Frequently Asked Questions

For pre-construction, if you want to buy a unit, here is the procedure:

• Submit a worksheet to reserve a unit.  This worksheet will collect required information from you
• Enso realty team will book an ID verification meeting with you to review the worksheet information and details
• After it’s verified, your worksheet will be submitted to the Developer for an allocation. 
• We would know the exact price and which unit you have been allocated.  Sometimes, we would know the unit number and exact price before we submit the worksheet.  This process varies from builder to builder. 
• After the unit is allocated, the builder will send you an official legal contract to sign to buy the unit.
• The building will hold the unit for you for 24 hours while you prepare for the bank draft and cheques.  Within 24 hours of the signing, you have to provide a bank draft for the first deposits and also all the post dated cheques for all the other deposits.  These cheques have to be delivered to the builder within 24 hours.  We will help do the delivery.
• After the cheques are delivered, you will have to provide mortgage pre-approval within 30 days (usually).  If you fail to do so, the deposit is considered forfeited.  We usually recommend attempting to get the pre-approval within 10 days. Because in a pre-construction condo purchase, you have a 10 days cooling period when you can get the entire deposit back.  In case there are any mishap for the pre-approval mortgage, you will know it fast enough to cancel the contract.
• The last 5% deposit usually is paid on the occupancy date.

No, every developer has a different deposit structure.  Some developers might require a 15% deposit before occupancy.  Some might require different structures of deposit.  The following is an example of a deposit structure. 

$10000 on signing

Balance of 5% at 30 days

5% at 180 days

5% at 270 days

5% on occupancy

With the above example, it means that within 24 hours after you signed the purchase and sales agreement, you would need to obtain a bank draft of $10,000.   At the same time, you also need to provide post-dated cheques with the date and the amount outlined in the purchase and sales agreement.  Give all the bank draft and post-dated cheques to your ENSŌ Client Manager who will deliver it to the developer on your behalf.  You do not need to write the post-dated cheques for the occupancy as that date is fluid.  In this example, you would have 1 bank draft and 3 post-dated cheques.

The Occupancy Date is the date that you can start to occupy your unit before closing.  Typically, the occupancy date could be a couple of months before the actual closing date where your mortgage kicks off.  The lower the level, the earlier the occupancy date.  The unit will transfer title to you only on the actual closing date where the condo is completely finished.  During the occupancy period, you need to pay an occupancy fee which is the maintenance fee plus some additional fees paid to the developer.  Some developers allow you to lease out the unit during occupancy for a fee, some allow it for free, some don’t even allow it.  When you are signing your original purchase and sales agreement, pay attention to these terms to understand your rights.

A closing date or a completion date is when the condo transfers title to you.  This is the same day that you own the property officially and pay the full balance of the purchase price.  The closing date is after the occupancy date.  Usually, the developer will provide a firm occupancy date but the closing is not known until a later time.  Depending on the height of the condo building and which floor you purchase, you can budget any time from 1 month to 9 months or up. 

We are not a builder or developer.  We are Platinum brokerages for many developers which allow us to have first hand access to new project launches.

Developers typically do not sell directly to consumers as they will outsource the sales process to platinum brokerage like Enso Realty. 

EV Parking is for electric vehicles.  Reserved parking means that you have one spot that is designated for you.  Unreserved parking means that you have the right to park anywhere in the designated parking lot, however, there is no one single parking spot that is designated for you.  Typically, EV Parking is more expensive than normal parking and unreserved parkings are typically cheaper than reserved parking.  

Typically, the estimated maintenance fee is provided as part of the price list.  For example, you can find the estimated maintenance fee as shown below.  

The maintenance fee is calculated using the interior square footage.  Often a condo might have a balcony or a terrace, those are considered exterior square footage which are not included in the maintenance fee calculations.  For example, if the interior square footage is 500 square feet, in the example above, the maintenance fee will be 500 sq ft multiplied by $1 per square foot which is $500 per month.  This maintenance fee includes heating and air conditioning.  Electrical hydro and water charges are separately paid.

Typically, if you purchase parkings and/or lockers, there will be maintenance fees for them on a monthly basis.  However, if you didn’t buy any of them, there is no fee.

Condominium unit deposits must be placed in trust under the provisions of the Condominium Act.  If you sign a purchase and sales agreement, you are entitled to get your deposit back within 10 days of the cooling period.  In addition, Tarion also provides additional protection for condominiums up to $20K if the deposit is not returned. 

The condo purchase and sales agreement is a legal binding document.  Governed by the Ontario Consumer Protection Act (https://www.ontario.ca/page/your-rights-under-consumer-protection-act), a purchaser has the right to cancel the condo purchase and sales agreement within a 10 days cooling period.  This 10 days period is based on calendar days including weekends and statutory holidays.  You can cancel the contract to purchase agreement within the cooling-off period by writing a withdrawal notice to the developer.  You don’t need to give any reason for the cancellation.  Typically, the developer has not deposited the first deposit and it will be returned to you as-is.  

After the 10 days cooling-off period, the purchase and sales agreement is considered firmed in a legal perspective.  You can still offload the condo contract by assigning it to other people assuming your agreement allows assignment. 

Usually, it’s within 1 or 2 years before the occupancy date when you will be notified of the interior design meeting.  In this meeting, you can select the different colors and materials for your new condo.

Typically the inspection date happens within weeks or days before the occupancy date.  You will be accompanied by the developer’s staff for the inspection meeting where you can identify items that need to be fixed.  You can bring sticky notes that you can easily stick to the exact locations of the issues.   

There are a few big-ticket items in closing that you need to budget extra cash for.  These closing costs are not included in the purchase price and are not mortgageable.  The following lists are just a few: 

• Land Transfer Tax (1% to 2% of the purchase price)
• Development Charges (could range from $10K to $30K or more depending on your agreement)
• Legal Fees (ranges from $3K or more)
• Utilities Connection Charges
• etc.

In summary, it’s advisable to budget about 5% of the purchase price as your additional closing costs.  

ENSŌ Concierge is your first point of contact to help you answer any questions about the pre-construction condos or townhouses.  If you are interested in moving forward with the purchase, you will be assigned a Client Manager who can guide you through the entire purchase process.