Arnold Shuchat PREC Real Estate Blog

For many of you, real estate issues are not really top of mind right now as a result of the everyday stresses because of Covid-19. Nevertheless, because real estate has been top of mind for so many years as price continued to firm, I thought I would shine some light on what is happening in the industry right now.

Firstly, the government declared Real Estate Agency services to be an essential service.  Being that real estate is so connected to shelter, it was felt that the doors could not be closed on services that assist in the provision of housing.  However, based upon the general self-isolation guidelines, Brokers have generally advised Realtors to restrict services to those which are exclusively essential. Currently,  the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver has suspended access to open house listings and has discouraged personal showings.  In cases where the showings are essential in nature, my Sutton Westcoast Realty office has instituted strict protocols for the...

BC has a Property Tax Deferment Program which in certain cases allows a property owner with a principal residence to apply and receive the right to defer all property taxes on that residence for a one-time application fee of $60 with an annual renewal (not automatic) fee of $10.  The interest rate charged on the amount deferred is prime minus 2% which is currently 1.5%- there is no cheaper money around.  There are certain prerequisites which must be met, most notable of which is that one of the property owners must be over 55 years of age and there must be at least 25% equity in the home based upon the BC property assessed value.

This process takes some time so it is best to start it as soon as you get your property assessment.  The 25% equity calculation is sometimes tricky as it may include authorized but not drawn down lines of credit and will include a previous bank’s undischarged mortgage amount even though the balance was refinanced.  Therefore, you need to...