Will Vancouver Housing Bubble Pop? There’s always 2 sides of the coin. Such as this article Vancouver Prices Are Not Cooling. Some predict continued growth for Vancouver real estate while some are saying the Vancouver housing bubble could pop. I want to provide some insight on some research I found yesterday.  Famous real estate investor and best selling author Robert Kiyosaki predicts a major economic collapse. You could say it’s just another investor who has his opinions, however his predictions do have some factual findings. If there’s one person I would take real estate advice from it would be Robert Kiyosaki who owns a real estate empire with a net worth of 80 million. Robert was saying how the United States is in more debt than they were in 2008 when there was a major recession. In fact the United States has added an additional 7 trillion in debt. The Chinese economy is slowing down. Anytime the biggest economy slows down evidently the rest of the world will feel the ripple effects. The Canadian dollar is the lowest it’s been in 15 years. Mortgage rates are at all time lows, trying to encourage spending. The fact is people are getting

Thinking of buying pre sale condos? Here are 10 things you need to know before you do. So you’re thinking about buying pre sale condos here in Vancouver. There are many pros and cons of pre sale condos in Vancouver. You get the peace of mind of having something brand new, but there are also additional costs and the uncertainty of what you will end up with upon completion. You’re about to invest in a pile of dirt, buyer beware. You need to be aware that all pre sale condos are subject to 5% GST on top of the purchase price. This is a significant additional cost so make sure you factor it in. If you’re a first time buyer you are eligible for a rebate of 36% if it’s under $350,000. Anything from $350-450,000 will be subject to a portion of that rebate. There can also be builder closing costs upon completion. It’s important to review your contract to determine what they will be  There is no guarantee of financing. You can get pre-approved for financing of the condo, however should your financing situation change (losing your job) before closing, you are still required to close. Timelines can change.

Name your price in hot sellers market We’re in a market right now where it’s turned into a name your price situation. The inventory is so low and the demand is so ridiculously high that it’s become senseless. As i’m doing an evaluation for a client I show him all the recent comparable sales in the building and the most recent one, same square footage and view sold for $475,000 in September. Although it was sold by a discount brokerage and really wasn’t marketed the best I came to the conclusion that his would sell for about $530,000 today. That’s a $55,000 jump in a mere 4 months. The rates at which prices continue to climb is truly astonishing. Seeing one bedroom condos in Yaletown hit 10 offers and go 50,000 over asking is starting to feel like common place. So when I start telling clients these prices they go “how can that be, this one sold for X just a couple months ago.” Throw everything out the window, sales you see from just a couple months ago are hardly relevant. It seems every day new records are being set in buildings. It’s as if people are just naming their

Which is better concrete or wood buildings? Well, it’s a popular question, concrete vs wood buildings- which is better and what do you recommend I buy? It’s a longstanding debate and today i’ll shed some light on the debate and hopefully give you some key takeaways to help you with your purchasing decision. Concrete buildings, although generally more expensive than wood frame buildings, are worth it in the long term. It’s important to always look long term, in all aspects of life. The same thinking can be applied to when investing in your next condo. Although wood frame buildings are cheaper for developers and thus cheaper for the potential buyer, the costs in the long run are more expensive. Wood frame buildings can see a much quicker depreciation in the structural aspects of the building. We get so much rain in Vancouver each year, should the roof or siding fail and water penetrates it, it runs the risk of getting to the wood frame. Should this happen, the dampness can lead to structural issues down the road. Wood frame buildings also don’t insulate noise as well as concrete buildings. Concrete is considered to be the premium when it comes to

You need to de-clutter your Vancouver condo. It will put money in your pockets. Seriously. I can’t stress enough the importance of de-cluttering your Vancouver condo before selling. Forget doing a bunch of renovations. De-Cluttering will cost you nothing and is hands down the best return on your investment. It costs you nothing and is a sure way to put more money in your pockets. I can guarantee you will get a higher sale price if you take the extra time to de clutter. I tell all of my clients this before we put their home on the market. So where do you start? Start cleaning, anything you no longer need or anticipate will not be coming with you to your next home needs to go. It’s important to de personalize your home. Think about it through a potential buyers eyes. You walk into the home, you’re trying to picture yourself living here and all you can see is the sellers face, pictures of his family plastered everywhere. The buyer needs to be able to immerse himself in the condo unit, he needs to picture himself living there, what it would be like, where he would put his belongings. This

How Does a Back Up Offer Work in Real Estate? Want to know how back up offers work in real estate? You’ve come to the right place. Many times a back up offer happens after you lose in a multiple offer situation. Or sometimes, in slower markets, somebody just beat you to writing an offer before you got the chance to. Well good news, you have the option of being a back up offer. So how do back up offers work? Here’s what you need to know. Back up offers come into play as soon as the initial offer falls apart. Yes, initial offers do fall apart. Unless an offer is subject free, offers can and do fall apart sometimes. The most common reasons for offers falling apart are because the first buyer couldn’t get financing or perhaps a building inspection doesn’t go as expected and the buyer chooses to walk away. Therefor, if you have a back up offer in place then you are next in line. A  back up offer looks the same as any other offer except it will contain a subject that looks something like “Subject to the Seller ceasing to be obligated in any way

Subject to Sale is a Bad Idea in This Market Are you a buyer or a seller? Regardless this post will help you navigate a subject to sale offer. Firstly, in this hot sellers market there should be no reason for any seller to accept a subject to sale offer. However, I am still seeing it from time to time, usually on the poor advice of the selling Realtor. The only time in my opinion to be accepting a subject to sale offer should be in a buyers market when the home has been sitting on the market for a long time. Basically a subject to sale offer is a buyer will make an offer on your property but the offer will be subject to that buyer being able to sell his home in order to purchase your home. This subject locks up your property under contract and you could be in a situation where it takes months for that buyer to sell his home. Generally there is a date set out in the contract when the buyer needs to have their house sold by. For example here’s what the subject to sale would look like on a contract: ‘Subject

Selling your Vancouver revenue property? There are some extremely important things to note, especially if you’re new to the whole investment thing. The market is extremely hot, investing in real estate is becoming a huge trend. What many don’t know are the tax implications regarding investment properties. Let’s break them down here. First off, any investment property, where it’s not your primary residence you will need to pay what’s called a capital gains tax. Basically, when you go to sell your investment property you will need to pay tax on the profit you made. So let’s say you purchased a Vancouver condo in 2010 and now you are selling it. You sell it and you made $100,000 profit. Capital gains are taxed at 50%. Let’s say your tax bracket is 46%. This would mean you owe $23,000 on that $100,000 profit. However, if you’re in the business of flipping properties it falls under a different tax law. If you’re flipping properties you would have to pay the full tax on it. Therefor you would be taxed the full amount, which means on the $100,000 you made by flipping it you would end up paying $46,000 since your tax bracket is

Owning vs renting? Which one makes the most sense for you? Firstly, everyones situation is different. As a Realtor of course I strongly believe in owning. However, I also see the flip side and will agree not everyone should own or for that matter deserves to own. I want to talk about the pros and cons and offer you some advice on what you should do depending on your situation. For most, owning a home is the dream. It’s part of the plan growing up and it’s what we are told by our friends and family that we must do. However, it’s not the only reason you should be considering ownership. If you look at historical prices in Vancouver, Real estate has always appreciated over time. Sure there are dips and down years but time shows that if you hold on to that asset, it will appreciate over time. There are times though, when renting makes more sense. If you don’t have enough money to put a down payment down or mortgage payments will put you in over your head then of course it makes more sense to rent. If you’re uncertain of your future and not sure where you’ll

Does a full price offer mean you have to sell? Don’t accept that full price offer. You don’t have to. Despite what you may think, just because somebody offered you full price does not mean you have to take it. Whether that offer is subject free or not, you have a choice! Every time I sit down with my clients to list their home I go through the whole listing contract and explain everything to them. It’s funny because they are always surprised when I tell them terms of sale are “acceptable to seller.” Which means, full price, over asking price with no subjects, whatever it is, unless the terms are acceptable to you then you don’t need to accept. So, before you put ink to paper just because you got full asking price, ask yourself, are these terms acceptable? Many times I see sellers take the very first offer that comes their way. They’ve only been on the market one day, they’ve hardly had any showings and very minimal exposure to the market, yet they accept an offer. I cringe because I see it all the time. Many times had they waited the extra 2-3 days, allowed themselves that

What are the down payment requirements? Are you wondering what the down payment requirements are when trying to get a loan for Vancouver real estate? First off, wherever your funds are coming from you must provide a 3 month history on those bank accounts. You must show ownership of said accounts. If your bank statements show any large deposits then they will ask for details on that as well if any money is coming as a gift you must also provide proper documentation for that. Should you be using funds from your RRSP then you will also be asked to show statements from your RRSP of the past 3 months. For the full list of down payment requirements please watch the video blow courtesy of Vancouver mortgage broker Mark Fidgett.

Welcome back Mark Fidgett here with www.Notapennydown.com. A great way to start off 2016 with a few mortgage tips on how to become mortgage free FASTER. Firstly, always choose accelerated bi-weekly payments, do not go monthly. Everybody chooses monthly by default and it does not help you pay down your mortgage sooner. By choosing accelerated bi-weekly mortgage payments you’re actually making two extra payments a year that go strictly towards principle and helps reduce your amortization. As we all know, the majority of your mortgage payments, especially in the early stages, go primarily towards interest. Next, Make lump sum mortgage payments once a year. If you have any extra cash, maybe a tax refund, throw it towards your mortgage. Unless of course, you’re carrying higher interest rate debt. In that case, use the extra cash to pay off the high interest rate debt. Another simple option, round up your mortgage payment. If you mortgage payment is 775, make it $800 And lastly, here’s a secret mortgage strategy that’s super important. Not only does it help make you mortgage free FASTER, but it also reduces any future mortgage interest rate shock…. Pay your mortgage as if mortgage rates were already higher,