HELP! First time buyer here...

[Krustee]

I`m finally looking to take the big step and purchase my first home.

Any advice for the property virgin?

Best place to find listings, agents, mortgages, brokers, banks and your experiences welcome.

Good or bad.

There was a recent post on some other escort board out there in cyberspace in which a member was asking for advice about buying a condo.

Just purely at random I have copied one of the posts over there for your perusal here:

Originally Posted by Smother
I in fact have an interest in the financial markets and economy. I took Bussiness Admin many yrs ago in my college days so I would enjoy reading it.
On the other board, Cosmo had some excellent articles relating to this sort of avenue.
If you do post it............and I hope you do....I would love to read your view of the real estate direction here in van amongst other things.

As for the future of housing in Vancouver I think a return to the prices we saw in early 2006 or mid 2005 would not be unrealistic.

I say this for several reasons & one of them is that we are still seeing job losses here & across the nation & with the impending fallout of the ARM loans in the US defaulting & the banks there not being able to hide those losses, even under the new fantasy "Mark to Market" asset accounting practices allowed by the Fed. as of January 1, 2009, we will see further downward pressure on the economy.

On March 16, 2009, The FASB have proposed allowing companies to use more leeway in valuing their assets under "mark-to-market" accounting, a move that could ease balance-sheet pressures many companies say they are feeling during the economic crisis.
On April 2, 2009, after a 15-day public comment period, the FASB eased Mark-to-Market rules. This change still requires financial institutions to mark transactions to market prices but more so in an steady market and less when the market is inactive.
To proponents, this removes the unnecessary "positive feedback loop" that can result in a deeply weakened economy.[19]

Companies can use the new guidance when issuing their first-quarter financial statements.[20] Such changes could significantly boost bank statements of earnings and loses[21].
The FASB changes, however, are for acceptable accounting standards applicable to a broad range of derivatives, not just banks holding mortgage backed securities.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark-to-market

Originally Posted by Smother
Most people should take in educational topics such as this. Its good to know why or try to understand things that happen in the world you live in.

Not many think about anything more than what rocks their boat.

Only about 10% of the people actually take part in their Governments & ironically that is about the same percentage as people who actually have independent thought.

Some other threads on the housing market where I posted can be found here:
https://perb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=835551#post835551
https://perb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=856400#post856400
https://perb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=842852#post842852
https://perb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=859214#post859214


The Canadian dollar:
https://perb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=855654#post855654

Another thing to keep in mind is what the restructuring & shrinking of GM will do to the economy on both sides of the border!

Only a fool would minimize the impact of this on our market.

 

[bud68]

Take some family or friends who able to see the houses you go see with you... Dont let the realitor rush you..( though sometimes yo u have no choice if you feel the place is right ..... see lots of places even if the first one seems right.... Have a home inspection as a backup if you decide you dont want the place!!!!

Lots of mirrors is good! and watch in the backyard to see what the view looks like when she is suntanning...

 

[FunSugarDaddy]

Yikes is all I can say!

You must be a realtor, mortgage broker or a banker or related to one to be so optimistic that you would advise anyone to buy right now...

There are more significant price drops ahead of us.

How do I know?

Demographics.

We have an aging population having smaller families in a world wide recession and that my friend is the "big picture".

That's been the big picture for years. Boomerometics is hardly a science. Migration is more likely the issue and from what I recall reading on this, many people in Canada would love to retire on the west coast. Personally i don't put much stock in either claim, but I do think there's a lot of pend up demand from those in their 20-30's who have wanted to get into the market for most of the past decade. Things are looking cheaper now, especially with historically low interest rates.

Personally I wouldn't buy real estate in the lower mainland as an investment, but if I was starting out in life wanting a place to live with a 20+ time horizon, I wouldn't give it a second thought.

 

[bcneil]

That's been the big picture for years. Boomerometics is hardly a science. Migration is more likely the issue and from what I recall reading on this, many people in Canada would love to retire on the west coast. Personally i don't put much stock in either claim, but I do think there's a lot of pend up demand from those in their 20-30's who have wanted to get into the market for most of the past decade. Things are looking cheaper now, especially with historically low interest rates.

Personally I wouldn't buy real estate in the lower mainland as an investment, but if I was starting out in live wanting a place to live with a 20+ time horizon, I wouldn't give it a second thought.

I agree with this. Many of my friends, who were never able to purchase before are starting to think about buying. One buddy thought he could never afford his own place, in his price range. Today he has all sorts of options.

I work with lots of people in their early 20's. A couple years ago I would feel bad for them. Knowing how hard it was for me to make my first purchase back in 99. Prices then were so low, and it was still a challenge to buy my first place. Finally these younger guys are getting a chance, just to be able to look into buying.

 

[InTheBum]

In all good consciencious I could not ever advise anyone to buy while markets are going down.

10% of a modest $300,000 condo is $30,000 per year (housing prices dropped 10% last year and are forcast to do the same again this year).

So can you afford to lose $30,000?

$30,000 per year is $2500.00 per month. Plus there is strata fees, property taxes, etc...

Now if he is buying a house - then take that $300,000 and bump it up to minimum $500,000

Now the math gets worse for buying.


So yes for first time buyers, waiting makes prudent financial advise.

Maybe he is buying a 180k - 50 yr old condo that was recently upgraded in East Burnaby? If so, chances are prices won't come down much more...however, if you are thinking of buying a condo for 600k in Yaletown...my advice is to wait.

 

[chilli]

Ok, so all of those who have posted here thinking it is a good time to buy real estate in Vancouver please pm me.

I am a liscenced practising realtor - and I have some great properties for you to buy.

Right now.

ps - If you pm me stupid messages I will ignore you.

 

[zaig]

I always find it interesting that there are so many experts in the Real Estate field. Kind of reminds me of the old joke, opinions are like assholes, everyone has one.

There have been some insightful comments in this thread, but there have also been some of the most ridiculous comments as well.

First of all, no has a crystal ball. The market is constantly changing. I know lots of realtors in the Vancouver market, and believe what you want, but guess what, Multiple Offers are back. I know of a number of situations where there have been anywhere from3-8 offers for a property. Is this the norm? I don't think so, but it does give you an indication to the strength of the Vancouver market at present.

Keep in mind that the City of Vancouver, and to a lesser extent the suburbs are in a very unique situation. Its called LAND. The last time I looked, they weren't making any more of it. Vancouver is maxed out as far as single family homes are concerned. Its not like there is going to be a brand new subdivision going in anywhere soon. Maybe the RCMP land around just east of Oak on 37 when it gets sold to a developer, but I don't think so.

And unless they figure out how to build on water, you can't go west. Go north and your in West/North Van with greenbelts. Go south and the American border is only 50 K from Vancouver, and going east is just a headache... Keep in mind the ALR (Agricultural Land Reserve) which can't be developed and you end up with a situation of limited land.

Vancouver real estate has always been the most expensive in Canada, and that is not going to change.

Of course there are so many mitigating factors of external forces that can change the market in a heartbeat, but my 2 cents is that the worst is over.
The market has rebounded quite well, and some of the losses have been reversed, although they may still drop again.

I think hunsperber hit the nail on the head when he suggested it is impossible to give anyone advise without knowing all the facts.

Now I know why I keep reading the posts here, best value for entertainment there is in Vancouver.

 

[hunsperger]

...

Ok, so all of those who have posted here thinking it is a good time to buy real estate in Vancouver please pm me.

I am a liscenced practising realtor - and I have some great properties for you to buy.

Right now.

ps - If you pm me stupid messages I will ignore you.

quit grandstanding...

 

[zaig]

Ok, so all of those who have posted here thinking it is a good time to buy real estate in Vancouver please pm me.

I am a liscenced practising realtor - and I have some great properties for you to buy.

Right now.

ps - If you pm me stupid messages I will ignore you.

I just couldn't resist reviving this thread.

Chilli, if you are in fact a realtor in the lower mainland, you just might be the worlds worst prognosticator.

Prices are up 15% since January of this year, and they are still rising. Chilli, I hope you still have some clients left, because your advise to them has just cost them thousands of dollars.

What really bothers me about the Real Estate scence is that everybody is an expert. I wish I had their crystal balls.