Blue Mountain Estates | Carmen Leal 604.218.4846 - 360hometours.ca

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Thank you for your great words.





 Carmen is very responsible realtor. If you need to buy or to

 sell your property, call her. Her work style is amazing. Her

 approach is flawless. You can trust her. 



A. Dynko

New protection for new home buyers

Home buyers can expect higher standards from the residential construction sector thanks to a newly enhanced licensing system.

The BC government is establishing new qualifications and continuing education requirements for residential home builders and renovators, under the Homeowner Protection Act.

Their goal is to protect new homebuyers across BC:

To obtain a new licence, home builders will be required to demonstrate proficiency in seven areas:

*  The BC Building Code and other relevant laws and regulations.

*  The principles of construction management such as project planning, cost estimating, and project supervision.

*  Residential construction and building science including building envelope and mechanical systems such as heating.

*  Managing and maintaining positive customer relations including response to defects identified under home warranty.

*  Financial planning and budgeting.

*  Legal issues, provincial laws and municipal bylaws affecting residential construction.

*  Strategic business planning, management and administration.

These qualifications can be met through a combination of education and experience or equivalencies.

Home builders with existing licences will not need to re-qualify under the enhanced licensing system. 

To renew their licence, home builders will be required to take continuing professional development courses directly related to residential construction each year.

The enhanced licensing system will be phased in over the next 16 months to give the industry time to prepare for the new requirements.

Did you know?

* There are 6,000+ licensed residential builders in BC.

* In 2014, more than 30,000 new homes were built in BC including 11,695 detached homes and 19,069 home in multi-unit buildings.

For more information Contact:

Carmen Leal

Macdonald Realty Ltd.

www.CarmenLeal.ca

carmen@carmenleal.ca

604.218.4846

Gastown-The-neighbourhood-at-a-glance

It's ironic that a city famous for its old-fashioned liquor laws owes its origins to an unlicensed saloon. Back in the mid-1800s, New Westminster was the Lower Mainland’s only bustling city while the area now known as Gastown was a sparsely populated neck of the woods called Luck Lucky (or Luk’luk’i, meaning “grove of maple trees”) by the Coast Salish people and populated primarily by a few dozen millworkers.

This all changed in 1867 after a Yorkshireman and former Fraser River steamship captain by the name of John “Gassy Jack” Deighton pulled up in a canoe with a barrel of whiskey and told locals they could drink their fill if they helped build him a pub.

The story goes that the Globe Saloon — located near where a statue of its founder now stands at the corner of Water Street and Carrall — was open for business less than 24 hours later, and a makeshift community soon sprung up around the new watering hole that became known as Gassy’s Town.

(“Gassy,” it should be noted, was a former colloquial term for being talkative, and the hard-drinking Deighton was known for his loquaciousness rather than for gastrointestinal reasons.)

A massive fire burnt the settlement to the ground in 1886 but a new community quickly reappeared due to the arrival of the transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railway on the nearby waterfront the same year.

The actual boundaries of Vancouver’s earliest neighbourhood aren’t strictly defined but are generally considered to stretch eastward from Richards Street between Water and Hastings streets as far as Main Street.

Gastown eventually fell on hard times after becoming overshadowed by the downtown area and was set to be demolished back in the ‘70s until a group of citizens successfully lobbied the city for a heritage preservation order.

A dedicated effort to clean up the area has since pushed the grittier elements to the Downtown Eastside.

While some decry the gentrification of the city’s historic district, whose cobblestone streets and antique street lamps provide a one-of-a-kind ambience, others take pride in the area’s recent emergence as both a tourist attraction and hotspot for upscale businesses and restaurants.

Yours,

Carmen Leal
Macdonald Realty Ltd.
www.CarmenLeal.ca
604-218-4846

Vancouver-Real-Estate-Five-costs-to-consider-when-buying-your-new-home

Here are five costs to consider when buying your home:

 

1. Down payment

Have you saved enough for a down payment on your home? The amount of your payment is determined by what kind of mortgage you have and can be as little as five per cent down. Here are the two types of mortgages that determine the required down payment:

• High-ratio mortgage – your down payment is less than 20 per cent of the purchase price
• Conventional mortgage – your down payment is at least 20 per cent of the purchase price

 

2. Appraisal fee

Before approving your mortgage, some providers will require an appraisal of the home, which can cost from $200 to $400.
Additionally, at a cost comparable to the appraisal, some lenders might require an up-to-date survey of the property.

 

3. Home inspection fee

Once your offer has been accepted, a home inspection can be conducted as a condition of the sale. As the buyer, home inspections are highly recommended and often help to uncover any problems the house may have. This process could potentially save you a lot of money in the long run. While they vary in price, home inspections can cost anywhere from $400 to $800.

 

4. Legal fee

In order to make the purchase of your home official, you’ll need a lawyer, or notary, to sign off, something that could cost you in the range of $1,000 to $1,500.

 

5. Property transfer fee

Did you know that you, the buyer, are responsible for paying the property transfer tax? This tax is calculated at a rate of one per cent on the first $200,000 of the property’s fair market value, and two per cent on the remainder balance.

For further information on buying a new home or selling your home don't hesitate to Call Carmen at 604.218.4846


Yours,

 Carmen Leal

Strathcona Village: Great Investment Opportunity!!!!

AMAZING HOMES 1 BEDROOMS FROM $199,900 INCLUDES PARKING!

New and upcoming area! Great investment properties in Vancouver close to Gastown & Crosstown!
 

To Schedule a Private Viewing Email CARMEN at carmen@CarmenLeal.ca

For more information contact Carmen Leal at 604.218.4846

Vancouver Realtor

Vancouver Real estate

Gastown Real estate

 

 

Yours,

Carmen Leal  *Real Estate Services      
 Macdonald Realty Ltd.
 Website: www.carmenleal.ca 
 Email: carmen@carmenleal.ca
 Direct: 604-218-4846

* THE HIGHEST COMPLIMENT I CAN RECEIVE IS THE REFERRAL OF YOUR FRIEND, FAMILY, OR BUSINESS ASSOCIATE. THANK YOU KINDLY IN ADVANCE!
   
 

Vancouver Reat estate Looking to Buy or Sell?

Looking to Sell or Buy you have come to the right place.
Just click on the link below ;)

www.carmenleal.ca


Yours,


Carmen Leal  *Real Estate Services      
 Macdonald Realty Ltd.
 Website: www.carmenleal.ca  www.yaletownstudios.com
 Email: carmen@carmenleal.ca
 Direct: 604-218-4846

* THE HIGHEST COMPLIMENT I CAN RECEIVE IS THE REFERRAL OF YOUR FRIEND, FAMILY, OR BUSINESS ASSOCIATE. THANK YOU KINDLY IN ADVANCE!