The Bloated Penguin

Hey what’s going down?

Flash intros are lame....

So yesterday the GF and I decided to do something we haven’t done in a  very long time – we decided to book an appointment to go and look at a condo. Why? Well, we’ve owned our home for just over a year, but because we’re not millionaires nor are we willing to dip too far into savings, we have moved to the suburbs (shudder). It has always been our goal to move back to the city so both of us could be closer to work, but the financial barrier has prevented us. Anyways, we found an ad by Concord Pacific advertising a new space in downtown Vancouver titled Cosmo. Like most cheeky development marketing firms, Concord left a lot to the imagination. They blasted the public with some great starting prices to get people to book appointments and into the door, but that’s where things will start to go downhill.

Don't be fooled

Yesterday we gave our realtor a call and had him meet us down at the Cosmo presentation center. My first impression wasn’t very good as the man supposed to take us through the “by appointment only” show room showed up late. But while we were waiting we were at least given a full price sheet and the prices quoted in the original ad were in fact correct. We’re not nieve enough to believe the advertised price so when we saw the actual prices for condos that don’t face alleys and power lines we weren’t too phased. The prices still remained quite competative and the units were a decent size. Then we read a little more and at the bottom of the price sheet in tiny almost unreadable fine print was a short message that read something like the following:

Please note that none of the above prices include parking. Parking at Cosmo will cost $37,500 per space

Double-You-Tee-Eff? Thirty seven G’s is pushing it and it actually launches the price range way beyond absurdity.

So the Cosmo rep finally shows up and gives us the run-down. He tells us that we can put in a $500 deposit to lock in a price as long as its before a certain date, but at this point I was so put off by the hidden parking fees that I don’t even think I was really listening. Then he takes the GF, the realtor and myself through the show room which is less than impressive. Cosmo’s sales package includes floor plans of all of the units they will be building. Some are quite spacious and nice, while others, one in particular, are terribly designed and would be considered the units they threw into the development to squeeze as many people inside as possible. The Cosmo show room decided not to create an appealing unit and opted to showcase one of the worst looking floor plans I have ever seen. The measurements were all awkward, the finishings weren’t all that nice and the size of each room was astonishingly tiny.

Needless to say, we will not be buying in Cosmo.

The good thing that came out of this whole experience is that we were able to speak with our realtor and tell him exactly what we’re looking for. We told him that we aren’t in any rush and to let us know when something that suits us becomes available. He took this info, brought us to Richards (units are amazing and the location is much better), told us to be patient and he’ll work his magic. That’s all we ever wanted and we trust him with his expertise. So for those of you expecting to get a call to help me move, don’t hold your breath. You’re off the hook for at least a couple of more years – unless our realtor finds something absolutely perfect

If you wanted to check out our realtor, go right ahead by clicking on this link. Calvin Kan is great for us for a lot of reasons, but one worth mentioning is his genuine honest belief to find us the best value for our dollar every time. He’s helpful, resourceful, friendly and makes a home buying experience extremely pleasant. Check him out when you get a chance – he knows what he’s doing.