Every First-Time Buyer Program in BC, and How They Stack on One Purchase
Six programs help first-time buyers in BC, and they use three different definitions of first-time buyer. Some stack on the same purchase, one pair forces a choice, and one of them only works if you opened an account years before you started looking.
Michael Lee · 9 min read
Pitt Meadows Buyer's Guide: The Small City Between Port Coquitlam and Maple Ridge
The great majority of Pitt Meadows sits inside the Agricultural Land Reserve, so the whole city lives on a small patch of urban land beside the Fraser and the Pitt River. That one fact sets the supply, the prices and the commute. Here is how the residential areas compare and what the trade-offs are.
Michael Lee · 8 min read
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
Langley and the Willoughby Townhome Belt: A Buyer's Guide
There are two Langleys: a small city around the Langley Bypass, and a large township holding Willoughby, Walnut Grove, Murrayville, Fort Langley and Aldergrove. Willoughby is where the townhomes are, and the SkyTrain being built along Fraser Highway changes what you are buying into.
Michael Lee · 9 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
Maple Ridge Buyer's Guide: What the Commute Buys You in Square Footage
Maple Ridge sits at the east end of Metro Vancouver on the north side of the Fraser River. Buyers move here for a detached house on a real lot at a price the Tri-Cities stopped offering. The cost is measured in travel time, and the West Coast Express runs five trains each way on weekdays only.
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
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
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
Thinking About a Multiplex Home in Burnaby? What Buyers Should Know
For a long time, buying a home in Greater Vancouver meant choosing between an unaffordable detached house or a too-small condo. Here's what a multiplex home actually is, what Burnaby's zoning now allows, and what to look for when you tour one.
Michael Lee · 9 min read