Benjamin Franklin said there was nothing certain in this world but death and taxes.
That in mind, it has always surprised me how few seniors are aware of their ability to defer property taxes in B.C. Since its inception in 1974, only a relative handful of homeowners have taken advantage of the Tax Deferment Program which allows seniors to set property taxes aside until death or selling the property.
The details are roughly as follows: it has to be your principal residence (vs. a rental or vacation property), you have to have 25% equity in it, be a B.C. resident, and prepared to pay a one-time application fee of $60. The debt is registered as a charge on title at the Land Titles Office and you settle it from the proceeds of sale if and when you sell — or your heirs attend to it after you’re gone.
The province pays the municipality for the deferred amount so nobody goes without, and with property values increasing by leaps and bounds there seems no good reason not to do it. Let the bouyant market carry the burden the rest of the way.
It has estate planning implications, so you might want to involve your heirs and financial planner in the decision.
Perhaps Ben Franklin was only partially right.
July 19th, 2007
The owner of this easycare lot is fighting a Developer in Chongqing City, China. The developer wants to build a shopping mall but the owner is holding out for his price — 20 million yuan, or about $2,600,000. “The owner refuses to move so the Developer has dug all around him to force him to,” says a saleswoman at Weilan Real Estate Co. “He wants his price or he’ll stay until the end of the world.”
I’ve had Sellers like that. But I wonder how this one gets his groceries?
July 20th, 2007
The call came last Friday morning: a stork sighting in Vancouver, the first such event in our family. I made hasty provisions for my ‘opens’ over the weekend, my wife and I caught the next ferry, and at two the next morning we welcomed an as-yet-unnamed baby girl into the world. Dimples, jet black hair, perfectly formed — love at first sight. Our first grandchild (and, we’re told, quite likely the last; apparently there’s a fair bit of effort involved in these things).
This event has, of course, been in the offing for some while, and one of the concerns over that time has been for the reaction of the family dog, a rambunctious German Shorthaired Pointer who’s been the unrivaled center of attention since his arrival almost a year ago. Like all the rest of his family he’s a Cancer, thus emotional and resistant to change. Loving and protective for sure, but also capable of putting an adult flat on his back by way of greeting. This spectre in mind, a plan on how best to make this introduction was in place. The newborn’s bonnet was sent on home in advance of the young lady and offered up to him to smell. Then the arrival of the mother bearing assurances of his ongoing place in the family constellation — albeit down a peg.
And then the baby. And all lives changed, for both man and beast.
It’s been going on for some hundred thousand generations now, this stepping aside as each new rung is added to the human ladder. Definitely not a new idea…but if you haven’t experienced it firsthand I can tell you there’s nothing quite like it. As I held her for the first time I felt that special connection with both past and future, and an understanding of my small place in it. And reassured, somehow, that this latest link will find the will and resources to be the strongest and best link yet.
When I revised my website recently my wife asked if there would be any family pictures on it. I said no. Because no one cares.
Well, perhaps just this once.
July 23rd, 2007
Here’s a fun list of common phrases found in real estate ads – and decoded, what they might really mean…
UNIQUE CITY HOME – used to be a warehouse
DARING DESIGN – is still a warehouse
HI-TECH/CONTEMPORARY – lots of steel shelving with little holes
SOPHISTICATED CITY CHARM – next to a noisy bar
OLD WORLD CHARM – has some woodwork; needs cleaning
CONTEMPORARY FEELING – has no woodwork; needs cleaning
PRESTIGIOUS – overly expensive
SECURITY SYSTEM – neighbor has dog
NEEDS TLC – major structural damage
NEUTRAL DÉCOR – no Elvis murals
LOWER LEVEL FAMILY ROOM – ping pong table in basement
UPDATED KITCHEN – plumber has fixed the sink
July 25th, 2007
It was built by the Knights of the Teutonic Order in 1212, and now it can be yours. Archduke Dominic Habsburg and his family have put the fabled Dracula’s Castle on the market. Bran Castle has tremendous historical significance to Transylvania, both real and mythical. It goes back to author Bram Stoker who used the site as his inspiration for the setting of his classic 1897 novel, Dracula.
No price was announced, but the predicted sale is in the order of $135 million. It currently draws some 450 thousand visitors annually, so there should be some revenue possibilities there…
Qualified buyers only, please.
July 26th, 2007
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