Calgary Real Estate predictions? - Page 21 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Table 5 · 10-02-2008, 08:46 AM

On the renting front, what's a good source to find out current market prices Calgary? I initially bought the place because I thought i was going to move back to Calgary. That is no longer the case and I need to figure out what my options are at this point.

troutman · 10-02-2008, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Table 5

basically Im asking if i cant get a mortgage from my bank (on a place that closes in 2 months), do I get to keep my 10% deposit and walk away, or would i have to walk away forfeiting that 10%.

Ok, I see. Are you buying a new condo under construction? The fine print in your contract should explain what happens with your deposit if you terminate the contract. If your conditions are removed, I would guess that you could lose all (or part) of your deposit. If the deposit is much larger than the damage to the vendor, you could recover some of it. New condo contracts are usually heavily slanted in the builder's favor.

photon · 10-02-2008, 08:47 AM

Well if closing is in two months it's pretty urgent you get that mortgage in place.

Did you use a mortgage broker? Or just go to a bank? If it's a broker they should have explained that a pre-approval should not be considered enough to waive any financing conditions; you need a letter from a lender.

photon · 10-02-2008, 08:49 AM

For renting at a distance you'd almost have to go with a management company.

http://www.frsrelocation.com

I've used these guys for a short while and they've been ok.

For prices, rentfaster.ca and homerent.ca are pretty good.

Rathji · 10-02-2008, 08:50 AM

This is how I understand it:

If you have a financing condition in your offer that you have not waived (or the deadline has passed on) then you either need to buy the house or lose your deposit. That is of course assuming there are no other conditions outstanding on your offer, like home inspection etc that you could somehow invoke to get out of it.

Edit: If it's new, I have no idea. Go with whatever troutman is saying.

Table 5 · 10-02-2008, 08:50 AM

Yep, this has definitely sneaked up on me and i need to get my ass in gear, but thanks for the help guys. i will take a look at the contract much close when i get home.

I think at this stage, renting out the property for a couple years until the market rebounds might be my best option. Unless of course the rental market goes down the crapper as well...

Tron_fdc · 10-02-2008, 09:20 AM

Yeah, a good rental company might be a good option. I've done it myself the last year or so, and it's a major pain in the ass if you get bad tenants.

The Canadian housing market is pretty interesting to me. It seems that there are gains to be made in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Eastern provinces, but BC and Alberta definitely seem to be falling. One could come to a number of conclusions on that.....maybe the market was overpriced out West and underpriced out east, and the market is correcting itself. Or maybe there were too many speculators out here, and now they've all moved east. It's really quite fascinating.

Whatever the case, the housing crisis in Canada as a whole doesn't seem to be affected by the US crisis, which is strange to me because in the past wherever the US market goes so do we.

Winsor_Pilates · 10-02-2008, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Table 5

For those in the real estate, I have a question that hopefully someone can answer.

When i purchased a condo 2 years ago, I was tentatively approved for a mortage by a bank (but since they only guaranteed it for 3 months, it long expired). This time around, with the current tricky financial situation, I'm not sure I would be so easily approved. If I don't get approved, can I walk away from my condo without having to pay any sort of penality? Or do they keep my down-payment?

IM 99% certain the answer is no, but would have to see your contract to be 100% sure. Was mortgage approval a subject of your offer? If so, was that subject removed?

I assume there either was no subject or if there was it was removed, so you cannot walk away from your deal. You are contractually obligated to complete and if you don't they get your deposits.
Your only bet for walking away freely is if they issue a new disclosure statement after a material change, which would reopen the rescission period (10 days in AB). Then you can rescind and get your money back.

Bertuzzied · 10-02-2008, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

Yeah, a good rental company might be a good option. I've done it myself the last year or so, and it's a major pain in the ass if you get bad tenants.

Which one do you use and how much do they charge? is it a percentage of the monthly rent?

photon · 10-02-2008, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bertuzzied

Which one do you use and how much do they charge? is it a percentage of the monthly rent?

Most seem to charge a percentage, 10-15% depending on if its furnished or not (though I saw one that was 25%, but they operated it with a full concierge service).

metal_geek · 10-02-2008, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

Yeah, a good rental company might be a good option. I've done it myself the last year or so, and it's a major pain in the ass if you get bad tenants.

The Canadian housing market is pretty interesting to me. It seems that there are gains to be made in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Eastern provinces, but BC and Alberta definitely seem to be falling. One could come to a number of conclusions on that.....maybe the market was overpriced out West and underpriced out east, and the market is correcting itself. Or maybe there were too many speculators out here, and now they've all moved east. It's really quite fascinating.

Whatever the case, the housing crisis in Canada as a whole doesn't seem to be affected by the US crisis, which is strange to me because in the past wherever the US market goes so do we.

Housing in Saskatoon now is on the downside as well. I don't know the reason behind the rise on the east coast. Some people wanna talk about employment and sustainability, it's only a matter of time before the price exceeds the afordability out there, and people are looking for jobs in alberta.

The east coast is definatly booming now, but most of it is based much like calgary and alberta was, construction. Once the construction slows out there because of affordability, and the construction people look for work again, the market will soften again. The oil and gas hype is more media hype out there too. Calgary has all the supporting jobs for the industry out there too, so NF is basically the same as fort st john or edson or any other community where physical labour gets done.

firebug · 10-02-2008, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Table 5

Yep, this has definitely sneaked up on me and i need to get my ass in gear, but thanks for the help guys. i will take a look at the contract much close when i get home.

I think at this stage, renting out the property for a couple years until the market rebounds might be my best option. Unless of course the rental market goes down the crapper as well...

How large was your deposit?

It may be better off for you just to walk away from it if the price of equivalent condos have dropped enough.

When i built a home, I had to put 10% down, but if the market had gone down 15 - 20% i would've seriously considered walking away.

Note, I do not know if walking away would've resulted in other claims from the builder beyond my deposit.

~firebug

photon · 10-02-2008, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by firebug

When i built a home, I had to put 10% down, but if the market had gone down 15 - 20% i would've seriously considered walking away.

That doesn't make much sense if you actually planned on living there, but may make sense if you were flipping.

It would also depend on one's long term outlook and how much you could rent it for. If one thought that the long term outlook was still strong and it was only a few hundred a month, paying out of pocket might still be a better play than walking away from $30,000.

Nancy · 10-02-2008, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Table 5

basically Im asking if i cant get a mortgage from my bank (on a place that closes in 2 months), do I get to keep my 10% deposit and walk away, or would i have to walk away forfeiting that 10%.

In single family homes at least, most builders will require you to waive the financing condition before they break ground. In that case, if you can't get a mortgage at completion and they have to sell at a lower price, they may come after you for the difference plus other costs (interest, legal, etc.).

You can try to get something different written into the contract, depending on the builder, and given the current market conditions, they MIGHT go for it.

Table 5 · 10-02-2008, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by firebug

How large was your deposit?
It may be better off for you just to walk away from it if the price of equivalent condos have dropped enough.

It's basically 30 grand. While Im not sure if the value has really gone down too much (basically paid 290k for a 600sq-foot 1 bedroom in a pretty desirable location on 1st street), I do think in the mid/long term it's better to rent it out then walk away. I would most likely have to pay $300-400 ontop of the mortgage/fees....which is basically about 1/1.5% value of the home per year. One would think the appreciation on a condo in Calgary will be higher than that once it gets over this hump, no?

Table 5 · 10-02-2008, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nancy

You can try to get something different written into the contract, depending on the builder, and given the current market conditions, they MIGHT go for it.

Yeah i think basically I am tied to the contract. It's most likely not a huge problem to get the mortgage (knock on wood!), I just wanted to know what my options were just in case.

Scrambler · 10-02-2008, 02:05 PM

^
Definite benifits of using a reputable realtor. My realtor saved me thousands by putting some very useful conditions in the contract.

Scrambler · 10-02-2008, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Table 5

It's basically 30 grand. While Im not sure if the value has really gone down too much (basically paid 290k for a 600sq-foot 1 bedroom in a pretty desirable location on 1st street), I do think in the mid/long term it's better to rent it out then walk away. I would most likely have to pay $300-400 ontop of the mortgage/fees....which is basically about 1/1.5% value of the home per year. One would think the appreciation on a condo in Calgary will be higher than that once it gets over this hump, no?

Just curious.... 1st and what Ave SW? If it's between 10 Ave and 17 Ave (Beltline) I'd say you got one helluva deal!

Madman · 10-02-2008, 02:09 PM

I also don't think it's quite as simple as "walking away". The builder isn't just going to just shrug their shoulders and not do anything - you signed a contract and if you default on it, don't think there won't be repercussions.

Table 5 · 10-02-2008, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scrambler

Just curious.... 1st and what Ave SW? If it's between 10 Ave and 17 Ave (Beltline) I'd say you got one helluva deal!

It's either 12th or 13th (forget at the moment)...basically in the midst of all the crazy construction going on in that street (this building http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3218/...9d90dd0d_b.jpg ).

I think it's a great location too, so Im hoping the price holds up. If nothing else, maybe i can rent out the parking for Flames games.