Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[4444]

Originally Posted by riff raff

Your first problem was buying two bedroom units. I wouldn't think of ever buying a two bedroom in today's market for investment purposes. Two bedrooms are too expensive, a lot of units are on the market which tend to sit and you can never get enough rent to cover your costs.

All the units are own are one bedrooms and in buildings with low strata. I never furnish my units because it's not worth it and honestly you don't get much in return if it is furnished. I don't touch renters who are students and I look for tenants who want to sign a year+ lease. Yes you're going to get bad tenants but that's part of the game.

I keep things within my means. I have a set price rang and I look for units in buildings where I already own units because I know the strata and comps. I'm not in the market to buy a unit and flip in a year or two, I'm looking long term.

i'd love to see your 'financials' on all these hugely cash flowing investments...

acquisition price, current BC assessment, downpayment, monthly mortgage (interest and principle), strata, insurance / other costs, tenant turnover.

i'll give you mine, 3 houses, all about $100K each, rent, all about $1,050, costs about $320 per month ($100 for mgmt, $50 HOA, $110 property tax, $60 for insurance), interest $300 per unit - flow about $500 per month, or a 9.6% yield.

all are worth about $175K - getting rich on real estate is fucking tough, i've made some pocket money on mine because i timed the fuck out of it, but i don't like it when people blindly say that real estate = baller, it's not.

[multicartual]

If you want to make money, get into porn


It is so fucking easy to make money in the adult business, put 50k into filming yourself fucking hot chicks and build up a brand. Next thing you know you'll be making a nice income and having women email you asking you to please have sex with them so you can make money from their vaginas. How can you lose?!?!

[donjalapeno]

Originally Posted by riff raff

I believe long term condos will be a good investment. More and more people can't afford to buy homes, hell some can't even afford to buy condos because they can't come up with the down payment so they're renting. The thing with condos is it's all about the area and the building. Downtown is a no brainier if you're looking for a good investment with a nice monthly return but even in DT the monthly rent varies quite a bit depending on the area. If you're in and around YT than you'll get a nice rental income and you won't have issues renting. other parts it's harder to rent.

I own a few units right now in DT, my goal is own at least 10 rental units within the next 5 years and expand outside of DT into Richmond, Burnaby and other parts of Vancouver.

How old are you if you don't mind me asking.

[Hehe]

Originally Posted by multicartual

If you want to make money, get into porn


It is so fucking easy to make money in the adult business, put 50k into filming yourself fucking hot chicks and build up a brand. Next thing you know you'll be making a nice income and having women email you asking you to please have sex with them so you can make money from their vaginas. How can you lose?!?!

Believe it or not, it's an incredibly competitive industry. It's really hard to make a name because all the layer of distribution channels.

A client of ours, (a big name in the industry, I believe we all watched their work some time in our life. ) who hired us for their transition from traditional to 100% online, been having problem even maintaining the margin it used to get. And this is coming from one of the major labels.

Imagine how tough it would be for "start-ups".

[TouringTeg]

4444, what city are those houses in?

Here are the numbers for a rental condo I have in Langford with a business partner. 1 bed, 1 bath, 2009 build. 1 covered parking spot. Numbers are approximate.

Acquisition price: $236,000 Feb 2011
Current BC assessment: $198,800 (Near identical unit is listed for 236k)
Downpayment: $55,000
Original mortgage: $181,000 Currently: $171,000
Monthly mortgage (interest and principle): 35yr amort, 5yr fixed 3.45% $740 (Principle $240, Interest $500)
Strata: $183/month
Property tax: $100/month
Total monthly cost: $1025
Rent: $1075

Tenant turnover: First tenant was awful and did not pay after a few months. Lesson learned. Then a 1 yr student who was great. Currently have a young couple who are very respectful. They want to stay another year at least.

As you can see we are not going to getting rich from this and we have a lot of capital tied up.

[hud 91gt]

I also have a closet sized condo (500sq/f) in Victoria, albeit downtown. I went the furnished route because I had a spare condo's worth of furniture. Decorated beautifully and all inclusive (cable, dishes), all you need to move in is a suitcase. It rents for $1650. I've had nothing but amazing tenants since I raised the price from $1200 (Unfurnished) to $1650 (All inclusive), the people who inquired for the $1200 rate were the reason I decided to furnish it and get a higher end of clientele. I make a few hundred dollars a month at the end of the day, but I don't know if i'd do it again. If you end up getting any damages your out of money, and I question todays market.

I'm going to go ahead and say 4444 places are in the states. Which sounds like an even more of a headache. I'm a landlord a quick ferry ride away, I couldn't imagine being a greater distance.

[4444]

Originally Posted by hud 91gt

I'm going to go ahead and say 4444 places are in the states. Which sounds like an even more of a headache. I'm a landlord a quick ferry ride away, I couldn't imagine being a greater distance.

See the $100/month in mgmt fees.

U have to take a ferry (cost and time) to deal with issues. I have to respond to an email to authorize fixes to issues.

I think urs is the headache, not mine.

I don't even live in North America anymore, and all my gains are tax free (totally legit, I would never evade taxes - just a fortunate set of circumstance allow this to occur).

But yes, in the states, all late 2000's builds, all long term tenants. Was a good buy, but the easy money has been made

[hud 91gt]

Originally Posted by 4444

See the $100/month in mgmt fees.

U have to take a ferry (cost and time) to deal with issues. I have to respond to an email to authorize fixes to issues.

I think urs is the headache, not mine.

I don't even live in North America anymore, and all my gains are tax free (totally legit, I would never evade taxes - just a fortunate set of circumstance allow this to occur).

But yes, in the states, all late 2000's builds, all long term tenants. Was a good buy, but the easy money has been made

Wow, your touchy aren't you. I was not trying to attack you by any means, but it sure seems like you took it that way. Simply trying to state land ownership is not the be all/end all way of investing. Chill out big man. You get awfully defensive when you feel someone is stepping into your area of "expertise". Use your "securities" to become a little more secure with yourself. You'll be happier overall.

Ok, now your allowed to get bent out of shape

[4444]

Originally Posted by hud 91gt

Wow, your touchy aren't you. I was not trying to attack you by any means, but it sure seems like you took it that way. Simply trying to state land ownership is not the be all/end all way of investing. Chill out big man. You get awfully defensive when you feel someone is stepping into your area of "expertise". Use your "securities" to become a little more secure with yourself. You'll be happier overall.

Ok, now your allowed to get bent out of shape

not touchy - you made a dumb statement, i corrected you.

why is it that when people are wrong, they automatically say someone is being touchy or freaking out.

i didn't take it personally, i merely corrected the errors in your ways, nothing more, nothing less. i don't care about what you think of my expertise or whatever, that's my business, my money, my wealth, not yours

[Z3guy]

^ you are the new marco911 lol! You are touchy and way too sensitive......I can't wait for your douchey arrogant response......you are hilarious! Thank you for the entertainment

[4444]

Originally Posted by Z3guy

^ you are the new marco911 lol! You are touchy and way too sensitive......I can't wait for your douchey arrogant response......you are hilarious! Thank you for the entertainment

same shit, different day with you.

the internets is hardly the forum for assessing one's touchiness or sensitivity.

[Z3guy]

Yep you are right again about same shit different day from me, at least I am consistent. Then again so are you! I was wrong about comparing you to marco911, at least he was witty and pretty funny.

The "internets" must be for immature children who feel the need to tell the world how much I know about real estate investing and making outrageous comments that would get you punched in the face if you made the same comments in real life. I luv revscene!

[Harvey Specter]

Originally Posted by Z3guy

^ you are the new marco911 lol! You are touchy and way too sensitive......I can't wait for your douchey arrogant response......you are hilarious! Thank you for the entertainment

This is the reason why I ignore this guy and never respond to him. And it's pretty rare that I ignore anyone on RS.

[jasonturbo]

I just lol'd at this one;

Fakes ? Greater Fool ? Authored by Garth Turner ? The Troubled Future of Real Estate

I realize this is hard to believe. But sometimes realtors lie. Real estate boards revise statistics when they think nobody’s looking. Big outfits like Re/Max and Royal LePage publish ‘reports’ with zero methodology. Agents routinely relist pooched houses so they hit the market as fresh. And the most brazen house-floggers even try to dupe the media. Which is none too hard.

A famous case is rattling the industry in Vancouver (you can read all about it on the Whispers blog). Of course. Where else? The dorks who run MAC Marketing, a bunch of vigilantes usually hired to flog condo developments, outdid themselves during the Chinese New Year last year when network TV cameras were invited to the grand opening of a new building called Maddox.


Two comely babes were introduced to the gullible reporters as sisters who were shopping for condos which their wealthy parents from Mainland China would soon be buying for them. It was perfect. It hit all the buttons. Hot Asian Money. Giggly girls buying real estate like pots of liquid lip liner. Foreigners pushing out the locals. Endless gobs of offshore money promising ever-higher prices. And, of course, a sexy hot building destined to brim with monied pulchritude.

Below are the “sisters.”



The news items went to air. A breathlessly horny city lapped it up. And, in the afterglow, it was all proven to be fake. There were no Chinese condo-snorfling sisters and no rich parents. Just two MAC Marketing employees pretending to be buyers, and another employee pretending to sell them units.

Buried in complaints, the Real Estate Commission of BC was ultimately forced to look into the event. The outcome was never in question. It was marketing fraud. Somebody’s orifices had to run red. And the unlucky guy turned out to be Nic Jensen, who was managing the condo presentation centre that day. His penalty: no selling real estate for two weeks, and a $1,200 fine.

Huh? For overseeing a complete and total ethical breach? For orchestrating a lie that was subsequently seen by hundreds of thousands of people? For trying to influence market conditions and sell product under false circumstances? For pissing off Global?

Obviously the penalty did not fit the crime. It begged more realtor justice. They could have revoked his vanity license plate or banned him from reality television. But that would have been just too cruel.

However, besides the fake buyers and the media manipulation, the Sisters Affair has raised some other questions. Like, why was the manager punished personally and the company behind it all wasn’t? How come the two employees who falsely identified themselves as buyers weren’t also nailed? How about the other employees who joined the masquerade, pretending to help the sisters pick out two-bedroom units?

The answer, says the real estate cop agency, is simple. All those people are just employees, not licensed realtors. Therefore they’re not subject to disciplinary action. Bug off.

I now hear that the outstanding blog, Whispers from the Edge of the Rainforest, and the mag Business in Vancouver are vaguely apoplectic about all of this, believing it’s outrageous that unlicensed, unregulated and apparently unethical employees of a marketing company are actively selling condos to ordinary schmucks at pre-build presentation centres. But they are. And there’s no law preventing it, in BC or Ontario.

Sayes the Whispers top dog: “I believe this is an astonishing revelation and that real estate industry is failing to protect Canadians from a massive potential for abuse here. The only people who should be allowed to show, market, or otherwise promote condos at a real estate pre-sale centre should be licensed realtors bound by their professional code of conduct.”

Well, duh.

It’s wrong, and it’s also standard practice.

Says one senior executive working for a major Toronto-based developer: “You can work for a builder as a sales representative and sell homes legally in Ontario if you are hired as an employee of the organization. However, most builders prefer to hire a 3rd party sales organization which provides salespeople. Benefits do not have to be paid by the builder who subsequently saves money and liability.”

Now, look at the picture below, published here some days ago:



Those people are at a sales presentation centre for new houses north of Toronto, with some of them spending well over $1 million, and doing it in an average time of about 15 minutes. Closing the sales – which are legally binding, firm and require on-the-spot deposits – are sales associates who may or may not be trained, licensed, regulated or even registered. Do you think the buyers realize that?

Of course, we all know people who flock to a developer’s pre-construction event to buy imaginary real estate from fuzzy drawings and compete to have red dots put on a board are fools. But now we know more. It’s all fake. Except the regret.

Like it wasn't already obvious this was going on lol

[multicartual]

Originally Posted by Z3guy

and making outrageous comments that would get you punched in the face if you made the same comments in real life.

Oh come on, I've been making outrageous comments on and off the internet for over a decade and the only times I get punched are when I've hit on someone's girlfriend at a bar

[multicartual]

Originally Posted by jasonturbo

I just lol'd at this one;

Fakes ? Greater Fool ? Authored by Garth Turner ? The Troubled Future of Real Estate



Like it wasn't already obvious this was going on lol

Owning VS renting is seen as a huge, huge status symbol in Vancouver. That status of being a landlord and "having other people pay my mortgage" is a bragging point I overhear at social functions alllllllll the time. Just last week I was at a table of strangers with a girl who invited me, nearly every guy was talking about how many properties they owned, how renters are such losers, and how they're going to own X number of blocks in a decade. I sat back and watched these dorks talk like they were the Lords of Richards street for owning a few condos!


That status drives a huuuuuuge amount of people to get into real estate to feel a sense of dominance over other people, for sure!

[jasonturbo]

Originally Posted by multicartual

Owning VS renting is seen as a huge, huge status symbol in Vancouver

They want mortgages? They can have em!

Look what the mailman just delivered

[westopher]

Mods close thread plz. Op's question answered. Real estate bad, gt3 good.

[adambomb]

Having people pay your mortgage = GT3
/thread

[Ulic Qel-Droma]

owners, renters, are all losers.

the real winners are the guys loaning the money to you guys who need mortgages, and to people that need money to construct these things you guys live in and rent out. lol...

[Mr.C]

Originally Posted by multicartual

Owning VS renting is seen as a huge, huge status symbol in Vancouver. That status of being a landlord and "having other people pay my mortgage" is a bragging point I overhear at social functions alllllllll the time. Just last week I was at a table of strangers with a girl who invited me, nearly every guy was talking about how many properties they owned, how renters are such losers, and how they're going to own X number of blocks in a decade. I sat back and watched these dorks talk like they were the Lords of Richards street for owning a few condos!


That status drives a huuuuuuge amount of people to get into real estate to feel a sense of dominance over other people, for sure!

Where do you meet these people? Just so I don't go there.

Speaking as a landlord and renter, my next purchases are definitely not going to be in the Lower Mainland.

[Harvey Specter]

mortgages free + single = gt3.
mortgages free + wife = fully loaded civic if you're lucky.

[jing]

Originally Posted by riff raff

mortgages free + single = gt3.
mortgages free + wife = fully loaded civic if you're lucky.

Or if you're JT, mortgage free + gf = M3, GT3, and K-swap Civic (I think)

[jasonturbo]

Originally Posted by jing

Or if you're JT, mortgage free + gf = M3, GT3, and K-swap Civic (I think)

Correct, but K swapped civic has been giving us lots of issues lol First the release bearing went after the swap, then put it all back together and bam, rear main seal falls apart :s

We will be ridding ourselves of that car shortly.

[multicartual]

Originally Posted by jasonturbo

We will be ridding ourselves of that car shortly.

302 + T5