Edmonton’s population is on the rise, and developers have taken on their hands to provide excellent condo investment options for the new residents.
We have talked in previous entries about factors that may have to do with the rise of population in our city: From Military and RCMP members relocation to government-provided financial aid for new homebuyers.
Condos are an excellent option for first-time homebuyers to own their very first home, but also for downsizers and smaller families or for single people that want to stop paying rent.
Before you start looking at available condos in the market, you have to be prepared – here are a few mistakes to avoid when choosing a condo:
Biggest 4 Condo Investment Mistakes:
1. Falling for a Pre-Construction Marketing Campaign
You may be following this pre-construction, seeing all of the wonders they advertise about it. Don’t fall in love so quickly! Marketing’s objective is to build this excitement around a project, regardless of the neighbourhood or the builder. The area may not be convenient, and the builder may be inexperienced, but they may make it sound like this is The One. Make sure you read between the lines before investing.
2. Not hiring a Realtor® for a Pre-Construction deal
A Realtor® will be your champion when you enter the pre-construction coliseum. The sales team for pre-constructions works for the developer and their job is to look for the developer’s best interests, not yours. Getting help from a Realtor® is the best option. Your Realtor® will work in Your best interest, and they will go with you through you all Pre-Constructions that match your needs. P.S. – This will not affect the price of your investment!
3. Not planning for Pre-Construction
Can you depart with a 25% downpayment, and not see the results for a couple of years? Remember that pre-constructions usually take 3 to 4 years to complete.
Try to think of what you believe your future in the next couple of years look. Maybe you can use some guidance from an expert Realtor® that can ask you the right questions, so you can evaluate if you are ready for this commitment.
4. Believing resale condos are not as good
A lot of our clients seem to believe that pre-construction is better than resale. However, in Pre-construction, nothing is fully set in stone. Many things can change: from the initial planning to the views, construction materials may change during development even the footage may change. Most importantly: once construction finishes, what if the market turns, and you notice your investment was not worth it?
Resale condos are an excellent alternative if you do not want to deal with all of these “what-ifs”. With a resale condo, you can know its current market value, see the physical condo already built, what the materials are, what the footage is – everything is built already.
There are many variables, as well as pros and cons when dealing with the pre-construction market, so make sure you think carefully and get professional help before jumping into it.
