The Foreign Home Buyer ban, discussed in my last newsletter, is now in effect. Fortunately we have been able to confirm that Whistler – which is neither a “Cencus Metropolitan Area” nor a “Cencus Agglomertion” – is exempt from this ban so business will continue as usual! See full details here bit.ly/3Zbobyu
BC Property Assessments
The BC Property Assessments are now complete and you should be receiving your document shortly. Assessed values are as of July 1, 2022 and that value is used to determine your Property Tax amount for July 1, 2023. Assessments are up 5-15% due to the strong market in early 2022, however given the recent interest rate hikes and softening of the market, your actual market value may be lower than assessed.
The RMOW has also announced an 8.3% increase in taxes, so you will see an overall increase in your property tax bill come July 2023. Information on the increase is here bit.ly/3Cjr3iX.
If you feel your assessed value is under or over stated, you have until January 31, 2023 to appeal. Given the assessments are based on values of comparable property sales, you will need data to support your claim, and I am happy to provide sales data if you wish to appeal. For more information on assessments, and to see your assessed value now, you can enter your property address at https://www.bcassessment.ca/.
Home Buyer Rescission Period
New rules have just been implemented in BC, offering Buyers the right to rescind an offer within 3 days of acceptance. This rule was to address the previous market where we were seeing Buyers presenting offers with no subject conditions. The rule allows Buyers a “cooling off” period where they can rescind the offer should they have Buyers Remorse – however there is a charge of .25% of the purchase value which is paid to the Seller. Given the current market where we are now seeing offers with the usual subject conditions, we don’t expect to see Buyers choosing this option at this time, as they will have the subject removal period to do their due diligence and then choose to either remove subjects and continue with the purchase, or if the review of conditions is not satisfactory, they need not proceed and there is no penalty to do so. See more information here bit.ly/3jN5wbY
Please reach out if you have any questions on your assessment or the new rules.
Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2023!