HARBOUR PLAZA - SNEAK PREVIEW PACKAGE | 2 By: Toronto Condo Boutique & TalkCondo NOTICE: This Book is licensed to the individual reader only. Duplication or distribution via e-mail, disc, network, printout or other means to a person other than the original purchaser is a violation of international copyright law. © Copyright 2012, Toronto Condo Boutique & TalkCondo. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by any means (including electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published by: Toronto Condo Boutique & TalkCondo Toronto, Ontario http://www.torontocondoboutique.com http://www.talkcondo.com © Copyright 2012 Toronto Condo Boutique & TalkCondo. All rights reserved. Reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permission is prohibited and a violation of International copyright law. HARBOUR PLAZA - SNEAK PREVIEW PACKAGE | 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Ø Meet The Team CHAPTER 1 - Condo IPO CHAPTER 2 - Platinum Investing CHAPTER 3 – About The Neighborhood Ø Introducing "SOUTH FINANCIAL CORE" Ø High Appreciation & Rental Rates Ø The Harbour Plaza Project CHAPTER 4 – TOP 8 REASONS TO INVEST Ø #1 – Waterfront Toronto Revitalization Ø #2 – The Pricing - Aggressively Priced Ø #3 – Menkes - An Award Winning Developer Ø #4 – “Developer-Driven Appreciation™” Ø #5 – The Location – 10,000 New Jobs & Access to Amenities Ø #6 – Long Occupancy - May 2018 Ø #7 – Iconic Architecture & Landmark Building Ø #8 – Exclusive VIP Incentives CHAPTER 5 - NOTES Ø About This Report © Copyright 2012 Toronto Condo Boutique & TalkCondo. All rights reserved. Reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permission is prohibited and a violation of International copyright law. HARBOUR PLAZA - SNEAK PREVIEW PACKAGE | 4 Meet The Team Toronto Condo Boutique and TalkCondo are a team of Platinum agents in the Toronto Condominium Market. Our team is involved in a large number of condominium transactions every year, and as a result are able to get EXCLUSIVE incentives for buyers. We represent YOU – the BUYERS and INVESTORS – NOT developers....but it is the developers that pay our commissions, so it is like we work for you at no cost! Our ‘niche’ is to provide buyers with the BEST ACCESS to the hottest projects in Toronto – to obtain the LOWEST possible pricing, the MOST opportunity for appreciation, and the BEST Suite selection. The team are highly regarded in the industry and have been interviewed by various media outlets including the Toronto Star, Globe & Mail and Moneyville. Roy Bhandari was recently invited by RealNet Canada to speak to 350 industry professionals about the pre-construction condominium industry alongside the George Carras (President of RealNet) and Jim Ritchie (VP of Tridel Developments). Over the past 12 months alone, we’ve helped hundreds of clients get ‘in’ to hot new projects – which has helped them already see their units appreciate quickly...many of which have seen increases of $40,000 - $50,000 in less than12 months (some within weeks)! © Copyright 2012 Toronto Condo Boutique & TalkCondo. All rights reserved. Reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permission is prohibited and a violation of International copyright law. HARBOUR PLAZA - SNEAK PREVIEW PACKAGE | 5 (Top: Roy Bhandari invited to speak to 350 industry professionals alongside George Carras (president of RealNet), Jim Ritchie (VP of Tridel) among others. 2nd Row Left: Roy Bhandari, Giovanni Marsico & Susan Toughlouian awarded "Presidents Club" Award for Top Sales at Baker Real Estate alongside Barbara Lawlor 2nd Row Right: Giovanni Marsico & Roy Bhandari alongside Brandon Frankfort and Brian Brown of Lifetime Developments at a Platinum Appreciation Event. Middle Left: Susan, Roy & Giovanni winning award for Baker Real Estate. Middle Right: Roy, Amit & Giovanni awarded top agents for INDX Condominiums. Bottom Left: Susan and Giovanni winning their “Top Producing Agent” award for Chaz on Charles. Bottom Right: Winning “#1 Agents” at River City Award) © Copyright 2012 Toronto Condo Boutique & TalkCondo. All rights reserved. Reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permission is prohibited and a violation of International copyright law. HARBOUR PLAZA - SNEAK PREVIEW PACKAGE | 6 CHAPTER 1 – THE CONDO I.P.O.™ As you know, in the equities market, an Initial Public Offering (aka “IPO”) or Stock Market Launch is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. The purpose of the IPO (and in becoming a publicly traded company) is to raise capital for future growth and to create exposure for the business. Similar to the stock market, the Toronto Condo market also has IPO’s or New Project Launches. Strict banking rules dictate that a developer must pre-sell 65-80% of units in a new condominium project BEFORE receiving construction financing. Before the first shovel hits the dirt, a developer has to sell out the majority of the condo units in the project! This is why developers rely on the broker and agent community. STAGES OF A NEW CONDO LAUNCH There are different stages to a Condo IPO. While the stages vary from project to project and from developer to developer, many of Toronto’s top developers follow a similar structure. At each stage of the sales process, there is typically a price increase in the value of the units, creating a process we’ve called ‘Developer-Driven Appreciation™’ that we will cover in a future chapter. © Copyright 2012 Toronto Condo Boutique & TalkCondo. All rights reserved. Reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permission is prohibited and a violation of International copyright law. HARBOUR PLAZA - SNEAK PREVIEW PACKAGE | 7 A typical new condo launch will have the following stages: STAGE DESCRIPTION PLATINUM First round of selling, lowest possible pricing. Investors purchase with a ‘Platinum Agent’. A Platinum Agent is a high-volume broker or sales representative who has the best relationships with condo developers. Platinum Agents typically sell 10 or more units in a project (sometimes as much as 50 units). These units are usually ‘allocated’ in advance. Typically 10-15 Platinum Agents in a given project. VIP A VIP Agent is a broker or sales representative that has sold a unit or multiple units for the specific developer in the past. A typical project launch will have anywhere from 50-300 VIP agents. These agents will NOT have units allocated to them in advance. GENERAL AGENTS Once the VIP stage is over, the developer will open its doors to all brokers and sales representatives. Again, prices are typically raised for this new phase of selling. Individual investors and buyers, however, are still not permitted to walk in and purchase without the representation of a broker or agent. PRE- At the start of sales, the developer will typically launch a website REGISTRATION for the project (i.e. – ABCcondos.com). The website will provide very limited details, and include a ‘registration form’ for individual investors and buyers. It is usually during this phase where individuals are asked to come in and purchase, providing them priority over the general public. PUBLIC GRAND By this phase, the developer will have started their major ad OPENING campaign, creating awareness for the project to the general public. This is often accompanied by a ‘Grand Opening’ event, where the public is invited to come in and purchase. © Copyright 2012 Toronto Condo Boutique & TalkCondo. All rights reserved. Reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permission is prohibited and a violation of International copyright law. HARBOUR PLAZA - SNEAK PREVIEW PACKAGE | 8 CHAPTER 2 – PLATINUM INVESTING™ PLATINUM INVESTING DEFINED When we say ‘Platinum Investing’, we’re not talking about trading in precious metals. As mentioned in Chapter 1, Platinum Investing is when an investor purchases a pre- construction condominium unit from a developer during the ‘Platinum Phase’ of sales, through a Platinum Agent. No matter where you decide to invest, the best TIME to invest is right at the start of the project, during the Platinum stage. Here’s why… During the sales cycle for a new condo, typically lasting 3-5 years, a developer will raise prices several times. If you purchase a unit, say $350,000, during the Platinum Stage, that same unit could be selling for $380k, $390k, $400k, or even more by the time the building starts construction. Therefore, the person spending $380k or more (compared to the Platinum investor spending $350k on the same model) is always at a disadvantage – either when it comes time to sell, as their profit margins will be less, or at time to rent, as their carrying costs will essentially be more. Investing during this first round of selling provides you with the greatest advantage and leverage. DEVELOPER-DRIVEN APPRECIATION™ 2 TYPES OF APPRECIATION When you purchase during the platinum phase, you benefit from 2 types of appreciation – the traditional, “market-driven” appreciation, and the second form, which we’ve labeled “Developer-Driven Appreciation”. WHAT IS ‘DEVELOPER-DRIVEN APPRECIATION? When you purchase a unit during the first (‘Platinum’) phase of developer pricing, you benefit the most from the developer raising prices at various points during the sales cycle (for example, at the VIP launch, agent launch, grand opening to the public, at the start of construction, etc.) © Copyright 2012 Toronto Condo Boutique & TalkCondo. All rights reserved. Reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permission is prohibited and a violation of International copyright law. HARBOUR PLAZA - SNEAK PREVIEW PACKAGE | 9 DEVELOPER-DRIVEN APPRECIATION EXAMPLE – THE BOND CONDOS One of top developers in Toronto is Lifetime Developments, releasing highly successful projects such as The Bond, INDX, Karma, M5V, Victory, Bisha Hotel and Residences, The Yorkville, and more. On September 1, 2011, Lifetime launched sales to our team and to a small group of other Platinum Agents for their project called ‘The Bond Condos’ located on Adelaide Street West. We have attached (below) a sample of the starting (Platinum) prices from September 1st, along with prices for VIP agents released on September 22nd.