Here is a case to learn from...This happened in 2005 (during a very hot market).
Mark and Sandy bought a new house in Chilliwack directly from the builder. They agreed on the contract price, terms and the completion dates. The house was about 6 weeks from being fully finished.
Due to the lack of representation many items in the contract were omitted.
Two weeks after the family moved into their new house, they found a letter from a local law firm informing them that a lean was placed on their title. The lean holder was a plumbing company that did the plumbing.
It turned out that the builder never paid the plumber for their work and apparently had no intention to do it now that the house had sold. The plumber demanded his $7,800 or else.
This is Unfair! Why should we pay for the plumbing twice!?
When we bought the house, the plumbing was included wasn’t it? These were their words when I meet them, to see if I can advise them on a solution.
This whole issue could have been avoided if the contract was properly drafted.
When new construction homes are sold, we protect the buyer by withholding 10% of the value of improvements for 55 days from the time the occupancy permit is issued. Example: If the cost to build the house is $ 250,000 then the buyer’s lawyer would withhold $25,000 and keep it in his trust account for 55 days. If there were any unpaid debts or contract invoices the contractors have 55 days to place a lean on the property.
So in this case, if the plumber had come with a request to get his invoice paid then there would have been money to pay him.
In the end, Mark and Sandy did solve their problem but this experience left them bruised. They no longer trust a handshake agreement and they promised me that they will always get a professional opinion before committing to any contract.
Tibor
What is a pre-sale? Example scenario: When the developer intends to build an apartment building and applies for financing, the bank will grant financing under certain conditions. One of them will likely be a certain percentage of pre-sales the developer will need to secure before receiving the funds.
It is common practice for a developer to approach several real estate investors and offer them an opportunity to purchase units of the non-existent building at a discounted price, and on good terms. Once the number of pre-sales is accomplished, the developer goes ahead with the construction, which will likely take two years or longer to complete. During construction, their marketing team offers the remainder of the units for sale at market value to the public. If you are a RE investor, you know that it is preferable to be buying at the pre-sale prices, not market value prices. The question is, how do you get the invitation to buy a pre-sale? In the past many years, investors have made substantial income by buying at wholesale prices and selling at retail prices even before they needed to complete their purchase. I saw many of them lining up and sometimes even camping overnight in front of the sales center to get a chance to buy at lower prices, but not everyone was lucky enough. You needed to be well-connected to get an opportunity, and you had to act fast. Today is a bit of a different story. Several projects in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley offer really good prices and incentives to secure a unit now and complete the purchase two or three years later. The list of incentives varies from one project to the next. Besides attractive prices, you can get low deposit amounts (5-15%), low or no assignment fees, free updates, a mortgage rate buy-down program, extra parking and more. A month ago, I helped a few of my clients purchase a presale in Surrey that sold out in 2 days, and I know of another good developer that will be offering a few units for sale as well. If you would like to know more about these opportunities, I would encourage you to call or email me, and I’ll be happy to send you details on those projects. Kind regards,
Tibor Bogdan
Century 21 Creekside Realty Ltd. 45428 Luckakuck Way #190, Chilliwack, BC V2R 3S9 cell: 604-855-2521 |
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