We know our pension is not going to get us through our retirement years.  However, the unstable global economy environment worries us whether or if we should invest.  Well, so many recent report came out from all over the world as well as our economists agree Canada is one of the safest place to invest in the world.  I met an immigration lawyer recently & he is helping immigrants from all over the world like Egypt.  We are having more & more rich people around the world wanting to come to Canada.  I understand many of us  believe Vancouver real estate is very unaffordable.  However,if you have good planning & stop thinking of buying the "Perfect" property but just get your foot into the real estate door, there are many opportunity out there.  The most important rules for investment is :
1) we buy what we can afford.  If we can't afford DT, Westside, Richmond, etc, then just have to accept that you need to consider further East areas
2) Be an investor not speculator.  The reason why I love real estate is I am the President, CEO of my property.  I can keep it as long as I can hold on to it. 
3) plan ahead for the down payment.  For eg: Burnaby apartment at 250k, rent approx. $1200 20% is $50000. 5 yrs term, 3.29%, 30 yr amortization, monthly pmt $872 + $200 strata fee + $131 ppty tax=$1203.  Cost to buy is $53000. After 1 yr, $3992.41/$53000 gives u 7.5% ROI! 

 

There are many property around $250k range, brand new development in the lower mainland but maybe in Fraser Valley but some in Richmond or New Westminster.  If you don't mind older building, you can stay find them in Burnaby.

If you are able to invest millions like those who does it in Westside, Richmond, etc.  There are more choices than just buying resident detached house like multi family, shopping mall, warehouses, hotels, gas stations, storage

 

Knowledge means everything, following what your friends buy is not the right way to invest.  What works for them doesn't mean it works for you.  I now have a consultation group called West Noble Real Estate Investment Consultant.  3 of us cover residential & commercial real estate with a combination of over 80 yrs of experience.  If you not sure what is right for you or not, we'll offer you our advice based on your situation to see if residential or commercial real estate is right for you.  Feel free to contact me at 604-412-5860 or www.TinaMak.ca

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reports that residential property sales of detached, attached & apartment properties on the region's MLS reached 2,360 in November, 1.9% increase compared to the 2,317 sales recorded in October 2011.  Listing on another hand declined 26.3% compared to October 2011 at 3,222 in total.

If you are interested in knowing which part of the city is better for return on investment, here's the quick summary chart below for your reference on the increase of the price range percentage for each city:

Detached:
1) Port Moody  15.4%
2) Squamish     10.8%
3) Pitt Meadows     9%
4) Sunshine Coast   7.1%
5) Coquitlam    6.2%
6) Port Coquitlam   5.1%
7) South Delta    4.9%
8) West Vancouver/New Westminster  4.2%
9) Maple Ridge  3.4%
10) North Vancouver   2.9%
11) Richmond/Vancouver West   2.7%
12) Burnaby  2.6%
13) Vancouver East   2.4%

Apartment:
1) West Vancouver  9.8%
2) South Delta   5.7%
3) Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows  3.2%
4) Port Moody  3%
5) Port Coquitlam  2.7%
6) North Vancouver  2.2%
7) New Westminster  2.1%
8) Vancouver East     2%
9) Richmond    1.5%
10) Burnaby  1.3%
11) Vancouver West 1.2%

Although sales are down no matter we compare to last year same month or last month, the housing price are still appreciating.  To see the full report, please click November Vancouver Housing Stats

Should you have any question, please feel free to contact me at 604-412-5860 or email me at tinamak@tinamak.com

Buying and selling houses at auction is hugely popular in Australia. The following is a basic guide to how the home auction process works.

Registration of Interest

Once you’ve found a property, by law, you need to contact the real estate agent and register your interest (laws vary state by state; for example, bidders don’t need to register in Victoria).

You will need to show proof of identification so take your passport, driver’s licence, credit card and bill with your name on it. You will then be issued with a bidder number which you will show every time you bid.

Registering interest does not mean you are obligated to bid. If you haven’t registered beforehand with the agent, you can do so on the day.

If you are bidding jointly, only one person needs to register but they will also be the only one allowed to bid.

Reserve Price

All properties up for auction have a ‘reserve’ price, which is the lowest price the seller is willing to accept. It is usually set just prior to the auction and is confidential. To get an idea of the reserve, research recent sales of equivalent properties in the area, or employ the services of a professional valuer.

Tip: If the vendor is receptive, you can make an offer prior to the auction.

Bidding

Once the reserve price is met or surpassed, the property is sold to the highest bidder on the fall of the hammer. The winning bidder must then sign a Contract of Sale and pay a deposit, usually 10%, on the day. The successful buyer must also have their finance pre approved by their lender. Failure to finance the sale may result in the loss of your deposit.

If the highest bid is below the reserve price, the property will be passed in. The person who made highest bid is usually given the chance to negotiate with the seller.

 

在拍卖会上出售和购买房屋在澳大利亚非常流行。以下是关于房屋拍卖运作的基本指南。

注册购买意向

一旦你找到一处感兴趣的房产，按照法律，你需要联系房产经纪并注册你的购买意向（各州法律不同，比如在维多利亚，买家们就无须注册）

你需要身份证明，所以要带上护照，驾照，信用卡和有你名字的账单。然后你将会得到一个拍卖号码，你需要在每次竞拍时出示该号码。

注册购买意向并不意味着你一定要去竞拍。如果你没有在经纪那里注册，你可以在拍卖会当天注册。

如果你是和别人联合竞拍，只须一个人注册即可，但是也只有一个人可以竞拍。

保留价

所有拍卖的房产都会有一个“保留价”，这是卖家可接受的最低价格。它通常在拍卖之前确定并且通常是保密的。要想知道保留价的大致范围，你需要研究该地区最近成交的房屋价格，或者向专业的估价师寻求帮助。

小窍门：如果卖家好说话，你可以在拍卖之前下一个定单。

竞拍

一旦达到或超过保留价，被拍房产就会在拍卖锤落下之时卖给出价最高的竞拍者。竞拍成功者必须马上签署售房合同并在当天支付通常为10％的押金。竞拍成功的买家还必须获得借贷方事先批准的按揭贷款。如果贷款没批下，你可能会失去押金。

如果最高的竞价低于保留价，该房产将会流拍。最高竞价者往往会获得和房主协商的机会。

 

 

 

 

This interview was in Bilingual (Mandarin & Cantonese).

1) Q:since when you noticed more n more Chinese going to buy in WA?

    A:Since 2010, after Summer, Sept, Oct, more during X'mas, continuously increasing now.

  

2)Q: are they new immigrants? or are they Canadian citizen already?

   A:Buyers usually have been living in Vancouver a few years, 5/6 yrs or even longer. Usually husbands work in Asia & wives look for property.

 

3) Q:what price range do they buy?

     A:Principle resident: $700k to $1m. School catchment is extremely important. Investment: they are interested in buying either single strata unit, the whole apartment building or even storage facilities. Price for storage facilites can be as little as unde $200k to $3m+.

 

4)Q: do they pay all cash? or get mortgage?

   A:Usually pay all cash, only small portion obtain mortgage because it's not easy to get mortgage approval. Fo Canadian citizen, they can get same amount of mortgage as the US citizen which is only 50%. IF not, bank only grant 25% loan.

 

5)Q: How does th deposit/Ernest wors?

   A:Deposit(Ernest): they require min 2.5% to 3% of purchase price upon mutual agreement acceptance. They don't recommend more than 5% because in case the buyer back out the deal, they might loss the deposit. There are a few conditions usually put on the offer for 3 days: a) neigbourhood review b) inspection c) mortgage. If all the conditions have been fulfilled but buyer still want to back out, buyer's deposit monies could be forfeited. There is one very crusial point on the contract that must be filled properly or else the buyer could find himself in serious legal situation. In the contract, there are 2 check boxes regarding the right of the seller to sue the buyer in the event buyer back out the deal without any valid reason. 1) seller can sue unlimited liability 2) Seller maximum take the Buyer's deposit amount.

 

     All these rules are based on NW Multiple listings standard form. Different States have different rules.

 

6)Q: what is the min down payment? is every States different? or more or less the same?

   A:Down payment amount is depending on how much mortgage buyer can obtain from the bank.

 

7) Q:is it difficult for Chinese buyer to get mortgage? US mortgage terms are different from Canada? can u explain  how mortgage works in WA?

    A:It is difficult. You have to proof your income source, proof your income earning power & they will look at your Notice of Assessment. All document must be provided & if buyer's income statement is from China or other part of Asia, you must  certified all documents. One way of doing it is to certify it at the US Embassy or hire US recognized translating company to do the translation. In order to get the best rate, you MUST provide all required documents. If not, buyer won't get the best rate.
 

Different States have different rules for Escrow closings.  Today I'm sharing the Texas Escrow closing vs Vancouver closing system.

Major differences as follows: 
1) Canada called is as "Deposit" whereas US called it as "Ernest"

In Canada: normal practice is min. 5% of purchase price once we have an unconditional offer then the rest upon closing.

US : it can be as little as couple thousands dollars on million dollars home upon accepted offer then pay the rest upon closing.

2) Tight financing approval

Texas: out of the area appraiser was being asked to do the appraisal.  Then they need to approve the appraisal report by another dept & sometimes take a long time.  Bank still has the right to refuse funding to the buyers in the last minute if they "Doubt" the buyer's intention on the purchase.

Vancouver: Appraiser writes the report for the bank & that's it.

3) Escrow closings vs our closing:

Title companies normally handle closings. Don't use lawyer like us.  Lawyer only charges couple hundreds dollars.  If you want legal advice, you need to pay extra.  Buyer buyer & seller go to the Title companies to sign all documents.  If documents are missing from any dept like the banker, buyer & seller can't close & have to go back to the title office the next day to wait again.  It can be a waste of time for both seller & buyer.  Both parties still have the option to back out the deal on that day.  Therefore, there is no guarantee that you actually bought or sold a house until you actually sign all papers.  Property taxes notices are send around October 1st, but are not due until the end of the year.

Canadian closing: easy system.  Buyer & seller go to their own Lawyers or Notary Public, sign all necessary paper then the legal firm will handle all registration with Land Title office.  Both Listing & Selling agents exchange keys & delivery keys on Possession date without Buyer & Seller meeting each other.

4) Property tax:

I was in Forth Worth area.  Property tax dept has a lot of arrears payment due to the amount of foreclosure properties.  The govt then raise the other properties owners property taxes.  My friend's 6000 sf house is paying $24,000 a year.  However, the property tax on agriculture lands are way less than the residential property, only thousands of dollars on hundreds or even thousands of acres of land.

Thank goodness we don't have this problem in Vancouver.

Should you wish to buy properties in US, please give me a call & I can refer you to agents in the area you are interested in.  You must understand the system before you do any purchase.  It's very different from Vancouver.

不同的州对于第三方交付有不同的规定。今天我要分享一下德克萨斯州的第三方交付和温哥华的交付系统的不同。

 

主要不同点如下：

1）加拿大称为“押金”，而美国称为“诚信金”

在加拿大，通常的做法是在收到无条件买家出价后收取房产售价5％的押金，剩下的则在合同交付时付清。

在美国：上百万的房产在买家出价后可能只收几千块钱的诚信金，剩下的在合同交付时付清。



2）严格的按揭审批

德克萨斯：本地区之外的评估师会被邀请对房产进行评估。他们的评估还需要被另外一个部门审批——这个过程会经过很长时间。银行仍然有权力在最后时刻拒绝给买家提供贷款如果他们对买家的购买初衷表示怀疑。

温哥华：评估师为银行提供评估报告，就这样。



3）第三方交付对比我们的交付：

过户公司通常会来处理交付事宜，不象我们使用律师。律师只收取几百块的费用，如果你需要法律建议，你就需要额外付费。买卖双方到过户公司去签订所有的文件。如果有任何一方文件缺失，比如银行文件，买卖双方合同就不能交付，他们必须在第二天再到过户公司等待。因此，在签订所有文件之前，你无法保证你是否成功购买或出售了一套房产。房产税通知会在10月1号左右寄到，但是要到年底时才会生效。

加拿大交付：系统简易。买卖双方到他们各自的律师事务所或公证机构，签订所有的文件，然后律师或公证处会到土地过户机构处理所有的注册等事宜。买卖双方经纪在入住当天交换／交付钥匙，买卖双方不需要见面。



4）房产税：

我在ForthWorth地区时看到房产税部门有很多由于房屋被银行收回而产生的欠账，政府于是就提高了其他房屋的房产税。我朋友的6000英尺的房子每年要交$24,000的税。但是农业用地的地产税要比居民房产税少很多，几百上千亩地只需要缴几千块钱。

太庆幸了温哥华没有这样的问题。



如果你想在美国购买房产，请致电给我，我可以推荐你感兴趣地区的经纪给你。你在购买任何房产之前必须了解他们的系统。他们的系统和温哥华相比有很大的不同。

 



Tina Mak Personal Real Estate Corporation
Vancouver Radio Realtor AM1320
www.TinaMak.com
www.Tina Mak.ca 温哥华中文地產網站
www.GenYrealestate.ca
604-412-5860
Empowering Knowledge To Make Sensible Decision

 

 





 

Joint tenants vs. Tenants-in-common:

长命契与生死契

 

Most home owners usually don't know the different between the 2 & when they ask if there is any difference, the short answer is "Yes".  

大多数有房人士通常不知道这两者的差异，因此当他们问这两者有没有不同时，简单的答案就是“有”。

 

When a property is held in joint tenancy長命契, this means "the last man standing" owns the property.  When one joint tenant dies, the entire property belongs to the remaining, surviving joint tenant(s).  Whoever is the last joint tenant to die owns the property.  Only that last person can use his or her Will平安書 to give the property to someone else.

如果一处房产是受长命契约束时，那就意味着“最后去世的一方”拥有该房产。当共同户主之一去世时，整套房产将属于剩下还健在的另一方户主。谁是最后去世的户主，谁就拥有该房产。只有最后一个户主才可以在他／她的平安书里指定该房产的继承者。

 

For example, Alan, Bob & Charlie are joint tenants of a house.  Alan passes away.  Even though Alan would like to leave his share to his wife, he can't because he's a joint tenant.  Bob n Charlie then own the property.  Bob dies.  Charlie now owns the whole property.  Because Chris is the only name on title now, he can leave the property to his wife & children.  There is nothing for Alan or Bob's families.

比如 Alan, Bob和 Charlie是一处房产的共同户主。Alan去世了，即使Alan希望将自己在该房产中的份额留给他的妻子，他却不能这样做，因为他是一个受长命契约束的户主。Bob和Charlie于是拥有该房产的全部。Bob去世后，Charlie拥有全部房产。因为Charlie现在是该房产的唯一拥有者，他就可以把它留给他的妻子或小孩。而Alan和 Bob的家人则什么也没有。

 

Tenants- in-common生死契 is a different story. In this arrangement, each person owns a half, or third, or some other portion that belongs only to them. They can leave their share to someone in their Will or sell it (never mind the logistical problems of trying to sell one third of a house).  

生死契就不同了。在这样一个协议中，每个人将会拥有房产一半，或三分之一，或其他份额的只属于他们的部分。他们可以在自己的平安书里将各自的份额留给其他人或者出售（这里不考虑卖掉1／3房子的可操作性）

 

To adapt our example above, let's say Alan, Bob & Charlie are tenants-in-common of the property and each owns and equal 1/3估份. When Alan passes away, he leaves his share to his wife, Deana. Now the owners are Bob, Deana and Charlie. Then Bob passes away and leaves his shares to his wife, Roberta. Now the owners are Deana, Roberta and Charlie. In this way, each of the individual owners retains control of his or her share.  If there is no Will, there will be an administrator appointed by the court. Whoever is the beneficiary 受益人 of the estate will become the new owner of the deceased's portion of the property. The portions of the property owned by the other tenants-in-common are not directly affected.

再以上面的例子为例，如果说Alan, Bob和 Charlie是受生死契约束的一处房产的户主，每个人拥有该房产的1／3。Alan去世时，他将自己的份额留给他的妻子Deana.现在新的户主就是Bob, Deana和Charlie。在这种协议下，每个房主都保留对自己份额的控制权。如果没有平安书，法院就会指定一个管理者。去世一方的法定受益人将会成为去世一方在该房产中的份额的拥有者。其他在生死契中的各方户主不会受到直接影响。

 

Between a husband and wife, a title is almost always held as joint tenants. This is so that when the first spouse dies, the other one will automatically own the family home without having to go through probate. Note that this is not always done in second marriages, depending on the situation.

在夫妇之间，户主几乎都是长命契。这是因为当配偶一方去世时，另一方会自动拥有房产而不会经过遗嘱查验过程。但是在再婚的情况下，根据情况的不同，处理的方式并非都是如此。

 

There is a recent case happened that a BC resident passed at the age of 62 without a will.  Her husband then asked wife's sister to help prepared a will because the couple didn't have children.  The problem is the husband didn't sign it before he died a year after.  All of the couple's possessions are now in the custody of the Public Guardian & Trustee of B.C., which is searching for the husband's overseas distant blood relatives but no relatives are found.  The couple didn't have a huge pile of assets but had some life insurance money, investments in the bank, paintings & jewelries. Now the wife's family faces the prospect of buying back family heirlooms including jewelries that the wife inherited from her mother from public auction. 

20% of B.C. residents' over 55 don't have a will, a number that rises to 51% among those between the ages of 35 & 54 according to recent poll study.  Only half of the adults have a will.  It is particularly important if you have acquired assets such as real estate. 

New legislative changes pending to regulations around wills by Sept 1st, 2011. 

1) One of these changes affects the amounts granted to the surviving spouse in cases where there is no will.  Under existing law, the surviving spouse is entitled to the first $65,000, with the balance divided between the spouse and the couple's children. That minimum will be increased to $300,000 under the new law, or $150,000 in cases where the deceased has children that are not also the surviving spouse's

2) pending change is the minimum age at which somebody can have a will, which moves from 19 to 16. Some younger people under 19 are acquiring substantial assets

3) 3rd changes involve representation agreements, which are powerful documents that cover health care treatment and other end-of-life wishes, he said. The agreements allow a person to appoint someone else to make decisions for them if they are unable to make decisions themselves, and permit the appointment of a monitor as a check on the representative's activities.

More information on the Sept. 1 changes will be published that day on the Public Guardian and Trustee of B.C. website (trustee. bc.ca), to the Public Guardian's office.

The information will be posted in the Financial and Personal Care Services for Adults category under the Incapacity Planning

The difference between lawyers and notaries is something like the difference between doctors and nurses.   Virtually every lawyer has an undergraduate degree and a law degree from a recognized university. A Notary Public, while they must have matriculated from high school, their training consists of anywhere from a six-month correspondence course to a two-year correspondence course. 

 

Most real estate deals are fairly straightforward and both a lawyer and notary will prepare the documents for you. 

If you are buying a home, they will:

 conduct a title search

investigating title

Land Title Registration fees

obtain tax information and

any additional info to prepare a Statement of Adjustments.

Work with mortgage company's Lawyer/Notary

 

prepare closing documents,

including a title transfer, mortgage, property transfer tax forms and forward them to the seller’s lawyer or notary for execution.

After you sign your papers, the lawyer or notary will register the transfer and mortgage documents and transfer funds to the seller’s lawyer or notary.

 

If you are selling a home, they will:

 attending to execution documents

Costs of clearing title, including: discharge fees charged by encumbrance holders

 After closing, deposit funds into the seller's bank account or prepare cheque for seller to pick up in person.

You are probably saying, "What's the big deal?  Most real estate deals are simple and the secretaries do most of the work anyways."  You would, in many cases, be right.  Nine out of ten residential real estate deals are fairly straightforward.  What if you are the odd man out, that unlucky tenth deal?

For example, if you ask questions like: "I think my neighbour's fence is on my land, what should I do?" or "I allowed the new buyer conduct minor renovation on my vacant condo & now the trades had a plumbing accident & water leaks to the lower floor, what should I do?  the notary cannot give you advice on what your recourse is.

 One of the common aspects about  the notary - solicitor division involves the perception that notaries are somehow cheaper then lawyers.  Sometimes that is true but sometimes it isn't.  Some notaries are more expensive than some lawyers and, of course, prices may vary from lawyer to lawyer and notary to notary.  One simple example, you wouldn't know if they use first class or third class courier but it affects the time the Seller receive the funds from the transaction. 

 I often decide on who I would like to work with based on:

1) if the lawyer or the notary they handle the file themselves or like most cases just supervise the preparation of documents. 

2) Can I communicate to the lawyer or the notary directly? or I can only talk to the secretary.

 It is fairly safe to say, however, that you tend to get what you pay for, whether it be a cheap notary or a cheap lawyer.

律师和公证处的区别就好像是医生和护士的区别。基本上所有的律师都会有一知名大学的本科学位和法学位，而公证处的人员虽然都是从高中录用到高一级的学校，但他们的培训可能是介于6个月和2年之间的任意一种课程。

 

 大部分的房地产交易都是相当的直接，不论律师还是公证处都可以为你准备必须的文件。

 如果你是房屋买家，他们将：

做一个房子户主查询

调查户主

代收户主注册费用

获取税费信息以及其他信息以准备费用调整文件

和按揭公司的律师／公证人联系

 

准备结案文件，包括过户，按揭，房产税过户表，并将他们转交给卖家律师或公证人执行。在你签署文件后，律师或公证人将会注册过户和按揭文件，并向卖家律师或公证人打入款项。

 

 如果你是房屋卖家，他们将：

 处理执行文件，扣除注销户主费用，包括：按揭公司收取的房屋抵押权注销费用。

 结案后，向卖家银行账户存入卖房款项或者准备支票以备卖家领取。

 你也许会说：“有什么大不了的？多数的房屋交易都很简单，很多工作本来都是秘书做的。”在大多数情况下，你会是正确的。十之八九的住房交易都是很直接的，但是如果你撞大运了，成了那1／10的部分呢？

 比如，如果你有象这样的问题：“我觉得我邻居的围墙建到了我这一边，我应该怎么半？”或者“我让买家在我空置的公寓上做些装修，但是现在出现了排水的意外，水流到了底下一层，我该怎么半？”公证处不会向你提供追索权的建议。

 一个普遍的关于公证处法律部门的认识是他们比律师要便宜。有些情况下这是真的，有些情况则不是。有些公证处比有些律师更贵，当然不同的律师不同的公证处的价钱也不同。一个简单的例子，你不知道他们是用的一级的还是三级的快递公司，因为这将会影响到卖家收到交易款项的时间。

我通常根据以下情况决定是请律师还是公证处：

1）律师或公证处是否是自己处理文件还是象大多数案子一样仅仅是监管文件的准备。

 2）我能否和律师或公证人直接交流，还是只能和秘书联系？

 

但是，你可以说你付出什么价钱就会得到什么服务，不管是便宜的公证人还是便宜的律师。