Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[ssjGoku69]

Is it a laneway house? they're not allowed in Burnaby yet right?

[TypeRNammer]

Originally Posted by ssjGoku69

Is it a laneway house? they're not allowed in Burnaby yet right?

That's correct, laneway homes are not allowed in Burnaby as per Burnaby website.

https://www.burnaby.ca/City-Services...way-Homes.html

[westopher]

There was a cool build in North Van that I'd be super interested in seeing more of. It was a 3 story townhouse complex with a lock off suite in the basement and they were around 1.2 million.
Moving forward I think that would have a huge impact on both affordability in housing and child care/senior care for people to have multi generational households.
Culturally it's a lot less common for European lineage families to have that arrangement, but it's divided enough I'd be happy to have my Mom in the suite. As a family a 2.2 million dollar home is still out of reach, but this hits all the marks. Hopefully it becomes more common, as I really don't care to ever own a 5 bedroom home and laneway house, whether it's affordable or not, but a small yard and a 2 bedroom/1 bedroom split with a garage is perfect.

[JDMDreams]

^^ I've seen them in Burnaby Coquitlam, I recall they were only about $1.5m at the beginning of this year, at I think 2 3 years old. I didn't see in person though. But the layout was much bigger than this in pictures. It has 3 levels so the rental unit was in the basement. Plus it had some studio in the back. Also the garage wasn't built into the house and it has a bigger driveway. Based on my math you should at least net $2500 from basement and studio so the house will pay for itself, at that pricing or have really good income.

[Tapioca]

Originally Posted by westopher

There was a cool build in North Van that I'd be super interested in seeing more of. It was a 3 story townhouse complex with a lock off suite in the basement and they were around 1.2 million.
Moving forward I think that would have a huge impact on both affordability in housing and child care/senior care for people to have multi generational households.
Culturally it's a lot less common for European lineage families to have that arrangement, but it's divided enough I'd be happy to have my Mom in the suite. As a family a 2.2 million dollar home is still out of reach, but this hits all the marks. Hopefully it becomes more common, as I really don't care to ever own a 5 bedroom home and laneway house, whether it's affordable or not, but a small yard and a 2 bedroom/1 bedroom split with a garage is perfect.

Public opinion is pretty divided over towers, but most of the public supports ground-oriented housing and townhouses with legal suites are the future. Even the most crusty anti-change folks are finally starting to see what has happened to people under the age of 40 with respect to their housing prospects.

I've even seen such developments go to the market even in places like Abbotsford.

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by ssjGoku69

Is it a laneway house? they're not allowed in Burnaby yet right?

Correct, not allowed yet though they are talking about it and I'd expect it to be approved in the next year or two so this particular unit is a total outlier. I can't tell if it's just a "workshop" or if it can be converted into a living unit. This particular house also doesn't have a lane in the back so presumably it wouldn't meet the standard of a proper laneway anyways.

If it's a workshop the place is a bit less appealing but it would still make for a great WFH office/man cave/kids play room as these kind of accessory buildings are really rare but ideally I'd like to stick a set of parents in there (and rent it out in the meantime).

[Eff-1]

Originally Posted by westopher

There was a cool build in North Van that I'd be super interested in seeing more of. It was a 3 story townhouse complex with a lock off suite in the basement and they were around 1.2 million.
Moving forward I think that would have a huge impact on both affordability in housing and child care/senior care for people to have multi generational households.
Culturally it's a lot less common for European lineage families to have that arrangement, but it's divided enough I'd be happy to have my Mom in the suite. As a family a 2.2 million dollar home is still out of reach, but this hits all the marks. Hopefully it becomes more common, as I really don't care to ever own a 5 bedroom home and laneway house, whether it's affordable or not, but a small yard and a 2 bedroom/1 bedroom split with a garage is perfect.

I am not sure if it's the same one I am thinking of but the one in North Van we were looking at (both back in 2017 as a presale, and now we have seen them in person) had a basement lockoff suite but I can't imagine my parents living there. It was suuuper small. About 550 sq ft split between 2 levels. I could picture a college student possibly, but definitely not a couple of seniors who are used to their single detached house. Also no yards, and the garages were single car garages that don't leave much room for storing anything once you park a car in there.

I still like the idea of them, but they definitely come with some limitations.

[westopher]

Yeah I didn't get into the details of it. They very well could be the same. Seems silly, as North Van isn't really the spot for a young single person using a basement suite. Seems to make way more sense in kits/kerrsdale/ubc area or in burnaby closer to SFU.
The idea is fantastic though, and I think with the right design it would be the ultimate spot for a single child family and their parent(s) downstairs. It comes back to the common complaint here that there isn't the "bridge" sort of housing. We're missing the gap between condos and the huge step up to a SFH.

[Hakkaboy]

Originally Posted by supafamous

So I've run across this new build (in progress) that seems intriguing to my wife and I as it has the potential for two suites (for eventually housing the parents/in-laws) while checking a bunch of boxes for us but I don't know much about suite/rental rules in Burnaby:

https://ralphmaglieri.com/property/5...r-ave-burnaby/

The main floor looks like it could be easily suited as either a 1 bed or 2 bed unit and then it also comes with a 600sf studio in the back which is not shown in the photos that comes with a bathroom (the neighbouring houses also have these which you can see in satellite view: https://goo.gl/maps/ThTpoCPsDFrxuFBx5)

I've never seen a house in Burnaby with this kind of accessory building before and when I read about the area zoning there's no mention of this type of building being allowed. As it has a bathroom (and hookups for laundry) I assume they know full well that this is going to be a rental/in-law suite.

Anyone know much about these types of buildings and about creating a suite in Burnaby? Nothing on the city website answers my questions (we'll be getting a viewing this week of the house to get more details).

5298 (on the right) looks to be more desirable if they keep the rear opening to the alley at the back

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by Hakkaboy

5298 (on the right) looks to be more desirable if they keep the rear opening to the alley at the back

Yeah, it's already sold (4 weeks ago) and from what I could gather by walking the lot the alley won't be accessible - the fencing is aluminum and covers the entire back of the lot. At best you'd be able to put a gate in at some point for walking out of it.

[JDMDreams]

The one I've seen I don't think there is back yard access, it's literally a fenced off yard, all the parking is in the front. The detached unit is literally like a garden shed pool house with a bathroom. It's one big room with a bathroom attached. So it would be good for man cave or rental for a student or air BnB.

[TypeRNammer]

Currently shopping around for a "re-finance" mortgage

Trying to borrow $400,000, bank offers 1.29% 5 year fixed, does it seem reasonable?

EDIT: Trying to get a laneway home built up

[Euro7r]

Originally Posted by TypeRNammer

Currently shopping around for a "re-finance" mortgage

Trying to borrow $400,000, bank offers 1.29% 5 year fixed, does it seem reasonable?

My buddy told me he recently got 1.19 @ 5 year fixed, with $3,000 cashback & $300 referral with HSBC.

[JDMDreams]

^^ was it cmhc? HSBC promos are usually only for cmhc

[SSM_DC5]

I wanna put up some shelving in my walk-in closet. Where do I buy these units? Looks pretty common in new builds.
So many closet systems that I look up seem to be US based and only ship within the states.

[Fafine]

Originally Posted by SSM_DC5

I wanna put up some shelving in my walk-in closet. Where do I buy these units? Looks pretty common in new builds.
So many closet systems that I look up seem to be US based and only ship within the states.

Do you mean these? https://www.homedepot.ca/product/cut...nch/1000418584

[SSM_DC5]

Originally Posted by Fafine

Do you mean these? https://www.homedepot.ca/product/cut...nch/1000418584

I'm looking for the whole system that I can put on bare walls.

[underscore]

I know Closets By Design can custom make whatever you want. They may have even done the place in that picture since I've got the exact same brackets/hanger rod/etc in my place lol. It's not cheap though.

[Wormiez]

Originally Posted by SSM_DC5

I'm looking for the whole system that I can put on bare walls.

I went with Alex.voogd@stor-x.com from https://www.stor-x.com/

Great quality and price.

[snowball]

Originally Posted by SSM_DC5

I'm looking for the whole system that I can put on bare walls.

If you want cheap, check out wayfair like I did, you get what you pay for though.

[jing]

Looks like a builder grade closet TBH. Ikea has some decent wardrobe solutions that might work for you.

[donk.]

Anyone own in nanaimo, house or condo and rent it out?
Houses for 500k for long term investment sure do look appealing.
Seems to be no houses available for rent either

[SSM_DC5]

Originally Posted by underscore

I know Closets By Design can custom make whatever you want. They may have even done the place in that picture since I've got the exact same brackets/hanger rod/etc in my place lol. It's not cheap though.

How many linear ft and how much you pay? My closet is about 7.5 ft x 4.5 ft with 1 wall as window, so only need about 12 linear ft.

Originally Posted by Wormiez

I went with Alex.voogd@stor-x.com from https://www.stor-x.com/

Great quality and price.

How many linear ft and how much did you pay?

Originally Posted by snowball

If you want cheap, check out wayfair like I did, you get what you pay for though.

One of the site I've been browsing

Originally Posted by jing

Looks like a builder grade closet TBH. Ikea has some decent wardrobe solutions that might work for you.

Was hoping to get something hanging so I don't need to deal with my baseboards. And most of the Ikea I notice incorporate wires or metal frames. Gives me the cheap vibes with the metal.

I think I might be satisfied with builder grade. Some drawers, rods and shelves, how sophisticated can closets be?

[van_driver]

any recommendations on architects that can do work on a home in the Tri Cities?

looking into a kitchen renovation where I'd need to take down a wall, city said they need a drawing done by a designer or architect showing what's currently there and what's proposed. Most of the ones I call only do whole house designs, not just kitchens

Told the contractors Im getting permits and they told me not to do that because it's not worth it and no one will care when buying in the future

[68style]

… I feel like I wouldn’t even tell the city of I was renovating my kitchen lol… how they ever going to find out?