Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[Tapioca]

Originally Posted by BIC_BAWS

Does anyone have an issue insuring a pre 1980s home with aluminum (mixed with Copper) wiring? Completion is in 9 days and its still extremely hard to find an insurer.

In our inspection report, it mentioned that a wiring update was recommended but it's not a hard must. HOWEVER, it was a hard requirement that we should get the breaker box panel coated with anti-oxidant paste. This was fixed today.

You didn't determine the house's insurabulity before you made the deal firm?

Wawanesa insures lots of homes. Has your broker run a quote through them?

[BIC_BAWS]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

You didn't determine the house's insurabulity before you made the deal firm?



Wawanesa insures lots of homes. Has your broker run a quote through them?

No I didn't think to ask insurance what they determine as an insurable home when I was looking in the first place. It was subject to Insurance, so we submitted an application. Unfortunately, underwriters process based on completion date, so they only declined recently - after subject removal.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

[Hondaracer]

Maybe it’s because it’s a new home (to you) but generally I found insurers didn’t think aluminum wire was a big deal and just may apply a hazard premium to your policy.

When we first got our house we had a high risk premium because we still had some knob and tube, but we were still able to get insurance through BCAA

[JDMDreams]

I don't think I've seen a deal subject to insurance, usually it's financing as standard. But then you've removed subject so the deal is done. I've never had issues getting insurance though, I just call up my insurance guy with the address and he just quotes me, given that I've never had the luxury of insuring a detached.

[Great68]

I had insurance as a subject when I bought my place. I have an oil tank and insurance companies can get a bit scared about that. It was only 5 years old, above ground and double-walled so I didn't expect an issue (and I didn't have one) but you can't be too careful.

[Iron Chef]

Does anyone have any advice about purchasing a home from a family member with out a real estate agent? We will be using a notary to write up a contract for the purchase agreement.

More curious about what is allowable for gifting or selling below market value if I’m going to have to put a mortgage on it?

[Tapioca]

An insurance clause is pretty standard for detached homes. If you're only dealing in strata properties, then all the bank needs to know is if the strata is fully insured because your contents insurance does not cover defects in the pipes or wiring.

Poly-B piping, knob and tube wiring, and oil tanks are all things that give insurance companies pause. It's best to get an inspection a few days ahead of subject removal so you can show your insurance broker the possible issues in the home.

[Sw0op]

ive only needed insurance due to mortgage as the bank wants to know theres some fail safe measure in case something goes wrong

otherwise if you pay all by cash the owner doesnt need insurance really...assuming they are willing to take the risk of any potential lawsuits

[Traum]

Originally Posted by Iron Chef

Does anyone have any advice about purchasing a home from a family member with out a real estate agent? We will be using a notary to write up a contract for the purchase agreement.

More curious about what is allowable for gifting or selling below market value if I’m going to have to put a mortgage on it?

As a reminder, when transferring ownership of a real estate property between a parent or grandparent to a child (and vice versa), the property transfer tax is exempt. However, if the transfer is between siblings, then it is not tax exempt.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/t...tax/exemptions

[bcedhk]

Am I right to assume that If I go in to a new development sales centre without a realtor, I will have a better chance of asking for discounts with the add-ons (e.g. upgrade appliance, tiling, bathtub, etc..). For reference, I am asking for the developer to waive $11k in add-on cost for a 1.3m townhome.

My understanding is that working with a realtor, you have a middle person to negotiate but I would guess that's more applicable for buying a used home or in an area with less buyer demand?

[Hondaracer]

Went to an open house today, an interesting prospect. House in East Van for sale with mountain/water views of the North shore for 1.8. Original is over 100 years old but reno’ed and updated

Has a large 2 bedroom with en-suite for the main living space and then a basement suite and 2 year old laneway house that get $4700 a month and up to $5400 a month outside of covid.

I didn’t love the house nor do I love having two separate tenants but pretty crazy potential for rental income and somthing I’ve been considering

[Traum]

Bear in mind that CoV has some really weaksauce / crappy view corridor legislations:

https://vancouver.ca/home-property-d...ers-views.aspx

Since you mentioned the house is in East Van, I'm willing to bet that the view is not covered by any of the indicated protected view locations, meaning you could lose the view at any give moment with no recourse at all.

Properties with good views often see elevated prices. But if it isn't protected by any legislations at all, the property value is as good as being built on quick sand.

I went through a similar BS in Port Moody and found out how ridiculous these view corridor laws were -- Port Moody was worse because they have NO view corridor legislations at all. I was very lucky that I got out of that property before the loss of view significantly reduced the property's value.

[Hondaracer]

The view was mostly unobstructed (from the loft skylights) at least. The laneway blocked about half the view of the master bed.

An upside here is that the houses in between you and the water are quite a bit lower so building up on an existing lot hopefully wouldn’t block it. Can’t say the same about silos and whatnot though

[Traum]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

An upside here is that the houses in between you and the water are quite a bit lower so building up on an existing lot hopefully wouldn’t block it. Can’t say the same about silos and whatnot though

I'm shxtting you not, but that's the exact thought I had when I bought my Port Moody apartment. It was at a higher elevation than the plot of land that everyone knew was going to be developed. At the time when I asked the sales agent at pre-sale, their reply was any new building would be subjected to the same height / floors requirement as this one (4 floors), and since this building is on the top of the hill, your view wouldn't get blocked.

My north facing unit with a view to the Burrard Inlet, Anmore, and the hills was noticeably more expensive than the lower floors or the south-facing units.

Little did I know at the time that Port Moody was already working on a new Official Community Plan. When the new OCP came out, it included a new zoning type that allowed for a new maximum with 6 floors (up from 4). The same developer that built my building bought the adjacent plot of land, applied for the zoning change, and lobbied hard to build 7 floors at the new site where my view would have been completely blocked. Their 7 floor proposal got shot down pretty quickly, but it took a lot of fighting from the nearby residents to bring the final building down to 5 floors. Even then, the lower half of my view would have been blocked, and my property value would lose a sizable sum due to the lost view. The floor below me have completely lost its view, and their property value would have noticeably gone down as well.

[Alpine]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Went to an open house today, an interesting prospect. House in East Van for sale with mountain/water views of the North shore for 1.8. Original is over 100 years old but reno’ed and updated

Has a large 2 bedroom with en-suite for the main living space and then a basement suite and 2 year old laneway house that get $4700 a month and up to $5400 a month outside of covid.

I didn’t love the house nor do I love having two separate tenants but pretty crazy potential for rental income and somthing I’ve been considering

IMO, it's definitely attractive from an income pov, but not attractive from a livability standpoint. Your streets will become so congested with so many families living in such close proximity... but I guess that's quite standard now in East Van where side streets are completely lined with cars.

[Gerbs]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Went to an open house today, an interesting prospect. House in East Van for sale with mountain/water views of the North shore for 1.8. Original is over 100 years old but reno’ed and updated

Has a large 2 bedroom with en-suite for the main living space and then a basement suite and 2 year old laneway house that get $4700 a month and up to $5400 a month outside of covid.

I didn’t love the house nor do I love having two separate tenants but pretty crazy potential for rental income and somthing I’ve been considering

Isn't that a pretty shitty return on 1.8m? Less than 3%.

[twitchyzero]

view of pulp mills?

[DA9ve]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Went to an open house today, an interesting prospect. House in East Van for sale with mountain/water views of the North shore for 1.8. Original is over 100 years old but reno’ed and updated

Has a large 2 bedroom with en-suite for the main living space and then a basement suite and 2 year old laneway house that get $4700 a month and up to $5400 a month outside of covid.

I didn’t love the house nor do I love having two separate tenants but pretty crazy potential for rental income and somthing I’ve been considering

Wow $4700 rent for both basement and laneway? Going price for laneway is $1850-2100 and basement $1500-2000 unfurnished for e van. I'm assuming these are furnished?

[DA9ve]

Originally Posted by Gerbs

Isn't that a pretty shitty return on 1.8m? Less than 3%.

Don't forget to factor in the primary residence on top floor you'll be living in. If you factor in renting the whole property, it's more than 3 %. I would say conservatively you can rent upstairs, basement and laneway unfurnished for $5500-6000 easily after covid is over.

Didn't do calculations but with 20% down, it might still cash flow a bit?

[Hakkaboy]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Went to an open house today, an interesting prospect. House in East Van for sale with mountain/water views of the North shore for 1.8. Original is over 100 years old but reno’ed and updated

Has a large 2 bedroom with en-suite for the main living space and then a basement suite and 2 year old laneway house that get $4700 a month and up to $5400 a month outside of covid.

I didn’t love the house nor do I love having two separate tenants but pretty crazy potential for rental income and somthing I’ve been considering

Maybe it's because I'm a "car guy", but paying $1.8M for a detached house just to have one uncovered parking spot on the property is a no bueno for me.

And then add in tenants and their own cars...yuck

I'm assuming you're talking about the house on Trinity street, right?

[S1 S2]

That's pretty much spot on. Or you can try making an offer as well.

Originally Posted by bcedhk

Am I right to assume that If I go in to a new development sales centre without a realtor, I will have a better chance of asking for discounts with the add-ons (e.g. upgrade appliance, tiling, bathtub, etc..). For reference, I am asking for the developer to waive $11k in add-on cost for a 1.3m townhome.

My understanding is that working with a realtor, you have a middle person to negotiate but I would guess that's more applicable for buying a used home or in an area with less buyer demand?

[twitchyzero]

if you happen to have $400k lying around, i wouldn't bet on 'after covid' returns collecting from 3 families

and let's say you want to also live there, dont forget it's few hundred yards from one of the busier rail traffic in town

personally if i had a choice it would be few blocks east so i can look at sunset downtown view from the heights

[Hondaracer]

The rail traffic isn’t a concern for me. I grew up in Fraser heights where my grandparents place backed into the 176th CN terminal and over a short time you become use to the sounds. Where I am currently I’m close enough to hear rail traffic from the Vancouver ports and it’s a non-factor.

That house in question is not a house I could see living in for 15-20 years so I’m not going to peruse it further. However, in my current situation if I was to pull out the equity in my current home 4700-5200 would pay my mortgage on that house while living in the main home.

I’m not thrilled about having two different tenants while living in the home (in a perfect world I’d have no tenants) however, with that type of cash flow I wouldn’t hesitate. My wife is working on getting her Portuguese citizenship and we have considered moving abroad for quite some time. If I could be getting 5500-7000 renting out the entire home while away that could float us abroad fairly nicely.

Houses in Burnaby Heights with a view of downtown are likely starting at that price point and I prefer Hastings-Sunrise to the heights there personally due to the proximity to New Brighton and Commercial Drive. I also love the view of the north shore and imo it’s a far nicer view than the majority of the north shore east of Lonsdale due to the angle of the homes and the addition of new Silos which all but remove your views of downtown completely.

I walked by a couple half duplex today closer to commercial near Templeton and they are selling for 1.4, 3br/3ba with a detached single car garage. I know it’s a $400,000 difference but to have $4500+ rental income coming in while also owning a larger than normal lot outright I think your long term outlook is far brighter

[Gerbs]

Originally Posted by DA9ve

Don't forget to factor in the primary residence on top floor you'll be living in. If you factor in renting the whole property, it's more than 3 %. I would say conservatively you can rent upstairs, basement and laneway unfurnished for $5500-6000 easily after covid is over.

Didn't do calculations but with 20% down, it might still cash flow a bit?

Ahh, didn't notice he was living upstairs.

[JDMStyo]

Originally Posted by S1 S2

That's pretty much spot on. Or you can try making an offer as well.

From my experience most major developers will not rebate the 1-2% of buying realtor fee. At best you may be able to get some of that towards a decorating allowance.

Your best bet would be to find a super good friend/realtor who can credit you back what they can after their taxes. Nothing can beat that as most developers may also have incentives/bonus on deals now.