THEY SELL YOU THE SIZZLE, by Charles Laurie Hanes

To quote a famous Southerner, Ruth Chris (founder of Ruth's Chris Steakhouses) "I learned decades ago that to sell a steak you’ve got to "sell the sizzle" (meaning people will come and eat your steaks based on the smell or senses of the steak and not necessarily on the steak itself).

A good example of this philosophy being applied to the local condo scene is what is going on in Toronto’s west end in an area that has long been touted as "the last lakefront available in the city" . . . Humber Bay Shores.

It’s not that condo development is new to this area that has for decades been known for it’s seedy "by the hour" motel strip. One of the city’s finest high-rise luxury addresses "Palace Pier" with its private restaurant, valet parking, tennis and magnificent lake views all just minutes from downtown. Hey public transit is right at the front door and will take you right downtown and back in under a half hour, as if Palace Pier residents take public transit and after all Palace Pier has it’s own private resident’s shuttle service to Union Station.

In the 80’s a second tower "Palace Place" built by Bramalea just before it’s demise, kind of stole some of Palace Pier’s views introducing yet another very successful upscale residential development with absolutely the best panoramic views of Toronto that money can buy. Not too far west a couple other quality developments, "Marina Del Ray" and "Grand Harbour", both high end quality developments adorned Lake Ontario’s shoreline.

In the closing phases of 1998-99, with the majority of sleazy motels succumbing to developer’s lucrative offers, the seedy strip introduced Newport Beach, another upscale quality residential address with it’s two domed towers and large townhomes to overlook a park. These spacious condos have all of the modern amenities like fitness area, saunas, a boardroom, party room and private dining room with a specialty feature, a cigar smokers room. The southern most tower offers some of the best waterfront views imaginable.

And then came the recent onslaught of development with the introduction of Nevis, Player’s Club, Grenadier Landing, Waterford, Waterview (8 high rise towers) that are destined to consume all frontage running between Palace Pier on the eastern end of Humber Bay Shores clear through to Grand Harbour on it’s western end. Like all other areas of Toronto, condo development is running at a fever’s pitch!

That’s where the "Sizzle" aspect of this article comes in. I visited the sites on the weekend and managed to capture a couple of quick photographs of the placement of a handful of these developments. I am not able to address the entire Humber Bay Shores development plan in this article but would advise you to tune in regularly as I am committed to fulfilling my pledge to pave the way to bring you the information that you need as an informed purchaser. Today we are looking only at the eastern end, approximately 1,000 yards of development into which has been crammed 4 high density developments.

Presales are marketed and sold with the use of "renderings" which always have printed in small print at the bottom of the page "subject to change without notice" or some modified version of this notice.

Take particular notice to the environment as represented in the rendering  appears to be unobstructed views in all directions.  This leads to another topic that we will be discussing another day but allow it to suffice that these ads appear in two main magazines in the city of Toronto and both carry a definite bias toward developers.

You will find one page article format (advertorials) which are really just propaganda for developers. You will see what appears to be an editorial (usually written by the developer’s PR department) exposing the merits and uniqueness of absolutely every paying customer and later in the same magazine find that developer’s full page ad. This is not to say that there is anything wrong with this. It is just important that you, the Buyer fully understand that the great reviews, awards and ceremonies are all as a direct result of buying advertising.

I am not paid by any of the developers to have them appear on my site. I put them on my site and write about them honestly and objectively. Many times I am badgered by developers and/or their agents because I am not saying what they want said but the truth is what the public wants, expects and deserves and it is the truth that you will find on simplycondos.com.

This series of photographs (shot August 2002) shows the actual delivery (or almost delivery) of these condo developments. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves but quite clearly there is a disparancy between the renderings used to motivate buyers to purchase and the reality into which these buyers move into when occupancy day arrives.

This does not assert any "bait and switch" or devious activity on the part of the developer and/or their marketing companies. They are doing their job, and, hey, don’t forget about the disclosure at the bottom of the page.

I am inviting all purchasers of these Humber Bay Shores condos to write in and express their level of satisfaction with how the area is being developed, how satisfied you are with the developer and how accurate you feel the sales material and representations of the developers sales agents at the sites actually was. If you have a complaint, we’ll publish it (we see this as a great way for the buying public to be able to police the industry). We will be giving each developer the opportunity to respond with assurance that their position will also be published on simplycondos.com.

We are also running a survey of consumers to find out your views on how you are dealt with at sales sites, how accurate you find the content of MLS.ca as we have received numerous complaints over sold listings clogging up the system and remaining offered for sale for weeks and months. As a Realtor, it is not my position nor would it be appropriate for me to comment on such matters and I, therefore respectfully will present only your completed questionnaires with comments.

I don’t get paid or compensated in any way for investing the time, energy and resources to write these articles and the only way I glean compensation for making available these meaningful insights is through buyers and renters using me when buying and/or renting. I don’t charge you money to visit the site and learn what it is that you absolutely need to know when considering buying property in Toronto. The information alone, however, is insufficient to insure that you get the right condo at the right price, terms and conditions. The information is designed to enable you to become sufficiently informed regarding the market to be able to make your own informed decisions. My job as your Buyer’s Agent is to research the available market and present to you qualifying properties and arrange viewings for you to inspect each qualifying residence that meets your criteria. I earn my oats from almost 30 years of hands on experience here in the Toronto Condo market and my negotiating skills developed over this time period.

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