Most of what goes wrong in a pre-construction purchase goes wrong in the first ten days, before anyone has thought of it as a transaction. The session walks the whole process in order, so that the decisions arrive in the right sequence rather than as surprises.
It is a walkthrough of a process, not a pitch for a project. We do not sell anything in it.
The curriculum
- Budget and purpose. Getting a lender's number first, and what changes between buying to occupy and buying to hold — including which HST rebate treatment the price assumes.
- Assessing the builder. Delivery record against dates originally promised, licence history in the Ontario Builder Directory, and what a cancellation actually costs a buyer.
- Assessing the site. Transit that is running rather than announced, what is approved to be built nearby, and how to read a "protected view" claim.
- Allocation. How releases are staged, what a platinum allocation is worth, and why being early matters more than negotiating.
- Choosing the unit. Exposure, floor, ceiling height, outdoor space, maintenance fee per square foot, and whether parking and locker are even available to your unit type.
- The worksheet and the agreement. Why builders ask for several choices, and what arrives when you are allocated.
- The ten-day window. The rescission right under the Condominium Act, and the five clauses to have a lawyer look at inside it — capped development charges, assignment rights, leasing during occupancy, the statement of critical dates, HST treatment.
- Deposits and protection. How deposit schedules are structured, and what actually protects the money — trust provisions, prescribed security, and Tarion's coverage limits, which differ between condominium and freehold.
- Occupancy and closing. Interim occupancy, the occupancy fee and why it surprises people, assignment before occupancy as an exit, and rate timing ahead of final closing.
Who it is for
First-time pre-construction buyers, and buyers who have done it once and were unhappy with how the closing costs landed. It assumes no prior knowledge. If you already hold a contract and are thinking about selling it, the assignment side is the more useful conversation.
Read it instead
The same ground is covered in writing, free, at nine steps to buy pre-construction and the cooling period and deposit protection. All of our guides are listed at insights.
Booking
Sessions are arranged directly rather than on a fixed schedule. Get in touch and say whether you want the group session or a one-to-one, and roughly when you are looking to buy.