Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[Hondaracer]

You just let your asset rot away.

Most people in these situations can defer property taxes, also most do not have a mortgage either. But of course a hoarder shut-in would never consider going to the bank and pulling some equity out of their home in order to fix the roof etc. they’d rather pay some family friend crack head to throw a tarp over.

My wife’s family on both sides have people like this and I think they are tired of me because all I do is call them out lol

[TypeRNammer]

Speaking of tarps, here's a duplex I always see on my commute. The right unit is meticulously maintained. The left one on the other hand is too cheap for up keep. It had a tarp on the roof originally but eventually deteriorated.

9840 Williams Rd
https://maps.app.goo.gl/4Y4teyWXMLt1RAiHA

[JDMDreams]

Most people 50+ don't really have the income to borrow, especially at these rates these days, they bought their houses years ago with their $40k jobs. And now just trying to survive into pension or gov benefits

[Hondaracer]

Borrow on the millions of equity they’ve accumulated.. a home equity loan etc.

These people are just leaving a huge burden for their families on top of leaving less and less of an inheritance in their depreciating asset.

Being smart about managing your largest asset can be the difference in hundreds of thousands of dollars for your children/beneficiaries. Peoples laziness cost them hugeeeee

[radeonboy]

Originally Posted by TypeRNammer

Speaking of tarps, here's a duplex I always see on my commute. The right unit is meticulously maintained. The left one on the other hand is too cheap for up keep. It had a tarp on the roof originally but eventually deteriorated.

9840 Williams Rd
https://maps.app.goo.gl/4Y4teyWXMLt1RAiHA

Are duplexes like this structurally connected or are they separate structures beneath the shared wall?

[donk.]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Being smart about managing your largest asset can be the difference in hundreds of thousands of dollars for your children/beneficiaries. Peoples laziness cost them hugeeeee

Most people just don't know

One of my family friends sold their family home for 2.5 mil or something. (No mortgage). Since the home was in "all of their names" and everyone already had a primary residence, they were hit with 500k in taxes or something along those lines on the 2.5mil

Giggles in french

[Hondaracer]

Talking to a lawyer?!?! They’re trying to steal our money!!

[Great68]

Originally Posted by TypeRNammer

Speaking of tarps, here's a duplex I always see on my commute. The right unit is meticulously maintained. The left one on the other hand is too cheap for up keep. It had a tarp on the roof originally but eventually deteriorated.

9840 Williams Rd
https://maps.app.goo.gl/4Y4teyWXMLt1RAiHA

I'm curious what recourse, if any, someone on the other side of the duplex has in that sort of a situation.

That really sucks for the right hand side people.

[Tapioca]

You have to remember that the vast majority of duplexes are actually strata-titled, meaning they actually are governed by the standard Strata By-laws.

Basically, if your neighbour neglects their unit to the point that it's causing an impact on your enjoyment of your strata unit (i.e. your half of the duplex), you have to pursue dispute resolution per the Strata Property Act.

I don't know why municipalities aren't insisting on the construction of more non-strata duplexes or rowhomes. I'd like to understand the difference in construction costs between a strata duplex/triplex vs a non-strata duplex/rowhome.

[Traum]

Originally Posted by carsncars

An eye opening experience for me was when there was a power surge in a condo I used to live in, so I helped some of the older residents out by resetting their breakers (overnight security guy was clueless). Late 90's building so lots of older HK couples/widowers.

Sooooo many hoarders. Like way more than I'd expected. Luckily most of these were "clean" hoarders but still. Literally apartments where there's a little path between the stove, fridge, couch, and table, and everything else is piled boxes/junk/suitcases. I remember thinking how much of a fire hazard it was...

At least for the older HK / Cantonese folks, they behave this way because being extremely frugal is how they grew up, and the behaviour is ingrained in their blood and their minds. My parents' generation live through the poverty and turmoil that the Cultural Revolution created, where people literally had nothing beyond the rags they worn on themselves. Some had their possessions taken away by the good ol' Chinese Communist Party and their (idiot) Red Guards. Many escaped and trekked / swam their way from Canton to Hong Kong. My grandmother used to organize trips back to the "home village", bringing food, clothing, life essentials, etc. My older cousin was made to wear like 3 pairs of socks and 5 layers of clothes -- in Asian weather, no less -- in these trips, only to take everything off and leave the clothes and stuff behind for the relatives and acquaintances at the village.

My dad is a hoarder, and the hoarding behaviour has only gotten worse with his age. My mom does her best to chuck stuff out, but there is still no end to his hoarding tendencies.

A good friend of mine also has a dad that is a pathological hoarder, and he gets absolutely furious when anyone wants to chuck his old junk out -- stuff like his highschool textbooks, and old broken cassette players. (Thankfully, my dad isn't anything close to that level.) It is anything but sensible, but unless you are actively looking for a family feud with the old man, you don't bother getting into fights with them over this.

[carsncars]

Originally Posted by Great68

I'm curious what recourse, if any, someone on the other side of the duplex has in that sort of a situation.

That really sucks for the right hand side people.

In this specific home, it looks like the shared wall is mostly the carport wall and the living spaces are largely separate. So it sucks, but I'm guessing long term is going to be alright.

In my colleague's case (rents a front/back duplex, new construction), I would have more concerns as the shared structure/infrastructure is much more common. He's renting and plans to GTFO of that situation (other duplex 1/2 owner storing what seems like perishables in the garage -> rats and raccoons -> mold) but his landlord says he can't do much as the other side is an owner and it's nonstrata.

A lot of new build duplexes I see seem to be nonstrata.

[carsncars]

This sold a couple months back but passed my notice. I didn't realize laneway houses could be sold independent of the main home:
https://www.zealty.ca/mls-R2745959/3...-Vancouver-BC/

Interesting to own a home with an attached/built in garage on your main floor that isn't actually yours to use.

[Hakkaboy]

Originally Posted by carsncars

This sold a couple months back but passed my notice. I didn't realize laneway houses could be sold independent of the main home:
https://www.zealty.ca/mls-R2745959/3...-Vancouver-BC/

Interesting to own a home with an attached/built in garage on your main floor that isn't actually yours to use.

I like how they marked the lines for that parking stall so that there's enough space for someone to come out of the garage + pathway. But why didn't they just remove those shrubs instead?

[carsncars]

Originally Posted by Hakkaboy

I like how they marked the lines for that parking stall so that there's enough space for someone to come out of the garage + pathway. But why didn't they just remove those shrubs instead?

I'm guessing it was a requirement (lane greenery). But yeah the line is funny - the space looks tiny. The shrubbery looks like a token compliance gesture and already looks like it's dying.

Wonder how the "strata" would resolve this if there's a conflict about going over the line.

Edit: Yup, there's a "landscaped side setback" requirement adjacent to the surface parking pad that varies from 0 ft - 3 ft depending on lot width. My guess is those shrubs are dead and gone within 3 years.

[Euro7r]

Originally Posted by donk.

Most people just don't know

One of my family friends sold their family home for 2.5 mil or something. (No mortgage). Since the home was in "all of their names" and everyone already had a primary residence, they were hit with 500k in taxes or something along those lines on the 2.5mil

Giggles in french

Effectively you can't really get around this without paying taxes because you would have two homes under your name, with one subject to taxes when sold. Correct me if I'm wrong?

Like say your parents have a home under their own name primary residence. You have your own home with wife as your own primary residence, home under your own names. Your parents Will says you get the parents house when they pass away. The transfer itself isn't subject to tax, only when you sell it due to owning two homes?

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by carsncars

This sold a couple months back but passed my notice. I didn't realize laneway houses could be sold independent of the main home:
https://www.zealty.ca/mls-R2745959/3...-Vancouver-BC/

Interesting to own a home with an attached/built in garage on your main floor that isn't actually yours to use.

That's actually a coach house instead of a laneway (there's a duplex in front) but I don't know how they managed to get the approval to do that b/c it's zoned as RS-1 (SFH+Laneway or Duplex) and it's just a standard-ish lot of 33x124.

The duplex I lived in was technically a triplex b/c there was a coach house in the back as well the garages for the duplex were part of the coach house.

[PeanutButter]

Originally Posted by donk.

Most people just don't know

One of my family friends sold their family home for 2.5 mil or something. (No mortgage). Since the home was in "all of their names" and everyone already had a primary residence, they were hit with 500k in taxes or something along those lines on the 2.5mil

Giggles in french

What could they have really done though? Most children need the cash. I don't think there is any family of siblings that would keep a family home when they could have the cash.

There's an opportunity cost as well.

This is going to be my situation soon. My parents have a house and it's my brother and I... He has a condo and has told me he just wants the cash. The house is worth $2.5M, I don't have the resources to float him the $1.25M that's his, so we're going to have to sell the house. I'm just wondering though, if my parents put both of our names on the title, can we skip the tax when they pass?

[Traum]

Originally Posted by Euro7r

Effectively you can't really get around this without paying taxes because you would have two homes under your name, with one subject to taxes when sold. Correct me if I'm wrong?

Like say your parents have a home under their own name primary residence. You have your own home with wife as your own primary residence, home under your own names. Your parents Will says you get the parents house when they pass away. The transfer itself isn't subject to tax, only when you sell it due to owning two homes?

You can't completely get away without having the gov take a cut one way or another, but there are ways to minimize it.

If the situation happens as you describe, and the parents pass away while gifting the house to the child, I can see the following happening:

1. The property is subjected to probate fees, which is hefty for big dollar assets.

2. The parent's home now becomes an investment property for the child, so any capital gain that is incurred will be subjected to capital gain tax. But there is no property transfer tax because it is between parents and children.

3. The smart thing to do here is, a (market) value for the parents' property should be established at the time of their death and documented somehow. Then when it comes time to sell the property, only the portion of capital gain above and beyond that established market value would be considered as capital gain.


IMO, the financially smarter thing to do is to decide between whether the probate fees or the capital gain tax will be bigger, and then you take measures to avoid that. But this is much easier said than done, bcos there are all sorts of difficulties to pull it off IRL. For one thing, some parents would never transfer their primary residence's title to their children until they're dead. The hoarder dad that my friend has -- he is even more extreme in the sense that he wouldn't even entertain the idea of setting up a will -- at least not now -- because he thinks it's a bad omen and a jinx to his own health.

IMO, the least troublesome thing to do is to have everything set up and planned out before the parents' health takes a down turn. You can't ever time these things right down to the last perfect second anyway, so you might as well make things easier to begin with.

[PeanutButter]

Originally Posted by carsncars

I'm guessing it was a requirement (lane greenery). But yeah the line is funny - the space looks tiny. The shrubbery looks like a token compliance gesture and already looks like it's dying.

Wonder how the "strata" would resolve this if there's a conflict about going over the line.

Edit: Yup, there's a "landscaped side setback" requirement adjacent to the surface parking pad that varies from 0 ft - 3 ft depending on lot width. My guess is those shrubs are dead and gone within 3 years.

I think if you just talked to your neighbors regularly people would just be accommodating. Involving strata or by-law just causes unnecessary friction between parties. I kill people with kindness and they let me get away with murder.

I give chocolate and cookies to my neighbors every Christmas and they always help me out. They even shovel my front sidewalk when I don't get to it in time.

[Hondaracer]

Won’t setup a will because it’s a bad omen, yea let’s give the govt. hundreds of thousands of dollars, that will surely right the wrongs in this world! Lol

I get the type of person but that’s just insane.

[Gerbs]

My brother moved out today.

What is the most optimal play for my mom who lives alone in a 2,300 sqft vancouver special? She could rent out the house for close to $6-7K/month upstairs and downstairs and downsize.

Alternatively, future planning would it make sense to ask if she wants to sponsor some $$$ so that my brother and I upgrade to bigger units that could accommodate her as her caretaker. She's 73, I'm not sure when people start taking care of their parents because my friends parents are all turning 50-60 lol.

[JDMDreams]

^^ I think it's the lack of education, most old people now a days basically just won the real estate lottery. Bought 50+ years ago with blue collar jobs. They don't have the knowledge or education, understanding what a finance professional can do for them. Most is too cheap to even write a will. They just follow what friends say. Like how you have to spend all your rsp before 65 or else you don't get any gis. That extra $50 bucks a month from the gov then paying a massive tax hit just to get rid of rsps cuz their friends told them to.

Also no one: wakes up on the morning and be like what if I drop dead today, how can I save the most amount of taxes for my kids

[JDMDreams]

Rent it all out and cash flow now, you also won the real estate lottery

[Hondaracer]

Originally Posted by JDMDreams

^^ I think it's the lack of education, most old people now a days basically just won the real estate lottery. Bought 50+ years ago with blue collar jobs. They don't have the knowledge or education, understanding what a finance professional can do for them. Most is too cheap to even write a will. They just follow what friends say. Like how you have to spend all your rsp before 65 or else you don't get any gis. That extra $50 bucks a month from the gov then paying a massive tax hit just to get rid of rsps cuz their friends told them to.

Also no one: wakes up on the morning and be like what if I drop dead today, how can I save the most amount of taxes for my kids

Ignorance is never an excuse for anything.

Also your second comment, again it’s just total ignorance flushing money down the govt. toilet lol like it’s totally pointless…

Wife and I are 37 we have an extensive will and estate planning. We have all our beneficiaries laid out, we have this information readily available to those who need it. On top of life insurance and critical Illness

My parents are in their mid 60’s they used to be a bit behind in this but they came to realize 10-15 years ago that it’s insane to give anything to the govt. and have extensive estate planning and wills to avoid paying taxes wherever possible. Again, all this is know amongst my siblings and where this info is etc.

If your parents are just waiting to die and they don’t have will, no one knows where their money is, no one knows the status of the home etc. it might he “akward” to have this convo but it’s absolutely fucking insane not to break “societal norms” or whatever craziness you want to call it and sort this shit out lol..

It’s literally the difference between you hoarding your egg cartons and noodle containers and your children having a comfortable life once you pass away. The tax repercussions of some of these decisions legimately destroy children’s-children future opportunities.

It’s absolutely insane

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by Gerbs

My brother moved out today.

What is the most optimal play for my mom who lives alone in a 2,300 sqft vancouver special? She could rent out the house for close to $6-7K/month upstairs and downstairs and downsize.

Alternatively, future planning would it make sense to ask if she wants to sponsor some $$$ so that my brother and I upgrade to bigger units that could accommodate her as her caretaker. She's 73, I'm not sure when people start taking care of their parents because my friends parents are all turning 50-60 lol.

Is the house one that either you or your brother will end up taking on after she passes? Or will you two be selling (or she will)?

Does she want to minimize disruption to her life and likes her routine? Is she still in pretty good shape and independent? You're nearby and can help easily? Are you able/willing to help her especially as she gets worse?

Does she need any money or have dreams to do things with money before she passes?

For my mid-late 70s parents and in-law our plans are to have them stay as long as possible in their current homes to minimize lifestyle changes but once their health gets bad enough they are moving in with us into one of the two suites we have in our house. They'd help with the mortgage and would live with us until their mobility and health requires a seniors home or assisted living - we don't think we'd be comfortable with supporting them on a daily basis.

Their houses will either get sold or the kids might band together to knock it down and build a fourplex to give everyone an income stream (or bigger payout).

The main floor of a Van Special is very accessible and spacious it makes for a great home for the elderly compared to basement suites or cramped apartments. If you intend to take over the house some day then consider a nice reno downstairs so she can live comfortably for another 10 years on her own and stick to her routine. The upstairs would give her a nice income stream to lean on.