The BC Real Estate Discussion Thread

[WeneedLumme]

6 hours ago, WilliG said:

What advice would I give to first-time home buyers? Depending on your area, search for any permits pulled on the house for construction. This is all public record.

Where do you live that first-time home buyers can actually buy a house? And why do you think it is so important to check the permits?

 

Unless it is a new or newer house that appears to have very sketchy construction quality, or has a dubious looking addition, in which case why would you want to buy it at all?

 

I can think of many things I would want to check before buying a house, like roof, drain tiles, plumbing, electrical, oil tank, etc, but for most houses checking the permits would be well down the list.

Edited February 16, 2023 by WeneedLumme

[taxi]

7 hours ago, WeneedLumme said:

Where do you live that first-time home buyers can actually buy a house? And why do you think it is so important to check the permits?

 

Unless it is a new or newer house that appears to have very sketchy construction quality, or has a dubious looking addition, in which case why would you want to buy it at all?

 

I can think of many things I would want to check before buying a house, like roof, drain tiles, plumbing, electrical, oil tank, etc, but for most houses checking the permits would be well down the list.

In Vancouver, it's not a bad idea. Lots of unauthorized additions and renovations.

 

When we were buying about 2 years ago, we viewed a house that looked fantastic.  The only problem  was the real estate agent told us that the back 1/3 of the house was an illegal addition, that the city had become aware of. The owners had applied for an Air BnB permit, which authorized the city to do an inspection. They found the unauthorized add on and demanded it's removal. The cost was going to be in the $300k range, as the add on had been built into the structure of the existing house. 

 

The current owners were totally unaware of the illegal add on.

[WeneedLumme]

6 hours ago, taxi said:

In Vancouver, it's not a bad idea. Lots of unauthorized additions and renovations.

 

When we were buying about 2 years ago, we viewed a house that looked fantastic.  The only problem  was the real estate agent told us that the back 1/3 of the house was an illegal addition, that the city had become aware of. The owners had applied for an Air BnB permit, which authorized the city to do an inspection. They found the unauthorized add on and demanded it's removal. The cost was going to be in the $300k range, as the add on had been built into the structure of the existing house. 

 

The current owners were totally unaware of the illegal add on.

Certainly if there is an addition you should check the permit. Additions are almost always visible if you look at the house closely, which of course you should do before buying.

[Fanuck]

Anyone here live in a townhouse?

Is it correct that the provincial government lifted all restrictions on rentals province-wide?  Asking for a friend  -  really,  he's looking around right now and wants to rent it out to extended family. 

[UFCanuck]

6 hours ago, Fanuck said:

Anyone here live in a townhouse?

Is it correct that the provincial government lifted all restrictions on rentals province-wide?  Asking for a friend  -  really,  he's looking around right now and wants to rent it out to extended family. 

Are you the friend?

 

 

The amendment to the Strata Act, passed last November, eliminated all rental restriction bylaws, except those banning short-term rentals, and all age restriction bylaws, except those for “seniors only” (55-plus) buildings.

 

https://globalnews.ca/news/9403438/some-b-c-stratas-considering-55-plus-age-restrictions-amid-rental-restriction-ban/amp/

 

 

 

[Elias Pettersson]

On 2/25/2023 at 11:28 PM, Fanuck said:

Anyone here live in a townhouse?

Is it correct that the provincial government lifted all restrictions on rentals province-wide?  Asking for a friend  -  really,  he's looking around right now and wants to rent it out to extended family. 

Yes everything was lifted province wide. Only restrictions are short term rentals less than 30 days, basically Airbnb, and 55+ housing. 
 

If a strata corporation does not have its bylaws updated then you can just ignore those bylaws as they are no longer valid under the law and will be successfully challenged in any lawsuit. 

[Kootenay Gold]

On 2/16/2023 at 8:32 AM, WeneedLumme said:

Where do you live that first-time home buyers can actually buy a house? And why do you think it is so important to check the permits?

 

Unless it is a new or newer house that appears to have very sketchy construction quality, or has a dubious looking addition, in which case why would you want to buy it at all?

 

I can think of many things I would want to check before buying a house, like roof, drain tiles, plumbing, electrical, oil tank, etc, but for most houses checking the permits would be well down the list.

The hiring of a certified home inspector is well worth the price as they can pick out many things that the average homeowner might miss. A good inspector will give you a detailed list of what he has found. PS: Only have this done if you are reasonably certain this is the home you want and in the last stages of actually buying it. If the current owner will not let the inspector check the place out  before you put pen to paper; you should look for a different home.

[I.Am.Ironman]

28 minutes ago, Kootenay Gold said:

The hiring of a certified home inspector is well worth the price as they can pick out many things that the average homeowner might miss. A good inspector will give you a detailed list of what he has found. PS: Only have this done if you are reasonably certain this is the home you want and in the last stages of actually buying it. If the current owner will not let the inspector check the place out  before you put pen to paper; you should look for a different home.

How much do home inspectors typically cost?

[WeneedLumme]

28 minutes ago, Kootenay Gold said:

The hiring of a certified home inspector is well worth the price as they can pick out many things that the average homeowner might miss. A good inspector will give you a detailed list of what he has found. PS: Only have this done if you are reasonably certain this is the home you want and in the last stages of actually buying it. If the current owner will not let the inspector check the place out  before you put pen to paper; you should look for a different home.

That would be very rare. Almost any home seller would have no problem allowing an inspector to check their place out. But very few buyers are willing to spend several hundred dollars checking out a home before finding out if the seller is willing to sell for a price and terms that the buyer is willing to pay. Normally a home is inspected after an offer is accepted, during the "Subject to" period.

[Kootenay Gold]

11 minutes ago, I.Am.Ironman said:

How much do home inspectors typically cost?

Probably depends on where you live in BC. Here in the East Kootenay it cost around $400 back in 2015 when we had the place we ere interested in checked out. I did not tell the inspector that a was a journeyman Electrician as I wanted to use my knowledge as a gauge against what he found and what I noticed while accompanying him on his visit. I was quite impressed with the amount of detail and as I had my cell with me I took photos of areas of concern.

[Kootenay Gold]

10 minutes ago, WeneedLumme said:

That would be very rare. Almost any home seller would have no problem allowing an inspector to check their place out. But very few buyers are willing to spend several hundred dollars checking out a home before finding out if the seller is willing to sell for a price and terms that the buyer is willing to pay. Normally a home is inspected after an offer is accepted, during the "Subject to" period.

That is the normal route for most inspections.

 

We were committed to buying the home at the agreed to price barring major issues and the homeowner knew that so allowed us to proceed with the inspection beforehand.  

[WeneedLumme]

19 hours ago, Kootenay Gold said:

That is the normal route for most inspections.

 

We were committed to buying the home at the agreed to price barring major issues and the homeowner knew that so allowed us to proceed with the inspection beforehand.  

Must be nice to live in an area where the market is slow enough that you can do that. Usually in the lower mainland if you try that on a home that anyone would want to buy, someone else puts in an offer and buys the home out from under you, and you are out several hundred dollars and still looking for a home.

[Kootenay Gold]

16 minutes ago, WeneedLumme said:

Must be nice to live in an area where the market is slow enough that you can do that. Usually in the lower mainland if you try that on a home that anyone would want to buy, someone else puts in an offer and buys the home out from under you, and you are out several hundred dollars and still looking for a home.

You couldn't pay me enough to consider moving to the coast.

 

Hunting, Fishing, Kayaking, Skiing are all within a few minutes to a 1/2 hours drive from my doorway. Trophy Mulies like to camp out on my neighbors front yard under his apple tree during hunting season. Sunny most of the winter too.

 

 

 

Edited March 3, 2023 by Kootenay Gold

[Kootenay Gold]

[aGENT]

So very much this:

 

Somebody should suggest him for NDP leadership.

Edited April 1, 2023 by aGENT

[Warhippy]

1 hour ago, aGENT said:

So very much this:

 

Somebody should suggest him for NDP leadership.

I have strong beliefs on the housing crisis right now and sadly it includes our immigration strategies and how they've both failed.

 

Some good ideas in this and a solid understanding of things

[UnkNuk]

3 hours ago, aGENT said:

So very much this:

 

Somebody should suggest him for NDP leadership.

Wasn't the social housing program one of the casualties of the Chretien/Martin LIberal government's attempt to deal with the national debt crisis that came home to roost in the nineties?  Or am I misremembering?

 

 

[aGENT]

11 hours ago, UnkNuk said:

Wasn't the social housing program one of the casualties of the Chretien/Martin LIberal government's attempt to deal with the national debt crisis that came home to roost in the nineties?  Or am I misremembering?

 

 

I believe so. Martin was tasked with massively reigning in spending due to overwhelming debt.

 

But neither liberal or Conservative governments since, have seen fit to actually DO anything about the problem, or recognize it's cause (and arguably the solution), and now sit pointing fingers at eachother, rather than offering Canadians actual solutions to the housing crisis.

[Warhippy]

29 minutes ago, 6of1_halfdozenofother said:

How do we vote him in as Prime Minister?  Minister of Finance would also be an acceptable alternative, I suppose, but he's got the right frame of mind for the big job.

 

Too bad dude isn't in my electoral district.  That - his ability not only to identify the problem, but also come up with a solution - is how you win my vote.

This individual is why I believe that only nominating party members of the ruling party to hold significant ministerial portfolios is wrong.

 

With the way our government works we should be nominating people based on merit and effort as well as experience not just high profile name association.  

 

There are members of the Conservative party with significant experience in trades and defense.  Numerous members of the NDP with significant experience dealing with mental health and housing issue (like Blaikie) and they should be holding positions but instead aren't due to party politicking.

 

If True Dough or any ruling PM wanted to turn the entire narrative of the opposition on its ears they'd do just this and nominate people from other parties to hold ministerial portfolios.

[ronthecivil]

On 4/1/2023 at 8:45 AM, aGENT said:

I believe so. Martin was tasked with massively reigning in spending due to overwhelming debt.

 

But neither liberal or Conservative governments since, have seen fit to actually DO anything about the problem, or recognize it's cause (and arguably the solution), and now sit pointing fingers at eachother, rather than offering Canadians actual solutions to the housing crisis.

Why WOULD they actually want to "fix" it. With 70% of Canadians in the ownership category, and with soo many people in a situation where they have had to have their mortgage extended into infinity, what would happen if all these people were suddenly underwater with their housing situation? It would be chaos! It's political suicide.

 

You can fix it overnight by just eliminating the capital gains exemption on your primary residence. And so much tax revenue. But ya, political suicide.

 

So were screwed.