adorned lobbies.

Well put. With regards to the last part. How much research can you really do? You kind of have to take developers at their word You can't avoid having a poorly built unit. Can't avoid having a pillar in your living room or a cheap counter top or a crappy gym. No amount of research can avoid that.

 

[NorthYorkEd]

Well put. With regards to the last part. How much research can you really do? You kind of have to take developers at their word You can't avoid having a poorly built unit. Can't avoid having a pillar in your living room or a cheap counter top or a crappy gym. No amount of research can avoid that.

What I was getting at is how willing people are to line up, wait for hours, and then spend ridiculously high amounts of money for something that doesn't even exist yet, while hemming and hawing over something they can actually see, hold, and experiment with. And you are right, buyers are crippled by a lack of information. Real estate is probably the largest investment or expenditure that anyone will make, and yet it is one in which we often come to the table considerably hobbled and ill equipped.

I guess I'm a contrarian, or maybe not yet thirsty enough to drink the kool-aid, but I would NEVER take a developer's or real estate agent's word for anything when it is my hard-earned money and quality of life at stake. Their opinions would be mixed with my own research and I would come to my own conclusions. Yes, sometimes they are wrong, but at the end of the day I am the one who has to deal with the consequences of my decisions, and I can live with that. Never in a million years would I buy anything sight unseen, especially a half-million dollar + home. I honestly don't know how the folks who buy from specs/plans at these sales presentations sleep at night. They are much braver than I.

 

[TheKingEast]

What I was getting at is how willing people are to line up, wait for hours, and then spend ridiculously high amounts of money for something that doesn't even exist yet, while hemming and hawing over something they can actually see, hold, and experiment with. And you are right, buyers are crippled by a lack of information. Real estate is probably the largest investment or expenditure that anyone will make, and yet it is one in which we often come to the table considerably hobbled and ill equipped.

I guess I'm a contrarian, or maybe not yet thirsty enough to drink the kool-aid, but I would NEVER take a developer's or real estate agent's word for anything when it is my hard-earned money and quality of life at stake. Their opinions would be mixed with my own research and I would come to my own conclusions. Yes, sometimes they are wrong, but at the end of the day I am the one who has to deal with the consequences of my decisions, and I can live with that. Never in a million years would I buy anything sight unseen, especially a half-million dollar + home. I honestly don't know how the folks who buy from specs/plans at these sales presentations sleep at night. They are much braver than I.

hey, I'm with you. I truly do not see the advantages of buying a of spec right now. None at all. It made sense 4-5 years ago since the cost of pre construction was so much cheaper than resale and by the time the condo was built, the value went up by 10's of thousands of dollars. But now? I don't understand it.