Maria Mak - Burnaby Realtor - Selling and Buying real estate is an ART! Let the professional takes care of it.

Selling and Buying real estate is an ART! Let the professional takes care of it.

Contact Maria Mak and her elite team @ Sutton Centre Realty, you'll be smiling too. Premium Real Estate Services for over 27 years.

www.mariamak.com

Maria Mak - Burnaby REALTOR® 一筆字 '道' Calligraphy of 'My path'

Maria Mak - Burnaby REALTOR®

一筆字'道' Calligraphy of 'My path'

Buying and Selling Real Estate is an ART

Contact Maria Mak and her elite team @ Sutton Centre Realty for all your premium Real Estate Services. Your home is your important asset and investment, let the Professional takes care of it.

www.mariamak.com

Maria Mak - Burnaby REALTOR® - Buying and Selling Real Estate is an ART

Buying and Selling Real Estate is an ART. 

Let the professional takes care of your real estate!

Thinking of buying and selling real estate, contact Maria Mak and her elite team @ Sutton Centre Realty, you'll be smiling too!

www.mariamak.com

Maria Mak - Burnaby REALTOR® - Colour bursting at its best

'A gentle release, 

bequest of lovers yearn, 

the Open is higher and higher. 

Colour bursting at its best.'

-MMak

Thinking of buying and selling real estate, contact Maria Mak and her elite team @ Sutton Centre Realty, you'll be smiling too!

www.mariamak.com

Maria Mak - Burnaby REALTOR® - Buying and Selling Real Estate is an *ART*

*Buying and Selling Real Estate is an ART*

Contact Maria Mak and her elite team @ Sutton Centre Realty - Professional Real Estate Services for over 27 Years.

www.mariamak.com

Maria Mak - Burnaby REALTOR® - latest news from Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver

March 22, 2016

President Darcy McLeod issues letter to The Vancouver Sun

The following letter was issued to The Vancouver Sun for publication earlier today:

Letter to the editor:

I am concerned about information presented in Lori Culbert’s March 19 article “Flipping on the rise, but still a small portion of sales.” The article listed the “top 10 most lucrative house flips.” Our analysis through the MLS® system found that seven of these ten homes were not “flipped,” but instead rebuilt and re-sold. In some cases, a laneway house was also added to the property.

The implication that these homes were re-sold as-is for a quick profit is false and it misleads your readers.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, and the 12,500 REALTORS® we represent, encourage an open public discussion about today’s real estate market. We believe, however, that the information that informs this discussion must be presented factually and in proper context.

Yours truly,

Darcy McLeod

President

Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver

 

copyright© real estate board of greater vancouver. all rights reserved.

Maria Mak - Burnaby Realtor - BCREA Housing Market Update 2016

Maria Mak - professional real estate services since 1989

*Music* comes in different formats, feel them and play them!  

Contact *Maria Mak* and her elite team @ *Sutton Centre Realty* for all your professional real estate services.

www.mariamak.com

Maria Mak Metro Vancouver REALTORS®

Maria Mak Metro Vancouver REALTORS® is looking forward to serving her clients in this ever changing real estate market, contact Maria Mak and her elite team @ Sutton Centre Realty for all your professional real estate services, you'll be smiling too.

Maria Mak - Burnaby REALTOR® - Professional services in Metro Vancouver for over 27 years

Having my green breakfast and my Sunday mass with my new Irish friend Ann.

www.mariamak.com

Maria Mak - Burnaby REALTOR® - I am dedicated to put smiles on each of my client's face

My drawings, my poems, my music,
They're just fragments of my feelings. 
Like collage of smorgasbord,Some more tasty some not.Not a painter, a poet or a musician,Just a professional realtor, Dedicated to put smiles on each of my client's face.Contact Maria Mak and her elite team @ Sutton Centre Realty for all your professional real estate services, you'll be smiling too!

www.mariamak.com

*Maria Mak - Burnaby REALTORS® - professional real estate services for over 27 years*

*Maria Mak - Burnaby REALTOR®- Sutton Centre Realty - Professional real estate services for over 27 years*

I am a professional dedicated realtor.

Wishing to put smiles on each of my client's face!

Contact Maria Mak and her elite team @ Sutton Centre Realty for all your premium real estate services, you'll be smiling too!

www.mariamak.com  

 

Maria Mak - Burnaby REALTOR® - Do you qualify for a PTT exemption?

The Newly Built Home Exemption reduces/eliminates the amount of Property Transfer Tax (PTT) paid on a newly built home.

What qualifies as a newly built home?

• a house built on vacant land;
• a new apartment in a newly built condominium building;
• a manufactured home on vacant land;
• an existing house that has been moved from one parcel of land to a vacant parcel;
• a new house or houses resulting from the subdivision of a lot;
• a house converted from an existing improvement on the land. The previous improvement couldn’t have been in residential use, for example a warehouse converted into apartments. 

Qualifying buyers may be eligible for either a full or partial exemption from the PTT.

If you paid the PTT when you bought vacant land and you now have a newly built home on the land, you may be eligible for a refund or a partial refund of the PTT.

Do you qualify for a PTT exemption?

To qualify, the property (land and improvement) must be registered at the land title office after February 16, 2016.

The property owner must be:

• an individual;
• a Canadian citizen or permanent resident; and
• in BC 

The property must:

• be used as your principal residence;
• have a fair market value of $750,000 or less; and
• be 0.5 hectares (1.24 acres) or smaller. 

You may qualify for a partial exemption, if the property:

• has a fair market value greater than $750,000 and less than $800,000;
• is larger than 0.5 hectares; or
• has another building on the property other than the principal residence 

Find out the amount of your exemption if you qualify.

If you don’t qualify because you are not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, but you become one within 12 months of when the property is registered, you may apply for a refund of the tax.

Apply

To apply for the Newly Built Home Exemption, enter exemption code 49 on the Special Property Transfer Tax Return when theproperty is registered at a land title office.

Occupancy Requirements

After you have registered the property, you must meet occupancy requirements during the first year you own the property. To keep the tax exemption you must:

• move into your home within 92 days of the date the property was registered at the land title office, and
• continue to occupy the property as your principal residence for the remainder of the first year. 

You will receive a letter at the end of the first year to confirm you meet these requirements.

You may keep part of the exemption if you moved out before the end of the first year.

If the owner died, or the property is transferred because of a separation agreement or a court order under the Family Law Actbefore the end of the first year, the exemption may still apply.

Refund

If you qualify for the exemption, but didn't apply when you registered your home, you may apply for a refund.

Vacant land

If you registered a vacant lot and paid the tax, you may apply for a refund if:

• you have a newly built home on the land,
• you meet the qualifications for the Newly Built Home Exemption,
• you moved into your home and continued to occupy the property as your principal residence for the remainder of the first year,
• the fair market value of the land plus the cost of the newly built home is:
• $750,000 or less for a full exemption
• $800,000 or less for a partial exemption

Moving

If you move out of the home before the end of the first year, you may be eligible for a partial refund of the tax you paid.

If the owner died, or the property is transferred because of a separation agreement or a court order under the Family Law Actbefore the end of the first year, you may still be eligible for a refund.

Apply for a refund

To apply for a refund, complete the Newly Built Home Application for Refund (PDF).

You must apply for a refund after the first anniversary of the registration date and within 18 months from the date you registered the property at the Land Title Office.

If you applied for the First Time Home Buyers Program after February 16, 2016, but want to apply for the Newly Built Home Exemption instead, contact us.

*Maria Mak/Burnaby REALTOR® - Sutton Centre Realty*

Be willing to be uncomfortable. 
Be comfortable being uncomfortable.
Keep chasing your real estate dreams,
with the help of a professional REALTOR®.

Maria has been serving her clients in Metro Vancouver and Burnaby for over 27 years with a big heart, with a big smile. Contact Maria Mak and her elite team @ Sutton Centre Realty.  

 

www.mariamak.com

Maria Mak - Burnaby REALTOR® - She is dedicated to put smiles on each of her client's face.

My poems, my drawings, my music.They're just fragments of my feelings,Like collage of smorgasbord,Some more tasty some not.Not a poet, a painter or a musician,Just a dedicated realtor,Wishing to put smiles on each of my client's face.Contact Maria Mak and her elite team @ Sutton Centre Realty for all your premium real estate services, you'll be smiling too!

www.mariamak.com  

Maria Mak - Burnaby REALTOR® - Thinking of a move in the Spring?

 
Thinking of a Spring move?

Buying and Selling Real Estate - Contact Maria Mak and her elite team @ Sutton Centre Realty - Professional Real Estate Services for over 27 Years.

www.mariamak.com

Maria Mak - BurnabyREALTOR® - Selling and Buying Real Estate is an Art

Contact Maria Mak and her elite team @ Sutton Centre Realty for all your premium custom tailored marketing strategies cause your home is your important asset and investment and it needs professionals to take care of it. 
www.mariamak.com

Maria Mak - BurnabyREALTOR® - Selling and Buying Real Estate is an Art

Thinking of selling and buying real estate in Metro Vancouver and Burnaby, contact Maria Mak and her elite team @ Sutton Centre Realty.
Selling and Buying Reak Estate is an art.Let the professionals take care of it. 

www.mariamak.com

Maria Mak - Burnaby REALTOR® - B.C. budget offers help to buyers of new homes

VICTORIA - Buyers of newly-built homes will get a break on their taxes, as part of changes in the B.C. budget designed to address the Lower Mainland's red hot housing market.

The government will, starting Wednesday, exempt any purchaser of a newly-built home, condo or townhouse valued under $750,000 from the property transfer tax, potentially saving them up to $13,000.

The deal only applies for the first owner of a new home, and the buyer must live in the property for at least a year. It's valid anywhere in the province, but only for Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

To make up the money, government will increase the property transfer tax by one per cent, to a total of 3 per cent, on any home sale worth more than $2 million.

The move may help encourage the construction of new housing, which Finance Minister Mike de Jong said is crucial to addressing the limited supply, but rising demand, for homes in B.C.

"We've taken some pretty purposeful steps to assist those who have the demand and incent the supply," he said.

It's on top of an existing first-time homebuyer exemption for new and used homes, which remains in place for properties less than $475,000.

"We should be capturing the bulk of the market, and as I say with respect to new homes, hopefully creating some incentive for more homes to be built," said de Jong. "We will be working with municipalities to try and facilitate that. So big changes. And we'll be tracking closely the impact they have on market and market behaviour."

Government data indicates a typical condo or townhome in east Vancouver would fall under the threshold, as would a typical townhome or condo in west Vancouver.

De Jong's budget outlined $47.5 billion in spending for the 2016/17 fiscal year, starting April 1, with a projected $264 million surplus. It's the fourth consecutive surplus budget for the Liberal government.

Even as it sought to cool the housing market, the province is enjoying a financial windfall from the property transfer tax it charges on sales. That tax has jumped more than 60 per cent above last year's expectations and is on track to bring in $1.5 billion in the current fiscal year - surpassing the revenue earned by the carbon tax.

To address the issue of foreign buyers spurring real estate prices, de Jong said the government will resume tracking data on who buys property.

Buyers will later this year have to disclose the country of their residence, which is data the province hasn't collected since 1998.

"A purchaser will need to disclose whether they are a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada, and if they are not one of those they will need to disclose the country the are a citizen or resident of," said de Jong.

Government will also track the beneficial owner of corporations buying property - known as bare trusts - but not move to close the loophole that allows the corporation to transfer shares to a new person, effectively selling the property but avoiding the property transfer tax

The budget did not contain any incentives for local governments to increase the density of housing projects through zoning and bylaws. De Jong threatened legislation that could force municipalities to make transparent the costs their development fees are having on new homes, but said government will first discuss the issue at this year's Union of B.C. Municipalities meeting.

Tuesday's budget also included extra funding for the Ministry of Children and Family Development, which has been rocked in the past year by several high-profile deaths and suicides of children in government care.

MCFD's core operations will get a $65 million boost next year, which will increase front-line programs and hire around 100 new social workers, according to the budget.

The province rejected calls to increase the social assistance rate for B.C.'s most needy, instead announcing a small $77 monthly increase to the disability income assistance rate to a monthly total of $983 effective Sept. 1. The change will affect 100,000 people - though half of those people will receive a lesser amount than $77 a month, because they already receive a bus pass or transportation allowance from the ministry.

"I don't think this makes life easier for people but hopefully it makes life a little less hard," said de Jong.

It's the first increase to the disability rate in nine years. The overall welfare rate remains unchanged.

Much-anticipated changes to the Medical Services Plan premiums largely failed to materialize in Tuesday's fiscal plan. Premier Christy Clark had previously called the flat rate system for MSP as "antiquated" and in need of major reform.

Instead, government increased monthly premiums on adults by $3, to $78 a month starting January 2017. And it eliminated a special rate for adult couples, meaning an additional $14 monthly increase for a family with two adults.

The changes will net government $147 million more, but is offset by $70 million in "enhanced premium assistance," according to the budget.

Children will be exempt from premiums, saving a minimum of $800 per year for families, said de Jong. Two million residents, including kids, won't have to pay any premiums, and 335,000 will pay reduced premiums under additional support, said de Jong.

There will also be a push to inform seniors, many of whom are not taking advantage of their MSP exemptions, that they are entitled to a tax break, said de Jong.

MSP will generate $2.4 billion in revenue towards health care spending that is estimated to rise to almost $19.6 billion, or 41 per cent of total spending. Government continues to plan for 4 per cent annual increases in future years, meaning costs are only going to increase. De Jong defended MSP premiums as a necessary way to fund health care.

"It may be politically attractive to create the impression that MSP premiums don't exist or disappear, but of course they do because the $2.4 billion that we receive in MSP premiums will need to come from somewhere," he said.

"I'd rather be as open and honest with British Columbians as possible and disclose what they are paying and what prupose they are paying."

Elsewhere in the budget, education spending remained basically frozen including inflation.

The budget included $12 billion in taxpayer-supported infrastructure capital spending over the next three years.

Taxpayer-supported debt is budgeted to rise to $43.2 billion, which de Jong said is a slowing of the growth of debt compared to previous years. Taxpayers will spend 3.7 cents per every dollar in debt servicing.

Total provincial debt is estimated to rise $2.4 billion next year, to $67.7 billion. The debt-to-GDP ratio will drop to 17 per cent, said de Jong.

The budget contained several new small tax credits for farmers donating food to non-profits, as well as an expansion of the BC seniors' home renovation tax credit.

However, de Jong warned that the film and television industry's increased use of the film tax credit program, combined with the low Canadian dollar, would force government to revisit the program in the near future.

The government followed through with the creation of its liquefied natural gas Prosperity Fund, despite the fact no LNG projects have actually started construction. The budget allocates $100 million to the fund, but state a minimum of 50 per cent of future funds will be used for debt repayment.

The Prosperity Fund money will come from the current 2015/16 fiscal year, ending March 31. In that current year, government said its estimated $265 million surplus has risen to a projected $377 million.

rshaw@vancouversun.com

10 things to know about the 2016/17 provincial budget:

1. Buyers of newly-built homes worth up to $750,000 will be exempt from the property transfer tax, saving up to $13,000, effective Wednesday (only for Canadian citizens or permanent residents).

2. The new home tax exemption will only apply to people who actually live in the home as their principal residence for a year after the purchase (relatives do not qualify) and B.C. will share information with Revenue Canada to double-check whether the rules are being followed.

3. Homes (both new and used) sold for more than $2 million will see an increased property transfer tax of 3 per cent, up from 2 per cent.

4. The existing first-time homebuyers program for used homes remains in place, but the threshold is unchanged for properties worth less than $475,000.

5. Property buyers will need to disclose their citizenship for government tracking.

6. MSP premium rates will rise $3 per month for an adult to $78, starting in 2017, but children are now exempt.

7. The special discounted MSP rate for couples is eliminated, adding $14 a month to a family with two adults.

8. Taxpayer-supported debt is budgeted to rise to $43.2 billion, which means 3.7 cents of every dollar government earns it pays in debt servicing.

9. The $47.5 billion budget next year will have an estimated surplus of $264 million. The economy is expected to grow 2.4 per cent.

10.Income assistance for those on disability will rise $77 a month, except for those who already receive a bus pass or transit assistance. It's the first increase in the rate in nine years. The overall welfare rate remains unchanged.

Maria Mak-Professional Real Estate Services - serving her clients in Metro Vancouver for over 25 years

Contact Maria Mak and her elite team @ Sutton Centre Realty for all your premium real estate services @ 604.839.6368 or visit her website @ www.mariamak.com, you'll be smiling too.

Professional Real Estate Services guaranteed!

Maria Mak - Burnaby REALTOR® - Protecting yourself in an assignment agreement

People buy and sell real estate in BC with a document called the Contract of Purchase and Sale. It describes the rights and obligations of the buyer and seller.

A contracting party can sell those rights to someone else unless the contract states otherwise. This type of transaction is known as an assignment agreement.

In simple terms, someone can buy the right to step into the original buyer's shoes to complete the contract.

The person selling the contractual rights is the assignor. The person buying the rights is the assignee. The money the assignee pays for the contract is the assignment fee.   

Here are 10 steps to take before you enter into an assignment deal.  

You should ensure that:

1. you work with a REALTOR®. Your REALTOR® will help protect your interests and bring knowledge of the provincial legislation that governs real estate transactions.
2. the person assigning the contract has the right to do so;
3. the original contract permits assignments;
4. the original seller is aware of the assignment;
5. the property is or was listed for sale;
6. the identity of every individual involved in the transaction has been verified;
7. all money already paid and owed is accounted for and dealt with in the assignment contract;
8. you seek legal advice before agreeing to pay the assignment fee;
9. you understand the additional risk associated with paying the assignment fee before the original contract is finalized; and
10. you consult an accountant to understand the tax implications.