When you say you preach the fundamentals, you sound like a recent business school grad that has never really worked much. Business fundamentals are the basics of any industry or profession. Rarely do you succeed just following the fundamentals, the real winners are the ones that understand the fundamentals but have some better insight (local knowledge, inside info, etc) and are willing to take a calculated risk.

Sure, buying dirt in vancouver has been risky for the past 12 months, but the people who listened to you would be kicking themselves and the ones who didn't listen to you are happy they didn't.

Dude, we all in the same boat... but you didn't think about this before you got married? Prices have been steadily rising since 2003 or earlier save for 1 year of stagnant sales... this isn't a surprise situation that suddenly happened after you tied the knot lol

Buying a mansion in chilliwack, you might as well be in Prince George.

Going back to that Squamish post, my old boss did that commute each morning to N Burnaby and in regular traffic, it took him the same amount of time as it took me to get there from the South Surrey/White Rock border. Difference is, pretty much every 2nd day theres a stalled Surrey special on the Alex Fraser so overall he spent a lot less time in his car over time.

His place in Squamish is very nice and cost him just over 50% of what mine cost me for something comparable. Obviously there are positives and negatives about Squamish but if you can't afford even the burbs around Vancouver, it's a doable option IMO

id wager overall he spent far more time in his car than you did

as bad as the Alex Fraser can be, the second there is an accident anywhere along the iron workers, cut, upper levels, youre adding MINIMUM 30-40 minutes

worked in British properties one summer and 2 seperare incidents turned my regular 45 minute commute home to surrey into 3 hours

Don't really understand why people love wood frame low-rise condos. The sound insulation isn't as good. You can hear footsteps from your neighbours above and can hear sound from your folks beside you. The material and finishing just isn't the same compared to concrete low-rises and high-rises. Guess it must be the price point.

Sorry to divert the discussion but I found something funny in the mail today, a business card from a realtor with a hand written note on the back saying "Hi, please call me. My buyer wants to buy your property". I have photos, but my phone won't connect to my comp so no uploads.

Just thought I'd share.

My mother gets those business cards once in a while. Can't blame the realtor for trying. :eek5x:

I tell the realtor to tell their buyers who are interested in our property that we are interested in selling our Vancouver Special in North Burnaby for 3.7 million. Let me know. :eekthumb:

Similar to the letter you get in the mail a few years after you buy a car. Hi it's such and such dealer, we have a buyer who's looking for the same year/model/color as your vehicle and if you're interested in selling we can offer top dollar. Anything to get you in the door and try and sell you something.

Don't laugh my wife's parents did this for 2 years (quoted a ridiculous price to all the numerous inquiries they got) and then someone actually said "Okay done, when are you moving out?" And they bought an even bigger newer house (smaller land) down the street 1 mile while pocketing a mill+. Buyer never even came to see the house or anything.

http://i.imgur.com/scYY4eil.jpg
370 units sold in 2 days. :clap:

The initial development costs are tiny compared to high rises. And most people buying in the wood frames don't realize the potential nightmare in store for them so they blindly by up units

Can you elaborate on the potential nightmares?

Modern concrete buildings provide very little sound insulation as the amount of concrete between floors is quite small (so that suites can have 9 foot ceilings). I can hear noises in the building that originate several floors away, I can hear appliances, etc. Stratas can only do so much when people do fly-by-night laminate flooring installations without the proper underlay.

The only good thing about concrete is the likelihood of a fire that will destroy the building is small, so there's lower insurance premiums for both you and the strata.

The only way you have peace and quiet is if you buy an acreage.

By buddy just got married and they bought a house in Langley. Has 2 suites and cost 800K. He works in Agassiz and she works in Van. The commute is long a hour each way but it is doable.

Neighbors/noise pollution/strata management

If anyone is interested i can give a pictorial display of why you should never buy in a wood frame multi family. I will take the time and write out a general overview of the construction and assemblies involved. And although this may not shine a light into the true ability to "live" within these units, i think it may open peoples eyes into buying into a multi-family wood frame.

I've been a part of turning over nearly 500 wood frame townhouses/condos in the last 6 years. I work as a "quality superintendent" managing the aspects from framing to the home owner turn over and it's unbelievable truthfully the things people worry about when they don't realize your inner wall structure which divide units.

Basically, even in higher end developments, no one spends the $$$ to ensure the proper barriers are in place to provide adequate sound barries from the existing units.

An architect works with an engineer to establish the sound insulation based on building assemblies prior to the plans ever being seen by a contractor. Once you reach a certain value within your insulation, you're good to go and build. However, whats "accepted" by the governing bodies, and what goes with a "loud" neighbor are two different things.

I'm currently helping out on a reno of the Sheraton Wall Center's South Tower hotel reno. This is an in-wall view of the building assembly dividing two connecting units:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y13...q.jpg~original

So.. it goes like this

5/8" Drywall
5/8" Drywall
Steel Stud
R30 Batt insulation

Res bar (resiliant channels) essentially air spaces dividing framing/insulated spaces

R30 batt insulation
Steel Stud
5/8" Drywall
5/8" Drywall

This is a -fantastic- detail, perfect for adjoing units. However, very $$$

On the flip side, the vast majority of townhomes and low rises i've worked on have almost HALF of what i just showed there.

So lets say, 2X4 framing
batt insulation
2X4 framing
5/8 drywall

The difference in the additional drywall, and res bar plus the better insulation is a night and day difference in terms of noise transfer.

With the wall assembly i just posted here which is typical for newer construction, i've put a small makita job-site radio in one unit. walked to the neighboring unit, and heard AM talk radio through the wall without any other noise. Absolutely pathetic.

Hearing AM radio through the wall? how about a loud partying neighbor? Sweet! Sit down to dinner with your family and you get to listen to how your neighbors buddies didnt score any coke!

I can offer a few things for potential home buyers looking into new, as well as older multi-family buildings for a small cost. If anyones interested in these services post up and i can make a list of what i can offer. Little things for $200-300 which could potentially save you THOUSANDS in the long run.

not trying to sound like a snake oil salesman but i've been in this business for a bit and it's amazing the state in which even brand new home buyers accept the condition of their units in prior to completing.

This story caught me eye given that today is Remembrance Day

https://www.facebook.com/VancouverVa...15106688530068

And here is what the house apparently looked like before demolition

https://www.facebook.com/VancouverVa...type=3&theater

Photos are contained within the comments

Seems like a waste to me to destroy the home but I'm stuck in the past anyway

:alone:

This is one of the big reasons I like Victoria, more people tend to restore/renovate character houses rather than demolish & build new.

That Facebook page was a good read. Lots of interesting stuff. Funny, me and my wife were discussing how so much of Canada has no architectural history, and they never will at the rate things are going.
Hondaracer thanks for the insight into the wood frame buildings.
I've purchased a unit in one, because realistically its the only thing in my price range, for the sizing and finishings I want. Supposedly the units are built to a higher standard as far as sound proofing, and being in a more family oriented neighbourhood in North Vancouver I'm sure some of the riff raff will be kept out a bit. Only time will tell though. You can have shitty neighbours anywhere unfortunately.

I believe that it all has to do with what kind of neighbors you have. Wood frame, Concrete, whatever. If you have neighbors beside you with crying kids and dogs barking all the time, nothing will save you. If you have neighbors above you who walk around like they have lead feet or kids running around, nothing will save you lol

Ive been in my friend's concrete frame and its quite noisy due to the neighbors, babies screaming, people partying

I live in a concrete high rise that is 20 years old and I -never- hear my neighbors, ever.

The neighbors right beside us used to have two screaming kids before they moved away, unless you were standing at the front door you couldn't hear a thing. The benefits of being in an older building seemingly is they relied far more on the amount of concrete as a structure componant as opposed to structural steel etc these days it seems.

And yea westopher, my experience is mostly in surrey and Langley and just seeing the people moving in I was like lol..have fun.

Hopefully north van works out for ya. Let us know how it goes

http://i.imgur.com/mnTpCjp.jpg

Modern day condos usually use blazemaster plastic pipes for sprinkler applications. Usually they are installed incorrectly and after 4-5 years, cracks start developing. If the sprinklers are actually "tested" (water drained causing system to go into alarm - which usually takes 3-5 mins per floor) The change in pressure will cause leaks and fixes like the picture above take place. You can clearly see the "insulation" between suites :lawl: and thats light coming from the other suites master bedroom.

Lol omg are new condos really that shitty!?!

Everything is actually that shitty. Condos new and old, houses new and old. If you own something, be prepared for it to cost you some money because some asshole cut corners somewhere to make some extra money.

The construction of the Party Walls dividing suites is fairly typical but it can change a little bit between buildings. Here are 3 projects 2 steel frame and a wood frame. One we're working on right now, one I priced in the summer and one I'm pricing right now. The thing to look at is the STC or NRC rating, it's measures how many decibels are bounced the higher the number the better.