Brownstones on the Park (Lansdowne/Davenport)
February 24, 2010 - 8:39am — vic
Although slightly outside of the neighbourhood normally covered on this website, you can use this forum for discussing the Brownstones on the Park townhouse development in the Lansdowne and Davenport area.
Notes:
- There's also a private Facebook group for this development.
- Also, a private Facebook group for Phase 4 owners.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
This discussion is closed for further comment. We regret that prior to closing this discussion some posters posted comments did not accord with the spirit and intent of this site’s Code of Conduct, which led to our closing this discussion and removing the comments from the website.
Spoke with TAFT
I've spoken with TAFT and they recommended bringing up the issue of security at the turnover meeting (end of June) I will make sure that I am in attendance to press the issue. Until we get this resolved please, everyone, exercise caution... let's not give these robbers a reason to return.
break-ins
Did you alert the police? The station at Davenport & Osler has stated its commitment to improved community safety.
As the gentrification of this neighbourhood progresses, there will be a need to be more vigilant if the Ward wants to attract new people to the neighbourhood.
I've been the Condo President
I've been the Condo President of my current community for four years and our Board was extremely proactive about getting issues like this and other condo related issues address. What's this Board/Property Manager doing about it? As a condo corporation we are all entitled to get answers and should be raised an Annual General Meetings. I will be researching the current Board and see if my volunteer experience may be useful here as I wait for my new home to be built in Phase 4. Btw, how do we find out about the Board details and is there only one Board for all the different phases and does it include the Foundary Lofts are are they separated? Anyone know?
bbqs
hey has anyone been able to install their natural gas BBQ? Have you had someone in to install it or is it possible to do it yourself? Any additional attachments required? Thanks!
Property management sent out
Property management sent out a letter regarding hiring a licensed gas fitter to do your hook up. It is all relating to property insurance so please do not do it yourself. Kindly check the brownstones on bloor forum. They have exchanges about the bbq gas hook up and some posted names and contact infos of individuals they used.
mortgage
Has phase 3 been registered yet? If not I would love to talk to anyone interested in a better mortgage rate and/or product. :)
Email me at Rburgos@dominionlending.ca ,www.RichardBurgos.ca
Now that business is out of the way, let's talk phase 4..I did not recieve any notice about the expected "new" closing date. Was this mailed out in regular mail or was it registered mailed that needed to be picked up at the postal office? Any info would be great.
The letter was send through
The letter was send through register mail. I got mine two weeks ago...
Cool. That's weird that I
Cool. That's weird that I didn't get mine..ohh well.
Does anyone know when they will require the last deposit for this phase?
By last deposit do you mean
By last deposit do you mean the remaining 10%? Deposit structure is 15% first and when you move in then you have to give the remaining 10% to make it to 25% of the original price of the townhouse, then when you are ready to take on a mortgage you can give any additional money you can give to bring the principal down (but ofcourse you dont have to...)
Yes, that is what I meant.
Yes, that is what I meant. But I believe that Brownstone only required 15% deposit, I have one last deposit of 26K to do, but no1 has ever contacted me about it yet. So I am assuming when we move in I will have to give the last of my deposit?
when you signed your contract
when you signed your contract they would have asked you for cheques spaced out over 6 or 7 months and the total of those cheques would come to 15% of the price of your place. This is the only down payment you are required to do, if you want to give an additional 10% and make it a total of 25% down (to avoid CMHC and to have a lower mortgage payment) then you can give them the 10% when you are moving in or any time by getting in touch with the builders lawyer and telling them that would like to make an additional payment.
Why would we have to put 25%
Why would we have to put 25% down? I thought 15% was minimum.... I don't see anything in my agreement that requires more...
We don't. My contract is
We don't. My contract is simply 15%. Don't worry, I panicked too when I read that.
the best thing to do is
the best thing to do is actually to phone the builder or the sales people and ask them, if that is correct. When I bought my place I remember the sales woman explaining the downpayment that way to me and my lawyer confirmed it...
Nevermind..lol
I just read the post underneath me that phase 3 is already registered. Lol.
Registration Surprises!
Hi,
Now that Phase 3 is registered, how did everything go? Were there any surprise closing charges that seemed out of the norm (i.e. additional develpment charges, etc.)?
No surprises. My unit is a
No surprises. My unit is a lower unit and it was approximately $5000. The closing was very organized as long as from your end you have everything as well.
first time buyer?
Hi, where you a first time buyer?
Yes.
Yes.
Just wondering how it came to
Just wondering how it came to 5k if you are able to forgo a large amount of the provincial and toronto land transfer tax? would you be able to provide a rough breakdown of the items included in the closing? thanks so much
Items on my closing
Items on my closing cost
Provincial Sales Tax on CMHC Fee
Subtract overpaid occupancy fee, if applicable
Add Common Expenses (remaining period of the month of closing)
Subtract refund of property taxes paid during occupancy
Add reimbursement for 2011 Land Taxes
Hydro Meter Connection Charge ($400)
Vendor's LPIC Fee (Art. 4.00 Section 4.01(a) of Agreement) ($56.50)
Add Tarion New Home Warranty Fee $640.00
Add Tarion New Home Warranty Fee –HST $83.20
Land Transfer Tax (Ontario)
Less First-time buyer's rebate
Land Transfer Tax (City of Toronto)
Less First-time buyer's rebate
Registration Fees (government, 2 documents x $71.30/ doc.)
Title Insurance
Legal Fees
Mortgage Legal Fees
Review of Agreement of Purchase & Sale
HST On Purchase & Mortgage Legal Fees
Disbursements (searches, title searches, couriers, etc.)
HST on Disbursements
I also have a lower unit and
I also have a lower unit and my closing costs were $6100. I had bought in 2009. No issues at all, it went smoothly.
Still have not received a hydro bill yet...
Thanks. We're still waiting
Thanks. We're still waiting for registration at BOW but hope to hear something soon.
About your Hydro bill, it took months before we got our first bill... but when it came it was a big one. The same will probably happen to you.
I have a lower unit and
I have a lower unit and received 2 Enbridge bills to date with a total of over $500 and from Reliance, 1 invoice to date for about $150. I think my consumption is on the low end. My occupancy was January 18th.
Are we suppose to receive anything else as far as utilities are concerned?
Your bill from Enbridge (Gas)
Your bill from Enbridge (Gas) must have included the deductable. I set up direct deposit (sent in a blank check) so they voided the deductable.
I'll do that. Thank you.
I'll do that. Thank you.
bills
electricity
looking to rent phase 3
Hi There,
I am an owner of phase 4 and I just found out it has been delayed until Sept 2012 (possibly longer). I have to move out of my current residence by August 1st. I would be interested in renting a ground floor phase 3 until then. I know they are renting for around $1400 but, really I can only do about $1200 at the moment. Anybody interested? Look on the bright side.......you know when I am moving out so no surprises and more importantly you can trust that I will take care of your property because we are neighbors...lol. Please feel free to contact me @ ljcrisisline@yahoo.com. Thanks again and good luck to everyone.
willing to rent out my phase 3 parking spot
does anybody need a an extra parking space for phase 3? i am more than willing to rent mine out siince i do not have a vehicle.
Prices
Hi all,
I am interested in these townhouses, but the office is currently closed for the next two days. I was wondering what is the ballpark of the prices for them. Do you mind telling me how much you paid for the unit? (I understand that there's no negotiation for prices in new homes, so I dont think there's a privacy issue here). Is parking extra?
If anybody got the ground floor units, is the patio fenced?
Thanks a lot!
Art
The ground units are 279.999
The ground units are 279.999 plus 20 thousand for the parking, plus 3.500 for locker (but I think they are sold out) plus 5 thousand if you get the corner unit. Only 3 units left from the ground units.
DOes anyone want to sell
DOes anyone want to sell their locker in phase 4?
New tentative occupancy date
New tentative occupancy date for phase 4 is August 31st, 2012, received a letter today... hope they start soon so it doesn't get much more delayed than that.
Phase 4
Hi,
I bought in phase 4 early this year, and have received nothing saying that the date has been delayed. Like a lot of people, I also tried calling, and no one is saying anything. When did you purchase your unit? Do you think it will get pushed much more than this?
Phase 4
Hi,
I bought in phase 4 early this year, and have received nothing saying that the date has been delayed. Like a lot of people, I also tried calling, and no one is saying anything. When did you purchase your unit? Do you think it will get pushed much more than this?
I received a letter stating
I received a letter stating Aug 31 2012 as the new date as well. We had to pick up our letter from the post office as they won't leave it in the mailbox. If you call the office, ask for Glen. He has been keeping us updated.
I bought my unit in phase 4
I bought my unit in phase 4 in october of 2009. Original closing date was ocit 1 2011 but I also just received a letter from the builder giving a new tentative closing date of august 31st 2012, I really do hope that it will be the last delay...but who knows???
Tentative means just that,
Tentative means just that, tentative :(
what was your original date?
what was your original date?
Original occupancy was
Original occupancy was September 2011, so we will get these units more than a year after the original date. They will not be ready in August, more like October 2012 which is the longest they can delay as per our contract. I have seen phase 3 units, they are not worth the wait, I am going to sell the unit as soon as it is built or rent it.
What makes you say they are
What makes you say they are not worth the wait?
The tarion clearly states if we don't occupy by the end of october 2012 we can get out of the contract...
For my situation it is not
For my situation it is not worth the wait, I was one of the people who were affected by the new site plan, my Gorky Park unit was turned into a central park, I lost about 300 sq.ft of space and a washroom. I would wait for gorkly park, but not for central park. I also question the quality of a builder who does not know that emergency vehicle access is required for all units.
You are right, if the builder does not finish by October 2012 you can get out of the contract. But, all that time you could have been looking for another place and your money will not mean the same as it did when you made the first deposit in the market.
I would suggest you take a look at a phase 3 unit to see the sizes of the bedrooms and living area.
I bought a high park unit and
I bought a high park unit and have taken a look at the unit @ brownstones on bloor. I quite like the unit, it's pretty big compared to a number of other townhouses ive seen in the city and has a good layout. And i am still living with my parents rent free so the longer the delay the smaller my mortgage. My main issue right now is that I didn't buy a locker when I first purchased and when I went back they said they were sold out!! I definitely need one, has anyone heard if they will be making more lockers?
What is the sq. footage for
What is the sq. footage for the High Park? Is it larger than the Soho?
I guess the soho was in one
I guess the soho was in one of the earlier phases. The high park is the upper unit and its 1110 sq. feet and the corner unit is 1144 sq. feet
but the contract we signed
but the contract we signed with the builder says he can delay up to 24 months....I am a bit confused now..
I sort of feel the same way,
I sort of feel the same way, rent it out, you can get $1700 per month for the upper 1150 square feet unit. But in the contract it says he can delay it up to 24 months, I also thought it was 12 months but my lawyer pointed out it is 24 months.
Bike Stolen at Brownstones on Davenport Phase 3
My bike was stolen from the underground bike racks. I had 2 locks on it, one of them was a thick cable which apparently didn't make a difference.
Sorry to hear that... the
Sorry to hear that... the same thing has happened at Brownstones on Wallace a few times.
My wife had her bicycle stolen a few weeks ago and other residents have mentioned their bikes were stolen back in November. My bike has a U-lock and wasn't stolen but they did steal the lights off my bike, which was kind of annoying.
Have you advised the property
Have you advised the property management about this incident?
I sent an email to TAFT and
I sent an email to TAFT and Brownstones custermer service this morning. Thanks.
I was viewing some of the
I was viewing some of the pictures on mls.ca of phase 3 units for sale and noticed the upper high park units have extra windows on either side of the sliding doors on the top level to the terrace, i'm curious to know if this was an upgrade or if they are doing this now in all units? also curious if the builder offered any other upgrades?
Looking at the floorplans for
Looking at the floorplans for Phase 4, it looks like its just a sliding door and no extra windows unfortunately. We were told by the agent that everything is standard and there are no upgrades. From the comments below, it appears that even if you ask for areas to be left unfinished, they will still finish them so if you want any changes you will have to rip out what they've done first before installing your own finishings.
I heard that too but theres a
I heard that too but theres a unit in phase 3 on mls.ca that clearly has had upgrades.
I don't know if its true but
I don't know if its true but someone told me that even if they say they won't do upgrades, they will do them if you go through your lawyer. Worth a try.
Facebook Group Page
BOB and BOW have their own Facebook group page. Anybody on this forum interested to start one for ours. We could combine phase 3 and 4. Let me know if there's any interest and I will start up the page.
For phase 3, i received a
For phase 3, i received a note on my door that someone already set up a facebook page or group, don't know what it's called but i'm sure Phase 4 is welcome!
good news about closing date for Phase 3, i'm calling my lawyer right now!
I'm still not 100% pleased with 30 day warranty follow - up, some worker came in and did damage in my kitchen, and some of their "fix-ups" are not satisfactory. But overall i love my unit :) Can't wait for the park and to see some green grass.
The Facebook page for
The Facebook page for Davenport Village was set up by a realtor for her own business purpose. I will create one and will post it here once it is set up and will also distribute door to door of the notice.
Final Closing Scheduled for April 26th
I received notification from my lawyer that we will be closing on April 26th.
are you talking about phase
are you talking about phase 4? and is that april of 2012? what was your previous closing date?
Phase 3.
Phase 3.
wow! I thought phase 3 was
wow! I thought phase 3 was all done and moved in..
Condo Registration
Occupancy occurred before Christmas through Jan/Feb. Now the final registration is taking place on April 26th for Phase 3. Swift process from occupancy until now.
Definitely a wonderful news.
Definitely a wonderful news. I was prepared for 4 months since occupancy and with six months better than longer. So this end of April final closing is definitely making me a happy BOTP dweller. Also, my unit is finally getting majority of my 30-day being completed this week.
I've been so wanting to paint but wanted them to complete the 30-day first so everything seems to be coming along nicely to line up with the closing of our Phase.
That is very fast for a
That is very fast for a Condo. I guess the site had fewer city related issues to deal with.
Wow that is nice a quick,
Wow that is nice a quick, gives me high hopes for phase 4! Have they been registered one row at a time?
Heating/Cooling Unit
Should the Principle Fan be set to the on position year round?
A construction staff of our
A construction staff of our site recommended that the principal fan should be turned on at least 6 hours daily.
Phase 4
The new board for Phase 4 is up in the office but not yet on the website. There is an access road in between the two north rows and one in between the two south rows. Also the south row has been split into two blocks - one has 8 units (four upper and four lower) facing the original direction, the other units have been rotated so that they are facing the same direction as the middle blocks.
Central Park Phase 4
Central Park Phase 4 are selling now for $279,000 Has this always been the price?
On the opening of the project
On the opening of the project the price was 249,900, two months later it went to 259,900 and now its 279,900 plus locker and parking and plus premium on the corner lots
Phase 4
We were told that the city is not allowing the developer to build the Hyde Park and Gorky Park units in phase 4 (south block, west side end units). They will be replaced with smaller units. Apparently they have put up a new board in the sales office with the changes.
Phase 4 changes
I also bought in Phase 4 (Gorky Park), I received a vague phone message stating that "there have been some changes to the site plan and it AFFECTS your unit". When I called back they informed me that they discontinued the unit and that I should come in an discuss some options. Seeing the other posts, this might be a blessing in disguise as I do not want to wait until June 2012 seeing the reason I bought the place was due to the September 2011 occupancy. I realize that all condos get delayed but this is too long. They have had my money for about 2 years, I suspect I won't get any interest on that when they give me my money back. I was seeing some other posts regarding the requirement for a fire access route which is the root of the problems for the end units. I wonder how a builder can go through a career without realizing basic codes such as having a fire route? I can just imagine all the other problems there will be with the buildings.
Have a meeting with them on Saturday, I am not hoping for much.
Good luck to everyone.
I work at a bank and sign
I work at a bank and sign many customer's up for builder mortgages. I would like 80% of the time there are delays in new construction and the delays are usually for more than a few months. I signed one person who's building was more than 2 years delayed. When I bought the unit I knew it wouldn't be ready October 2011 so I wouldn't be too concerned about the delays...
Chopfpt, they will likely be
Chopfpt, they will likely be offering you the Central Park unit which is 300 sq feet smaller. The offer should be the original price which is only reasonable but if you decide to walk away, they should give you interest so check with your lawyer - you do not have to sign anything or make any decisions on Saturday. Hopefully your agent is going with you.
Good luck.
Thank you Anonymous. I have a
Thank you Anonymous. I have a cooler head today and may take their offer to go with central park or see if they have any high parks left at their original price to make up for the lost square footage.
Cheers.
phase 4
I bought a corner townhouse in the block with all the problems, I was told that the city is asking the builder to build a road front and back of the southern block instead of simply a walkway, does anyone know anything about that? and has anyone received a notificiation on the extention of the closing date for phase 4
thanks
We bought in the south block
We bought in the south block as well (the Hyde Park) which is how we found out they weren't building these units anymore. We went in to the office about a week ago and the new date for occupany is in June.
The builder is apparently being asked to build a road - not a full-sized road, just something for emergency vehicle use.
wow! that is really bad, what
wow! that is really bad, what are you going to do with your unit? are you switching to a smaller unit or are yo getting your deposit back? I bought the high park at top end of that block so I guess mine will still be ok but I have heard nothing from the builder no notification what-so-ever, I guess I should visit the rental office sometime soon. I was there on week ago but the new plan was still not up and the sales people gave the song and dance and nothing concrete.
It took a bit over a year to
It took a bit over a year to build phase 3.
Phase 4 is larger, i would expect a good year a half once they actually start building (and not just digging). Realistically your occupancy date will be December 2012, possibly early 2013 if there are continued delays. Don't expect too many updates from the builder as they won't give many, the main reason being that if they do give out information which turns out to be incorrect people will complain even more.
Has anyone heard on when they
Has anyone heard on when they plan to start digging?
I bought in Phase 3 so I will
I bought in Phase 3 so I will keep Phase 4 buyers of any site activity on the construction in the coming months.
every time I ask the say
every time I ask the say .....soon!!!
While I'd prefer to be in the
While I'd prefer to be in the house, rather than renting, a Dec 2013 close just gives us more time to save. The only problem with waiting that long, is that the rate the bank gave me won't be capped for that long. I thought I read somewhere that if the delays are longer than one year past the initial close that buyers could walk but I could be wrong. On the positive side, they have raised the prices by at least $20,000 in just over a year.
I got the bank to cap my rate
I got the bank to cap my rate till dec 2013, so if one bank wont do it try someone else.
I am renting also and dont mind the wait all that much because I am also saving money for a larger down payment but I cant wait to get out of where I am living right now. I read my contract and it says that the builder has the right to delay the closing up to 24 months without giving us compensation, after that they ouline how much money he will pay per day for delays over 24 months. No matter what happens there is nothing we can do but sit and wait.....
good luck!!
Thanks, we have a rate capped
Thanks, we have a rate capped until Nov 2012 but I will definitely look into getting it extended (or switch to another bank).
For anyone waiting for notice, I believe they have to notify us officially by June - 90 days before the original closing date which was Sept 30 on my contract.
They are going to make ours a
They are going to make ours a High Park unit as well. We aren't going into the office till later this week so I'm not sure exactly what they will offer. He mentioned a number but we still have to wait and see when we go into the office. As far as I know all other units inlcuding the rest of the south block are still okay. It was only the four end units that are being affected.
I don't think anyone has received notice on closing - he just mentioned June after we asked. We were more concerned with the size of the house and not the closing. We are lucky that we can stay in our current apartment (and save more money) until the extended close.
leaking
Anyone else experiencing leaking from their loft sliding doors? I just pulled up my carpet to find the underpadding soaked through as well as the carpet. Just a heads up to keep an eye out for leaking up there with the melting snow. I believe the leak is coming from underneath the frame of the door.
Purchased Parking
How much did people pay for parking?
What is the size for our HVAC
What is the size for our HVAC filter? Since I moved, the builders changed it once and the other time we had it serviced, it was changed for us too.