It is just over $61k. I checked back and in 2014 it was $41k. Very few expenses have come up so far. New security cameras, exterior window washing, parking gate repair etc.

On average, how often are maintenance required on a building?

Do most strata's have a minimal contingency fund or are they usually pretty good in case shit hits the fan?

Depends on the people living in the building. Some residents take great care of the common area so the building last longer. Also the build quality and material they use play a factor as well. If it uses crap material then there are going to be more issue and needs major maintenance more.

Like my building already within 2 months 2 seperate units pull the water sprinkle in their units and units below them flood which cause major damage. First time was from 17th floor to 12th floor total or around 10 units have to have major repairs done which can take at least 7 months. 2nd time(Last Friday) it was form 32rd floor to 28th floor around 7 or 8 units suffer water damage. How bad this time. No one knows yet.

But if you have idiots like these living in your building expect the strata fees to go up very quickly and will require more maintenance.

To be honest I still wonder who people can hang clothes on the sprinkle heads..... is like did these people live in a cave? The sprinkle heads is like put in places where it is super hard to reach.

Edit so more update about the 2nd time the sprinkle went off. It was a 3 bedroom unit with 10 guys living in it. Apparently one of the bookshelf they have is really tall and it touches one of the sprinkle so i guess they were stumping on the floor or something and cause enough vibration that the bookshelf came crashing down and cause the sprinkle to go off.........

So my presale has storage lockers for sale at about $5000 + GST each. Size of the lockers are about 30 sqft. I probably do not have too much use for it, but think it may add value down the line when I resell the place. Any opinions on this? For those of you who bought one, did you regret getting it?

When I bought my presale I bought it with the unit. I think is useful. I put a chairs and a few things in there that I normally don't need and it save space in the apartment. I think it was like $700 when I purchase my unit. I think is worth it.

Only thing I regert is not buying any extra parking space. If you the option to purchase an extra parking spot do it. It will boost the price of your unit by a lot.

rent it to this guy
U-Haul evicted man living in Vancouver storage locker | CBC News

For $5k, I'd say the storage locker is worth it. At a minimum, if you were to live at the apartment yourself, it gives you space to throw "stuff" and winter tires into it, and you're getting your money's worth through that convenience. And then when you sell your unit, it adds value to your suite as well.

At the end of the day, I'd say whether it is worth it really comes down to price. Using parking spots as example, I seem to recall reading (here in this thread, probably) that additional parking spots are going for upwards of $30k per spot. Even if I were to pay $90/month to rent a parking space, that amount is still enough to rent a spot for almost 30 years! I might as well just rent.

Most people lug a lot of junk around with them that should probably be tossed out, so at the end of the day for resale value people will most likely see that as a positive, and at the end of the day $5000 is probably a drop in the bucket on top of the mortgage etc

But if you plan to sell your unit that extra parking sport could be worth a lot more than 30k.

Extra parking spots DT go for 50k now.
Even if you wanted one...they're sold out...units with bigger sq ft get priority.
So yes.... get the extra storage or parking spot if you can.

My condo is up for sale now. Get ready for "carefree living" Gotta love realtor speak.

Listings | Live In Victoria | REALTOR® In Victoria, BC

Hopefully sells quickly. Not to be an ass but I absolutely hate the layout of that place lol. That’s how a lot of buildings in the last 10 years or so have been laid out in order to conserve space but man, can’t stand that straight entry with rooms branching off the sides.

Dude has a punchable face.

regarding the storage, i would 100% go for it. 5k is a small fee to pay, but when it comes for you to sell, you can use it to leverage. I find asian buyers in particular want storage space in their condo units.

That's not too bad of a layout compared to many. What drives me nuts is when you walk in the front door and you are already in the kitchen. At least this layout has a little bit of an entryway.

I'm a little surprised that you guys aren't liking the layout in TouringTeg's apartment. In apartments, especially, I hate how hallways would take up a lot of space when there isn't that much space avaialble to begin with. I'd very much rather have that space available for myself to use instead of having it wasted on something I just pass through.

The same goes for secondary washrooms in a smaller suite. When your unit is smaller than 800 sq ft, do you really need 2 full bathrooms?

Goes to show you cant time the market. We struggled to sell our condo in Dunbar in 2014/15, and its assessed value has gone up ~65% from our sale price.

But at the same time we'd struggle to buy our house that we live in if we were to have held onto the condo til now.

exactly lol. this is the optimal layout for maximum space and functionality.

less hallways is better for anything under 900sf.

I always laugh when I see condos that are 1 bed 2 bath. I would much prefer a 2 bedroom.

I don't mind the layout. Feels quite large inside.

I was close to selling my ownership to my partner a few years ago and I would have lost about 5k. It has only gone up in the last two years so I am glad I decided to hold.

No man. I am constantly fighting with the wife for the washroom. 2 baths = happy wife = happy life.

That's where you went wrong, man. You always let the lady go first, even if it means you gotta hold it in for the next hour, or finish your business in 2 min.
:badpokerface:

Just piss in the kitchen sink.
You can relieve yourself, and your wife learns not to take so long.

I like the layout not wasted hallway space. The only thing that bugs me is the Kitchen layout. I would much Prefer a L shape kitchen rather than an U shape. Because with the L shape with the stove, cabinets and the sink along the walls you feel the unit is much bigger due to the open space.

https://www.pixisites.com/sitefiles/..._2_-_met_2.png

That's the layout of my unit. I like how literally there are no hallway and every inch is use. The only thing I hate is that there are no bedroom door and is going to take a lot of work if I wanted one. But for a person or maybe newly married couple is good enough.

Anyone care to share an opinion? Roughly have about 90-100k saved up for a DP. Basically trying to decide if I should look into renting a 1 bed and bath or look into buying a 1 bed and bath. with putting 90-100k down i would be left with 20-30k left in savings. Realistically I would be shopping to buy in the SFU Surrey, New Westminster maybe, Poco, Pitt, Ridge, Langley area. Rentals seem to go for 1300-2000 depending on location and size. Obviously renting i would be putting my money away and looking for someone to help me invest it.

At this point with condo prices sky high is it best to rent for a year or two and wait for the market to cool off, or are most peoples opinion that the prices of condo's can only continue to go up.

*also a side note i work out of town currently but eventually plan to stop and return home for good and go back to school. I think Once i have decided on school or work my girlfriend and i both plan to move away whether its the island or the okanagan. unless there is a major change in the market in the lower mainland.

I think, even though people tell you to avoid an emotional decision, that it is shitty advice.

You are buying a home to live in. You need to enjoy it, and want to spend time there in order for your quality of life to thrive. Your second (simultaneous) purchase is an investment.

The fact is no matter how much someone in here knows about real estate (most of us next to nothing) is that know one knows if it will tank tomorrow, or increase 150% when a new provincial liberal government is elected and has a real estate sale to china to hold off our economic downturn for another 24 months.

My advice is if you can find a place you will be happy in, and can afford it, jump in. We bought believing the market had maxed out, but we loved the place, could afford it, and realized no money in the real estate market is really made or lost until you leave that market. If your home goes up, well you can borrow some money against it.
If your home tanks, nothing happens as long as you can afford your mortgage payments.

If you don't plan to stay for too long, don't tie yourself down with a purchase. Thats where the "buy a place you want to live in" advice comes into play. If you don't see yourself staying for long, its a dice roll if its easy/hard to sell when you need to, and you pay a lot to buy/sell a home in taxes and fees.

I would wait a bit. Price of house and Duplex are coming down. Then you will see apartments price drop a bit. But for long term I would suggest getting a Townhome or Deuplex. Is easier to start a family that way.