Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[twitchyzero]

Atherton bought the house for $655,000 with a $55,000 down payment. Monthly payments of $6,000 with a mortgage rate of 11.99 per cent weren’t sustainable, but she was hoping to cut that sharply by refinancing after she moved in.
But it didn’t work out that way, and her dream of homeownership is mired in a lawsuit and a series of what she calls inflated and unexpected fees that she can’t afford. Without a lower rate, she says, she’ll lose the house to foreclosure.
She calls the situation.” … Hell, hell, hell. Depression, tears – it’s an ordeal that no one should have to go through.”

ho'boii

[quasi]

Originally Posted by Scotsman

Global News story about how Canadians are underwater with respect to their homes

Here's the 2 min video story: https://globalnews.ca/video/rd/1206498883914/

Here's the story on the website: https://globalnews.ca/news/3951652/i...medium=Twitter

It shows the heat maps of Toronto and Vancouver of the % the household income is spent on shelter costs (shelter cost to income ratio)

It’s not surprising where homeowners are spending more than 50 per cent of their pre-tax income on shelter costs. Stressed households are concentrated in cities where real estate is most expensive – Toronto and Vancouver, but also noticeably in Barrie, Hamilton and Victoria.

Most other Canadian communities are below 8 per cent.

“The old guideline was about 30 per cent. Even if you make that 35 or 40, you’re seeing people with 10 or 20 per cent more than that,” Toronto-based insolvency administrator Scott Terrio says of his clients.

I think the stats are skewed where foreign income isn't known so the income portion of the ratio is artificially low.

I feel for anyone getting into the market for the first time now, my kid is screwed until my wife and I die.

[Great68]

Originally Posted by twitchyzero

ho'boii

What kind of shit credit rating did this woman have to get a mortgage at 12% these days?

[Hondaracer]

Who the fuck would get in on that deal? 6k a month at 11%?

[stewie]

Originally Posted by quasi

I feel for anyone getting into the market for the first time now, my kid is screwed until my wife and I die.

Another reason why me and my girlfriend have decided to buy together. If you're on your own there's not a snowballs chance in hell you'll get into the market without a substantial loan from your family, if it's even possible.

If you're a single guy and living on your own you're probably paying 1k a month for rent not including bills. Meet a single girl in the same situation and the two of them combined are wasting 25k a year on renting. We're both confident of where we're going so we might as well put our money to good use and pay off our own mortgage rather than paying off some other persons.



I've let people make bad decisions knowing they're setting themselves up for failure but to let this person buy a house with that rate and price takes it to a whole new level.

[Great68]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Who the fuck would get in on that deal? 6k a month at 11%?

I have some sympathy for those trying to make it work, are right at their limits of affordability right now but may be swept up if rates rise.

But this woman clearly didn't do her research on how mortgages and other financial things work. She obviously couldn't afford her house in the first place and never should have bought it.

I don't have much sympathy for stupidity and ignorance, but also shame on the bank for giving her that mortgage in the first place.

[Traum]

Originally Posted by Great68

I don't have much sympathy for stupidity and ignorance, but also shame on the bank for giving her that mortgage in the first place.

I can't imagine how any A lender would approve a mortgage like that nowadays. Even with B lenders, the worst I've heard is something to the tune of 7 or 8% on a (home) mortgage.

[Liquid_o2]

Yah, no idea how she got an 11% rate. This article picked a person who is an anomaly and in a terrible situation. I feel for her... but obviously she needs a course on financial literacy.

[TouringTeg]

Just this morning I heard a story third hand so take it with a grain of salt.

Couple purchases home in Victoria and it goes up in value. They also own a 50% stake in an investment property (rented out). They have borrowed all the equity out of their primary residence for renos, travel to Europe, and nice cars. They decide to buy out their partner on the investment property by getting a line of credit.

The fixed 5 year term is up for renewal on their primary home worth about $720k. They have taken the max equity out so I assume the mortgage is pretty big. They also have to service the debt on the investment property and the line of credit. The bank said they must qualify at 5.09% and now they don't qualify for a mortgage on their own home. They were then offered a loan at 8% by the same bank as they are considered high risk. (!)

Now they are looking at alternative lending options (broker etc).

Pretty scary but they have no one else to blame.

[Mr.HappySilp]

Originally Posted by TouringTeg

Just this morning I heard a story third hand so take it with a grain of salt.

Couple purchases home in Victoria and it goes up in value. They also own a 50% stake in an investment property (rented out). They have borrowed all the equity out of their primary residence for renos, travel to Europe, and nice cars. They decide to buy out their partner on the investment property by getting a line of credit.

The fixed 5 year term is up for renewal on their primary home worth about $720k. They have taken the max equity out so I assume the mortgage is pretty big. They also have to service the debt on the investment property and the line of credit. The bank said they must qualify at 5.09% and now they don't qualify for a mortgage on their own home. They were then offered a loan at 8% by the same bank as they are considered high risk. (!)

Now they are looking at alternative lending options (broker etc).

Pretty scary but they have no one else to blame.

Why int he world would they take equity on their home for reno(well maybe reno) but going on trips and buying cars?!?! what were they thinking? They did this on their own so they should get shit on.

[TouringTeg]

Yep. They sunk themselves.

Financial literacy should be a high school course if it isn't already.

[noclue]

It's actually pretty common using HELOC to buy toys or vacations and it's extremely tempting with the current interest rates, they justify it as "this $80K car only costs $300 a month if I only pay the interest." But banks jack the HELOC rates the instant interest rates go up via the central bank or the bond market.

[Traum]

I can't blame anyone for tapping into their HELOC or something similar to buy toys or vacations because I have certainly thought of doing the same thing at multiple points in my life. In my case, the plan is to pick up a nice, expensive vehicle that I would otherwise plan on purchasing / financing through other means anyway, and the HELOC is really just the lowest interest vehicle that I'd have access to among my options. But of course I would take my debt servicing capabilities into account before doing this.

Personally, I would only splurge on a long term (semi-)durable good -- ie. a nice car, a major home reno -- with my HELOC. One time stuff (such as a vacation) would not be something I'd consider. But the point is, at all times, you just have to be mindful of how much debt servicing capabilities you have. Insolvency due to stupidity, lack of planning, or poor planning is not an option.

[yray]

LOL, and the game starts now

Talking to a lyft driver this weekend in vegas. Guy bought a half acre 4 bedroom house for 100k and already paid off half his mortgage. He was probably in his early 30s...

[Hondaracer]

A 4 bedroom mobile home without a pad to put it on probably costs more than 100k.

[yray]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

A 4 bedroom mobile home without a pad to put it on probably costs more than 100k.

who knows, maybe it was a foreclosure

There are some houses that are pretty good for 300k.

[Hondaracer]

I’m just saying like, do you really want to live in a place where the value of your home and the property it sits on isn’t even worth what it would cost to build the house

[twitchyzero]

Nevada doe

[Badhobz]

Exactly ! Vegas is a shit hole place to live. Great to visit but that "city" is ugly as hell. Dusty, barren, and unremarkable in topography or climate.

Good hookers though... I mean buffets

[originalhypa]

Originally Posted by Badhobz

Exactly ! Vegas is a shit hole place to live. Great to visit but that "city" is ugly as hell. Dusty, barren, and unremarkable in topography or climate.

Good hookers though... I mean buffets

A friend of mine is a high up at Planet Hollywood in Vegas and just finished up with the Britney Spears residency. He does really well for himself and has a nice house in the hills. He regularly comes back to Vancouver, but says he misses Vegas. The great thing about Vegas is that it's a polite and relatively safe place to live. Crime rates are low, and the weather is great. For the most part, the people are nice and easy to deal with compared to many big US cities. Like any place in the world, if you have money you're going to have a good time regardless.

But geographically, it's a sandy, brown, flat, ugly place. Job opportunity is based on working in the service industry, prostitution, professional poker, or getting your law degree. The closest cities are Salt Lake to the north, and LA to the southwest. I see Vegas as not unlike living in the middle east. Except with sex, booze, drugs, and western culture.

[Traum]

Quick question:

My cousin is a Canadian citizen with non-resident status, and she currently does not file a Canadian income tax return. Instead, she is currently working in Asia, and is considering to buy a place in (Metro) Vancouver -- both for medium term investment purposes and for generating income (ie. plan on renting it out for the time being). She may or may not move back to Vancouver in the future.

1) If she purchases a property, does she have to pay foreign home owner tax?

2) What are the tax implications when she starts renting the place out? Obviously, she will have to start filing (Canadian) income tax returns. My biggest concern and the question that I do not have the answer to is -- would she have to start reporting her Asia income, and get (Canadian) taxed on that as well?

[buhdeh]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

I’ve worked in quite a few of those buildings around that mosaic development. Pretty typical mainlander occupied sesspools imo..

Massive damage to hallways and entries from people being careless with move ins, signs everywhere about cig butts and dogs shitting in the hallways etc. people with no regard for letting strangers into the building etc etc.

This is so true. I live in a "luxury" condo that is probably 80-90% mainlanders. Every fucking week, management has to send out notices about people leaving trash in the trash rooms (as opposed to pushing it down the chute), people smoking in the stairwell or balconies, people leaving dog shit everywhere. I'm just glad the value of my condo has skyrocketed because all the mainlanders want to live there. Can't wait to sell this place to another dumb ass mainlander!

[Hondaracer]

Originally Posted by originalhypa

A friend of mine is a high up at Planet Hollywood in Vegas and just finished up with the Britney Spears residency. He does really well for himself and has a nice house in the hills. He regularly comes back to Vancouver, but says he misses Vegas. The great thing about Vegas is that it's a polite and relatively safe place to live. Crime rates are low, and the weather is great. For the most part, the people are nice and easy to deal with compared to many big US cities. Like any place in the world, if you have money you're going to have a good time regardless.

But geographically, it's a sandy, brown, flat, ugly place. Job opportunity is based on working in the service industry, prostitution, professional poker, or getting your law degree. The closest cities are Salt Lake to the north, and LA to the southwest. I see Vegas as not unlike living in the middle east. Except with sex, booze, drugs, and western culture.

You get a tonne for what you pay in Vegas.

My uncle who is pretty much a country bumpkin now (grew up in Vancouver but has lived most of his life in Tumbler ridge and Invermere) is a high up at a massive mining company who’s NA HQ is in Vegas. They offered him a crazy deal to essentially close out his career which would involve moving to Vegas for 4-5 years and being based out of the Hq there

He was going to get a house allowance of like $3000 a month, he said for that you’re getting like a 6+ bedroom house with a pool in a gated community

[Great68]

Originally Posted by Traum

Quick question:

My cousin is a Canadian citizen with non-resident status, and she currently does not file a Canadian income tax return. Instead, she is currently working in Asia, and is considering to buy a place in (Metro) Vancouver -- both for medium term investment purposes and for generating income (ie. plan on renting it out for the time being). She may or may not move back to Vancouver in the future.

1) If she purchases a property, does she have to pay foreign home owner tax?

2) What are the tax implications when she starts renting the place out? Obviously, she will have to start filing (Canadian) income tax returns. My biggest concern and the question that I do not have the answer to is -- would she have to start reporting her Asia income, and get (Canadian) taxed on that as well?

If she's a citizen, the foreign buyer tax (or the Additional Property Transfer tax as it's actually called) does not apply.

Whether she files Canadian income tax or not has no bearing on that classification.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/t...y-transfer-tax

If she doesn't rent it out, she will have to pay:

A) City of Vancouver Empty Home Tax (1%)
B) BC Speculation Tax (1%)

If she rents it out for the minimum required interval, those two taxes don't apply (6 months of the year)

To answer your second question, to be charged Canadian tax on her Asian income she would have to be considered a "Factual Resident" of Canada defined as "Significant residential ties" to Canada. I'm not sure if her buying a condo would classify her as Factual Resident. It's possible, I'd call CRA to get the right answer. Here's some info on it: 6 must-know tax facts for Canadians earning abroad | CBC News

[Euro7r]

Originally Posted by buhdeh

This is so true. I live in a "luxury" condo that is probably 80-90% mainlanders. Every fucking week, management has to send out notices about people leaving trash in the trash rooms (as opposed to pushing it down the chute), people smoking in the stairwell or balconies, people leaving dog shit everywhere. I'm just glad the value of my condo has skyrocketed because all the mainlanders want to live there. Can't wait to sell this place to another dumb ass mainlander!

I just bought a presale at River District. Glad it's East Vancouver, not as many mainlanders lol. Well I hope not as many, as I asked what the major demographics living in that area, mostly working class.

When it's done, I'll see whether I want to keep and live in it or sell it. Reason is mainlanders disgust me, no manners and don't give a fuck. I've lived in a house my entire life, even though I don't talk to any of my neighbours, each respect their own property and mind their own business. E.g. No one dumping shit around or making surrounding area dirty. With condo living, even if the fucking garbage room is right in front of them, they'll dump shit all over the place anyways. Had my buddy show me pic of this mainlander dumping french fries in the parking lot sewer drain at his condo building when the garbage room is literally right there....