Realty Thread

[Muran]

So, my mum has decided that she wants to sell the house she rents out in Richmond, so she can buy an apartment downtown, to rent to Kevin and I, which she will eventually give to us.

 

She says I can pick any apartment I want, as long as I stick to $350 000.

 

This came out of no where today.

 

WTF O.o

 

I'm overwhelmed. And I have no idea what to do, because the apartment building that I'm living in now (which I love), isn't selling anything decent under 400 :/

 

Still though. How fucking awesome is that?

[bishopx]

Your mom, is fucking awesome!!! That's wonderful Tracy. You'll find something.

[RicardoObviouso]

thats exciting!

 

i sold my yaletown apartment in 2007 for $315,000. it was 505 square feet on the 7th floor.

 

you two should consider getting a line of credit and bumping that $350 up to 400 or 425k. there's some beautiful lofts listed right now in that price range.

[Muran]

Aww damnit. I'dve loved to take that apartment off your hands. If you have any other suggestions, let me know too!

 

And re: line of credit

 

Yeah, I actually thought of that. I have a lot of RRSPs too, and I offered to use them or a line of credit to help boost the number, but my mum won't let me, she says she doesn't want to let me have that much debt :/ No way I could convince her otherwise.

[RicardoObviouso]

yeah i guess factoring in strata fees, it would probably be an extra $600-800 per month if you took on a loc.

 

without knowing the fine details, i have to say that rrsp and hbp are ineligible in this situation, because the home would be considered an investment property (your mom is the owner and you're paying her)... BUT the advantage to that would be that when the real estate does become yours, you can borrow against it, make IT an investment property and then use your hbp and your equity to buy that house in kits you see in your future.

 

this will make you a real estate baroness if you play it right ;)

Edited March 16, 2010 by RicardoObviouso

[Muran]

I was reading your post and was kind of glazing over...and then I read "...buy that house in kits..." and then I decided to pay more attention XD What's HPB?

 

Basically, this is how it's going to go down, she's going to use the money she gets from selling the rental home, to straight up buy the apartment. Then Kevin and I will move in there and pay rent to my mum, whatever she chooses (she's doing this because apparently she hates how much I'm paying for rent right now, and wants me to live in a good apartment for less. She'll probably charge us somewhere around the realm of $1250/mo).

 

Then, many years down the line, when she's ready for grandkids, she'll give us the apartment, so we can own something, and have better chances at a real house...

 

So I guess you're pretty much on the money.

[RicardoObviouso]

hbp is the home buyers plan in which first time home owners can use existing rrsp contributions as a downpayment while still keeping them sheltered.

 

the only issue is that in order to qualify, the residence had to be primary, and if your mother owns it, it's not primary.

 

also, it would be in her best interests to not purchase the residence in full, as she'll have to pay a higher tax rate on the money you pay her (she's essentially running a profitable business). if she's not planning on claiming the money then it won't matter until she transfers the property into your name.

 

regardless it's a huge head start for you and kevin, congrats. there's lots of cool stuff out there right now... just make sure you have at least 1.5 bathrooms, seperate storage and a parking spot.

[Muran]

1.5 bathrooms, separate storage and a parking space...in downtown...for 350? Seriously? I don't think I can find that anywhere in DT.

 

It's gotta have in-suite laundry too.

 

My mum said something about waiting for the interests rates to go up, because then all the apartment prices are gonna go down... I dunno if that's true or not. My mum's the type to say stuff like "Wait until last minute to buy your flight tickets", and end up making us pay an extra few hundred bucks because we didn't book early enough ;)

[RicardoObviouso]

yeah you can find it all.

 

yes, when interest rates increase generally the market opens up, meaning more choice. prices won't physically go down, you'll just have more to choose from, meaning sellers have to SELL as opposed to just listing, if you know what I mean. EVERYTHING is selling right now because there's not a lot to choose from.

 

Canada is not like the US. the masses aren't going to panic if rates go up 2-3 points because this city has lots of foreign money, not domestic credit.

 

my advice is to start looking now, to get familiar with what goes for $350k, so when something great comes along, you're informed. maybe Jenny Good can be your realtor!

[Muran]

See, that's what I was worried about, looking at something now, because I know we have to wait until the house is sold and stuff. I figured if I looked now, I'd fall in love with something and then have it not available when the time comes to buy.

 

Also, I looked at what 350 can get me in DT, and so far it's 500sq, 1 bedroom. :/ Is it snobby to say I don't want to live in anything old? >.> I'm spoiled living where I live now...

 

EDIT: Sorry for hijacking this thread with all this real estate talk!

Edited March 16, 2010 by Muran

[Audio of Being]

Make a real estate thread then.

 

;)

[Crusader]

my advice is to start looking now, to get familiar with what goes for $350k, so when something great comes along, you're informed. maybe Jenny Good can be your realtor!

 

oh man, i laughed pretty hard at that. i saw her in a realty ad in the paper and had to do a double take.

 

and yeah, start a realty thread. that'd be pretty interesting to read actually.

[Muran]

Cut the thread and make it a new one, Anton! ;)

[Crusader]

done. if you're okay with this being in open discussion i can move it there.

[RicardoObviouso]

See, that's what I was worried about, looking at something now, because I know we have to wait until the house is sold and stuff. I figured if I looked now, I'd fall in love with something and then have it not available when the time comes to buy.

 

Also, I looked at what 350 can get me in DT, and so far it's 500sq, 1 bedroom. :/ Is it snobby to say I don't want to live in anything old? >.> I'm spoiled living where I live now...

 

EDIT: Sorry for hijacking this thread with all this real estate talk!

that shouldn't worry you. your "dream house" has been bought and sold a dozen times. there's more wrong with playing ignorant and falling in love with the first place you see than taking the time before you're ready to buy to get a good feel for your market. if you start looking now, you'll be an expert by the time you're in a position to put in an offer. you can meet with a realtor, give them your desires and parameters and they'll send you properties that meet your criteria as they hit the market. you can view them online and go to the open houses of the ones that interest you.

 

yeah you're going to be in the 500-600 sq ft range, for sure. that's why you have to insist on seperate storage, because in suite storage takes away living space. there's nothing wrong with wanting new, I'm the same way. you just pay a bit of a premium for it...everyone prefers it but sometimes you get a little more for a little less if you open your mind.

Edited March 16, 2010 by RicardoObviouso

[Muran]

Anton: I'm fine if you want to put it in the Open Discussions forum

 

So, my mum tells me she sold the house, no idea how much she got, but she's sticking to her 350 guns. She says we'll start looking seriously in June, since that's when she'll be paid for the house.

 

So, I guess I've got a good amount of time to look.

 

In case anyone cares, we're looking at places like this

 

And you're right about the separate storage. Right now, we're using the small room as storage. That kinda sucks, because it makes our apartment feel really tiny...

[Muran]

So, I met with my mum yesterday and she gave me more info on how this is going to go down. She says that because she can't get tax breaks if she rents it below market rate to a family member, she wants to rent it to Kevin. She clarified that that apartment is going to continue being hers until she (God forbid) leaves here, then it'll be stipulated to me in her will. In terms of a head start on our own home, she says she will cover the down payment.

 

I saw this apartment yesterday and despite warnings not to fall in the love with the first apartment I saw, I totally did ;)

On the corner of Robson & Burrard!

 

That apartment is perfect, it's in a SWEET location, and even tho the building is 26 yrs old, the inside looks beautiful, the amenities are sweet and the apartment is HUGE (I haven't seen any other apartments that are right in DT proper, that are that 600+ sq ft). I'm so worried it'll be taken by the time we're ready to buy :angry:

 

She says she gets paid for the rental home June 30th, so the earliest we can start looking is July. She's gonna charge us $1000/mo, forever, as long as we cover any incidental maintenance (Carpet cleaning, extra plumbing, damages, etc.).

 

Nervous!

[Lauren]

thats great! incidentally, as long as both of you are paying your own rent, i believe you can't be common law.. so if he is the only one technically paying then everyone gets tax breaks!

[Muran]

Well, we're going to split the $1000 between us, does that count?

 

See, I've always been so fuzzy with the common law rules. Kevin's been freaking out recently that we're going to get in trouble for not claiming common law for tax reasons.

[Ravenous megin-sane]

michael and i both pay rent and are common law. i also got more back because of it.

[Lauren]

a reliable source told me that as long as your landlord is cashing 2 different cheques, then you can't be common law. i haven't found anything to back this up online but it mentions everywhere that the couple has to show financial togetherness and paying separate rents seems to go against that.

 

meg, how are you guys common law? you have to be living together continuously for 3 years, or have a child together. (source)

[Ravenous megin-sane]

oh, i misunderstood what you meant by split the rent. it's from the same bank account. i didn't read the whole thread, just the last part haha.

 

i believe you're common law after 6 months of living together, but we didn't claim it for our taxes until this year

Edited April 30, 2010 by Ravenous megin-sane

[Muran]

3 yrs? I thought it was one. See? Confusing! XD Regardless, we've been living together, with a joint account, for 4 yrs come October. I guess next yr we should start filing our taxes together...

 

And our landlord is collecting 1 cheque, coming from a joint bank account.

[saturnine]

why the fuck wouldn't you get a house? also, this situation only happens in asian families.