tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295168502015-04-19T19:28:06.312-04:00Profiling all Toronto condos, lofts, townhouses and inside information on the market. If you are looking for the inside nitty gritty about the Toronto condo, loft and townhouse scene, you've found the one blog and site dedicated to delivering truthful commentary on meaningful topics that affect your ability to buy, sell, lease and/or rent in the very changing murky waters of the Toronto real estate market.Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.comBlogger476125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-44736619428389792172011-10-09T05:44:00.043-04:002011-10-09T09:07:31.654-04:00

Charles Hanes October 9, 2011 For the twelve plus years that this website and blog have been tops on the Internet for condo buyers in Toronto and Snowbirds looking for Florida investment opportunities I've resisted the urge to add advertising onto it. The reason is quite simple.  I don't want to impose advertising in the way of pop up ads and/or flash interruptions into people's search for

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-46244796881185055572011-10-08T05:39:00.013-04:002011-10-08T16:06:14.435-04:00

Charles Hanes October 8, 2011 River City is about to launch it's phase II of its very successful condo loft project in Toronto east end by the lake. I just received the full package, including floorplans and prices so if you've been looking to invest in downtown Toronto you will want to Register with me right away so you have a good selection of suites and base line pricing. Good plans, great

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-17442094389290222942011-10-07T05:17:00.038-04:002011-10-07T08:43:03.514-04:00

Charles Hanes October 7, 2011 It is more than obvious that Rogers Communications or Rogers Television or whatever their official name is, simply can't deliver the services that they promise to deliver.  Now, that's not hugely significant if one has the freedom of choice to either use them or not or cancel their service when it proves inferior to Bell and/or other DSL services that are offered in

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-91550223226559862232011-10-06T05:16:00.091-04:002011-10-06T08:21:24.634-04:00

Charles Hanes October 6, 2011 Yesterday proved one of those monumental days in history.  Steven Jobs, the genius behind Apple passed away.  It's not like this was unexpected as he's been ill for quite some time now but that does nothing to lessen the blow.  The world lost a true mastermind and visionary.  The news is comparable to the blow the world was served with the senseless death of John

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-16913590538759161342011-10-05T05:12:00.027-04:002012-02-02T12:48:11.403-05:00

Charles Hanes October 5, 2011 It's a fundamental reality of supply and demand.  With Toronto's average condo per square foot costs for pre-sales going up by 7% annually over the past decade and rents not having kept up and the majority of buyers being unsophisticated speculative investors, the condo market in Toronto is a virtual mine field! If you don't know the history on the developer that's

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-25598187855336083392011-10-04T05:39:00.038-04:002011-10-04T09:15:14.563-04:00

Charles Hanes October 4, 2011 If you've been reading my blog over the past dozen or so years you will know that I'm not a big fan of a lot of Toronto condo developments and/or Toronto condo developers.  When you understand that most Toronto developers are actually lawyers masquerading as developers or big money guys who have jumped into the business simply for the outrageous profits attainable

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-83876396550887908352011-10-03T05:00:00.042-04:002011-10-03T05:21:22.669-04:00

Charles Hanes October 3, 2011 Here's a copy of an email that I received over night as a response to one of my recent blogs ("Condo Etiquette").  I'll follow it with my reply. Hello, I enjoy reading your blog and wonder if you might be willing to comment on a situation that I am experiencing in my Yonge/St Clair condo. The building is very quiet and attracts a professional set. But the

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-89678341739701082632011-10-02T06:25:00.035-04:002011-10-03T10:45:32.307-04:00

Charles Hanes October 2, 2011 Yes, there are some unbelievable prices offered for condos in Florida these days.  Everyone I talk with has a story about someone selling $800,000 condos for a fraction of that cost. I've spent the past two years researching the Florida condo market for my thousands of Canadian Snowbirds and investors and I can tell you first hand that there is a whole lot more to

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-85123066327314448512011-10-01T04:52:00.061-04:002011-10-02T10:58:26.538-04:00

Charles Hanes October 1, 2011 Now, before I get in to this I've got to include a caveat.  Nothing goes up for ever!  And when new condos have gone up by an average of 7% for 15 years (this is according to Urbanation, a leading condo industry market research company) a logical mind has got to wonder where the ceiling is. And when you realize that the majority of condo developments in this city

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-18097461859432595562011-09-30T11:10:00.000-04:002011-09-30T11:10:33.393-04:00

Charles Hanes September 29, 2011 OK!  I've got Toronto's best condo investment!  As my frequent readers over the past decade and a half (at least) know, I don't hype presale condos simply to get paid commissions. I thoroughly study the market and recommend ONLY quality developers (of which there is a decided shortage of) with quality product, in quality locations. My track record has been

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-4554678219183464742011-09-26T05:16:00.014-04:002011-09-27T12:13:53.466-04:00

Charles Hanes September 26, 2011 All I hear in the media these days is that every Republican running to become Leader is meeting with Donald Trump.  I then have to listen to this blow hard brag about how much better his own plane is, how much smarter he is and how rich he is! The only logical reason for these people to be meeting with Donald Trump is because of his extensive background in

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-52624010779285724432011-09-25T05:31:00.078-04:002011-09-27T11:02:24.972-04:00

Charles Hanes September 25, 2011 As a novice investors I'll be the first to admit that there is a lot to learn when turning to the stock market.  If you've been reading my blog and/or site over the fifteen years, you will know that I am not a big fan of investing in stocks! That said, and realizing that our retirement planning in North America is totally based on stocks (I don't buy into this

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-22293689031583239962011-09-24T05:12:00.047-04:002011-09-25T13:12:10.300-04:00

Charles Hanes September 24, 2011 With the high prices for Toronto condos and low rentals rates, many of my global readers are looking to America for condo investments.  This is potentially a sound direction however, you've got to really know what you are doing, what you are looking for and where you are looking before even considering buying down south. I've got investor groups telling me they

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-40854755143361536222011-09-23T05:19:00.056-04:002011-09-24T13:23:42.462-04:00

Charles Hanes September 23, 2011 View from upstairs over living room I've been talking a lot lately about an excellent investment opportunity that I have in Fort Lauderdale, but if you are a Snowbird, looking for a winter home, here's one that you will want to take a serious look at! It's located in Deerfield Beach, about twenty minutes drive above Fort Lauderdale in a highly acclaimed golf

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-45882408786772479232011-09-22T05:33:00.024-04:002011-09-26T05:18:14.914-04:00

Charles Hanes September 22, 2011 I've been trying to sort out a night mare RSP investment fund when my broker (who was paid commissions) neglected to put a "stop loss" on a stock that he and his firm were big on and advised me to buy only to have it lose almost 90% of its value. When I started studying stocks, on the first day, the first thing I learned about was "stop loss"!  I guess he was

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-44766642690672046812011-09-21T05:07:00.057-04:002011-09-23T10:44:55.746-04:00

Charles Hanes September 21, 2011 Many buyers seem oblivious to having received and agreed to live by Rules set out in the Disclosure Statement when they were buying their condo.  All owners are required to have tenants sign a document disclosing their identity and undertaking to respect and live by the Rules and Regulations set out in the Bylaws of the condo. Unfortunately, many owners and most

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-42494668610685121422011-09-18T05:25:00.070-04:002011-09-18T17:07:21.923-04:00

Charles Hanes September 18, 2011 I've got a number of investors looking at making investments and they are trying to decide whether investing in a Toronto condo or one of my Fort Lauderdale units works best for them. When it comes to investing, it's always "lowest in most out" in quality real estate.  I've checked out X2 condos at Jarvis and Charles for this client.  They have a one bedroom two

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-38004978434447537472011-09-17T05:27:00.014-04:002011-09-18T12:00:22.943-04:00

Charles Hanes September 17, 2011 A number of you have been writing me asking me about the exciting investment opportunity in Fort Lauderdale and specifically asking about financing. I'm just waiting until Monday to talk with a local reputable bank, actually a fully owned subsidiary of TD Canada Trust that has already approved this development for mortgage lending and has expressed their

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-79422248459921128342011-09-15T05:30:00.042-04:002011-09-17T08:48:59.594-04:00

Charles Hanes September 15, 2011 Our booming downtown condo market (it's actually still very strong in outlying areas as well) is a result of three dimension on the same influence . . . . . . immigration. 1.  Global immigration:  Every year 100,000+ new immigrants come to Ontario and the greatest majority of them move to Toronto as it's the number one center of financial activity in the country

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-5262469681317438272011-09-14T05:07:00.044-04:002011-09-14T10:40:30.464-04:00

Charles Hanes September 14, 2011 I love it when clients return to us to find another condo for them.  We've got an exceptional record of this as, in over three decades, I have never had a dissatisfied client!  Frequently, clients will open their request for my assistance with: "you may not remember me but you helped me buy a condo in Toronto a few years back".  Well, I can state for the record,

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-21734904253608258122011-09-13T05:34:00.055-04:002011-09-13T08:36:28.826-04:00

Charles Hanes September 13, 2011 Do those 1 1/2% interest rates offered with bank savings accounts not work for you?  They sure don't work for me either!  Especially when you realize that most of that is eaten up in taxes (yes you have to declare interest on your income tax) and then, when you factor in Cost Of Living adjustments, those bank interest rates are really costing you money! With

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-79941744431585523092011-09-12T05:30:00.041-04:002011-09-12T14:16:24.161-04:00

Charles Hanes September 12, 2011 The most important thing to have a good grasp on when investing anywhere in the world is what do I have to pay and for what and what is my return on investment ("roi"). My research has shown that in Florida, what is considered "solid returns" on residential real estate are ranging between 5.5% and 6.5% for quality real estate.  You can get higher returns but

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-56011027078992592562011-09-11T05:36:00.024-04:002012-02-02T12:56:50.449-05:00

Charles Hanes September 11, 2011 They say that the three most important things in real estate are, location, location, location.  This quality developments offers all three! Situated just south of Fort Lauderdale's high demand main street of Las Olas, this intimate cluster of one and two bedroom suites offers excellent "value" for locals, Snowbirds and investors.  You are just 5 minutes from

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-30063650660450604942011-09-10T06:34:00.022-04:002011-09-11T12:11:32.498-04:00

Charles Hanes September 10, 2011 I've got more buyers than I do product!  Now that's an alright position to find yourself in but it's not as good a position as having product for every client! These astute investors are heavily math based meaning that they work solely by the numbers.  They want properties that are already tenanted with good tenants in properties that are showing at minimum a

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29516850.post-57578205400455863122011-09-09T05:32:00.056-04:002011-09-09T11:54:21.204-04:00

Charles Hanes September 9, 2011 We've made a major investment in Florida to be in a position to bring excellent investment opportunities to you.  Before we put our name on any investment opportunity we do comprehensive research, background checks and due diligence. With over 35 years of experience at this, we don't chase commissions.  With over 1,000+ investor clients and not a single

Charles L. Haneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782048087468806noreply@blogger.com0