It seems the old dream of living in the suburbs with 2.5 kids, a large yard and white picket fence is not as rewarding as imagined. All the extra time sitting in traffic, wasting money on gas and spending time away from family has lead to a demand for city living. Many people come to realize what they want is the close proximity of work, family and leisure. With the high price of real estate, only some people can afford to buy a home close to all the action. Some people choose to rent and some have no choice. Whatever the reason, Downtown Suites Ltd. helps renters get into that perfect pied-a-terre.
Here is the typical tenant process for renting a suite with Downtown Suites Ltd:
We post all available rental suites on our website at www.downtownsuites.com. If a suite is posted on our website, it is available. Keeping an eye on our rental listings is a good idea, we have new listings being posted frequently. Once you are interested in viewing a suite follow the instructions on the listing. This involves providing your contact information on the form provided. Due to the volume of response, we do not take phone calls. All correspondence is through email. Make sure to send separate emails for each interested suite. We will email you back with the time for the arranged showing. If you are able to come to the showing please confirm.
When you arrive at the showing we ask you to wait at the front entrance of the building. Please arrive on time as this shows respect to the Property Manager and interest in the suite. If arriving late, you may be unable to view the suite. One of our Property Managers will let you in to view the suite. If you like the suite, an application will be provided at the showing. Viewing the suite prior to applying is mandatory. Applications will only be handed out at the viewing and all questions about the suite will be answered by our Property Managers. This is not a first come first serve basis, our approval process is based upon the merit of your application.
The application must be fully filled in. The information that the application asks for is; employment, previous employment, address, previous address, if you have any pets, email, phone number, birthdate and social insurance number. We ask for all this information so we are able to do complete checks from your current salary to your references and credit checks. We guarantee complete confidentiality, and will never divulge your information unless permitted. A good feedback from your references and a credit score of over 600 is required. This ensures minimal problems in the suites we manage.
We will inform you if you have been the successful applicant or not. If you have been chosen, you will be asked to bring in a damage deposit of half a months rent to hold the suite. All damage deposits must be in the form of bank draft, certified cheque or cash. If you have pets that will be an additional charge of a half months rent in case there is any damage from your pet.
When you bring in the damage deposit the listing will be taken off our website and the suite will be guaranteed for you. A Property Manager will then schedule a time for you to come in and sign the lease.
Jocelyn Fougere are Cissy Lei took part in Viewing many Agents Opens today Friday April 4th, 2008.
This is a new thing we will be doing every Friday to get familiar with the realtors and all new listings in the downtown core, Yaletown, West End (English Bay), Coal Harbour, Gastown and False Creek North areas. There are many buyers looking to invest in the Downtown Vancouver Market. Downtown Suites Ltd. is a great help to investors, we do all the work for you. At the moment we charge a half months rent to get new tenants then 8% each month (12% for non Canadian residents, due to the extra work). The realtors at the opens were very curious to know about the service our company offers, and our opinion on the rental market.
There are many reasons why owners would want to rent out their suites. To name a few reasons: Owners may be away and wanting to return to their suite in the future, owners may be holding their suite as a revenue producing investment or keeping the suite for future retirement plans. Whatever the case may be, Downtown Suites Ltd. will deal with any suite needing to be rented. There is no need to worry about renters as we only rent to tenants who have a great track record and credit score of over 600.
I am excited to be part of the Downtown Suites Sales Team. As a realtor I believe that it is important to have an in depth knowledge of the area in which you are working. I have lived in Vancouver for the majority of my life and my finger is on the pulse of the city and the current market conditions. I have been here to witness all the changes to the Downtown area including the growth of Yaletown/ False Creek North and the new development properties; which have changed our skyline.
My clients include a variety of individuals from local to overseas investors. I help them to purchase and sell a variety of properties from million dollar penthouse suites to modest one bedroom suites. I treat all of my clients equally with integrity, confidentiality and respect. Whether you are thinking about buying or selling a condominium suite or an investment property; I will assure that your needs are met successfully in a professional and honest manner.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to discuss current market conditions, or if you would like a current market analysis of your property. The reason that I am in the Real Estate industry is that I truly want to help people to succeed in meeting their goals.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Brand New Luxury Suites in Coal Harbour steps away from Stanley Park and the Seawall.
Downtown Suites Ltd. has 4 new available suite rentals, ranging from $3000 - $3500, 1240 - 1310 square feet.
Two bedrooms, two gorgeous bathrooms, stunning open kitchens with 6 appliances, large balcony, beautiful fireplace, in-suite laundry, storage room and 2 parking stalls. Breathtaking Rooftop with state of the art gym equipment, large hot tub, sunbathing, BBQ and Fire Pit areas, Urban Fare at street level, small library, playground/ocean view relaxing area on second floor. One Year Lease, please no pets and no smoking.
Cielo - 1205 West Hastings Street
Please view the Cielo listings at www.downtownsuites.com
I thought you might be interested to see this graph put out by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, showing the average prices from January 1977 to August 2006. Comparing these empasizes the changes that have gone on in this city over the years. In 1977 Coal Harbour hadn’t even been developed yet, and is now Vancouver’s prime luxury waterfront neighbourhood.
We saw 129 listings for Coal Harbour residential properties this past August, with the least expensive l bedroom at 1333 W Georgia listed at $316,000 for 420 square feet. The least expensive 2 bedroom is nearby at 1331 W Georgia: 674 square feet listed at $375,000.In August we saw 24 sales, and the lowest sold was for $279,00 for 420 square feet. The highest sold was for $2,499,000 (1,701 square feet). Average Days on Market: 38
There were 2 sales under $300,000; 9 under $500,000; 10 between $500,000 to $1,000,000; 2 from $1-2,000,000, 1 from $2-3,000,000, none over $3,000,000. None sold at list price and 4 sold over list price.
For comparision, we see that June 2007 saw 43 sales, July 2007 topped at 28 sales, and August 2007 had 24 sales.
Debra Porteus, Waterfront Specialist
Vancouver-born Real Estate professional Debra Porteous is another of our trusted realtor colleagues here at Downtown Suites. Debra applies her specialized marketing and education background to Vancouver’s waterfront properties and is an experienced sales expert in Vancouver’s luxury waterfront homes from False Creek to Coal Harbour.
As integrity, confidentiality and respect for clients is the foundation of her business, we are very grateful for her referrals to investor clients. Like many in our network of trusted and established realtors, Debra has acquired many achievement awards over the years. She is in the top 5% of all Vancouver realtors and has been a Gold Master Member of MLS Medallion Club of Greater Vancouver for 14 consecutive years. Within Re/Max, she has received the Re/Max Hall of Fame Award (over 700 homes sold), the Re/Max Chairman’s Club (top volume of sales within the company) and Re/Max Platinum Club Award (top level of sales achievement in the industry,) and was one of the top 100 Re/Max Residential Sales Agents in Canada (2006.)
(originally posted August 1, 2007)
Vancouver Realtor Les Twarog
In the Property Management field, we’re grateful for the referrals of investment clients from our realtor colleagues. At Downtown Suites we are especially pleased to be working with Les Twarog in relation to his condominium sales. Les is one of Vancouver’s most successful realtors, who has placed in the top 1% of all realtors in the Lower Mainland for many years. He has been consistently producing high results through all the fluctuating market conditions and is often asked by media for his views and comments on real estate issues in the media. His most recent acknowledgments in 2007 include ReMax Chairman’s Club list of achievers and a Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing his over $3,000,000 earnings in paid commissions to date. At the age of 8, Les came to Canada from Poland with his family, and his real estate career reveals a rapid rise to success. And check out Les Twarog’s comprehensive website.
(originally posted July 30, 2007)