A few common questions.

Working with Cityecho

Cityecho is the real estate practice of Michael Lee at eXp Realty, focused on buying and selling single-family homes in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam.

What does Cityecho actually do for a buyer?

Start by telling us your property requirements and questions. Discuss the services, representation, and terms that would apply to your search before entering an agreement. You can use this site’s listings and guides to prepare for that conversation.

What does Cityecho do for a seller?

We help you price realistically based on recent comparable sales and current competition in the same area and property type, prepare the listing, and manage showings, offers and negotiation through to closing. Pricing starts from completed sales rather than from asking prices, because a completed sale is a number a buyer agreed to pay.

Is there a cost to work with Cityecho as a buyer?

Ask how remuneration and any costs apply under the actual agreement being proposed. Do not assume that every arrangement is the same or that a general description establishes what you would pay. The terms that most often differ from what buyers expect are what happens if you buy privately and what happens if you buy from a builder’s own sales centre, so raise both before signing.

Do I need to sign anything before you start showing me homes?

Ask the professional to explain representation and any service agreement before relying on an engagement. Review the scope, duration, responsibilities and remuneration in the actual proposed agreement, and raise terms you do not understand. Separately from any agreement, a licensee has to give you the Disclosure of Representation in Trading Services form and go through it before providing trading services, and signing that form is optional.

Which areas does Cityecho cover?

Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam are the focus, with detached homes as the primary property type. The area guides on this site also cover Burnaby, Vancouver East, Vancouver’s Westside, Port Moody, Richmond and North Vancouver. If you are looking somewhere else in the Lower Mainland, say where in your enquiry and you will get a direct answer about whether it is a fit.

Who is the brokerage, and why does that matter?

Michael Lee is licensed with eXp Realty. It matters because in British Columbia the duties owed to a client are owed by the brokerage and its related licensees, so the brokerage is the party on the other side of your agreement. It also matters when the same brokerage appears on both sides of a transaction, which is the situation the conflict of interest rules are written for.

Representation and the rules

What a brokerage owes you in British Columbia is a written list rather than a matter of goodwill. These answers come from the Real Estate Services Rules.

What duties does a brokerage owe me once I am a client?

Section 30 of the Real Estate Services Rules sets out ten. Act in your best interests. Act in accordance with your lawful instructions. Act only within the authority you have given. Advise you to get independent professional advice on matters outside their expertise. Keep information about you confidential. Disclose to you all known material information about the real estate services. Communicate all offers to you in a timely, objective and unbiased way. Use reasonable efforts to discover relevant facts about any property you are considering buying. Take reasonable steps to avoid any conflict of interest. Disclose a conflict promptly and in writing, in a document separate from any other agreement.

What is the disclosure form I am asked to sign at the start?

It is the Disclosure of Representation in Trading Services form. Before a licensee provides trading services to you, they must give it to you and review it with you, and it states in plain terms whether you are being treated as a client with the full set of duties above or as a non-client with much less. Your signature is optional and only records that you received it. A licensee still has to go through it with you if you decline to sign.

Does the disclosure form apply at an open house?

There is a threshold. A licensee can host an open house and give general factual answers without producing the form. The obligation applies once confidential information is asked for or offered, which is the point at which the conversation stops being general. Until you know which side of the form you are on, it is worth not volunteering your maximum price, your reason for moving, or your deadline.

What happens if I buy without my own representation?

It is allowed, and the rules then require the licensee acting for the other party to disclose to you in writing the risks that arise because their duties are owed to their own client, the limited assistance they can give you, and a recommendation that you get independent professional advice. Understand the practical effect: that licensee owes the seller a duty to disclose known material information, so what you tell them about your budget or your timing may reach the seller.

Can the same person represent both the buyer and the seller?

This is the situation the conflict of interest duties address. A licensee must take reasonable steps to avoid a conflict, and where one arises must disclose it promptly and in writing, in a document separate from any other agreement you are signing. The separate-document requirement exists so that a disclosure cannot be folded into a clause of the contract. If you are told the same person or brokerage would be on both sides, ask for that written disclosure and read what it says about which duties change.

Is a real estate licensee able to give me legal advice?

No, and one of the ten duties is specifically to advise you to get independent professional advice on matters outside their expertise. Treat that as a boundary rather than as a disclaimer. Legal questions go to a lawyer or notary, condition questions to an inspector, borrowing questions to a lender or mortgage broker, and formal value questions to an appraiser.

The three business days after an offer is accepted

British Columbia has had a Home Buyer Rescission Period since January 3, 2023. It applies to most residential sales and it cannot be waived.

What is the Home Buyer Rescission Period?

It is a right for the buyer of residential property to cancel the contract within three business days after the offer is accepted, for any reason. Only the buyer holds the right, and neither the buyer nor the seller can waive it or contract out of it. It exists in addition to any subject conditions the parties negotiate.

What does it cost to use it?

A fee set by regulation at 0.25% of the purchase price written in the contract, paid to the seller. That is $2,250 on a $900,000 purchase, $2,500 at $1,000,000, and $3,500 at $1,400,000. The fee is the whole cost of exercising the right, separate from anything already spent on an inspection or an application.

Are any sales excluded from it?

Four categories are listed in the regulation: residential property located on leased land, a leasehold interest in residential property, property sold at auction, and property sold under a court order or the supervision of a court. If you are buying in any of those situations, the three business days do not apply to you.

How does a buyer give notice?

By one of the methods the regulation sets out, using the contact details in the contract: registered mail to the seller’s address, fax to the seller’s fax number, or email with a requested read receipt. The notice is treated as served when it is sent, which is why the method matters more than whether the seller has read it.

Can I use those three days instead of an inspection condition?

It is a poor substitute. Three business days rarely accommodates booking an inspector, receiving a written report and having strata documents reviewed, and exercising the right costs 0.25% of the price. A subject condition gives you a negotiated number of days for each piece of due diligence and costs nothing if the condition is not satisfied.

As a seller, what should I do during those three days?

Treat the contract as capable of ending until the period has run. Keep the property presentable, and avoid making commitments elsewhere that depend on the sale surviving the window. If the buyer does rescind, you receive the 0.25% fee and the property returns to the market.

Buying process

What does "subject-free" mean?

A subject-free (or "unconditional") offer has no conditions attached, no financing condition, no inspection condition, no strata document review period. It can make an offer more competitive, but it also means you're committed even if something goes wrong afterward. We'll talk through whether it's actually the right move for your specific offer, not just apply it as a default tactic.

How current are the listings I see on your site?

The search uses the connected listing feed. Availability and details can change, so confirm the current information for a property before relying on it. Every home shown carries its MLS number and the full name of the listing brokerage, and the MLS number is the identifier to quote when you ask about a specific property.

What's the difference between a pre-qualification and a pre-approval?

Ask your lender what their assessment includes, what information they have verified, and what conditions remain. The label alone does not establish approval for a particular property or the final terms of financing. Either way, a lender still assesses the specific home once you have one, which is the reason a subject to financing condition exists.

How long does buying a home typically take from offer to possession?

It varies by deal, financing conditions, inspection periods, and the seller's preferred possession date all factor in, and every contract sets its own timeline. We'll map out the specific schedule for your offer once terms are being negotiated, rather than quote a generic number that may not apply to your situation.

Should I get an inspection before or after my offer is accepted?

Almost always after, with the offer made subject to an inspection you find satisfactory. An inspection costs money and needs access to the property, so doing it beforehand means paying for homes you do not buy. The exception is a property you have decided you want where the seller will not accept conditions, and that is a decision to take with independent advice rather than alone.

How accurate is the floor area shown on a listing?

It depends where the number came from, and listings do not always say. Floor area can come from a professional measurement, a building plan, the assessment record, or the owner, and those sources treat basements, garages and enclosed space differently. If you are comparing homes by price per square foot, ask which source produced each figure first.

What should I have in place before viewing homes seriously?

A written pre-approval, the name of a lawyer or notary with capacity in your timeframe, an inspector you can reach on short notice, and a clear picture of your closing costs as a separate pile from your down payment. Arranging these after an offer is accepted means doing it inside a subject removal window, which is when a delay costs the most.

Costs and taxes

The figures here were checked against gov.bc.ca on September 17, 2026. The province has changed them before, so confirm anything that affects a decision.

How is property transfer tax calculated in BC?

In bands on the fair market value: 1% on the first $200,000, 2% on the portion from $200,000 to $2,000,000, 3% on the portion from $2,000,000 to $3,000,000, and a further 2% on the residential portion above $3,000,000. Each rate applies only to the dollars inside its own band.

Am I exempt from property transfer tax as a first-time buyer?

You may be, under the First Time Home Buyers' Program. As of the thresholds effective April 1, 2024, a full exemption applies where the fair market value is $835,000 or less, and a partial exemption where it is more than $835,000 but less than $860,000. Above that the program does not apply. Confirm the current thresholds on gov.bc.ca, because this is a legally binding amount owed at closing.

What are the conditions for the first-time buyer exemption?

You must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. You must either have lived in BC for at least a year immediately before registration, or have filed at least two income tax returns as a BC resident in the six taxation years before registration. You must never have owned a registered interest in a property that was your principal residence anywhere in the world, at any time. You must never have received this exemption or refund before. The property must be 0.5 hectares or smaller with only residential improvements, you must move in within 92 days of registration, and you must occupy it as your principal residence until the first anniversary of registration.

Does owning a home overseas disqualify me as a first-time buyer?

Yes. The test asks whether you have ever owned a registered interest in a property that was your principal residence anywhere in the world, at any time. Ownership outside Canada counts, and so does a property you have since sold. Your lawyer or notary confirms eligibility before registration, which is when the exemption is claimed.

Can closing costs be added to my mortgage?

No. The mortgage is sized against the purchase price, and closing costs are paid in cash on completion day. This is the structural reason buyers get caught short, and it is why lenders on insured mortgages ask to see that money in an account before funding.

Does GST apply to the home I am buying?

Resale homes do not attract GST. New construction and presale condos do, at 5% federal GST, with rebates that can reduce or remove it depending on the price and your circumstances. Where GST is payable and you are not financing it, it lands on completion day with everything else.

Selling process

How do you price a home for sale?

We look at recent comparable sales, current active competition in the same area and property type, and the specific condition and features of your home, rather than relying on an automated estimate alone. Ask for the completed sales behind any proposed price and for how each of those properties differs from yours, item by item. A list of sales without the differences described is a list rather than an analysis.

What should I do before listing?

Prepare questions about the property’s condition, available records, presentation and timing. Discuss which work is appropriate for your home before spending money on preparation. Assemble the documents first: title search, permit history, service records for the major systems, and for a strata the Form B, bylaws, two years of minutes, depreciation report and reserve fund balance.

Do I have to accept the first offer I receive?

No. You're free to negotiate, counter, or decline any offer. We'll give you our honest read on how an offer compares to the market so you can make that call with full information.

Do I have to be told about every offer?

Yes. Section 30 of the Real Estate Services Rules requires that all offers be communicated to a client in a timely, objective and unbiased manner. That includes offers well below your asking price and offers from buyers with no representation of their own. What you do with each one is your decision, taken with the offer in front of you.

Is the highest offer always the best offer?

No, because price is one term among several and the others determine how likely the sale is to complete. A higher offer with a financing condition, a long completion date and a small deposit carries more ways to fail than a lower unconditional offer with a substantial deposit. Ask for the offers set out side by side on price, deposit, conditions, dates and inclusions.

What do I have to disclose about my home?

Most sellers complete a Property Disclosure Statement, answered to the best of their knowledge, and it can become part of the contract. Separately, a known material latent defect must be disclosed whether or not anybody asks. A latent defect is one a reasonable inspection would not reveal, and the disclosure obligation applies where it makes the property dangerous, unfit to live in, or unfit for the purpose the buyer has stated.

Is my BC Assessment value a good guide to my asking price?

It is a reference point from a past date. BC Assessment values property as at July 1 and considers its physical condition as at October 31, then mails notices each January, so a notice you open in January reflects roughly the previous July 1. It also comes from a mass valuation of every property in the province, which cannot account for the condition of your particular home.

What happens to the buyer’s deposit?

It is held in trust, usually by the listing brokerage, until completion or until the parties agree otherwise in writing. It is not the seller’s money while it sits there, and it cannot be released on one party’s instruction alone. Where a sale collapses and the parties disagree about entitlement, releasing it takes agreement or a court order.

Condos and strata

What should I check in a strata's depreciation report?

How current the report is, which funding scenario the strata is actually following versus what the report recommends, any recent or pending special assessments, and any major building components (roof, envelope, elevators) shown with a short remaining life. We cover this in more detail in our Market Journal.

What's a special assessment?

Ask about special levies in the current strata records, including what has been approved, the amount allocated to the lot, and when payment is due. Have your professional explain how any relevant obligation is addressed in the transaction.

Which strata documents should I read before removing conditions?

The Form B, the bylaws and rules, the minutes of council and general meetings for at least the last two years, the depreciation report, the current contingency reserve fund balance, and the budget. The minutes are where building problems appear first, often as a discussion months before any levy is approved.

Can a strata stop me renting out my unit or keeping a pet?

Bylaws govern both, and they differ between buildings, so this is a question to answer from the actual bylaws of the actual strata rather than from a general rule. Read them before removing your conditions, and check the minutes for any bylaw amendment that has been proposed or passed recently.

This site and its listings

Why does every listing show an MLS number and a brokerage name?

Showing MLS listing data publicly comes with a condition that the listing brokerage is credited, so the full brokerage name appears on every home, written out in full. The MLS number appears because it is the only identifier that reliably points at one specific listing, which matters when two homes sit on the same street or a unit number was typed wrong.

What is not included in the search on this site?

The search covers homes listed with a member brokerage through the board’s data feed. Private sales, homes sold before reaching the MLS system, most new-construction sales made directly through a developer’s sales centre, and assignments of presale contracts sit outside it. If any of those matter for what you are looking for, they need to be pursued separately.

How often is the listing data updated?

The site reads from the connected feed rather than holding its own copy, so what you see reflects what the feed returns at the time of your search. Status and price can change between a search and a viewing, which is why the current information for a property is worth confirming before you rely on it.

Are the articles on this site advice about my situation?

They are general information with their sources listed, written to help you ask better questions. Every article states rules and thresholds as at the date it was checked, and those change. For a decision about a specific property or your own circumstances, the answers come from a lawyer or notary, a lender, an inspector, or a licensee who knows the details.