condominium

Centre Block to bring $95 million development to Kitchener downtown

Exciting news this week about a new development in downtown Kitchener, on the Centre Block land that the city has acquired over the past 10 years at a cost of about $13 million.  From The Record:

During a closed-door meeting councillors gave their final authorization to staff for an agreement between the City of Kitchener and Brampton-based Andrin Homes for the redevelopment of Centre Block with 385 condominiums, four new buildings, underground parking, a boutique hotel-spa and a parkette.

“It has been a long time coming, obviously,” Mayor Carl Zehr said.

By 2000 the city had purchased almost all of the properties and buildings that wrapped around the western half of the block, which is bounded by King, Young, Duke and Ontario streets. So far the city has spent about $13 million on all of the costs associated with buying the land, buildings and businesses.

Andrin gets the 2.6 acre site and two heritage buildings for $3.1 million.

Many people wonder how the city got into the land assembly business.  Turns out, it’s an interesting story…

[Carl Zehr] has held the mayor’s chair for 13 years and Centre Block has been an issue for at least 10 of those years. Looking back on it now, Zehr said the city never wanted to get into the business of assembling the land and attracting a developer.

It started when someone called Zehr saying a cinema for porno flicks was about to open on the second floor of a building along the King Street stretch of Centre Block. City councillors quickly rezoned the land to prevent that from happening, and the owner sued. The settlement had the city buy the building and compensate the owner for the loss of his business.

He said the entire council deserves credit for taking the long-term view of Centre Block.

Under the terms of the development agreement, Andrin must take out building permits for the first phase by Nov. 30, 2012. The first phase includes an underground-parking garage, a condo building with about 240 units and a three storey building. Those buildings will be on King Street.

The second phase calls for another condo building, with about 140 units, at the corner of Young and Duke streets with another building that wraps around that section of the block.

The third and final phase includes the development of the Mayfair Hotel into a boutique hotel-spa. The city, development and some downtown property owners are looking for ways to advance the redevelopment of that corner.

…

The cost of the entire development is estimated at $95 million. Regier credits the city’s work to attract the University of Waterloo school of pharmacy and the Wilfrid Laurier University faculty of social work to downtown Kitchener in helping to secure Andrin as a developer for Centre Block.

“I think things are coming together right now, the real estate market in this region remains strong and people are excited about the downtown,” he said.

The city and the developer are hoping to repeat earlier successes with downtown condos. Andrin redeveloped the old Kaufman factory on King Street West into condos that sold quickly. Lofts on Mansion and the condos at the Kitchener Market also proved popular.

Are you excited for this development to come to downtown Kitchener?  Do you think it will be a great place to live? 

condominium

Property Management for KW investment property

A big part of our client base lives outside of Kitchener Waterloo – other parts of Ontario, Canada, and even people living in other countries.  They are able to live   where they love, but invest where the numbers make sense because they employ quality property management companies.

Even a lot of our clients who live in the KW area use property management to take care of their rental properties; it’s just easier, and can be very affordable (depending on who you deal with)

Here’s a bit of info for you:

Contant me “Benjamin AT BenjaminBach.com” for a referral to a great management company

condominium

Why we invest in Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate

Yesterday I had the chance to sit down with two of our clients, Dr Robin Walsh and Darryl Kraemer to discuss why they invest in Real Estate, as opposed to any of the other investment vehicles available, like stocks, mutual funds, commodities, gold etc. 

Press play to hear what they had to say:

Darryl and Robin have a great portfolio of single family residential (including condo units) & student rental properties in Kitchener Waterloo, Ontario -all tenanted & performing well. 

If you’re interested in starting to invest and building a diversified property portfolio like theirs over time, send me an email. I’d love to help you

condominium

Own Investment condos? Look at the Home Renovation Tax Credit

Most people associate the Canadian government’s Home Renovation Tax Credit (or HRTC) with detached family homes and larger properties; rarely do they think about the investments they own, or if they do, the investment condos. 

What is the HRTC? 

In the government’s own words:

Under proposed changes, the HRTC is a non-refundable tax credit based on eligible expenditures incurred for work performed, or goods acquired, after January 27, 2009, and before February 1, 2010, under an agreement entered into after January 27, 2009. The HRTC can be claimed when filing your 2009 tax return.

The HRTC can be claimed for renovations and alterations of an enduring nature and that are integral to the eligible dwelling (such as your home or cottage) or the land that forms part of the eligible dwelling.

How is the HRTC calculated?

The 15% non-refundable tax credit can be claimed on eligible expenditures of more than $1,000 but not more than $10,000. The maximum tax credit that can be claimed to reduce your federal income tax is $1,350. However, if the total of your non-refundable tax credits is more than your federal income tax, you have no federal income tax to pay, and you will not receive a refund for the HRTC.

If you haven’t looked at how your ownership on Condominiums will benefit you come tax time, you should ask your accountant.  More info from the The Toronto Star here:

Condo owners can claim a portion of improvements made to their building between Jan. 27, 2009 and Feb. 1, 2010, as long as they were at least partially responsible for paying for the upgrades.

Here’s how it works:

Assuming each condo owner pays a monthly fee to a condo corporation, repairs or renovations completed and paid for with that money should count toward the HRTC. The condo corporation is simply paying for these goods and services on behalf of all of the unit owners.

Condo corporations are unable to claim the credit because it is available only to individuals, so it’s up to each person to claim his or her portion.

Therefore, on their 2009 taxes, condo owners can claim the credit for renovations to their own unit – similar to what would be done in a detached home, for example – as well as their share of any renovations to common areas paid for by the condo corporation.

This could include anything from new windows installed in your building to a redesigned lobby area or improved landscaping.

Add these shared costs with renovations you may have done to your individual unit (bathroom or kitchen upgrades, new fixtures, painting) and you could significantly increase your credit.

Canada Revenue Agency guidelines for condo owners indicate that improvements made to common areas will qualify if:

– You own your unit. Renters are out of luck, even if they pay similar monthly fees.

– "The expenses would be eligible expenses if the common areas were treated as an eligible dwelling" – if new furniture wouldn’t count in a detached home, it won’t count in a condo either.

– Your condo corporation has notified you of your share of the expenses.

As a reminder, the tax credit applies to renovation costs over $1,000 and under $10,000, so if you spent a few hundred dollars on your own unit and the condo corporation spent a few hundred more on your behalf, that may be the difference between getting a return or not.

Contact your condo corporation today and ask them for a report on your proportional share of work done to the complex. If you own several investment condos, your savings can be substantial. 

For more info on investing in a condo in Kitchener Waterloo, Ontario, contact me at 519.772.4376 or send me an email today

condominium

A few more quick stats on the ‘09 KW Real Estate Market

Following up on the recent post What happened in Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate in ‘09, here are a few more detailed statistics on residential home sales on the KW Real Estate board in 2009:

The most active residential price segment were homes $200,000-$250,000, with 1794 sales

Overall there was more than $1,680,000,000 (1.6+ billion) worth of residential homes sold. That breaks down as follows:

4201 detached
1174 condo
529 semis
500 townhouses