Shop around: 

Q. There is a new condo project starting near where we live. We are interested, but a bit suspicious of it. How can a customer check on a project before getting too involved? I know I can go to a lawyer, but we can’t afford one at a preliminary stage every time we may be interested in a place.

A. If you are just looking at condominiums and are only considering new condominium sites (not a resale condominium unit), no lawyer is needed until you are at the stage of signing the Agreement of Purchase and Sale.

I know it is often difficult to walk into a sales office to just window shop, but that may be the best approach if you can’t find this information on their website. Tell the sales staff you want the details of the offer without signing up, so you can do a comparison with other condominiums on the market.

If that doesn’t work, it may be time to get a real-estate agent. Many purchasers are not aware they can use their own agents to work on their behalf and gather information on condominiums — even on new developments that have their own sales staff. Contact a real-estate agent with condominium experience. These agents may even have information about the sites and developers you are interested in. A good place to start is to check out with an experienced condominium agent

  Remember, if you go into a sales office and sign an Agreement of Purchase and Sale for a new condo unit, you have 10 days to review the agreement, make changes or cancel the deal.

Denise Lash is a lawyer practising Condominium LLP and is also a Lawyer with Miller Thomson and one of  the co-founder of MondoCondo.