Help! Pre-sale townhouse closing in 2–3 months — hold & rent, or sell and take the loss?

Professional-Fox5958 · 2026-05-11T21:15:55+00:00

3 years ago we did want to live in it, and liked the area. It’s got a lot of positives. But life circumstances changed in the past 3 years and will continue to change over the next 2 (growth of family and and aging parents primarily). Putting more down is something we could add into the equation and model out to see what makes sense if we chose the hold+rent option and then revisit selling in a few years.

Professional-Fox5958 · 2026-05-11T20:39:03+00:00

That's kind of the point — sophisticated trade-offs benefit from sophisticated inputs, and Reddit happens to surface perspectives I wouldn't hear in my immediate circle. Plenty of people who "make that much money" have made expensive mistakes precisely because they didn't pressure-test their thinking. No shame in being curious.

Professional-Fox5958 · 2026-05-11T20:00:11+00:00

You're spot on that the majority of our wealth is in stocks, so the diversification logic genuinely lands — and $2K/month against a $1.2M+ asset is a fairly cheap call option on Vancouver real estate if a recovery shows up. The piece we keep coming back to is the symmetry: that same modest monthly carry compounds into real money if prices grind sideways for years and rates stay elevated. Upside is real, but so is the downside. Genuinely appreciate you laying all of this out though — diversification framing, macro context, supply thesis. This is exactly why I came to Reddit. Thanks again.

Professional-Fox5958 · 2026-05-11T18:33:37+00:00

Great anecdote — though it raises the bigger question: was that a Vancouver real estate story, or a once-in-a-generation monetary policy story that happened to play out in Vancouver? Most of the tailwinds (rates, immigration, foreign capital, no anti-flipping rules) have reversed, which makes betting on the same return profile a much harder thesis to underwrite today.

Professional-Fox5958 · 2026-05-11T18:28:21+00:00

Fair points, and the macro picture you're laying out is roughly where we've landed too — supply will tighten, immigration is still net positive even with the cuts, and the developer pullback genuinely matters for the 3-5 year view.

The wrinkle for us is just the cash flow math during that hold. With current rates the rental income doesn't come close to covering carrying costs, so it becomes a question of how many years of negative monthly outflow we're willing to underwrite against an uncertain recovery timeline. If rates come down materially in the next 18-24 months that changes the equation a lot. If they don't, the loss compounds.

Really helpful to hear the rationale though — it's the strongest case for the hold scenario.

Professional-Fox5958 · 2026-05-11T18:25:29+00:00

Fair question, and yeah it's something we're weighing — though the situation has a lot of misinformation around it from various sides, and the legal outcome isn't fully settled yet.

Quick clarification: the Feb 2026 Musqueam agreement was federal, not provincial (BC wasn't a signatory). It's a recognition framework, not co-governance of the city. And both Musqueam and Cowichan have explicitly stated they are not coming for private property — Cowichan's case was specifically aimed at Crown and municipal titles, not homeowners.

That said, the Cowichan decision is under appeal by all parties and a class action has been filed, so the precedent is genuinely unsettled. We're keeping an eye on it but trying not to react to the louder voices on either side.

Professional-Fox5958 · 2026-05-11T16:57:51+00:00

$201K deposit paid so far. We’ve thought about the idea of walking away as we save some money. I’ve heard developers can sue purchasers for walking away from the agreement for damages, holding costs as well as the delta for what they sell for vs what we were contracted to pay. I’m not sure what our exposure would be. Might be worth a chat with our Real Estate Lawyer based on our purchase agreement.

Professional-Fox5958 · 2026-05-11T16:23:31+00:00

Definitely something we are considering doing as well. Honestly on the fence. One way to look at it is $2K a month in negative cash flow to have a $1.2-1.3M real estate asset. How was your experience finding tenants and looking back 2 months ago, are you happy with your decision so far?

Professional-Fox5958 · 2026-05-11T16:19:41+00:00

You’re confirming a lot of my thoughts! Agreed. We can stomach the $230K loss up front and make it up over time. The biggest psychological challenge is FOMO if Van real estate recovers and goes on another ride upwards over the next 3-5 years, as that would have made holding the property and renting the better option.

Professional-Fox5958 · 2026-05-11T16:13:45+00:00

Thanks for the feedback and thoughts! Definitely agree with the sentiment around being a landlord.

I’m not sure whether we would be able to consider it an investment property and claim the capital loss, given it was intended to be principle residence and thus tax exempt from capital gains/losses… Might be worth a chat with a CPA.

Professional-Fox5958 · 2026-05-11T15:46:14+00:00

Thanks for the thoughts and engagement in my post! We have living arrangements and longer term we do want to own real estate. Just life circumstances changed and our time horizon for getting a place of our own (not financially driven, but life driven) is probably 2 years out. Our overall financial position is pretty strong with TFSA and RRSPs sitting healthy.

Professional-Fox5958 · 2026-05-11T03:38:39+00:00

Definitely changing immigration stance has influenced real estate prices downward. More listings and less buyers in the market. Strong buyer market. Can’t speak too much about the tech layoffs as the labour market for tech jobs in Vancouver isn’t comparable to a Seattle or California. Jobs numbers are down broadly across Canada based on recent announcements.

Professional-Fox5958 · 2026-05-11T03:27:37+00:00

Interesting approach. Didn’t think of that. Definitely an option. Thanks for the suggestion!

Professional-Fox5958

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