Not Even the42 Can Do This

Holy crap:



Some guy wants to build a condo where each floor can move around independently. Really. Check out the video:

Changing the Floorplan - Part 2

Awhile ago I posted about changing my condo's floorplan. Since that post, I've been through several exchanges with the developer to settle in on the best possible layout.

It turns out that I can do everything that I asked for, which I'm pretty excited about. They've even gone to the trouble to send me 9 or 10 options and we've gone back and forth on them. Here is where we ended up:


I almost had them put in a cheater en suite for the second bedroom .. but some friends convinced me that it would be stupid.

Notice the improvements:

• The den is open. I will now have 30 feet of continuous window .. and a bit more around the corner too.
• The HVAC unit has moved (it will be above one of the bathrooms).
• The swing doors to the balcony have been replaced by sliders.
• The sink and the dishwasher have been moved (want more counter space beside the stove).
• The common closet is closer to the front door.
• The second bedroom is a bit bigger and now has a walk-in closet.

Disadvantages:

• Near the washer/dryer, it is maybe a little weird how the bathroom juts out more than the bedroom.
• The door to the bedroom is a little more awkward .. it takes up a bit of the wall space that will be the living area.
• Cost. Yes, this is not a free change.
  

So ... how much?

They tell me it will cost $1000 for the changes and $250 for the architect to redraw the plan. The thousand is because of the building plans and is mostly to do with plumbing. Is this reasonable? I have no idea .. but they tell me they aren't profiting on this at all, they're just passing the cost on .. and I believe them.

Actually, I've been really impressed with this whole process. I never once felt like I was hassling them .. just the opposite .. they put a lot of thought into the options and helped me think them through.

I need to commit soonish ... so if anyone out there in internet land has any thoughts .. don't hold out on me.

Changing up the Penthouses

The guys at the42 are changing around some of the penthouse units. Here is what things looked like originally:


Most of the penthouse units have 2 floors (all except M, N and L). They're taking the main floor of R, Q and X and making them into one unit (called Z). The upper unit of X will be one unit (still called X) . The upper units of R and Q will change a bit, but still called R and Q. Here's what it looks like:

Good thing they have one letter left to name the new unit :)

With this plan, they need to have the elevator go up to the 6th floor. For R, Q and X, the elevator would open right into their unit!! That's kinda cool.

I think that the motivation behind this is to create a few more affordable units on the penthouse. Demand hasn't been quite as high on the 2 level penthouses (not many people can afford a $450,000 condo .... if I could I'd so be there).

As for the floor plans, I have seen them, but I'm not sure if they'd want me posting them up here ... If you want to see them, just email them .. they're nice folks.

I will say:

• Z is amazing, but it's 1488 square feet interior and 400 square feet of balcony ... so it has a big price tag.
  
• They use the long narrow space of X surprisingly well .. but there is a little wasted space with 2 short hallways. Some people might like that ... put art in there or whatever.
  
• Q is pretty good ... except there is no balcony ... major issue for me, but maybe you don't care about balconies.
• R ... could go either way. I saw a few different layouts, some better than others.

Crap ... I just noticed that I drew Z a little bit wrong ... there are stairs coming down from Q, X and R (each has their own stairs down to the 5th) and so you basically need to take a stairway width off of the "top" of Z, except in the middle which is Z's entrance ... make sense? Whatever, it's basically right.

So anyway, they offered me the option of changing into one of the newly created units ... I'm hyped about my unit (the M), so I declined.

I do have to admit ... I thought about swiching ... having the elevator open right into your unit would be pretty sweet .. dontcha think?

Facebook Advertising Better Than Google AdSense?

In a previous post, I mentioned that the developers at the42 used Facebook advertising as well as Google AdSense. Couldn't remember why they preferred Facebook, but I've got the scoop from the developers. There are 2 main reasons:

1. With Facebook, you can target your ads to an age group and geographical region. Unless Google is even smarter than I think, they don't know how old you are :)
   
2. Cost per click with Facebook was 15 cents. Google ads? Up to 4 bucks a click. Apparently the keywords "waterloo real estate" are in high demand these days ... go figure.
   

Oh, and I must point out that Michael Swart did allude to the geography advantage in his comment on the original post. Good call Michael!

And yes, Google can sort of figure out where you are based on your IP address .. Does anyone know if they actually use that, or allow advertisers to restrict on that?

Polished Concrete or Engineered Hardwood?

One nice thing about the42 is that the suites come with an option of polished concrete or engineered wood flooring. From what I've seen, similar condo projects (such as the Bauer Lofts)
come with laminate and charge a big upgrade for engineered hardwood. I've heard $6000 for a 1000 square foot condo ... ridiculous!

By the way, I think there is a mistake on the42's website about this .. on the Amenities page it says "Choice of polished concrete or laminate wood flooring" .. but my purchase agreement says "Choice of polished concrete or engineered wood flooring". And certainly I've been told all along that it is engineered wood.

Anyway, this is a dilemma .. which do I pick? Hardwood is pretty nice. Polished concrete sounds awesome, but seems like a scarier choice. Which will bring me a higher resale?

Here's a site I found that talks about polished concrete .. they make it sound pretty good ...

Right now I'm leaning toward the polished concrete ... but only because it seems cooler.

Help?