• A landlord can now issue a Notice to End Tenancy for any reason (other than unpaid or late payment rent).
• Landlords with existing orders for eviction can take them to the courts beginning July 2, 2020, for enforcement and can enforce a writ order effective immediately.
• Landlords can enter a rental suite with 24-hour notice and do not need the tenant’s consent. They are expected to follow health guidelines like physical distancing, cleaning and wearing masks when appropriate.
• The change also allows for personal service of documents to resume.

Elevate at Bear Mountain – Prices, Availability, Plans

TD Bank is offering an aggressively discounted variable mortgage rate of 2.45%—which is 1.15% below its prime—but are there better deals out there?

The bigger question to ask is...should I go variable or fixed?

I personally go variable and the reason being :

- The penalties are lower in case you want to sell your property or flip it

- You have flexiblity and you can always fix your rate if you are worried of rates going up

- You get a better rate than the current 5 year fixed rate.

I personally have always done well in Victoria BC, using a variable mortgage product and recommend, only what I would for myself to my clients as well.

If you want peace of mind, however then go with the fixed rate all the way but first make sure you do need to sell your property during the term of your mortgage or you will pay big penalties to get out of your fixed mortgage.

Any questions feel free to contact us, we love to help. 

BC Budget 2018

The British Columbia government made several announcements regarding housing as part of the NDP 2018 Budget. Among those announcements are the following:

Additional Property Transfer Tax (Foreign Buyer Tax):

1. Increase of the Additional Property Transfer Tax on Foreign Entities from 15% to 20%.
2. Expanded regions of the Province where the Additional Property Transfer will apply, to include the Capital Regional District, the Fraser Valley, the Central Okanagan and the Nanaimo Regional District.
   1.                                                     i.     Grandfathering provisions will exempt transactions from the Additional Property Transfer Tax in the above areas if registration occurs before or on May 18, 2018and the property transfer is subject to a written agreement dated on or before February 20, 2018 (a definition of written agreement has not been provided).
   2. Further information on the Additional Property Transfer Tax and other exemptions to the Additional Property Transfer Tax can be found in the following link: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/property-taxes/property-transfer-tax/understand/additional-property-transfer-tax

Property Transfer Tax:

1. The Property Transfer Tax has been increased for residential properties on the portion of the Fair Market Value of the property in excess of $3,000,000.
2. The Property Transfer Tax rate now is:
   1.                                                     i.     1% on the first $200,000,
   2.                                                    ii.     2% on the portion of the fair market value greater than $200,000 and up to and including $2,000,000,
   3.                                                   iii.     3% on the portion of the fair market value greater than $2,000,000, and
   4.                                                  iv.     if the property is residential, 5% on the portion of the fair market value greater than $3,000,000.
   5. This is effective February 21, 2018 and there is no exemption for contracts of purchase and sale entered into prior to February 21, 2018 closing on or after February 21, 2018.
   6. Further information on the Property Transfer Tax can be found in the following link:https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/property-taxes/property-transfer-tax/understand#FairMarket

Speculation Tax:

1. Beginning fall 2018, the Province has announced that it will introduce a new speculation tax on residential property targeting foreign and domestic owners who own real estate in BC but do not pay taxes in BC. 
2. While full details of this tax have not been released, the Province has announced:
   1.                                                     i.     The new tax will apply to the Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Capital Regional District, Nanaimo Regional District and the municipalities of Kelowna and West Kelowna.
   2.                                                    ii.     Exemptions will be available for most principal residences, qualifying long term rental properties and special cases.
   3.                                                   iii.     The tax rate will be 0.5% of the taxable assessed value of the property for 2018 and 2% for 2019.
   4. Further information on this proposed speculation tax can be found on page 10 in the following link: http://bcbudget.gov.bc.ca/2018/homesbc/2018_Homes_For_BC.pdf.

 General Anti-Avoidance Rules

1. The Property Transfer Tax Act is subject to general anti-avoidance rules and applicable penalties.
   1.                                                  i.     Professional advisors (including Realtors) advising someone to avoid, evade or attempt to avoid or evade tax liability under the Property Transfer Tax Act may result in significant penalties including double the tax, tax plus interest, a fine of $200,000 for corporations or $100,000 for individuals and/or up to two years in prison.
   2. Further information on this can be found in the following link: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/property-taxes/property-transfer-tax/file

This is only a brief discussion of some aspects of certain announcements related to housing in the 2018 Budget. The following is a link to further information on the NDP housing announcements: http://bcbudget.gov.bc.ca/2018/homesbc/2018_Homes_For_BC.pdf. If you have any questions on the above or any other real estate related matter, please do not hesitate to contact our office at any time.