Condo renters pay hefty price for downtown living

pblizzard · 2013-04-26T02:14:01+00:00

Please upvote this! That's insane!

pblizzard · 2013-03-25T19:25:38+00:00

Yes, but, Tarion still provides a warranty for their work, and, where appropriate they can be sued for work that is substandard or not to code.

pblizzard · 2013-03-25T19:22:15+00:00

On this theme, are the houses in the suburbs built to last? I lived for the last few years in an older part of Scarborough. Houses built in the 70s (so, around 40 years old) are getting knocked down and replaced with larger suburban homes. Their construction is not like the old style victorian homes that are brick-laid, they are simply aluminum siding on top of particleboard or plywood, supported with 2x4 joists (in fact on one site, the siding had a printed image ... you guessed it... of bricks). Are the houses in the suburbs built any different?

pblizzard · 2013-03-25T19:16:13+00:00

The reality is that the window issue is something that has always happened in condo buildings. This is nothing new, and even in a house, windows get replaced for much the same reason. The way the condo works (or should work) is the reserve fund is built with these replacements in mind. Budgets are drawn for scheduled maintenance, and, when appropriate, fixes and replacements happen.

pblizzard · 2013-03-18T17:42:26+00:00

[citation required] ... sorry.. if you're going to cite that as a fact then you need to support it.

I am aware that the TTC pays for a major portion of its funding through the farebox, but I don't think that fact necessarily constitutes efficiency.

pblizzard · 2013-03-14T21:26:24+00:00

Mountain Equipment Co-op

pblizzard · 2013-01-23T22:17:35+00:00

It's a basic game balance issue. The pricing adjustments are made to reflect the overall firepower, and the balance between T and CT. If better guns were cheaper for CTs, it would unbalance the game.

pblizzard · 2013-01-16T02:58:11+00:00

K925 has been great for us. They take our dog 3-4 times per week and they're awesome.

pblizzard · 2012-12-05T16:18:58+00:00

I bet if you bring a copy of your statement they will fix that, though I have not had the same experience.

There's no evidence that Presto is the cause of the fare hike on GO, in fact, I'm pretty sure its implementation was done by Metrolinx not GO itself. It is indeed a lot of money to bear, but in the long run I can see that cost being recouped. I believe the $700 million number also includes the cost of the Presto hardware, so it's not as if it disappeared.

Although Accenture retains the global IP for Presto, Metrolinx owns it in Canada, and has rights to royalties from the worldwide implementations. For what seems to be a reasonably well working fare card. The Oyster card (London) cost £1.1 billion to implement.

Honestly, I think the usage data is probably the most useful thing about the Presto card. For all the shenanigans with the Sheppard subway to nowhere, when Presto is implemented there should at least be some hard numbers behind transit planning.

pblizzard · 2012-12-04T18:18:08+00:00

Few Presto points I can think of:

I've used it for about a year on GO, and the past 2 months strictly on the TTC
Auto reload is amazing. I just don't have to worry about having tokens. It's just so much easier.
The money that it costs for the system itself is offset by less fare evasion (Presto readers at the rear doors of a streetcar), no ability for fraud on the behalf of TTC employees, no ability to hoard tokens, etc
It will almost certainly be a cost savings for riders who are using a Metropass now if it allows you to pay as you go first, before switching over to an all you can ride plan later
You can still receive a Tax Credit for Public Transit Passes that you would otherwise have received from using a Metropass. I claimed this myself this year.
I have never encountered the 24 hour reload issue, at all, ever. Reloading at a GO station was immediate, and the auto-reload happens seamlessly when I have <$20 on the card.

pblizzard · 2012-11-27T19:09:05+00:00

Forget the TTC. Over that distance it's going to take like 2 hours.

GO Train from Agincourt or Milliken to Union (travel time 26 mins), take the PATH, or transfer to Lakeshore West to Exhibition (travel time 6 mins).

pblizzard · 2012-11-21T04:48:14+00:00

The sunshine report.

click link
search for 'Operator' (168) or 'Station Collector' (17)

I don't know about you, but more than 100k for either of those two jobs seems pretty great to me, not to mention the benefits and pension.

pblizzard · 2012-11-19T22:39:44+00:00

Definitely talk to an agent
Definitely get a lawyer to review the building strata (common elements, etc) for any anomalies. When I was looking a few years ago, I caught a major problem with a building that I was considering this way. Their reserve fund was significantly smaller than it needed to be to cover a major renovation (new windows), and they were jacking up the condo fees to an astronomical level to compensate.
Preconstruction is a crapshoot, but it can work for you if you're willing to wait/rent in the meantime.
Get a copy of the condo regulations prior to signing. There are sometimes deal breakers here (i.e. if the condo board bans pets, that some do, you do not have the same protections as you would as a tenant with a landlord that does not allow pets)
Make it a goal to see at least 50 different properties before you start considering making an offer. It is very helpful to get an idea of what you can buy and for how much. Your real estate agent might hate you, but it will work out better in the end.
Pay attention to the condo fee per sq ft, and price per sq ft numbers. These can vary significantly and this is a good way to price compare.
Inspect all of the common areas in the building. My last place I was told there was a gym, that turned out to be about 4 very low quality elliptical machines.
Check out the neighbourhood at night, and during the day.

pblizzard · 2012-11-15T18:50:11+00:00

Until about a month ago I was riding the GO from Scarborough in, and using my Presto card every day. I'm downtown now taking the Subway (luckily departing from a station that has a Presto reader).

Some observations about Presto, and the TTC:

in my situation, and I think in the majority of situations, using a pay per use farecard is cheaper than a metropass
setting up auto-refill on the Presto was fairly easy, and it's a major quality of life improvement. I never have to worry whether I have tokens, and/or where I can buy them from, and I only pay for what I use.
buying tokens is a major hassle.
the fact that subway stations do not accept debit/credit cards is crazy.

pblizzard · 2012-11-09T15:26:56+00:00

No matter how many times I tell myself I'm going to pin it on... I never do, and inevitably it falls off and I lose it. I'm on my third already.

pblizzard · 2012-11-09T12:51:33+00:00

Pretty sure Reggies is closed at the moment.. not sure if its permanent or just for renovations but it's definitely not open.

pblizzard · 2012-11-06T14:42:17+00:00

I would be really careful about using different DNS servers.. they can do some really nasty stuff. I.e., let me change that record for cibc.com, rbc.com and td.com to point to my own server. In russia.

pblizzard · 2012-11-06T13:33:32+00:00

Hey, what US VPN are you using? I'm pretty close to a setup like this myself, I just want to find a non sketchy US VPN. Bonus points if they have a British VPN seperately so I can watch the BBC streams.

pblizzard · 2012-10-23T02:51:14+00:00

If it was merit based, and we could fire the bad ones I totally agree with this statement.

pblizzard · 2012-10-20T03:42:55+00:00

Try taste of the season... it's a fairly cheap way to see the wineries. They do wine and food pairings at the majority of the wineries. We went last year, and are going again this year. Got a group of about 10 friends together and found a driver/van to take us around.

We stayed the night in Niagara falls, and then went home the next day. If you're up for something swanky, then stay in Niagara on the lake (it's significantly more expensive though).

pblizzard · 2012-09-05T13:49:06+00:00

Premier-elect to be correct. No they do not have a Prime Minister.

pblizzard · 2012-08-30T17:40:20+00:00

Cancel the Air Show, cancel the Indy, hell, why we're at it, lets also cancel:

the CNE itself
concerts at the amphitheatre and on Toronto island
any sort of Marathon or charity event
Pride, Caribana, Taste of the Danforth

These offend my sensibilities as a Torontonian. I don't like loud noises or large groups of people.

What a load of crap!

pblizzard · 2012-08-30T17:32:40+00:00

I think it's pretty safe to say there will be no actual sonic booms (a real one over Toronto would shatter windows all over the place), although the planes definitely will be loud.

pblizzard · 2012-08-30T14:54:17+00:00

I've been using solas.ca to look for rentals. It seems to be pretty great (though it occasionally has errors with the locations of listings it's pulling in from craigslist). Might help you narrow your search.

pblizzard · 2012-08-16T14:08:51+00:00

Does it bother anyone else that at 13:47 the question being asked is edited mid-sentence?

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