Warwick Condos: 102 People Express Interest
102 people have registered their interest in purchasing one of the Grand Atlantic Development condos, Minister of Public Works Michael Weeks said.
The Grand Atlantic Development in Warwick will comprise of 60 two bedroom/one bathroom homes and 18 three bedroom/two bathroom homes. Prices range from $495,000 for a 2 bedroom home up to $665,000 for an ocean view 3 bedroom unit.
Last week Minister Weeks announced that 100% financing for the units will be offered to qualified first-time home purchasers. With 100% financing, a 25 year mortgage [at 6.5%] for the 2 bedroom equates to approximately $3,340 per month, while a 25 year mortgage for the 3 bedroom unit is approximately $4,500 per month.
Minister Weeks announcement about the 100% financing on March 12th:
“While the Government has appreciated the challenges in the mortgage market, we realize there is still need for innovative and flexible ways for those desirous of owning their own home to successfully achieve that dream,” said Minister Weeks.
Shadow Minister for Public Works Mark Pettingill said the Government-backed plan supporting 100% financing is “another example of a desperate government relying on everyday Bermudians to rescue it from its self-inflicted policy bungles,” while the UBP suggested leasing the units for tourist accommodation as an alternative to further saturating the real estate market.
Last year conservationist Dr David Wingate warned that the cliffs underneath the Grand Atlantic condos are eroding at the rate of 1 – 2 metres every decade, and the environmental group BEST has called for development be suspended until the government informs the public about the “financial, economic, social and environmental implications.”
The photo below, courtesy of Todd Martin, shows the condos from the waterside, click to enlarge:
Speaking this week the Public Works Minister said “There has been a very good response to the offering of Grand Atlantic Units for sale with 102 persons registering their interest in the past week.
“The Bermuda Housing Corporation has also opened a site office at the Grand Atlantic development so that potential buyers can view units and gather information on site. The site office is located at the Grand Atlantic, Block F ground floor, and is open daily Monday to Friday from 11 am – 3 pm.”
I clicked and enlarged the photo they are beyond ugly, just shameful!
Oh no don’t do it ! Don’t do it !!! And their the ugliest homes in the world!
I’m sure the Grand Atlantic isn’t going to want their name associated with that fiasco!
Please tell me that is a joke photo. It can’t possibly be South Shore Bermuda.
Really 102 people have expressed interest in these condos?!! I sure hope they won’t regret it!
It has all the curb appeal of Westgate but not the prestige…..
If you do a residential stint at Westgate you get some street cred, but if you buy into Grand Atlantic then you get laughed t!
You know, I’d been wondering what they looked like from the water.
At least they should paint them in a variety of colours and put something other than a chainlink fence up.
I agree with familiar…
Different pastel colours for sure… with some serious landscaping with lots of big trees… and install shutters like the others at Loughlands (sp?). That may help a little in the aesthetics department. As is these buildings are bland & tasteless, and totally UN-Bermudian!
Actually it might be better to keep them a sand color so when they end up on the beach later, they will at least blend in there.
Wonder how many interested would qualify for the 100% financing? That picture is a site for sore eyes. no tourist destination in any part of the world would allow such an ugly site from the coast. Well, we aren’t really in the tourism business anyway.
I hope that all 102 people realize that they will pay double or triple for this house by the time they are able to pay it off and many of them will NEVER be able to pay it off. It’s a REALLY BAD INVESTMENT ! ITS GONNA BE A BURDEN! IMAGINE WALKING AROUND WITH A FULL BAG OF CEMENT ALL DAY CAUSE WELL THATS THE EQUIVALENT TO BUYING ONE OF THESE HOUSES! IT’S NOT WORTH IT! If you want to be in debt for the rest of your lives please go ahead and buy one of these LEMONS!!
Please don’t mislead people about the benefits of a mortgage to buy a home.
You are correct when you say that buying a unit at 100% financing over a 25 year term will end up costing you double; i.e. a $495,000 2 bed unit (at current 6.5% rate) will ultimately cost you $1,007,000. This being the $495k purchase price (fees not included) plus the $512,000 that you will pay in interest to the bank over the 25 years.
But consider the alternative; paying $2,500 per month rent to a stranger for 25 years and then finally buying a 2 bed unit for $495,000 at the end (assuming you’ve been able to save that much over the years, and assuming the units still cost that). Guess what, that means you’ve just spent $1,245,000 and ended up with the same 2 bedroom unit. That being $750,000 paid away in rent (instead of interest) and then the $495,000 purchase price at the end.
Or maybe you’d rather just pay $2,500 in rent for the next 50 years of your life and never buy a house, in which case you will spend $1,500,000 and have nothing to pass on to your children at the end of it.
Admitedly as an owner you will be paying maintenance and land tax, whereas you would not as a renter, but you will also likely see an increase in the value of the home over a 25 year period (I know there will be the usual sarcastic comments about this part).
Don’t get me wrong, I am no fan of this particular development, but with the right attitude a young Bermudian can really benefit from home ownership. Yes there are dangers, but it can be a huge leg-up too. It depends on the determination of the individual borrower and a degree of luck (health, loss of job, etc). That said, at these prices, these particular units still do not represent a good investment in my opinion and I’d look elsewhere on the island.
You are not adding the insurance cost for the property, the condo fees land tax, additional excess maintenance fees. I can see this adding amother 500 a month minimum. What about stamp duty, that will likely be added to the mortgage.
These do not qualify for stamp duty due to the price, and you are correct that I have not inluded insurance and maintenance fees, nor bank and legal closing costs (as I stated above), but I have also not inluded the fact that the rent you pay over 25 years ( in the comparative scenarios) will likely only go up.
There is also the time value of cash flows to factor in, but I wanted to keep the examples simple, so that only the prevalent issues were highlighted. Happy to get into the nitty gritty of it all offline though as I suspect most readers don’t want to hear it on this forum.
I should also state that mortgage rates will rise and fall over 25 years too of course.
However, I think the biggest deterrent for any potential buyers right now is that the current Govt have demonstrated that with the stroke of a pen, they can change the real estate laws on you (influencing supply and demand) and wipe $100′s of thousands off the value of your home. Not a good prospect for anyone considering what will likely be the biggest investment of their lives.
While what you say does give a nice warm feeling, you are forgetting about contracts and legal binding to it.
If you go along for 25 years paying that 2500 rent and then putting more away to save for that 500K..then perhaps the mortgage idea has some merit… but what if you have a tough month financially? some extra bills/payments need to be made? medical? transport? lost of income? etc.. at least you can simply use those savings to cover it and carry on. Job lost? at least you have some backup or spare money to deal with it..
however if you go on for those years paying the 4500+ per month, while its nice and cozy in your new condo, what do you have spare in case somethign happens? Can you simply stop making this housing payments for some time to cover it? No, you still have to fork that money over to the bank. For someone who isnt making much more than the mortgage per month, they are basically taking the risk that everything will go well in life for the next 25 years…
crap i just moved to teh UK and i wont even buy a 12 month cell phone contract because of the uncertainty… and you think it is wise for someone to go on a 25 year one? To afford 4500/m means serious income, and as mentioned often before, those taht have that money do not want these homes.
The comment about the amount that is added through interest is entirely misleading. The interest impact is the same whether 100% financed or the typical 80% or 85% financing. You end up paying at least twice the amount you burrowed if your mortgageis for 15 years. It will be more as you get into longer mortgages.
In reality banks make a ‘good living’ off of mortgages. Therefore when some people can not pay their mortgages the banks do not lose overall.
The only burrowing going on with these units will be the surf burrowing into the cliff face.
“In reality banks make a ‘good living’ off of mortgages. Therefore when some people can not pay their mortgages the banks do not lose overall.”
You haven’t been keeping up with world events over the past four years or so, have you.
Who would want to buy those…. they are so ugly. What a shame….. destroying Bermuda.
Welcome to Kingston mon.
If this pic doesn’t prove to be writing on the wall then what is. What did they think those break walls were going to do at the base. For those people interested go for the road side ones first
I’d rather bet on a 3-legged horse.
Not a wise investment people. And this government should be ashamed of themselves because if they have an ounce of brains between them, they know they are DECEIVING Bermudians into thinking this is a good investment when in fact it will end in financial failure.
Lifejackets should be thrown into the deal as a kind gesture.
I Totally agree!! This whole situation is disgusting!!
Beautiful piece of property and they throw some ugly boxes on top smh! And I hope they are planning on doing something better with that cliff because it looks like the ocean has been eating it away. Those white/sandy parts along it is cliff erosion and considering we get storms and hurricanes that bring storm surge….. perhaps they should have built a little further back from the cliff edge just for safety.
1 window per floor facing the ocean… who came up with that design?
The blank walls face the SW prevailing wind – which as you might guess is quite strong there. You’d not be able to open the windows much on windy days, they’d be very vulnerable in storms, and constantly caked in salt.
@ Chart says,
That makes no sense at all, our prevailing winds are South Westerly but most of our gales come in the winter months and the wind is North Westerly to North Easterly which is behind these units.
If a Hurricane comes like our winter storms don’t we all just close the windows and shutters/storm shutters … right?? So summer times (see the last few weeks conditions) those windows would provide much needed breeze and cooling conditions, I guess the air conditioners will be running overtime then!!
I find the lack of windows looking out towards the ocean (one of the draws for an ocean side location, no?) a very strange design. As mentioned, during the warmer months they would allow for much needed cross ventilation.
odd
1)I wonder how many natural creatures , crabs etc.. they killed while doing this, it is too close to the sea. They could have found somewhere else like the f%$%ing base lands.
2) Whatever happend to the house with the fence around it ideas similar to the suburbs in usa. These ideas and structures are not meant for small caribbean islands.
3 )They look ugly and raced no care for the environment no respect for the future of bermuda or the younger generation. Just cramping people together.So some prick can just get a return on an investment. this is a tacky way to go for bda. SMH.
I wouldnt live there if they gave me one for free, i would have to rent it out and find somewhere else
$4,500 a month yea right what a joke.
1)How much natural wildlife did they kill for this project? crabs etc…
They could have done this somewhere else.Like the f**cking base. This was just a quick fix so some prick can get some return on his investement. This was not done out of care for the island or the environment and no care for the future young people of bermuda.
And what happened to living in houses with fences around it similar to suburbs in america?
Wouldnt live in one if they gave me a unit for free,I would have to rent it out or something and find somewhere else.
same ol story lets just pack everyone together,SMH
sad what bda is coming to.
Westgate number 2!! cause whoever gets one of these things
is going to be locked in and locked up!!!
Trust me you won’t beable to sell them if you wanted to…
Back away from the RAW DEAL you 102 blind people!!!
This is great. Buy one of these lovely beachfront condos, wait a few years and you’ll have yourself a lovely beach level condo. Result!
f#@$ked south shore right up, ugly and grey
As has been said before concerning incidences where land is at issue under labour governments around the world.They do not care about land unless it is being developed with benefits accruing to themselves.
This is a disgrace from start to finish and I feel sorry for Bermudians who feel they must take up this seemingly ‘ too good to be true opportunity’. You all know the rest.
And I thought they were magnificent looking from the road… They look even better from the ocean!
its a lie, no 102 people showed interested at all,
of course they would lie about this
How will they ever ‘save face?’
The cliff face?
what a way to continue to destroy this country. Beautiful coastline which if this government had any vision at all they would have turned into a beautiful park and open space for tourists to admire and flora and fauna to flourish. Every time I drive by this ugly site, I have to apologize to overseas guests.
Sigh….people please whatever you do, don’t vote this government in for another 5 years. Imagine what else they will do to finish destroying this beautiful country.
when are they goana do the low cost housing?
i hope they sit empty and rot
They’ll probably end up renting them out to low income people. Sorta like the projects.
I definitely see Projects!! So disgusting The blind greed of the folks in charge!! They don’t give a Rats A$$ about nothing except MONEY!! ;/
no one right now can afford them if you cant’t come up with a down payment how are the going to pay every month stop now and walk away butterfield don’t have no money government don’t
100% financing means you don’t need to come up with a down payment, all you have to do is show that you make enough to pay the monthly payment, which in this case is about $4500.
The maintenance fees alone on these units are $400.00 per month. Talk about adding insult to injury!
did not realise just how ugly these things were until i saw the photo. oh dear!
Quo Fata Ferunt
I can’t believe they would sit these on top of a high cliff’s edge that looks riddled in cracks. So, who is going to pay the price tag of the low cost housing when they fall into the sea? The taxpayer?
What a sight! It is disgusting! This is NOT low-income housing in any sense of the word! What single mother or young family starting out can afford over $4,000 per month, plus $4,800 per year in maintenance fees!
Government certainly missed the mark on this one and screwed up a beautiful peace of south shore line in the process. Shame on you government!!!
Saying that 103 people expressed interest is meaningless. 103 people thought about farting in the last 5 seconds but it is about as relevant. 102 of those people might be confirming what a crappy, dangerous project this is. Government will probably next manufacture some false sales to excited people even more. If these buildings were given to me, I would not stay in them during a hurricane.
They WILL go over that cliff – its just a matter of time.
Biggest PLP fail yet!!!!!
Several of those 103 people were people from BEST who were asking very pertinent questions. Ray Charlton also mentioned on Shirley Dill’s show on Sunday that, among other paperwork that should have been available for those doing due diligence, there should have been 3 engineers reports on the safety of building on those cliffs but only one is available to be seen. (I think I got that correct, please correct me if I am mistaken).
Thank you Bernews for that ocean-side view. It just underscores the concerns people have been voicing since before they broke ground on this project. The cliff is badly eroded. The structures are far too close to the edge. Although the chain-link fence is not obvious in the pic, I am sure we have all seen what enterprising persons have done with other chain-link fencing (have a look at the corners of just about any fenced-in school field). I don’t even want to speculate on how long it will take before there is a gap and someone, hopefully not a child, goes over the edge.
I heard something about a driveway/pathway that had been created, without permission, to get down to the beach. Bernews, can you get a picture of that, too, please.
And what’s with that low concrete wall at the base of the cliff? THAT is supposed to stop the erosion??? Puh-leease! The tide will probably come up higher than that around full moon, not to mention what will happen during hurricane season.
Unsightly and unsafe.
Wow they are really ugly. Did they get the design from the houses in Monopoly? They have no windows either. So the tents at 9 beaches survive a major hurricane yet these houses cannot have windows on the western side? They must be so dark inside. Surely the west is whe you would want the light. More people are at home in the evenings than the morning. What a complete disaster.
By dat by Lopes is good!!!
He sold de gumment on a crock o crap – did he not say he will be able to stop the erosion???
I bet Mother Nature will win this battle – oh and then what will the value be on each unit??
This is a farce of monumental proportions,who in their right mind would not be concerned about the area on which this devolpment is built. Forget about excoriating this hapless government that is a given, my concern is that it dosent even appear safe! As to the absurd bleating with much fanfare about this being an example of this goverment’s commitment to affordable housing,are they serious? Even stupid PLP/BIU/UBP loyalist would not believe such foolishness. Pity the wretched Bank/NTB who could NOT SAY NO, well here is another superb reason to THROW THE BUMS OUT! FOR GOODNESS SAKE.
Wow, I can’t make up mind. Are these prison/regiment barracks, staff accomodations, youth hostels and detention centers? Or, are they nearly 1/2 Million dollars homes…
or 1/2 millions dollar tenaments! Bermudians are not this stupid!
I would just like to add that some of you guys are very small minded. If your not interested in additions then please click to another page they are apartments not luxury homes (temporary not meant to be a life’s stay). If you didn’t help build or express any ideas it shouldn’t be of ones concern. Stop acting like your comments always matter if you haven’t done anything to contribute positively to your “precious island”. If you don’t like or agree with BDA Government be an adult an address the situation directly, 20 – 100 voices will make more of a difference then just one. Sometimes it pays to be quiet. Some of you are worried about wildlife. like i’ve never seen an animal just sit there and let someone or something kill it on purpose. Not every one cares about what you have to say. If its so ugly and needs more color express your opinion to BDA Government professionally. Not every one wants to live with their parents for the rest of their lives. As for placement. thats something i can agree to. South shore has never been the sturdiest place to rest something heavy that close to the edge. Sooner or later its going to need the reinforcement because of the dense rocks.
@ College Student. Do you really believe a letter written to the Government, or an email, well and politely written or not, would make any more difference than posting an opinion here? Here at least, you can be certain your opinion is read.
Dense rocks…..I think you made a mistake there. Here is the problem….folks told goverment this was foolish, govt ignored the people.
Our government also needs reinforcement due to dense rocks
PLP, solid as a rock. Just dumber.
Unbelievable! It has been a few years since I have enjoyed a trip around the island with cruising close in along the S shore. There are some examples of overdeveloped ugly already on the shore but none come anywhere near as ugly as these.
The designer of these should be thrown off the cliffs along with whoever the idiot was that approved them.
Looking at the cliffs, all of them have had recent serious erosion exposing the soft rock underneath.
The picture says it all. Thankyou Bernews for posting it.
I’m in shock at the sea view! No words…..They are so ugly! Look how the coast has been ruined! Not to mention that they are very close to the edge….all we need is another Fabian and 102 homeowners become fish…..
@ College student…you need to study more but this time without ‘your eyes wide shut’. This an epic PLP fail. This is not contributing positively to our ‘precious island’, as you put it. Call a spade a spade. Why do we have colour-coat it? Stop being overly sensitive and please, grow a pair!
Oh and by the way, ‘dense’ means ‘impenetrable’; reinforcement would not be needed. Maybe you need to look up an appropriate word to support your claim.
They look like they are one hurricane away from In Atlantic.
PRICED OUTRAGEOUSLY !
A family could purchase a 4800 sq. ft. home in the US for that price !
my, my, my !!!
They took away Dunscombe Roads water view . People can’t see the whales go across from the porch anymore . NOW IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING taking on one of these units , make sure you are in good graces with your RICH uncle , aunt or Godparent .
These remind me so much of the hotels in Monopoly. Just like the ones you might place on Baltic Ave…and when you go bust, you only get 50% of what you paid for it from the bank…this is truly a case life immitating board games.
Oh my gosh Bermuda, what have we done to our country….A concrete jungle…well BEST and Company, this is what you fought so hard for….No to a Hotel, but yet this is what we end up with….SMH
@pebblebeach… I don’t know what you mean when you say “well BEST and Company, this is what you fought so hard for… no to a hotel, but yet this is what we end u with…” BEST has been fighting this development from the outset . Please get your facts straight.
@ pebblebeach: BEST and co absolutely did NOT fight for this travesty. If you research back to before ground was broken, you will see that BEST has been objecting all the way. Even now, they are requesting that no more building be done. Please get it right.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-17366396
No comment necessary!
The Ewart Brown Projects
This is just another PLP flipflop failure. What else is new?
102 people have bad taste.
Scary!!!
102 “expressions of interest” means ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. I remember some time back, they had over 100 expressions of interest and none of it materialized into an actual sale.
The other thing that concerns me is the kinds of people that this type of deal attracts and their ability pay back the debt. With the government (taxpayers) providing guarantees against default, it is a recipe for bad underwriting of risks because there is no downside for Butterfield Bank. Whether the loan performs or not, they get paid.
This Government just doesn’t stop rolling out the bad ideas.
I bet you they all sell before John Swans Building is filled.
Reality is, this is still hope for alot of people.
We movin on up, Black people on the water side i love it!
Could it be that the PLP did this to move voters in the area? If they don’t know better givem a house ensure their vote for this election worry about them falling off the cliff later. That would fit the MO.
LOL
I agree with the statement about color and i also agree with the statement that the Base should have been considered to construct homes.
We need our trees for protection and most importantly oxygen. As we keep digging unnecessarily into nature it destroys the structure of the the island next you look we’ll be in the myth books like Atlantis.
I feel that the price is a bit to much considering the risks as well in reflect of hurricanes. Also the AVERAGE Bermudian isn’t making over 70,000.00 a year hence, we’ll find it more comforting to “rent from a stranger” and find more luxury in travelling, buying a nice car, bike or an inexpensive home abroad. If you’re seeking to pull the renters in to buy homes then you need to have a sit in with them to see just what they can afford, then put the figures into place.
I would love to buy a home in Bermuda but its just not feasible in this economy, especially with cost of living constantly rising. Maybe there needs to be a temporary freeze on that instead of “other” things. #um just saying….
So, there have been some references to getting insurance for this development… but no answers on that question. Just look at the photo that shows how exposed they are… the cost for insurance will be exhorbitant. It would be good to hear someone in the business to get a comment from them.
Those condos are not very good looking.
Eric,
A touch of some lively colors might do some magic on those condos.
Bernews – please follow up on this story. Has anyone bought one of these? How many people are actually living there?