Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[Traum]

Originally Posted by SumAznGuy

No need to act badass. You ain't D. funk. Leave it to the pro's like him.

Hiring hitmans to recoup the funds is certainly a possibility. And we know who is right there at the top of our hiring list.

Originally Posted by SumAznGuy

You don't want to know how bad it is. My wife, sister in law, and a good friend all work at the RTA and some of the horror stories they tell us.

I've heard of a number of fairly bad tenants from friends' personal experience, and my own folks have had to deal with a messy MJ-growing deadbeat couple in the past. But for the most part, I find that by simply doing everything by the book -- doing your proper tenant screening, follow up on the reference & employer check, telling the viewer / potential tenant how we would carry the contract signing through, etc. -- that would eliminate a significant portion of the shady people. It isn't perfect -- my last 2 tenants still gave me enough headaches that took weeks and months to sort through, but it is all we can do to minimize the risks involved.

[hud 91gt]

I have a pretty good relationship with my building manager. They just evicted a tenant. I knew the guy from passing by in and out of the bullding. Always thought he was a nice guy, little different but nice.

Anyhow. I just took a tour. Makes the TV showing "Hoarders" look like childs play. I could not fucking believe what i saw in there, and that was after 4 trucks gone! The guys doing the work said they have never seen even close to that bad. Scary.

[meme405]

Originally Posted by RickyTan3

I was looking at a unit in trump and they where very shady. End result asked for 12 months rent in advanced plus deposit.

Spoke with a few agents and thats not even legal

Can someone point me to somewhere it is written this is not allowed? Like in the RTA or something.

I had a friend say something similar, and I was always under the impression this wasn't allowed, but now looking it up, I cant find where it says it isn't allowed.

[Great68]

Originally Posted by meme405

Can someone point me to somewhere it is written this is not allowed? Like in the RTA or something.

I had a friend say something similar, and I was always under the impression this wasn't allowed, but now looking it up, I cant find where it says it isn't allowed.

Deposits & Fees - Province of British Columbia

Landlord & Tenant Responsibilities

Landlords:

- Can only request one security deposit or pet damage deposit per tenancy agreement, regardless of the number of tenants or pets
- Can serve a One Month Notice to End Tenancy (PDF, 2.1MB) if a tenant fails to pay the security deposit within 30 days of entering into the tenancy agreement or a pet damage deposit within 30 days of when it’s required
- Cannot request deposits based on rules and procedures used in other areas (for example, landlords can’t ask for “first and last month’s rent” or “key money”)
- Cannot increase the amount of a deposit with a rent increase
- Cannot automatically keep all or part of the deposit at the end of the tenancy

Asking for 12 months rent in advance would fall under the bolded. Illegal.

[dat_steve]

I guess it's the same situation as something like a gym, where you can prepay for a year's membership. It doesn't sound illegal to me, but it sure as hell sounds stupid for a tenant to pay for a year upfront.

edit: ^^^ what if it's not a deposit, but straight up rent? would that fall under the same category?

[Great68]

Originally Posted by dat_steve

I guess it's the same situation as something like a gym, where you can prepay for a year's membership. It doesn't sound illegal to me, but it sure as hell sounds stupid for a tenant to pay for a year upfront.

edit: ^^^ what if it's not a deposit, but straight up rent? would that fall under the same category?

The point is, a landlord can only ask for what's outlined in the above. Rent beyond when it's due is not listed, therefore it wouldn't fly.

[Traum]

I don't think there is anything written explicitly in the RTA that prevents an upfront payment for the entire lease term. However, the standard RTB lease contract includes a section where the terms of payment are explicitly spelled out. It goes something along the lines of:

The tenant agrees to pay a rent of $XXXX amount each day/week/month to the landlord on [whatever day -- 1st, 2nd, 15th, etc.] of the day/week/month.

So if you have a clause like that in the rental contract, the payment dates are already spelled out.


[edit] ^^ Obviously, I know shxt about the RTA.

[Traum]

Originally Posted by Great68

Deposits & Fees - Province of British Columbia

- Cannot request deposits based on rules and procedures used in other areas (for example, landlords can’t ask for “first and last month’s rent” or “key money”)

As expected, this particular line is as vague as it can be. WTF are "rules and procedures used in other areas" supposed to mean?

[Great68]

Originally Posted by Traum

I don't think there is anything written explicitly in the RTA that prevents an upfront payment for the entire lease term. However, the standard RTB lease contract includes a section where the terms of payment are explicitly spelled out. It goes something along the lines of:

The tenant agrees to pay a rent of $XXXX amount each day/week/month to the landlord on [whatever day -- 1st, 2nd, 15th, etc.] of the day/week/month.

So if you have a clause like that in the rental contract, the payment dates are already spelled out.


[edit] ^^ Obviously, I know shxt about the RTA.

Yeah you can spell out payment terms in a tenancy agreement, but at the same time you can't contradict RTA. It's a good question, is requiring 12-month pre-payment to start a tenancy a contradiction of what a landlord is allowed to ask for under Deposits/Fees? I guess I don't know.

[Hondaracer]

we're going to be renting our the basement suite of the home we will be living in probably in January/Feb

i've only rented to two tenants prior to this in an investment property, and they were both fairly excellent and little to no headaches. I also wasnt as concerned with my tenants there as they were not living right below me..

anywhere i can read up on tenant agreements in depth/anything i should watch out for specifically? Traum i see you talk about adding amendments into your contracts? is this a typical thing do to in terms of damage, cleanliness, etc.?

[Traum]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

anywhere i can read up on tenant agreements in depth/anything i should watch out for specifically? Traum i see you talk about adding amendments into your contracts? is this a typical thing do to in terms of damage, cleanliness, etc.?

Yeah, I always include an amendment to the rental contract -- the RTA allows that -- and I use it to explicitly spell out additional terms that I would like to include. Typical items that I include are:

- smoking not allowed on premise
- must comply with all strata by-laws
- move in/move out fee
- damage & cleanliness
- rental insurance requirements
- other clauses as appropriate, depending on the tenant

The move-in/move-out fee is collected by the strata / management corp, so I write that in the amendment and spell out the amount.

For damage & cleanliness, I pretty much say the tenant needs to make sure the suite is clean and damage-free when they move out. Otherwise, I will hire professional cleaners / repair persons to perform all necessary work to bring the suite back to the start-of-term condition, and they will be responsible for the costs of this. With my past 2 tenants, I have unfortunately have to enact this clause. Had I not included it in the amendment, I may or may not have been able to force/coax the tenant into covering those costs and fixing the damage that was caused. But with the clause included in an amendment where the tenant's signature sits right at the bottom of the page, all I had to do was to point to the amendment, and tell them this was something they have known and agreed to.

[originalhypa]

Originally Posted by Traum

Typical items that I include are:

- smoking not allowed on premise
- must comply with all strata by-laws
- move in/move out fee
- damage & cleanliness
- rental insurance requirements
- other clauses as appropriate, depending on the tenant

Those are good points to add. I never considered the non-smoking clause, because we haven't rented to smokers in the past. But it's a good one to add, especially with the prevalence of pot smoke everywhere.

In today's AirBnB market, I recently added a no sublet clause to my rental agreements. I don't want my renter going to Mexico for a week, and renting out my place in the short term. Especially with my Whistler place where they could rent it out for a week over the holidays for the equivalent of a month's rent.

[dat_steve]

i don't think you're allowed to sublet without landlord consent per the RTA anyway?

Sublet & Assignment - Province of British Columbia

[Great68]

Originally Posted by dat_steve

i don't think you're allowed to sublet without landlord consent per the RTA anyway?

Sublet & Assignment - Province of British Columbia

"A tenant must have their landlord’s written permission before subletting or assigning their tenancy. A landlord can’t unreasonably refuse a sublet or assignment of a fixed-term tenancy for a period of six months or more."

[Akinari]

[hud 91gt]

November Stats out today.

Home sales and listings just below 10-year average
Home buyer and seller activity remains near historical averages in the Metro Vancouver housing market.



Residential home sales in the region totalled 2,214 in November 2016, a decrease of 0.9 per cent from the 2,233 sales recorded in October 2016 and a decrease of 37.2 per cent compared to November 2015 when 3,524 homes sold.

Last month’s sales were 7.6 per cent below the 10-year sales average for the month.

“While 2016 has been anything but a normal year for the Metro Vancouver housing market, supply and demand totals have returned to more historically normal levels over the last few months,” said Dan Morrison, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) president.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Metro Vancouver totalled 3,147 in November 2016. This represents a decrease of 20.9 per cent compared to the 3,981 units listed in October 2016 and a 7.2 per cent decrease compared to November 2015 when 3,392 properties were listed.

Last month’s new listing count was 1.2 per cent below the region’s 10-year new listing average for the month.

The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is 8,385, an 8.3 per cent decrease compared to October 2016 (9,143) and a 3.6 per cent increase compared to November 2015 (8,096).

The sales-to-active listings ratio for November 2016 is 26.4 per cent. This is up two per cent from last month (24.4 per cent).

Downward pressure on home prices can occur when the ratio dips below the 12 per cent mark for a sustained period, while home prices can experience upward pressure when it surpasses 20 per cent over several months.

“Demand, relative to supply, for detached homes is lower right now than demand for townhomes and apartments,” Morrison said. “This is causing prices to remain stable, or flat, for townhomes and apartments, while detached homes are seeing modest month-over-month declines.”

The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $908,300. This represents a 1.2 per cent decrease compared to last month and a 20.5 per cent increase compared to November 2015.

Sales of detached properties in November 2016 reached 638, a decrease of 2.1 per cent from the 652 detached sales recorded in October 2016 and a 52.2 per cent decline over November 2015. The benchmark price for detached properties is $1,511,100. This represents a 2.2 per cent decline compared to last month and a 23 per cent increase compared to November 2015.

Sales of apartment properties reached 1,200 in November 2016, an increase of 1.9 per cent compared to the 1,178 sales in October 2016 and a 22.7 per cent decrease compared to November 2015.The benchmark price of an apartment property is $512,100. This is unchanged from last month and is an 18 per cent increase compared to November 2015.

Attached property sales in November 2016 totalled 376, a decrease of 6.7 per cent compared to the 403 sales in October 2016 and a 40.9 per cent decline compared to November 2015. The benchmark price of an attached unit is $667,100. This represents a 0.3 per cent decrease compared to last month and a 23 per cent increase compared to November 2015.

I think the big thing to take home from the stats are the 4 paragraphs.

[SSM_DC5]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

we're going to be renting our the basement suite of the home we will be living in probably in January/Feb

i've only rented to two tenants prior to this in an investment property, and they were both fairly excellent and little to no headaches. I also wasnt as concerned with my tenants there as they were not living right below me..

anywhere i can read up on tenant agreements in depth/anything i should watch out for specifically? Traum i see you talk about adding amendments into your contracts? is this a typical thing do to in terms of damage, cleanliness, etc.?

This is a good start
http://www.revscene.net/forums/68903...-landlord.html

[Hondaracer]

Great, was looking for that thread thanks

[Timpo]

Don’t blame foreign buyers for Vancouver’s real estate mess: CMHC boss
“When a white person buys a house, we don’t know. When a person of a different colour does, we do, and that’s not good economics”
By: Jen St. Denis Metro Published on Wed Nov 30 2016

Don?t blame foreign buyers for Vancouver?s real estate mess: CMHC boss | Metro Vancouver


Evan Siddall, president and CEO of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, speaks in Vancouver on Nov. 30

Foreign buyers are not to blame for skyrocketing real estate, the CEO of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation told a Vancouver audience on Nov. 30.
“The evidence tells us that the origin of investor activity in Canadian real estate is primarily domestic,” Siddall said.
He indicated that B.C.’s foreign buyer tax was poor economics, and has a disturbing racial quality.
“When a white person buys a house, we don’t know. When a person of a different colour does, we do, and that’s not good economics.”
A new CMHC report released Nov. 30 shows that foreign buyers own just 2.2 per cent of condominium units in Vancouver and 2.3 per cent in Toronto.

Data collected by the B.C. government between June and October shows that foreign buyers represented 10 per cent of total transactions in June, rising to 19 per cent in July, the same month a 15 per cent property transfer tax on foreign buyers of Metro Vancouver real estate was announced. It fell to 0.5 per cent of transactions in August (the tax took effect on August 1) and was just 3.6 and 1.7 per cent of total transactions in September and October.


Foreign involvement real estate transactions by dollar amount in Metro Vancouver, June to Octorber. Data source: Government of British Columbia

While some have taken the sharp rise and fall of transactions to be proof that foreign buyers were playing a large part in the Vancouver market, Siddall said that wasn’t the case: the market had started to slow before the tax was introduced, and he described the July spike as a “pull-forward of demand.”
Siddall suggested the local real estate market response has more to do with psychology than actual reduced demand: people believed the tax would work, and that reduced the expectation that real estate would continue to rise.

Overall, a combination of low interest rates, various government tax credits and incentives that encourage home ownership, the growing use of housing as an investment, and economic and population growth are behind the steep rise in real estate prices, Sidall said. But that’s led to a dangerous increase in household debt levels and a larger share of incomes being devoted to housing, which can reduce consumer spending in other parts of the economy.
“Housing has started to nibble away at our economy,” he said. “Real estate conditions and transfer costs now dwarf spending in research and development.”

Siddall believes demand will continue to remain strong in Metro Vancouver, and the only real solution is to increase supply through speeding up the building process and increasing density.
Sidall also pushed for a faster supply of new rental, which is badly needed throughout the region: CMHC’s rental survey, released earlier this week, showed that vacancy rates in several Metro Vancouver municipalities are at or near zero, while rents increased 6.4 per cent, the highest year-over-year increase ever tracked by the agency.

[JDMStyo]

So apparently City of Lougheed lines up crazeness means sold out of 550 units for Tower 1... of 23. $400K for a 600ft box on second floor seem crazy. We will see if things rescind next 6 days.


Michael Moore lookalike here probably got paid $1800 for 5 days of sitting outside.

This may be obvious, but people realize there's going to be 22 more...right?
SHAPE must realize how insane this build is...how expensive can Lougheed get?

Early access VIP realtors and people did all right - people I know had access to 40s' of units and just peeled them out to clients early.

[SumAznGuy]

Originally Posted by JDMStyo

Michael Moore lookalike here probably got paid $1800 for 5 days of sitting outside.

I heard it was $2000 to line up from Monday night 8pm till Saturday 10am

[quasi]

Originally Posted by JDMStyo

So apparently City of Lougheed lines up crazeness means sold out of 550 units for Tower 1... of 23. $400K for a 600ft box on second floor seem crazy. We will see if things rescind next 6 days.


Michael Moore lookalike here probably got paid $1800 for 5 days of sitting outside.

This may be obvious, but people realize there's going to be 22 more...right?
SHAPE must realize how insane this build is...how expensive can Lougheed get?

Early access VIP realtors and people did all right - people I know had access to 40s' of units and just peeled them out to clients early.

The day I wait in line or pay someone to wait in line to buy a piece of property is.................never!!! I think I can confidently say that I'll go to my grave without this ever happening.

Forget lining up days in advance, if there is a lineup to get in to view of more then 5 minutes I'm not interested. I can't be bothered to go to a movie without assigned seating because I'm not showing up early and I'm not waiting.

[fliptuner]

Originally Posted by Timpo

Don’t blame foreign buyers for Vancouver’s real estate mess: CMHC boss
“When a white person buys a house, we don’t know. When a person of a different colour does, we do, and that’s not good economics”
By: Jen St. Denis Metro Published on Wed Nov 30 2016

I didn't know foreign buyers were all non-white.

[GLOW]

Originally Posted by fliptuner

I didn't know foreign buyers were all non-white.

now you know

[Traum]

He indicated that B.C.’s foreign buyer tax was poor economics, and has a disturbing racial quality.

Do people's brains automatically malfunction when their own interest is at stake? Especially in this day and age, and in Canada of all places, what does foreign citizenship have to do with race?

I get that when your personal / business interest is at risk, you come out and defend it however you can. But at least, put some thought and logic into your argument so that it would at least make sense. Otherwise, you are just going to appear as an idiot and completely blow your credibility.