The Okanagan's Discussion Forum

This is a one year term lease. You are guaranteed one year rental, and after the one year, if you do not sign for another one year term lease, you will automatically be on a month-to-month lease.
Either the landlord or the tenant can ask for another one year term after the first year.
The benefit for landlords is long term leasing. The benefit for tenants is the same.
The drawback is that you must pay for the full one year term, even if you don't like the place after six months.

threadbear wrote:
Thanks, he's new at this renting thing, and will check out his lease. Says the property manager was well aware of his intentions for a long term stay. We'll probally get back to you here on this tomorrow.

http://www.rto.gov.bc.ca/

He should be familiar with this.

threadbear wrote:Okay, so I'm talking to these people. They each have, say, over a hundred k in cash available. But young guy doesn't want to make an emergency buy because he thinks Kelowna is no place to invest in real estate right now, even though he's earning what whould support a mortguage equal to his present rent. And, although he thinks his landord has listed at what would be about a fifty k hit for him, he thiniks the place should be worth another fifty k less with the state of affairs in the strata.

I am curious about the 'state of affairs in the strata' comment. I am on a strata council and we're looking for ways to improve upon the landlord-strata and tenant-strata relationships. Our property values can not withstand a downturn AND poor landlording. What is your friend's main problem with the state of the strata in which he's presently renting?

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The drawback is that you must pay for the full one year term, even if you don't like the place after six months.[/quote]

Or possibly sub-let through the property management. There is a fee for the cost of doing it.

Sorry to disagree. I am a realtor and have posted on here a few times. I think the Kelowna market is near bottom and think we are seeing signs of a turnaround. Things are selling ,lots of condos have sold in the last couple of months can look up exact stats but pretty sure its record numbers. Now still do think its a buyers not sellers market but that is a good thing for buyers.
The new bank rules will have some affect but not huge effect mostly just changed out length of mortgages a bit.
For some people renting is an ok option maybe their only option. For others its a stupid option for many many reasons.
As a landlord I dont' mind at all when people keep renting. Pays off my properties and makes me wealthy. And most tenants are decent tenants and always try to be a good landlord.
I think strata are excellent buys for first time buyers and investors and personally plan on buying several condos here in the next year or so. Not worried in the slightest if they go down some. Kelowna has great long term potential as does the entire west coast. If something super terrible happens in the world or national economy then real estate could drop ,mortgage rates could really climb,yada yada but you can't always worry about every little thing.
Real estaste has made me rich but don't keep all my eggs in one basket. Some diversification is good but putting money in the bank and getting next to zero interest is not going to make you rich,only make the banks rich. And the stock market is not a path to riches unless you have the luck or knowledge of Warren Buffet or get in on things like facebook ground floor.
Stocks have never made me much money only given me capital losses to write off against my real estate capital gains.
I would not be as keen to buy in Vancouver,lower mainland and the Island right now though. I do think things are pretty crazy high there already and we could see some sliding.

As for people trying to get out of investment property not seeing that much of that. Fact many at our office are holding strata /condos currently and have zero intention to sell. Some bought them years back and they have pretty much doubled or tripled their investments if they sell them at current prices.

There are fair amount of repos here as well and you can sometimes get a good deal on them but you need a lot of patience and some luck to get a repo for a great price. I personally would rather buy from motivated private sellers.

It has already been discussed in other threads the pros and cons of renting versus buying. Normally buying always comes out ahead. Unless you buy way high ,get over your head and lose it. Nothing in life is certain. Renting you are at landlords mercy. Rent can get raised and you have to abide by his rules. Maybe no pet, can't decorate or renovate to how you may want, no pride in ownership,no build up of equity,no abilty to borrow against the property at super cheap rates,
but as renter you have less responsibility you don't have to do upkeep, don't have to pay property taxes.
But for people with families especially renting is not that great an option. People want their own homes,to do their own thing,play their music loud,have nice garage for their cars,have a backyard,etc. And rent can be higher than mortgage payments sometimes. And if you don't pay rent you get kicked out same as if you don't pay your mortgage pretty sure banks now pay out difference in equity if the house does go to foreclosure so you would get some back if you had some and they sell it a fair market price which they try to do .Thats why repos are not that great most times anymore . In the old days they just sold it to their buddies type of thing. Often for dirt cheap and the owner got nothing.

Doom and gloomers are always around , everyday pretty much of my life heard from the doom and gloomers about World War three, global economic collapse, Solar storms , Global Warming ,etc.etc and well none of that has come true yet.

If you constantly sit on the fence waiting for prices to come down down down you may find you never get off the fence.
I have had many renters who never bought in the past ,most can't save a dime that is one big reason many of them were renters. And many lots fortunes in stocks and made next to nothing in bank accounts. Bank interest has been pathetic for quite a long time now.
And have made many rich from property investment. And gotten personally wealthy from property investment.

But as always its a persons choice to rent or not rent. and landlords choice to keep the property or sell it. And you shouldn't buy a property for investment unless you can afford some vacancy and sometimes some repairs and maintenance even some more major damage occasionally. But buy quality property in decent areas and you won't have that much trouble. As said most tenants are decent. As as most landlords.

But don't mind if people want to be renters, and glad to help them if they want to be owners. Always try to get them to buy within their means, try to get them best deals on what they are buying and often recommend they buy properties with suites,etc to help with the mortgage payments. And of course glad to help people that need to sell as well.

brounal wrote:Sorry to disagree. I am a realtor and have posted on here a few times. I think the Kelowna market is near bottom and think we are seeing signs of a turnaround. Things are selling ,lots of condos have sold in the last couple of months can look up exact stats but pretty sure its record numbers. Now still do think its a buyers not sellers market but that is a good thing for buyers.
The new bank rules will have some affect but not huge effect mostly just changed out length of mortgages a bit.
For some people renting is an ok option maybe their only option. For others its a stupid option for many many reasons.
As a landlord I dont' mind at all when people keep renting. Pays off my properties and makes me wealthy. And most tenants are decent tenants and always try to be a good landlord.
I think strata are excellent buys for first time buyers and investors and personally plan on buying several condos here in the next year or so. Not worried in the slightest if they go down some. Kelowna has great long term potential as does the entire west coast. If something super terrible happens in the world or national economy then real estate could drop ,mortgage rates could really climb,yada yada but you can't always worry about every little thing.
Real estaste has made me rich but don't keep all my eggs in one basket. Some diversification is good but putting money in the bank and getting next to zero interest is not going to make you rich,only make the banks rich. And the stock market is not a path to riches unless you have the luck or knowledge of Warren Buffet or get in on things like facebook ground floor.
Stocks have never made me much money only given me capital losses to write off against my real estate capital gains.
I would not be as keen to buy in Vancouver,lower mainland and the Island right now though. I do think things are pretty crazy high there already and we could see some sliding.

As for people trying to get out of investment property not seeing that much of that. Fact many at our office are holding strata /condos currently and have zero intention to sell. Some bought them years back and they have pretty much doubled or tripled their investments if they sell them at current prices.

There are fair amount of repos here as well and you can sometimes get a good deal on them but you need a lot of patience and some luck to get a repo for a great price. I personally would rather buy from motivated private sellers.

It has already been discussed in other threads the pros and cons of renting versus buying. Normally buying always comes out ahead. Unless you buy way high ,get over your head and lose it. Nothing in life is certain. Renting you are at landlords mercy. Rent can get raised and you have to abide by his rules. Maybe no pet, can't decorate or renovate to how you may want, no pride in ownership,no build up of equity,no abilty to borrow against the property at super cheap rates,
but as renter you have less responsibility you don't have to do upkeep, don't have to pay property taxes.
But for people with families especially renting is not that great an option. People want their own homes,to do their own thing,play their music loud,have nice garage for their cars,have a backyard,etc. And rent can be higher than mortgage payments sometimes. And if you don't pay rent you get kicked out same as if you don't pay your mortgage pretty sure banks now pay out difference in equity if the house does go to foreclosure so you would get some back if you had some and they sell it a fair market price which they try to do .Thats why repos are not that great most times anymore . In the old days they just sold it to their buddies type of thing. Often for dirt cheap and the owner got nothing.

Doom and gloomers are always around , everyday pretty much of my life heard from the doom and gloomers about World War three, global economic collapse, Solar storms , Global Warming ,etc.etc and well none of that has come true yet.

If you constantly sit on the fence waiting for prices to come down down down you may find you never get off the fence.
I have had many renters who never bought in the past ,most can't save a dime that is one big reason many of them were renters. And many lots fortunes in stocks and made next to nothing in bank accounts. Bank interest has been pathetic for quite a long time now.
And have made many rich from property investment. And gotten personally wealthy from property investment.

But as always its a persons choice to rent or not rent. and landlords choice to keep the property or sell it. And you shouldn't buy a property for investment unless you can afford some vacancy and sometimes some repairs and maintenance even some more major damage occasionally. But buy quality property in decent areas and you won't have that much trouble. As said most tenants are decent. As as most landlords.

But don't mind if people want to be renters, and glad to help them if they want to be owners. Always try to get them to buy within their means, try to get them best deals on what they are buying and often recommend they buy properties with suites,etc to help with the mortgage payments. And of course glad to help people that need to sell as well.

How many listings do you have and how many sold in the past 2 years?

GrooveTunes wrote:The drawback is that you must pay for the full one year term, even if you don't like the place after six months.

Or possibly sub-let through the property management. There is a fee for the cost of doing it.[/quote]

And permission must be granted by the landlord. Likely the sublet renter would also have to be approved by the Landlord, with reference checks.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nobody that bought a condo in the last 5 years is going to triple their money in Kelowna. They will be lucky to break even if they can find some sucker to buy it.

brounal wrote:Sorry to disagree. I am a realtor and have posted on here a few times. I think the Kelowna market is near bottom and think we are seeing signs of a turnaround. Things are selling ,lots of condos have sold in the last couple of months can look up exact stats but pretty sure its record numbers. Now still do think its a buyers not sellers market but that is a good thing for buyers.
The new bank rules will have some affect but not huge effect mostly just changed out length of mortgages a bit.
For some people renting is an ok option maybe their only option. For others its a stupid option for many many reasons.
As a landlord I dont' mind at all when people keep renting. Pays off my properties and makes me wealthy. And most tenants are decent tenants and always try to be a good landlord.
I think strata are excellent buys for first time buyers and investors and personally plan on buying several condos here in the next year or so. Not worried in the slightest if they go down some. Kelowna has great long term potential as does the entire west coast. If something super terrible happens in the world or national economy then real estate could drop ,mortgage rates could really climb,yada yada but you can't always worry about every little thing.
Real estaste has made me rich but don't keep all my eggs in one basket. Some diversification is good but putting money in the bank and getting next to zero interest is not going to make you rich,only make the banks rich. And the stock market is not a path to riches unless you have the luck or knowledge of Warren Buffet or get in on things like facebook ground floor.
Stocks have never made me much money only given me capital losses to write off against my real estate capital gains.
I would not be as keen to buy in Vancouver,lower mainland and the Island right now though. I do think things are pretty crazy high there already and we could see some sliding.

As for people trying to get out of investment property not seeing that much of that. Fact many at our office are holding strata /condos currently and have zero intention to sell. Some bought them years back and they have pretty much doubled or tripled their investments if they sell them at current prices.

There are fair amount of repos here as well and you can sometimes get a good deal on them but you need a lot of patience and some luck to get a repo for a great price. I personally would rather buy from motivated private sellers.

It has already been discussed in other threads the pros and cons of renting versus buying. Normally buying always comes out ahead. Unless you buy way high ,get over your head and lose it. Nothing in life is certain. Renting you are at landlords mercy. Rent can get raised and you have to abide by his rules. Maybe no pet, can't decorate or renovate to how you may want, no pride in ownership,no build up of equity,no abilty to borrow against the property at super cheap rates,
but as renter you have less responsibility you don't have to do upkeep, don't have to pay property taxes.
But for people with families especially renting is not that great an option. People want their own homes,to do their own thing,play their music loud,have nice garage for their cars,have a backyard,etc. And rent can be higher than mortgage payments sometimes. And if you don't pay rent you get kicked out same as if you don't pay your mortgage pretty sure banks now pay out difference in equity if the house does go to foreclosure so you would get some back if you had some and they sell it a fair market price which they try to do .Thats why repos are not that great most times anymore . In the old days they just sold it to their buddies type of thing. Often for dirt cheap and the owner got nothing.

Doom and gloomers are always around , everyday pretty much of my life heard from the doom and gloomers about World War three, global economic collapse, Solar storms , Global Warming ,etc.etc and well none of that has come true yet.

If you constantly sit on the fence waiting for prices to come down down down you may find you never get off the fence.
I have had many renters who never bought in the past ,most can't save a dime that is one big reason many of them were renters. And many lots fortunes in stocks and made next to nothing in bank accounts. Bank interest has been pathetic for quite a long time now.
And have made many rich from property investment. And gotten personally wealthy from property investment.

But as always its a persons choice to rent or not rent. and landlords choice to keep the property or sell it. And you shouldn't buy a property for investment unless you can afford some vacancy and sometimes some repairs and maintenance even some more major damage occasionally. But buy quality property in decent areas and you won't have that much trouble. As said most tenants are decent. As as most landlords.

But don't mind if people want to be renters, and glad to help them if they want to be owners. Always try to get them to buy within their means, try to get them best deals on what they are buying and often recommend they buy properties with suites,etc to help with the mortgage payments. And of course glad to help people that need to sell as well.

Have you ever considered selling bridges ?? I think you would be very good..

I was saying that there is a reasonable chance that if you buy condo now say for 200k with 50k down and it goes up to say 300k in 5 to 8 years how much have you made on that 50k investment? The 50k could double ,triple. If it went crazy and went up to 400k you of course would do even better.
Of it may stay the same or drop. Do you really think condos are going to go down from 200 to 150 or 100 or 50 ? Obviously unlike stocks they can't go to zero. One advantage of property over stocks.
If the national economy or world economy gets that bad well might not even be any jobs so doubt you would have money to buy one if it did drop that low. But of course there will always be people with money that are picking them up cheap if that does happen.

I never thought Regina would go crazy like it has recently . But fortunately bought pretty low and sold pretty high but reinvested in property here except for keeping farm back in Saskatchewan which has also gone up a lot in value in last few years.
I did spend some of the profit from gains on toys and things and did pay a pretty good portion to the government in capital gains on property that wasn't principal residence.

Some of you guys are sure pessimistic about Kelowna and things in general.The sky is always falling according to some of you. Kelowna is a fantastic city, with so much going for it. Lots and lots of people are coming here from all over Canada to retire. City pretty much has it all, the lake and all related activities you can do on the lake, golf, wineries,winter activities, great climate,scenery, big box stores, lots of small stores and tons of interesting restaurants.
People are going to keep coming here ,place will continue to grow steadily but may even see a boom.

House prices in Vancouver, Lower mainland,the Island may slide down some here don't think will slide down much more at all. If prices drop like rocks nationally well whatever maybe they will and maybe they won't .If you bet on them doing that you and they don't or interest rates go sky high or there is a major depression then you may not be able to buy a house ever.
And you may not even be able to afford rent. I have a clear title house. I can't lose that house as long as I pay the taxes on it. I need money of course for food, utilities but even if prices were to drop 50% or more my house is safe and as long as can wait don't have to sell it then at least have a place to live.

Renting is not always great. Regina has no rent controls and near zero vacancy rate. Landlords could raise your rent 100 bucks , 200 bucks or more if they feel like it. And they do sometimes. Or you may be forced to live in parts of the city that you don't want to live in,areas of high crime etc because of shortage of rental units. You don't have that much control of things when you rent. But I guess you can just move out of the city but then you may not have a job ,etc.

Rjamer wrote:Have you ever considered selling bridges ?? I think you would be very good..

Brounal and Donald sold all the bridges in Regina, except Brounal was the only one who made any money on them.
He bought them cheap, rented them out, then sold them for more.

Of it may stay the same or drop. Do you really think condos are going to go down from 200 to 150 or 100 or 50 ?

They already have in the lower mission. My friend paid 450.000 and it dropped 100.000 before he moved in. He walked away and ended up losing only 40.000k, his down payment. Luckily they didn't sue him for the difference.

you still haven't answered...how many properties have you sold in the past years? My bet is 0. If your a realtor (and I doubt you are) I pity anyone that signs on with you to sell their house.