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If you're really set on a place, you can still make an offer with a subject that includes a review of the Form B. I think when it comes to offers these days, it's usually the financing condition that gets passed over for a cleaner offer. Subjects like a Form B or an inspection are not really significant hurdles for a seller; the keys are being confident in your ability to secure financing (pre-approval is important as well as knowing the comparables) and having a flexible closing date. So, know how much you can borrow (and go a little less than that) and make sure your offer is in line with comparables so that no red flags are raised in the appraisal. |
unconditional offers for a condo is risky, next thing you know your hit with a 10000$ special assessment because they need to replace the windows. Buying condos make sure u review the form b, strata minutes, and depreciation report. |
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Market still isn't cooling down Co-workers discussing among each other the stress and difficulty buying right now, all over asking $70,000+ just for 2b/2b 800+sq/ft apartment.. |
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life is too short to stress about something you have choices over. |
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^ People are afraid of special assessments and other issues with older buildings. However, if you do your homework, older buildings can be solid. In my experience, many buildings built in the last 10 years are mediocre. The margins for builders have been thin for some time (because land here is so expensive), so corners are being cut underneath the surface. I also blame the frenzy on the Pinterest/HGTV effect. Older buildings will not have open concept layouts or floor-to-ceiling windows. They won't have stone countertops, Kohler sinks or stainless steel appliances either. |
2b 2ba in 800 sf is pretty generous these days no? Having said that, floor plans these days are more efficient than those 10+ years ago, so its not always just about the number. |
Too many people are buying into this hype and isn't considering the financial impact of such craze. Another of my friend just bought a home in South Surrey for 1.5m. Nice home with huge bedrooms (4 of them and 3.5bath+a self-contained basement suite) in a nice area (about 5min from Morgan x-ing). But they are "only" making a bit over 100k between the two. I asked why and how they are able to afford it (since I calculated to be way over 5k between mortgage, tax and insurance) with their first kid coming later this year? they just told me they are afraid of being priced out and the suite would help. Plus, one of their parents would move in with them should they get a second kid. I didn't tell them anything, but they just poured their next 20yrs of wage into that place. This scares me. They are in public sector, so job security isn't much of a concern, but then again there isn't much room for them to grow their wages. Say goodbye to indulgences like a vacation abroad, toys and/or anything expensive really. No wonder home equity borrowings are doing so great these days (I mean, literally every radio I tune into have their ads, FM and AM!)... there are people who simply can't afford anything besides paying the bills and bring food to the table. Any surprise or extra expense, they would have to resort to use their home as ATM. When did the great Canadian life come down to this? |
^ This story is not surprising as there are a lot of young families in this city with one or both people who work in the public sector. Most of the people I know, went to school with, etc are like your friends. Parental leave top up and defined benefit pensions make it enticing for people to go all in. However, raises are likely capped to inflation, or below. Some will hit the managerial ranks over time though. But you're right - not a lot of room for much else besides food and shelter. Where are friends' kids going to go to school? Southridge at $15K per year? |
Our tenants are moving out end of May, for our basement suite. I've noticed now there are a lot more renters out there looking, compared to 2-3 years back. I'm in the east Van area, and also rental prices has also increased about 20% |
What are the rankings of reputable developers of Vancouver? I assume BOSA to be top, if not one of the top ones? With Onni being crap? |
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Since 2013, we've had a 2% wage increase while inflation is sitting at 4.07% over that same time period (source: Bank of Canada). And that actually is an improvement on the past couple of years as we had no wage increase in 2014 and 0.5% in 2015. This year, we got 1.5% to finally start making a dent in rising costs, but obviously we're still way behind. I can't even fathom dropping $1.5M on a house with $100k/year household income. We have a similar household income with no kids and I'd like to keep it under $300k. |
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The Marquis Grande, on Halifax St in Burnaby, was built by Onni and it's on public record that the strata is suing the developer for leaky windows. Onni also built a tower in Port Coquitlam on Shaughnessy and Lougheed Highway which is rumoured to be actually a few degrees off 90. There's no mention of this issue in any strata documents, but this is simply a rumour that has been passed among realtors working in the Tri-Cities. Quote:
My wife works for a non-profit and their COLA was about a percent, so 1.5% is pretty decent today. 1.5% isn't bad, but the rising price of food is making a significant dent in people's budgets. I just did a quick calculation using Ratehub and this couple that bought the $1.5 million house needed about a $700K down payment to qualify for conventional financing. Immigrants tend not to let their children fall, so either this couple had property in valuable locations (e.g. Yaletown, South Granville, etc.) before they went all in on the house or they had a lot of help from their parents. Their mortgage payments with a 30-year amortization are well over $3000/month. Crazy stuff when you think about it. |
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Personally I think any higher than the 3-400k though and you are going to start sacrificing the fun stuff. I'm much happier with money to blow on fun and a nice small place than a big place full of Mr. Noodles. I'd compare the Vancouver housing market to some stupid 19 year old hostess spending all of her money on a coach purse and having nothing left to put in it. |
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My list goes as follows.. would be good to hear people's opinions 1. Developers behind the Grace at drake st. 2. Westbank 3. Intracorp 4. Polygon 5. Mosaic 6. Concord No data points for: - BOSA - Onni - Cressey |
Polygon is the biggest builder in BC, I like their stuff for the most part |
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I've never seen a unit in a Polygon highrise, but they've built lots of multi-family over the years. The Polygon open houses I've seen seem to reflect a pretty decent standard of construction, though like a lot of developers, they've gradually cut corners over time (the switch to electric stoves and baseboard heaters, for example). Polygon also has a sister company, Morningstar, which is building single family in areas like Burke Mountain. A home inspector I talked to said their homes are pretty solid. A friend of mine lived at Spectrum, a Concord development, for several years. He was never impressed with the quality of construction and materials, though they were built to a very low price point (I believe studios were in the low 130Ks when they were released). I generally like the Mosaic style/aesthetic and some of the thoughtful touches they have (larger bedrooms, entryways, large windows etc.). However, I went through a number of units of theirs that were built over the last 5 years and I wasn't particularly impressed by their choice of materials (the laminate flooring in one was particularly appalling). I haven't heard any issues with overall construction though. I will add Millennium to the list of developers as I owned and lived in one of their developments for over 8 years. The design of the building isn't bad, but they definitely cut corners during construction and choice of materials. It's not all on the developer of course; in this particular building, they hired Metro-Can as the general contractor. They developed the Olympic Village and declared bankruptcy shortly after that. However, they're back and developing a tower on the site of the old International Sausage Factory in Burnaby-Brentwood. I will also add ParkLane Homes to the list. They've built many multi-family and single family over the years. They practically built all of the homes on Heritage Mountain in Port Moody, including one my in-laws have lived in since the 1990s. I can't speak for their recent projects, but my in-laws' house is very solid. |
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FOMO Fear of missing out |
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You're right in that we own all of this debt indirectly through our exposure to the banks via the CPP or our personal mutual funds and indexes. We can't opt out of the CPP and I imagine most amateur investors who are following a passive index strategy have at least 5-10% in Canadian equities. It's almost a perverse way to justify getting in the market. |
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