My favourite example of this is the gentleman who glanced up at an apartment condominium building in which I was to show him a suite. “Don’t want to see it,” he announced. It wasn’t easy, but I prevailed upon him to view the suite, however briefly. As we’d booked an appointment, I’d have to leave a card anyway, to indicate that we’d come and gone. In addition, this one really had something special to offer.

Reluctantly, he followed me into the building and down the hall. Shuffling into the suite, my client did what can only rightly be called “the swoon”. Hidden in this older conversion building in Lower Mount Royal was a fully modernized, wide-open suite with hardwood flooring and a top-floor panorama view of downtown Calgary in all its nighttime glittering glory. “This is it,” was all he said, and took out his cheque book.

Another example could be Victoria Park’s Palisades Condominiums in the 300 block of 14th Avenue SW. Who would think that this modest and affordable building offers an indoor pool in the basement? Or how about my own home building on the same block, which looks fine, but is utterly unremarkable. Who would guess that it offers two-storey penthouse suites with spectacular downtown views and that two of those suites have huge private rooftop patios larger than any in Eau Claire?

Sadly, of course, the rule not to judge by outward appearance cuts both ways. I also know of buildings that outwardly look pretty darn nice, but which offer structural problems, inadequate financing and political fights that rival Canada’s national political scene.  

Gerald Rotering  is a condominium-specialist Realtor with Realty Executives, Chinook City, is President of his own building’s condominium corporation, and is a professional member of the Canadian Condominium Institute. Extensive further information about condominiums can be found on his web site: http://www.CondosInCalgary.com.