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The weather is looking sunny for the next coming weeks, which means PATIO SEASON is BACK!!


Here's some of our favourite Yaletown patios: 


The Parlour

Address: 1011 Hamilton St, Vancouver

Website: https://theparlourrestaurants.com/


Enjoy their handcrafted pizzas and have a nice cocktail on their chill patio.


Image Source: The Parlour Restaurants

Banter Room

Address: 1039 Mainland St, Vancouver

Website: https://www.banterroom.com/


Banter Room offers one of the most lively patios in Yaletown, with their extensive Happy Hour menu from 2-5PM everyday!


Image Source: Banter Room

Yaletown Brewing Co.

Address: 1111 Mainland St, Vancouver

Website: http://www.mjg.ca/yaletown/


If you're a beer lover, then you must know about Yaletown Brewing Co. Enjoy different beers, ales, IPAs... with their rotating taps. They're also open until late everyday!


Image Source: Yaletown Brewing Co.


Brix & Mortar

Address: 1138 Homer St & 1137 Hamilton St (Second entrance)

Website: https://www.brixandmortar.ca/


Feeling classy? Then don't miss out on this unique patio experience at Brix & Mortar, along with their wide variety of wines to choose from.They also have 30% off bottles of wine on Monday (<$100)!


Image Source: Brix & Mortar

Ancora

Address: 1600 Howe St, Vancouver

Website: https://www.ancoradining.com/


Enjoy fresh seafood made with a Japanese-Peruvian twist, and amazing cocktails on their waterfront patio overlooking Granville Island.


Image Source: Ancora

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In the recent years, there has been a lot of talk about how Surrey is growing rapidly, and will soon have a larger population than the City of Vancouver!


According to recent statistics, the largest city in British Columbia is still Vancouver with approximately 672,963 followed by Surrey with 569,065 who is just ahead of Burnaby at 248,476. Surrey is also projected to introduce over 185,000 new jobs, and 400,00 new residents, along with their neighbour, Langley. 


Here's some reasons why Surrey is going to surpass Vancouver as the largest city in BC, and why you should (maybe) move there:


Skytrain Extension

Translink's new Surrey-Langley Skytrain Project (An extension of the Expo Line) stretches a total of 16km. The line is set to extend from Surrey's King George Station along the Fraser Highway and ending on 203 Street in Langley. 


With the new skytrain extension, it'll significantly reduce commute times for residents of Surrey & Langley, making those cities much more desirable places to live! 


Image Source: Translink


Major Residential Development

Surrey is undergoing major development in terms of residential buildings. From townhomes to sky-high condos, there's tons of new homes being built. Some current pre-sales include: Centra, The Holland, One Central, Townsend, and more! 


Image Source: VancouverPresales.com


Family Friendly

The Surrey School District has the largest student enrolment in BC, and is continuing to grow. It currently has 101 elementary schools, 20 secondary schools, 4 learning centres, and 3 adult education centres. Simon Fraser University (SFU) also has a Surrey campus, located right near Surrey Central Skytrain station.



Image Source: Surrey Schools


What do you think about Surrey? Would you make the move there? Let us know!


Resources:

https://surreylangleyskytrain.ca/

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/georgetown-surrey-bc-largest-city

https://vancouverpresales.com/property-location/surrey/

https://www.surreyschools.ca/K-12Schools/AlphabeticalSchoolList/Pages/default.aspx



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Yaletown Restaurants You MUST Visit For Mother's Day

Mother's Day is coming up this Sunday, so we wanted to show you a few Yaletown restaurants that you should visit!


Homer Street Café

Address: 898 Homer St, Vancouver, BC V6B 2W5


This classic comfort food restaurant is serving up a Mother's Day brunch special: Butter poached halibut, poached hen’s egg, hollandaise, grilled asparagus, and pickled fennel.



Wildtale Yaletown

Address: 1079 Mainland St, Vancouver, BC V6B 5P9


Wildtale is serving up a special Mother's Day lunch only at the Yaletown location! If you're a seafood fan, this is a must-try!


Provence Marinaside

Address: 1177 Marinaside Cres, Vancouver, BC V6Z 2Y3


This waterfront spot never fails to dissapoint with their extensive brunch, lunch, and dinner menu! 

Minami

Address: 1118 Mainland St, Vancouver, BC V6B 2T9


This popular Japanese eatery (Known for their Aburi) is offering a Mother's Day dinner. The entreé is a Free Range Chicken Ballotine & Pan Seared Scallops, paired with a Kiku Cocktail, and ending off with a Manjari Chocolate Paris Brest for dessert.


Hope you found this helpful, and always feel free to message us for recommendations in Yaletown!

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Spring Home Cleaning Tips

Spring has been upon us for a while now, with Summer approaching in about a month, maybe it's time to finally start on that Spring cleaning you promised yourself! 


We are here to provide you with some of our TOP TIPS when it comes to cleaning your home, and making sure it stays clean.


Declutter

Before you even think about cleaning your home, you should start off by de-cluterring. Throwing out things that no longer spark joy (as Marie Kondo says) can cut down the time you need to spend cleaning. So throw out those clothes sitting in the back of your closet, and that box of old junk in your garage! 

Have a Plan

Now that you've decluttered your home, it's (almost) time to start cleaning. Before you get started, make a plan of how you're going to go about cleaning. Focus on one room at a time, and start/finish in the same area to make sure that you've cleaned every single corner of the room. Also, be sure to prioritize certain rooms/areas that you need to clean right away, and others that can wait another day. Once you've established a plan, and get into the routine, it'll make cleaning extremely fast and easy!

Keep Your Cleaning Supplies in Their Appropriate Spots

Storing your toilet cleaner under the kitchen sink, or your stovetop cleaner in your bedroom closet will only waste time, and discourage you from cleaning because you don't know where anything is. So, always keep the appropriate cleaning tools in the appropriate rooms to ensure maximum efficiency!

Establish A Daily Cleaning Routine

Now, cleaning everyday may sound scary, but just listen first. Doing some light cleaning everyday for ~15-20 minutes can cut down on the time and effort needed to do deep cleans. It can be as simple as scrubbing the toilet, wiping down some counters, or making sure your clothes are in the closet (and not all over the floor). 

Blast the Music & Have Fun

Now, we all know cleaning sucks, but it's also inevitable, so might as well make the most of it! Turn on your favourite playlist, put on your favourite pair of sweats and enjoy the time you spend cleaning rather than dreading it!

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There has been talk of a new ski resort project planned just North of Squamish on Brohm Ridge. Currently, the project is named Garibaldi at Squamish (GAS), but is yet to be renamed. 


"One Main Village is proposed, with hotels, restaurants and commercial spaces that will serve visitors and residents alike. Our priority is to ensure the needs of local families and businesses are considered during the design process"

- Rod MacLeod, Vice President Planning (GAS)

This $3.5 billion project recently released their master plan, which includes details regarding many environmental and economic issues that citizens may have. This project is set to promote long-term economic growth in Squamish, by creating 4029 new jobs for local citizens in the area. With this project in place, it'll accumulate tax revenues, and year-round tourism that further contribute to Squamish's economy. GAS will also be the only ski resort in British Columbia that attains an Enviromental Assessment Certificate to be one of the most environmentally-friendly resort. 


As of right now, the project still requires consultation from the District of Squamish on extending their jurisdictional boundaries, and also the provincial government's Mountain Resorts Branch to approve the use of public land for this project. This agreement stage is expected to last until 2020, which is then followed by preliminary planning/designs until 2022, and finally complete by 2025. 

A Resort Like Whistler?

The resort size is expected to be somewhere in the middle of North Shore ski hills, and Whistler Blackcomb, but at a much more affordable price than Whistler. They wish to achieve 1635 acres of skiable terrain, 131 trails, 21 lifts, 17,538 visitor capacity, and around 22,000 beds for accomodation by the year 2040. They wish to keep 80% of the land dedicated to green-space, leaving them undisturbed, or transformed into natural trails. 


As stated, they are currently still in the negotiation/discussion stage, where they really need the voices of BC residents heard. You can voice your opinion on this new project on their website by filling out their survey. 


Resources:

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/garibaldi-at-squamish-ski-resort-february-2019-project-update

https://www.garibaldiatsquamish.ca/

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/2019/02/12/ski-resort-garibaldi-squamish-five-years/

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New Incentive for First-Time Home Buyers

The Canadian Federal government just announced their new Federal budget incentive that could help first-time homebuyers with their mortgage. This new incentive is to try to help the housing affordability crisis in many cities in Canada, such as Vancouver and Toronto. 


Home-buyers are still required to have at least 5% down payment for the home, but they would have a 10% incentive provided by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) if it's a new home, or 5% if it's a resale. 


Homeowners need to pay back the incentive from the CMHC, most likely when they decide to sell their home or sooner if desired. Details on repayment are still unclear.


Here's an example from Global News in regards to how the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive would work on a price of $400,000:


Let's hope that this new incentive can help provide first-time home buyers with some relief.


Resources:

https://globalnews.ca/news/5069183/budget-2019-canada-housing-affordability/

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/federal-budget-2019-offers-first-time-home-buyers-a-break-with-1-25-billion-in-mortgage-relief

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Spring is finally here, which means more and more open houses are here!

If you're thinking of selling your home, or currently have your home up for sale, here's a few tips to help you prep your home for open houses to make sure that it's in its best state possible to get you the best deal possible!

First Impressions are Important!

People always say, "you don't get a second chance to make a first impression", which is also true when it comes to your home! So make sure that your home gives off the best first impression yet by stepping outside, and making sure that everything looks good. This includes your exterior paint, windows, front lawn, drive way, side walks... and more. Make people want to come into your home just by looking at the outside!

De-clutter

Get rid of that pile of old CD's in the corner that you don't listen to anymore, or that weird antique clock you've always hated. Throw out anything that you don't use or want anymore, to make your house appear more spacious, and make the focus on your house, and not your belongings. Less is more!


Clean, clean, clean!

Make sure that your house is sparkling when it's time for the open house, or any showings. While most cleaning up can be done yourself, however, deep cleans may require a professional. Carpet cleaners, window cleaners... are all professionals that can help you deep clean things that you can't on your own. Feel free to contact us if you're having trouble looking for a cleaning professional, we know tons!

Staging

Now, staging is something that you can do on your own if you have nice, clean furniture. But, it could be something that you may consider hiring a staging professional for. Staging professionals have all sorts of furniture and equipment to make sure that your home looks nice, clean, and modern. They also know how to arrange furniture to ensure your house looks the best.


Remove Personal or Valuable Items

During an open house, you want the focus to be on your HOUSE, not your fancy, personal belongings. You want them to be able to envision themselves living there, with their family, and their things, so remove any sentimental items to show them that this can be their home! Also, there's a lot of traffic during open houses, so make sure to keep your valuables hidden or removed to prevent any unfortunate situations.

Bright Light

Make sure to open all your blinds, lights, windows... during an open house. Brightness makes people happy! No one wants to live in a dark, scary home!



Hope some of these tips were helpful, and that you are well-prepped for your open house. 

If you're looking to buy or sell, CONTACT US TODAY to see how we can help you embark on your journey!

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When it comes to real estate, there's A LOT of jargon in the industry. It can be quite overwhelming during your real-estate journey when you encounter all these unfamiliar words, which is why we're here to tell you the differences between all these types of property ownership. In Canada, there are 4 common types of property ownership which include:

  • Freehold
  • Leasehold
  • Strata 
  • Co-Op

Freeholds

Freeholds are the most common type of property ownership, and also the most popular. It's the regular: You buy the house, so you own the building and the land it's sitting on. Most people prefer to buy freehold properties because there's less restrictions on what you can do (except for city bylaws, permit limitations...). You are the owner, so you are allowed to do any sort of renovations, changes to your property as you please, without having to receive approval from an authority. Detached single-standing homes are commonly sold as freeholds.

 

Leaseholds

Leaseholds are quite different from Freeholds in that you own the building, but not the land that it's sitting on. The land is leased by someone from a developer/builder. The lease is for a specific period of time, and will expire after that period. The lease term is usually around 99 years. After the lease is up, there are several different ways that it could go:
  • They could renogotiate terms to extend the lease for another period of time
  • The land could be reclaimed for redevelopment (The developer would pay out all the owners of the Leasehold)
 
There are quite a few Leaseholds in Vancouver, such as:
  • UBC Endowment Lands
  • SFU
  • False Creek 
  • Certain parts of Vancouver's West End
  • Indigenous Land
While Leaseholds may scare some people off, there are actually still quite a lot of benefits to owning a Leasehold. Since you don't actually own the land, Leaseholds generally are cheaper than freeholds or other types of property ownership. This means if you're looking to buy, but have a lower budget, Leaseholds may be the way to go. However, having said that, they usually do require a larger down payment of ~20% rather than the minimum of 5%.

Strata

Strata properties are also extremely common in Vancouver. Most attached homes (i.e. condos, townhouses) are strata properties. When you own a Strata property, you own your individual strata lot, and together with other owners own the common property/assets as a strata corporation (i.e. parking, ameneties, roof...).
You are in charge of the maintenance of your individual unit, but charged a monthly strata fee for the upkeep of the common properties. The strata fees are proportionate to the size of your strata lot, so the bigger your unit, the more fees you have to pay.


Stratas also have rules and bylaws that owners have to abide by. These rules/bylaws are set in place by the Strata council, which consists of owners that are elected by all the owners in the strata. They host strata council meetings to discuss renovations, finances, complaints, and more. These strata council meetings have minutes that are accessible by all owners in the strata, even if they're not part of the council.

Co-Ops

When you buy a co-op, you become a shareholder in the corporation that owns that property, and have exclusive use of a unit in that property. Other than that aspect, co-ops are quite similar to Stratas in how they're run. Living in a co-op means you have to abide by certain rules/bylaws, share costs of the upkeep of the property... and more.


Co-ops can be more restrictive in their selection process. While other property ownerships cannot reject someone based on their gender, age..., co-ops can. There are often age restrictions, or women/men-only co-ops out there. There may also be an interview process to get permitted to the co-op, which some people actual prefer so they know the people that are their neighbours 


When you purchase a co-op, you don't take out a traditional mortgage. You require a different type of financing called a share loan. It's similar to a mortgage, but the only difference is that you share in the co-op is the loan's collateral, not the actual property. Contact a Mortgage Specialist for more detail.


Hope you found all this information about the different types of property ownerships helpful, and cleared up some questions you may have had. This is just a brief overview of all the different types of property ownerships out there. If you want to know more, please visit the websites below for more information, or get in contact with us.


If you're still confused, feel free to CONTACT US to ask more questions!


If you're ready to START YOUR REAL-ESTATE JOURNEY, CONTACT USto find out how we can help!


Resources:

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/definition/freehold-property

https://www.rew.ca/news/thinking-of-buying-a-leasehold-property-read-this-first-1.22111234

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/strata-housing

https://www.chf.bc.ca/find-co-op/

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BC's Speculation and Vacancy Tax

The BC government's Speculation and Vacancy Tax is finally here. This tax is part of the BC government's plan to ensure that housing is affordable for all citizens of British Columbia.

Goals of the Tax

Their main goal with this new tax is to:

  • Turn empty houses into affordable housing for BC residents
  • Raise revenue that will go towards creating more affordable housing 
  • Foreign/domestic investors who own residences in BC, but don't live in them

Exemptions

The government estimates that 99% or more British Columbians will be exempt from the tax; however, you must register in order to be qualified for exemption.

In mid-late February, keep an eye out for a letter from the provincial government with instructions on how to claim your exemption. The application (can be done online or through telephone) must be completed by March 31, 2019 in order to qualify for exemption. An application must be done by each owner of the house.

What Happens if You're Not Exempt?

If your home is left vacant for 6-months or longer since December 31, 2018, you will NOT be exempt from the Speculation and Vacancy Tax in 2019. You must pay the tax by July 2, 2019.

Tax Rates:

For properties owned on December 31, 2018, the tax rate is the same for everyone:

  • 0.5% of the assessed value of your residential property on July 1, 2018 (BC owners are eligible for a tax credit of up to $2000 on secondary properties)

For 2019 and onwards, the tax rate will vary:

  • 2% for foreign owners and satellite families (People who declare 50% or less of their income on Canadian income tax return)
  • 0.5% for British Columbians and other Canadian citizens or permanent residents who are not members of a satellite family

So, don't forget to declare your exemption from the Speculation and Vacancy Tax! 


Resources:

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/property-taxes/speculation-and-vacancy-tax

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Container Homes

Vancouverites are seeing more and more of these unique looking container homes all around the city. These 207-1,380 square foot containers are being transformed into homes, offices, and other spaces. Containers provided by companies like, Container West Manufacturing are renovated with HVAC systems, solar capabilities, and other modern funishings to transform them into beautiful container homes. 


This simple concept can be the perfect solution to affordable housing in Vancouver, because all buyers need to do is puchase the container, lay down the foundation, and ensure there's proper access to water, sewage, and electricity. With these container houses, home owners have the creative freedom to customize the build, and design of the entire home from scratch, ensuring that it fits the ideals of their ultimate dream home!

Container homes could be the next big trend for Vancouver in 2019. What do you think about them? Will you live in a container home, or are they not your cup of tea? 


Resources:

https://www.straight.com/life/868906/vancouvers-dwindling-housing-market-converted-shipping-containers-may-tick-all-right

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