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Vancouver Off-Topic / Current EventsThe off-topic forum for Vancouver, funnies, non-auto centered discussions, WORK SAFE. While the rules are more relaxed here, there are still rules. Please refer to sticky thread in this forum.
how the heck does kelowna sustain... honest question.
there's no way salaries are $100k there... how properties are $1M and people are still buying them like crazy like chump change is beyond me.
It doesn't. Nearly everyone buying is from out of town. The people born and raised here have been priced out of buying a house or even a lot of townhouses/apartments the same money that bought my house now doesn'tget a 1 bed apartment. 10 years ago it was starting to get silly but doable for normal people. Shortly after that it was tight but doable for a couple who both worked slightly above average jobs. In the last 5 years the only friends of mine that have been first time buyers are a pharmacist with no kids and someone that works up north 75% of the time. The families we meet at parks or my kids school has lived here less than 5 years.
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__________________ 1991 Toyota Celica GTFour RC // 2007 Toyota Rav4 V6 // 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee
1992 Toyota Celica GT-S ["sold"] \\ 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD [sold] \\ 2000 Jeep Cherokee [sold] \\ 1997 Honda Prelude [sold] \\ 1992 Jeep YJ [sold/crashed] \\ 1987 Mazda RX-7 [sold] \\ 1987 Toyota Celica GT-S [crushed]
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Originally Posted by maksimizer
half those dudes are hotter than ,my GF.
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Originally Posted by RevYouUp
reading this thread is like waiting for goku to charge up a spirit bomb in dragon ball z
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Originally Posted by Good_KarMa
OH thank god. I thought u had sex with my wife. :cry:
i mean can a foreigner even buy property that easily over there, and could you even stay for over 6 months unless you have some special working visa or marry someone who is a national?
I'm wondering for people who have/are considering moving outside of BC, what's your rationale behind it in terms of taxation, lifestyle, or whatever?
From a FIRE perspective, the sooner I reach $1,250,000 (Solo) or $1,750,000 (Partner), the sooner I can switch to P/T, Contract work, or whatever I want to open up free time for hobbies or whatever i wanna do when that time comes.
Goal is to withdraw around 4% @ $50K/year or $70K at the dual amount. This is super flexible since I can do contract work as a CPA.
I currently spend < $30K on cars, hobbies, food, travel, entertainment and wants. So anything other than housing. I understand this could go up when I have kids. Not sure how much though honestly, aside from daycare. Am I foolish to think kids are cheap compared to housing
So with that in mind, if I move to AB, I can reduce my housing costs by over 50% for more space. Save 7% PST on majority of stuff, cheaper cost of hobbies + expenses. I could hit the nest egg figure by 37-40 vs 47-55 with Vancouver expenses.
I have 30+ cousins in Calgary but maybe < 10 acquaintances, I've met a lot of people over the last 10 years through hobbies and friends of friends so I'm pretty confident I won't be lonely in Calgary. Flight home to Van is < $200.
The rationale in my head is that I'm buying 10 years worth of time. Also get a V8 and get a golf memby
i get cost of housing is better in AB and all, but instead of going there, any reason people aren't selecting other areas in BC to still have moderate weather?
like island (i know ppl said nanaimo is a dump ) or interior ?
i dunno i'd think i'd rather choose parksville or nanaimo over AB
mind you i've only travelled thru/to those places and never lived long term.
Well, it does snow up north a lot too. Lower Mainland is a damn good safe space from general Canada weather, thanks to the Pacific Ocean.
People make the move largely for tax reasons and overall cost of living savings, while generally having more space. Calgary / Edmonton have the luxury to build outward whereas GVRD can't.
Things like utilities and car insurance can be high but is offset by no PST, cheaper gas, similar or better wages etc.
The weather is wild too. Snow in the morning, sunny and 12 degrees by afternoon
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Originally Posted by Hehe
I'm wondering for people who have/are considering moving outside of BC, what's your rationale behind it in terms of taxation, lifestyle, or whatever?
And more specifically, where are you moving?
I've been thinking about moving, and speaking to a friend who relocated to South America really got me thinking.
BC's cost of living is just shocking to say the least. I'm trying hard to cut unnecessary expenses, but it's hard to go much further without starting to cut into the lifestyle. This plus the fact that much of my investment in commercial RE is deemed as passive income, my tax exposure is huge. I'm currently delaying them by keeping money in the US entity by not issuing any dividends, and it makes sense as I continue to expand the portfolio. But at some point, if I'd like to take it out, the tax would take a big chunk of it.
By moving to a country where they only tax the income from that country and cost of living is lower, I could save an incredible amount of money in taxes alone. But I have kids and they have grown accustomed to the Canadian way of life.
Thus, my question is, for people who looked into moving, what's your thought and where?
I was thinking that maybe even somewhere in Canada. Yes, I'll still get hit by federal taxes, but that's ok. The provincial stuff is something I can play around a bit.
My place is in Red Deer which is literally halfway between Calgary and Edmonton. Smaller town (just over 100k population) with no international airport means real estate prices are lower but the city is growing exponentially and the town focuses on the arts and entrepreneurship as its selling point should you wish to cash out of BC and startup here.
That said, grown kids may find it harder to adjust here especially coming from a big city like Vancouver. Kids simply grow up differently in small towns due to limited resources, which is typically why a lot of them are enrolled in sports and carry that through graduation. The life skills that sports teaches you surprises many city dwellers so it's not a total loss.
Also, Alberta houses emphasize cartoonishly large basements so gatherings / parties on your future acreage could make for some memorable experiences while you enjoy some tax savings and lower cost of living.
Not many Teslas here though but they're everywhere in Calgary & Edmonton.
FWIW, the mortgage on my 1240 sq/ft townhouse is $150 more / month than the RENT on my 580 sq/ft condo. I've lived in my condo since 2019 (just before pandemic so I had 2 years of rent freeze). If say, I moved out of the condo and moved back in, my new rent would simply be too retarded for the space I have.
But someone will rent it at a 2024 price. There will always be someone.
In 10 years when I’m 50 I’m gonna retire and then me and spy balloon will move to NZ or Gold Coast in OZ.
Not sure if I can stand that shit accent….. mate…. But the weather is good and they still got decent Chinese food (Gold Coast). NZ might be a bit too rural for her.
If you are with someone who is very inflexible about location, it can be quite a serious detriment to the relationship and cause immense frustration I think. It's tough when you're not just 1 person making a decision.
Kudos to all your guys parents and parents parents that made the tough decisions to move to different countries etc.
Best you can do when you have to have a consensus from so many different individuals is present the facts as you have them and have a conversation. Show options. Show what benefits there could be and make a list of the pros and cons. That's what we both did individually and together as a couple. Maybe you convince them that your idea is great and they warm up to it, maybe they hate it and there's no point in thinking of it anymore or they need to provide an alternative if in fact change is mandatory and just staying put or staying the course is no longer an option. Communication is the most important thing in my mind.
That's the hardest thing to do - my wife is very inflexible with location. I showed her all those Ladner/Tsawassen listings from earlier in the thread, and all got rejected as too far from her parents.
We both have fairly portable skill jobs, but the inflexibility regarding family is ruling out moving even 1 hour away to a suburb where home ownership is cheaper. It's tough.
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Originally Posted by Great68
Are people really so dumb as to believe the return trip is "free"?
100% you bet.
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Originally Posted by PeanutButter
Damn, not only is yours veiny AF, yours is thick AF too. Yours is twice as thick as mine.. That looks like a 2" or maybe even 3"?
Hey, when you were young and spent all your money on booze and drugs on the gulf islands up the Sunshine Coast, I’ll tell ya the ferry certainly did feel “free”
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Dank memes cant melt steel beams
In 10 years when I’m 50 I’m gonna retire and then me and spy balloon will move to NZ or Gold Coast in OZ.
Not sure if I can stand that shit accent….. mate…. But the weather is good and they still got decent Chinese food (Gold Coast). NZ might be a bit too rural for her.
That's the thing we never discuss here, is that Asian people and other visible minorities don't have the same amount of latitude when moving across this vast country of ours. Or heck, even to an Asian country where we don't speak the language. Whereas Whitey McBoomer can uproot by selling their shack in East Van and move to Bumfuck, Sask., Vietnam, or Nicaragua and feel right at home.
Sure Asian people exist in small towns, but most of them are working class immigrants or were born there to them. We can't really be seen as carpet baggers coming in and buying up real estate lest we start another race riot in 20 years. Nice to visit sure but once we reach a critical mass, shit is over for us. And no matter how white-washed we are, our stomachs can't really handle a never ending diet of meat-and-potatoes, burgers, pizza, etc.
For those who moved outside of bc, did you find new jobs there? Or cuz you can technically work remote?
My request to work fully remote or even fly back here twice a month was denied, so I'm currently trying to find my own transfer to another department. Have to find my own new job basically.
For those who moved outside of bc, did you find new jobs there? Or cuz you can technically work remote?
i moved to toronto. yeah it ain't "small town"
followed a girl and moved to Toronto.
Good - nothing. jk
1) It's dog eat dog world. Tons of jobs, but there are fierce competition
2) money is here for sure but expenses are high
3) they do have real 4 seasons with minimal rain.
4) tons of places to eat
bad -
1) if you're an introvert.. it might work if you got a good family ties.
2) It's very hard to find friends here so you better buckle up.
I did follow a girl and got married. Moving requires a lot of faith and changing of expectations. I did do two things. I never looked back. Cant' have the "should have could have etc"
Lol, for the last 15 years albertans have been migrating to the island in droves.
I know more ex Albertans and Ontarians around here than I do people who are born and raised in Victoria/Vancouver Island. The % of former lower mainlanders around has also ticked up significantly in the last 5 years or so, but it was much laggier than Albertans & Ontarians.
It was a Tax Court of Canada case last year that went mostly under the radar by all except for the legal community who were taken aback by its implications for renters.
A Montreal tenant was audited and ordered to pay the tax he had failed to withhold on the monthly rent to his non-resident landlord, as required by law. As a result, he was ordered to pay six years’ worth of tax as well as the compounded interest and penalties. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) could not collect against his overseas landlord, so the Canadian tenant was on the hook.
Last year, the tenant took the Minister of National Revenue to court, arguing that he did not know his landlord was a non-resident. The tenant, whose Italy-based landlord owned a single unit in a Montreal building, lost the Tax Court appeal on the grounds that they were a Canadian resident paying rent to a non-resident landlord, and were therefore required to withhold and remit 25 per cent of the rent to the CRA. The judge acknowledged “the harsh consequences,” in her decision, but still held the “resident payer,” or renter, liable.
The problem with the law is that residential rent is treated the same as a royalties or similar payments, said Montreal-based tax lawyer Eric Luu, who defended the tenant in the case. In other words, residential tenants are held to the same standard as “a sophisticated business,” he said.
Not knowing a landlord is a non-resident is not considered a valid excuse.
“It is concerning,” said Mr. Luu. “But it’s very hard to go after the non-resident, so they put the burden on the tenant. If you take a step back, set aside the way the Income Tax Act is drafted, and just look at the policy of it, in these situations, you have to ask yourself who has the leverage? Obviously, the tenant does not have the leverage.
“The Department of Finance could come up with ways to ensure that non-resident landlords pay their taxes without defaulting to putting the burden on tenants,” said Mr. Luu.
It’s well known that non-resident owners have long had to pay withholding taxes on properties they either sell or rent out. However, few renters and few in the real estate business are aware that if those taxes don’t get paid, the tenant could be on the hook, said long-time realtor Lorne Goldman. Mr. Goldman sells properties to non-residents, and said realtors – and all renters and all small mom-and-pop landlords – should be formally educated on the risks to tenants.
“I’m in the real estate business, and I don’t even know about it,” said Mr. Goldman. “In my opinion, 99.99 per cent of all tenants in Canada are unaware of this, and it is the responsibility of the CRA to inform the renting public that they could be on the hook for this withholding tax.”
In B.C., where one in 10 new condos are owned by a non-resident, what are the chances that some of those non-resident landlords are not filing their withholding taxes?, he asked.
Non-resident landlord Chris Oliver, who owns three rental units in Vancouver and lives in Hong Kong, said he didn’t know about the withholding tax, but his property manager has it covered. Licensed property managers are responsible for collecting the taxes, which takes the burden off the tenant, assuming they pay through a property manager.
“It sounds unfair for the tenants to be expected to handle this accounting rule,” said Mr. Oliver. “Can you imagine all the stress they are facing with having to hustle to pay their rents and the rising cost of living, and then to discover that there’s a whole complicated payments rule they are expected to manage?”
Ron Usher, long-time lawyer and general counsel for The Society of Notaries Public and visiting professor at Simon Fraser University, said he was taken aback by the Quebec case when he learned about it last year. He wonders how many non-resident landlords are not paying the tax.
“How many tens of thousands of situations are there where this isn’t being done? The exposure to tenants is enormous. … I think the story at this point is that it’s weird, it’s amazing, and it appears to be the law.”
He added that “it’s breathtakingly difficult” to figure out if someone is a resident or non-resident.
“We’re talking about tax residency, not physical residency. They could be in San Diego, but they really are a tax resident, so there’s this complication.”
Lawyer Michael Drouillard is vice chair of Landlord BC and specialist in tenancy law. Mr. Drouillard said he knew about the potential for tenant liability long ago when he was a property manager, but he was still surprised to see a tenant held liable.
“I’m surprised to see that they actually did this in the context of a residential tenancy,” he said.
“I just don’t think it’s very nice for CRA to pursue a residential tenant who has no idea. You’re not told at any time that you have this lingering liability, and [are held to] this high degree of diligence.
“How can you expect that of a residential tenant?” he asked. “They have enough things to figure out. They don’t need some potential massive tax liability that they weren’t even aware of.”
The government considers a person a non-resident if they reside in Canada less than 183 days out of the year, or does not “ordinarily” reside in Canada. Generally, non-residents are subject to tax on income earned in Canada, including rental income. On the government of Canada website, it states: “To make sure the correct amount is deducted, it’s important to tell Canadian payers [such as renters] that you’re a non-resident for income tax purposes.”
Tenant Mariana Makulkina, who found her apartment on Facebook Marketplace, says she only learned that her landlord lived overseas when she did her own research. She has a property manager, but without that third-party protection, she wouldn’t have known to ask her landlord when she signed the lease. Also, what landlord wants to be asked if they are paying taxes in Canada?
“It was never brought to my attention, and I could almost guarantee that nobody would know about that,” said Ms. Makulkina.
Property manager Donald Mackenzie, of Bodewell Rental Property Management, said his company routinely files remittances for their non-resident landlords, which make up about 10 to 15 per cent of his clients. However, he has had the occasional non-resident say that they did not want to pay the tax.
“And then I say, ‘I don’t want to work with you.’ It’s that simple. But most owners will say, ‘make sure we are compliant.’”
However, Mr. Drouillard wonders why there isn’t more upfront clarity for tenants, who are often desperate to find an affordable apartment and who might not have a clue that their landlord is living outside Canada.
To protect themselves, tenants could start asking for statutory declarations from their landlords, attesting to their tax residency status, said Mr. Drouillard. But the landlord could move out of the country and their status changes, and the tenant doesn’t know.
B.C.’s residential tenancy agreement forms do not ask landlords to provide proof of their residency status. But when a homeowner sells a property, they must state their tax residency. That’s intended to protect the buyer from liability in case there are outstanding taxes owed. Tenants should have that same protection.
“In the context of a housing crisis, making them also investigate the residency status of their landlords?,” said Mr. Drouillard. “I’m not saying that that’s not the law, and the tenant has to be careful of that. The question is, is this the right thing for the CRA as a matter of policy to be doing?”
If I had to pay $8K / month + $300K Down for this, I'd be pretty depressed. I think that's why people would rather get something for < $3-5K/month in Calgary, build a rental portfolio in different cities and stock away into ETFs.
God is 1.5M the new 1M. No wonder I'm fucking depressed.
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Check out https://www.squareone.ca/ for insurance. Switched from another company because the other place wanted my tenant to remove there trampoline. Spent like 10 minutes online and had insurance for less than before and no problems with the trampoline.
__________________ Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.
Check out https://www.squareone.ca/ for insurance. Switched from another company because the other place wanted my tenant to remove there trampoline. Spent like 10 minutes online and had insurance for less than before and no problems with the trampoline.
I wanted to do a comparable but this company wants to do a soft credit check for the quote. Is that normal to do a soft credit check?
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) or interior ?
but they're everywhere in Calgary & Edmonton.
