Archive for November, 2007
New Tax Measures - Is Capital Gains Next?
November 21st, 2007 Categories: Real Estate Definitions, Vancouver Real Estate
“There is the risk you cannot afford to take, and there is the risk you cannot afford not to take”. Peter Drucker
Do you intend to take advantage of the reduction in GST and buy a new home in the new year?
The tax changes outlined in the federal government’s economic statement are one step in helping Canadians buy a new home, but CREA says the government should include other initiatives in the next federal budget.
The l% savings in the GST will help Canadians pay for home renovations, or new appliances and furniture. According to CREA research, Canadians spend an average of $7,475 on renovations when they buy a home, and spend another $3,950 on furniture and appliances. The GST cut represents $1,142 in savings based on these averages.
CREA has proposed two other tax measures to the federal government. One would help first time home buyers and the other would encourage investment in rental properties.
CREA’s recommended the federal government increase the personal maximum withdrawal allowed under the Home Buyers’ Plan to $25,000 from the current level of $20,000. The current level has not been adjusted since the plan was launched in 1992.
REALTORS are asking the federal government to amend the Income Tax Act to provide real property investors with the freedom to change asset classes without the financial penalties they currently face. Under the proposal, this would be achieved by allowing property investors to defer the Capital Gains Tax and the Capital Cost Allowance recovery on the sale of an investment property when the funds are reinvested into another within a specific time period.
What’s your opinion on the above…good idea or not? Is there another home related tax you would like to see the government address?
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BMO Drops Mortgage Rates
November 16th, 2007 Categories: Vancouver Real Estate
“Whenever you meet difficult situations dash forward joyfully and bravely” The Way of the Warrior
BMO announced its decreasing its residential mortgage rates as of November 14, 2007 . It’s one year term close has been reduced 1/2% to 7.20% and its 5 yerar term is also down .50% to 7.39%. These are their posted rates. Mortgage brokers can find 5 year fixed at 5.90%. Stay pre-approved! If your mortgage is coming up for renewal ask your bank to pre-approve you. The rate is usually good for 90 days.
A half a point drop saves you $30 for every $100,000 borrowed over a 25 year amortization. Of course it makes a big difference in the long term interest you pay.
If you are a first time buyer now entering the market, or even a tradeup buyer, it is a good time to buy with mortgage rates coming down and a slower market than we had in the spring.
Ask me for a referral to an excellent mortgage broker.
Are you happy with the deal your bank gives you or do you deal with a mortgage broker? Do you shop your mortgage rate and terms?
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Port of Vancouver’s Waterfront Land
November 16th, 2007 Categories: Coal Harbour, Downtown
“When you confront a problem, you begin to solve it”. Rudy Guliani
The last piece of public waterfront land in Vancouver, between the seabus terminal and crab park, has been declared by The Port of Vancouver (federal) as ’surplus’, meaning it can be available to private developers and the Whitecaps have proposed an entertainment complex stadium. The central waterfront coalition want to keep it public, as a space that can be enjoyed by all. www.centralwaterfrontcoalition.org
What do you think? Do you wish to see a sports stadium built here or not? Whould it be good for the neighbourhood or not? What would be the impact on traffic? Perhaps you are a Gastown resident…if so, how will it affect you? Share your opinions with us.
| Discussion: 2 Comments »
Coal Harbour History
November 14th, 2007 Categories: Coal Harbour
Ever wondered how Coal Harbour got its name? Well, here’s a brief history of the neighbourhood
In 1792 explorer Captain George Vancouver named Burrard’s Channel after a former navy shipmate. At that time Coal Harbour was home to the Squamish and Musqueam natives who used areas of Stanley Park as burial grounds. By 1859 the Fraser River Gold Rush was drawing prospectors to these shores and Colonel Moody of the Royal Engineers, discovered major coal seams near the foot of But Street, giving rise to the name Coal Harbour. Vancouver’s first settlers, the Three Greenhorns (more about them later) arrived in 1862 and homesteaded where the Guinnes Tower now stands, followed by logging in the 1860’s, with Stamp’s Mill opening in 1867. A year earlier, Gassy Jack Deighton had arrived and built his infamous saloon.
By 1870 a colonial government surveyor laid out the official town site for Granville - what is now called Gastown - near Gassy Jack’s saloon. Stamp’s Mill was now run by Captain James Raymur, who tried to reform the somewhat squalid settlement by banishing the roustabouts and Kanakas (imported Hawaiian workers). In 1884 Coal Harbour was announced as the official terminus for the CPR and a larger town site named Vancouver was laid out. Enormous growth followed, along with a disastrous fire in 1886 which destroyed the new city in 20 minutes. The city’s first elected mayor, David Oppenheimer, succeded in persuading the federal gov’t to set aside 1000 acres for the public and called it Stanley Park. In 1890 the Hudson’s Bay Company built the first warehouse on Coal Harbour’s waterfront, increasing the area’s profile as a major shipping port. This was followed by the 1897 Klondike Gold Rush, which boosted the economy as sawmills and warehouses sprang up along the waterfront.
The CPR opened two shipping piers in Coal Harbour in 1910 and in 1914 they built is station at the foot of Granville St and the Canadian department of Public Works erected the Immigration building on the CH waterfront. The city survived the Prohibition of the 1920’s and the Port of Vancouver continued to expand, adding Piers B,C and D as well as the Ballantyne Pier. The Hastings sawmill closed in 1928 and the Marine Building went up in 1929. Huge fires in 1951 nad 52 destroyed the docks and the face of CH changed in the 1960’s and ’70’s as the industries were removed and the Westin Bayshore was built in 1961, then called The Bayshore Inn, which housed Howard Hughes, who rented the entire top floor.
Today the neighbourhood has more than 1000 pleasure boats moored and is home to upscale homes, parks, shops, restaurants and a shoreline of over 20 kilometers of seawall - totally spectacular.
The Nine O’Clock Gun was installed in 1894 and was Stanley Park’s first permanent structure after the Prospect Point and Brockton Point Lighthouses. Apparantely until Davy Jones, the Brockton Point light keeper, demanded a safer way to help ship captains in the harbour synchronize their chronometers at 9pm every evening, they had to set off a stick of dynamite. Today it is set off electronically and can be heard up to 70 kilometers away. It was silenced during the war because they needed the gunpowder. It was kidnapped in 1969 by engineering students, causing damage to a floating fuel barge when it shot out stones that had been inserted into the barrel. The gun’s bang every night is as much a part of Vancouver’s Coal Harbour traditions as the noon hour opening notes of our national anthem from the hors atop Canada Place.
What an amazing formation in a relatively short time period. I remember when the ship building terminals were in Coal Harbour in the 70’s and the railway tracks. It was very industrial. Now its a beautiful residential neighbourhood.
Have a bit of Coal Harbour history you’d like to share with us?
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A call from Ireland
November 12th, 2007 Categories: Coal Harbour, Vancouver Real Estate
Back in August I received a call from a man in Ireland who owns a suite in Cielo, which is a new building steps to the waterfront in Coal Harbour. The new Urban Fare just opened at the bottom of this luxury condo building. At the time I was asked about the Vancouver real estate market and Coal Harbour in particular, what type of properties are selling, who is buying them, would the suites in Cielo be saleable and to whom, how long would it take to sell and what is current market value.
The building should have completed in the summer but due to the civic strike the occupancy permit was delayed. The developer’s agent kindly showed me the suite in september and thought possession would be mid october, shortly after Urban Fare opened up in the building. In fact it turned out to be beginning of November.
Anyway, we are up and running. A beautiful 2 bedroom s.e. corner suite with water views,brand new and no GST. The building has a concierge and Sky Spa. Drop by my Open house Nov 17th/18th 2-4. View it here
http://www.affordablevancouverhomes.com/4a_feature_sheet_new.php?ltl=271733&open=1
| Discussion: No Comments »
Immigration Matters
November 9th, 2007 Categories: Kitsilano, Vancouver Real Estate
What do you know about immigrating to Canada? If you’re like me, not very much.
I was recently contacted through my blog by Ryan Rosenberg, who is an immigration lawyer. A large portion of my business is non canadian buyers , many of whom ask me questions about buying property in vancouver and immigration to canada. So, i asked Ryan to write me a series of articles on the matter and here is the first one.
Changes to the BC PNP Business Programs
Since their inception, the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Programs have offered expedited processing for people wanting to immigrate to
Recently, the BC PNP announced major changes to its business programs in an effort to attract more business immigrants. Under the new criteria, the program is divided into three streams – “Business Skills”, “Regional Skills” and “Strategic Projects”.
The Business Skills program is designed for people with viable plans to establish or purchase and expand a business in the greater
The Regional Skills program is similar to the Business Skills program, only it is designed for areas of BC outside of Greater Vancouver and Abbotsford. The program requires a personal net worth of $400,000 and a minimum investment of $200,000 and the investment must create at least one new job for a Canadian or permanent resident.
Under either of these programs, BC PNP has created a very interesting fast-track option. Under either program, an investor now has an option to secure nomination at the front end of the program by placing a performance bond in trust with the province. Before changes were made to the program, investors had to come to BC on a two year work permit at which time they would work to establish their businesses and hire employees, as required. Only after these goals were met would the province issue a nomination certificate. And it is only once the nomination certificate has been obtained that the investor could apply for permanent resident status.
If an investor chooses the fast-track option, the province will issue the nomination certificate upon approval of the investor’s PNP application and upon the investor placing a performance bond in trust for $125,000. Once the bond is placed, the investor has the option of coming to
There is lots of upside to these programs, but you have to be willing to stomach the risk. Using a provincial business program will take 3-4 years off of processing times when compared to federal entrepreneur applications. For investors, timing can be everything and this PNP program may be the solution.
The third program, the “Strategic Projects” program, does not offer a fast track option. This program is designed for foreign corporations that want to invest at least $500,000 in BC. For every 3 jobs created, the foreign company can designate one potential immigrant staff member who can move to
All in all, the BC PNP has demonstrated its commitment to forward thinking approaches to real-time issues. With the new criteria in place, we should anticipate a sharp increase in business investor immigrant applications in BC that will help fuel and maintain our already hot economy.
If you have questions, or need further info on immigration matters, contact Ryan or visit his blog http://immigratetocanada.blogspot.com
Ryan N. Rosenberg, Barrister & Solicitor Larlee & Associates Law Corporation Randall Bldg, .
555 West Georgia St
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A Call from Ireland About Coal Harbour
November 9th, 2007 Categories: Coal Harbour, Vancouver Real Estate
In August I received a call from a man in Ireland who owns a suite in Cielo, a new Coal Harbour condo building steps to the waterfront.
The new Urban Fare just opened at the bottom of this luxury condo building. At the time I was asked about the Vancouver real estate market and Coal Harbour in particular, what type of properties are selling, who is buying them, would the suites in Cielo be saleable and to whom, how long would it take to sell and what is current market value.
The building should have completed in the summer but due to the civic strike the occupancy permit was delayed. The developer’s agent kindly showed me the suite in september and thought possession would be mid october, shortly after Urban Fare opened up in the building. In fact it turned out to be beginning of November.
Anyway, we are up and running. A beautiful 2 bedroom s.e. corner suite with water views,brand new and no GST. The building has a concierge and Sky Spa. Drop by my Open house Nov 17th/18th 2-4. View it here
View my listing on my website.
| Discussion: No Comments »
Origin of Coal Harbour’s Name
November 9th, 2007 Categories: Coal Harbour, Vancouver Real Estate
Ever wondered how Coal Harbour got its name? Well, here’s a brief history of the neighbourhood
In 1792 explorer Captain George Vancouver named Burrard’s Channel after a former navy shipmate.
At that time Coal Harbour was home to the Squamish and Musqueam natives who used areas of Stanley Park as burial grounds. By 1859 the Fraser River Gold Rush was drawing prospectors to these shores and Colonel Moody of the Royal Engineers, discovered major coal seams near the foot of But Street, giving rise to the name Coal Harbour. Vancouver’s first settlers, the Three Greenhorns (more about them later) arrived in 1862 and homesteaded where the Guinnes Tower now stands, followed by logging in the 1860’s, with Stamp’s Mill opening in 1867. A year earlier, Gassy Jack Deighton had arrived and built his infamous saloon.
By 1870 a colonial government surveyor laid out the official town site for Granville - what is now called Gastown - near Gassy Jack’s saloon. Stamp’s Mill was now run by Captain James Raymur, who tried to reform the somewhat squalid settlement by banishing the roustabouts and Kanakas (imported Hawaiian workers). In 1884 Coal Harbour was announced as the official terminus for the CPR and a larger town site named Vancouver was laid out.
Enormous growth followed, along with a disastrous fire in 1886 which destroyed the new city in 20 minutes. The city’s first elected mayor, David Oppenheimer, succeded in persuading the federal gov’t to set aside 1000 acres for the public and called it Stanley Park. In 1890 the Hudson’s Bay Company built the first warehouse on Coal Harbour’s waterfront, increasing the area’s profile as a major shipping port.
This was followed by the 1897 Klondike Gold Rush, which boosted the economy as sawmills and warehouses sprang up along the waterfront.
The CPR opened two shipping piers in Coal Harbour in 1910 and in 1914 they built is station at the foot of Granville St and the Canadian department of Public Works erected the Immigration building on the CH waterfront.
The city survived the Prohibition of the 1920’s and the Port of Vancouver continued to expand, adding Piers B,C and D as well as the Ballantyne Pier. The Hastings sawmill closed in 1928 and the Marine Building went up in 1929.
Huge fires in 1951 nad 52 destroyed the docks and the face of CH changed in the 1960’s and ’70’s as the industries were removed and the Westin Bayshore was built in 1961, then called The Bayshore Inn, which housed Howard Hughes, who rented the entire top floor.
Today the neighbourhood has more than 1000 pleasure boats moored and is home to upscale homes, parks, shops, restaurants and a shoreline of over 20 kilometers of seawall - totally spectacular.
The Nine O’Clock Gun was installed in 1894 and was Stanley Park’s first permanent structure after the Prospect Point and Brockton Point Lighthouses.
Apparantely until Davy Jones, the Brockton Point light keeper, demanded a safer way to help ship captains in the harbour synchronize their chronometers at 9pm every evening, they had to set off a stick of dynamite. Today it is set off electronically and can be heard up to 70 kilometers away. It was silenced during the war because they needed the gunpowder. It was kidnapped in 1969 by engineering students, causing damage to a floating fuel barge when it shot out stones that had been inserted into the barrel.
The gun’s bang every night is as much a part of Vancouver’s Coal Harbour traditions as the noon hour opening notes of our national anthem from the hors atop Canada Place.
What an amazing formation in a relatively short time period. I remember when the ship building terminals were in Coal Harbour in the 70’s and the railway tracks. It was very industrial. Now its a beautiful residential neighbourhood.
Have a bit of Coal Harbour history you’d like to share with us?
| Discussion: No Comments »
Vancouver Port’s Waterfront Land
November 9th, 2007 Categories: Real Estate News, Vancouver Real Estate
The last piece of public waterfront land in Vancouver.
Situated between the seabus terminal and crab park, has been declared by The Port of Vancouver (federal) as ’surplus’, meaning it can be available to private developers and the Whitecaps have proposed an entertainment complex stadium. The central waterfront coalition want to keep it public, as a space that can be enjoyed by all. http://www.centralwaterfrontcoalition.org/
What do you think? Do you wish to see a sports stadium built here or not? Whould it be good for the neighbourhood or not? What would be the impact on traffic? Perhaps you are a Gastown resident…if so, how will it affect you?
Share your opinions with us.
| Discussion: No Comments »
How to Benefit from Lower Mortgage Rates
November 9th, 2007 Categories: Real Estate News, Vancouver Real Estate
BMO announced its decreasing its residential mortgage rates as of November 14, 2007 .
It’s one year term close has been reduced 1/2% to 7.20% and its 5 yerar term is also down .50% to 7.39%. These are their posted rates. Mortgage brokers can find 5 year fixed at 5.90%. Stay pre-approved! If your mortgage is coming up for renewal ask your bank to pre-approve you. The rate is usually good for 90 days.
A half a point drop saves you $30 for every $100,000 borrowed over a 25 year amortization. Of course it makes a big difference in the long term interest you pay.
If you are a first time buyer now entering the market, or even a tradeup buyer, it is a good time to buy with mortgage rates coming down and a slower market than we had in the spring.
A mortgage broker is the best way to keep your Bank honest, shop around for the best mortgage rate and terms.
| Discussion: No Comments »
