A few of my friends have recently purchased and moved into brand new units in condo's in Vancouver's downtown core. It's exciting! The building's have that nice new smell inside them and they look great! But, looks can be deceiving.

There's a lot of pros and cons with buying a unit in a new building. The pro's are the low maintenance fees associated with new construction. As a building ages the maintenance fees tend to go up slowly. Usually maintenance fee's in newer building are 30% - 40% lower than what an owner would pay in a building that is in it's mind twenties.

The other side of it is that the building is usually warrantied for 5 years give or take. This can bring piece of mind to new owners as most major problems are going to turn up within 5 years. As a building ages things do happen and this is part of the risk with older buildings. Plumbing, elevators, and roofs eventually need replacing and these things don't come cheap. If you purchase a unit in an older building make sure you have a reliable inspector check out the building so there's no surprises down the road. Secondly, take into consideration the buildings financial situation. A building with a strong contingency fund will be prepared for these kinds of expenses. The last thing you want is a special assessment on your hands. A special assessment is a fee the owners of each unit must pay to fix major problems such as rain screen issues or a new rood. I've seen people paying assessments as high as $25,000.00/unit!

I don't want to scare anyone off buying a unit in an older building because I am a big supporter of buying older units. Make sure you do your homework before buying! As long as the building is in good condition and has solid finances there shouldn't be any reason to run away!

One of my big peeves about new construction involves finishing materials. Earlier in the article I said looks can be deceiving in new construction. Just because something is new does not mean it is good quality! Builders tend to source finishing materials that look nice, but more often than not the quality is terrible. For example, my friends purchased a unit with laminate floors. They have been in there for 3 months now and the floors are scratched all over the place. Good quality laminate floors do not scratch this easy. I saw a trades man drop a huge shop vacuum down a flight of steps not too long ago. I felt my heart skip a beat. Surprisingly there was not one scratch on the floor. This was in a condo unit that was being renovated in Burnaby, BC. The flooring came from Vancouver Molding and Floors in East Vancouver. They have great quality laminate and the prices are very good.

Often the tile and cabinets in new construction start to loose their good looks over time as well. If you look around the city at older homes they have stood the test of time. This is because the building materials were of better quality back then. These days developers look for any way to save a buck or two. Unfortunately, it's usually the finishing materials that tend to suffer.

In closing, consider what you want out of your new home. If you want good quality finishing materials in your unit I suggest buying an older home and fixing it up. If you're looking for low maintenance fees and a warranty I'd look towards a new building. Just be prepared to replace things sooner than you might expect.