Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[bcedhk]

wheres the shitter?

[JaPoola]

Originally Posted by Gridlock

Somewhat related: Rentals. Picked up this ad off reddit.

1 bedroom with own ensuite

Really changes up the concept of an ensuite.

Perfect for international students...that don't know any better.

Where do you live man? In the fucking john. Welcome to life in Vancouver. And people living in the SRO's complain.

But does it come with a bidet?

[Gumby]

WTF $500 for that?! At first glance, I thought they converted the tub into a bed...

[quasi]

Originally Posted by Gridlock

Somewhat related: Rentals. Picked up this ad off reddit.

1 bedroom with own ensuite

Really changes up the concept of an ensuite.



Perfect for international students...that don't know any better.

Where do you live man? In the fucking john. Welcome to life in Vancouver. And people living in the SRO's complain.

All the amenities of a prison cell with the benefit of being able to come and go as you like.

[GLOW]

brings new meaning to "courtesy flush"

[Noir]

That's $500?

[godwin]

It doesn't actually look too horrible.. everything is new and clean. If you have lived in Europe, bathroom within the room is actually not uncommon. The john is on the right. I think for the target market ie international student who doesn't cook, it should be okay.

The price is what the market can bear.. if the lister rents it, what's wrong with that?

Originally Posted by Noir

That's $500?

[nah]

Originally Posted by godwin

It doesn't actually look too horrible.. everything is new and clean. If you have lived in Europe, bathroom within the room is actually not uncommon. The john is on the right. I think for the target market ie international student who doesn't cook, it should be okay.

The price is what the market can bear.. if the lister rents it, what's wrong with that?

Is your place still for rent?

[iEatClams]

The unethical things Realtors would do to get commissions. Can't wait to see what happens to the Realtor. I have a feeling it may just be a slap on the wrist.

Hopefully the owner sues the Real estate company that hires him, this will at least have some deterrence for unethical behavior, albeit not much.

Buying a home is one of the biggest purchases you’ll make, but what if your realtor has their best interests at heart instead of yours? A Vancouver woman claims her realtor faked contracts and altered prices all for the sake of a few thousand dollars in commission.

Janet MacKenzie really wanted to buy a condo in the Yaletown area, but the unit she wanted to purchase was listed with a reduced commission.

She wanted to make an offer but says her realtor, Marco Vincenzi from Sutton Group - West Coast Realty, told her the unit was already sold.

When the condo kept showing up on MLS listings, Vincenzi changed his story. He claimed the deal had fallen through and agreed to present MacKenzie’s offer. She waited and waited to see if it was accepted.

"There were a lot of the reasons for delays that I was being given by my realtor, the fact that these people were away, they were on the beach, they weren't contacting their realtor regularly," said MacKenzie.

Unbeknownst to MacKenzie, her realtor, Vincenzi, was trying to make a deal behind her back that would compensate him for the money he stood to lose on that reduced commission.

"The way that I found out what had happened was actually when the sellers' realtor had contacted me because she had noticed some discrepancies on the documents with my signatures," said MacKenzie.

The seller's realtor had emailed her boss to say that Janet’s realtor, Marco Vincenzi "had asked for more commission. When I look at the fee agreement, it seems the buyer's signature (Janet's) does not match."

The realtor's boss responded in an email saying, "I would agree that the signatures are not the same, and suggest that this is the buyer's agent that has signed the document."

The signatures didn't match because MacKenzie insists she didn't sign these documents. She claims her realtor, Marco Vincenzi forged her signature and she was not aware of what he was doing.

Her realtor did admit to the Real Estate Council of BC to altering documents, drafting and presenting documents without her knowledge, changing offer amounts without permission and keeping MacKenzie out of the loop on negotiations.

"Seeing what was supposedly my signature and it wasn't actually my signature… was a very violating feeling," said MacKenzie.
MacKenzie went to Vincenzi's real estate office in Coquitlam, and demanded a meeting with his boss, Jason Watson, who insisted in a recorded conversation that Vincenzi’s days as a realtor were done.

"Ultimately by the end of the day, I can't say it will be tomorrow, but probably by Monday he won't have a license," said Jason Watson, managing broker at Sutton Group – West Coast Realty.

MacKenzie claims Watson told her not to call police, but to let the Real Estate Council of BC handle the matter instead. She was assured Vincenzi would lose his license permanently, a punishment MacKenzie felt he richly deserved.

"It's not a good thing to have your home buying dreams held hostage by someone for the sake of two or three thousand dollars," she said.

Originally, a hearing with the Real Estate Council of BC was scheduled for late March, but it was cancelled after Vincenzi agreed to a consent hearing, where he would admit to wrongdoing and agree to accept the council’s punishment. After 16 months, the council finally made a decision.

For part 2 of this story, watch CTV News at Six on Tuesday.





source : Realtor admits to altering condo sale documents | CTV British Columbia News

[godwin]

Huh? I never have to rent out any property.

Originally Posted by nah

Is your place still for rent?

[godwin]

Didn't 2 Rennie's employees claimed to be sisters from China caught on TV doing pretty much the same thing?

Originally Posted by iEatClams

The unethical things Realtors would do to get commissions. Can't wait to see what happens to the Realtor. I have a feeling it may just be a slap on the wrist.

Hopefully the owner sues the Real estate company that hires him, this will at least have some deterrence for unethical behavior, albeit not much.

[m3thods]

Originally Posted by godwin

Didn't 2 Rennie's employees claimed to be sisters from China caught on TV doing pretty much the same thing?

They were MAC Marketing employees/

Condo marketing company admits it duped media | CTV British Columbia News

[Tapioca]

Originally Posted by bing

150k combined household income is pretty good income by Vancouver standards. The average median household income is only ~60-65k. I know households with much less than 100k who were able to buy something in the 400-500k range. If people have to commute than so be it. Nobody says you have to buy either.

They likely had help because the numbers don't make sense (or they are fine with being one paycheque away from bankruptcy). I'm speaking from experience because I had help and I make more, as a single person with no dependents, than what the supposed average family makes in Metro Vancouver (remember, lots of undeclared income in this city). Or, most homeowners in Vancouver have owned for over 20 years and have basically been able to trade up due to rising prices.

I definitely see the argument for renting depending on one's financial situation, but renting a single residence that is not a basement suite and that is not out in the sticks is getting pretty pricey too.

[Ludepower]

You need 80k year salary to live independently and somewhat comfortably in the lower mainland.

Anything below...you're living paycheck by paycheck and at risk of bankruptcy.

And dont give me the BS talk about our parents making it with less...times are different now and our parents generation screwed us.

[Tapioca]

Originally Posted by Ludepower

You need 80k year salary to live independently and somewhat comfortably in the lower mainland.

Anything below...you're living paycheck by paycheck and at risk of bankruptcy.

And dont give me the BS talk about our parents making it with less...times are different now and our parents generation screwed us.

Cue my rant.

Your average, post-secondary educated person in his/her 20s probably makes 50ish (everyone knows people who make more, including me, but I'm talking about averages). $50K works out to about $2500-2800 net a month.

- $1300 for a decent 1-bedroom walkup in Vancouver, or somewhere in Burnaby along the Skytrain. (My partner lives in such a building in the West End and this is what something that is not new and does not feature the latest and greatest in appliances costs.)
- $400-600 for food and beverage for an active person in their 20s
- $150 utilities (phone/internet, and power; no cable)
- $91-130 for a transit pass

So it basically costs about $1950 per month just to live in Metro Vancouver. Notice I didn't include any luxuries such as a car, vacations, clothes, entertainment, etc. I haven't mentioned any savings/investments either. Sure, you could live in Surrey and get more house for your dollar, but you would need a car to go anywhere outside of work and perhaps the grocery store. As we all know, running and maintaining a car is not cheap, even if it's a super-reliable late-90s Honda.

Even if you live frugally and your investments do really well (to the tune of 10% year over year), it will take a while to actually save anything to get ahead, let alone to get into the real estate market.

[FARMER]

^ Rent in Vancouver is relatively cheap imo.

There are many nice ground floor units in Vancouver in newer (>10 years) that one can rent for about $700 (1 bed) to $1000 (2 bed), utilities included. It should be cheaper (or you get a bigger unit) in the suburbs.

Just because buying a place right now is a ripp off doesn't make Vancouver expensive imo. In fact I think living in Vancouver atm is a really good value, you just have to spend your money wisely (ie. I would rent over buy and save the rest). Also food is pretty cheap in Vancouver because the competition is so fierce; just skip the fancy pants stuff.

[Tapioca]

Originally Posted by FARMER

^ Rent in Vancouver is relatively cheap imo.

There are many nice ground floor units in Vancouver in newer (>10 years) that one can rent for about $700 (1 bed) to $1000 (2 bed), utilities included. It should be cheaper (or you get a bigger unit) in the suburbs.

Just because buying a place right now is a ripp off doesn't make Vancouver expensive imo. In fact I think living in Vancouver atm is a really good value, you just have to spend your money wisely (ie. I would rent over buy and save the rest). Also food is pretty cheap in Vancouver because the competition is so fierce; just skip the fancy pants stuff.

I just did a search on Craisglist for 1 bedroom rentals in the city of Vancouver. There are plenty of rentals for under 1000/month, but almost all of them are basement suites or rentals in someone's house. These may be legal, but they are most likely illegal which entails some risks. There are some older units in dedicated rental buildings in Marpole that rent for under a grand, but that's about it. Basement suites serve a large market, but in most other cities in Canada, you can rent separate dwellings on a yeoman's salary.

I consider myself fairly frugal as I shop at Asian-run independent grocery stores and the odd supermarket such as Save-on or Superstore for non-perishables. I spend close to 600 a month on food and beverage and I'm not much of a drinker. I believe it was reported in the Vancouver Sun not too long ago that the average Vancouverite spends $373 to feed himself per month, which is above the national average. Dining out can add up quickly, but when you're young and trying to move up the corporate ladder or perhaps looking for a significant other, meals out with your bosses, colleagues, or dates are a necessary evil.

[westopher]

Originally Posted by FARMER

^ Rent in Vancouver is relatively cheap imo.

There are many nice ground floor units in Vancouver in newer (>10 years) that one can rent for about $700 (1 bed) to $1000 (2 bed), utilities included. It should be cheaper (or you get a bigger unit) in the suburbs.

I have never come across one of these places. Burbs maybe. $700 bucks can get you a shithole bachelor at best in metro vancouver, other than marpole. Where it might be able to get you a nice older bachelor.

[Marshall Placid]

Just my 2 cents to chime in for this discussion.

I think the real estate market is not necessarily hurting current home-owners.

It is hurting newcomers to the market: people who are first-time home buyers.

This market segment is being hurt by the rapid rise in prices the most.

[FARMER]

Originally Posted by westopher

I have never come across one of these places. Burbs maybe. $700 bucks can get you a shithole bachelor at best in metro vancouver, other than marpole. Where it might be able to get you a nice older bachelor.

We have a 1 bed in a newer house (>10 yr) rented which includes all utilities for 700 in the house I'm living in right now. Across the street, my cousin also has a 1 bed rented out for about the same price in a even newer house. Maybe it's just the Chinese market, but I have hundreds of relatives/family friends/friends who have houses in Vancouver and the rents they charge are about the same (700 for 1 bed; 1000 for 2). If you guys have friends that can read chinese, maybe check out the online chinese classifieds. All the new homes in East Van (and there are a lot) all theses houses are designed to have rentable suites and are mostly bought up by Chinese people who intend to use them as mortgage helpers.

Note: If you want to rent a stand-alone place, of course it's going to cost a lot more than renting a ground lvl suite. I personally don't think this is worth it because if you're renting a townhouse/apartment you only have a wall separating you from your neighbour next door, not unlike living in a ground level suite.

[Gridlock]

Living in china's basement is NOT not EVER going to be the same as renting an apartment.

Yes, anything ranked "acceptable" and above in a stand alone rental building will always be more expensive. What you get is a place that stands a better chance of being professionally managed, in an apartment that's not squished around the water heater.

Think of all the rental problems that have been written about on RS or in general. Almost 90 percent involve a basement suite.
Posted via RS Mobile

[westopher]

I see what you mean now. I suppose its subjective, but as grid said, and apartment squished around a water heater with 6 foot ceilings and no sound deadening isn't my idea of livable. Maybe I'm the one who's expecting too much, maybe not.

[Gridlock]

Yeah dude, there are some really nice basement suites. I think, from what I've seen, they are the exception and not the rule. And guess what, you aren't getting them for the bargain prices.

I think the odds of a homeowner being all, "hey guys, lets keep it quiet because the basement refugees are going to complain" is slim to none.

[Tapioca]

Originally Posted by Gridlock

Yeah dude, there are some really nice basement suites. I think, from what I've seen, they are the exception and not the rule. And guess what, you aren't getting them for the bargain prices.

I think the odds of a homeowner being all, "hey guys, lets keep it quiet because the basement refugees are going to complain" is slim to none.

There are legit basement suites in Vancouver, but the homeowners are obviously going to pass down the costs to make that suite legal (taxes, permits, compliance) to potential renters.

Here's an example: a couple of friends of mine lived in a three suite renovated house in East Vancouver. It had 2 bedrooms and a shared yard. They paid $2000/month for a ground floor unit.

[quasi]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

There are legit basement suites in Vancouver, but the homeowners are obviously going to pass down the costs to make that suite legal (taxes, permits, compliance) to potential renters.

Here's an example: a couple of friends of mine lived in a three suite renovated house in East Vancouver. It had 2 bedrooms and a shared yard. They paid $2000/month for a ground floor unit.

Exactly, you get what you pay for. Some people might be happy living in that bathroom posted on the page before this but I think most of us can agree that living like that or anywhere close to that is not desirable.