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Vancouver Off-Topic / Current EventsThe off-topic forum for Vancouver, funnies, non-auto centered discussions, WORK SAFE. While the rules are more relaxed here, there are still rules. Please refer to sticky thread in this forum.
Still think Brentwood is dumb. No infrastructure to support the density, keep in mind it's not just Brentwood but Solo across the street and the other thing that's going up. Lougheed and Willingdon simply cannot handle the volume of traffic in that area, and the spillover to Dawson is brutal as well.
The layout of the whole thing is also stupid and I find it really hard to navigate the first time I drove through it. Gone through it 4 times now and still don't like it.
Coquitlam Center is BUSY. I went to visit some friends in Coquitlam 2 months ago and I was surprised how many ppl there were at the mall. People drive just as poorly but just sub in more white ppl. And that trail around the lake, wow that was just as amazingly busy. Though I must give it to the city of Coquitlam, they've done a good job.
Brentwood is one of those malls that looks great on rendering but when it came to reality, it is a total flop. Half the shops require people to walk outside (e.g. LL Bean). When the weather is shit, you have to walk long the edge of the mall or else you'll be exposed to the rain. Also, speaking of LL Bean, who the f*ck even shops there? I've passed by it maybe 3-4 times and there looks to be more staff than customers.
You know the mall is good when Uniqlo establishes a store there.
I parked at the lower level at Brentwood once and the funnel effect of the way the layers are laid out was freezing.
They want to do the same thing to Metrotown and make it a high street style area. What kind of dumbshit thinks that's a good idea in a city that rains 90% of the time in the winter.
you all want underground city with shops and tunnels that connect you everywhere ... like Toronto?
Or just the traditional mall like Metrotown where you can walk inside the mall.
What I really like to see is some retail around train stations like HK. Grab a pastry/bun, coffee, jump on train etc. 90% of our Translink stations are bare.
I'll take indoor malls like metrotown. Temperature controlled, don't have to deal with rain and snow. Even in Hong Kong, I stick to malls. Maybe I have a weak immunity system, but constantly going from hot and cold environments royally messes me up. Vancouver's not very walkable either. How many people here can survive long term without a car?
Uptown Shopping Center here in Victoria, which is one of these open air malls seems to do very well. It's probably more busy than both Hillside & Mayfair malls which are traditional indoor style.
I think if there is anywhere to have open air type malls in Canada it's here in the lower mainland.
Personally, I try and avoid shopping at retail locations but if I'm going to do it I head directly to the store I'm targeting, get in and get out so if I have to head outside to hit a store it's not really a big deal to me. My first choice is always online, only when I can't find what I want online do I head to the mall.
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“The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place... and I don´t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently, if you let it. You, me or nobody, is gonna hit as hard as life. But ain't about how hard you hit... It's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward... how much you can take, and keep moving forward. That´s how winning is done. Now, if you know what you worth, go out and get what you worth.” - Rocky Balboa
The locals who complain are probably those who have lived in the area since the 1970/1980s when the Tri-Cities were truly a backwater that nobody west of Boundary Road cared about.
My parents are these people, my dad complains that in the 80's when they first moved to Coquitlam it took him 25 minutes to drive to work in Vancouver near QE park, and now it takes 50+ and up.
Well yeah dad, the population has increased several fold in that time? Not sure how he expects all those people to get around...
I think if there is anywhere to have open air type malls in Canada it's here in the lower mainland.
Personally, I try and avoid shopping at retail locations but if I'm going to do it I head directly to the store I'm targeting, get in and get out so if I have to head outside to hit a store it's not really a big deal to me. My first choice is always online, only when I can't find what I want online do I head to the mall.
Yah ... this is how I feel ... like the style of the mall at the airport (McArthur Glen) and some of the outlet malls in Seattle area. Just pick a nice day, when it is rainy season, go to Metro or Costco . Best of all worlds. I also try not to go to retail malls in general.
My parents are these people, my dad complains that in the 80's when they first moved to Coquitlam it took him 25 minutes to drive to work in Vancouver near QE park, and now it takes 50+ and up.
Well yeah dad, the population has increased several fold in that time? Not sure how he expects all those people to get around...
On Facebook community groups, that's all they complain about - traffic and new construction.
Definitely a lot of willful ignorance out there...
On Facebook community groups, that's all they complain about - traffic and new construction.
Definitely a lot of willful ignorance out there...
The Coquitlam community group is the worst, I joined when I first moved however left the group after a few months after getting nonstop bickering and complaining on my feed.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skyxx
Sonick is a genius. I won't go into detail what's so great about his post. But it's damn good!
2010 Toyota Rav4 Limited V6 - Wifey's Daily Driver
2009 BMW 128i - Daily Driver
2007 Toyota Rav4 Sport V6 - Sold
1999 Mazda Miata - Sold
2003 Mazda Protege5 - Sold
1987 BMW 325is - Sold
1990 Mazda Miata - Sold
My dad has always pointed this out to me.. Think of the average person, think about their education, think about their morals, think about their socioeconomic status, think about their common sense, etc...
Then realize that 50% of the population is below that average and when people do silly things, it really isn't that surprising.
His take is, don't let those people bug you and just be more positive.
The fact that you're involved in this real estate chat on an Internet forum already puts all of you above this average.
Real estate is probably the easiest vehicle to increase your net worth, second to that would be the stock market. So if you can't get your hands on real estate, I hope you're investing in the stock market. I'm hoping to see all of you in 20 years sitting pretty with either a nice equity gain in your real estate or in your stock portfolio.
My dad has always pointed this out to me.. Think of the average person, think about their education, think about their morals, think about their socioeconomic status, think about their common sense, etc...
Then realize that 50% of the population is below that average and when people do silly things, it really isn't that surprising.
His take is, don't let those people bug you and just be more positive.
The fact that you're involved in this real estate chat on an Internet forum already puts all of you above this average.
Real estate is probably the easiest vehicle to increase your net worth, second to that would be the stock market. So if you can't get your hands on real estate, I hope you're investing in the stock market. I'm hoping to see all of you in 20 years sitting pretty with either a nice equity gain in your real estate or in your stock portfolio.
Was your dad George Carlin, or did he just steal that from him lol
Sonick is a genius. I won't go into detail what's so great about his post. But it's damn good!
2010 Toyota Rav4 Limited V6 - Wifey's Daily Driver
2009 BMW 128i - Daily Driver
2007 Toyota Rav4 Sport V6 - Sold
1999 Mazda Miata - Sold
2003 Mazda Protege5 - Sold
1987 BMW 325is - Sold
1990 Mazda Miata - Sold
Brentwood is one of those malls that looks great on rendering but when it came to reality, it is a total flop. Half the shops require people to walk outside (e.g. LL Bean). When the weather is shit, you have to walk long the edge of the mall or else you'll be exposed to the rain. Also, speaking of LL Bean, who the f*ck even shops there? I've passed by it maybe 3-4 times and there looks to be more staff than customers.
You know the mall is good when Uniqlo establishes a store there.
Yeah this. I split my time between Toronto and Vancouver and I just visited Brentwood for the first time in forever. It looks so nice until you're actually there and find out it's actually a pretty shitty mall. It's not even worth the time navigating to the "outside" stores.
It's like everyone just goes there for the food court which isn't even anything special. 75% of the mall still looks unfinished and ghetto. I assume they plan to renovate the 1980s side of the mall at some point.
^ the division between the new part and the old is drastic. So you can only imagine the store owners in the old part will eventually want out. I don't know what the next phase plan is for that mall ... but it just highlights how dated it is.
Informative post from Reddit today. Breaks down the math.
Quote:
If you wanted to build a rental apartment building in Vancouver today, what rent would you need to charge for rent? Right now, we are looking at a site off 1st Ave in Vancouver.
The site is ready to go, with development permit, PLA and building permit pending. Site cost is $310/sqft.
Construction costs are estimated at $465/sqft.
All other costs are at $230/sqft (that’s consultants, taxes, levies, interest reserves, contingencies etc.).
Total cost for the project is at $1,005/sqft, or $68million.
Common loan-to-value for multifamily rental real estate is 50/50. So, debt would be $34million.
Plug that into a financial calculator with the following assumptions:
N: 360 (30yrs)… payments per year: 12… compounding per year: 2… CMHC commercial mortgage rate sub bank prime: ~6%... present value of loan: $34M…. future value: $0… compute the payment: $202,000 per month.
Or approx. $2,400,000 per year. CMHC will require a 1.20 debt service coverage ratio. So, we would need to have net operating income of $2,900,000. This would deliver a 1.47% cash return and a 4.2% cap rate. Since it’s new construction, the cap rate is higher than resale market (averages around 3%). Keep in mind, GIC’s today will deliver a stronger unlevered return than a Vancouver apartment building.
A building this size will cost approx. $600,000 per year to operate.
So, a total annual required rent of $3,500,000. This is for 96 units, with a mixture of 1beds, 2beds and studios… it would need an average rent of $3,000/month.
The two beds would need to rough out around $3,800/mo and the studios around $1,800/mo.
This is just to make a CMHC deal financeable. Good luck in the wild today, Vancouverites!
^^^ but would someone think of the poor people, have to hand out affordable units at $700 a month. How's the new immigrants gonna work at super store and afford $1800 a month
The mortgage interest cost index rose 29.9 per cent. That's the fastest pace on record, and it's happening because the Bank of Canada has been aggressively hiking its lending rate in an attempt to cool demand.
That's been a direct hit on anyone with a variable rate mortgage, where the cost of servicing the loan has been skyrocketing all year. Even fixed-rate loans are having to renew and lock in at much higher rates than they were paying before.
More expensive mortgage costs are the single biggest factor influencing the inflation rate, the data agency said. If mortgage costs are stripped out of the numbers, Canada's headline inflation rate would have been 2.5 per cent. That's down from 3.7 per cent in April.
And the solution will be to....raise interest rates?
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!
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. Best of all worlds. I also try not to go to retail malls in general.
