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IPhone/iPad and other smart phone users who access www.garygao.com on their mobile device will be directed to our new mobile site, which offers quick access to local listings and MLS® details.

The site uses the GPS information in your mobile device to determine your location and provide you with MLS® listings in your immediate vicinity. Need to see something a little further out? You can do that too, by panning on the maps that are provided on the site.

You can have access to photos, MLS® listings, maps, and even request a viewing – right from your smart phone!

此事件看似属于特殊个案，其实不然。Sutton地产服务公司的地产经纪人Gary Gao指出，诸如此类因联名买房引发的争议案例，在加国绝不鲜见，类似案例时有发生。联名买房后双方发生纠纷的情况，不仅常见于青年未婚情侣之间，也有相当一部分已婚配偶或父母与儿女两代人之间发生类似纠纷。

Gary指出，绝大多数发生纠纷的案例，之所以缠夹不清，主要原因是当事人双方在联名买房前，双方很少签下书面的“君子协定”，因此一旦纠纷发生，双方各执一词，事件处理起来会令人大感头疼。这一点，在我们华人同胞之间尤其常见。

在上述事件中，争议涉及未婚情侣双方的两代亲人，且同时牵涉到首付款的支付、月还款承担人、现住址居住权与所有权、房价上涨利益如何分配等方面，头绪众多，处理不善，会给当事人带来诸多困扰。

Gary说，有经验的地产服务人员，一旦遇到客人选择联合出资或供款购房，通常会建议客人在决定买房前，审慎地处理好所涉各个利益方关系，并在征询律师意见的基础上签署相关协议，以避免未来可能出现无穷无尽的麻烦。

事实上，联名或联合出资购房后发生纠纷的可能性有多种，并不一定局限于未婚情侣。譬如，在本地，常常有年轻夫妇因收入不足，在购买房产时，为获得足够的银行贷款，会请自己的父母提供还贷担保书，这样，购买的房产上虽然归在年轻夫妇名下，但是一旦他们无力还款，银行会责令父母代为支付贷款。如果两代人之间没有签署明确的书面协议，而万一这对年轻夫妇稍后感情破裂而离婚，那么在夫妇彼此及其父母之间，可能就会出现到底该如何合理地分割房产等困扰。

因此，针对此类案例，地产专家提醒说，联名买房的双方，无论是未婚情侣、已婚夫妇或者其他类别的亲属关系，应尽量在正式购买房产之前，咨询律师意见，并就双方所承担的责任及未来利益分配方式，签署书面备忘录或者协议。譬如，可在协议里写明双方各自的出资比例或具体数额；界定好一旦房产转售，对可能的收益或损失，双方将采取何种方式、何种比例来共同承担；此外，对于何时再售分配万一双方意见不一，将根据何种原则协调等必要的内容。这样，万一今后共有房产出现争议，有据可凭会令事件较容易解决。

来源: 北美中文网

Government cost-savings initiatives help home buyers, home owners and investors. Whether you’re a first-time home buyer, a home owner planning to trade up, or you’ve decided to stay put, make sure you know about savings programs that benefit you.

Vancouver Sun April 1, 2010

Home buyers

- Property Transfer Tax First-time Home Buyers Program: Home buyers in BC pay a Property Transfer Tax (PTT) of 1% on the first $200,000 and 2% of the remainder of the purchase price when they buy a home.

Qualifying first-time buyers may be able to buy tax-free if they meet eligibility requirements. The maximum home price for a full exemption is $425,000 and there is a proportional exemption for homes costing up to $450,000. The downpayment can’t exceed 30% of the purchase price.

- First-time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit: Qualifying home buyers can to claim up to $750 under this federal government program.

Home Buyers Plan

Qualifying home buyers can withdraw up to $25,000 from their RRSP for a downpayment under this federal government program. Couples can withdraw $50,000. If you buy a NEW home before July 1, 2010:

- New home buyers can apply for a rebate of the 5% GST applicable to the purchase price to a maximum of $8,750 for homes costing up to $350,000.

- There is a proportional GST rebate for new homes costing between $350,000 and $450,000.

- Newly-constructed or substantially renovated homes completed by July 1, 2010 have the PST embedded in the cost of construction. Home buyers may qualify for a PST transitional rebate for specific types of non-grandparented residential properties.

If you buy a NEW home after July 1, 2010

- HST New Housing rebate: buyers of new or substantially renovated homes priced up to $525,000 are eligible for a rebate of 71.43% of the provincial portion of the HST, up to $26,250. Buyers of homes priced above $525,000 are eligible for a flat rebate of $26,250.

- HST New Rental rebate: landlords buying new or substantially renovated homes are eligible for a rebate of 71.43% of the provincial portion of the HST, up to $26,250 per unit.

Property tax help

- BC Home Owner Grant: home owners can take advantage of this provincial program that reduces property taxes up to $570 for homes assessed up to $950,000. The grant is reduced on a sliding scale for homes assessed up to $1,064,000. Seniors, veterans and disabled home owners can claim an additional $275 to a maximum of $845 on homes assessed up to $950,000. The grant is reduced on a sliding scale for homes assessed up to $1,119,000.

- Land Tax Deferment for Families with Children: home owners with children under age 18 may be eligible to defer their property taxes, if they have at least 15% equity in their home. Deferred taxes are charged interest at the prime rate and are repayable when the home is sold.

- Land Tax Deferment for seniors and owners facing financial hardship: home owners who are seniors or who face financial hardship may be eligible to defer property taxes. Deferred taxes are charged interest at the prime rate and are repayable when the home is sold.

Changes to Property Transfer Tax (PTT)

- Home owners correcting a conveyancing error no longer pay the PTT on land transfers.

- Transfers required to amend a strata plan are PTT exempt, except where owners receive an increased interest. Then, PTT is payable on value of the increased interest.

Going Green

- LiveSmart BC: home owners improving the energy efficiency of their homes may qualify for this provincial program.

- Residential Energy Credit: home owners and residential landlords buying heating fuel will receive a provincial government point-of-sale rebate on utility bills equal to the provincial component of the HST. Home owners and landlords who buy energy not separately metered, for example, in a cooperative, and who dont receive the credit on their utility bill, can apply to the BC government for the credit.

- ecoENERGY retrofit program: home owners completing energy-efficient retrofits can apply for this federal tax credit.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Vancouver SunApril 1, 2010

Depending on that agreement, services may include helping you determine the value of your home if you’re a seller, or helping you establish a reasonable purchase offer if you’re a buyer.

It may include listing a property for sale on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) to bring it to the attention of realtors working on behalf of buyers. It may include marketing a property on www.realtor.ca or www.realtylink.ca, in a local newspaper, on signs, via open houses or other advertising vehicles. It may include seeking the realtor’s help to negotiate the sale if you’re the seller, or to negotiate a purchase price and conditions if you’re a buyer. It may include seeking a realtors advice on conditions and appropriate subjects.

There are a lot of mays in the range of potential services, again depending on a realtor’s specialties, i.e. residential, commercial, the types of services a realtor offers, and the types of services you choose.

What’s equally valuable is the level of protection you gain from hiring a realtor. Buying a home is the most significant purchase most people make in a lifetime. A realtor brings assurances and safeguards to the process.

Each stage of the transaction occurs in front of a well-regulated backdrop created over many years to protect the public. This includes realtor insurance, an assurance fund, and multiple avenues of recourse if someone feels their agent did not act in accordance with their professional and contractual obligations. Those avenues include the BC Real Estate Council and the appropriate real estate board.

Here’s a more comprehensive list of the protections that come from working with a realtor:

Standards, legislation and requirements

The real estate profession is one of the most highly regulated in the country. The Real Estate Council of BC is a regulatory agency established by the provincial government to protect consumers through the licensing of all individuals who practice real estate in the province. The conduct requirements for all real estate licensees and brokerages include:

1. Undivided loyalty. The brokerage must protect the client’s negotiating position at all times, and disclose all known facts, which may affect or influence their decision.

2. Obey all lawful instructions of the seller.

3. An obligation to keep the confidences of clients.

4. The exercise of reasonable care and skill in performing all assigned duties.

5. To account for all money and property placed in a brokerage’s hands while acting for the client. The above speaks to the minimum required under the Real Estate Services Act www.leg.bc.ca/37th5th/3rd_read/gov41-3.htm.

Realtors are subject to a higher standard. As

Realtor duty to disclose

In 1991, the BC Real Estate Association, the provincial association for realtors, introduced the Property Disclosure Statement (PDS). This document is a detailed form that asks a property seller to disclose any defects to a prospective buyer. This document is not required by law, however, the realtors of BC decided to make the PDS (and its complementary forms, the Strata Property Disclosure Statement and the Rural Property Disclosure Statement) available to any client wanting to list a home on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The PDS can be legally incorporated into the Contract for Purchase and Sale.