Need some advice for buying a condo in West Vancouver...(I am sure a lot of ppl want to know about this too)

[HiFiclub]

Hello CDC,

I finally save enough and be ready to become a first time home condo buyer.

I am looking for a place that has decent location and be able to yield some capital gain by the time I sell it...probably going to live there for at least 10 years before move to a house..

I have something in mind but would like to get some advices from CDC... If you have saved up like $200k and budget around $700~800k for 2 BDR?

Would you buy one of those locations below?

1) Condo around Cambie (close by Oakridge mall or QE park)

2) UBC condos (right around the outside of the Point Grey Campus)

3) somewhere near Kerrisdale area.

Thanks in advance!

[Dazzle]

Hello CDC,

I finally save enough and be ready to become a first time home condo buyer.

I am looking for a place that has decent location and be able to yield some capital gain by the time I sell it...probably going to live there for at least 10 years before move to a house..

I have something in mind but would like to get some advices from CDC... If you have saved up like $200k and budget around $700~800k for 2 BDR?

Would you buy one of those locations below?

1) Condo around Cambie (close by Oakridge mall or QE park)

2) UBC condos (right around the outside of the Point Grey Campus)

3) somewhere near Kerrisdale area.

Thanks in advance!

You're planning to live in a condo for 10 years and you want a capital gain? You'd be lucky to break even.

All those places that you listed are in mostly dense locations, so at least you have the location advantage.

Anyhow, don't hold your breath on being able to gain much from it. Maintenance fees are very expensive, especially towards an 'older' condo.

If you're just looking for a place to live, it's fine.

[Ronalds.Kenins41]

If I were you, I wouldn't be asking CDC for advice on home sales.

I would however, get in touch with a Realtor who works in the Vancouver area. They would be better suited to answer your questions and trust me, when making a purchase as big as a home you really need to have professional advice.

[drummer4now]

If I were you, I wouldn't be asking CDC for advice on home sales.

I would however, get in touch with a Realtor who works in the Vancouver area. They would be better suited to answer your questions and trust me, when making a purchase as big as a home you really need to have professional advice.

^This

[Dazzle]

If I were you, I wouldn't be asking CDC for advice on home sales.

I would however, get in touch with a Realtor who works in the Vancouver area. They would be better suited to answer your questions and trust me, when making a purchase as big as a home you really need to have professional advice.

You don't really need a realtor to tell you 'where' to buy. Chances are, people are just scraping by to find a place to simply live.

Realtors are paid commission based on the sale, so it's better to know what you're getting into first, before contacting a realtor. You'd just otherwise be seen as a 'waste of time'.

Also, I just realized that the OP is calling 'West-end' Vancouver as "West Vancouver". They're actually two different regions with two different prices.

The place he wants is very expensive and full of condos, so if he wants a capital gain on them, he's being unrealistic.

[stexx]

one thing to keep in mind with buying near the UBC campus that even if property values drop most likely student rental prices will not. Id check what the going rental market is around UBC my guess is it would cover a 600k mortgage.

[Ronalds.Kenins41]

You don't really need a realtor to tell you 'where' to buy. Chances are, people are just scraping by to find a place to simply live.

Realtors are paid commission based on the sale, so it's better to know what you're getting into first, before contacting a realtor. You'd just otherwise be seen as a 'waste of time'.

Also, I just realized that the OP is calling 'West-end' Vancouver as "West Vancouver". They're actually two different regions with two different prices.

The place he wants is very expensive and full of condos, so if he wants a capital gain on them, he's being unrealistic.

They don't get paid until they make the sale. So until then you basically get free information.

Realtors know the market better than the average joe. They are the best people to tell you where to buy because if they work in that city, the good ones will know everything inside out.

When your buying a home and have no clue where to buy, no clue about the neighborhood it's better to pay someone who knows what they are talking about before paying loads of cash and finding out the neighborhood or home is the not the right fit for you.

I'm a thrifty guy, but I would never cheap out on this stuff.

[Tangelos]

You do know west Vancouver is Park Royal/Ambleside area right?

[YEGCanuck]

Guessing you mean the west-side of Vancouver. Given the areas of choice I would search for something new in the Kerrisdale neighbourhood.

[Monty]

If I were you, I wouldn't be asking CDC for advice on home sales.

I would however, get in touch with a Realtor who works in the Vancouver area. They would be better suited to answer your questions and trust me, when making a purchase as big as a home you really need to have professional advice.

If you are ever to listen to advice on CDC, I can't stress enough how important it is for you to listen to this one.

[Dazzle]

They don't get paid until they make the sale. So until then you basically get free information.

Realtors know the market better than the average joe. They are the best people to tell you where to buy because if they work in that city, the good ones will know everything inside out.

When your buying a home and have no clue where to buy, no clue about the neighborhood it's better to pay someone who knows what they are talking about before paying loads of cash and finding out the neighborhood or home is the not the right fit for you.

I'm a thrifty guy, but I would never cheap out on this stuff.

I'm not at all condoning the use of realtors as "free info hubs". They work hard, but so do you.

I'm not at all denying the use of a realtor. You're paying them for a reason. That being said, don't just blindly go into a realtor and hope for the best.

[McMillan]

Ok let's say you DO have 200K to buy a condo just south of 1M. Why are you buying a condo rather than a house? Yes, you will live in a hovel of a house in the Cambie area but you own land. Also you can create a basement suite to help with mortgage. Then after your 10 year plan, you tear down and rebuild.

Land will always be worth more than a condo. And if you have 1M available for property yes you can find a house in Vancouver.

[aGENT]

Ok let's say you DO have 200K to buy a condo just south of 1M. Why are you buying a condo rather than a house? Yes, you will live in a hovel of a house in the Cambie area but you own land. Also you can create a basement suite to help with mortgage. Then after your 10 year plan, you tear down and rebuild.

Land will always be worth more than a condo. And if you have 1M available for property yes you can find a house in Vancouver.

This. Condos are for suckers.

[drummer4now]

This. Condos are for suckers.

Agreed...

Buying a home or piece of land that's where the real money is.

[inane]

Yes, you won't make money on a condo, or very marginal if you do.

[Offensive Threat]

This. Condos are for suckers.

Condos used to be a good bet but they have hit a plateau that seems like its going to last for a while. I bought my old condo in the late 90s in New West and it tripled in value before I sold it in 2008 but those years of 20%+ annual rises in value are long gone. Now condo values are going up along the lines of the inflation rate of one or two percent per year.

It seems the OP is fairly young so I dont think he is interested in the constant upkeep a house requires or in becoming a landlord for the inevitable basement suite.

IF your going to buy a condo dont buy a new one. They have that same drop in value that new cars do once you drive them off the lot. Go look at places that sold new a year or two ago and the current price of resales in those buildings. The drop is real.

[aGENT]

Condos used to be a good bet but they have hit a plateau that seems like its going to last for a while. I bought my old condo in the late 90s in New West and it tripled in value before I sold it in 2008 but those years of 20%+ annual rises in value are long gone. Now condo values are going up along the lines of the inflation rate of one or two percent per year.

It seems the OP is fairly young so I dont think he is interested in the constant upkeep a house requires or in becoming a landlord for the inevitable basement suite.

IF your going to buy a condo dont buy a new one. They have that same drop in value that new cars do once you drive them off the lot. Go look at places that sold new a year or two ago and the current price of resales in those buildings. The drop is real.

And until/if we have a major market dropout and those prices have a bottom to come up from (as they did for you) they'll continue to be a poor investment.

Instead of paying condo strata fee's, hire a property manager etc to handle the "upkeep".

Condos are a horrible investment. Plain and simple. He's better of renting and wisely investing the difference if he can't/doesn't want to deal with owning actual property.

[Dion Phaneuf]

Being a property developer and builder I suggest that you don't invest in a condo. Invest in land rather than a room. The main positive about a condo is location, if that is important go for it.

The condo/townhouse market is absolutely flooded right now with developments coming up everywhere. There simply isn't enough demand leaving prices depressed. I personally don't believe in the condo market crashing nor the housing market but your profits won't be anywhere close to what people were making pre-recession. Another thing is fees or upkeep, what do you prefer?

That area is also called West End or Vancouver West not West Vancouver.

Personal preference is the Kerrisdale area or Point Grey but Oakridge is a promising neighbourhood with lots going on.

[taxi]

It's not called the "west end" either. That means the area downtown west of burrard but below Georgia.

[taxi]

It's not called the "west end" either. That means the area downtown west of burrard but below Georgia.