Buying With Family or Friends in BC: The Ownership Structure Decides Everything Later
Two or more people buying one home in BC choose between joint tenancy and tenancy in common at the moment of registration, and that one line on the title decides who inherits a share, whether the shares can be unequal, and how hard it is for one owner to leave. Sort it out before the offer, because changing it later can trigger property transfer tax.
Michael Lee · 9 min read
Buried Oil Tanks on Metro Vancouver Lots: The Search, the Cost, and Who Pays
Homes built before the 1960s were often heated with oil, and when gas arrived many of those buried tanks were left in the ground. A tank scan takes about an hour on a detached lot. The owner on title when the contamination is found is the one who pays to clean it up.
Michael Lee · 8 min read
Rent-to-Own and Vendor Take-Back Mortgages in BC: How They Work, and Where Buyers Get Hurt
Rent-to-own gives you a lease plus the right to buy later, and the option fee you pay for that right is usually gone if the purchase does not close. A vendor take-back has the seller lending you part of the price, sitting behind your bank in second position. Both are legal in BC, and both need a lawyer before you sign.
Michael Lee · 9 min read
Home Insurance Before Completion: The Step Buyers Forget Until the Last Week
Your lender will not release the mortgage money until it has proof of fire insurance naming it as loss payee. That proof is usually wanted several days before completion, not on the day. Start the insurance conversation the week your subjects are removed.
Michael Lee · 8 min read
Leasehold Property in Metro Vancouver: What You Own and Why the Remaining Term Decides Everything
A leasehold buyer purchases the right to occupy a home for a fixed number of years, while a public landlord keeps the land. The remaining years on that lease drive both the price and whether a lender will fund the purchase. Check the expiry date on title before anything else.
Michael Lee · 8 min read
How to Read a BC Title Search, and What Every Charge on It Means
A BC title search fits on one or two pages and tells you who owns the property, what the parcel is, and every registered interest somebody else holds in it. Some of those interests disappear on completion. Others belong to you for as long as you own the place.
Michael Lee · 9 min read
Strata Bylaws in BC: What They Can Restrict, and What They Cannot
Since November 24, 2022, no strata corporation in BC can stop you from renting your unit to a long-term tenant. Pet bans, smoking bans and renovation approvals are still enforceable. Read the registered bylaws before you remove your subjects, because the version on the building's website may be out of date.
Michael Lee · 8 min read
Closing Costs in BC: Everything You Pay Beyond the Down Payment
Lenders want to see 1.5% of the purchase price set aside for closing costs before they will approve an insured mortgage. That money covers property transfer tax, legal fees, title insurance, registration at the land title office, and the adjustments your notary calculates on completion day.
Michael Lee · 8 min read
The Mortgage Stress Test: Why You Qualify for Less Than You Expect
Federally regulated lenders must qualify you at the higher of your contract rate plus two percentage points, or 5.25%. On a Metro Vancouver purchase that gap decides which listings you can write an offer on.
Michael Lee · 8 min read
Buying a Tenanted Home in BC: The Three Month Notice and What It Means for Your Move-In Date
If you are buying a home with a tenant in it and you intend to live there, the seller gives the tenant a three month notice, the tenant gets one month's rent as compensation, and the tenant has 21 days to dispute it. Your possession date depends on all three.
Michael Lee · 8 min read
Strata Insurance in BC: The Deductible Gap That Can Cost an Owner Six Figures
A strata corporation's policy covers the building. It does not cover the deductible, which can run from $100,000 to $750,000 or higher. If a claim originates in your unit you can be held responsible for it without being negligent.
Michael Lee · 8 min read
Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam House Prices, September 2026: What Detached Homes Cost Now
September 2026 benchmark prices for detached houses in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam, with the sales and new-listing counts behind them and what each number means if you are buying or selling a house this fall.
Michael Lee · 7 min read
The BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax: Who Declares, Who Pays, and What Changed in 2026
Every owner of residential property in a designated taxable area has to file a declaration by March 31, even when they owe nothing. The rates went up for the 2026 tax year, to 1% for most Canadian owners and 3% for foreign owners and untaxed worldwide earners.
Michael Lee · 8 min read
Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam School Catchments: What to Verify Before You Offer
Catchment is set by exact address, not neighbourhood name, and two houses on the same street can be assigned to different elementary schools. Here is how School District 43 draws its boundaries, how to check one address before you write an offer, and what a cross-catchment application can and cannot get you.
Michael Lee · 7 min read
Carriage Houses and Garden Cottages in Coquitlam: What the Rules Actually Allow
A carriage house sits above a detached garage. A garden cottage is a single-storey building in the back yard. Both are ways to add a home to a Coquitlam lot without building a fourplex, and the city treats them differently in several places that matter.
Michael Lee · 7 min read
Buying a Unit in a New Coquitlam Fourplex: What to Check Before You Sign
Fourplex units are a new kind of listing in Coquitlam neighbourhoods that used to hold one house. Here is how they differ from a townhome, what the zoning guarantees you, and the questions to ask a small new strata.
Michael Lee · 7 min read
Coquitlam Townhome Buyer's Guide: Prices, Parking and the Strata Papers That Matter
Coquitlam's townhome benchmark was $987,900 in August 2026, $611,200 below a detached house. Here is what that buys, what the parking and visitor rules mean day to day, and which documents decide whether a complex is a good one.
Michael Lee · 7 min read
What a Coquitlam Multiplex Costs in City Charges Before You Lay a Brick
Coquitlam charges $43,483 per unit in development cost charges plus $21,205 per unit in amenity cost charges on a multiplex. Here is how the published rates add up, and how the city classifies a house with a suite and a carriage house.
Michael Lee · 7 min read
Mortgage Pre-Approval: What Lenders Actually Check in 2026
A pre-approval isn't a five-minute estimate, it's a documented, credit-checked review that also has to clear OSFI's stress test. Here's what lenders actually verify, and how it differs from pre-qualification.
Michael Lee · 8 min read
Can You Build Four Homes on Your Coquitlam Lot? The R-1 to R-4 Zones Explained
Coquitlam rezoned most of its single-family lots in June 2025. Here is what the four new small-scale zones allow, how much floor area you get, how tall you can build, and the questions that decide whether your lot works.
Michael Lee · 8 min read
The BC New Home Warranty: What 2-5-10 Coverage Means
Licensed BC builders must carry 2-5-10 home warranty insurance, but the three windows cover different things and none of them cover everything. Here's what's actually protected and excluded.
Michael Lee · 7 min read
Assignment Clauses Explained: Can You Sell a Presale Before Closing?
Selling a presale contract before closing runs through a developer consent fee, CSAIR reporting, and its own GST/HST and BC home flipping tax rules. Here's what assignors and assignees actually take on.
Michael Lee · 8 min read
Coquitlam House Prices in 2026: What Detached, Townhome and Condo Buyers Actually Pay
Coquitlam's benchmark prices for August 2026, broken down by detached house, townhome and apartment, with the sales and listing counts behind them and what each number means for your budget.
Michael Lee · 7 min read
How Presale Deposit Schedules Work in BC
Presale deposits in BC are legally required to sit in trust, separate from the developer's own money, but the schedule, size, and what happens if a project doesn't complete are all things buyers should understand before signing.
Michael Lee · 6 min read
The BC Home Inspection Checklist: What to Actually Look For
A home inspection is your best chance to catch a costly problem before you're locked into a purchase. Here's what a licensed BC inspector actually checks, how to confirm they're licensed, and what to do if they find something serious.
Michael Lee · 6 min read
Strata Fees Explained: What's Actually Included
Strata fees aren't a flat tax on owning a condo, they're your share of the operating budget, sized by unit entitlement and topped up by a mandated reserve fund. Here's what's in that number.
Michael Lee · 7 min read
GST on New Construction Homes in BC: What Presale Buyers Need to Know
New homes and presale condos in BC are subject to 5% federal GST, unlike resale homes. Here's when it applies, and how the regular and new first-time buyer GST rebates work, per canada.ca.
Michael Lee · 6 min read
Property Transfer Tax in BC: What First-Time Buyers Actually Pay
BC's property transfer tax catches every buyer at closing, but first-time buyers and buyers of newly built homes can qualify for a full or partial exemption. Here's how the tax is calculated and where the current thresholds sit.
Michael Lee · 6 min read
How to Read a Strata Depreciation Report Before You Buy a Condo
A depreciation report is a planning document. Check its assumptions and the current strata records before relying on it in a purchase decision.
Michael Lee · 10 min read
What 'Subject-Free' Actually Means When You're Buying a Home
Before considering an offer without subjects, discuss the unresolved financing, inspection, document, and contract questions with the appropriate professionals.
Michael Lee · 9 min read