British Columbia Enacts Significant Changes to the Strata Property Act

In December of 2009, the Province enacted several changes to the Strata Property Act (the “Act”). Some of the key changes which take effect January 1, 2010 include:

1. Special Levies: Strata corporations must account for funds raised by special levy, separately from other strata funds. The strata corporation must invest those funds in investments permitted by the regulations or in insured accounts with savings institutions in British Columbia. They may also charge interest on money owed and outstanding by strata owners per a special levy. As a result, the strata corporation will be able to register liens against a strata lot for interest owing due to late payment of the levy. Lastly, some special resolutions fail where a bare majority but not a ¾ super-majority of strata owners vote to assess a special levy to repair or replace common assets. In such instances the Act now permits the strata corporation to apply to either Provincial or Supreme Court, not later than 90 days from the vote, for an order authorizing the special levy be assessed and the repairs go forward, irrespective of the failure to achieve the requisite ¾ vote.

2. Rental Restrictions: Under the new provisions, new strata corporations would not be able to change rules about rental units that impact the rights of owners and purchasers or the marketability of the units. Owners would be able to continue to rent their units until the date the rental period originally defined by the developer in the Form J Rental Disclosure Statement expires. Existing strata owners do not benefit from these changes.

3. Age Restrictions: The Act now grants strata corporations the express authority to pass bylaws restricting the age of persons who may reside in a given strata lot.

In addition, look for the following provisions in the Act to be brought into force later in 2010:

1. Audited Financial Statements: The Act will require that the strata corporation’s financial statements be audited. Owners and purchasers reviewing the statements will know they are materially correct and conform to generally accepted accounting practices. This audit requirement may be waived by a ¾ vote of the strata owners.

2. Depreciation Reports: Strata corporations will be required to obtain regular depreciation reports (a “Report”). The Report must estimate repair and replacement costs for major items in the strata corporation, as well as the expected lifespan of those items. Owners may waive this requirement by a 3/4 vote. Strata corporations must disclose the Report in a Form B request made by owners or purchasers or their representatives.

3. Changes to Dispute Resolution: Under the former provisions of the Act most Strata disputes were required to be submitted to the B.C. Supreme Court for resolution. Under the new provisions, many of these same disputes may proceed in Provincial Court.

4. Form B Information Certificates: In addition to requiring that the Form B details the most recent depreciation report, the new provisions of the Act will require that the Form B detail which parking stalls and storage lockers are allocated to a particular strata lot.

lawlessbrown.com

No Relief for Renters

So I'm reading the Saanich News and what do I see:

"No Relief for Renters"

The cost of rental housing edged higher in Greater Victoria through the fall while the region's vacancy rate remained unchanged at 0.5 per cent. The average cost of renting a one bedroom apartment in October rose by $50 to $764, compared to $716 in October 2007, according to data released from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The average price for a bachelor suite rose $37 to $626, two bedrooms increased $58 to $965 and three bedrooms were $124 more expensive with average rents reaching $1 180.

Give us a call and we can show you how to take advantage of this.

Krista and Sherri

www.lawlessbrown.com

Rental Vacancies Down in Victoria BC

What a great time to become a landlord or landlady! The opportunities out there are endless so again let's make 2009 the year that you begin your trek to financial independence. Krista and Sherri can show you how.

STRONG DEMAND FOR RENTAL HOUSING IN VICTORIA
VICTORIA, DECEMBER 11, 2008

The October 2008 rental market survey conducted by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) indicates that Victoria apartment vacancy rates remained low for the fourth consecutive year. “With a 0.5 per cent average vacancy rate, Victoria has one of the lowest rates in the country,” said Travis Archibald, CMHC Market Analyst. “Local demand for
rental housing was driven by a large post-secondary student population, a strong local labour market, international in-migration, and the gap between the cost of owning and renting.”
While the average apartment vacancy rate across Metro Victoria remained stable at 0.5 per cent, the rate in the City of Victoria declined from 0.6 per cent to 0.4 per cent this October. The combined apartment and townhouse vacancy rate edged down from 0.5 in October 2007 to 0.4 per cent this fall.

Relative to last fall, average Victoria apartment ($818) and townhouse ($1,157) rents (for units within purpose-built rental structures) increased by seven and four per cent, respectively. Within the Victoria CMA, Esquimalt was home to the lowest average rent ($744) and Oak Bay had the highest ($931).

As Canada’s national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 60 years of experience to help
Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable, and affordable homes —
homes that will continue to create vibrant and healthy communities and cities across the country.

For further information:
Travis Archibald CMHC
Victoria Lee F. King
Senior Market Analyst
250-363-8040 B.C.
Corporate Representative
604-999-7420 Fax: 250-995-2640 250-363-8050
tarchiba@cmhc.ca www.cmhc.ca lking@cmhc.ca

respectfully,
Krista and Sherri

www.lawlessbrown.com

Great Links to Let You Know What is Happening in the Housing Market

MCAP Expert Partner, NEWS LINKS

Get in the know with MCAP's Expert Partner NEWS LINKS! Your MCAP Expert Partner offers NEWS LINKS for you to stay current, educate clients, and provide added value to referral sources. The market landscape is changing rapidly so be sure to open MCAP's monthly NEWS LINKS. NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2008 NEWS LINKS: Canadian Mortgage Trends NOVEMBER: News from CAAMP 2008 http://www.canadianmortgagetrends.com/canadian_mortgage_trends/ CTV.ca DECEMBER: What's in store for Harpers political career? http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081202/harper_future_081202/20081202?hub=Politics The London Free Press DECEMBER: New rules meant to 'raise the bar' http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/Business/2008/12/02/7602536-sun.html Canada.com NOVEMBER: Canadian mortgage lenders in 'good shape' http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=25f6879c-27c5-42bc-af35-2bfb2a37c249 cbc.ca NOVEMBER: Mortgage rate chopped by 2 Canadian banks http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2008/11/26/canada-mortgage.html MCAP'S FAVOURITE WEBSITES: Canadian Mortgage Trends- http://www.canadianmortgagetrends.com/ Canadian Mortgage Professional- http://www.canadianmortgageprofessional.com/ Genworth (Home Ownership Information)- http://www.genworth.ca/homeownership/index.html Respectfully Krista and Sherri www.lawlessbrown.com

The Best Investment Ever

Victoria is officially a buyer's market with more properties on the market then buyers. What a wonderful time to build your nest egg. Have you ever thought about buying a rental house than balked thinking it would be too difficult?

Let's make 2009 the year to build your nest egg. There is a large selection of houses out there. I personally like single family houses with a suite. I like to have houses with three bedrooms in the upper part of the house and a two bedroom in the bottom. Rents are averaging $600 a bedroom which means on a three bedroom you could be making $1700 - $1800 a month in rent and on a two bedroom, around $1200. That covers your mortgage and more especially if you have an interest only mortgage or a variable rate. Prime is 3.5% right now.

Now you may be asking yourself, "where am I going to get a down payment?" Do you have a house now? Do you have equity in it? Why not make that equity work for you? Pull it out and use it as a down payment for another house. I have done this three times thus far resulting in four houses and my partner, Sherri, has done this twice resulting in three houses for her.

My sister was my inspiration. She came back from travelling with this goal of buying one house a year for the first five years of living in Victoria. Both our families became partners to spread out the risk and it is one of the best decisions we have made. We now own four houses and are considering a fifth. My sister gets mad when she doesn't reach her goals!!!

She does all the landlording and I do all the mortgages making it all work. If you want, I would love to show you how. Our goal is financial independence in the future and we're closer and closer to our goal everyday.

Cheers
Krista
krista@lawlessbrown.com
http://www.lawlessbrown.com

PS> you should see the tax write offs involved with a rental property!!!! but that's for another blog at another time.

FREE Newsletter

So we have started a monthly newsletter. It's full of interesting tidbits about the housing market, bank rates, jokes, cartoons, Did you knows? etc. It will get sent out to your mailbox once a month and is quite an enjoyable read. If you would like to receive this FREE newsletter, just go to www.lawlessbrown.com and sign up. Enjoy.