Duncan Boan on January 24th, 2009

The two most limiting conditions are:

the existing home must have a minimum of 150 square meters (1,615 sq feet) of living space meeting minimum height requirements of 2.15 meters (interpreted as 7 feet). Adding space in which to create a suite is off-side. There are also minimum and maximum size requirements for the suite itself, [...]

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Duncan Boan on March 6th, 2007

There are many factors that affect one’s decision to rent or buy property. Today we look at just one of them: your net worth.
The Victoria Real Estate Board maintains statistics back to 1978. That year, the average selling price for a home in Victoria was $64,000. Twenty-eight years later (2006) that figure was $521,000. [...]

Continue reading about Real Estate: To Rent, or to Buy

Yes, it’s over! The annual RRSP campaign has ended for this year.
I don’t know about you, but I find the annual barrage of ads extolling the virtues of maxing my RRSP contribution more than a teeny bit tiresome.
This year I thought the RRSP blitz was even worse than other years. Why? Maybe [...]

Continue reading about Is Missing the RRSP Deadline Good For Your Financial Health?

Duncan Boan on February 21st, 2007

Well, yesterday Carol Taylor, our Minister of Finance, delivered the government’s annual budget. Expressing concern about housing ‘affordability’, the Minister announced a change related to the Property Transfer Tax system (discussed earlier here).
Regrettably, the change did nothing to reduce the rate of taxation in general. So, if you are not a first time home [...]

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Duncan Boan on August 29th, 2006

The government of British Columbia experienced an incredibly good year financially, ending up with a 3.5 Billion dollar surplus at the end of March, 2006. Our Finance Minister pointed out several reasons for this stellar financial performance, but I don’t recall her referring to the cash cow that is the Property Transfer Tax.
Under British Columbia [...]

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Duncan Boan on August 22nd, 2006

Unrealistic Expectations:
“I’ll be here for two years – help me find a condo that I can sell when I leave for a profit of at least $50,000″.
There is nothing like the exuberance of youth, especially that of a young client who has never seen a real estate market do anything but [...]

Continue reading about First Time Home Buying: Fast Path To Wealth, or Not?