1903 replies to this topic

[jonny]

The supply is where the problem is. 

 

A friend is building four houses in Oak Bay that were on one big lot that he had subdivided. It took months to get approved. A piddly little project like this shouldn't have to go to City Hall 15 or 20 times. 

 

Buddy in Cook Street Village who wants to build that super modest condo building on Oliphant has been at it for how long? The St Andrew's School project took like 4 years to get to demolition. 

 

It's absurd. 

 

Just imagine if people were allowed to build homes on all of that useless ALR land we have around Greater Victoria that's being used to raise about 15 cows and all those extremely lucrative cash crops such as hay, corn and dandelions. 

Edited by jonny, 25 August 2016 - 08:14 PM.

[VicHockeyFan]

http://www.cbc.ca/ne...r-fee-1.3737836

 

 

UBC takes $50 housing fee from thousands they will likely never house

Students applying for housing must pay $50 — but nearly 6,000 students are still on a wait list

 

 

I don't know, UBC seems a little unapologetic about scooping $300,000 in fees from applications that will never get matched to housing.

 

I think they at least owe it to applicants to somehow limit the number of applications, ie. if you have no chance of getting the housing, lay out the terms to avoid the applications from coming in form those that won't have a chance.

 

"We haven't heard of it being an issue. Obviously, people don't like to pay fees and not get value of out of what they pay. But there's a fair amount of administrative work that is required to mange the whole process," said Parr, who says the fee makes up 1.6 per cent of UBC Housing's revenue. 

 

 

Is there $50 worth of work required to reject each application?  Two hours worth of work?  Come on...

[zoomer]

Which buildings have been renovated?

 

Take a walk down to the ocean and you'll see.. there is still one where they are just taking the scaffolding down.  Some signs outside say "newly renovated kitchens", plus entirely new exteriors.  I'll take pics next time.  It no longer looks like blocks of tired apartment buildings, but a lot more spiffy and highly manicured lawns.. although maybe it's all makeup on the bacon. 

[Mike K.]

Ah, I getcha. I don't think those units have been remediated. External touch-ups and new kitchens are not addressing the core issues of an aging building, just beautifying units to (likely) make the increased rents seem reasonable. A serious remediation almost always requires the displacement of residents in order to conduct major work and it can take six-eight months for a small building.

[zoomer]

ah, yah.. Ok, I haven't seen any of that going on.  They are probably trying to cash in for at least the next ten years before tackling larger issues requiring displacement.  

[Mike K.]

MLA Rob Fleming was on CFAX this morning talking about the shortage of rental housing.

 

I wanted to call in and ask Mr. Fleming to tell listeners why he voted against several hundred rental apartments during his time as a City of Victoria councillor, but the segment ended too fast.

[VicHockeyFan]

MLA Rob Fleming was on CFAX this morning talking about the shortage of rental housing.

 

I wanted to call in and ask Mr. Fleming to tell listeners why he voted against several hundred rental apartments during his time as a City of Victoria councillor, but the segment ended too fast.

 

And no surprise, he wants UVic to find a way to borrow money to build housing.

[VicHockeyFan]

It's the most expensive rental home listed on Craigslist Victoria. It's just $7,300/mo., and this 6-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom home near Elk Lake also has garage parking for 5 vehicles, as well as a separate self-contained living unit in the lower level too.

MORE: http://victoria.crai...5760218566.html

 

 

You know, if you had 5 people you could get along with, that would be a hell of a bachelor pad, at a great price.  $1216 per month, for 6 people.

 

 

[Mike K.]

 

Taxes, utilities to push Victoria rents 3.7% higher in 2017

http://victoria.citi...higher-in-2017/

 

British Columbia’s maximum residential rental rate increase will jump to 3.7% next year, a 28% surge over 2016’s 2.9% limit.

 

The rate is set each fall by the province and is tied to the Consumer Price Index plus a 2% base allotment. Between 2014 and 2016 increases were capped below 3% while 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2012 saw rates at or above 4%.

 

Although individual landlords and rental management agencies can raise rents up to the allotted maximumat their discretion, many landlords in the capital region are facing mounting financial pressures as regional taxes grow and utilities cut into budgets. The ever rising cost of doing business is, in turn, forcing housing providers to consider at least a portion of the 3.7% increase come January.

 

“Taxes, utilities and insurance are the three biggest cost drivers of our industry. These costs all keep going up and up,” says David Hutniak, CEO of LandlordBC, a rental industry advocacy organization. [Full article]

[Nparker]

A friend of mine was just notified that his rent will be going up 3.3% in January. It was the maximum dollar amount that the law would allow. $5 more/month would have meant the increase was 3.8%.

 

We need to increase density and cut red tape to get a lot more housing built in the city ASAP.

[Mike K.]

Yeah, not all landlords will do the maximum 3.7%. They'll often do what makes sense for them, but others who are planning major upgrades over the near or medium term will try to get as much as they possibly can to refrain from charging provincially-approved levies in the future. Others won't touch the rent if they have a good tenant that has been problem free.

[Nparker]

Yeah, not all landlords will do the maximum 3.7%...

In this case the landlord would have implemented a 3.7% increase but as I said that would have made the rent an odd dollar amount. Rounding up to the nearest $5 would have meant a 3.8% increase.

[Mike K.]

Oh, trust me, lots of them don't care whether it's $1179. Adding that extra $4 a month across 100-units equates to an additional $5,000 for the year. That's some serious cash that can pay for new lighting, etc.

[VicHockeyFan]

Oh, trust me, lots of them don't care whether it's $1179. Adding that extra $4 a month across 100-units equates to an additional $5,000 for the year. That's some serious cash that can pay for new lighting, etc.

 

It would have made it like $862.17, Nparker means.

[Mike K.]

I thought an additional $5 would have pushed it over to 3.8%, so I assume $4 would have kept it below 3.7%, but the landlord wants to deal with zeroes and fives.

[johnk]

Re student housing, I caught a segment on CBC's The Exchange (Amanda Lang's ex) with a guy from Dundee investment management saying they plan to move into financing/building uni residences. They see a market there because most unis prioritize their dorms for first year students. After that they are on their own for housing which is tough in places like Victoria.
This could be a twofer for students and for investors who would access a stable captive market.

[Nparker]

I thought an additional $5 would have pushed it over to 3.8%, so I assume $4 would have kept it below 3.7%, but the landlord wants to deal with zeroes and fives.

This, but I suspect the difference is made up by raising the rents on vacated suites by more than 3.7%, which I assume is perfectly legal. I am fairly certain the property management company is working all the angles to maximize income.

[VicHockeyFan]

I thought an additional $5 would have pushed it over to 3.8%, so I assume $4 would have kept it below 3.7%, but the landlord wants to deal with zeroes and fives.

 

EDIT.

[Mike K.]

This, but I suspect the difference is made up by raising the rents on vacated suites by more than 3.7%, which I assume is perfectly legal. I am fairly certain the property management company is working all the angles to maximize income.

Oh for sure. Vacant units can increase 100% if they can find a tenant willing to pay it.

[VicHockeyFan]

We have to consider one thing about the 0.6% vacancy figure.

 

The methodology CMHC uses excludes all condo units rented by individual owners and all house basement suites etc.

 

https://www03.cmhc-s.../RmsMethodology

 

They only count buildings with 3 or more units.

 

So our vacancy rate is somewhat higher than what CMHC shows.

 

Just looking at Craigslist is hard to tell the real story, as some ads are up to 45 days old, some are duplicates, and many are not removed once the listing is gone.

 

But today there are 627 units listed for rent.