Finally in a position where i can purchase a condo on single income. End unit in a building I like took 2 months to sell and sold beginning of April for 12% under asking (355k (White Rock)). Second unit comes up, non end unit, older appliances, smaller by 120 sqft. Sells for 450k four weeks after the end unit sold.
Man this market is so hard to predict and I literally can't outbid some of these offers with what my preapproval is. Forever renting i guess
carsncars
05-12-2021 10:46 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by twitchyzero
(Post 9026962)
few of my hs teachers were tupper grads and said it used to fare better (in the 2000s a student was beaten to death, the suspect was from my school)
now i work in the area and see a fair number in tech, medicine etc.
wouldn't be surprised if it's a pretty decent school now
Barring properly bad schools (i.e. unsafe), I don't think going to a lower-ranked school is going to hold back students that are driven and academically inclined. Family values/upbringing (and genetics) are probably the primary drivers of that. I went to a school that doesn't rank well - Centennial in Coquitlam - and had a solid experience overall. Many of my peers have gone on to be traditionally successful in their careers.
Anecdotally, my UBC med class had students from all over, including some of the "worst" high schools in Metro Van (QE in Surrey). Was there a disproportionate number of people from WPG, University Hill, etc.? Yeah, but I suspect that's more to do with their family environments being one that value education/career, and in having opportunities that come with higher SES - e.g. not having to work part-time, being able to study, volunteering, and so on. I don't think they were any smarter for it, although I may be biased.
I think where the lower-ranked schools perhaps do lag is in support for students who are struggling, or need extra resources - in that case, yes, there are tangible differences (funding availability, bandwidth/energy from teachers, etc.). I've had friends and family members struggle in some public schools (e.g. learning disability, behavioural problems) and do better in a setting that affords them more attention.
ntan
05-12-2021 11:06 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by 68style
(Post 9026944)
You must only know shady or crazy hustling ones then cuz most of them don’t give up a dime, some of my friends flip condos and did like 10+ deals with their realtor and never got anything back
Lol definitely not shady realtors. I'm surprised it's not more common... I actually thought it was the norm.
quasi
05-13-2021 05:54 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by 68style
(Post 9026944)
You must only know shady or crazy hustling ones then cuz most of them don’t give up a dime, some of my friends flip condos and did like 10+ deals with their realtor and never got anything back
Yeah, I've never got a dime back. My last Realtor didn't even give me a case a beer nothing and he did the sale and the purchase they avg around 1m each.
Hopefully I die before having to move again because selling and buying is not a fun experience and moving sucks.
roastpuff
05-13-2021 07:52 AM
I think the ones that give kickback tend to be Asian. Not that I've sold/bought that many places...
For my sale, I got a nice fruit basket and pretty large Costco gift card. Same realtor, I used her for my purchase, which went way quicker, I got a cheque and some beer/wine/chocolate.
bcedhk
05-13-2021 07:53 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by ntan
(Post 9026969)
Lol definitely not shady realtors. I'm surprised it's not more common... I actually thought it was the norm.
I feel like realtors don't want to give kickbacks unless you bargain for it because they don't want to sound desperate. I had to bargain with my realtor for a kick back and her condition was that we must use her to sell and buy our place to get $5k back. Alternatively, she offered a renovation credit if we used her only as the agent for our home purchase.
Hondaracer
05-13-2021 07:54 AM
Time to totally overhaul the R/e system
How can anyone think it’s logical to pay Somone 25/50k for the amount of work that goes into listing and selling a house. It’s probably the most inequitable profession/transaction system out there lol
quasi
05-13-2021 07:57 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hondaracer
(Post 9026984)
Time to totally overhaul the R/e system
How can anyone think it’s logical to pay Somone 25/50k for the amount of work that goes into listing and selling a house. It’s probably the most inequitable profession/transaction system out there lol
Especially for the education it takes to do that job, it's on par with the guy that sells you auto parts or the secretary at the Doctors office.
ntan
05-13-2021 08:26 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by roastpuff
(Post 9026982)
I think the ones that give kickback tend to be Asian. Not that I've sold/bought that many places...
For my sale, I got a nice fruit basket and pretty large Costco gift card. Same realtor, I used her for my purchase, which went way quicker, I got a cheque and some beer/wine/chocolate.
Yeah I've always dealt w/ Asian realtors. I too think it's bs to expect such a big % on RE given the prices here. My friends were able to get kickback % as well when I referred the realtor as well.
Hondaracer
05-13-2021 08:33 AM
Lol I’ve got a “kickback” story.. so my dad is good friends with many builders. My grandparents were looking at a house in Clayton heights and my dad essentially had a deal in principle with the builder to buy one of his homes. However, he needed a realtor to complete the transaction
So he reached out to a realtor he had contacted previously who was actually a loosely related family friend (my uncle went to school with his wife, as well, myself and one of my siblings had her for our elementary school teacher)
My dad laid it out saying look, I’ve done all the work, I’ve done the deal, we’ve already come to agreement on the price, we just need you to sign the papers etc. For us. On my dads side (who, to his credit is a VERY clear, concise, person) he basically told this realtor that he take a portion of the commission but kick a good chunk of it back to my grandparents as he did almost nothing.
At the end of the day this realtor took about 9k of commission off this sale, and my grandparents got a $600 cheque in the mail..
Ch28
05-13-2021 09:32 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hondaracer
(Post 9026990)
My dad laid it out saying look, I’ve done all the work, I’ve done the deal, we’ve already come to agreement on the price, we just need you to sign the papers etc. For us. On my dads side (who, to his credit is a VERY clear, concise, person) he basically told this realtor that he take a portion of the commission but kick a good chunk of it back to my grandparents as he did almost nothing.
At the end of the day this realtor took about 9k of commission off this sale, and my grandparents got a $600 cheque in the mail..
Am I missing something here?
If your dad laid it out that the realtor only gets a small portion because he's just signing a few documents then how come your grandparents got screwed out of the majority of the commission?
Spoon
05-13-2021 09:41 AM
Probably a verbal contract and it's hard to hold up in a court of law.
Hondaracer
05-13-2021 09:42 AM
Because that was the interpretation the R/E took as a his share
They didn’t necessarily come to a value amount as my dad thought given previous relationship they wouldn’t have to (obviously his fault in hindsight) but given he did literally nothing and took 90%+ of the commission and thought $600 would be an adequate share for spending less than a couple hours signing documents, goes to show how much realtors respect personal relationships or really personal honour lol..
To top this off this wasn’t a guy who was hurting for business or money, this guy was a 25+ year well known realtor
hud 91gt
05-13-2021 09:58 AM
May I ask why he used a realtor at all?
The real reason to use a realtor is to put the liability on them, in reality that’s what your paying for.
Hondaracer
05-13-2021 10:02 AM
Don’t recall the circumstances. But I believe it may have been that at the time the builder/developer did not have a sales team so they needed Somone to write the deal
This was 10+ years ago now or so
hud 91gt
05-13-2021 10:04 AM
Yeah ok that makes sense. A company wouldn’t write without a licensed realtor. Once again, liabilities.
How can anyone think it’s logical to pay Somone 25/50k for the amount of work that goes into listing and selling a house. It’s probably the most inequitable profession/transaction system out there lol
I remember back in the mid 90s when my parents knew realtors and it was a tough job since it was all comission; you really had to hustle to make a decent living even with all the HK people moving over here. How times have changed, and the system hasn't adapted to the new environment.
Eff-1
05-14-2021 11:49 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by PeanutButter
(Post 9027056)
Can you explain this? I don't get it.
When principle skinner got fired, they gave him "an extremely generous severance package"
It was a fruit basket lol. And he called out how the valencia oranges aren't even good for eating, they are typically used for juicing.
Ludepower
05-14-2021 08:15 PM
Always negotiate kickbacks when choosing a realtor. My realtor gave me a 50% kickback on his commission for a presale condo. It's frowned upon amongst realtors but they all do it.
Gumby
05-14-2021 11:31 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bonka
(Post 9026904)
Christ..
332 East 23rd Av across from Livingstone Elementary just sold over ask $4,000,000.
Realtor Danny Nikas thought that they might be pushing it, listing an east side property on a 33-foot-lot for almost $3.6-million. But the seller, who’s experienced in real estate, insisted on the price. They ended up setting a Vancouver record.
The seller had purchased an old house at 332 E. 23rd Ave., on the east side of Main, and in 2020, built a new 2,900 square-foot home with laneway house. Although it’s only a standard 33- by-122-foot-lot without much in the way of yard space or landscaping, and some mountain views, the seller knew that there was a market for it.
The seller insisted that they wait two weeks to look at offers. After two weeks on the market, the property sold Monday night for $4-million – the highest price paid for a house on a 33-foot-lot on Vancouver’s east side, says Mr. Nikas.
They received three offers, all over the asking price of $3.588-million. One offer was slightly higher than $4-million.
“I had so many calls the next two days from realtors, calling and saying, ‘I heard a rumour, is this true? Four million dollars?’ One realtor said, ‘that’s a record that will never get broken.’ It will get broken – eventually.”
All the offers came from millennial age buyers with young kids. All offers were subject free and were made with a bank draft deposit. The winning offer came from Canadians who’d been working in Seattle and sold a house there, and that gave them the edge, says Mr. Nikas. Mr. Nikas felt that the couple with the American money would be less risky.
“Four million to them is kind of like $3-million, if you know what I mean. Whereas I’m worried that if we go with the other offer, I’m worried that in a month a bank might do an appraisal and if comes in at $3.6-million there will be a $400,000 shortfall and will they be able to complete in August?”
Mr. Nikas says the market is changing, and for those who are borrowing, there could be a risk if bank appraisals come in lower by the time they need that mortgage.
“I’ve been hearing stories,” he says. “Many homes are selling over asking, $300,000 or $500,000 over asking. A few of the higher priced homes I’ve heard, they are not appraising out at what people are buying them for. So there’s a shortfall somewhere, and it makes it challenging for someone to complete three months later. I brought that up [with the seller], that it could be a concern.”
“[But] I thought … if they sold their house in Seattle with U.S. dollars, they are buying in Canadian dollars, so they have that extra money. That was the reason I suggested we go with that offer, and they agreed.”
The sale sets a record as the highest sale price of a 33-foot property on the east side. Mr. Nikas had set another record last November when he sold a five-bedroom character house around the corner on a 33-foot-lot at 285 E. 24th Ave. It was listed at $2.850-million and sold for $3.3-million. That sale had attracted the attention of the seller on East 23rd Ave., who believed he could sell his new house for $4-million, despite Mr. Nikas’s doubts.
“He was confident, and this is why: from the beginning he told me, if you want a new house with a laneway house, there is no inventory. The cost of lumber has gone up so much for building that it’s going to cost anyone to build the same house today way more than it did two years ago. So he knew if people do their research on what it costs to buy a lot and build, $4-million is not out of line. His crystal ball was accurate.”
The seller, who declined an interview, lived in the house with his young family but decided to sell for financial reasons. BC Assessment shows that the property was sold in May 2018 for $1.7 million. As of July 2020, the home was assessed at $2.469 million.
“This was their forever home, but the dynamics had changed. He felt financially pressured with a high mortgage, and thought, ‘is it better to live in a more modest home without the pressure of a big mortgage?’”
Mr. Nikas says the plan is to buy a more modest home and use their extra money to buy a recreational property. The seller owns other properties, he said.
Mr. Nikas lives in Dunbar on the west side, but people are choosing the vibrancy of Main Street over his quiet, bucolic area.
“The Main street pocket is more vibrant, and it’s very central, whether going east, west, north or south, any direction. And Vancouver has gotten worse with traffic over years so when you are in Dunbar you are so far west it takes you so much further to get anywhere, whereas with Main Street, you are almost at the epicentre. And there are more young families, more vibrant of a community. Certain people bought in Dunbar and Point Grey in the last 10 or 15 years, and it doesn’t have a vibrant community feel; it’s very quiet. For me, I like it because at eight o’clock it’s quiet. There are no transient people looking for bottles, and it’s edgier by Commercial Drive or Main Street, in the evenings. But people do like that vibrant walkability of Main Street to get to shops and restaurants, and stuff.
“Right now Douglas Park and Main Street pockets are out-pricing Dunbar and Point Grey, which historically used to be the highest values.
“In Dunbar/Point Grey, new houses on 33 [foot lots] are not selling for $4-million.”
Mr. Nikas believes that low inventory and low interest rates are driving the market, as well as some buyers who are trying to buy before changes on June 1 that will make the mortgage stress test tougher.
He’s noticed that there’s increasing inventory, so it’s becoming more of a balanced market than a total seller’s market.
Realtor Patricia Houlihan, who specializes in the Northshore market, called the price “ridiculous.”
“I think the problem is, some people don’t realize how grossly they are over paying, and that’s a bit scary,” says Ms. Houlihan, who is also a lawyer.
She says that the market is changing and she’s advising her clients to ask for a short closing date, and to rent back the property if necessary. If the appraisal comes in lower than the accepted price, then a buyer might have to come up with a bigger down payment. And she’s heard of buyers who put in high offers with the expectation that they can always walk away from it if they can’t get financing.
“You need it to close now. There’s a very good chance the market will significantly change in the next three to six months, so if you have a three-month closing your buyer may not be able to complete.
However, she says that there are many low-risk local buyers who are paying cash and fully prepared to go through with the sale.
“A lot of buyers are paying cash, have their financing ready to go, and have already sold, and they are no more risky than someone out of the country. When dealing with multiple offers, you’ve got to know who the buyers are and what their situation is, because the market could change on a dime.”
Realtor Cheryl Steer sold a bungalow recently at 3193 West 28th Ave., in the MacKenzie Heights neighbourhood on the west side, for $3.1-million, which was $500,000 over the asking price. The older house, which sold after seven days, sits on a large corner lot, in an area that had at one time been considered far more expensive than any part of the east side. Ms. Steer grew up in MacKenzie Heights.
“We did see the east side go up significantly in price, whereas some of the sub areas on the east side became more expensive than on the west side,” says Ms. Steer. “The Main area in particular is really hot. Anywhere on that Main corridor is just so sought after. And I can understand why – it’s because you’re close to transit and there are so many restaurants and shops, it has become a destination. In Dunbar, and along certain parts of Broadway, Fourth, and Tenth Avenue, you are seeing businesses failing all the time. And it’s further from transit, and also I feel over the past little bit, that downsizers have crept east probably because their kids are [living] out that way. There’s more action over there.
“The east side has become what the west side was when I was growing up.”
