Silverrock Condos

Most of them had been pre-sold (deposits taken). The completion was over a year late. The units had appreciated considerably since the deposits were taken. Because of some loophole in the purchase agreements, the developer was able to raise the selling price that was agreed upon and refunded everyone's deposit.

At least this was the buzz around town...so if it came to me as a lie it's leaving me as a lie.

Also a lot of the contractors working on the project never got paid... weather they have yet I don't know.

There were also concerns about ground stability there.

Keep in mind I'm just repeating rumors for the most part. But my gut feeling is the developer is shady. Over the last few years Fernie has seen quite a few of these types come and go.

Personally I wouldn't touch one with a 10 foot pole. There are plenty of reputable condo developments around...I would shop around some more....but that's just me.

Ya, that whole development has been shady since day one.

That being said, the building looks nice, and from what I hear the units are somewhat affordable.

Once the building is occupied and the strata is established it should be smooth sailing. It is always a rough transition from developer to rental manager.

But like freeheels said, there are plenty of other reputable condo developments around town. Check out 901 Fernie, Pinnacle Ridge, and Timberline Lodges. All reputable local development companies.

Good Luck!

Thanks so much for your help. It's so hard to make a decision when you're going in blind. It's a pleasure to have met you.
Picnix

I too am shopping around for a condo but I didn't get a good vibe from my visit at Silverrock. I thought the apartments looked nice at first glance but as I took a closer look I didn't think the quality of furnishings was there and things in fact were pretty basic. So I found the price high for something that will deteriorate quickly. And the real estate people didn't know much about what was going on. I was surprised they were only 60% sold at the end of March when I was there and there was no condo board or management in place, they were scheduled to open shortly thereafter.

Hi all,

Generally, I don't necessarily care when blogs are negative but this one caught me off guard. We have purchased two condos in Silver Rock for the sole reason that we did an enormous amount of researching and the price and quality was much better than other condos in the area. The fact that the original developers did not have a great strategy should not be held against the new owners that have sold over 60% of these condos in just two months. We saw all of the furniture bills, have all of the warranties, and everything in there was very good quality for the price we purchased ours at.

At one point you have to realize Fernie is a small town with a lot of rumours, but not really fair to ruin the reputation of one complex based on rumours that have all been PROVEN false. You are not only hurting the reputation of the complex, but the owners that have purchased it and wish to make revenue on rentals.

My suggestion take all your negative rumours visit a real estate agent in the area (Fernie Real Estate) and you will see all the rumours are in fact just that, rumours.

Thanks Josie for your post. I think people have been inundated with rumours and gossip about this development (as have I) so it's great to hear the positive side.

We went through this shall we shan't we buy process about 3 years ago and it is a difficult one. We found an awful lot of rumours flying around about most developments all of which later proved to be unfounded.

In the event we struck lucky and bought at Coal Creek which has proved to be well built to a high standard, a lovely place to live for 6 months each winter, a good investment and well managed by a strata company which keeps fees to a very reasonable level.

My own experience tells me that if I had to do it again I would wait until the strata company has taken over so you will know the fee structure and any quality problems on completion will have been sorted. Don't worry about the realtor telling you that all the units will have been sold, a couple of months after completion and there will always be a few units on the market, as there are at Coal Creek.

Hi,

I visited the property when I was over in Fernie in January. I am from the UK and was looking for a property to invest in as well as be able to use in those expensive peak winter months where you can't find one for love nor money. We were shown around the property by a guy from Ultimate Resorts http://www.ultimaterm.com/ who had originally been given the job of managing the rental pool by the original developers. The guy was excellent and suggested that I hang fire as he had heard rumours that the property was changing hands in the near future as there had been some “difficulties” with the original developer. I was impressed with the property and amenities and it was at just the right price point for my budget.

In March the property changed hands to the new developer, Dolemo Developments http://www.dolemocorp.com/ who seem to have considerable experience in these types of property, but hey, what do I know, I’m not a Canadian I did some more due diligence, looked over the disclosure documents and anything I could find on the net and quizzing lawyers, mortgage brokers and the guy from Ultimate Resorts. I ended up going for the 1 bedroom condo, the sale for which completed about a month ago. The sale went through pretty smoothly. I’m used to so much bureaucracy and dragging of heels over here in the UK and it was a welcomed change, especially when I had to communicate mainly via email. It seems true that there had been a chequered history, but that seems more to do with bad process from the original developer than the building itself. There were outstanding payments to be made to the builders, but as far as I am aware Canadian law dictates that these must be paid before properties can be exchanged, presumably from the proceeds of any sale. Since I am now the owner of the condo I presume this has been settled by the new owners.

As it stands the property has been assigned a strata manager but no rental pool is in place. There are 2 companies competing for the position but this can’t be decided upon until an AGM is held with the new owners (individual condo owners, not dolemo). This is expected to be resolved in the next month.

Hope this helps. Feel free to drop me a reply if you have any more questions or any other owners have some extra information.

Joel

Anyone aware of the rental pool being set up yet? I am interested in renting a 2 or 3 bedroom unit for 9 nights at the end of September.

Captain; your route is definatley the safe track, but also the least profitable. The first Coal creek condo's on the market sold for a little over 150k brand new not so many years back and the forward thinkers were more than well compensated for their early support. Developers need help early on to get off the ground and that is where the deals are.People should perform as much due dilligence as possible and get in early, it helps the developer, the town and their pocketbook.