Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[blkgsr]

what should the pressure be on the home owner side of the PRV?

[rymack]

He did have a pressure gauge and caught the high pressure but the pipe burst i think just from corrosion. I think the pressure is a separate or maybe secondary thing. And they can only inspect what they see. They dont open walls.

Where we screwed up is not hiring a inspector familiar with that neighborhood ( if that even is a thing)

[BIC_BAWS]

Originally Posted by rymack

Feel like warning any potential buyers but not sure how we would even do it. Because I can guarantee they are juts going to fix , patch and cover the spot and not disclose it.

You could link the Listing ID or drop the address

So I don't buy a ticking time bomb LOL

[rymack]

MLS® Number: R2455287

I should say even after the pipe burst the inspector said its a well built house with the exception of the plumbing so if anyone was prepared to purchase knowing the scope of work and could make that work financially while negotiating with the owner go for it.

[Hondaracer]

Honestly depending on the construction of the house and how much you can see without opening walls (ie. uninifhaed basement, unfinished mechanical closet, attic spaces, etc.)

Replacing all the plumbing may not be as daunting as it sounds. If Somone knew what they were doing you should be able to replace the majority of it with only a handful of holes in the ceilings and walls

[quasi]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Honestly depending on the construction of the house and how much you can see without opening walls (ie. uninifhaed basement, unfinished mechanical closet, attic spaces, etc.)

Replacing all the plumbing may not be as daunting as it sounds. If Somone knew what they were doing you should be able to replace the majority of it with only a handful of holes in the ceilings and walls

Was at a friends house on Friday and we had this exact conversation about his place. When he bought it years ago it had Poly B that was starting to spring leaks. Him and a friend (Who was a plumber) changed it all on a weekend and had to open up minimal walls. He was kind of lucky because most his bathrooms lined up vertically through the house.

[BIC_BAWS]

I paid off the Civic finance to qualify for 6x. Unfortunately, the BlueShore doesn't lend in areas like Surrey + East (incl. Langley/Maple Ridge/Mission). I guess the silver lining is that I won't have to move out there anymore. Though I found some pretty sweet places in Langley, but a max purchase price of $950K requiring a $1500/mo suite is basically impossible.

That said, if we look closer, our purchase price would be between 950K - 1.2M, assuming $1500/mo suite. Interestingly, when I expanded my search to the 900K to 1.2M range, all areas had multiple units that had at least a single suite, if not double suite. On that note tho, a double suite in Langley only nets $1800/mo (800/mo + 1000/mo)

[corollagtSr5]

Originally Posted by blkgsr

what should the pressure be on the home owner side of the PRV?

60-80 psi

[Ch28]

Anybody else in the market for a new place and struggling to decide whether to pull the plug on it or not with all the uncertainty going on?

It feels like I'm reading new reports and articles every day about how it's either a great time to buy now or it's better to wait until after summer when the mortgage deferrals will end.

[GLOW]

if the logic of the latter is when defferals end, wouldn't you add on 3 months as well? (bank grace period before they send in the debt collectors to knee cap you?)

[donk.]

Stop reading reports.

Anyone claiming the future is full of shit, if you are ready to buy, buy

"it can go up! but it might go down!" no shit

[twitchyzero]

Originally Posted by GLOW

if the logic of the latter is when defferals end, wouldn't you add on 3 months as well? (bank grace period before they send in the debt collectors to knee cap you?)

i know one bank just piles on the 3 months to your final payment
doesnt affect your score or ability to refi

[JDMDreams]

You do know that banks still make money when they defer you. You are dragging on your balance owing. Of course they will let you drag it on, = more interest for the bank. Plus would you rather buy at 3+% interest? When everyone's pockets are flush with cash to throw around?

[twitchyzero]

in that example total balance over life of loan remains unchanged

[Tapioca]

Originally Posted by Ch28

Anybody else in the market for a new place and struggling to decide whether to pull the plug on it or not with all the uncertainty going on?

It feels like I'm reading new reports and articles every day about how it's either a great time to buy now or it's better to wait until after summer when the mortgage deferrals will end.

It's always a good time to buy when you have the money and find a home that you like.

Unless you're buying with a small down payment, like 10% or lower, I wouldn't be too worried about short-term fluctuations in the market.

[Gerbs]

I think if you're planning to buy a home to live in and enjoy. It's always a good time to buy. However, if it's an investment home it might be a good time to wait it out or look into other cities for better returns.

[Hakkaboy]

Honestly, if we outlaw "rental income" of the property you are purchasing as part of the mortgage application, then real estate prices will a lot more reasonable, and the entire economy would be a lot better, including to those that live on minimum wage.

I truly believe that this is, fueled with FOMO is what fucked over the entire economy here and caused pricing to ridiculous

[twitchyzero]

why wouldnt fomo apply to just about every other urban markets?

[Tapioca]

Originally Posted by twitchyzero

why wouldnt fomo apply to just about every other urban markets?

Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa are other urban markets in Canada where real estate values are exceeding fundamentals.

Coastal cities in the US are experiencing the same price escalation.

[Hakkaboy]

Originally Posted by twitchyzero

why wouldnt fomo apply to just about every other urban markets?

it applies everywhere

Point is people are buying something they can't afford without "helpers". This drives up RE prices (including rent), which drives up wages (to a certain degree), which then drives up prices of goods and services, which then leads to people wanting a "living wage", which then drives up prices even more and so forth. And when wages come up bit more as a function of said inflation, then RE goes up again and the cycle repeats

[Alpine]

Originally Posted by Ch28

Anybody else in the market for a new place and struggling to decide whether to pull the plug on it or not with all the uncertainty going on?

It feels like I'm reading new reports and articles every day about how it's either a great time to buy now or it's better to wait until after summer when the mortgage deferrals will end.

Depends on where you are in life and your current living situation. Are you flexible enough in your life right now to postpone buying a home for a few months/year(s) to wait and see where the market will go? And are you financially flexible enough to still purchase the property/location that you want in the chance that prices do go up?

Are you actively looking right now, working with a realtor, and making appointments to visit properties? Do you know exactly what you want and where you want to live?

[Hondaracer]

Thing is, I know many people who had some half ass quasi suite in their home that they used for leverage on the mortgage however they never ended up having tenants nor gaining that rental income ever.

Also the theory that if those mortgages weren’t dished out and as a result fewer people qualified and in turn home prices fell, how much would they have to fall in order for the renter to be able to afford to buy?

Does a place that went for a million dropping to 700k make it within reach? Does that renter not have a large enough down payment for the million dollar place but now at 700k they do? Kinda doubt it. And that’s with a 30% drop which is virtually unheard of across the board.

[DA9ve]

I agree with above who mentioned there's no best time to buy. If and when you have the 20% down, I'd start looking and pull the trigger after getting pre-approved from your lender. Having said that, if you are looking into a segment which has a large buyer pool with minimal supply, I'd advise you to avoid over extending. I believe as of now quality entry level detached in E Van ($1.2-1.8 mil) is a hot market with multiple offer situations.

At the end of the day, sellers aren't going to offload their home for a huge discount in a down market. There might be deals here and there but we aren't talking about US sub prime market offloads. The discounts in a down market are marginal after looking at your monthly mortgage amount.

FYI, I am only assuming if you are looking into homes in the LML and not some area in the boonies.

[DA9ve]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Thing is, I know many people who had some half ass quasi suite in their home that they used for leverage on the mortgage however they never ended up having tenants nor gaining that rental income ever.

Also the theory that if those mortgages weren’t dished out and as a result fewer people qualified and in turn home prices fell, how much would they have to fall in order for the renter to be able to afford to buy?

Does a place that went for a million dropping to 700k make it within reach? Does that renter not have a large enough down payment for the million dollar place but now at 700k they do? Kinda doubt it. And that’s with a 30% drop which is virtually unheard of across the board.

Great point. I think a modest discount now is 10-15% and that's probably for homes that aren't moving and not too favorable in some aspect.

[Ch28]

Originally Posted by Hakkaboy

it applies everywhere

Point is people are buying something they can't afford without "helpers". This drives up RE prices (including rent), which drives up wages (to a certain degree), which then drives up prices of goods and services, which then leads to people wanting a "living wage", which then drives up prices even more and so forth. And when wages come up bit more as a function of said inflation, then RE goes up again and the cycle repeats

It's interesting that you brought up the part about how it drives up wages to a certain degree.

I believe it was Zuckerberg that said people are free to continue working from home, however, they need to stay within the area of their office.

i.e. San Francisco employees need to stay within San Fran.

His reasoning was that all their wages are tied in directly with the city they're in because cost of living is a big contributing factor.