Pre-Construction Pricing Ending and a New Promotion at SoHo Champagne

If you haven't been by SoHo Champagne recently (a new condominium being built in Ottawa's Little Italy) you have missed a lot.  Construction started a few months ago and the building has just started to come out of the ground - at the time of writing this blog, the construction crew is on the 2nd floor.

Traditionally, at certain points in the construction phase, condominium developers increase their prices - and SoHo Champagne is no different.  But the great news is that you still have time to act on pre-construction prices, but only if you buy before December 1, 2013.  After that date prices will be going up by $10,000!  Now $10,000 may not seem like a big deal to some (especially when compared to the cost of real estate), but if spent wisely it can make a huge difference - it could provide your suite with hardwood floors throughout (typically new condominiums in Ottawa only offer hardwood or laminate flooring in the living areas, and carpet is normally provided in the bedrooms and dens), it could enable you to buy on a higher floor with a better view (which could ultimately increase your property value), or may even give you the opportunity to buy a larger condo or add some very unique customizations within your condo.

Now if a $10,000 incentive doesn't tickle your fancy, perhaps a brand new promotion will.  If you read one of my earlier posts or have been paying attention to the news, you won't be surprised to learn that interest rates are going up.  To counteract this inevitable increase, SoHo Champagne is offering to "Cut Your Interest Rate In Half" on selected suites for 2 years!  What does that mean? It mean that your monthly costs can be reduced by as much as $450 - if you're an investor, that increases your potential earnings, or could lower your rent making your property more attractive to tenants; if you're planning on residing in the condo, that's a saving of over $5000/year - I'm sure we would all like to have an extra $5,000 in our pockets.  Now, I know what you're thinking - "Only on 'Selected Suites'? That's just the builders way of getting rid of the junk no one wanted." but the 'Selected Suites' are those that are priced at or below $320,000 at SoHo Champagne.  I happen to have a price list for that site handy, this promotion would be valid on the following styles (they can be viewed here) - PS2B, PS2C, PS3, G, E & E1.  There are also a few different layouts whose priceshover around $320,000 - I'm sure with a little negotiating you could get the builder to make an exception or two.  Like all promotions, there are other conditions that apply, but certainly none that drastically alter the benefits - to learn what these conditions are, or to learn more about SoHo Champagne and other similar condo developments, feel free to contact me.


Thanks for reading.

Taylor Bennett
Sales Representative - Bennett Property Shop Realty
www.BennettPros.com
Taylor@BennettPros.com
@OttawaTails

Cita Condos - Coming Soon To Alta Vista

[Edit: Great article on Cita Condos in the Ottawa Sun from Thursday - check it out here. The sales office is now open as well (Monday-Thursday: 12-6, Saturday-Sunday: 12-5, Closed Friday and Statutory Holidays), stop in to learn about their opening promotions and view their great, full scale model suite]

Cita Condos, a new condominium development being built in Alta Vista (a neighbourhood found about 5-10 mins south of Ottawa University), is being released for sale in the very, very near future.  Now unlike some of the condo developments I have highlighted in previous blog posts, this development is a little different.  In terms of the actual structure and design, as you can tell from the photo of the scale model below, it's not all that different from many of its downtown or central counterparts.

But Cita Condos differs from its competition in two notable areas:
1) Its Location - As I mentioned above it will be built in Alta Vista - a very quiet, well-established area situated less than 5 km south of downtown Ottawa.  Within the neighbourhood you will find many single family homes, several schools (Public Elementary: Alta Vista, Arch Street, Featherston Drive, Hawthorne, Pleasant Park and Vincent Massey; Public Secondary: Canterbury High School, Ridgemont High School and Hillcrest High School; and Catholic: McMaaster, Ste-Genevieve, St. Patrick's Intermediate and St. Patrick's High School) and more than a fair share of city parks (Lynda Lane Park, Grasshopper Park, Billings Park and Orlando Park, to name but a few).  In and around the boundaries of Alta Vista you will find 3 major shopping areas: Billings Bridge Plaza (a shopping center to the South-West of Alta Vista), Elmvale Shopping Centre (located to the North-East of Alta Vista), and the newly established and ever-growing Ottawa Train Yards (slightly north beyond the borders of Alta Vista). With the numerous parks and mature trees, Alta Vista is a welcome change compared to where you normally find these types of condos.

2) The Interior Design - At the sales office (located at the corner of Playfair Dr. and Kilborn Ave.) they have built a gorgeous 2-bedroom model suite showcasing many of the standard interior specifications and also a few of the upgrades you can select to customize your condo.  When you first step foot inside the model you'll notice that it doesn't have the feel of a condo; it's much warmer due to the earthy-tones the designer chose instead of the dark-on-white contrast you find in most downtown condos.  The standard kitchens include quartz counter tops, a glass-tile back splash, beautiful cabinetry as well as 5 appliances (fridge, stove, dishwasher, microwave and hood fan).  As for the washrooms, without upgrading you will find porcelain ceramic tiles, quartz counter tops and your choice of a walk-in shower or tub.

So if you're tired of spending all the effort and time that's required to maintain a home - the yard work, the constant dusting and cleaning of rooms you may not even use anymore, costly repairs to the roof or windows, etc... - and have been considering the condo life-style but have found the downtown and central areas of Ottawa too noisy or crowded, then Alta Vista is the perfect fit for you.  With bachelor condos starting below the $200,000's, 1 bedrooms in the mid-$200,000's and 2 bedrooms in the low $400,000's, Cita Condos is a site you definitely want to have a look at.

For more info on taking part in Cita Condos VIP release (where special incentives and promotions are offered) or to see the floor plans and pricing, please feel free to contact me.

Thanks for reading.

Taylor Bennett
Sales Representative - Bennett Property Shop Realty
www.BennettPros.com
Taylor@BennettPros.com
@OttawaTails

New Plans for Ottawa's Future Lees LRT Station

Construction of Ottawa's Light Rapid Transit (LRT) is well under-way.  After years and years, heck almost a decade of debates and analysis, the question has changed from "Will the LRT ever be built?" to "When will the LRT be ready?".  According to the Light Rail's official website, the answer is June 2017 (for the stations in and close to downtown Ottawa.

In anticipation of this new rapid public transit system, the city is starting to look at the areas immediately around the 13 different stations.  In one of my past blog posts (which you can read here), I referred to a study conducted by Don Campbell from REIN (Real Estate Investment Network) where it was noted that the properties within 500 m of transit stations saw increase in both equity growth and potential rental earnings.  It's fairly simple to conclude why - being close to a major public transit station is important to a lot of people, especially those that don't have or want a car and/or those who are looking to cut down on transportation costs.  So it's no surprise that the city planning department is focusing on these areas to allow for higher density zoning to prepare for and increase the number of potential LRT-riders.  We have already seen it happen at Dow's Lake (I should clarify: Dow's Lake isn't near one of the future LRT stations, but it is next to the O-Train's Carling station.  The O-Train and LRT will intersect a few minutes north of the Carling station at the Bayview station) and we have seen higher density building be approved downtown near the Downtown East & West stations.  According to a recent article in the Ottawa Citizen (which can be read here), Ottawa's planning department is looking at the area around the Lees stations - this is already a fairly high density area; Lees station will be just outside of the University of Ottawa's campus, not far from some of the taller apartment buildings in Ottawa and a lot of student housing.  Despite that area already having high density zoning, the new proposed City plan for that area calls for 20-, 30- and even 45-storey buildings.  Councilor David Chernushenko, whose Captial ward includes the Lees station, has raised concerns about the increased crime and over-all appearance that this plan may bring and would prefer to see 8-storey buildings instead.  The City's planning department will be presenting it's final plan for that area in November 2013.

Thanks for reading.

Taylor Bennett
Sales Representative - Bennett Pros 
www.BennettPros.com
Taylor@bennettpros.com
@OttawaTails