Real Estate

Weird Floor Plan

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  • Sep 20th, 2017 4:24 pm
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Newbie
Sep 15, 2017
8 posts

Weird Floor Plan

My dad bought a pre-construction condo back in the 2012. The moving date is set for January of next year. I'm planning to apply for a mortgage and buy the condo off my dad. I love the location of the condo as it's very close to my work. Somehow I'm a bit worried about the floor plan causing problems when I want to sell the condo down the road. What do you guys think of this floor plan? The foyer joins the kitchen which is weird in my opinion. There is elevators behind the kitchen (apparently there will be no noise coming to the unit as the walls are insulated) and condo stairs run in the middle of my unit hence the U shape floor plan.

Image
35 replies
Member
Jun 15, 2017
298 posts
129 upvotes
Kitchen at foyer isnt a weird thing
Only thing is, this floor plan isnt a open concept, wasting space that leads to common washroom at the corner of u shaped floor plan....
2012 price means 50% increase in price from there....
What can you do if u dont like it? Sell ? Or live withit?
Member
Mar 10, 2009
317 posts
281 upvotes
Toronto
A number of my friends have condo's downtown in Toronto where the Foyer runs right through the kitchen and then on to the living room. Nothing weird with that.

What's more weird to me is the stairwell / elevators running right in the middle of your suite lol. If it's insulated and you won't hear the elevators then shouldn't really be that big of a deal.
Deal Addict
Jul 29, 2006
4253 posts
1078 upvotes
I don't think I've seen a floorplan with this much wasted space. Is there any writing in the agreement that they can guarantee no noise heard from the elevator/stairwell?

I'd have your dad ride up and down the elevator and you sitting in your unit trying to listen for sound.
Last edited by nx6288 on Sep 18th, 2017 10:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
Deal Fanatic
Dec 6, 2006
5805 posts
1972 upvotes
Toronto
imperial1 wrote: A number of my friends have condo's downtown in Toronto where the Foyer runs right through the kitchen and then on to the living room. Nothing weird with that.
I suppose with condo unit size getting smaller, "foyer" is pretty much non-existence more often. If you want bedrooms on the deeper end of the unit, and then kitchen on the opposite side, it'll have to be at or near the main door.

The long hallway is a much bigger turn-off for me, a lot of wasted sq-footage. That's like a whole bedroom of space. I'd expect the value to be discounted compare to similar sized units in more square-shaped layout.
Deal Addict
Jul 7, 2013
1514 posts
1401 upvotes
Digital Gulag
At least the rooms are square not circular. I don't think the stairway should be much of an issue unless you're on the lower floors.
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Jun 26, 2011
1689 posts
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For a lot of condos, the foyer area is pretty non-existent and isn't that weird. it's not the most convenient, but at the very least you have a sliding coat closet - I've also seen foyers where that doesn't exist. What's weird to me is that long winding hallway that is completely wasted space. you literally cannot do anything with that hallway,

In terms of the noise, I find that the actual mechanical movements of the elevators is minimal - the walls lining the elevator shaft is actually much thicker than that between two units. However, the majority of the noise will be the ding's you hear when the elevator arrives and when people are getting in/out. Nothing can be done about that.
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Sep 4, 2005
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Toronto
How would people get on and off those elevators? Are you in a lower unit and those are express elevators to higher floors?

Most units today have you walking right into the kitchen. If not you're walking in beside it or into the family room. I'm not a fan of walking right into the kitchen, but a few friends have their layout like that.
The long hallway for the bathroom kind of sucks. That would have been a nicer place to put the foyer entrance.
Member
Mar 3, 2016
389 posts
250 upvotes
The position of the kitchen could have been on the other side in the corner but it's not that bad. The distance between the living room and the guest's bathroom is at an extreme so your guests basically will go through your bedrooms to go there unless you always keep your bedrooms' doors closed. That for me is more of a turn off. Also being just next to the elevator is not that good as there is higher foot traffic in front of your suite. But I like that both bedrooms and living room have access to balconies.
Newbie
May 4, 2016
92 posts
41 upvotes
Its not the best floor plan but definitely not bad enough to be too concern about. The main issue is the U wasted space BUT given that the bedroom is a separated from the living/kitchen you can assume that to be a good thing. it gives it a bit of privacy.
Deal Guru
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Mar 23, 2008
13006 posts
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Edmonton
Could you move in with your dad, at least for a week or so, to "test drive" the situation? I personally don't like the layout, but different strokes for different folks.

C
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Feb 2, 2014
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Toronto
agvm27 wrote: My dad bought a pre-construction condo back in the 2012. The moving date is set for January of next year. I'm planning to apply for a mortgage and buy the condo off my dad. I love the location of the condo as it's very close to my work. Somehow I'm a bit worried about the floor plan causing problems when I want to sell the condo down the road. What do you guys think of this floor plan? The foyer joins the kitchen which is weird in my opinion. There is elevators behind the kitchen (apparently there will be no noise coming to the unit as the walls are insulated) and condo stairs run in the middle of my unit hence the U shape floor plan.

Image
OP, I'm assuming you will be doing an assignment?
Kevin Somnauth, CFA
Principal Broker/Owner - First Toronto Mortgage - MA (Ontario #13176, BC #X301007)
Real Estate Salesperson - Century 21 Innovative
Deal Fanatic
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Dec 27, 2009
7941 posts
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Victoria, BC
That seems like a strange layout to me walking right into the kitchen from the entrance and the odd wasted space inside. I don't like it. The bathroom also seems out of the way to the main living space. Weird layout.
Deal Addict
Feb 5, 2009
2808 posts
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Newmarket
I don't visit small condo apartments so I am not sure how common it is, or how good or bad it is in reality, but on paper I think the layout is pretty bad, don't like the kitchen layout, and especially don't like both washrooms in the same location, and you pretty much have nothing but useless narrow corridor beside the washrooms. If you are busy building you may hear noises related to getting on and off the elevator, people talking on their phones, yelling at kids to hurry up and so on.
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Jul 14, 2008
8312 posts
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Ontario
Many people prefer a washroom to be away from the main living area. Typically when you have more space, that's what you do (think of detached, etc). I don't think that is a detriment per se, people don't necessarily want to hear the stream of urine from their guests. :)

Kitchen being that close to main entrance is simply par for the course, but the layout is a little weird. The fridge does kind of seem close to the entrance, and you have to go around a corner to get to it.

I think they could have easily pushed out the island just a bit, and put the sink and dishwasher in it, that way you're facing the window instead of the wall, and move the fridge where the range is, and the range where the sink is. I wouldn't like having a stove right beside the living area/hallway like that.
Deal Fanatic
Jan 15, 2017
5750 posts
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Ottawa
It's small, but most condos built now are also small.

Here's some tips to make the best of the layout:

- make sure you buy a counter depth fridge. You definitely do not want a fridge sticking out in the kitchen being the first thing you see when you open the door,
- turn the hallway to the main bath into an art gallery. Install some track lighting and some great artwork on the walls,
- is it possible to move the main bathroom door out further into the hall? This would make the bathroom much more spacious and allow you to put narrow cabinets in there for storage.
Deal Guru
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Mar 23, 2008
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Edmonton
skeet50 wrote: It's small, but most condos built now are also small.

Here's some tips to make the best of the layout:

- make sure you buy a counter depth fridge. You definitely do not want a fridge sticking out in the kitchen being the first thing you see when you open the door,
- turn the hallway to the main bath into an art gallery. Install some track lighting and some great artwork on the walls,
- is it possible to move the main bathroom door out further into the hall? This would make the bathroom much more spacious and allow you to put narrow cabinets in there for storage.
The image is of the condo that's already built, I think. He's just wondering if it will be a hard sell later.

C
Deal Addict
Apr 10, 2017
3047 posts
2146 upvotes
Similar layout as my friend's townhome except the rooms are on a 2nd floor. I actually have no issues with it although given the choice I wouldn't want to walk into a kitchen immediately. The sight of dirty muddy shoes aren't what I would like to see while I'm eating or cooking.
Deal Fanatic
Jul 3, 2011
6517 posts
3798 upvotes
Thornhill
You're thinking of buying it right?

If you do, so will someone else just don't expect buyers to be knocking down the door to get to the top of the line and not taking into consideration the questions and applicable discounts that you are currently.

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