Many of you have already seen this; several times, in fact.

But for those of you who are newer readers of TRB, perhaps a good follow-up to Monday’s discussion about cancelled condo projects would be a throwback to my 2015 video.  It’s exaclty what Friday ordered!

Well, that, and I was on an offer until 11:45pm on Thursday night, so I need some Friday-Fodder…

Sadly, those are all my shirts…

Banana Republic.  What can I say?

If you find something you like, stick with it.

This was filmed back in early 2015, and it was our first video of the “What If The Whole World Worked The Same Way As The Toronto Real Estate Industry” series that ran through the year.

Not bad for our first crack at video production, but either way, I think the point is made, as it was in Monday’s blog post.

The one point I didn’t make, however, is this: there are some folks who can, and do, make money flipping pre-construction condos.  It’s not quite a zero-sum game, but there are “experts” in the business.

One of my clients (I don’t sell him the units in pre-construction, but I sell them when he flips) is what I would call an “expert” in the game.  Like any other type of investment, and in like any other industry, there are those that succeed, and those that fail.

A successful pre-construction condo flipper knows where to buy (location, building size/scope), what to buy (square footage, layout, beds/baths, extras – what has the highest return), when (timing of the year, timing of the project – various releases), from whom (certain agents do have connections), from which developers (ie. ones that haven’t cancelled mulitple projects; many developers have track records of completing “on time”), include which clauses (especially regarding closing costs), which clauses, language, and legalese to avoid, and most certainly – when to walk away.

As I said on Monday, I would wager that 50% of pre-construction condo buyers don’t have a lawyer review the documents in the provincially-mandated 10-day rescission period, and 50% of buyers don’t use their own agent, but rather use the developer’s “floor agent” at the sales centre.

These people are just asking to be taken advantage of, and usually, they are.

But I don’t want to leave you with the impression that I believe all people who purchase pre-construction condos are suckers, fools, destined to lose, and can’t “beat” the developer.

Not everybody can hit a 99-mile-per-hour fastball.

But those that do, are very well compensated.

Have a great weekend, everybody!