投资楼花的背后

下面这则广告是否吸引你的眼球？这份通过电邮散发的广告来自一名华裔地产经纪，广告向投资者推销在加国各个城市开发公寓项目。在许多股票和债券投资者还在舔舐2008年金融危机遗留下的伤口的今天, 某些公寓投资项目承诺的年回报率却高达16%，本金回报率更是高达48%。

Do the ads below get your attention?This email from a realtor in the Chinese community pitches for investorcondo projects across cities in Canada. Some projects promises an annual rate of return as high as 16%, and a principal return of 48%, at a time when equity and bond investors are struggling in a market still licking wounds after the 2008 meltdown.

随着节日季临近，此类营销手段也越来越层出不穷。各种鼓动投资者购买公寓楼花的电邮会象雪片一样飞往潜在投资者。

This type of marketing schemes heats up during holiday seasons. Email promotions have flooded the inbox of potential investors, promoting the pre-construction condo units.

对于投资者来说，先买下公寓楼花，待其完工后再伺机高价卖出似乎是简单易行的生财之道。但是此类促销广告可能只会一味强调高额回报率，却忽略了投资风险。

Buying a pre-construction condo and then flipping it a few years later when it is finished seems to be easy money for investors. But this type of promotion might have stressed too much on the high rate of return while ignoring the investment risks.

投资者在多伦多投资楼花很可能事与愿违。此前主流媒体就曾报道过一些投资者的惨痛经历，他们因为遭遇各种意想不到的状况而损失惨重。这些状况包括无力支付尾款，延迟交楼和被加拿大税务局追查等。

 There are many things that may go wrong with investing in a pre-construction sale in Toronto. There were horror stories reported by the mainstream media where investors took significant loss on the investments, due to various unexpected adversaries -- from financing troubles to ownership delays to troubles with the CRA.

在几年前，买家炒楼花的收益超过转售房屋。但是目前却已时过境迁。由于2015年加息之箭随时引弓待发，从而可能导致公寓市场降温乃至下跌，因此投资寓楼花可能会让你赔个精光。

Until a few years ago, pre-construction condos offered buyers a true deal compared to resale properties. But times have changed. As interest is poised to go up in 2015, it is likely that the condo market may turn flat or even down.  As a result, you might end up losing the shirt on your back. 

由于多伦多租赁市场面临重重挑战，你购买的公寓最终很可能无人问津，而你可能最终却要倒贴大笔资金支付各项开支。

As the Toronto rental market faces challenges, you may end up holding an empty unit while digging deeper into your own pockets to cover the carrying costs.

如果你是通过贷款投资楼花，虽然投资收益高涨，但同时也需要承担高风险。

If you are a leveraged investor, the return on investment skyrockets, but the risks are inherently amplified.

但是在我收到的电邮广告中，没有一封说明投资回报无法保证，也没有任何广告透露经纪人收取的佣金与费用，这种做法似乎与证券法规相悖。

None of the ads that have made their ways into my mailbox have indicated that the returns are not guaranteed.  Nor did they disclose the commissions and fees collected by realtors, which seems to be running afoul with securities regulations.

这些电邮广告的发送者并未回应《大中报》就此问题的电邮询问。

The sender of the emails has not responded to repeated email questions from Chinese News on the matter.   

在现房交易中，买卖经纪人最多可得5%的佣金，买房和卖房佣金都不超过房价的2.5%。而在公寓楼花交易中，卖方经纪人可能敛取高达6%的佣金，比常规地产经纪人高出两倍。

For an existing home, a buying and selling agent would split a maximum 5% commission, each getting less than 2.5% of the home price. But for condo pre-construction sale, a selling agent may rake in a total of 6% commission, three times of what they would earn over a regular real estate agent.

毋庸置疑，推销公寓楼花对经纪人诱惑十足。但是在华人社区，因进行各类投资而大呼上当者绝非少数。购买公寓楼花随之而来的风险应该让投资者们提高警惕。

Needless to say, there is a strong incentive for pre-construction condo sales. But victims falling to the prey of fraudulent investment schemes are not rare cases in the Chinese community. The risky factors involved in pre-construct condos may keep investors on their toes.