Tag: british columbia

New policy allows B.C. buyers three days to back out of a sale

Post author By Cottage Life
Post date 11 January 2023

Photo by Shutterstock/EB Adventure Photography

As of January 3, British Columbia is requiring a three-day “cooling off” period for real estate transactions after the buyer has signed a contract.

The B.C. government introduced the new policy in response to the staggering real estate demand seen throughout 2020 and 2021. To stay competitive, buyers were omitting home inspections and other requirements from their offers. The three-day period should provide buyers with extra time to complete home inspections and arrange financing, the government said in a statement.

“Lack of time for buyers to complete due diligence can exacerbate risk or be used to hide property defects that otherwise may have been discovered,” said housing analyst Leo Spalteholz, in the statement. “Though the market has cooled dramatically in recent months, it’s good to proactively put buyer protections in place.”

The buyer can back out of the sale at any time during the three-day period, which doesn’t include weekends or holidays. If the buyer does back out, they’re required to pay the seller 0.25 per cent of the purchase price. This cancellation fee is meant to prevent buyers from placing offers on multiple properties and then backing out last minute. Prior to the new policy, if a buyer backed out after signing a purchase agreement, they could be sued by the seller for money lost on the sale of the home.

The three-day period applies to almost all real estate transactions, including detached homes, townhouses, condos, and cottages. The only exemptions are real estate on leased land, real estate bought at auction, or real estate bought under a court order. Otherwise, the cooling off period is mandatory and can’t be waived.

But with changes to the market, experts are questioning whether the new policy will have any impact.

After hitting a peak in 2021, the province’s real estate market has seen significant drops in recent months. The B.C. Real Estate Association reported 4,512 sales this past November, a 50 per cent decrease from last year. And prices are trending downwards. In November 2021, the average B.C. home price was $992,245. In November 2022, it was $906,785.

This drop in competition is what’s allowing buyers to include home inspections once again in their offers, not the addition of three extra days, said B.C. Real Estate Association CEO Trevor Koot.

“Anybody that’s bought a house in the last 10 years can tell you, you can’t get an appraisal or an inspection done within three days of an accepted offer. The resources are just not there,” he said. “It’s our concern that it then provides a false sense of security to buyers in a heated market, that they go in thinking, ‘Oh, I’ve got time to do my due diligence,’ when really, what realtors will suggest, is that due diligence is done in advance.”

There’s also concern that the three-day policy puts sellers at a disadvantage. “Very often sellers are buyers themselves,” Koot said. “They’ve got a purchase going on that they’re going to be moving into, and all of a sudden, for three days, they have uncertainty. They don’t necessarily know whether the buyer will follow through.”

When the government introduced the three-day policy in 2021, the B.C. Real Estate Association responded by creating a list of 34 recommendations they felt could help improve the province’s real estate market. Koot said the association worked closely with the B.C. Financial Services Authority (BCFSA), the industry’s governing body, to develop the list. But when the list was passed on to the Minister of Finance, it was ignored.

This is where the government dropped the ball, Koot said. Rather than a three-day cooling off period, the B.C. Real Estate Association had proposed a five-day pre-offer period. This would require all listings to advertise for five days before accepting an offer. The five mandatory days would prevent bully offers where buyers swoop in with aggressive bids, telling sellers they only have a few hours to respond.

“That disrupts everything,” Koot said. “It changes the dynamic, it creates pressure, and it pushes the market into an unhealthy environment.”

A five-day pre-offer period would prevent bully offers and provide buyers with time to assemble their bids without leaving sellers in the dark for three days.

“We shouldn’t have to implement policy and adhere to new rules that don’t have any relevance and impact,” Koot said. “We need policy that’s based on good information, good data, and good research.”

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Tags B.C., B.C. Real Estate Association, british columbia, British Columbia real estate, buying a cottage, real estate, selling a cottage

Cottage Life

Cottage real estate region: Okanagan

Post author By Cottage Life
Post date 21 September 2022

Photo by Stan Jones/Shutterstock

The sunny Okanagan region, about a four-hour drive east from the Lower Mainland, is centred on 135-km-long Lake Okanagan and is home to the waterfront cities of Penticton, Kelowna, and Vernon—and the legendary Ogopogo lake serpent. Drier and warmer than the coast, this is a popular summer boating and cottage area. The water is clean and deep; the hills are rolling, arid, and dotted with productive orchards and vineyards. Penticton, Kelowna, and Vernon have excellent amenities, including many marinas and marine services. Watersports and the nightlife here attract a young crowd. There are also nearby ski resorts with condos and chalets.

Tags B.C., british columbia, cottage, Okanagan, real estate, VRBO

Mobile Syrup

Telus to invest $19 million in Prince George and $8 million in Whistler and Squamish

Post author By Mobile Syrup
Post date 11 August 2022

Telus announced that it is investing a total of $33 million in different communities in Alberta and British Columbia in its continued effort to expand PureFibre and 5G networks.

In British Columbia, investments include $19 million in Prince George and $8 million in Whistler and Squamish as part of a wider $17.5 billion investment in infrastructure, operations, and spectrum across British Columbia through 2026.

“This generational $17.5 billion investment in British Columbia is a true demonstration of Telus’ long-standing commitment to improving the lives of Canadians by connecting communities from coast to coast with our world-leading wireless 5G and PureFibre networks,” said Darren Entwistle, president and CEO of Telus. “Through our investment, we are supporting the social and economic vibrancy of British Columbia and ensuring that every member of our society has access to the technology that yields the opportunity to realize their full potential.”

Other than expanding its PureFibre and 5G networks, the investment also aims to support the generation of new jobs to support B.C.’s growing economy, with over 5,500 British Columbians to be hired for construction, engineering, and emerging technology jobs at Telus.

In Alberta, Telus is investing $6 million in Stony Plain this year as part of its $17 billion wider investment to bring network infrastructure and spectrum across the province.

Follow the links to learn more about the investments in British Columbia and Alberta.

Source: Telus

Tags british columbia, telus

Cottage Life

B.C. expands speculation and vacancy tax. Here’s how it affects cottagers

Post author By Cottage Life
Post date 5 August 2022

Photo by Shutterstock/Danita Delimont

Cottage owners in Western Canada should take note, B.C. is expanding its speculation and vacancy tax to six new regions within the province.

Starting January 2023, property owners with vacant residences in the municipalities of North Cowichan, Duncan, Ladysmith, Lake Cowichan, Lions Bay, and Squamish will be subject to the tax.

The speculation and vacancy tax was first introduced in 2018 as a way to discourage investors, specifically foreign investors, from buying up multiple B.C. properties, limiting supply and driving up prices.

The tax currently applies to municipalities in the Greater Vancouver Region, Lower Mainland and southern Vancouver Island, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Kelowna, West Kelowna, Nanaimo, and the District of Lantzville. Under the tax, B.C. residents who own a vacant home in one of those areas must pay 0.5 per cent of their property’s assessed value annually, while foreign owners and satellite families (individuals who earn the majority of their income outside of Canada) pay two per cent annually.

The decision to expand the number of taxable regions was, in part, because those real estate markets were being advertised as appealing alternatives to the already taxed regions, putting housing pressures on the communities, said B.C. Finance Minister, Selina Robinson, during a press conference.

“We kept an eye on how this tax unfolded,” she said. “There was good analysis and recommendations on where else this might need to be expanded given the pressures outside urban centres.”

According to a report commissioned by the B.C. government, the tax has helped add approximately 20,000 condo units to the Metro Vancouver market, and generated $231 million towards affordable housing in its first three years.

Despite these accomplishments, some feel the tax isn’t solving the main issue. “The spec tax has had little to no impact on greater Vancouver real estate,” said Denny Dumas, a Vancouver realtor. “The percentage of homes and condos that are foreign owned and sitting vacant is so small in the big scheme of things. Our big problem in greater Vancouver is supply. The amount of people wanting to live and invest in greater Vancouver far exceeds the supply. And municipalities’ processes to approve permits and add density is 10–20 years behind population growth. I don’t think any policy will really help the prices of housing long term. It’s pretty simple actually, we just need more housing.”

There’s also concern that groups, such as cottagers, are being unintentionally targeted by the tax. In 2019, six B.C. residents launched a lawsuit against the tax. One of the plaintiffs was a 72-year-old woman who’d lived in a house outside of Victoria since she was five. She and her husband now split their time between Texas and B.C., using the B.C. house as a vacation property. But with a primary residence in Texas, they were considered a satellite family subject to the tax.

The overall number of cottagers affected is minimal, but those hit do see significant increases to their taxes. The couple who owned the house in Victoria, for instance, were expected to pay an additional $6,000 per year. The tax’s new expansion will force a handful of B.C. residents who own cottages in Lake Cowichan to start paying the tax in 2023.

“I talked to one gal this weekend,” said Jennifer Allen, a Lake Cowichan realtor. “She came by an open house of mine, and she said she will be one of the people affected because she’s right in the town of Lake Cowichan on Point Ideal where there are probably about 40 lakefront residences.”

To avoid being taxed, a property must be occupied for six months of the year. The property can be occupied by the owner, a family member, or a long-term renter. When asked about cottagers, the Ministry of Finance said that if a cottager wanted an exemption from the tax, they should use the property as their principal residence or rent it out for six months.

Cottages only accessible by water do qualify for an exemption. And the provincial government does offer a $2,000 tax credit to B.C. residents who own a secondary property. This covers the speculation and vacancy tax of a property valued at less than or equal to $400,000. If the property’s value is above that, cottagers will have to pay.

In terms of further tax expansion, specifically to areas such as Whistler and the Gulf Islands, notorious for foreign buyers and short-term rentals, the ministry of finance said: “We are taking a phased approach with the speculation and vacancy tax, and we will continue to monitor the housing markets in areas like Whistler, the Gulf Islands, and other areas of the province to determine whether further changes are required.”

Tags B.C. Ministry of Finance, british columbia, cabins, real estate, speculation tax, tax, vacancy tax

Cottage Life

Buy the Way: A family of three shares a tiny home they can bike to

Post author By Cottage Life
Post date 13 July 2022

Photo courtesy Justine Penner

The search: For Justine and Olivier Penner*, the search for a weekend getaway started with a desire for a little more elbow room. The couple had been renting a two-bedroom apartment in Vancouver since 2011, and in 2018, when their daughter was four years old, they started looking for land that they could enjoy and that would be an investment they could pass along to their daughter.

Most importantly, they didn’t want to spend more than $100,000. “That’s a modest amount, unless you wanted to take on a mortgage,” says Justine. “And both of us are very debt-averse.” Olivier was keen to travel without a car, and so they narrowed their search to the Gulf Islands, which is accessible by ferry after a short bike or bus ride from the city (though they have a car and a cargo e-bike for transport when necessary).

They found a spot that looked ideal: a 1/2-acre plot of land in the woods where they could tent camp, that was a 20-minute walk to local beaches and close to the ferry. And it was potentially within their budget—if they could just get the list price down from $140,000.

The compromise: They researched the history of the land and discovered it had sold for $68,000 the year previous, so they had some hope of bringing the cost down—but unfortunately, their initial offer of $100,000 was quickly declined. But a few months later, Olivier noticed that the land still hadn’t sold. They asked their realtor to re-engage with the seller, and—after rallying a little more money—negotiated a price both sides could live with: $113,000. “I joked with Olivier that we just bought a really expensive camping spot,” says Justine.

The silver lining: Tent camping was the plan for the near future—until they learned their friend, Angela, had built a tiny house on another, more challenging-to-access island. She was hoping to find a place to move it to that was less remote. Local bylaws stated that so long as they kept the wheels on the 16-by-9-foot cabin, the tiny home could legally be “parked” and inhabited for up to 90 days a year as a recreational vehicle—meaning no camping for Justine and Olivier and a closer getaway for Angela and her partner, Daniel. The four of them hammered out a five-year time-share agreement in writing—and they divvied up the $5,000 expense to move the tiny home onto the property (thanks to highway permits and making the cabin road-worthy), along with ongoing maintenance costs. The getaway has been just what the family of three was looking for. “There’s enough room for us to sleep in the loft. We put up little lights, and it’s just naturally cozy,” says Justine.

*All names have been changed

Owner advice: Lessons learned from sharing a tiny home

Cover all the details
The couples spent hours creating what they describe as their “MOU”—Memorandum of Understanding—that lasts for five years. It covers how expenses and time at the place are shared and, perhaps more importantly, what happens if someone pulls out of the agreement early and how they would handle it. At the end of five years, they’ll discuss the arrangement for the tiny home again.

Put it in writing
The group uses Google Docs to track everything. There’s nothing formal that says who gets which weekend—“and I wouldn’t expect anyone to block out the whole summer,” says Justine—but so long as either party doesn’t exceed their allotted 45 days, it’s flexible.

Be prepared for some conflict
“You can never anticipate all possible misunderstandings,” says Justine. Lucky for the group, she’s a skilled mediator, so they’ve quickly dealt with anything that comes up. A group WhatsApp channel keeps communication lines open—and they make sure they get together for dinner at least once a quarter to discuss any issues that arise. “We have a pretty high commitment to each other and the friendship,” she says.

Have you recently purchased a cottage in a unique way? Tell us about it: edit@cottagelife.com

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Tags B.C., british columbia, buy the way, buying a cottage, Gulf Islands, real estate, Tiny Home, West Coast

Cottage Life

Wine country meets lakeside living at these Kelowna cottage rentals

Post author By Cottage Life
Post date 13 June 2022

Photo by Sheri/VRBO

Nestled in the breathtaking Okanagan Valley, Kelowna’s unparalleled natural beauty paired with its connection to some of Canada’s oldest and most-awarded vineyards, make it the ultimate cottage country destination in Western Canada.

The city itself has plenty to offer—Kelowna is home to a vibrant downtown, plenty of farm-to-table restaurants, and some of Canada’s freshest markets. You can even take on Kelowna’s wine trail to sort out for yourself what’s truly the best of the best when it comes to Canadian wine.

Just steps from the downtown core you’ll find Okanagan Lake. Is there a better way to finish off a hot summer hike than relaxing by the lake with a cool glass of white wine from the valley? With access to over 40 wineries and stunning views of Okanagan Lake, these five cottage rentals offer the best of Kelowna living.

Book your next vacation rental today on our rental hub powered by VRBO.

Photo by Sheri/VRBO

Lakefront Cottage

Photo by Sheri/VRBO

Lakefront Cottage

Photo by Sheri/VRBO

Lakefront Cottage

Photo by Sheri/VRBO

Lakefront Cottage

Photo by Sheri/VRBO

Lakefront Cottage

Photo by Sheri/VRBO

Lakefront Cottage

Tucked into the west side of the valley, this Kelowna cottage is a 25-minute drive to the city’s downtown—far enough to get away from it all, but close enough to take full advantage of the city’s many amenities. You can explore the lake by rowboat or kayak and sate your hunger later with some evening grilling on one of the cottage’s two decks.

Location: West Kelowna, B.C.

Price: Averages $390/night

Sleeps: 6 (Max 5 Adults)

Bedrooms: 3

Notes:

Rowboat and kayaks for use
Balcony and patio
Barbecue
Internet
Laundry on-site

Click here to book on VRBO

Photo by Greg and Karla/VRBO

Okanagan Lake Cottage

Photo by Greg and Karla/VRBO

Okanagan Lake Cottage

Photo by Greg and Karla/VRBO

Okanagan Lake Cottage

Photo by Greg and Karla/VRBO

Okanagan Lake Cottage

Photo by Greg and Karla/VRBO

Okanagan Lake Cottage

Photo by Greg and Karla/VRBO

Okanagan Lake Cottage

This chic Kelowna cottage also sits on the west side of the Okanagan Valley. It has three different decks, so you can take in the sunrise from different vantage points. Best of all, it’s only a five-minute drive from the Lake Okanagan Resort where you can go to enjoy a round of golf or a drink at their beach bar.

Location: Nahun, B.C.

Price: Averages $530/night

Sleeps: 8

Bedrooms: 3

Notes:

Internet
Paddleboards and a dinghy for use
Laundry on site
Patios and balcony
Gated parking