News April 16, 2024 · 3 min read Strata Council – The Five Main Delegated Roles And Their Responsibilities A Strata council acts as the managing body of the strata corporation ensuring that it runs smoothly for the benefit of the owners. Its role is laid out in the Strata Property Act from which the legal roles and responsibilities of the strata are obtained.Strata Councils are comprised of 5 main positions: President, Vice President, […]
Home Buying April 16, 2024 · 3 min read Moving To A New Home? Here’s How To Get On With The Neighbors From The First Day. Moving in and out of a home can be stressful, and thankfully it doesn’t last for many days. Since a neighborhood will experience very few moves in a year or over a few years, neighbors are usually very tolerant.But if you are moving into a new neighborhood, it’s a good idea not to annoy your […]
Home Buying April 16, 2024 · 3 min read Will The “Home Flipping Tax” Impact Affordability? The recent proposed house flipping tax introduced by the BC government will come into effect on January 1, 2025, if passed. Under this legislation, any profits made from the sale of a residential home within 2 years of buying it will be subject to a tax, with some exceptions that ensure that the tax does […]
Founder's Message April 3, 2024 · 5 min read April 2024 Founder’s Message Spring has sprung and Metro Vancouver’s real estate market is active. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reports that the number of homes listed for sale rose nearly 23 percent from this time last year. This is offering buyers more choice this spring. The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) Home Price composite benchmark price for […]
Rent + Manage March 26, 2024 · 4 min read How To Deal Effectively With Pet Owning Tenants In BC, pet owning tenants can find it challenging to find landlords who allow pets on their property, especially with such a tight rental market. As a landlord, you have the right to prohibit pets, except if the pet falls under the Guide Dog and Service Dog Act, and in this case, you cannot refuse […]
Home Buying March 26, 2024 · 3 min read Moving This Year? Here are Some Great Tips – Part 1 : The Planning Process Spring is just around the corner and traditionally this is the start of the moving season. If you are planning to move, now is the time to start planning, because the more prepared you are, the easier it will be to carry out the move.Here are some really useful tips on how you should plan […]
Home Buying March 26, 2024 · 3 min read Why Real Estate Investing Is A Worthwhile Option One of the best decisions you can make is to invest in real estate. If done correctly, real estate investment is stable, profitable and can return a very attractive profit return. Here are some of the reasons why:Very likely to appreciateIf you do your due diligence properly and invest in areas where property values typically […]
Rent + Manage March 26, 2024 · 3 min read What You Can Do and Cannot Do When A Tenant Does Not Pay Rent Being a landlord, you have the best interests of your property and will take all the necessary action to ensure that it is running properly and giving you a positive return on investment. When it comes to tenant problems concerning payment of rent, understanding what you can do and what you cannot do is critical […]
Real Estate News March 22, 2024 · 3 min read Will The “Home Flipping Tax” Impact Affordability? The recent proposed house flipping tax introduced by the BC government will come into effect on January 1, 2025, if passed. Under this legislation, any profits made from the sale of a residential home within 2 years of buying it will be subject to a tax, with some exceptions that ensure that the tax does […]
Home Care March 11, 2024 · 3 min read March Is The Best Time To Start Planting Your Seeds Growing your seeds indoors is useful because it gives your plants a head start, especially when the weather outside is not warm. This results in earlier and longer harvests that would otherwise not be possible. Growing indoors is particular good for tender crops such as tomatoes, peppers and squash. Use the following tips to get […]
Founder's Message March 11, 2024 · 5 min read March 2024 Founder’s Message – Early Busy Days of Spring This month marks the official beginning of spring. Signs of spring are everywhere as leaves begin to bud and early blooming flowers begin their colourful display. Metro Vancouver’s real estate market is in full swing with new inventory coming available every day. Listings were up 31 per cent last month compared to the same time […]
Real Estate March 11, 2024 · 4 min read New Housing And Infrastructure Woes Top Of Mind At UBCM 2024 Housing Summit This year’s Union of the BC Municipalities (UBCM) 2024 housing summit was unique as it was the first time “in a while” that all 3 levels of government were in the same room. Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser, BC Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon and mayors from various municipalities across BC met under one roof, giving […]
Home Buying March 11, 2024 · 3 min read 5 Important Tips To Know When Buying A Rental Property Buying a property for investment can be financially rewarding if done the right way, even in a challenging real estate market. How much property can you afford? You must know what kind of money you have to work with and ascertain how much of that you want to deploy on the purchase. If you are […]
Market Update March 8, 2024 · 2 min read REBGV Market Update February 2024 – Rise In New Listed Properties In The Market The Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR) report released for February 2024 marked a surge in Vancouver real estate listings taking pressure of a tightening market.Andrew Lis, GVR director of economics and data analytics said “While the price of home sales started the year off briskly, the pace of newly listed properties in January was slower by […]
Real Estate February 28, 2024 · 3 min read Looking For A Luxury Apartment? These Are Some Of The Must Have Amenities Finding a luxury apartment that fits your taste is not easy, especially as it impacts your daily lifestyle and overall well-being. The amenities available can make a big difference in the quality of your life. There are certain features that you should look for and expect to find in a luxury apartment. Here are 9 […]
Rent + Manage February 28, 2024 · 3 min read Why You Should Use A Licensed Property Brokerage To Manage Your Property In BC, all property managers are required to be licensed by the BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA). Licensed brokers are bound as licensees to provide a higher standard of care to consumers and must maintain the integrity and professionalism their license requires.There is a substantial amount of education and training required to become licenced broker, […]
Rent + Manage February 28, 2024 · 3 min read Why Rental Property Cash Flow Analysis Is So Important Investments are made to make a profit. If you own a rental property, you must ensure that the numbers involved reflect the fact that you are making money, i.e. what you collect from the rental income covers the expenses and leaves a residual amount as a profit. Rental property cash flow analysis will give you […]
Home Buying February 20, 2024 · 3 min read It’s a Great Idea To Inspect the Neighborhood Before Buying In One of the most neglected due-diligence duty done by homebuyers is a thorough screening of the prospective neighborhood. There is a Russian proverb that goes: ” Don’t buy the house, buy the neighborhood.” While prospective buyers spend a lot of resources on the home inspection, various surveys and appraisals, they often settle for a cursory […]
Market Update February 20, 2024 · 3 min read Housing Challenges Being Faced By Local Municipalities In September, mayors and councillors held their Union Of BC Municipalities (UCBM) Annual General Meeting in Vancouver. As with other years, a major topic for discussion was housing challenges and how they are playing out in different parts of the province. It is not just big cities like Vancouver and Victoria that are affected, all […]
Real Estate February 12, 2024 · 2 min read The Benefits Of Having A Wine Cellar In Your Home Today, wine cellars are no more just limited to luxury mansions and fine dining restaurants. They are becoming a modern trend in many regular households, a focal point for home entertainment where guests and family members can gather, mingle, and taste good wines. There are a number of benefits of having a wine cellar in your […]
Market Update February 12, 2024 · 2 min read REBGV Market Report For January 2024 – Year Started Strongly With Higher Sales The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) report for January 2024 was released early this month and notable was the fact that newly listed properties did not keep up with the volume of home sales. “It’s hard to believe that January sales figures came in so strong after such a quiet December, which saw many […]
Founder's Message February 5, 2024 · 3 min read February 2024 Founder’s Message Metro Vancouver’s real estate market is off to a strong start as the first signs of spring appear on the West Coast. Residential sales and listings have increased since this time last year and the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) is forecasting home sales will rise more than nine percent in 2024. The […]
Home Care February 5, 2024 · 3 min read 7 Ways On Improving Energy Efficiency In Rental Properties Making a property energy efficient, in view of ever-increasing energy costs, will help improve the bottom line of any rental property. While there are upgrades that are more capital intensive and expensive, there are others that can be easily implemented at much reduced costs. Overtime, whatever the investment, the utility savings will outweigh the upgrade […]
Home Insurance February 5, 2024 · 3 min read Leaving Your Home For A Period Of Time? Take Heed Of This Important Insurance Advice. If you are leaving your home for a lengthy period (over a 4 days), you must make sure that you understand how your insurance works when you are not occupying your home. The first and most important thing to do is to call your insurance company and inform them of your absence, and enquire if […]
Market Update February 5, 2024 · 3 min read What’s Instore For The 2024 Property Rental Market? Affordable housing has no longer become affordable as house prices are out of reach for those who want to own a home and rents have continued to escalate over the past twelve months. Looking forward, it seems that pricing and supply issues will keep straining the rental market. Between 2014 and 2019 rents went up by […]
Real Estate February 5, 2024 · 2 min read Is An Overhaul Of The BC Property Transfer Tax Required? BC’s Property Transfer Tax was introduced in 1987 as a tax on every real estate purchase in the province when the average price of a home was around $150,000. The tax was and still is levied at a rate of 1% on the first $200,000 of a property’s price, 2% on the fair market value […]
Market Update January 23, 2024 · 3 min read REBGV Market Update For December – The Year Closed Out With Balanced Conditions The December 2023 Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) market report showed that despite the highest borrowing costs seen in over a decade, December home sales rose compared with a year earlier, and the region closed with balanced market conditions. In his monthly comment, Andrew Lis, REBGV director of economics and data analytics […]
News January 23, 2024 · 3 min read Make Sure You Are Not A Victim Of “Virtual Staging” “Virtual Staging” Can Be Misleading. Make Sure You Are Aware Of This We are living in a sophisticated digital era where real estate photo enhancement is being done on a massive scale. There is also sophisticated virtual staging software available, where one can completely transform the makeup of a listing in a very short period […]
Home Buying January 23, 2024 · 3 min read Closing Costs – The Biggest Purchase Of Your Life Comes With Additional Fees Your down payment and mortgage costs are not the only costs you will face when buying your home. There are several administrative and legal costs associated with the buying a home, known as “closing costs”. Typical closing costs that are borne by the buyer and vary from 1% – 4% of the home’s purchase price. […]
Market Update January 23, 2024 · 2 min read More Small-Scale Housing Units To Be Built Across The Province To Help Alleviate The Housing Shortage The NDP government is tabling new legislation this fall to tackle the housing affordability and shortage crisis, that the province is currently facing. The legislation will focus on updating the “outdated zoning rules” in a move to deliver more small-scale housing units across the province. “Anyone looking for a place to live in a community […]
Founder's Message January 23, 2024 · 3 min read January 2024 Founder’s Message A Year in Review and Market Expectations for 2024 The new year is upon us! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season, celebrating with family and friends. Vancouver’s housing market ended the year with balanced market conditions and five-percent-plus-gains in home prices for all types of properties. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver’s […]
Market Update January 2, 2024 · 3 min read Why A Comparative Market Analysis Is Different Than The Assessed Value Of A Home For most homeowners, a home’s value represents a huge chunk of their overall financial picture – their net worth, if you will. So it is important to know what the value of the homes is worth. But this is not that straightforward as a home is valued in different ways, the most common being market […]
