{The Condo} "Construction" So Far...

This is going to be a long two years...

Construction on the condo was originally slated to begin in March but then was later delayed to May. Fences and hoarding went up and they only closed off the parking lot it's being built over in July. Finally in August they brought in drilling and earth moving machines and this is where they were at a few weeks ago:

Photo by The Toronto Blog

I passed by during Labour Day weekend and it was just earth/pavement and trucks everywhere.

I'm getting antsy but we still have a long ways to go!

{The Condo} A Peek Inside

I love looking at model suites and homes just to see how places are furnished and decorated... and maybe sometimes imagining what it'd be like to live there!

Condos A and B didn't have model suites, just model kitchens but I didn't get photos of them. Condo C had a model suite plus model kitchens for the other finishes (all standard).

This is what will be mine! ... in 3 years. I already have an idea of how I want to decorate the condo, I'm just hoping I won't change my mind too much by the time the place is actually built since I'm planning on taking some of my parents' old danish lounge chairs to reupholster and my grandma's sofa bed to slipcover.

I love the white cabinets. My mom wanted to take the french door dining table home! I'm thinking if I can get my hands on a door, I'll have to try to make an island like this, although I've been eyeing ones from Crate and Barrel and Ikea.

Guest bathroom with shower.

Den/optional second bedroom. I think they fudged the dimensions with the lack of walls and furniture placement but it's actually still a pretty decent size.

Master bathroom.

Master bedroom.

Kitchen again. There should be some sort of window for the den where the frame is. I don't know if I like the open shelving.

Standing in the living room, you see the kitchen, door to the master bedroom, den, and front door.

And the living room.

The dark version of the white cabinets.

They called this one "New York Vintage"... I don't know about this one...

An island is definitely going to be needed seeing as how there's no counter space, so a door island would be perfect to fit more people if needed since I probably won't have a dining table.

I'm excited! It's so tempting to buy things now but I'll definitely have to wait and see how the space is. 2014 could not come soon enough!

{The Condo} On the Prowl...

For the past two years or so, I've been scouting out pre-construction and resale condos as well as resale houses to get an idea of what the market is like to prepare myself for when it comes time to buy. What I've known and was in denial about, is that Toronto prices are insane!

Five years ago my brother was going to buy a unit at the Pure Spirit Condos in the Distillery District but backed out since everyone (aka mom & dad) kept saying that prices would go down. Well, they went up. WAY up! It'd be at least another $100 000 (if even) right now to get what he would've paid for in 2006.

Unfortunately I had to veto townhouses and small homes altogether. Too much moolah required, very little in my bank account :(. So I've been wavering between resale and pre-construction depending on what's listed on MLS or what new condos are being launched.

The resale units are all either by cheap builders, high rise condos which I'd like to avoid, or way out of my price range. There have been a few with good floorplans but they're usually farther out than I'd like or in older buildings with high maintenance fees.

Pre-construction condos on the other hand, I've found have terrible floorplans because a lot have interior bedrooms with glass/frosted sliding doors that allow light in from the large exterior windows in the kitchen/living areas. I loathe those. Like, hate more than I hate public speaking, and I am terrified of public speaking! Immediately, that limits my choices of condos in Toronto, especially at the prices they're charging, but I did find some acceptable ones.

The following are all 1 bedroom + den units.

CONDO A

585 sqft. I like L-shaped kitchens and I liked that the bedroom, washroom, and washer/dryer were all in one corner.

 643 sqft. Not a huge fan of single galley kitchens but I liked that a door could be added to the den for extra sleeping space.

CONDO B

668 sqft + 105 balcony. Large balcony and powder room! I think for this condo, the optional island was $5000. Yah right. Ikea or Crate & Barrel would do me just fine.

 709 sqft + 90 balcony. I didn't even realize this has two full baths until right now! But the Den/Opt. Bedroom is the type of bedroom I hate. And the master has a dinky little window. Ugh.

CONDO C

667 sqft. Again, not a fan of single galley kitchens, but the master has a walk-in closet! And there are two full baths plus a door for the den.

694 sqft. Same as above, just a little bit bigger!

One of these will be mine! Even when I signed the paperwork I was in a bit of a daze - probably in a bit of shock! And I'll be in more shock once that first cheque gets cashed...