In the run-up to the anticipated opening of local developer Alex Shnaider’s Trump International Hotel & Tower, a number of investors were reportedly trying to get out of their deals before the final closing. Located on Bay Street, the 60-storey tower contains 261 luxury hotel units, 118 condo units and a range of amenities.
Bob Aaron, a Toronto lawyer who specializes in real estate law, represented a couple from the United Kingdom that was attempting to get out before having to close on a $830,588 unit. He said purchasers may have had a change of heart for a variety of reasons: a change in the economic climate, delays in the project, the $7,000-a-month cost of carrying the unit and the realization that the units could not be flipped preconstruction.
“There’s the ice-cold reality that just because the Trump name is on it doesn’t mean that it is a guaranteed pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,” Aaron explained.
Alex Shnaider did not respond to a request for an interview. According to the Trump tower’s website, suites are still available, with hotel condos starting at $967,000 and residences starting at $2.3 million.