I Am Langley

#9 6513 200TH ST – Langley, BC – Family Oriented Complex

admin — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:12:32 +0000

Langley, BC – Family oriented complex in the highly sought after Logan Creek. This unit has been freshly painted and is ready for a new family to move in. This home is an end unit so you have a yard that wraps around the home to the fenced yard in the back. The home is bright and spacious with large rooms and plenty of bathrooms for every one.

The school is only a short block away. The home is in the back of the complex and is extremely quiet, so you can sit out in the evening and enjoy the country life. Minutes from shopping and transit, this home has it all. $322,000

Listing provided by Royal LePage – Wolstencroft. Contact Keith Macdonald at 604-530-0231 for more information.

#311 19320 65TH AV – Urban Convenience & Contemporary Style

admin — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 01:17:49 +0000

If you are looking for one of the best condominiums in Langley you have found it. This unit has all the must haves’ you want in your home. Third floor corner unit with lots of natural light.

The Esprit has rural charm, urban convenience and contemporary style. Impressive entry, beautiful fireplace, bright gourmet kitchen with an eating bar. Deep soaker tub in the master ensuite to relax at the end of the day. You will be proud to have your friends come visit. For Sale: $254,900

Listing provided by Royal LePage – Wolstencroft. Call Keith Macdonald at 604-530-0231 for more information.

Oh What A Country We Live In

admin — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 23:25:36 +0000

My wife and I recently decided to take a trip to Whistler, British Columbia. While in Whistler we stayed at the fantastic Fairmont Chateau Whistler that sits right at the base of Blackcomb mountain. Sometimes its easy to forget what a magnificent country we live in. Just a two hour drive and we are in a winter wonderland. The streets are all decked out in Christmas colours and the snow is everywhere. People are walking around the village just enjoying the atmosphere. It was so nice to get away from the hectic holiday hustle and bussle. When we drove home the scenery coming through the mountain passes was breath taking. Unfortunately its easy to forget the beauty that sits in our own backyard. The rest of the world knows it’s there and they come to enjoy it, we should to!

Langley Senior Resource Center Garge Sale

admin — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 03:53:39 +0000

Langley Senior Resource Center had a very successful garage sale on Saturday. They made over $9000.00 on the sale and it was very well attended by the community. My wife and I volunteer down at the center and really have a good time. the center provides so much for Langley seniors I think it is a home away from home for many of them. they provide meals, shop by phone, phone buddies and the list goes on. With all this you have to ask yourself why the center has to have fund raisers like the garage sale. Don’t get me wrong we had a lot of fun setting up for it and on the day of the sale. It just burns me that our different levels of government spend so much money on some pretty dumb things(read roof of stadium) and our seniors have to fund raise to keep this life line open. There is just something wrong with that!!

What Are “Stigmatized” Properties And How Can They Affect Me?

admin — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 22:57:02 +0000

I recently read an article on stigmatized properties from the Real Estate Council of B.C. and I thought that subject might interest some of my readers. Real estate law in British Columbia goes a long way to protect buyers with many disclosures that have to be made during the normal Real Estate cycle.

However, one area that has no such protection is the area of stigmatized properties. Ok the next obvious question is what is a stigmatized property. This is where the problems come in. Stigmatized properties are different things to different people. For example a death occured on the property or the property has been robbed or vandalized in the past. There may be those in the area who think it is haunted. Members of a known organized crime family may have lived in the area. As you can see there is a broad area that may be considered when it comes to stigmatized properties. That is the main reason there is no disclosure on it, as it is just too hard to define.

The next question is “what can I do to ensure I don’t end up with one of these properties” I quess the question you have to ask yourself is ‘what if any of these situations is important to me.” Do I care if someones granny died after being brought home from the hospital or the family cat is buried in the back yard. However, if you have small children and there is a known sex offender in the area this would be good to know. If your family is grown or you have no children then this may not be a big deal.
The only way you can be sure of getting the answers is for you to ask the question about anything that is important to you. To be honest most people never ask and don’t even think to ask and most Realtors don’t think too much about it either unless it is brought specifically to their attention. If the selling Realtor is aware of an incident that took place in the house they are under no obligation to disclose that unless it is classified as a latent defect. (covered earlier) However, if the Realtor is asked specifically they can either answer the question as skillfully and accurately as possible or they can decline to answer and suggest the buyer conduct their own investigation. (RED FLAG, RED FLAG).

So how can you protect yourself? Explain to your Realtor the nature of what you may be concerned about when buying a property and have them specifically ask the question on your behalf. Again, however this may not cover all the bases as the incident you are inquiring about may have occured prior to the present seller owning the house and they never thought to inquire. If you have very serious concerns I would suggest you attend your local police department and see if they can help.

What Are Strata Properties

admin — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 22:36:37 +0000

I am going to be presenting a seminar explaining just what Stratas’ are and are not. The Seminar is at the Langley Seniors Resourse Center in Langley City and it is on July 21. If any of you are interested in finding out about owning a Strata Lot please feel free to register at the center. There is no charge but they do like you to preregister. I will be covering many aspects of owning a Strata such as maintenance fees, Contingency reserve funds and how they are assessed and accumulated. What is Common Property. What are By-laws and how do they affect the Strata Lot owner?

Royal LePage Wolstencroft Realty Giant Garage Sale

admin — Wed, 11 May 2011 21:46:27 +0000

Well Saturday is the big day the Royal LePage Wolstencroft Realty National Garage sale. All proceeds will go to Ishtar House which provides temporary shelter for women and their children trying to escape abusive relationships. Last year in Langley alone 186 women needed this assistance and in Canada 386000 children were in temporary shelter with their mothers. 1-2 women were killed by their partners last year in Canada. Pretty staggering statistics that most people are unaware of. All the Realtors at my office are looking forward to the challenge on Saturday. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to donate any items for the sale or just come out and get some bargins.

How Will The HST Effect Me Buying A New Home

admin — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 00:04:13 +0000

With the new Harmonized Sales Tax now in place in B.C. there have been a lot of questions regarding the effect it will have on the price of new homes. The answer is, it depends on the home you buy. To qualify for the rebate in place for new homes it must be your principle residence. The rebate is 71.43% of the provincial component of the HST to a maximum of $26,500.00 The maximum rebate of $26,500 is based on the maximum house price of $525,000. So in other words if you purchase a home over $525,000 you will still only get the $26,500.

The rules around the rebate are somewhat complicated and as with most legislation not easy to understand. However the short version is the new housing rebates are administered by the Federal Government. Individuals file an application for the rebate directly with the Canada Revenue Agency. However in cases of homes sold by the builder, the builder would have the option of paying or crediting the new housing rebate to the purchaser at the time of the purchase.

Are You Ready To Buy A Home

admin — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 19:50:19 +0000

That is a very good question that many prospective home buyers never really ask themselves. Usually it is a first time home buyers, who think they can afford their own home finally. The operative word here is THINK. As a Realtor, obviously I would love to help my clients find a new home for themselves and their families. However, I also want to be their Realtor and their friend for a long time. If I don’t ask the right questions I am not helping them but rather getting them into a problem area that may take some time to get out of. I would much sooner lose a potential sale than risk my reputation and the financial well being of a client.

OK , what’s the right questions. The questions are actually simple ones. Can you afford a home of your own and if you can how much can you afford?

I know these sound like simple questions and ones that a person would ask themselves before they call a Realtor to look for homes for them. The fact of the matter is, many prospective buyers don’t actually know how much money they will actually have to spend to buy a home of their own.

Many times buyer will save up for a down payment and once they have reached that magic number they start looking for their dream home. The magic number is usually the minimum down payment of 5%. Lets use the number of 5% of $400,000.00 for this example. So the couple saves their $20,000.00 and calls a Realtor to start looking for a $400,000.00 townhouse for them. They find the perfect place after a couple of months looking and make an offer. They stay within their budget and the offer is accepted at $400,000.00. So they go to the bank for their mortgage and the surprises start.( If it is a new townhouse there will be 12% HST on it less the rebate but we will assume for this exercise the home is not new) They find out that there is somehting called the land transfer tax which is 1% of the 1st $200,000 and 2 % of the remainder,which in this case means an additional $6000.00, Legal fees will be around $1000.00, the CMHC insurance premium will be an additional 2.9% on the amount being borrowed or $11,020.00. There will also be an adjustment on the taxes so this could be around $1000.00. There will be a charge for an inspection of approximately $400.00 to $500.00 There could also be a requirment for a title search by the bank.

So as you can see there are many costs that you should be aware of and talk to your Realtor about before you start your search. In this scenario the couple thought they would have a mortgage of $380,000.00 and have a payment of $1978.00 amortized over 25 years. Instead they have a mortage of $399,520.00 with payments of $2080.00 a month over 25 years. On top of that, there are usually things in the home that you need to repair or change soon after you take possession. So you should have a couple of thousand dollars left in order to do these repairs. They may even be small things like buying a barbeque and some patio furnature. Anyway, bottom line is talk to a good Realtor before you start, to see if you are in a position to buy at this time. You may still want to buy but perhaps a smaller place to start

What is Fort Langley All About

admin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 19:11:31 +0000

Fort Langley is a hidden gem in the Real Estate market of the Fraser Vally. Fort Langley is nestled along the Fraser river and the local residents try to keep its’ existence a secret. I think they want to preserve the flavour of this beautiful B.C. town for themselves as long as possible and I don’t blame them. I have know of Fort Langley for years obviously, but never really took the time to really stop and have a good look around. Last week I was showing some homes in the near the Fort and stood back and had a good look at how quaint it really is and what it offers its residents.

I think people pass through the Fort Langley residential areas without actually looking around at the homes there. They are usually on their way to the Fort itself or in the past the Albion ferry. After my showings I took the time to walk around some of the community and got an appreciation for the life that the residents live there. They have the best of every thing.

They have some small coffee shops and tea houses as well as many antique shops that people love to walk through. In addition the town has the history that goes with it. The first capital of B.C. now thats something to be proud of. Most of all, it still has the small town charm that is missing in so many communities. I’m glad I took the time to go for a walk through the residential areas and get a feel for the atmosphere. I will definitely be bringing more clients here.

If your interested in taking a look at Fort Langley real estate, or just want to talk about what makes Fort Langley so unique please give me a call. Keith Macdonald 604-530-0231 or send me an email at keith@iamlangley.com.