Find out why smart investors are showing interest in Rosseau Residences

Newinhomes.com recently had the opportunity to spend a couple nights at Rosseau Residences at JW Marriott Muskoka to experience all that the resort has to offer its investors. Michael Sneyd, the newly appointed COO, Rosseau Developments, gave us the low down on the fully built condo units and was our tour leader for the two-day stay.

The resort was originally designed for singles and couples, but over the years, it has transformed into a family destination and ideal location for a corporate getaway.

Michael Sneyd, COO, Rosseau Developments

“The JW Marriott brand is positioned in between Ritz and the regular Marriott hotels,” said Sneyd. “The brand appeals to particularly a group clientele, but also a transient clientele that wants to have an elevated experience without paying five-star prices. And we’re doing it in a way that larger groups can be accommodated without impacting the experience.”

Access to Lake Rosseau from the core of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is one of the reasons that the resort is seeing more use from families. “One of the physical things that opened up this part of Muskoka was when they expanded Highway 400 up past Parry Sound and beyond, and on the eastern side of Muskoka when they improved Highway 11 beyond Gravenhurst,” Sneyd pointed out.

At Rosseau Residences, owners have access to their units nine weeks out of the year (three during the summer and two during the other seasons). The rest of the time, the unit is managed by the resort, which generates hotel income for investors.

There are also units that you have access to all year, and if you want to generate rental income when you’re not using it, you simply submit your calendar for the year to the rental pool manager who ensures your unit is available when you want it.

“When I was a kid, a lot of my friends would go to their cottages for the entire summer. So they had one person in the family who was working in industry, and one person staying home,” Sneyd said. “That person at home would take the family up to the cottage and the person working in industry would go back and forth on weekends. That doesn’t happen as much anymore.”

The Rosseau Residences ownership model is based on this fact. Most families don’t spend the entire summer at the cottage, and since time spent up north is getting shorter, they also don’t want to maintain the property and residence. That’s why a condo makes so much sense. You spend a few weeks out of the year at the resort and when you’re not occupying your unit, it’s making you money and you never have to clean a boat or fix a leaky roof.

“A lot of people are finding that they’re using their cottages less and less; a few weekends in the summer, maybe a two-week’s stay or three-weeks stay if they’re lucky,” Sneyd said. “So the industry’s changed a little bit in that not as many people are able to spend as much time at their cottages as they have in the past, and yet, cottaging is very much a part of Canadian culture. A large portion of our population aspires to have that cottage or that cottage experience.”

As far as a cottage experience goes, we’d say that Rosseau Residences definitely offers a luxurious one. There are a few restaurants in the resort; Teca serves fine Italian cuisine, Muskoka Chophouse is a high-end steakhouse, The Deck is a poolside bistro open seasonally, and Cottages Restaurant has “farm-to-fork” options.

There is also a full service spa, a fitness area, an indoor/outdoor pool, a separate spa pool, boat rentals (anything motorized costs extra to rent), and many conference centres and meeting rooms.

“The big benefit to me is that it’s a piece of my portfolio that I can actually use and talk about, as opposed to investing in a condo unit downtown Toronto and renting it out,” explained Harley Nakelsky, Vice President, Baker Real Estate, the broker for Rosseau Residences. “I can bring my friends up, I have the option of going to Muskoka, and also have a valuable portfolio piece.”

It’s important for investors to know that the restaurants are always busy and the conference centres are constantly booked for corporate events and weddings because unlike other hotel-condos, your return is based on the resort’s total revenue; not just what the rooms generate. So, if the resort is doing well, then you do well. While we were there, every room was fully booked for the week and there were a few corporate events taking place.

“Muskoka has been rated number one in the world by National Geographic as the summer vacation destination,” said Sneyd. “Around 15 years ago, you could buy a cottage around here for $180,000, and today, the average cottage price is over $400,000, and for Muskoka Lakes specifically, the average is over $600,000.”

Those average prices aren’t even for cottages right on the big three (Lake Rosseau, Lake Joseph, and Lake Muskoka - Rosseau being the most prestigious of the three). If you want to own a new cottage on Lake Rosseau, you’re paying millions of dollars. Wendel Clark and the Rogers family live a short boat ride from Rosseau Residences - just to drop some names.

As Sneyd so nicely put it, “You get all of the benefits of owning a $10 million cottage on Lake Rosseau without having to put out $10 million to buy it.”

Register for Rosseau Residences

Rosseau Residences are fully built, so you don’t have to worry about preconstruction issues or distant closing dates. As soon as you’re invested, you will start generating rental income, all without the hassle of finding a tenant and being a landlord.

There will be 132 units available. They are all fully furnished and priced from the low $200,000s. On average, the units are priced from mid-$400 to mid-$500 per square foot. There are 70 studios (496 square feet), 48 one-bedrooms (800 square feet), nine junior two-bedrooms (1,120 square feet), and five two-bedrooms (1,300 square feet).

Some of the interior features and finishes include stone fireplaces, hardwood flooring, high wood panelled ceilings, hardwood crown moulding, windows that open, balconies, ceiling fans, galley or full kitchens with granite countertops, two-sink vanities, separate showers and water closets, and Miele and Sub-Zero appliances.

NOTE: This is not a timeshare model. You own 100% of the unit. So, there are condo fees, covering everything on the exterior of the building. To make this an attractive investment, Rosseau Developments is keeping the condo fees low.

After the condo sales are complete, Rosseau Developments will be launching a collection of lakefront cottages at the base of the resort. The cottages will start from over $1 million. These are currently in the early planning, preconstruction phases.

Register now for Rosseau Residences!

Keep scrolling for more photos of our stay at Rosseau Residences: