Just the basement suite I want to rent.

"Hey, my fridge died"

"Yeah. I can't afford to fix it, so have you heard of...stove top?"

So, just most people then?

Yes, I did know that, and spaced on that detail.

Landscaping was the last thing he needed to waste money on.........

I hope your friend isn't an accountant/financial guy.

Agree, if that's the dream, count me out.

Anyone drive out to north/west van? I'm seeing homes being sold all over the place. It's nuts.

^^same with New West. So many houses have been sold. Two of my favorites, ones I thought would be rare to come on the market, and both of them sold.

Lost my train of thought. BRB

He was in a trade, lol.

:drunk:

damn! way too many youngins - by that I mean the people around 25-35 age range - that are buying fixer uppers or "starter homes" and then not knowing what they are getting into. Renovations take time, money and if not done correctly, can end up costing them even more! People always underestimate maintenance costs. I have no sympathy for people that get into this and then complain they can't pay their mortgage, strata, property tax etc.

if you 're having trouble paying it, dont bitch about it.

On the flip side, no one believes in selling a fixer anymore either.

At least, at a discount.

Your shithole of a house is land value, and as such, is still 750,000 in Burnaby, and 550,000k in New West.

I had no idea. Thanks.

:eek2: i thought that was east van

The cost of building a new home is constantly going up - from the price of building materials, to the actual features included. What used to be luxury items (eg. granite counters, stainless steel appliances) are now becoming standard items. Cedar soffits, 10 ft ceilings, LED lightbulbs, etc. the list goes on.

Do people really plan on going through their entire 25 years' worth of mortgage even though that's what they've signed up for? Almost everyone with mortgages that I know aim to pay down their mortgages sooner than the full term they are signed up for, and most of those people are also on track to do so. Typically, they are on pace to get everything paid off within a 15-20 year time frame.

Of course, that doesn't exclude the fact that some of them have / will buy again and move into something bigger, and thus starting the 25 year mortgage game all over again. But the general impression that I have with 30 years mortgages is you don't want to get into them unless you enjoy paying lots of interest.

^^

People say that, but it rarely happens. Its like people tell you that they make 20K more than they actually do....its their attempt to try and show off.

Sure, everyone aims for paying stuff off sooner...but it never fucking happens. Making extra payments or changing your payment frequency helps, but paying off a mortgage 10 years sooner with just using your incomes (not family money, inheritance, lottery, etc) is hard to do.

also, if people truly can pay off sooner, they usually just end up buying a much bigger place and max out their ability to cover the mortgage, in line with what dinosaur said, the 'show off' factor.

it starts with cars, then goes into 'how much i earn' and then is 'look at my cool pad'

i'm just glad i'm happy with what i have and have no desire to try to show off to anyone, makes me not want to 'move up' and waste all my money on a mostly empty house

Don't paint everyone with the same brush.

Some people with a prime minus mortgage may take longer to pay off the loan and use the extra cash to invest in other things that pays a return that is higher than the interest on the mortgage.

Some people over extend themselves with the 30 year mortgage. Why buy a $500,000 place when you can buy a $XXXXXX place and pay the same amount per month for an extra 5 years.

Sometimes life happens. The initial plan is to double up and pay it off ASAP then someone gets pregnant, laid off, the couple breaks up, home reno's, expensive wedding, vacations, new cars..... etccccc......

:alone:

I think people are STILL caught up in watching too many shows on HGTV and think 'HEY I CAN DO THAT, IT LOOKS SO EZEE ON TEH TUBES!"

:fulloffuck:

I'm happy living in a place that was built in 1982, cost $90,000 new and hasn't fallen down yet.

Much like having the latest tech gadget, people want anything that shows glitz. They think buy saving up for the down payment on a home, they think that'll be enough. No, that's just the beginning :ilied:

personally, i'd get the greatest satisfaction in buying a place and doing it up myself. regardless of money, i would never want the flashiest house in the neighbourhood - using a car analogy, i'd want a sleeper - looks plain jane outside, but fantastically clean, efficient, and nice inside.

in the end of hte day, a house is a place to live, make memories, and enjoy time with family, it's not a status symbol, and if people use it as that, they clearly have small penises

I did not see the end of that sentence coming when I started it.

Status seeking?

In Vancouver?

NOWAI

What would you consider a good/ideal age for an older home that you'd like to reno?

20 years, plus/minus 5 years, I think.

I'd want to do the first renovation.

As with anything you can get a 5 year old lemon and a 70 year old solid as a brick house, but generally, I'd think 20 years is young enough to be ok for plumbing and wiring, I.e. Not a gut job, yet decor is old enough to turn pretentious vancouverites away.

Take that property, new floor, new wall colour, lights, baseboards and moulding, new kitchen, bathrooms, and fix anything outside, whether it be paint, door replacement, etc, and turn it into a simple, yet beautiful place to be, for about $30-$40k tops (using relatively high end parts, but still within keeping for the property).

I would also give keen attention to curb appeal, again, clean and elegant, yet also hidden. I love my privacy, can't stand how people live in boxes where anyone can just look in - an appropriate use of trees/conifers or even fencing can do wonders whilst maintaining appropriate lighting.

I also think a 20 year old house would still suffer from being compartmentalized, but would be new enough to easily and appropriately remove a wall (older places could be nightmares).

I have done a fair bit of this work at my mum's house, which is about 20 years old,and it's been a fine house to work on, mind you, this is no Vancouver special, we know the builder, an Englishman who build it for himself, used 2x6 construction and put in some nice extras to make working on it easier, so I can't take that for granted. We did a beautiful kitchen for her, new floorings, paint/light fixtures, and have just been simple with the gardens, yet very effective. Bathrooms are next (1 is done, 2 others need an update, though still nice).

Also, with a 20 year old house, all the plants and trees should be established and relatively tall (conifers), which is so much more attractive and private than stick trees that have been freshly planted.

If only we weren't in this fucked up bubble, would love to do this over a year or two, then sell and move into the next project...

this is actually quite rare, this actually the exception rather than the rule.

in fact the opposite is happening.

there's soo many people that actually are getting in head over their heals with mortgages and are scraping by and are really living paycheck to paycheck. mortgage brokers always want to give you the highest loan possible because their commissions are based on that. How often do you see headlines and articles stating that consumer and household debt is at all time highs, or that many do not have adequate savings and are a paycheck from missing their bills and debt obligations?


- banks are always doing refinances because after their mortgage is up for renewal, many instead refinance back to the original amortization in order to keep payments low. bank profits are at record highs due to mortgages. I have friends who work at banks dealing with mortgages and they tell me they do more refinances now that less people are buying (less transactions = less mortgages). you think banks allow those 15-20% prepayment options per year because people actually take advantage of them? banks wouldn't make any money if that were the case.

now there are some that are made with $ and are legitimately paying their mortgages down faster, but like society, there are very few rich people, and the majority are average or poor.

those individuals that do try to pay down their mortgages faster are sacrificing vacations, hobby expenses, leisure time, entertainment etc to do so. whats good with having a house if you cant enjoy life?

and sure as your career progress you make more money, and that extra money will go to the mortgage right? . .. .well maybe, but how about your 3 year old whose now 8 and wants new clothes and they need buy new hockey equipment, or dance class?, what about the other kids? your car is near the end of it's life and needs higher maintenance costs, or a bigger vehicle because you now have a family? ohh and did you remember to put money into your RRSP or TFSA? and ohh no, the house now needs a new roof and furnace? hope you budgeted for that!

I'd have to agree with this. However, let me preface this by saying I have no "professional" experience in the construction industry, though I've done enough DIY jobs on friends homes that I can pretty confidently say that I do know what I'm doing.

Anything between the 80's and 90's should be a good candidate. Although dependant on where you're looking, many homes of this time usually were built with a decent sized lot. My parents home, which was built in '78, and is located in South Langley, is half an acre, and all the neighbouring lots are between 1/3 and 1/2 acre. So right there you get some good land coverage. I've also done a bunch of renovations on both my parents house and many of their neighbours and while they're the typical square box, cookie cutter house, the load structure locations tend to be in place almost as if the engineers had originally wanted these places to be open concept, as opposed to a box with a bunch of smaller boxes inside. Knocking down walls around the kitchen and living room usually isn't a problem as the load bearing walls are elsewhere. They are also new enough that you don't have to worry about knob and tube wiring and cracking clay pipes buried in the foundation, and asbestos-laden products were being phased out at that time.

This place was bought with the original shag carpet, horrid kitchen and pink bathroom still in place. Simply installing new (real) hardwood, updating the kitchen and bathroom (the latter being a gut job... trust me, you don't want to update a bathroom without checking for mould on the walls), new paint, baseboards, crown moulding... it looks a million times better.

Of course while you're updating a house, you'd might as well install new windows, perhaps beef up the r-value in the roof, repair the forced air piping since chances are it's leaking everywhere, reseat all the floorboards since they were likely only nailed into place and are now squeaking, etc., etc., etc... When you really think about it, home ownership and the repairs people want to do starts to look less and less glamorous when you think about how much money you'll end up sinking into it. Provided you get it done properly, that is.

Anyway, that's my completely nonsensical tangent post for the night. :lol

Back to the Vancouver RE doom and gloom talk! :p

Great post,

I'm the same, I'm a business professional, not in construction but just show an interest I DIY

And yes, new windows, new roof (best if it's a wooden shingle roof that can be treated, way cheaper, asudmimg it does the job efficiently), and new hot water tank (for efficiency's purpose) are all easy, quick ways to hugely improve the quality and value of a property from that era

Also, the lot size is a huge thought, we only started doing postal stamp lots in the last 10 years - I would buy a property for either cash flow (investment) and appreciation, or for land value/location to live in - and I'm not doing a 25 or 33 ft wide lot, ever!