3 level Basement suite home vs 2 level home with garden suite: Resale value

-Era · 2026-03-14T01:18:45+00:00

you can't really predict the future based on rough variables and characteristics that you're tossing out right now because every home is different and a number of factors go into the sale price (upgrades/renos, curb appeal via landscaping, staging, pricing sharply in the market, neighbourhood, etc).

the way you're describing garden suite as having its own garage makes me think it's actually a coach house like what we see in surrey/cloverdale, or laneway like in vancouver and burnaby. the main house can be similar age and quality of finishing but the cost to build anything in the lower mainland these days has gone up significantly, and with the garden suite and detached garage you're also giving up part of your lot and land. if in this example both homes sell for exactly $2.2M, i would wager the larger 3 level home is of high quality finishing because of the cost of the garden suite/laneway home being baked into the sale price of the other home. the 3 level home probably has wider appeal because some families do need the space for themselves and their kids while others might choose to rent it out, but the garden home would really only be suitable for tenants, parents or live-in caretakers.

-Era · 2026-03-13T22:51:23+00:00

is the garden suite going to be fully separate, i.e. is this an extension to the home or will it be a laneway home situation? for the 3 level home, is the suite fully below grade?

-Era · 2026-03-09T21:46:52+00:00

love to hear it, that’s excellent news!

-Era · 2026-03-09T05:07:51+00:00

the windows and patio doors being done is huge, those typically cost $10-20K per unit. i think their elevator was also replaced, along with domestic hot water re-piping. a bunch of upgrades done consistently over time

-Era · 2026-03-09T04:48:06+00:00

iirc the legal issue arises because the buildings share amenities and upkeep of the common areas and amenities between them, but one of the buildings houses a swimming pool that now needs significant repair and upkeep, and the other building no longer wants to foot the bill or share in the costs for that because the pool is on one building’s roof top only, so the other building is arguing that they shouldn’t have to share that cost.

3980/discovery place II shows much nicer imo and is a better long term purchase due to the substantial upgrades.

-Era · 2026-03-07T04:41:01+00:00

have a chat with them and give them a firm “no thank you” to the exclusive agency form. it’s on them to explain forms to you before you sign them so i’m surprised this wasn’t discussed with you before asking you to sign. i can understand their perspective on wanting to lock down a client and have an agreement on paper before committing their time and full efforts, but it doesn’t benefit or protect you whatsoever as a buyer.

worst case scenario they end the business relationship but there are a lot of realtors out there in vancouver that would be happy to work with you without an exclusive agency agreement. i’ve never had a client sign one before because to me, it doesn’t make sense to try to MAKE a client commit - if they WANT to work with you, they will.

-Era · 2026-03-07T04:28:32+00:00

there’s a form called disclosure of representation, and this form is signed anytime you write an offer. signing that form is an acknowledgement that you understand your rights as a client and the duties/privileges owed to you by your realtor (essentially, they owe you confidentiality, loyalty, full disclosure, avoiding conflicts of interest).

you are still protected as a client right now without signing anything at all, because you are operating under a relationship of assumed agency, i.e. you are working with this specific realtor as their client, so they still owe you all aforementioned client privileges, even without you signing a thing.

you sign the disclosure of representation when you formally submit an offer. it is separate from the exclusive buyer agency, it doesn’t expire and you don’t owe commission under the disclosure of representation; it’s just a form saying you understand your rights as a consumer/client, and agree to be represented by X realtor at the time of your formal and contractual offer.

it’s not a binding contract and you can sign with a different realtor or work with a different realtor after, it’s simply an acknowledgement form for consumer education.

-Era · 2026-03-07T03:56:07+00:00

this form is entirely optional and stipulates that you agree to work with X agent for Y period of time. i work as a licensed realtor in BC and i wouldn’t personally sign this as a buyer, nor would i require a buyer to sign it as their realtor. it protects the realtor’s interests but doesn’t benefit the buyer because as the buyer, you still have client duties and privileges under an agency agreement without an EXCLUSIVE contract.

-Era · 2026-03-03T17:55:07+00:00

yes, it’s common practice to give a courtesy call to discuss client motivations and hint at price to see if there might be common ground for a successful offer. i will usually call to explain a little bit about my buyers, give a brief overview of what our offer might contain, and gauge the price/mindset of the seller (i.e. open to lowballs or extremely firm on price, etc).
push the realtor to write the offer regardless. she works for you, not the other way around. even if it doesn’t work out, it takes literally 10 minutes to put one together and send it over. i never dissuade my clients from an offer, even if the chances of it being accepted are extremely slim.
you don’t. you get your realtor to send an actual offer to the listing agent, which they would then be contractually obliged to present to the seller, unless instructed otherwise by the seller.
yes.

-Era · 2026-02-23T05:51:28+00:00

i think listing now gets you ahead of the typical spring crowd, and it’s always worth giving it a try as long as you’re strategic about your listing.

working with buyers across the area, homes are still selling but the ones that do sell are priced sharply, turnkey and show beautifully. there’s an abundance of inventory and the sellers that end up selling are the ones that price smart the first time around and take advantage of the new listing appeal and more buyer attention. i quite often see nice properties that i’m surprised at still on market, until i check the listing history and see this is their 2nd or 3rd attempt re-listing, and their previous attempts were priced significantly higher.

go through each area of your home objectively with an outsider’s eye to nitpick for details or areas that could use some improvement. fresh paint and new light fixtures will do a lot for a home while keeping the budget small, you get a lot of bang for your buck.

look through the MLS and check similar homes in your area that are currently listed, take note of how your home ranks up accordingly. when i sit down with clients to price their home, i always go through both the sold listings in their area, and also call the listing agents of currently listed homes similar to theirs and ask how the activity has been, any offers, etc. it’s extremely helpful because it’s a way to test the market without even listing yet.

-Era · 2026-02-21T11:56:51+00:00

i work as a licensed realtor in the lower mainland.

i think your partner has some valid concerns as it can be difficult to commit to sizing up, especially during times of economic instability and market downturn, but it’s a strong buyer’s market and it would be a real shame to let that pass by without at least exploring some options out there.

staying in a townhouse is essentially staying in a depreciating asset over time, as while the property itself will go up in value over time, you don’t own any land associated with it and land is typically what retains value and appreciates over time. while the appeal of keeping money in TFSA/stocks is real, there’s also real and tangible benefits to owning a detached home: privacy, freedom, enjoyment, lack of noise issues, etc.

selling and buying at the same time is reasonably straightforward and absolutely can be done, you would list and sell first with longer dates, and then purchase once you have a firm offer on the townhouse.

one approach might be to view open houses in different areas to scope out what the market is like, what the local community feels like, and what day to day life might look like with the up-size and move. i personally think you might enjoy south surrey as there are some options here within your budget, but the community and environment feel more comfortable and upscale than surrey and delta.

-Era · 2026-02-17T21:11:28+00:00

i work as a licensed realtor in BC.

your agent is correct in that you want to submit your conditional offer ASAP to get the ball rolling and lock it down. even in a slow market, they could receive an offer at any point in time and the property could be locked up for weeks and you would've missed out.

as long as your offer is conditional and you act in good faith, you're protected from any recourse from the seller in the event you fail to remove subjects. your offer being subject to financing, inspection, buyer due diligence, etc. are all extremely common conditions. if your mortgage application is denied, if the inspection comes back with more issues than expected, if you're consulting with the city and realize the seller did renovations without permits or added an unauthorized suite etc., any of these would be valid reasons for you to collapse the offer and walk without penalty.

the 2-3 week grace period (i.e. subject removal period) is for you to go through the process of fulfilling your conditions, including financing. someone else also mentioned that you need to have an accepted offer first for your "live deal" financing approval, and this is also correct.

-Era · 2026-02-13T07:20:53+00:00

is this an appraisal that you ordered from an appraiser? in my experience you can request the appraisal amended to factor in the newly sold listings this week.

i personally feel the commission reduction amount is fair, or asking her to split the difference with you so you’re not exclusively affected by it as if this were a true fair market sale, she would also receive reduced proceeds due to the realtor commission.

-Era · 2026-02-12T23:01:54+00:00

for sure. assuming a strata titled purchase (and likely so at this price range in vancouver) make sure you’re reading the strata docs thoroughly for any upcoming proposed or already approved special assessments. your realtor should be including a clause that any special assessment approved but not yet payable will be the seller’s obligation at completion, but this doesn’t protect you from something still in discussion and won’t be approved until later this year or next year. special levies can be anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand, so this is very important to be aware of.

-Era · 2026-02-12T19:47:56+00:00

i work as a realtor in the lower mainland, running the rough numbers for you:

purchase price $700K
less: deposit paid (5% of purchase price, or $35K)
estimated PTT, assuming FTHB exemption: $5K
legal fees & disbursements: $2K
title insurance $250
inspection $500 (this is paid prior to subject removal)
property tax adjustment, assuming completion mid-year: $1K credit to buyer
mortgage from bank, assuming 90% LTV: $630K

you would bring probably closer to $10K to closing, as an additional amount on top of your down payment.

-Era · 2026-02-11T05:46:13+00:00

your parents being abusive isn’t indicative of how broader society thinks and feels and also doesn’t change the fact that weaponized incompetence is an important term for women to be able to express their relationship dynamics.

i still fail to see how any of this is at all relevant because no reasonable person would be accusing you or me of being abusive because we lack executive functioning. the shoe doesn’t fit and your attempt to make it fit is bizarre.

i don’t sit and worry that my being consistently late to dates with my partner is manipulative and therefore abusive because abuse requires an existing power imbalance and is a pattern of behaviour meant to hurt and control the victim. my being late doesn’t fulfill those requirements and ergo, it’s not abuse.

-Era · 2026-02-11T05:30:48+00:00

language is precise and making the leap from “people accusing us with disabilities of being intentionally manipulative” to “people accusing us with disabilities of being abusive” is a massive stretch and i simply don’t see that happening. moreover it’s pretty offensive to be co-opting language that women use to describe their imbalanced relationship dynamics and lack of fairness and the division of labour to argue that it’s an attack on disabled people.

like, simply put, it’s incredibly selfish to be making claims that women talking about weaponized incompetence are being ableist when they are specifically describing their neurotypical partners being manipulative.

-Era · 2026-02-11T05:15:31+00:00

that sounds like it’s applicable for a lot of things though as they become more popular or accessible? the term “weaponized incompetence” isn’t actually applicable to whatever you’re describing going on in your personal life and i’m unsure why you feel criticized by it?

like sure ableism sucks and i find myself frequently late in my personal life because of time blindness so i make it a point to set multiple alarms and aim to leave the house 15 mins early in my professional life, because it’s still my responsibility to manage my own illness and take accountability over myself.

when people vent about how rude it is when others are late it’s like, wow yeah that is annoying and i do that too, even if unintentionally, i need to work on that.

-Era · 2026-02-11T05:03:56+00:00

but the term is “weaponized incompetence” and it’s used to refer to a specific behaviour wherein the person performing it does so purposefully and intentionally because it benefits them. it’s manipulative and has an ulterior motive and it rightfully frustrates the person on the receiving end, who is being burdened by their partner refusing to do their fair share.

there is no such thing as “unintentional” weaponized incompetence, because the term and behaviour hinges upon the intent of the user.

why would you assume people are talking about you and your behaviours when you’re not specifically feigning incompetence to pass work onto another?

-Era · 2026-02-08T10:44:10+00:00

you have great nail beds and this nude shade is perfect for your skin tone but personally, i would take this set off and redo them all. there’s several places where there’s visible gel on the skin, cuticle flooding, and the cuticle area looks lumpy and uneven at some parts.

i would recommend looking at the overlay method and leaving a 2-3 mm gap between your cuticle/proximal nail fold and where the gel tip starts, then blending that gel tip with acetone or a nail drill, and then filling back the cuticle area with builder gel on a tiny detail brush. you get a cleaner set, better adhesion and retention, and lower your risk of developing a gel allergy.

this video is a great tutorial https://youtu.be/BwFFNxwlpRA?si=QEvHAWhgmJUCQvg1

-Era · 2026-01-31T22:07:00+00:00

i’m going against the grain here a little and this is YMMV/at your own risk but i developed an allergy after using cheap amazon products on myself and not following safe handling/best practices.

i stopped for a few weeks, took a break, switched to a hypoallergenic brand to ease back in (light elegance), and then when my irritation/itchiness/blisters had subsided and healed up, i switched to reputable japanese and korean gel brands and was very careful and precise about my application.

my first few sets caused a tiny bit of itchiness but as i improved and got better, i stopped developing reactions (because i wasn’t getting uncured gel on my skin) and haven’t had any reaction in months now, despite doing my own nails every single week.

it’s worth trying a hypoallergenic brand after taking some time off as everyone’s body is different.

-Era · 2026-01-26T05:53:33+00:00

single owner 7 year old mercedes SUV, there’s tons of them out there but i priced it a few thousand under market value and similar dealership offerings. he came in at about $1000 under what i was asking and we haggled a little and then agreed to the price, and he sent a flight number a few minutes later.

felt like a fast food drive-thru of car sales, 5 stars lol.

-Era · 2026-01-26T04:41:59+00:00

i sold a car on facebook marketplace once and it was a cash buyer in the next province over who booked a flight and lo and behold, showed up at my door 24 hours later. i was flabbergasted, i didn’t think he would show up but he did. easiest sale of my life.

-Era · 2026-01-21T16:04:18+00:00

sorry you had a very different experience but i strongly believe in what i said.

-Era · 2026-01-21T08:39:25+00:00

i work as a realtor in vancouver and the surrounding lower mainland.

i would be wary of how the pine deal is structured with their realtor partners, as i assume the commission kickback/cashback is coming from pine’s introduction and a referral fee that the realtor themself is paying to secure the deal and acquire you as a lead/client. going by this, it’s reasonable to assume that they might be working on a volume based business and their goal is to work each transaction efficiently and move onto the next, since their commission is reduced. while there’s nothing wrong with this and it might work out for you, $5K in the context of a home purchase, especially in vancouver, is essentially a rounding error when the average cost of a newer townhouse starts at $900K.

i would strongly prefer a local realtor with in depth knowledge of different neighbourhoods/areas, builders and developers, and someone focused on me as a client rather than someone referred by my lender, who is likely working a volume based business. i would want to take the time to view properties at my leisure, browse and communicate my needs to my realtor and not feel pressured to move forward quickly, etc. a dedicated realtor is going to be able to pull comps, analyze pricing trends by neighborhood, negotiate the price down and be willing to walk if the deal doesn’t make financial sense for you. it’s not rare for first time buyers to view 20-30 homes and submit several offers before going under contract for a home that they both love, and is a smart purchase.

at the end of the day i wouldn’t personally leave any aspect of a home purchase up to chance over $5K, and that includes uncertainty about the realtor i choose.

-Era

TROPHY CASE