investment

Our real estate market is off and running again contrary to the scare stories from south of the border and other parts of the world.  Why?  There is pent up demand, still, for our product. The prices which were becoming over-inflated have corrected, and interest rates have lowered yet again to near record lows – making home buying the cheapest it has been in three years!

Real estate will always be the number one investment in BC.  If you’re thinking of investing be sure to give the Downtown Suites Team a call to assist in your acquisition and management.  Please ask for me personally and I will be happy to discuss your objectives with you.

The BCREA released this info from Chief Economist Cameron Muir yesterday:

British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports residential sales dollar volume on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in BC declined 35 per cent to $2.3 billion in March, compared to the same month last year. Residential unit sales declined 25 per cent to 5,464 units during the same period. The average MLS® residential price in the province was $424,122 in March, down 12 per cent from March 2008.

“While fewer MLS® residential sales were recorded last month compared to March 2008, home sales actually climbed 24 per cent from February to March on a seasonally adjusted basis, the second consecutive month of gains,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist.

A significant increase in affordability helped fuel housing demand last month. “Reduced mortgage interest rates have effectively doubled the impact of lower home prices on affordability,” added Muir. While the average sales price in BC declined 12 per cent from a year ago, the monthly payment on the average priced home was 24 per cent lower. “Housing is now more affordable than at any time in the last three years,” noted Muir.

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Another excellent  Turnkey investment property was acquired for our clients in Coal Harbour at Harbourside Tower, 208-555 Jervis Street. This property was acquired in November of 2008 and came complete with a long term qualified tenant in place.

It was one of the best values in Coal Harbour at one of the premier waterfront development properties in the area. This south-facing studio overlooks Pender St right in the heart of Coal Harbour which is located just steps from the Stanley Park Seawall, Urban Fare, Robson Street. And close proximity to the best of everything the city has to offer. This suite is perfect for those looking for a pied-a-terre.

Our clients were thrilled to add this perfect little suite to their investment portfolio which is professionally managed by the Downtown Suites team.

The suite was purchased by one of our clients and we are now managing it for them as a rental property.

For more information on investment properties in Coal Harbour and Vancouver please contact:

Victoria Farrell, Downtown Suites Ltd 778-898-8179

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We were pleased to receive the A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. Downtown Suites participates in both the Better Business Bureau and the BBB OnLine Reliability Program. For more info, click on our BBB Online logo.

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Vancouver is given a big boost in today’s New York Times, in the Great Homes, Lifestyles and Destinations section, outlining many of the reasons why investors and second-home buyers worldwide choose to invest in Vancouver real estate.

The article:

Preening for the Olympics, Vancouver Is Building Up

By DAVE CALDWELL Published: December 4, 2008

EVEN when it rains hard in Vancouver, British Columbia, the host city for the next Olympic Games, big yellow backhoes at construction sites near Coal Harbour.…(view full article here)

Those involved in local real estate estimate that about 20 percent of those second-home buyers will be Americans. “We’re really livable, which is why America likes us,” said Bob Rennie, whose company, Rennie Marketing Systems, promotes several developments in Vancouver.

Click the link to view the stunning slide show “Building Vancouver’s Olympic Future” from today’s New York Times. It shows through spectacular photography the beauties of the city of Vancouver.

At Downtown Suites, we manage the properties of many non-resident investors who own in Vancouver.

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Tenant screening is the first step in good property management. We thought this recent article was worth repeating.

It seems a building water leak caused a contactor to need to get into several strata lots to mop up the leak. When he went to one unit, the door wasn’t answered, so a locksmith was called. When the contractor stepped inside, he found that the unit had been converted to a fully equipped meth lab!

Police and fire departments arrived, the building had to be evacuated, the HAZMAT team dismantled the lab, and the city advised that the entire strata lot had to be deconstructed and rebuilt. The lot could no longer be occupied, and the owner would be facing a cost est. of $100,000 for a rebuild. Not to mention fines from the strata corporation and other legal consequences. The non-resident owner was shocked. He knew little about his tenant, other than that he paid cash for rent and security deposit.

This cautionary tale reinforces the reality that non-resident owners need to do more than simply collect monthly rent.

At Downtown Suites we handle all aspects of non-resident rental and keep informed on all regulations and updates. For example, there was a very significant court case (Supreme Court of BC) involving insurance claims, which was summarized as follows; “If an occupant of a strata lot is responsible for the cause of an incident and the insurance of the strata corporation has a deductible, the owner is responsible for paying the deductible.” This would mean the non-resident owner, if the tenant is responsible.

Our services involve the screening of tenants, including background credit checks, and we have many balances in place to ensure the good maintenance of your investment.

www.downtownsuites.com

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Vancouver property appeals to international owners. Why? Because Vancouver is consistently voted as one of the best places to live in the world, with ocean air, good water and the buoyant Canadian economy. Vancouver offers a relatively crime-free and safe place to live, with a good lifestyle. International owners see that property costs in Vancouver are relatively low, offering comparable good value. Compared to Manhattan and London we are half the price. In fact we have people flying in from London for the weekend, buying a place, and going home.

At Downtown Suites, many of our clients come from overseas, or lead busy lives. Not wanting to manage an investment on a day to day basis, they trust us to manage their property. Last month we met with clients from Hawaii, Washington DC, and the Yukon. Some clients live nearby, such as in Whiterock. Some are retired people, managing their investments by engaging us to look after their rental properties.

Some of our finest luxury suites can be found in the prestigious Coal Harbour area, near to both the downtown business district and the beauty of nature at Stanley Park. In the next postings, I’ll be chatting about some of the aspects of Coal Harbour, which is counted among the most luxurious waterfront locations in the world.

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Many owners of investment property may be unaware of the ins and outs of the new BC Residential Tenancy Act, which has been recently updated. If your suite is currently rented to a tenant, this information should help you understand the tenant rights written into the current legislation.

The new rules for residential tenancy apply to the many suites here in Vancouver that are held as investments and currently occupied by tenants. But when owners wish to sell the suite, they find that tenants are not simply expendable, to be evicted upon sale of the suite.

Here in BC, tenants have many rights, upheld by law. It may come as a surprise to owners to discover that when tenants are in a lease situation, that lease takes precendence over the sale. Unlike other countries, an owner here cannot evict a tenant for the purposes of selling. In fact, it is only if the new owner wishes to live in the suite that a tenant may be evicted. This new owner is referred to as an “owner-occupier”.

I’ll be devoting several more blog posts to this important legislation. At Downtown Suites, we help the owners understand the ramifications of this legislation when they decide to sell their investment property.

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