Petition urges restrictions on foreign investors buying Vancouver homes

[huggzy]

How are they going to restrict foreign buyers? Do you think those foreign buyers will not be able to find a local citizen to act as their buyer? Seems like a pretty simple workaround to me.

I'm not against foreign buyers (as a future buyer of a house in a foreign country, I am a little biased), but I am for a tax on unoccupied houses (though, the logistics of that would be complex to sort out).

Hey...I'll happily buy a property in my name with a foreigner's money.

We'll see how long that plan works out for them.

 

[huggzy]

Ladies and gentleman, why I live in Nanaimo in a nutshell. House with a yard, close to downtown and the ocean, parks nearby, 15 minute commute to work and my mortgage (taxes in) is the same as what I paid in rent for a crap box 1 bedroom apartment in Marpole.

Miss Vancouver? 15 minutes by harbour air, downtown to downtown. :thumb:

I wished I could move to Nanaimo...the reality is that finding work can be difficult for a lot of us if we move to the island. I'm an island resident by birth and I'd love to move back.

I'm sure that Island residents don't relish the idea that in a few decades when all these Vancouverites think that they are going to cash in will all want to move to your neck of the woods. Do you think that your property values will stay cheap for them when the day of reckoning comes?

 

[huggzy]

Since the dawn of this country, overseas money has built this city. From the first settlers to the new immigrants. How can you even question that it hasn't been better? Left completely alone, do you think the aboriginal peoples would have built a railroad and developed this town into the city we all love to brag about in terms of livability? Vancouver is growing and people are just looking for something to point a finger at for the growing pains we are experiencing.

As for the original topic: We're talking about buyers with millions...even billions of dollars at their disposal. How much taxation/levies/penalties do you think will be a breaking point for them not to buy in Vancouver? For example, there was talk about increasing the the cost for demolishing old homes to preserve Vancouver "heritage" (don't get me started on that one). I believe the number being kicked around was adding another $50k to the cost of construction. Big fuckin' deal. A typical Shaughnessy mansion is a $8M build over 3 years. You're talking a whopping 0.6% increase in the cost of construction. Rich folks won't even notice. Hell, I don't even notice a 0.6% increase in the cost of a sandwich. Even if you were building a $500k home, it's only 10%

You put your home up for sale at a reasonable market price. Your agent sets up a timeline to receive sealed offers. It's a sellers market and every offer is decent, but the there's one guy who is willing to give you $200k over what you ask and has no subjects and a nice fast closing date. Which one are you gonna choose? Are you gonna let the gov't tell you how much you are legally able to sell your home for? Are you seriously gonna tell people that you said no to an extra $200k? Are you gonna turn down someone's money because of their skin colour?

The term "foreign speculators" is laughable. These people are buying homes so they can eventually retire and live here. They are establishing a foothold in a new and politically stable country just like white folks did back in the 1800's. That's why they send their kids here. As prosperous as the Chinese economy is, it's still a highly corrupt and very communist country. The real speculators are the sellers. The local folks and developers who buy properties and build/reno, and then re-sell. Putting extra costs on foreigners buying property is just a modern day form of the Chinese Head Tax. It's racism, plain and simple. Western society hasn't learned a goddamn thing.

People also don't like absentee owners. Well these absentee owners still pay property taxes. They also don't add to the carbon footprint because they don't have weekly garbage to put out in the alley. They aren't commuting to work on our already crowded infrastructure. Quite a few Canadians own vacation property in other countries. How is that OK and when it's the same scenario?

That being said, Vancouver is sadly going to become like Monaco in about 15 years or so. Where only rich folks live in the city while the rest of us are outside in the burbs. But that's not solely because of foreign ownership. It's because of the same reason as always - Vancouver has no real industry to support it's urban growth and prosperity. The film biz isn't big enough to do it. The tech biz isn't big enough either. It's not a major world banking centre like Hong Kong or London. In terms of port traffic, it pales in comparison to other cities like Seattle or L.A. It's a great place to live but a shitty place to work. Why do you think so many people leave to work in Alberta? Kids graduate from med school/nursing only to get snapped up by US hospitals. There are no real jobs in Vancouver other than to service the local economy or liaise with other international offices.

Seriously...we don't want all of you moving here.

 

[westwoody]

We sold our family home a few years ago. It was built in 1954 in a nice area of Vancouver. We had almost thirty offers and counter offers far above our asking price. Like, six figures over what we were asking! Buyers had cash, no farting around with mortgage approval or waiting for them to sell their other house to get the money.
And someone thinks I shouldn't take it? Give your head a shake!

Vancouver sucks now anyway, it's just a hilly version of Toronto. Any charm or character is long gone.

 

[nickcan]

Well said huggzy, I will give se7landrover97 an analogy, it's like having tons of beautiful women in the city and you can't fuck any of them.
What's the point, just watching them can't satisfy you, same thing, lots of high end homes, luxury cars, shopping but most can't afford them.

 

[Wakeup]

What a bunch of whiners!

 

[1nitestan]

Because this place sucks compared to 20 - 30 years ago. That's why. The people, the value systems, the peace and tranquility, the friendliness, THE ABILITY TO LIVE AFFORDABLY...and plan a future for your children.

Seriously...who gives a shit about condos in Yaletown? If you equate a concrete jungle to progress and think of that as a "home" environment - then I don't know what to even say to you except that I don't think you've actually experienced what its like to have a real home.

And who gives a crap about the jobs this city creates if you can't buy a home with that income? Again...those "vibrant" communities are filled with foreigners. These "vibrant" communities are shutting out local citizens. You say don't "deter our city to go forward"...except the people who are cashing in have no plans on being here in the future. Because you can't cash in unless you plan on living somewhere else.

This "great nation" is being taken over by foreign interests. How does that benefit its residents? None of the residents who plan on "cashing in" will even be living here when they sell off.

And all those residents who cannot buy real estate will be renting from foreign landlords. And so will their children and their children's children.

Thanks for making my racism point.