BC, Open Topic, presales, west side

UDI to participate in OV buyer lawsuits

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160 Comments

The Urban Development Institute is the public voice of Real Estate developers in BC and they have recently been given the right to participate as an intervenor in the case against the Olympic Village by 34 presales buyers.

The group of buyers is trying to get out of their contracts by claiming that the City of Vancouver should be considered a ‘developer’ in this case and their lack of disclosure statements means the contracts shouldn’t be binding.

The plaintiffs argue that the City of Vancouver and the company who was selling the units were “developers” within the meaning of the Real Estate Development Marketing Act , S.B.C. 2004, c. 42 (“REDMA”) such that they were required to sign disclosure statements.  REDMA defines developer as “a person who, directly or indirectly, owns, leases or has a right to acquire or dispose of development property.”

REDMA is relatively new legislation, proclaimed in 2004. The definition of developer has not yet been addressed by the Court. The plaintiffs described this case as one which “has the potential to fundamentally alter developer’s responsibilities to purchasers in British Columbia”.

The UDI will now have a chance to help define the definition of developer as used in the REDMA.

Read the full article over at getlegal.ca

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patriotz

@131: Let’s take another look at Brad’s example. Assuming the numbers are correct:

1850 gross rent
-267.60 monthly taxes
-250 condo fees
-50 insurance (not given, my estimate)
_____
1282.4 divided by 321,000 gives

4.0% net rental yield assuming no repairs or vacancies.

REIT’s want a net yield of 8%.

The person owning this property will start losing money as soon as interest rates exceed 4%, even given none of the above eventualities. A very bad bet on the future.

ING’s posted 5 year rate (they don’t discount and I will use this as a proxy for discounted rates) is 3.79%.

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jesse

“Lots of houses seem to be marketed with “mortgage helpers” and I always wonder if the income is being declared”

As has been pointed out before, there is likely a benefit to declare suite income because after expenses it will be close to zero and potentially negative. The net gain for CRA isn’t going to be significant.

I have heard some retirees without mortgages do not declare their suite income because it affects their OAS/GIS. If I were the government that seems a bigger payback than someone sidled with debt that can offset income.

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ex-kitsie

If the “tax man” is going after flippers (as he should) perhaps the tax department should also audit rental income from suites in houses to income from investment condos. Lots of houses seem to be marketed with “mortgage helpers” and I always wonder if the income is being declared. All it would take is a disgruntled tenant or a simple cross-check of tax records to bring misery to many strapped mortgage holders.

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Son of Ponzi

There’s been a study lately in the Urology Today magazine, that some cultures are more prone to have urination problems.

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Many Franks

Some good counterpoint to the Genworth report from Ben Rabidoux in the MSM:

Sunny condo market report raises hackles among critics

As for the boy peeing in the garbage can: save your righteous indignation for a real story. Small kids don’t give you any warning and this was a lot tidier than a piss-soaked pair of jeans running around the place. My kid shit in your public swimming pool and it had nothing to do with race.

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Son of Ponzi

# 147
This is the boy’s grandmother, not mother.
The mother and father are probably back in China.
Very common in Ditchmond.

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@Alfred

“Why do Chinese students want to come to UBC?”

lots of garbage cans to piss in?

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Many Franks

The Financial Post pillories Mark Carney: So you’re Joe Consumer and you’ve been looking at boosting your lifestyle, say, purchasing a new recreational vehicle or maybe a bigger home, but you’ve held off up to now because, you know, the interest payments might go up. Now, thanks to Mr. Carney, you can sleep at night, secure in the knowledge that your payments will hold steady. As an added incentive, your friends tell you, it’s almost foolish not to go into hock because these super low rates Mr. Carney is virtually guaranteeing don’t come around that often. But it was only a few months back, when he was Bank of Canada Governor in ice-bound Ottawa, that Mr. Carney was hectoring Canadians not to go out on a limb with their borrowing. The biggest threat facing the Canadian economy is excessive household… Read more »

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Many Franks

@snake: Far be it from me to defend Trump, but y’know, the list of things you *can’t* learn about on the Internet is pretty short.

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Alfred

Why do Chinese students want to come to UBC? Because we have Nobel-prize-winning faculty!

Oh. Wait. Scratch that.

http://news.sciencemag.org/education/2013/08/carl-wieman-takes-physics-education-jobs-stanford

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Aggregator

Here comes the taxman.

Tax auditors target condo sellers in hunt for ‘flippers’ http://www.thestar.com/business/real_estate/2013/08/29/tax_auditors_target_condo_sellers_in_hunt_for_flippers.html

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Harry Wang

Chinese Boy urinates in a garbage can at Richmond Centre.

http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2013/08/meanwhile-in-richmond/

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BWilson

We have crossed over the 2% yield threshold on the 5 year Canada bond for the first time since July 2011.

Currently 2.012%

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Anonymous1

This story just makes me sick…coverup of organ trafficking.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-23846633

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Anonymous1

Post 140 “i swear, sometimes white people are just so fucking stupid…”

Who said i was stupid?

“Sat Shri Akal. Gussa lahla” –> who said i was white?

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China Bust

Here is an intelligent comment to the vancouver sun article: Natalie Whelan Real Estate is a LONG TERM INVESTMENT. This means that prices have GRADUALLY INCREASED IN PRICE OVER DECADES. Is it fair to ask homeowners to lose give up the equity in their homes? Mortgage funds support global economies, more importantly, economies in third world developing countries. Is it fair to shut the door on foreign investment? NO! We are all fortunate enough to live in a place that does not face the devestating violence that polarization of citizens living under extreme political regimes generates. We can find ways to fine tune the policies though. If I was twenty seven and wanted to buy a home and could not afford the prices here. I would not consider buying in Vancouver, I would rent here and INVEST in property in… Read more »

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paulb

New Listings 166
Price Changes 87
Sold Listings 130
TI:17382

http://www.paulboenisch.com

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@Anonymous1

>Will be interesting to see what happens in Surrey in the next few months…

i swear, sometimes white people are just so fucking stupid…

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jesse

I ran some numbers on population growth and housing activity over on mohican’s blog, spurred by the latest Conference Board blabber on condos.

http://housing-analysis.blogspot.ca/2013/08/population-growth-and-residential.html

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BWilson

Shockingly real commentary from the Vancouver Sun

http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/housing+market+unaffordable+debt+rising+What+surprise/8844443/story.html

Of course government could actually regulate and monitor the real estate industry like they do the securities industry but that would be too easy.

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Son of Ponzi

That Realtor is probably Softy.

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Ford Prefect

Something completely new to me on CL today, Comox Valley. Is this tactic recognizable to any of the well informed on this site? Is it a scam?

http://comoxvalley.en.craigslist.ca/reb/4031548109.html

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Pdub

Caught the guy from the Conference Board on BNN this morning. He sounded more like an urban planner than an economist. He seemed to base his conclusions about stable prices on the desirability of condos because they are closer to downtown, require less travel, are greener etc.
Perhaps he is correct and there has been this huge cultural shift and the old metrics dont matter. But I doubt it. The sheep bring that kind of stuff up in every bubble.

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Anonymous1

The decline in the Indian Rupee is a negative for RE in Vancouver.

I heard last nite that some Foreign students from India are going to have a tough time paying their bills next month as a monthly stipend from families back home supports many of them…

Will be interesting to see what happens in Surrey in the next few months…

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