Yellowknife (Apr 22/05) - Many residents of Ravenscourt Apartments will soon be searching for a new place to call home.

The latest apartment turned condo venture is now advertising "the whole schibang at affordable prices."

Shane Clark, a realtor with HomeLife Sunrise Real Estate in Yellowknife, shows one of the Ravenscourt condominiums.

But apartment building owners must undergo a specific process should they wish to convert to condominiums, according to a City Hall official.

Dave Jones, planner for the City of Yellowknife, says a condominium subdivision policy drawn up by the city ensures a review process and tenant approval is part of the transition.

All the steps

"They went through all the steps that were required to turn it from a rental to a condominium scenario," Jones said.

"They got the approval of more than 80 per cent of residents to do that."

From the city's perspective, Jones says it does not matter whether such units are rented or owned.

"You could say that an ownership scenario could be a little bit better for the residents, but we don't encourage it one way or the other," he says.

Imply ownership

Jones notes that while condominiums imply ownership by the occupant, that owner could in turn rent out the unit.

"Some people buy them for investment purposes."

Because of the change in status of the units, Jones says tenants potentially will be evicted, should they choose not to buy.

"There is a fairly lengthy time period over which that happens, but they could potentially be evicted," he says.

Shane Clark, a realtor with HomeLife Sunrise Real Estate, says the units have been selling briskly.

The building is owned by a numbered company from Edmonton, the same company that owns Yellowknife Apartments.

"There's been an amazing response," Clark says. "We would need to sell 35 units, so we're well on the way right now."

There are 58 one-two-and three-bedroom units in the building.