Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[Hondaracer]

Originally Posted by Badhobz

What’s that Italian pasta place on commmerical and Frances. Used to be Joes spaghetti house now it’s whatever whatever Italian thing. That place is good and devoid of Chinese people (except me!)

I was going to use it as an example but rather gatekeep it for myself

[SSM_DC5]

Originally Posted by Badhobz

What’s that Italian pasta place on commmerical and Frances. Used to be Joes spaghetti house now it’s whatever whatever Italian thing. That place is good and devoid of Chinese people (except me!)

It was Nick's, but whatever

[Ulic Qel-Droma]

Originally Posted by PeanutButter

Old Spaghetti factory is a place you go as a family if you have kids. If you didn't, I wouldn't step foot in that place.

bro you can go to some place like Zefferelli's and it's way better and not expensive either. and tastes x10 better.

Originally Posted by 6thGear.

That's a shame to hear about Hy's.

nah it's not that bad. it's prob the one time they go a year and that happened. if you go often you'll see it's not actually like that. It's still mainly dudes taking girls they wanna impress out, and big parties of adults and families.

[Ulic Qel-Droma]

that being said some older condo's are STARTING to be SLIGHTLY reasonable...

1mm dollar penthouses... maybe 13 years old. 750k penthouses 20 year old... like 1500 square feet... in richmond...

lol of course you still want a 50-60% down payment for it to be actually reasonable LOL...

[donk.]

Uh oh, who let ulic in here

[JDMDreams]

As much as I want a penthouse, the strata fees are retarded. And for that money you can buy detached.

[winson604]

Just curious what do people consider reasonable for strata fees per square foot. Yes, I know there's a ton of well it depends is it new is it old, how many units, condo or townhouse, amenities etc?

6 year old townhouse for me roughly $0.34 per square foot. No amenities other than a party room. Some of the new condos sound insane like $0.70/$0.80 per sure they got some perks but still feels insane.

[JDMDreams]

I think anything over $350 without elevator is expensive. Like WTF are you doing with $350 a month? Cutting grass everyday? That's $10+ a day. Gym room can't be that expensive. It's like a one time expense, unless you replace the machines every year. Wash the exterior monthly? Like the strata literally does nothing besides gardening.

[Hondaracer]

It’s $350 a month because they have no contingency fund.

I met an old guy I did work for in new west off quayside drive, he was in his 70’s, wife had died, had a beautiful, albeit older apartment like 3 bed 2 bath must have been over 1300 sq ft. I asked him what his strata fees were as this place felt massive

He said $700 a month and the only “amenities” were a huge fountain which needed constant repair and the underground parkade

Who would buy that from him?

[whitev70r]

I'm seeing every new condo build (that I'm aware of) is close to ~ $400/mth for a 1 Bd (550-600 sqft), higher end ones will be closer to $500/mth for 1 bd. Do I think it's 'reasonable' no, but.

Townhouse tends to be a tad lower, obviously, less things to maintain but still $400/mth for a 3 bd TH is prob on the low end.

Older condos tend to be bigger but more things that needs to be upkept ... so like $700-800/mth for condos on New West Quay strip is not uncommon. Which is insane. This is why more and more seniors are forced to sell and rent or be homeless.

What we are missing are 'row houses'. I'm seeing some built in Queensborough. They tend to be minimalist and seem to have lower maintenance fees.

[donk.]

Originally Posted by winson604

Just curious what do people consider reasonable for strata fees per square foot.

40-50c/sqft for 20-30 years old. ex 750sqft, 350$/mo is "good"

Take off 10c for newer buildings
Take off 10-20c for townhouse
-
Add 10c for amenities nobody uses
Add 10c for older buildings
Add 20-40c for leasehold
Add 5c for pro active buildings / high contingency
Add 10c for upcoming major repairs

no these numbers are not hard facts, since 1/4 of this forum thinks comments are written in stone

[unit]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

It’s $350 a month because they have no contingency fund.

I met an old guy I did work for in new west off quayside drive, he was in his 70’s, wife had died, had a beautiful, albeit older apartment like 3 bed 2 bath must have been over 1300 sq ft. I asked him what his strata fees were as this place felt massive

He said $700 a month and the only “amenities” were a huge fountain which needed constant repair and the underground parkade

Who would buy that from him?

that's new west for ya. even tiny condos there have like $450-500 stratas, anything average sized is 600+.

[Hondaracer]

Originally Posted by whitev70r

I'm seeing every new condo build (that I'm aware of) is close to ~ $400/mth for a 1 Bd, higher end ones will be closer to $500/mth for 1 bd. Do I think it's 'reasonable' no, but.

Townhouse tends to be a tad lower, obviously, less things to maintain but still $400/mth for a 3 bd TH is prob on the low end.

Older condos tend to be bigger but more things that needs to be upkept ... so like $700-800 for condos on New West Quay strip is not uncommon. Which is insane.

What we are missing are 'row houses'. I'm seeing some built in Queensborough. They tend to be minimalist and seem to have lower maintenance fees.

Those row homes in queensborough, especially the older ones which are more “detached” I guess than the newer builds, it seems so stupid to even be in a strata. What’s common property like a road? No one seems to do exterior maintenance, most peoples gardens are unkept etc.

I would hate to pay into a strata owning one of those

[Hondaracer]

Originally Posted by unit

that's new west for ya. even tiny condos there have like $450-500 stratas, anything average sized is 600+.

A lot of them, especially on quayside drive and that side of Columbia, are all the worst of the worst when it came to leaky condos. So while that time has passed and most have had their envelope done, the fees are still astronomical likely due to the lack of a contingency

[unit]

thats too bad. i used to live in the quay area and i absolutely loved it except for the damn train. i looked at some of those really spacious 2br lowrises overlooking the fraser before and always liked them.

[EvoFire]

Originally Posted by unit

thats too bad. i used to live in the quay area and i absolutely loved it except for the damn train. i looked at some of those really spacious 2br lowrises overlooking the fraser before and always liked them.

The damn train, and also only having two ways out.

[Eff-1]

Originally Posted by JDMDreams

Like the strata literally does nothing besides gardening.

Townhouse:

Insurance
Property Management fee
Snow removal
Garbage removal
Common area hydro/gas/utilities
Repairs and maintenance when people break things
Landscaping
Contingency fund contribution
Security improvements
Fire monitoring and inspection
Pest control
Dryer vent cleaning
Window washing

If it's a lowrise or highrise, then add:

Elevator maintenance
Janitor
Carpet cleaning

And then maintating and operating any additional amenities.

[JDMDreams]

^ I think there's gonna be a issue with strata properties in the next 10 years they are increasing fees at like +10% a year, at current stress test rates over 30y $665 a month is like $100k worth of mortgage. Even at $400 a month at 5% hike a year in 10 years it's gonna be $651. So it's gonna eat away a lot buying power, making them less desirable. But then the poors can't be choosers.

[snowball]

Originally Posted by Eff-1

Townhouse:

Insurance
Property Management fee
Snow removal
Garbage removal
Common area hydro/gas/utilities
Repairs and maintenance when people break things
Landscaping
Contingency fund contribution
Security improvements
Fire monitoring and inspection
Pest control
Dryer vent cleaning
Window washing

If it's a lowrise or highrise, then add:

Elevator maintenance
Janitor
Carpet cleaning

And then maintating and operating any additional amenities.

bitch on my old strata took a whole meeting arguing that we didn't need snow removal or salt since "it never snows here"

then winter 2022 hit and everyone told her to grab a shovel

[Traum]

As I read the last page or two about accessory housing costs, it very much sounds like every type of housing is bloody $$$$, and therefore suck ballz:

- rent is expensive
- new-ish apartments are tiny now, and strata fees are not cheap
- older apartments are bigger, but strata fees are out of this world expensive
- townhouses have $$$$ strata fees
- detached means you're on your own to shell out for all the things that are constantly wearing out and breaking down, in addition to all the work that a house requires (yard upkeep, snow removal, at a minimum etc.)

Gosh this is so depressing...

[Hondaracer]

Painted the lower floor of my house over the last month or so. Included re-caulking all my window casings, removing old wires, patching holes, and painting

All together it was probably about $300 and 30-40 hours of time. Does anyone with a condo EVER spend 30-40 hours of maintenance on their own unit? Let alone the building? Lol probably not. So in that way, strata fees get you a fair bit

[JDMDreams]

^^ yes but that's like once every 10 years kinda thing. You're not painting your house every year. And you're detached so no one is holding a gun to your head to do that work, you can literally tarp your roof and people can't say shit, vs mandatory x amount coming out of your account monthly.

[Hondaracer]

Tarping your roof though likely even takes a couple hours to call someone and at least a months strata fees, if not a few months, to pay someone to tarp it

Stuff adds up real quick, and doing nothing adds up even quicker. If you’ve got a decent home it might last but at some point when rain starts dropping on you in you’re living room it’s gonna cost $$$

[6thGear.]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Those row homes in queensborough, especially the older ones which are more “detached” I guess than the newer builds, it seems so stupid to even be in a strata. What’s common property like a road? No one seems to do exterior maintenance, most peoples gardens are unkept etc.

I would hate to pay into a strata owning one of those

It's called bare land strata. Strata fee covers basic upkeep for amenity building (if applicable) roadways, walkways, grass, shrubs, trees, septic fields, sewage treatment plans, underground systems services, etc.

Buildings constructed on each bare land lot becomes the responsibility of each strata lot owner for maintenance costs and insurance. The strata corporation has no interest in each strata lot owner’s buildings unless these are referenced to in the strata plan or the bylaws.

Originally Posted by snowball

bitch on my old strata took a whole meeting arguing that we didn't need snow removal or salt since "it never snows here"

then winter 2022 hit and everyone told her to grab a shovel

I'm seeing more strata lots reducing or taking out snow removal services as cost cutting measures. They in turn purchase snowblowers extra shovels, salt when snow hits.

[Eff-1]

Originally Posted by JDMDreams

^^ yes but that's like once every 10 years kinda thing. You're not painting your house every year. And you're detached so no one is holding a gun to your head to do that work, you can literally tarp your roof and people can't say shit, vs mandatory x amount coming out of your account monthly.

If you don't agree with strata fees, are several dumpy run-down stratas for sale with excessively low strata fees. I suggest you try and live there

Then when your celing starts leaking, or your windows break, or your neighbour makes noise at all hours of the night, or a dog pisses on the carpet in front of your door and leaves a big stain that nobody cleans up, you can complain to the strata about it.

Let know how that goes for you.