Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[blkgsr]

Originally Posted by Gumby

I guess the point I’m trying to make is - where else could they have put the towel rack?

on the glass panel to the side, but people don't want to pay the extra cost to have the custom glass

also any good frameless glass shower door should swing both ways.

[westopher]

Seems like just suction cup hangers being on the glass that doesn’t open would solve the problem.
I totally get why PB thinks it’s ridiculous though. You make this bougie looking bathroom, but it’s functionality is just not there.
Personally I think that the double sink is one of the worst trends as well. Counter space is way more valuable in functionality.

[hud 91gt]

I have the exact same setup in my bathroom after reading your guys comments. I’ve never once even found it awkward. Perhaps my door isn’t as wide? But I just went up and pretended to get out of the shower. I get out (stand on towel or Mat) and just reach for the towel around the door. Has never even seemed awkward. Haha. But thanks for ruining it for me.

I also have double sinks though, so maybe I’m weird . Saying that, double sinks are the shit when you have two people. But I will never buy a flat bottom sink again. Shaving is a huge pain in the ass with little sticky hairs.

Edit: when we renovated, the contractor asked which way we wanted the door to swing. The option was as pictured, or hinges on the opposite side. I specifically chose that way, as the opposite way wouldnt allow you to even get in the shower without strattling the toilet to get around the door. (with our setup, the door couldn’t open 180 degrees due to a slightly offshoot of the wall where the glass “wall” is pictured).

[68style]

Originally Posted by hud 91gt

I also have double sinks though, so maybe I’m weird . Saying that, double sinks are the shit when you have two people. But I will never buy a flat bottom sink again. Shaving is a huge pain in the ass with little sticky hairs.

I got you bro:

https://www.amazon.ca/Catcher-Easy-c...21376846&psc=1

[Gerbs]

Originally Posted by boibuddha

@Gerbs, as stated by many, posting a lower asking price wastes people's time and emotions.

There will be dreamers that think they have an opportunity at owning a place like yours, but they never truly had a chance.
Most people cannot afford to go overbudget on a mortgage by 20%.

Ahh, I'm listing today and the realtor wanted me to list 17% below what I was willing to accept. Felt like I was going to get a lot of foot traffic but they'd have to pay at least $100K more than what I wanted lol.

Decided to list high since I don't want to waste anyone's time. I only listed because similar units around me sold for $130K more non-reno'd, 50 less square footage, no patio. If someone is offering me $175K more for my unit in a single year, I gotta sell.

On the other note, I don't know what I'd do next after selling because there's not many units that I like more than my current unit. I'd thinking about tossing the cash from sale into a open-GIC at 3 - 4% and withdraw with penalty as I lowball and an offer is accepted. With 2-4% interest rates, the cost of buying a nicer place would net me close to $3k/month in housing costs which I don't really want to do. Being house poor sucks.

1. Buy a really nice 1BR ($750 - 800K) in Oly Village, DT, Kits, would even consider Burnaby but pricing is too close.

2. Buy a house in AB ($700 - 750K) Apparently you can get a custom house if you wanna live 25 min away from city centre

3. Toss in index funds

4. Buy a 2BR? ($800 - 900K)

5. Stay at home forever, save 85% of take-home and retire in 9 years?

[PeanutButter]

Originally Posted by Gumby

I guess the point I’m trying to make is - where else could they have put the towel rack?

In that set up, probably no where else. But, that's a completely renovated bathroom, so an experienced renovator should have changed the layout to accommodate.

edit; I'm just really salty because of my renovations and dealing with so many trades people that really didn't know what they were doing even though they claimed they were experienced and even talked down to me when I asked questions as if I didn't know what I was talking about. I was a complete novice and just let them do their thing. I'll just chalk that up to life experience. The next time I deal with trades, I'll have a better understanding on how things work. End of the day, I blame myself. Gotta live and learn.

[Liquid_o2]

Anybody know anything about AGM Renovations? My in-laws want to reno their kitchen and dining area and seem stuck on going with AGM because the company makes sure all materials are ready to go prior to beginning reno's.

All the Google reviews seem to be new from the past week. Can't find much else about them. The last thing I want to see is them get swindled out of tens of thousands of dollars.

[Eff-1]

They spend a lot on advertising nationally and on Mike Holmes, so I can't imagine they will be cheap? I also suspect they might be franchised, so your experience will be largely determined by whomever runs the local branch.

[westopher]

Gerbs if you aren’t an outdoorsy person that still likes a somewhat big city life, edmonton is a great option. At this point their music/art and food scene is way better than Vancouver per capita, and pretty much as good not even scaled. Winter is miserable though, and the mountains are too far for me to consider going back.
Calgary is an option for someone who’s interested in the mountains but doesn’t care about music and food as it’s mostly just shitty steakhouses and nowhere near the arts scene.

[Alpine]

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vanc...ng-requirement

"Moreover, the City is striving to reduce carbon pollution from all new buildings to nearly zero by 2025, and 90% compared to 2007 levels.
Additionally, new requirements that will be a first for North America will limit carbon pollution from building materials and reduce waste that goes to the landfill."

Construction costs are going to skyrocket even further!

[JDMDreams]

I read something about Vancouver mandating AC in all new builds in 2025.

Gerbs why are you selling, didn't you just buy? You're gonna pay elevated price to rebuy locally, and waste realtor fees, and pay property transfer tax. Also rates are like 4% if you want fixed.

[PeanutButter]

Originally Posted by Liquid_o2

Anybody know anything about AGM Renovations? My in-laws want to reno their kitchen and dining area and seem stuck on going with AGM because the company makes sure all materials are ready to go prior to beginning reno's.

All the Google reviews seem to be new from the past week. Can't find much else about them. The last thing I want to see is them get swindled out of tens of thousands of dollars.

It depends on what your definition of swindled is...

Do they have a budget for their kitchen?

Their google reviews are suspect. It's odd to have that many clustered reviews in such a short period of time. It's also odd that the reviewers have an average of 4-6 reviews already written, as most people don't have that many based on my experience. Our companies reviews are mostly people with less than 3 reviews (anecdotal). It's also odd that every reviewer I click to see their other reviews have blocked them.

[westopher]

Mike Holmes approves them so you at least know they paid someone famous.

[Hondaracer]

Holmes is a knob

[Gumby]

Originally Posted by JDMDreams

I read something about Vancouver mandating AC in all new builds in 2025.

This was posted in the heat wave thread:

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/air-cnditionin...uver-1.5912453

The "cooling requirement" is only for residential units in Part 3 buildings, which in B.C. means they're taller than three storeys or exceed 600 square metres (6,458 square feet) in area.

Does a house with 2 storeys + basement count?

[TOS'd]

Your house is a Part 9 building and not Part 3, also its for new buildings not existing.

[Gerbs]

Originally Posted by JDMDreams

I read something about Vancouver mandating AC in all new builds in 2025.

Gerbs why are you selling, didn't you just buy? You're gonna pay elevated price to rebuy locally, and waste realtor fees, and pay property transfer tax. Also rates are like 4% if you want fixed.

Yeah, just bought.

I got kicked back $4.5K for buying and negotiated $3.5K + free notary for selling so I won't lose too much on realtor side. Property tax was partially waived with first-time home buyers.

My payments in 2.5 years will be $3k/month @ 4% for a 15 year old building 1BR, Currently I'm paying like $2,250 @ 1.49%. This will be way more if rates goes to 5 - 7%. Honestly, that spooks me and I didn't wanna be in a position where if I get laid off I'd be carrying close to $5.5K/month including living costs while struggling to find high paying jobs to support this.

I figured it's better to sell and go back to roommate for $1 - 1.3k/month instead. The equity from selling + my original downpayment would net enough to pay for roommating from GIC's alone, let alone index funds or REITS. But this is all speculation, I'm hoping no one buys my place for $700K lol.

[donk.]

^ option 6
Buy a Ferrari bro (okay fine bmw or whatever your into)

[Gerbs]

Originally Posted by donk.

^ option 6
Buy a Ferrari bro (okay fine bmw or whatever your into)

Test drove a M2 yesterday, too bad shifter and clutch sucks. Will consider an old 911 or gated R8 next.

[Gh0st]

Originally Posted by Gerbs

Yeah, just bought.

I got kicked back $4.5K for buying and negotiated $3.5K + free notary for selling so I won't lose too much on realtor side. Property tax was partially waived with first-time home buyers.

My payments in 2.5 years will be $3k/month @ 4% for a 15 year old building 1BR, Currently I'm paying like $2,250 @ 1.49%. This will be way more if rates goes to 5 - 7%. Honestly, that spooks me and I didn't wanna be in a position where if I get laid off I'd be carrying close to $5.5K/month including living costs while struggling to find high paying jobs to support this.

I figured it's better to sell and go back to roommate for $1 - 1.3k/month instead. The equity from selling + my original downpayment would net enough to pay for roommating from GIC's alone, let alone index funds or REITS. But this is all speculation, I'm hoping no one buys my place for $700K lol.

Best of luck Gerbs. Have enjoyed your posts and transparency around your RE purchase.

Not sure what your monthly burn rate is but having a secondary income (preferably from your partner) and dropping car payments may provide you more peace of mind if holding RE is important to you. However, relationships are difficult, and having nice toys can also be very important for the mind and soul.

I have had to make compromises. I know, not ideal but I'm making these decisions for my family. Got rid of my bikes and cars and consolidated. It's not all that bad though as I expect in 2 years when we've built up our nest egg again I'll pick up an older 911 and call it a day. Currently driving a 12 year old car in return for a detached house. As others have mentioned, moving to AB you can have all the above! I have deep roots here so it is hard to pick up and go but I have definitely contemplated it - Calgary/Edmonton to be specific.

Either way keep us posted. It's an interesting time in the market rn and I hope you get top dollar! Cheers.

[Gerbs]

Originally Posted by Gh0st

Best of luck Gerbs. Have enjoyed your posts and transparency around your RE purchase.

Not sure what your monthly burn rate is but having a secondary income (preferably from your partner) and dropping car payments may provide you more peace of mind if holding RE is important to you. However, relationships are difficult, and having nice toys can also be very important for the mind and soul.

I have had to make compromises. I know, not ideal but I'm making these decisions for my family. Got rid of my bikes and cars and consolidated. It's not all that bad though as I expect in 2 years when we've built up our nest egg again I'll pick up an older 911 and call it a day. Currently driving a 12 year old car in return for a detached house. As others have mentioned, moving to AB you can have all the above! I have deep roots here so it is hard to pick up and go but I have definitely contemplated it - Calgary/Edmonton to be specific.

Either way keep us posted. It's an interesting time in the market rn and I hope you get top dollar! Cheers.

Thanks, I appreciate it! After listing, I realized I really appreciate my current home compared to everything else that's out there. Current place has everything I want for my lifestyle at the moment.

A partner moved in with me recently to help out on costs slightly, since her condo was empty most of the time anyways if she's over. She's helping with 40% of housing costs and groceries (As she should). But at 26 years old it's probably not smart to be comfortable relying on a partner for secondary income.

Here's my current run-rate, I've been keeping track of all this for close to 8 to years now. I think it's hard to make personal finance conscious choices when you're also into cars, travelling and experiences.

Housing
Mortgage -1,680.00
Strata -434.25
Insurance -55.59
Property Tax -100.00
Utilities -55.00
Internet -50.40

Total: $2,375

Living
Phone -36.19
Groceries & household -500.00
Gym -38.00
Haircut -36.00
Eating Out -220.00
Entertainment / Bdays -200.00
Clothes / Misc -125.00

Total: $1,150

Auto
Car -630.00 (VeloN, needed a winter toy to stay sane)
Insurance -216.67
Gas (12,000KM) -216.67 (WFH, so this is all leisure use)
Oil Change -16.67
Maintenance -41.26

Total: $1,120

Close to $4,645/month or $55,740 after-tax a year.

[westopher]

$36 for phone? Get me on that fuckin plan!

[JDMDreams]

Your strata is killing you for a one bed sell the veloster and get a $10k Miata??? Profit

[westopher]

That’s pretty standard if it’s a bigger/older one bedroom. At worst it’s like $70-80 more a month than an average smaller newer one bedroom. I’d hardly say it’s killing him.

[JDMDreams]

From my experience strata likes to increase at about 10% a year, so yes it's still very high as it only goes up from here. That 10% doesn't cover any special levies either.