Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[6thGear.]

Originally Posted by Eff-1

I am also guessing the high strata fees are related to the RD Energy rates for heat and water are much higher?

Plus with RD being on a floodplain, I would guess insurance rates are high, which is typically a large portion of a strata fee. Is that your experience as well?

RDE charge to our building is roughly $430k based on 4 buildings in our strata. Thermal energy charge is $44.97 per MW.h

For our insurance, I'll have to dig up 2024 insurance summery to compare to 2025, especially to compare flood deductible and cost difference but our water damage and sewer backup deductibles did double from previous year.

Originally Posted by noclue

From what I heard River district has a ton of bugs which of course brings lots of spiders, smell of compost depending on wind and the occasional freight train.

Ton's of bugs...maybe on the back trail right at the Fraser River, but it's not like the whole area is swarming infested with bugs. Smell of compost, I'd say i get a bigger whiff when crossing Knight bridge, never noticed any funky smell around the neighborhood or maybe I'm just used to it? The train tracks have also been decommisioned for some time now, maybe 3 years?

[carsncars]

Originally Posted by 6thGear.

The train tracks have also been decommisioned for some time now, maybe 3 years?

Freight train sounds can't be worse than Brentwood... it's pretty loud in the towers around that slightly hidden rail line (esp. with the towers around Madison).

[EvoFire]

IIRC RD is supposed to be recollected waste heat from the incinerator down in the Fraser Foreshore industrial area.

A train still comes along every now and then, I can hear the horn, usually at 11pm at night. I'm a bit up the hill but I don't know how it is lower and closer to it.

[6thGear.]

BOC holds rate today

[JDMDreams]

Needs more unemployment

[Badhobz]

Originally Posted by EvoFire

IIRC RD is supposed to be recollected waste heat from the incinerator down in the Fraser Foreshore industrial area.

A train still comes along every now and then, I can hear the horn, usually at 11pm at night. I'm a bit up the hill but I don't know how it is lower and closer to it.

[EvoFire]

Originally Posted by Badhobz

When was the last time you touched a horn intimately? Go back to you cushy office desk job.

[Badhobz]

Everyday

[zetazeta]

Originally Posted by zetazeta

Yep that's exactly what our plan is. We can afford the new place even if we fire sale our current home for significantly under market value. Got an open house this weekend so fingers crossed we get an offer we can pounce on!

We ran the numbers with our mortgage broker thanks to the suggestion from EvoFire and in the worst case scenario where selling doesn't make sense, we would be able to afford both places if we rent the first place out.

Subject removal for the sale of our unit is tomorrow... fingers crossed!

[JDMDreams]

Did you put an offer on the place you want

[Badhobz]

Originally Posted by JDMDreams

Did you put an offer on the place you want

no, he put in an offer on a place he fucking hates.

[JDMDreams]

People on here love buying shit they eventually hate, cough BMW falling apart, beetles always in the shop for warranty.

[bcrdukes]

Badhobz - He's not wrong, you know.

[zetazeta]

Originally Posted by zetazeta

Subject removal for the sale of our unit is tomorrow... fingers crossed!

Subjects removed on both places - sale of our unit and purchase of our next home! Appreciate everyone's tips and advice.

Onto the next thing... renovation! We plan to renovate the townhouse before we move in, anyone got any recommendations, things to look out for, tips/advice? First time doing any of this.

For those that have done renovations in the past... for a basic-ish renovation to modernize the place without anything too fancy, how much did it cost for the kitchen? washroom(s)?

[SSM_DC5]

Good effing luck! Lower your standards! Perfection does not exist. Expect half decent work. Prepare to be raped with extra charges too as the project goes on.

[Hondaracer]

Originally Posted by zetazeta

Subjects removed on both places - sale of our unit and purchase of our next home! Appreciate everyone's tips and advice.

Onto the next thing... renovation! We plan to renovate the townhouse before we move in, anyone got any recommendations, things to look out for, tips/advice? First time doing any of this.

For those that have done renovations in the past... for a basic-ish renovation to modernize the place without anything too fancy, how much did it cost for the kitchen? washroom(s)?

Both kitchen and washroom starting point is like 20-30k

I did my entire kitchen myself outside of cutting and mounting the counter top and it was 30k.

[unit]

Originally Posted by zetazeta

Subjects removed on both places - sale of our unit and purchase of our next home! Appreciate everyone's tips and advice.

Onto the next thing... renovation! We plan to renovate the townhouse before we move in, anyone got any recommendations, things to look out for, tips/advice? First time doing any of this.

For those that have done renovations in the past... for a basic-ish renovation to modernize the place without anything too fancy, how much did it cost for the kitchen? washroom(s)?

if you want really basic in the bathroom you can get quotes for like 15-20k, but cant speak on the quality.
i even had a quote for 11k for my bathroom 2 years ago, but we went with a more trusted but far more expensive option.
dont really regret it but just depends on your level of picky.
also i cant imagine that for 11k they would have included fixing anything that they found was sus at all along the way such as water damage, extra electrical work, walls out of plumb, etc..
my best advice is if you like using a bidet, put an outlet next to the toilet now.

[roastpuff]

Originally Posted by zetazeta

Subjects removed on both places - sale of our unit and purchase of our next home! Appreciate everyone's tips and advice.

Onto the next thing... renovation! We plan to renovate the townhouse before we move in, anyone got any recommendations, things to look out for, tips/advice? First time doing any of this.

For those that have done renovations in the past... for a basic-ish renovation to modernize the place without anything too fancy, how much did it cost for the kitchen? washroom(s)?

Like what is a basic-ish renovation? We redid our kitchen (new [custom] cabinets, new appliances, new countertop) and total cost was like 30-35k plus we did the demo work ourselves/prep work on the walls. Not counting electrical work that we had to do to get the place up to code.

Same with the bathroom. Full gut = 35-40k after DIY demo and DIY cementboard/water resistent drywall. Paid for plumber to do some updating work/install the new tub toilet etc and tile guy to do tile. New fixtures/bathtub/cabinets etc.

Things to look out for - don't let scope creep get you and build a lot of slack in your schedule as some trades guys can be overly optimistic on when they're showing up/how long it will take.

Also way easier to do when you're not living in the place. Try to get it done before moving in.

[EvoFire]

Originally Posted by zetazeta

Subjects removed on both places - sale of our unit and purchase of our next home! Appreciate everyone's tips and advice.

Onto the next thing... renovation! We plan to renovate the townhouse before we move in, anyone got any recommendations, things to look out for, tips/advice? First time doing any of this.

For those that have done renovations in the past... for a basic-ish renovation to modernize the place without anything too fancy, how much did it cost for the kitchen? washroom(s)?

Congrats, now you get to the real hard part.

I would go through the home and see what really bothers vs what is nice to have and prioritize those things. Somethings go hand in hand such as kitchen counter and backsplash.

If the strata allows it, I'd budget the 20-30k for a minisplit heatpump system. Comfort in the summer, and lower energy costs in the winter. You will likely not make the cost back through energy savings but the comfort in the summer will be worth it. Probably one of our biggest QoL upgrade.

[6793026]

Make sure you budget 10% on after cost on stuff you didn't anticaipate.
i have a bidet and it was great to get an extra outlet on the lower part of the house.

was it necessary? NOt really, just run an extension cable and hide it well.

we full gut so we have 2 outlets on both left and right side of our sink which was great.
(and then an outlet lower right by toilet bowl for bidet)

[unit]

we put an outlet in our medicine cabinet just to charge and store our toothbrushes. great decision lol.

[zetazeta]

Originally Posted by roastpuff

Like what is a basic-ish renovation? We redid our kitchen (new [custom] cabinets, new appliances, new countertop) and total cost was like 30-35k plus we did the demo work ourselves/prep work on the walls. Not counting electrical work that we had to do to get the place up to code.

Same with the bathroom. Full gut = 35-40k after DIY demo and DIY cementboard/water resistent drywall. Paid for plumber to do some updating work/install the new tub toilet etc and tile guy to do tile. New fixtures/bathtub/cabinets etc.

Things to look out for - don't let scope creep get you and build a lot of slack in your schedule as some trades guys can be overly optimistic on when they're showing up/how long it will take.

Also way easier to do when you're not living in the place. Try to get it done before moving in.

I guess TLDR is that we're not looking for any structural changes in any way, everything as-is in the current spots but just modernizing it. It is a 20 year old townhouse that we are purchasing and we would be ecstatic to get it to look like the 7 year old condo that we just sold. There are things that we would love to do like moving the sinks/stoves but that would be way too expensive for our budget. Easier to just keep it as-is. As for the washrooms, similar deal, just tryna make it look less dated. We plan to keep the tub and just replacing/updating the shower, and the countertops/sinks and maybe refinishing the existing cabinets. Haven't done any research into this yet, but will spend time from now until closing to learn as much as we can.

We are planning to rent a short term place for ~6 months during the renovations.

Originally Posted by EvoFire

Congrats, now you get to the real hard part.

I would go through the home and see what really bothers vs what is nice to have and prioritize those things. Somethings go hand in hand such as kitchen counter and backsplash.

If the strata allows it, I'd budget the 20-30k for a minisplit heatpump system. Comfort in the summer, and lower energy costs in the winter. You will likely not make the cost back through energy savings but the comfort in the summer will be worth it. Probably one of our biggest QoL upgrade.

thankfully the previous owner had AC installed and in the inspection it looked good for now, might need some replacements in a few years.


Anyone have a good renovator they went with and want to recommend?

[TOS'd]

Just remember, there is a right way to do renos and then there is a "right way" to do renos in regards to Management and Condo/Townhouse Board for approval (if required).

I just finished dealing with 2 separate washroom renos (2 different buildings), one was easy while the other was really strict on following all of the renovation rules.

[unit]

if you want to keep the tub and tile surround for the shower, big savings there. new shower door, floor, toilet, same size vanity, etc... shouldn't be too crazy since they dont have to gut the whole bathroom.

[EvoFire]

Originally Posted by zetazeta

I guess TLDR is that we're not looking for any structural changes in any way, everything as-is in the current spots but just modernizing it. It is a 20 year old townhouse that we are purchasing and we would be ecstatic to get it to look like the 7 year old condo that we just sold. There are things that we would love to do like moving the sinks/stoves but that would be way too expensive for our budget. Easier to just keep it as-is. As for the washrooms, similar deal, just tryna make it look less dated. We plan to keep the tub and just replacing/updating the shower, and the countertops/sinks and maybe refinishing the existing cabinets. Haven't done any research into this yet, but will spend time from now until closing to learn as much as we can.

We are planning to rent a short term place for ~6 months during the renovations.




thankfully the previous owner had AC installed and in the inspection it looked good for now, might need some replacements in a few years.


Anyone have a good renovator they went with and want to recommend?

I have some time right now so I'll play.

IMO some of the HEAVY hitters in terms of aesthetics that can make a HUGE difference without a lot of cost

- Bathroom fixtures (towel racks, faucets)
- Ceiling finish (a 20 yr old townhouse should have popcorn ceilings, getting it leveled would be a huge deal, but labour intensive)
- Cabinet colour
- Door hardware
- Wall colour fixture colour (plugs, switches, and plates)
- Painting the doors (! most older places the door finishing has yellowed, and simply a new coat of paint makes a world of difference)
- Lighting
- Baseboard heater colour (huge one surprisingly, I did it myself. Cost was reasonable but again very labour intensive)
- Baseboard design, doorframe and window framing (questionable as it's very labour intensive)
- Window coverings

I don't know how the mission critical things are with the townhouse, but if the water tank is >7-8 years old, I'd get it replaced while the place is being torn up for renos. All in I'd have all the functional stuff dealt with first, and especially things that are hard to do once you are moved in such as flooring/tiling, plumbing, and even electrical (adding plugs, updating things)

EDIT: to follow TOS'd's point. Our townhouse was super lax on things and they didn't care what we did. Some places are super anal. The aesthetic things I listed though shouldn't require approval from strata.