Journal Tag
16 articles tagged "buyers guide" from Rain City Properties.
What Vancouver's zoning codes actually let you do. A plain-language guide to C-2 mixed-use high-street zoning, RT and RM residential, and R1-1 — and why zoning changes your financing, insurance, and use rights when buying a live-work or storefront-with-suite.
Vancouver sits in the Cascadia subduction zone, yet standard home and strata policies exclude earthquake damage. Here's what buyers and owners need to know about earthquake coverage, percentage deductibles, and seismic retrofitting older houses.
Heritage register listing and legal heritage designation are not the same thing, and the difference changes what you can renovate, sell, or demolish. Here is what I tell Vancouver buyers before they fall for the porch.
Every new home and presale in BC comes with mandatory 2-5-10 warranty insurance. Here's what the 2, 5, and 10 actually cover, who's exempt, how to make a claim, and why presale buyers should care before they sign.
Thousands of Vancouver owners who locked sub-2% rates in 2020–21 are renewing into higher rates this year. Here's how to estimate your payment jump, what your real options are, and how this wave is shaping listings and supply.
What you actually pay to live near rapid transit in Vancouver, where the Broadway Subway changed the math, and why the sweet spot is a five-to-ten minute walk rather than across the street from a station.
Buying an acreage or edge-of-city lot near Vancouver often means a septic system, not municipal sewer. Here's how to tell which you have, what inspection and replacement cost, and how it affects your financing and resale.
Even in a buyer's market, some Vancouver homes still attract multiple offers. Here's how to compete — and how to know when paying more stops making sense.
Most buyers spend 20 minutes at an open house looking at countertops and paint colours. Here are the 27 things I actually check — the stuff that saves you from a $50,000 surprise after closing.
Pre-sale condos offer new construction and deposit leverage, but resale gives you immediate possession in a buyer's market with prices down nearly 7%. Here's how to decide which path makes sense in Vancouver's current market.
Metro Vancouver home sales are running 28.7% below the 10-year average with active listings 37% above normal. Here is how to take full advantage of buyer-friendly conditions that have not existed since the mid-2000s.
Condos at $708,200 are down 6.8% year-over-year with sales falling 15.6%. Townhouses at $1,046,100 are down 5.6% but sales are actually up 7.8%. Here is a data-driven comparison to help you decide which property type makes more sense in today's market.
MLS listings are packed with abbreviations, legal language, and coded hints that most buyers scroll right past. Here's how to decode a Vancouver property listing so nothing catches you off guard.
The Bank of Canada slashed rates 275 basis points, but Vancouver homes are no more affordable. Here is why lower rates alone will not fix the math, and what actually matters if you are trying to buy.
Not all realtors are created equal. After 20 years in the business, here are the questions I think every buyer should ask before hiring a realtor in Vancouver, and what the right answers sound like.
Navigating the 2026 Vancouver housing market requires a new strategy. From interest rate shifts to the impact of new zoning laws, here is your essential briefing for buying a home this year.