Following up on Episode 5, you've found a property that fits your budget, and want to make an offer. Officially, your offer is called a "Contract of Purchase and Sale". When you initiate a "Contract of Purchase and Sale", you are telling the Seller that you are serious about buying the property.
WAIT!
But, before you have your Realtordraft such a document, everything must be disclosed in writing. This is done by reading, understanding and signing 3 very important forms from your Realtor:
The WWR or "Working with a Realtor": A home Buyer and their Realtor or Buyers Agent enter into whats called the Agency Agreement when they start to work together. This document lays out the obligations and duties the Realtor owes a Client and the Rights of the Client. The salient points of the Agency Relationship as laid out in the Working with a Realtor Brochure (the link to the left takes you to an example of the document and a video explanation) are as follows; 1) Undivided loyalty. The Brokerage must protect the principal’s negotiating position at all times, and disclose all known facts which may affect or influence the principal’s decision. 2) To obey all lawful instructions of the principal. 3) An obligation to keep the confidences of the principal. 4) To exercise reasonable care and skill in performing all assigned duties. 5) To account for all money and property placed in an Brokerage’s hands while acting for the principal.
* What It Means - The Realtor works for the Client (First Time Home Buyer) and only the Client, no matter who is paying the Realtor and has to tell the Client EVERYTHING! 2) The Client/Buyer is the BOSS! No ifs, ands, or buts! 3) The Buyers Real Estate Agent CANNOT talk about the clients affairs with ANYONE, unless given permission by the Client, 4) The Realtor has to do their job right or face serious consequences 5) Everything given to the Realtor is the Realtors personal responsibitiy ie deposit cheques, keys, anything.
The FINTRAC - Then Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada gather, analyze, assess and disclose financial intelligence across Canada. It is a requirement of all Realtors in Canada to ascertain the identity of the their clients and submit it to FINTRAC (this link to the left takes you to an example of the document and a video explanation)
* What It Means - Big Brother/the Government of Canada wants to know if buyers of real estate in Canada are funding terrorism or laundering money and wants all of the personal information of these Buyers and will throw these Buyers and their Realtors in jail for not giving this personal information.
* Disclosure of Remuneration - Realtors have a duty to disclose to their Clients in writing how the Real Estate Agent is getting paid, by whom, and how much. All Buyers working with a Realtor must initial or sign a Disclosure of Remuneration.
* What it Means – For First Home Buyers, the Disclosure of Remuneration is very often when they come to understand how their Buyers Agent gets paid. This is how it works: The Seller offers to pay their Sellers Agent (Listing Agent) a commission to sell their property. The Sellers Agent then offers about half of this commission to Buyers Agents to bring their Buyers to bring accepted offers that Complete. The Buyers Agent has to get it in writing that the Buyer is aware of how much the buyers agent is getting paid and by whom. PLEASE NOTE – Buyers do not pay the Buyers Agent! For a more detailed explanation of check out my Disclosure of Remuneration Video.
This is Episode 1 of How to Sell Your Vancouver Condo. This new video series will be your start to finish guide of how to sell your residential condo in Vancouver, B.C. No question is too simple! Contact me any time with your questions and/or comments. Click the previous link and scroll down to the comments sections. All submissions are read and answered by me personally.
What's the Status of Your Mortgage? Will You Have to Pay a Mortgage Penalty?
If you are fotunate enough to have no mortgage on your condo, lucky you, skip to Episode 2!(Coming Soon)
Your mortgage is a contract that commits you to pay your lender a series of payments over a specified period of time. If you want out of your contract early, you'll have to pay a mortage penalty in order to compensate your lender. The amount of this compensation varies according to the terms of your contract.
Talk to Your Mortgage Lender First!
Jessi Johnson of the Jessi Johnson Mortgage Team was kind enough to come meet with me to explain the two types of penalties when a mortgage is ended early. For a variable rate mortgage the penalty is generally 3 months interest, which in most cases is not that much because variable rate mortgage interest rates tend to be lower than fixed rate mortgages. It can get VERY EXPENSIVEwhen ending a fixed rate mortgage on your Vancouver condo, because they can be subject to an IRD or Interest Rate Differential.
“An IRD amount is a compensation charge that may apply if you pay off your mortgage principal prior to the maturity date or pay the mortgage principal down beyond the prepayment privilege amount. The IRD amount is calculated on the amount being prepaid using an interest rate equal to the difference between your existing mortgage interest rate and the interest rate that we can now charge when re-lending the funds for the remaining term of the mortgage.”
Jessi also has a great Interest Rate Differential Calculator on his site that you can use to see how big a penalty you may need to pay if you want sell your condo in Vancouver.
When in Doubt, ASK YOUR LENDER!
If you’re not sure what your penalties are make sure to ask your mortgage lender and they should be able to tell you how much your penalty would be should you chose to end and pay out your mortgage early.
Is Your Condo a Revenue Property? Talk to Your Accountant!
If you’re selling a revenue property, be sure to speak to your accountant. There may be tax implications when selling an investment property. I will cover selling investment properties in detail in an upcoming series of videos.
Be sure to check out Episode 2 of How To Sell Your Condo in Vancouver! (Coming Soon!)
Selling a Condo in Vancouver IS Different Than Selling a Condo in Other Places!
Vancouver is richly populated with a huge number of residential condos. This demographic makes marketing and selling residential condos in Vancouver unique from most other urban centres in BC.
In this video, I introduce my new series about How to Sell a Condo in Vancouver. The series will detail everything from pre-listing preparations to listing with a realtor to marketing your listing and finally to finalizing the sale of your Vancouver Condo.
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I may be discussing a lot of terms and concepts that may not be familiar to people outside of the Vancouver Real Estate community. If you find that you do not understand any of these terms and concepts, please let me know because…
There is No Such Thing as a Stupid Question when Selling a Condo in Vancouver!
Yes! I cannot emphasize this more. If you don’t understand PLEASE CONTACT ME WITH ANY QUESTIONS you may have on the process of selling your condo in Vancouver. I can be reached at 604-763-3136 or email me by clicking here.
I also strongly encourage comments below with any questions!
So, you’ve decided its time to sell your condo in Vancouver. What next? Check out Episode 1 of How to Sell Your Vancouver Condo:Mortgage Penalties?!"
Now on the Market: New Pre-Sale Residential Condos in Vancouver South Main at "Uptown" by Concord Pacific.
Uptown Vancouver by Concord Pacific Price List and Features By Mike Stewart Realtor
Introducing Uptown, a new Pre-Sale by Concord Pacific located in Vancouver BC’s South Main/Mount Pleasant area. Uptown is a soon to be completed residential condo tower located on Prince Edward Street at Kingsway and East 12th Avenue. This 10 story condo tower will offer views to the north of the North Shore Mountains and False Creek. Uptown will have 102 suites, 25 of which are going to be 1 bedrooms with some 2 bedrooms and a few larger townhouses.
Pricing
For details see the price list below for this new Vancouver Off-Plan Development. Concord Pacific mentioned that 65% of the suites for sale at Uptown Vancouver will be under $350,000, but this does not include parking or any upgrades.
Interior Finishings
Concord Pacific mentioned they will give the option on light or dark laminate floors, Stainless Steel Appliances as well as Quartz Stone Counter tops.
Maintenance Fees and Amenities
Concord Pacific anticipates maintenance fees for this pre-sale to be 27 cents/sf with a small gym and party room with kitchenette for amenities.
Financing Options
The developer of this pre-sale condo is working with the Bank of Montreal who is offering a 3.45% fixed rate mortgage with a 3 year term available from completion.
HST Helper Discount!
Concord Pacific is offering HST help for Buyers of Uptown. See details on page14 of the document that I have embedded below.
Deposits
Concord Pacific is requiring a deposits of 25% on this Pre-Sale for the general public and 20% for Uptown Club Members.
QUESTIONS? Please contact me with any questions you may have on Uptown in South Main!
All of these details are subject to change without notice.
Tips for 1st Time Home Buyers in Vancouver Episode 6: Working with a Realtor, FINTRAC and the Remuneration Disclosure
Part 6 in a series of videos that provide advice to Vancouver Buyers on the purchase of their first home. Your comments and questions are important to me and other readers of this blog. Write to me and I will reply!
You’ve found the home you're looking for... What next?
You have an idea of what this dream home is worth, as discussed in Vancouver First Time Home Buyer Tips Episode 5, now you and your Realtor need to draft up an offer or Contract of Purchase and Sale as it is officially referred to in BC, that will be submitted to the Seller and that informs the Seller that you are serious about buying the property. STOP! Time for your Realtor Disclose EVERYTHING IN WRITING to you, the Buyer.
Prior to a Realtor preparing and submitting an offer on your behalf, there are important documents to consider. These documents are a constant source of confusion and questions from First Time Home Buyers and its one of the major reason I created the First Time Home Buyer Guide for Vancouver.
What needs to be filled out and signed and what it means!
» Working with a Realtor (WWR) – A home Buyer and their Realtor/Buyers Agent enter into whats called the Agency Agreement when they start to work together. This document lays out the A) obligations and duties of the Realtor to the Client and B) the Rights of the Client. The salient points of the Agency Agreement as laid out in the WWR Brochure (click the link to the left for a view of the WWR document with a video explanation) The salient points of the Client/Agency Relationship are as follows: 1) Undivided loyalty: The Brokerage must protect the principal’s (read: client's) negotiating position at all times, and disclose all known facts which may affect or influence the principal’s (read: client's) decision. 2) To obey all lawful instructions of the principal (read: client). 3) An obligation to keep the confidences of the principal (read: client). 4) To exercise reasonable care and skill in performing all assigned duties. 5) To account for all money and property placed in an Brokerage’s hands while acting for the principal (read: client).
» What it Means: The Realtor works for the Client (First Time Home Buyer) and only the Client, no matter who is paying the Realtor and has to tell the Client EVERYTHING! 2) The Client/Buyer is the BOSS! No ifs, ands, or buts! 3) The Buyer's Real Estate Agent CANNOT talk about the clients affairs with ANYONE, unless given permission by the Client. 4) The Realtor has to do his/her job correctly or face serious consequences. 5) Everything given to the Realtor becomes the Realtor's personal responsibility (ie deposit cheques, keys, photos...anything.
» FINTRAC - Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) gathers, analyzes, assesses and discloses financial intelligence and requires all Realtors in Canada to ascertain the identity of the their clients and submit it to< FINTRAC. (click this link to view a FINTRAC document with a video explanation)
» What It Means: Big Brother/the Government of Canada wants to know if buyers of real estate in Canada are funding terrorism or laundering money and wants all of the personal information of these Buyers. Failure to submit the required information to FINTRAC can result in prison time for both the Buyer and the Realtor.
» Disclosure of Remuneration - BC Realtors have a duty to disclose to their Clients, in writing, how he/she is getting paid, by whom and how much. All Buyers working with a Realtor must initial or sign a Disclosure of Remuneration that informs the Buyer of these things.
» What it Means – For First Home Buyers, perusal and comprehension of the Disclosure of Remuneration is how they come to understand how and how much their Realtor gets paid . This is how it works: The Seller agrees to pay their Realtor (or Seller's Agent) a commission to sell their property (via a Disclosure of Remuneration document between that Seller and that Seller's Agent/Realtor). The Seller's Agent/Realtor then offers about half of this commission to the Buyer's Agent/Realtor in the event that their offer is accepted and the deal reaches the date of Completion. The Buyer's Realtor/Agent must get it in writing that the Buyer is aware of how much the Buyer's Realtor/Agent is getting paid and by whom. PLEASE NOTE – Buyers do not pay the Buyer's Realtor/Agent! For a more detailed explanation check out my Disclosure of Remuneration video blog.
Once all these documents are signed and filled out its time to prepare the offer or Contract of Purchase and Sale, so stay tuned for Episode 7 of the First Time Home Buyer Tips Vancouver: The Contract of Purchase and Sale!
I Strongly Encourage Questions and Comments!
First Time Home Buyers Guide Episode 5: Comparative Market Analysis for Buyers – What’s your Dream Home Worth?
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In Episode 4 of the First Home Buyers Guide Vancouver, we discussed how to efficiently search for properties in Vancouver. So now you’ve found your dream home and you want to write an offer. Now is the time to take a cold hard look at that property to figure out if it’s really worth what the seller is asking!
They Can Ask, But Should You Give It?
List price does not equal market value! Price is almost always negotiable. Very often properties in Vancouver are priced above market value, sometimes they are priced at market value, and occasionally they are priced below market value (See Multiple Offer Situations for Buyers).
Why does this matter? Because once you find your dream home you need to know what the property is worth to prepare an initial offer and to have an idea of what sale price you will eventually negotiate, but more on that later.
Comparative Market Analysis – How I Calculate Market Value.
To figure out what your dream home is worth, I use a process called Comparative Market Analysis (CMA). Here’s how I do it:
1. First I visit the property. This is the only way to get the clearest possible picture of all the unique aspects of the property that contribute to its market value. Be wary of anyone who tells you they know a property’s exact value sight unseen.
2. I look at comparable properties or “comps” that are similar to the property of interest based on criteria such as age, size, location, builder, exposure, number of bedrooms, etc that have sold in the last 30 to 90 days depending on what’s happening in the market (30 days if the market is volatile, closer to 90 days if its not) as well as comps that are available on the market at present.
3. I look at what’s happening in the Vancouver real estate market overall using the REBGV Monthly Sales Statistics as well as what I am seeing in my business.
4. What’s happening in the economy overall.
I then take this data, analyze it, and present the Buyer with a brief report on what the market value of the property is. We then use this information to decide what price we will start at with the offer we are going to write on the property.
Tags: Comparative Market Analysis for Buyers, Comparative Market Analysis in Vancouver Real Estate, First Time Home Buyers Advice, First Time Home Buyers Video Blog Tips, How Market Value of Real Estate is Calculated, How Realtors Calculate Market Value, How To Calculate Market Value of Property in Vancouver, How to Calculate Vancouver Real Estate Prices, Vancouver First Time Buyers Tips, Vancouver Home Buyers Advice, Vancouver Real Estate First Time Home Buyers Advice
REBGV Stats – May market offers buyers greater selection
The number of properties listed for sale in Greater Vancouver continued to rise in May, while the number of sales showed a year-over-year decrease.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 3,156 in May 2010, a decline of 1
0.4 per cent compared to the 3,524 sales in May 2009; 5.1 per cent more than the 3,002 sales in May 2008; and 27.1 per cent less than the 4,331 sales in May 20
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7. May 2010 sales also represent a 10.1 per cent decline compared to last month’s sales.
In terms of number of property listings, last month marked the third consecutive month during which more than 7,000 homes were listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) in Greater Vancouver.
New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties totalled 7,014 in May 2010, a 48.2 per cent increase compared to May 2009 when 4,733 new units were listed, and an 8.3 per cent decline compared to April 2010 when 7,648 properties were added to the MLS®.
At 17,492, the total number of property listings on the MLS® increased 10 per cent in May compared to last month, and is up 28.2 per cent compared to this time last year.
“Prospective home buyers in today’s market have a broad selection to choose from in every property type. REALTORS® are telling us they’re working with buyers who are not feeling as rushed to make a decision as they did late last year and earlier in the year,” Jake Moldowan, REBGV president said.
Over the last 12 months, the overall MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver increased 16.7 per cent to $590,662 from $506,201 in May 2009.
“It’s important for those looking to buy or sell a home to remember that real estate is local and wise real estate decisions are made by those who understand current market conditions at the neighbourhood level,” Moldowan said.
Sales of detached properties in May 2010 reached 1,256, a decrease of 10.4 per cent from the 1,402 detached sales recorded in May 2009 and a 4.4 per cent increase from the 1,203 units sold in May 2008. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 19.1 per cent from May 2009 to $810,175.
Sales of apartment properties reached 1,354 in May 2010, a decline of 7.1 per cent compared to the 1,458 sales in May 2009 and an increase of 8.8 per cent compared to the 1,244 sales in May 2008.The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 13.9 per cent from May 2009 to $398,783.
Attached property sales in May 2010 totalled 546, a decline of 17.8 per cent compared to the 664 sales in May 2009 and a 1.6 per cent decline from the 555 attached properties sold in May 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 14.8 per cent between May 2009 and 2010 to $500,339.
Canadian Citizens or Permanent Residents determined by Immigration Canada.
Lived in British Columbia for 12 consecutive months immediately before the date registration of the property, or have filed 2 income tax returns as a British Columbia resident during the 6 years before the date the property is registered
Never owned a property or an interest in a principal residence anywhere in the world at anytime
Never received a first time home buyers’ exemption or refund.
The fair market value of the property is less than $425,000 (This was written in June 2010, this number can and will change)
The Lot has to be 0.5 hectares (1.24 acres) or smaller, and
The property can only be used as a principal residence.
If the property meet some these criteria, there may be a partial exemption.
Nobody likes to waste time. In this Episode we will talk about how to efficiently search from a home with the assistance of a Real Estate Agent. Let get started!
Get Some Tools!
Your Realtor will have some great web-based real estate research tools, like Private Client Services that will notify you of new listings, let you know whats actively on the market, and most importantly, how much properties are selling for. Why is sales data important? Because it allows you to the Buyer to distinguish between what is a good deal and what is not.
Start Looking with an Open Mind!
Once you have access to a web based research tool like Private Client Services, its time to start looking at properties. Email your Realtor the list of properties you want to see as well as a time you’re available and your Realtor should handle the rest.
Keep an open mind when looking. There may be options you never expected that might be perfect for you.
See as many properties as you can to get a clear idea of what is available at what price. Its a horrible feeling to buy something only to find out that what you really wanted was available but you missed it.
Communicate and Eliminate Options
As you search for that perfect property keep in mind what is important to you and what you like. Eliminate properties that don’t work for you and that you don’t like. Heavy sleeper/light sleeper? Don’t like the heat? Like light or not? Noise bother you? Big balcony small balcony? Make sure to communicate your needs, wants, and preferences to your Realtor. The more information your Realtor has, the faster they can find you properties you will like.
What to expect from your Realtor
The British Columbia Real Estate Association requires all Realtors in BC to have you the Buyer sign a document called Working with a Realtor. This document does not bind you to the Realtor in any way. It simply discloses to you the Buyer exactly the nature of the Agent Relationship. Remember your satisfaction as the Buyer is the most important thing in this process.
I welcome your thoughts, questions, and comments!
Stay tuned for Vancouver First Time Home Buyers Advice Episode 5: Writing an offer on your Dream Home!
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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