Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[Traum]

So I paid my (CoV) property tax for myself, and the (BBY) property tax for my MIL just now. I think they're due before July 3? (Gonna be forcing myself to eat nothing but plain bread the next few weeks to psychologically compensate for the wallet hurting...)

What struck me during the paying process was, the amount I was paying seemed much higher than last year, esp for my MIL. So I pulled out the numbers from 2023 for a quick check, and lo and behold:

- my 2024 CoV payment is 12.x% higher than 2023
- MIL's BBY payment is almost 17% higher than 2023

The CoV property tax increase for 2024 was supposed to be 7.5%, and the one for Burnaby was supposed to be 4.5%.

Now, I know there are additional fees that get tacked on to the property tax payment. School fees, garbage collection fees, etc. The list for Burnaby is a little different, but there is a short list of misc fees as well. I didn't do a line by line comparison to see what the individual increases were, or what new items might have been tacked on to the property tax bill. But at the end of the day, this means those various miscellaneous fees have gone up by quite a bit -- far more than the announced property tax increase.

Again, gonna be eating nothing but plain bread the next few weeks to (mentally) compensate for the unexpected hikes...

[PeanutButter]

That's why I use my Canadian Tire Mastercard to pay property tax and utilities. You get 0.5% Canandian tire Rewards for it and no fee's to use it, no annual fee, and you get free road side assistance, so the sting hurts a little less.

[Gerbs]

Originally Posted by PeanutButter

I talked to my uncle again and I told him he should just consider renting instead. I proposed he should live in Olympic Village, the walk score is way higher and it's closer to more amenities and if he wants to go to Kits he should buy some electric bikes and bike the seawall there. I even asked him when's the last time he sat on the beach and he said it's been awhile. I think he liked the idea of living in Kits, but that's not his lifestyle.

So I found this unit at Avenue One, the new Concord building. 2br + den, 2bath.
https://www.rew.ca/properties/557034...-vancouver-bc#

This is wild. There's this unit selling for $1.6M, but there's also the same unit for rent on facebook. Rental is $5,500 per month.
The mortgage + property tax + maintenance fee on the unit is roughly $11,500.
Which means the guys is losing close to $6k a month if he rents the unit for $5,500. This is absolutely wild. I'm sure the owner's cost basis is actually lower than $1.6M, but still, it's crazy.

I asked my uncle about his financing and he told me not to worry, he will not have any issues with financing. If he needs to put 100% in cash down, he will be able to... lol. This guy. He's so ballin.

I have a friend who sold his 2BR 2 BA at Brentwood for $9XXK, slapped it all in VEQT + some bank stocks, then moved into Avenue One.

He's renting a unit on a higher floor for $4,000/month all in since 2021. It's an insane deal considering sold prices are in the $1.5-2M category. He sees a few canucks players in his unit.

The massive patio + fireplace + view of downtown + prime location for late 20's to early 30's.

[EvoFire]

Originally Posted by Traum

So I paid my (CoV) property tax for myself, and the (BBY) property tax for my MIL just now. I think they're due before July 3? (Gonna be forcing myself to eat nothing but plain bread the next few weeks to psychologically compensate for the wallet hurting...)

What struck me during the paying process was, the amount I was paying seemed much higher than last year, esp for my MIL. So I pulled out the numbers from 2023 for a quick check, and lo and behold:

- my 2024 CoV payment is 12.x% higher than 2023
- MIL's BBY payment is almost 17% higher than 2023

The CoV property tax increase for 2024 was supposed to be 7.5%, and the one for Burnaby was supposed to be 4.5%.

Now, I know there are additional fees that get tacked on to the property tax payment. School fees, garbage collection fees, etc. The list for Burnaby is a little different, but there is a short list of misc fees as well. I didn't do a line by line comparison to see what the individual increases were, or what new items might have been tacked on to the property tax bill. But at the end of the day, this means those various miscellaneous fees have gone up by quite a bit -- far more than the announced property tax increase.

Again, gonna be eating nothing but plain bread the next few weeks to (mentally) compensate for the unexpected hikes...

Mine has gone up significantly as well, but it was expected for me. I lose the home owner's grant this year due to the assessment going over the threshold, and the expected tax hike.

I should probably go and break it down some.

[JDMDreams]

How do you use a cc to pay property tax?

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by Traum

So I paid my (CoV) property tax for myself, and the (BBY) property tax for my MIL just now. I think they're due before July 3? (Gonna be forcing myself to eat nothing but plain bread the next few weeks to psychologically compensate for the wallet hurting...)

What struck me during the paying process was, the amount I was paying seemed much higher than last year, esp for my MIL. So I pulled out the numbers from 2023 for a quick check, and lo and behold:

- my 2024 CoV payment is 12.x% higher than 2023
- MIL's BBY payment is almost 17% higher than 2023

The CoV property tax increase for 2024 was supposed to be 7.5%, and the one for Burnaby was supposed to be 4.5%.

Now, I know there are additional fees that get tacked on to the property tax payment. School fees, garbage collection fees, etc. The list for Burnaby is a little different, but there is a short list of misc fees as well. I didn't do a line by line comparison to see what the individual increases were, or what new items might have been tacked on to the property tax bill. But at the end of the day, this means those various miscellaneous fees have gone up by quite a bit -- far more than the announced property tax increase.

I pulled up my Burnaby taxes and did a YOY comp and my total increase was 6.9% with the biggest percentage changes coming from transit (+27%) and the regional district (11.6%). The rest were all under 6.2%. The largest dollar amount changes were for general taxes (+$177), transit (+$151) and regional district (+$142).

My assessed value went up 2.8% YoY as well.

[Traum]

Originally Posted by EvoFire

Mine has gone up significantly as well, but it was expected for me. I lose the home owner's grant this year due to the assessment going over the threshold, and the expected tax hike.

Oh shxt... now that you mentioned it, I went to check and our place's BC assessment value is just a hair over the HOG threshold.

FML...

The 12.x% increase over last year is based on the amount I need to pay if I qualify for the HOG, which I don't anymore. Now that I am not eligible for the HOG, it's gonna be even higher...

(The MIL's place qualifies for senior HOG, but it is still a high 16.x% increase...)

[Traum]

Originally Posted by JDMDreams

How do you use a cc to pay property tax?

As PeanutButter was saying, I use my Crappy Tire MC to pay for property tax as well. From the credit card's online banking website, there is a "Pay You Bills" section that is just like any regular bank's online bill payment section. My utility and property tax bills have all been added there, and then I just pay those bills through the Crappy Tire MC.

I still collect that 0.5% CTM rebate (it used to be 1%), and there are no additional fees added to the utility or property tax bill payments.

[blkgsr]

wait so you guys are able to pay your city bills using CC even when the city says no CC payments?

in Coquitlam I think I can pay unitalities but not property tax, might be the other way around have to double check

coquitlam went up 9% is not more, again need to do the math

[ST184]

Originally Posted by blkgsr

wait so you guys are able to pay your city bills using CC even when the city says no CC payments?

in Coquitlam I think I can pay unitalities but not property tax, might be the other way around have to double check

coquitlam went up 9% is not more, again need to do the math

I believe you can pay with a credit card thru City of Coquitlam, but there's a 2% processing fee. To avoid the fee, you can pay using a CT credit card, which allows you to pay certain bills online thru their online banking - property taxes being one of them.

Ref: https://forums.redflagdeals.com/pay-...ck-ct-1149989/

[Traum]

Originally Posted by blkgsr

wait so you guys are able to pay your city bills using CC even when the city says no CC payments?

in Coquitlam I think I can pay unitalities but not property tax, might be the other way around have to double check

Yea, man. With Crappy Tire's Triangle MC, utility bills and property tax just get treated like they do on any other online bill payment platforms from the bank. There are no additional charges; I get their 0.5% CTM rebate, and the amount is treated just like any other charges you put on the credit card, where it is due on a monthly basis at the same credit card bill due date.

Of course, that also means it is subjected to the same super high credit card interest rates if you don't pay your CC bill on time. But that's what all of us are supposed to avoid, right?

[Gumby]

Suddenly there is a spike of Crappy Tire Triangle MC applications.

"Where did you hear about us?"
Revscene!

[donk.]

Signing up for a CC to get 40$ back on a 8000$ payment on your 2mil value house......

[Traum]

If you fill up at Petro Canada and you pay with the Crapy Tire Triangle MC, there is some sort of loyalty discount as well. Pair that up with your Petro Points card, and I believe you get 20% more points or something along those lines.

Of course, we all fill up with Shell V-Power Nitro 93, right? Even with our stock Corollas.

Originally Posted by donk.

Signing up for a CC to get 40$ back on a 8000$ payment on your 2mil value house......

$20 is $20, man. And in this case, it's actually $40.

[ST184]

Originally Posted by Traum

If you fill up at Petro Canada and you pay with the Crapy Tire Triangle MC, there is some sort of loyalty discount as well. Pair that up with your Petro Points card, and I believe you get 20% more points or something along those lines.

Of course, we all fill up with Shell V-Power Nitro 93, right? Even with our stock Corollas.


$20 is $20, man. And in this case, it's actually $40.

Exactly! lol That's $40 times how many years of home ownership?

Plus the free road side assistance.

[GLOW]

basically it's like getting a free pack of beer when paying your property tax

[PeanutButter]

Originally Posted by blkgsr

wait so you guys are able to pay your city bills using CC even when the city says no CC payments?

in Coquitlam I think I can pay unitalities but not property tax, might be the other way around have to double check

coquitlam went up 9% is not more, again need to do the math

The Canadian Tire mastercard is the only Credit Card you can use to pay property tax and utility bills without additional fee's.

The reason is because Canadian Tire is actually a bank and it allows you to pay your bills as an institution, that's why there are no fees when you pay property tax or utilities. Instead of paying it from a traditional chequing account like you would at TD or RBC, it allows you to use your Canadian Tire Credit Card. It's unique in this way compared to any other credit card.

The other big benefit I feel is the Road Side assistance, it's essentially a free BCAA. I've used it before and it's pretty good. Also there's no annual fee.

Granted, Donk has a point, the credit isn't a lot. But, I put my property tax on it, my parents, my sister, and my uncles, + my utilities and my parents utilities, so I make a couple hundred every year. Nothing crazy, but the asian in me can't help it.

[Hakkaboy]

Originally Posted by Gumby

Suddenly there is a spike of Crappy Tire Triangle MC applications.

"Where did you hear about us?"
Revscene!

You guys actually just missed a $150 sign up bonus from May 1 to 31. That's when I got mine and I paid for my property taxes as soon as I received the card. It also works for BC Hydro and Fortis!

[RabidRat]

Holy shiiit... I fucking love Revscene. Signing up for a Crap Tire cc right the hell now lol.

[blkgsr]

Originally Posted by Hakkaboy

You guys actually just missed a $150 sign up bonus from May 1 to 31. That's when I got mine and I paid for my property taxes as soon as I received the card. It also works for BC Hydro and Fortis!

can't you already pay hydro and fortis from CC's?

i honestly have no idea as my wife takes care of those lol

[Manic!]

Originally Posted by Traum

If you fill up at Petro Canada and you pay with the Crapy Tire Triangle MC, there is some sort of loyalty discount as well. Pair that up with your Petro Points card, and I believe you get 20% more points or something along those lines.

Of course, we all fill up with Shell V-Power Nitro 93, right? Even with our stock Corollas.


$20 is $20, man. And in this case, it's actually $40.

Now if you have RBC account you get 3 cents off a litre on gas plus 20% more petro points and avion points when the cards are linked. Plus you can link your CT card and add that on top.

You don't need to use your petropoints card if they are linked. Just pay with your RBC card.

[PeanutButter]

Originally Posted by blkgsr

can't you already pay hydro and fortis from CC's?

i honestly have no idea as my wife takes care of those lol

There are fee's associated.

Fortis:
1.75% on the payment amount - if you use your Mastercard or Visa credit card
0.75% on the payment amount – if you use your Visa debit card

BC Hydro uses Paymentus, i can't seem to find what their fee is without going through a sign up. It's probably around 1-2% though.

[Badhobz]

I like the days when the city hall used to take cash. All these very suspicious mainlanders would lineup with dubious amounts of cash in big fat stacks. Hilarious.

[SSM_DC5]

^money raised from collecting bottles for recycling

[Hondaracer]

Originally Posted by Traum

So I paid my (CoV) property tax for myself, and the (BBY) property tax for my MIL just now. I think they're due before July 3? (Gonna be forcing myself to eat nothing but plain bread the next few weeks to psychologically compensate for the wallet hurting...)

What struck me during the paying process was, the amount I was paying seemed much higher than last year, esp for my MIL. So I pulled out the numbers from 2023 for a quick check, and lo and behold:

- my 2024 CoV payment is 12.x% higher than 2023
- MIL's BBY payment is almost 17% higher than 2023

The CoV property tax increase for 2024 was supposed to be 7.5%, and the one for Burnaby was supposed to be 4.5%.

Now, I know there are additional fees that get tacked on to the property tax payment. School fees, garbage collection fees, etc. The list for Burnaby is a little different, but there is a short list of misc fees as well. I didn't do a line by line comparison to see what the individual increases were, or what new items might have been tacked on to the property tax bill. But at the end of the day, this means those various miscellaneous fees have gone up by quite a bit -- far more than the announced property tax increase.

Again, gonna be eating nothing but plain bread the next few weeks to (mentally) compensate for the unexpected hikes...

I said this before and I’ll say it again. People have this perception that home owners are rich, or basically flaunting wealth when you own a roof over your head, you must be so well off to own somthing!

No one in their right mind budgets for DOUBLE DIGIT property tax increases year over year. It’s getting to be absolutely fucking insane.