I feel like if you can swing it, b) might be the best option. Though if the amount isn't enough to get you a place that you can stay at without upgrading in 3-5 years then it might not be worth it. Condos don't seem to be doing as well due to covid and the strata insurance issue.

D

Tough it out. Your DT condo is a safety deposit box. Once covid passes demand for your prime location will pick up.

Sounds like the apartment is yours and doesn't include your s/o?
I'd recommend B, or A if it'll give you guys more equity to purchase something more comfortable.

Getting a second mortgage
A second mortgage is a second loan that you take on your home. You can borrow up to 80% of the appraised value of your home, minus the balance on your first mortgage.

hmm thanks guys, yeah I think will do the rounds with banks / mortgage brokers and see financially how much we could get approved for and weigh our options

Does anyone have a duplex with a high strata insurance cost? There isn't a strata council or anything, just 2 families in 1 duplex.


In East Van, Duplex, the strata property insurance is $3,550 (×50% = $1,775) which seems really high. This doesn't even include the personal contents and assets insurance.
Is this normal? Are the Condo Strata premiums skyrockets also affecting non-conforming strata duplexes??

What sort of properties are you looking to pick up with the SO?

I can't pretend I am super familiar with the market right now, but I seem to think that detached is hotter while strata properties are not.

With that in mind:

A) As long as you are not planning on moving into a house (detached home), I don't think selling at a loss would be an issue. The thing is, while your assessed value has dropped a bit, the assessed value of the (strata) property that you are eyeing has also dropped. So the difference isn't really that big.

B) If you can swing this, it'll be great. And remember, it is you and your SO's combined income, along with the expected income from the rental unit (ie. your current 1-br unit) that counts as your income for the mortgage application.

I would not do C or D.

I was in the same situation as you as my 1 bedroom unit is too small for me and my partner as well. Would you be open to go with pre-sale units?

I took out a second mortgage for the down payment but the new place will be built in a couple years. It's something that we are willing to contend with as it gives us more time to save up.

It's already so hard to save money so I wouldn't just sell it at a 100k loss when the markets will rebound.

Agree that I would not do C or D either. My preference is A. When you're talking about selling at a loss, is that relative to the highwater mark of the assessment history or relative to what you paid for? The trend isn't looking bright for condo's, downtown included. Sure you can keep holding and let's say in two years you've recouped your losses. If the places you were looking to upgrade have risen way higher, opportunity cost not worth it in my opinion.

D - wait Is she your wife or girlfriend?

Despite the drop in this year's assessments, prices are trending upwards, and based on experience, many places are selling close to, or in many cases, above last year's assessed values. I've still seen at least a handful of properties that were sold at losses compared to when they bought in 2016/2017 so as long as you didn't overpay, you'll still come out on top.

On a personal note, prices in our building have already gone up in the 2 months since we've accepted an offer as well as on the new place we're hopefully moving into.

Maybe b or c. Who's on title right now? Is your partners income alone enough to swing the larger place you want to buy? Or do you both have to go in maxed out. If you are the only one on title right now and can afford the heloc, get one and maybe see how much your partner can borrow, then you use funds from the heloc as additional funds.

But it really depends what are you buying, are you going from one bed to two? Or town house, duplex, detached?

How much cash do you have as down payment for the new place right now?

Man.. my friend came to me.. asking for help.

Daughter wants to go back to school, but that means she will get no help from the daughter with mortgage payment.....

I said.. either you rent out the room or you air bnb... When you over leverage and you see a hiccup... it becomes tough... I'm assuming it's a 700k place, 900 sqft ? so even if it's just 400-600 dollars.. its tough on them financially.

Man.. my friend came to me.. asking for help.

Daughter wants to go back to school, but that means she will get no help from the daughter with mortgage payment.....

I said.. either you rent out the room or you air bnb... When you over leverage and you see a hiccup... it becomes tough... I'm assuming it's a 700k place, 900 sqft ? so even if it's just 400-600 dollars.. its tough on them financially.

^^ student loans? I mean there's still ways to make money as a student if you have to :ifyouknow::pokerface: Uber, Amazon delivery driver, all in on Tesla??? Profit

What

:seriously::suspicious:

Just reading a few comments above with regards to ‘finance a second mortgage’ , ‘heloc to buy another property? I’m fairly new to these terms can someone explain in layman’s terms and what the interest rates would be?

^ on top of your regular mtg loan, you are getting a second line of credit secured to your property. Usually up to a maximum value including your mortgage of up to 80% of your property's value if you can afford it. Interest rate will usually be your lenders prime rate +x%, usually higher the limit, the larger the discount. You can also choose to lock in the extra amount borrowed into a fixed mortgage loan that will be paid off in usually 25 or 30y. In this case the rates should be same as whatever the mortgage rates are

Not difficult in my experience. I’m sure some can take advantage of you but I’ve had good stress free results using a management company. They send me an email with any issues, give me 3 quotes if something needs fixing if it’s over a certain amount and then line up having an appliance installed or a deck railing repaired etc. They can handle all showings and you can set your criteria for tenants. After all they work for you and generally have an idea who the local scumbags are.

As a ballpark figure in the okanagan I would say roughly $600-$700 per room in a house with suite. 3br upstairs suite $1800-2100, 2br basement suite $1200-1400. Many variables of course but that’s usually what I base things on for an average house.

Does anyone have a recommendation for drywall repairs?

I'm looking to get some cracks and nail pops repaired from the house being settled.

I get the feeling Hondaracer is going to tell me it's super easy to do and that I should DIY. I'm just not sure I'm comfortable doing this amount of work and having it look like poop afterwards.

Problem with drywall is there is a bit of a feel to it that comes with experience. Not to say it’s not easy but it can get messy quick. There are a million great YouTube tutorials though using products you can get at any Home Depot etc.

Issue with minor cracks and nail pops is to get someone out these days you’re gonna pay out the ass for work that takes very little time or effort, if you’re able to get Somone at all

Drywalling is definitely a skilled craft.
But for something minor like pops or small cracks, it doesn't take much skill. Just make sure you use a lightweight compound. If you get a heavy filler the paint will peel and flake it off.
Less is more. You don't want most of it ending up in the air and all over everything from sanding.

It really only gets tricky when you get into replacing sections and taping.

Watch some tutorials CRS and go buy some mud and a couple little trowels and give it a shot imo. Worst case you wasted $30 best case you feel confident enough to do all your repairs.

The problem with little repairs is the “flashing” once you’ve repaired and painted you can see the repair at certain angles if you don’t repaint larger sections around the repair.

^ and if you don't have extra paint already make sure you buy the same finish. Accidentally buying gloss when you needed eggshell will *really* stand out.

Buy a small piece of drywall at Home Depot, bang it up so it looks like the stuff you want to repair, and practice on it. Then when you've got the hang of it fix your actual walls.

The good news is this is generally a low risk repair, so even if you royally mess things up (which is unlikely) you can always repair it fairly easily and cheaply. If you were asking about things like plumbing or electrical (which when things go wrong, could cost $$$$) then I'd say best not to DIY if you aren't confident.

I'm one of the least handy persons out there and still managed to repair a large hole in the drywall following some youtube videos. It's not perfect, but it was free.

While on the topic of tutorials, a great channel to check out is 'home renovision'.
He covers pretty much anything and everything on a property with great explanation, yet to the point. And he's Canadian so most of the products he uses are available locally, plus his renovation/repairs take into account our Canadian climate.

Even if you're not planning a repair/renovation, there's a ton of great info to gain knowledge to give you confidence for things in the future.