Sun

Becoming a homeowner is an exciting time, but it can also be overwhelming! There are professionals to consult, new information to learn and budgets to consider. And with the federal government’s recent changes to mortgage rules, homebuyers have to consider additional factors when it comes time to negotiate their mortgage terms.

As of October 15, 2008, new rules apply to mortgages – for homebuyers who make a down payment of less than 20 per cent on a property.

So what does this mean? It means that the maximum duration of a mortgage (the amortization period) – cannot exceed 35 years. The maximum amortization period was 40 years before the change. In addition, homebuyers now must make a minimum down payment of 5 per cent. Previously, homebuyers could borrow 100 per cent of the purchase price of their new home.

Beyond down payments and amortization periods, there’s still a lot to learn. When it comes time to answer questions like, “Should I rent or buy?” or “How much house can I afford?” look for trusted information sources that help you make sense of the homebuying process and achieve homeownership faster.

A useful website to get you started is Homeownership.ca – a first-time buyer’s guide to homeownership. The site explains the recent government changes to mortgage rules and also offers helpful tools, advice and information about the homebuying process in easy-to-understand terms.

An informed homebuyer is a savvier homeowner, so if you’re in the market for a new home, learn all you can about the buying process and the government’s new mortgage rules. While the journey towards homeownership may seem complex, the more information you have at your disposal, the closer you’ll be to getting the home of your dreams.

© The Vancouver Sun 2008

 

Potential landlords should be aware of the laws, restrictions and regulations regarding rental properties

Sun

Thinking of supplementing your income with a rental property or unit? According to recent research, sixty-nine per cent of Canadian homeowners think that owning a residential rental property or renting part of their home is a good investment. But homebuyers considering this need to keep some important legal dimensions in mind. Work closely with your real estate lawyer to anticipate these issues:

LEGAL OR ILLEGAL RENTAL UNIT?

Provincial and municipal laws determine whether an apartment is legal or not. Things to consider include: what the unit is to be used for, whether there is legal parking, rules surrounding minimum square footage and number of units allowed by zoning, legality of the rent charged, condition of the property and required repairs.

INCOME STREAM IS NOT GUARANTEED:

If there is outstanding repair work required, a landlord may not be able to increase the rent for a new tenant until the repairs are done. Depending on the rules of the specific province, if the property is not well maintained, tenants can obtain a rent freeze or apply for reimbursement for costs associated with repairs.

DON’T COUNT ON RAISING THE RENT WHENEVER YOU WANT:

Existing tenants may already have leases that limit when and how the landlord can raise the rent. Although rent increases can usually be taken once a year, there may be complicated legal requirements in terms of the form to be used and how it is to be delivered. In some cases, the amount of the increase may also be limited by law.

THERE ARE CONDO-SPECIFIC ISSUES:

Most condominium corporations have restrictions about unit owners renting to tenants. Most allow rentals as long as tenants abide by buildings by-laws and rules.

OTHER THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:

Houses where rooms are rented that share a kitchen and bathroom are often considered boarding houses and may fall under different laws and requirements. Also, renting part of your home may affect the tax treatment of your principal residence by triggering a sale for tax purposes or losing part of its tax-free status for capital gains purposes.

A useful resource for homebuyers is the TitlePLUS Real Simple Real Estate Guide, a website that provides information on what lawyers do and how to avoid fraud, as well as mortgage calculators, a locate-a-lawyer feature and other tools. It is available for free at www.titleplus.ca.

© The Vancouver Sun 2008

 

Sun

If you’re in the market to rent your next home, chances are, you’ll end up having to make a few compromises when it comes to choosing the neighbourhood, features – and price range.

To help you make the best decision, it is a good idea to make a thorough list of all your needs, and preferences before you begin your search.

For most of us, one of the most important considerations is cost. While the basic monthly rent is an obvious cost, there are also many other less-visible expenses that are often overlooked, but which can easily add up over time. When figuring out how much home you can afford, don’t forget to consider such questions as:

– Are utilities like heat, electricity, water, cable television and Internet connection included? If these costs aren’t included in your rent, find out which utility companies provide services to the building, and contact them to see if they can give you an estimate of the average monthly costs. Of course, the exact costs will fluctuate in different seasons and from tenant to tenant, but these estimates should at least give you a good idea of how much you need to budget on a monthly basis – and help you avoid any unwelcome surprises later.

– Are extras such as laundry and parking included, or will you need to pay more for these services?

– Will your monthly travel costs increase, decrease or stay about the same at the new location?

– Will you need to purchase or provide your own appliances?

– Is there any form of provincial or territorial rent control in place? If not, what are the landlord’s plans for future rent increases?

How much you can afford to spend on rent depends on a number of factors, including your overall household income, how much debt you or your family are comfortable with, how important your lifestyle is to you and how much money you want to put aside for the future. As a general rule, however, your entire monthly housing costs – including rent, electricity, heat, water and other municipal services – should total less than 30 per cent of the before-tax income of your household.

This doesn’t include the cost of home content insurance, parking, cable, telephone and Internet service, each of which should also be figured into your budget if you plan on using them. If you can’t find a suitable place in the area where you’re looking that meets your price range, you may want to revisit your list of preferences, and decide if there are any other cost-saving measures you can make.

After cost, location can be the most important factor driving a rental search. Prime locations that are close to work, schools, public transit and other services and amenities usually cost more, but they may also offer other advantages, such as convenience, and reduced commuting time and expenses.

Other important considerations in choosing a rental home are the safety of the building and community, as well as the proximity to family and friends. To help you decide, prepare a list of locations that best match your needs, and then add another list of secondary locations that you could also consider if necessary.

Finally, consider the type of place you could comfortably see yourself coming home to each night. From rooming houses, walk-up apartments and high-rise buildings, to attached, semi detached or detached houses, there is a wide range of rental accommodation available on the market today to suit almost any budget. By deciding which kind of home you’d prefer in advance, you can save yourself a great deal of wasted time and effort, and move into your new home that much sooner.

For practical, reliable and up-to-date information on virtually every facet of renting a home for both tenants and landlords, visit www.cmhc.ca.

© The Vancouver Sun 2008

 

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Every now and then, political parties reveal their inner workings. The display is often unnecessary, sometimes embarrassing and always unseemly–particularly during an election campaign.

Van. Courier

Every now and then, political parties reveal their inner workings. The display is often unnecessary, sometimes embarrassing and always unseemly–particularly during an election campaign.

The latest intrigue at city hall involves an empty lot at 58 West Hastings, across the street from Save-On-Meat in the heart of the Downtown Eastside.

Concord Pacific, a real estate development company, wants to build a 160-unit market housing complex on the site. The development would represent much-needed change for a neighbourhood rife with social housing, and help inject dispensable income into an area largely dependent on government handouts.

The city expects to issue a development permit to Concord sometime in the next few weeks, and construction could begin shortly thereafter–perhaps before the Nov. 15 civic election.

The development permit board does not require council approval to give Concord the green light, but the NPA majority–which includes mayoral candidate Peter Ladner–has endorsed the development to demonstrate their free-market bona fides.

“It’s an area where some market activity would be very healthy for the neighbourhood,” said NPA Coun. Suzanne Anton.

Conversely, COPE Coun. David Cadman decried the NPA’s “rush to judgment” and claimed the city has not properly consulted with the Downtown Eastside community about the new development. Cadman wants the development permit board–and the NPA–to chill until they hear more from concerned residents and social hosing advocates.

He may have a point, although any community consultation–involving new condos in a neighbourhood full of poor people–will garner predictable results.

Considering the NPA endorsement, and in light of Cadman’s protests, what does Vision Vancouver–our city’s official opposition–think of the proposed development at 58 West Hastings?

When contacted last Wednesday, Vision Coun. Tim Stevenson said he wasn’t sure–he’d have an opinion after his party’s caucus meeting the following day. Vision Coun. Raymond Louie–a top adviser to Vision mayoral candidate Gregor Robertson–also declined to comment, and Vision Coun. Heather Deal failed to return repeated phone messages.

Remember, this development represents one of the most audacious private housing investments in the Downtown Eastside in recent memory. According to online chatter, social housing activists plan to protest the site.

The only Vision councillor willing to comment was Coun. George Chow, who reiterated his party’s empathy for Downtown Eastsiders before stating that “whether certain developments should have no social housing at all, I’m open for discussion on that kind of stuff.”

Right.

So Vision Vancouver’s position on the proposed development at 58 West Hastings is that they don’t have a position on the proposed development at 58 West Hastings.

But wait. Apparently Vision council nomination candidate David Eby–the fresh-faced onetime Pivot Legal Society spokesperson and uber advocate of social housing–didn’t get the memo.

In a phone interview, Eby quickly denounced the proposed development and the NPA for supporting a strictly market housing complex in the Downtown Eastside. “I think it’s crazy,” he said, before echoing Cadman’s concerns about a lack of neighbourhood consultation.

When informed about his party’s vacillation, Eby made a few phone calls–to Vision media relations man Kevin Quinlan and Coun. Heather Deal (she must screen her calls).

Eby’s findings were revealing.

According to Eby, despite Coun. Stevenson’s earlier claim, there was no caucus meeting on the subject and the party has no official position.

Nevertheless, he’ll officially oppose the development–if he wins a council nod at the Vision nomination meeting this weekend. His nomination, he said, would represent a “significant signal from the membership about where their interests lie.”

Indeed.

For the record, Eby’s wrong about 58 West Hastings. The Downtown Eastside needs more market housing and the proposed Concord development falls within the Downtown Eastside Housing Plan, which calls for a mix of market and social housing in the neighbourhood. However, Eby’s principled stance seems out of step with the shameless side-stepping of Vision Vancouver’s party appariti.

If the official opposition is unsure about market housing in the Downtown Eastside, what else confounds them?

Eby might be better off back at Pivot.

© (c) CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc.

 

Sun

The Canadian Real Estate Association on Monday reported declines in unit sales and prices for the housing market in August, with buyers taking a pass on the country’s most expensive markets.

In its report of the country’s major markets, the real estate group reported a seasonally adjusted 24,887 MLS-listed sales last month, down 3.4 per cent from July.

Sales were down on a month-to-month basis in all the 25 markets profiled except Edmonton, Calgary and Regina. The biggest monthly drop-off in sales was in Vancouver, which with an average sale price of $557,114 in August, is the most expensive housing market in Canada.

Sales were down on a year-to-year basis in all five of the country’s most expensive markets — Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Toronto and Edmonton.

The average sale price in Canada‘s major markets was down 5.1 per cent, year-over-year, to $316,052 in August.

© The Vancouver Sun 2008