Since we shot this video little has changed. As we are approaching Christmas there are still houses, condos and townhouses being bought and sold in surprising numbers.

I know it it a classic Realtor line or cliche but it holds significant truth in our current market... "Now is a great time to sell". For the record I depsise that line as isn't always true!

If you are at all contemplating selling your home in the coming year, it would be worth taking advantage of this pent up demand by Vancouver home buyers.

Many homes which are priced right are being bought in multiple offer scenarios, often fetching more money then the seller's had hoped for. Of course one can not just throw their home up at any price and expect this to happen. The home must be priced very fairly or even a touch below market value and not allow showings or offers for a few days or even a week. Have an afternoon showing on a weekend and if the home is desirable and prced well multiple offers are likely to ensue.

A Burnaby home for sale recently sold in multiple offers for $26 000 more than asking within a week. But only after being repriced from $775 000 to $699 900 after 60 days at the higher price with no offers and few shwings. In the end they had 4 offers and got $25 000 more then a normal market would have brought them.

In the end the buyer and seller did well on this transaction all things considered and are both very happy.

Bottom line is the Vancouver Real Estate market is driven by supply and demand and supply is lower then normal and demand is higher than normal. Buyers and Sellers must adapt accordingly.

In this episode Tom Everitt and Kye Grace cover the following topics:

-the Real Estate market in Metro Vancouver is very busy with many properties selling in under a week often for above asking, but does anyone other then buyers and sellers know?

- Dual Agency, this is where one Realtor represents both the buyer & seller with the same property...fraught with issues and maybe on its way out.

- Realtors leaving listings on the MLS that are not actually available. Why do they do this?

- the listing Realtor showing their listing to another Realtor is unable to be there with their client.

Beautiful 5 bedroom new in 2008 family home 1 minute walk from Kawkawa Lake. 2495sqft of well designed space with landscaped front & backyard. Interior finishing has a classy look and feel. Features E glass (very energy efficient) stainles s appliances, light sunny interior colors & commercial Van Gogh floors (very durable, perfect for kids). Besides an amazing family home, would make a great bed & breakfast, vacation property or for a home based business. Close to hiking/biking trails & fishing. Note rec room on main could be a 6th bedroom.

PENTHOUSE SUITE in The Paris Block. Situated on W Hastings, just a few strides from the Woodward's redevelopment. 100 year old Heritage Conversion. Live/Work Studio w/open concept. Featuring over height ceilings, brick walls, polished concrete floors, fully integrated kitchens w/stainless steel countertops & backsplash. Full Miele appliance upgrade pkg - fridge, D/W, wall oven, cooktop, built in coffee maker & front loading W/D. U-line wine storage. Custom millwork closet storage system. Surround speaker sound system. Close to Gastown, Yaletown & business district. Amazing views of North Shore mountains & water. This unit includes a 392 sf private roof deck w/outdoor kitchen!

I have a client who has used the internet to do an amazing amount of research for various houses for sale she is considering buying.

One of the coolest things she has done though is using the recently available Google Maps Street View.

Google Street View is a feature of Google Maps that provides 360° panoramic views from a row of positions along the street in approximately 10 or 20 meter intervals for many streets in Metro Vancouver & the Fraser Valley.

The pictures are great quality and more than practical to view a particular location on the day the picture was taken.

Back to my client, what she did was search the property on Street View and found that in the image it appeared the windows upstairs were boarded up. We had viewed the property and seen no evidence of such activity, as it turns out it the wooden blinds were closed giving the appearance of wood blocking the windows. But what a potential gem of a discovery if that had been an issue in the past with this house for sale that was not obvious now.

Using Google Street View can you not only view an image of the home you are considering you can virtually walk through the neighbour hood, the route your kids may walk to school, view nearby parks or anything else you can think of you would want to view without having to hop into the car.

Simply go to Google Maps and search for an address or location and zoom into the max or click on 'street view' in the location bubble.

I have recently blogged about buying properties that are already tenanted and what your options and obligations are.

But what about buying a property with intention of finding a tenant to rent the property, whether it be a condo, house, basement suite.

Julie Broad & Dave Peniuk have a company that helps others learn about and make great decisions about real estate investing.

They have recently recorded a podcast on some of their experiences and awesome advice about choosing the right tenants or even choosing to go without a tenant for a month or two instead of settling for a less than desirable tenant.

Real estate investing, while having immense long term upsides, can most certainly have short term challenges. It must be done right for you to get the maximum return with least amount of financial and emotional outlay.

Have listen to this fantastic advice on choosing tenants.

It is a little tricky to use, it appears you need to log in to post a video but in reality you don't. As long as you have a webcam you have all you need!

I have shot an example below...

The comment system I am using is Intense Debate. IntenseDebate is the premier commenting system available on the Internet for blogs and websites. IntenseDebate comments enhances and encourages conversation on your blog or website.

Feel free to give it a try and let me know what you think!

Thanks to Debruyn Design for motivating to add this feature and Clark County Real Estate Agent Dale Chumbly for helping me find Intense Debate.

As much as Vancouver has had a great fall, winter is coming!

We can not stop it but you can do a lot of things to make sure it doesn't impact your home's well being or your finances.

Take a half hour this long weekend and get out there and make sure you home is ready for the rain, snow, freezing and what ever else Mother Nature throws at us!

Here is a great article on preparing your home for winter.

I have no doubt if you Google it you will find plenty more tips. If need be hire a pro and be safe if you choose to take on any do it yourself projects!

If you have other tips feel free to share them in the comments below.

(Apologies for the lack of editing, somedays timing doesn't allow for edits or HD file size!)

INVESTORS/BUYERS!!! Assumable $270k prime MINUS .85 mortgage (current 1.40%) with maturity date of Nov 28, 2013!

Effective savings of approx $9k (based on current rates) over the remaining term of the mortgage.  

1 year lease in place at $1600/mo.

789 sq ft studio style Gastown loft in newly converted PARIS BLOCK. This sleekly designed home has polished concrete floors, a one piece stainless sink/counter/backsplash in kitchen; cool built-in appliances: the suite length exposed brick walls with 2 foot high 'I' beams round out the suite w/ heritage style.

This suite is easy to maintain, easy to rent; pays its own bills. Close to all the action: Salt, Chill Winston, Jules; more! No property tax for up to 3 more yrs!

If you are considering renovating your current home prior to selling or buying a fixer upper you will want to take serious look at Build Direct.

Build Direct is online building supply company offering immense value by providing product direct from the manufacturer directly to you. Not having a huge warehouse space and a traditional retail locations allows them to pass on these savings to their customers.

Beyond the practicality of savings and easy online shopping, the company operates with great values and truly cherishes relationships with all who they come in contact with.

Whether it be employees, suppliers, manufacturers, shippers, the community and of course customers they treat them all with immense value and care.

Congrats on a successful 10 years and many decades more Build Direct!  

If you are selling a tenanted property which the buyer will move into the contract requires the seller, on posession date, to hand over the home in essentially the same condition as when the home buyer viewed it.

If the tenant damages the property you the seller will be on the hook for the costs of the damages. The seller will have to reimburse the buyer, those costs which could exceed the damage deposit.

It will then be the seller's responsibility to recover those costs from the tenant. 

The best thing to do is be a great landlord. Treat it as a mutual relationship with the tenant and you should have few problems when they depart.

If you are buying a tenanted property where the tenants will be moving to allow you to reside in the property consider a Holdback. This is where an amount of money is held in trust by your legal professional until the property has been deemed as it was when you viewed it. 

Situated on West Hastings, just a few strides from the Woodward's redevelopment. 100 year old Heritage Conversion. The Paris Block. Live/Work Studio w/open concept. Featuring over height ceilings, brick walls, polished concrete floors sleek , fully integrated kitchens w/stainless steel countertops & backsplash, white lacquer lower cabinets w/white glass upper cabinets. Leihbert Fridge, AEG dishwasher, wall oven & cooktop. Front loading washer/dryer. Glass & slate tile in the bathroom. Custom millwork closets & designer roller shades. Close to Carral St, Greenway, Salt, Boneta, Chill Winston, GM Place & easy walk to business district, Crosstown & Yaletown. This unit includes a 350 sf roof top deck!

Home Sellers Can & Do Rent The Property From The Buyers 

If for varying reasons it makes sense for the home sellers to rent back from the buyers after a real estate transaction there are two ways to go about this. 

When the seller only needs to stay for a short time it makes sense to not enter into a tenancy agreement. Simply adjust the completion date and decide the compensation for the sellers staying after completion. This can either be added to the purchase price or written up as a separate addendum within the contract of purchase and sale.

If the seller wants to remain as a tenant for an extended period or even indefinitely then it is best to add a subject to the seller entering into a tenancy agreement in a form satisfactory to the buyer's lawyer or notary. Logic would be to use the standard form provided by the Residential Tenancy Office albeit over seen by a legal professional.

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Security & Pet Damage Deposits

You are buying real estate that has a tenant who shall remain upon completion (rental property or house with a basement suite), what about the damage deposit?

The purchaser becomes responsible for a tenant's security deposit or pet damage deposit, even though the deposits were being held in trust by the seller. The seller may wish to address the transfer of the deposit in the offer/contract or at time of closing.

Such monies are an important portion of the agreement to buy/sell tenanted real estate and your Realtor should clarify with you how you would like it dealt with. A simple clause on the addendum can make this very clear to everyone and remove the chances of any confusion or conflict.

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Part of Real Estate investing can involve selling rental properties currently tenanted. In this video blog I discuss selling a fix term rental or more comonly referred to as a lease.

In the case of a lease the tenant can not be given two months notice to vacate as in a month to month rental. The tenants have the rights to remain for the length of the term of the lease.

Often the lease states the tenancy rolls over to a month to month at the conclusion of the lease or fixed term. If this is the case, after the fixed term the Seller can provide written notice that the tenant will need vacate using the two months notice at any point.

If the lease states the tenant is to vacate at the conclusion of the lease and the agreement does not roll over into a month to month tenancy then the landlord does not need to provide any notice.

If a home buyer would like to buy the property to reside in the may not do so until the end of the time frame of the lease and appropriate notice period when applicable.

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You are selling a property with tenants and those buying the real estate want to reside in the property.

As long as the tenants are on a month to month rental agreement the following applies, leases are a different situation which I will discuss in a subsequent video.

Only the landlord can serve notice to the tenants, in this case that is the home seller. As the buyer does not yet own the property they can not provide notice to the tenant.

The home seller/landlord can provide written notice that the tenants will need to vacate for the following reasons:

   -the new owners or direct family member (parent, child of the buyer or buyer's spouse) intend to reside in the property

   -the new owners want to use the rental unit for another purpose which includes renovations requiring vacancy, convert to a strata property unit, convert to a non residential use such as a shop or convert to a caretaker's premise

The tenant is entitled to 2 months notice effective the start of the next rental period (usually the 1st of the month). Once delivered the tenant may give 10 days notice back the landlord that they are vacating and are to be returned the remaining portion of the rent for that month.

This can be frustrating for sellers as they will not receive any rental income for the remaining period of ownership.

The landlord must also provide one months compensation. This can be done by not charging rent for the last month or if the rent is already paid by reimbursing one months rent.

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If you own a Vancouver home for sale that has a tenant (condo, townhouse, house with a basement suite) you need to follow some basics regarding notifying the tenants prospective buyers would like to view the property.

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From my segment on Radio Real Estate on Talk 1410

Neighbourhood features such as schools, parks and shopping aren't only more convenient for their owners, Homes located within walking distance of these are often worth more than homes in neighborhoods where one needs to rely on a car, according to a report commisioned by CEOs for Cities.

The study examined just under 100 000 real estate transactions in 15 different US markets and found in 13 of those markets the more 'walkable' the location of the home, the more the homes were worth.

As a society we are slowly moving towards recognizing the financial and health costs of being car dependent never mind lost quality time with family & friends or just doing the things you'd rather be doing versus sitting in your car...

If this trend continues it would stand to reason that homes with high walk ability will continue out perform homes that are car dependent.

How do you know how walkable a particular home is? Head to Walkscore.com and input the address and it will create a score along with listings of nearby business, schools, recreation etc.

“Techno-Talk is brought to you by ….Sutton Group-West Coast Realty…The Right Place…For All The Right Reasons”…This is Kye Grace For Radio Real Estate

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If you are already out looking for a new or first home in certain neighbourhoods of Vancouver you already know there is far more buyers then there are Vancouver homes for sale. 

Open houses are packed and multiple offers with sales prices above asking are happening with some regularity.

What is driving the demand and will it last?

It is assumed that low interest rates and the reduced prices that were brought on by the recession are the most significant driving force.

Very low inventory is allowing sellers to receive multiple offers and often higher prices than expected IF they have a desirable property priced well.

The buyers that are buying are holding to standards and snapping up the best properties while those less desirable or over priced continue to sit on the market for months.

The unfortunate part is a lot of homebuyers are stuck dealing with the disapointment and frustration as they are one of the unsuccessful offers on the elusive desired property.

As far as how long will this last? Assuming that even 75% of the home buyers that are writing offers and not succesful in multiple offer situations continue to look, it is likely to carry on into the fall and/or until all these buyers have bought or surrender to the low inventory.

What is the solution for those not selling? Another topic for another day!

This week as it is priced if definatley presents some value. Challenge is it will likely sell for above asking in a short time. That being said it is still a gem of a property amongst the various units for sale on Main St in Vancouver.

C7 -238 East 10th St Vancouver

From the MLS listing:

Mt. Pleasant - Main & Broadway: Vancouver's most vibrant upcoming residential neighborhood with recreation, entertainment, trendy shopping and restaurants for every taste - Live then work!

Living in the hub of Vancouver offers the accessibi lity, diversity & freedom of the ultimate lifestyle. Spacious top floor 1 bdrm Studio 10 unit w/14ft ceilings, in converted warehouse, offers 2 lofted areas, balcony, with North Shore Mountain & City views, full kitchen & that WOW factor.

Live/work zoning (lower taxes). Walk-up building w/parking space (w/minimal fee) only a few steps from door. E10th is a bike designated street. Property contains unauthorized accomodation. R.I. plumbing for W/D. Ready to move in. Pets & rentals are welcome.