Collateral Foreclosure Damage for Condo Owners - NYT

Everybody should read this article regarding the damage that depreciating condo values does to the strata’s financial health. Really eye opening…

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/14/busin … f=business ]]> http://vancouvercondo.info/2008/05/priced-out.html#comment-18101 Vansanity Wed, 14 May 2008 14:41:57 +0000 http://vancouvercondo.info/2008/05/priced-out.html#comment-18101 In response to John's comment on the front page: BC's politicians should have provided incentives to companies that were able to produce a finished good from all these raw materials we're blessed with here. Rather than export raw logs, lets make better than ikea crap, how hard could that be? Of course our products will be more expensive, but hey, there's no shortage of cash in BC apparently. Second more controversial idea: legalize marijuana. Here is a $7.5 Billion dollar industry,right now, in BC. This is just through smoking it. Think of tourism for a second and the local economy if this homegrown BC product were opened up and taxed. Also, the other products that would undoubtedly become more popular through hemp. I once watched a program on TV where they were showing hemp fibers used to create a type of plywood and regular lumber that was superior to wood. The beauty of it, most sawmills wouldn't need to change too much in order to start using it. Same said for pulp form hemp fibers vs. wood chips. They could do it now, but there's no where near enough being grown. Talk about sustainability. In response to John’s comment on the front page: BC’s politicians should have provided incentives to companies that were able to produce a finished good from all these raw materials we’re blessed with here. Rather than export raw logs, lets make better than ikea crap, how hard could that be? Of course our products will be more expensive, but hey, there’s no shortage of cash in BC apparently.

Second more controversial idea: legalize marijuana. Here is a $7.5 Billion dollar industry,right now, in BC. This is just through smoking it. Think of tourism for a second and the local economy if this homegrown BC product were opened up and taxed. Also, the other products that would undoubtedly become more popular through hemp. I once watched a program on TV where they were showing hemp fibers used to create a type of plywood and regular lumber that was superior to wood. The beauty of it, most sawmills wouldn’t need to change too much in order to start using it. Same said for pulp form hemp fibers vs. wood chips. They could do it now, but there’s no where near enough being grown. Talk about sustainability.

Capital gains, whether they be from personal residences, investment RE, stocks or whatever aren’t included in GDP because they’re not income. They are capital transactions.

Google Earth Tasmania

I can understand since the boom has begun numbers of realtors are increased as the sales to slide downward lets say 3300 units are selling now you can divide them between number of realtors.

Her office staff need to find another job as sales countinue to go lower from approximately 35,000 units in 2008 to 33,000 units in 2009.

Prices countinue to keep upward trends that’s why i have ask you to clarify your motive if there was no intention behind- second job is a answer.

1) Leonard Schein isn’t just your average-Joe. He’s a major local investor, and has been involved in developments, as I remember from when I was a kid. It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if he was one of those inner-circle types who get their choice of the best units in a new development at the best price. Think of the H&H and Sophia developments where industry insiders had gotten some sweet deals on condos… One of those sweet-deals wouldn’t be an arms-length transaction, and could be subject to reassessment. Leonard was hoping that his sweetheart condo deal would be an even better deal by claiming back some of the GST…

2) Family probate. Probate was done in mid-2007, presumably using the property assessment they received in Jan 2007, which represents the Aug 2006 market value. They may well have had a realtor make a market assessment on the home in the summer of 2007, but didn’t like the number and stuck with the BCAssessment. Everything went tickety-boo, and they thought they made out like bandits. Then this past January they received their new BCAssessment (theoretical value for August 2007), which better-represented the mid-2007 value than the previous year’s assessment. Guess what? The tax man is looking out for this. That family has benefited from the rise in property values; they are much better-off than they would have been if property values hadn’t risen at all, or than they would have been if last year’s assessment was correct. The poor kids…

I’m happy to see that the CRA is watching out for honest taxpayers, by ensuring that frauds and borderline-frauds don’t get away with it. All too often we hear of people getting away with tax fraud, be they underreporting rental income or otherwise. People cheating on their taxes increases the tax burden on honest people.

She can read & write, and is reasonably intelligent. The considerable success she’s had in the past few years have blinded her to other possibilities.

Krisssh or whoever — it’s not just her. Everyone in her office, including several other previously successful realtors, are doing lousy business right now.

If they start going after flippers and undeclared rental income while the market is tanking it will be salt-in-the-wounds time.

How about a fresh perspective from a very unique businessman in Steveston who bakes bread in a home made brick oven he made that burns wood and he sells for 10.00 a loaf and sells out all the time? People really need to go and talk with Nick…even if they don’t buy his bread because this Romanian (who I suspect is a gypsy although he denies it up and down) has the right attitude, rich, wants nothing, has no TV, reads no newspapers, you get the picture. This is what we need to do..get away from consuming what we don’t need and go back to a simple life.

People stop in to chat with him all the time…a REALLY unique person. You can see his tiny Romanian bakery on Google Earth
49 degrees 7′30.60″ N
123 degrees 11′00.39″ W elev 7 ft eye altitude 400 ft.

Just looks a little familiar, that’s all. He does post under his own name on other blogs, but I’ve never seen him here on VHB…

My guess is he makes no frickin’ sense in Punjabi, Cantonese or krrshish either.

See, now I’ve taken away some useful insight. Thank you for that.

Gas, oil prices hit record highs

kiss the ‘burbs good bye!

What? A bank president gets it? Better buy some TD stock.

…grow weed, obviously.

“Dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope”

- Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers

Janet Yellen, President, Federal Reserve Bank of S.F.
May 13th in Vancouver BC.

http://www.frbsf.org/news/speeches/2008/0513.pdf

And just what were those “historic” price-to-rent highs in the USA? About 27.

What are they today in Vancouer? Well, CUCBC estimated it was just north of 35 in 2005 (they have other measures in their report that may counter the “bubble” theory).

http://www.cucbc.com/publications/econo … g/1211.pdf

I have seen a lower estimate of price-to-rent at the Langley Financial Planning blog of about 27:

http://langley-financial-planning.blogs … ouver.html. ]]> http://vancouvercondo.info/2008/05/priced-out.html#comment-18073 Strataman Wed, 14 May 2008 01:11:15 +0000 http://vancouvercondo.info/2008/05/priced-out.html#comment-18073 "As long as there aren’t too many creditors ahead of the strata in the line up to get their money back." Doesn't matter the strata has to get paid by whomever ends up with the title. They are not normal creditors. Even if the place is worth a dollar their lien will still tie it up. Worse case would be that the strata ends up with the property and would sell it for what is owed. They supersede in the end; everyone. “As long as there aren’t too many creditors ahead of the strata in the line up to get their money back.” Doesn’t matter the strata has to get paid by whomever ends up with the title. They are not normal creditors. Even if the place is worth a dollar their lien will still tie it up. Worse case would be that the strata ends up with the property and would sell it for what is owed. They supersede in the end; everyone. ]]> http://vancouvercondo.info/2008/05/priced-out.html#comment-18071 Tony Danza Wed, 14 May 2008 00:32:03 +0000 http://vancouvercondo.info/2008/05/priced-out.html#comment-18071 <i>Just wondering, why does nobody ever mention increasing housing supply across the region when the topic of Vancouver’s absurdly expensive real estate comes up?</i> Who are you calling nobody? That topic has been discussed many times on this blog and many others related to Vancouver RE. Regardless, what's your point? What effect do you think it will have, is it going to "save" us from falling prices or make them crash harder? Just wondering, why does nobody ever mention increasing housing supply across the region when the topic of Vancouver’s absurdly expensive real estate comes up?

Who are you calling nobody? That topic has been discussed many times on this blog and many others related to Vancouver RE.

Regardless, what’s your point? What effect do you think it will have, is it going to “save” us from falling prices or make them crash harder?

stupid blogging software. grrr….