They have a 2 floor gym, study room, dog wash, concierge (I think - too many presales to remember) and a few other things that I can't remember off the top of my head.

What else do you normally add on top of the $700 strata? $200/mo insurance, 200/month property tax, 100 utilities.

Yon't need $200/mo insurance mine is only like $50, most apartment have gas included in the strata so if your stove is gas basically you only pay for electric bill which for me is around $20 to $25/mo.

Langley
Alexander Square
Another budget starter home marketed by 5th Ave (last deal was Avani) 70% sold out yesterday.
$279K for 520ft starting, 6 story lowrise.
15% deposit in a year, avg $600/sqft.
Willoughby area.

Presales def slowing but I know a lot of clients + realtors are away on vacation after a huge year(s).

Strata fees in new buildings are bullshit, I’m in a 9 year old Cressey building with full-size gym, pool, hot tub, sauna and party room and I’m paying $240 a month for 700 sqft... and it started at $216ish 7 years ago, so just incremental inflation-related rises.

I look at these 500sqft places with $300+ a month to start and just smh...

Also concierge has to be the biggest waste of money ever, no idea why anyone would want that as a feature unless you got packages coming in on the daily or something.

So someone can push your drunk ass into the elevator late night lol

Yea like 300+ for concierge and some shitty party room is crazy. I think high strata fees right off the bat might be a decent approach though for these buildings that sell out on presale because they force the owners to contribute right away, whether it’s a rental or vacant investment property. As opposed to a lower strata fee and then having to vote on a special assessment down the road where the majority of owners who don’t live there will instantly vote anything down that takes money out of their pockets

Depends. I rather they take more on my monthly strata and save it as contingency fund so if anything down the road needs fixing I won't have to chip in Vs super low strata fee and all of a sudden something needs fixing and everyone is slap with a 30k bill.

Yah I think it has something to do with pre-loading the building find like Ontario has done for many years... and if you watch those house hunter shows Chicago for example has insane strata fees... up to debate which way is better sucks if you pay high fees and move out fast don’t see the benefit from it but contributed all along type deal.

The counter argument to that is strata just wasting money and not effectively using the contingency fund to plan for future projects, not having a depreciation report, etc

Central air and heating isn't cheap, so that's probably why the strata fees in these new buildings are so high.

If anything, that might actually contribute to having more locals buy instead of investors.

Ok so it isnt just me who noticed this, there always seem to be that one couple that everyone knows

I have this one acquaintance who is always asking for handouts on social media. Mentions how much in debt they are etc. etc.

But then also posts asking if anyone is hiring yet also posts pictures of their FIVE young kids

WTF

That's about $2290/month in canadian child benefits while they are young. These people can't really be using that as their incentive can they. It just does not make sense to me

A friend of mine who lives in Burnaby said his street is being rezoned by the government and houses are slowly being bought out. My friend is choked as he bought his place 6 years ago and did at least $80,000 in renos and landscaping.

Looks like no one is safe from the rezone monster!

:seriously:

Depending on what the new zoning allows, his property might have gone up exponentially.

If his new zoning allows for high rise of 15+ floors, he just won a jackpot.

How does the buy out process work? His property was valued at $1.4M last year (for reference).

Usually 2x to 3x of assessed value.

If his house is in the middle of the street he can ask more. If he's on the corner the developer can say F U.

whereabouts in burnaby?

Family that lives across from my parents spent about 100k in a major reno before the BLNP was finalized. Based on what everyone else in the neighbourhood was offered they'll be walking away with an extra $1.5M in the bank over what they've put in including the initial purchase.

$80k is chump change when you win the land lottery for doing essentially nothing.

Southridge area

I'm just a renter so I know nothing about these things. He told me this today and he's the type of person who bought a home to live in, raise a family and not chase money so yes it came as a shock to him.

The $80,000+ was only in materials. He and his dad did all the work themselves as a father / son project so I don't blame him for his reaction.

Oh and he does live on the corner.

It depends on the density permitted.

Say if the density is increased 10x, his land can worth 10x in price in theory.

However, don't expect a developer to pay 10x the price. They have to make money somewhere after all.

If developer comes knocking on the door, I'd say go have a casual chat with them with no strings attached and see what's their proposal. If your friend likes it but isn't 100% satisfied, I'd hire a RE lawyer to help on the negotiation. (he'd likely hire one anyway if the deal goes through. Might as well start early.)

I get the not chasing money part and sure there are factors like oh you really loved the house or the neighborhood etc but shiet even if I spent 300k on renos if I'm getting 2-3 times assessed value I'm laughing all the way to the bank. I'm sure there might be momentary sadness but when you realize holy fuck how much did I just cash in I'm sure he'll be fine.

1.5 over assessed and one free condo :lol

just hope the developer doesn't go bankrupt

A friend who got bought out on oak got about 3x assessed.

That's her problem having 3 kids. If you can't even afford to to have one kid why have 3? Her own fault.