Completing on a Presale Condo in Vancouver and Appraisals.

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Chad Watts of The Mortgage Group about an experience he had during the the Completion of a Pre-Sale Condo here in beautiful Vancouver, BC.

Developers in many cases only give 10 days notice of the Completion of a Presale Condo. During this time sometimes up to several hundred appraisers need to get access to and appraise the soon to be Completed suites.

What does Completion mean in Relation to Condo Presales?

Completion is when the condominium that had suites pre-sold or sold off plan is ready for occupation (usually after the Occupancy Permit has been granted) and the transfer of ownership from Developer to Presale Buyer occurs ie the Completion. (For a brief explanation of Completion with Video click here).

Why is it Important to get the Appraiser in ASAP?

Once the Developer gives notice of the Completion, depending on the size of the building, up to several hundred Appraisers may need to get access to Presale Buyers suites in the building over a 10 day period.

During this time, there may be limited access to the building by non-Construction personnel and there is a chance that an Appraiser may not get into see a suite in time to submit their paperwork to allow the Completion to occur on time.

If there is a delay in the Completion due to the Buyers Appraiser not getting in on time, there may be penalties of up to $2000 payable to the Developer for a late Completion.

Avoid Penalties! – Get the Appraiser in During the Deficiency Walk Through!

When a Buyer is Completing on a Presale Condo, there will be a deficiency walk through that the Buyer is required to have before they Complete. To avoid these penalties mentioned above, its a very good idea to have the appraiser through the new condo when the Buyer does their deficiency walk through.

Looking for Advice on Buying an Off Plan or Pre-Construction Condo?

Check out these Great Videos on How to Buy a Presale Condo in Vancouver!

Looking to Sell that Newly Completed Presale Condo?

Have a look at these Great Videos that explain in detail the process of Selling a Condo in Vancouver!

I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS BELOW!

Mortgage Pre-Approvals are NOT Guarantees of a Mortgage!

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Chad Watts of The Mortgage Group about mortgage pre-approvals. He brought up a very important point for Buyers, particularly First Time Home Buyers. And that is a mortgage pre-approval is NOT a guarantee that you will get a mortgage at the amount the Lender originally mentions or get a mortgage at all.

What is a Mortage Pre-Approval?

This is a preliminary estimation by a Lender of how much the Lender will loan you based on very basic information. This number is subject to change based on what property you get an accepted offer on and the details of your financial situation.

Why Your Mortgage Pre-Approval may not match the Mortgage You Get!

A mortgage pre-approval is a basic guideline of generally how much a Lender thinks they can give loan the Buyer. Once the Buyer finds their dream home and have an accepted offer subject to financing on the property they need to forward the offer onto the Lender. The Lender then begins to go over all the details of the property and the Buyers financial situation with a fine tooth comb. This is often where the disparities between the Mortgage Pre-Approval and the actual mortgage pop up.

Too Much Debt, Inaccurate Financial Information, Unpaid Taxes,  and Leaky Condos

There are certain buildings that Lenders will not lend money on for various reasons (Its a leaky condo, its not worth what the accepted offer says its worth, there are issues with title). Sometimes the information the Buyer originally provided the Lender is not accurate or out of date (Buyer is behind on their taxes, or doesn’t have as much money as they thought, or may have too much debt). Both of these variables can result in the Buyer either not getting a mortgage at all or not getting as large a mortgage as they had anticipated.

The CHMC has a cool tool that you can use to test your financial situation to see if you are ready for home ownership that you might find useful.

Totally off topic – Check out the Tightrope Walker in the background of the video!

I REALLY APPRECIATE COMMENTS AND I’D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS!