In 1962, my family came to North Vancouver and bought a home in Westlynn - for $27,900 !   At that time, telephone numbers had letter-prefixes, "Lynn Valley Centre" had not yet been built, and Cockney Kings Fish & Chips were serving fish & chips wrapped in newspaper at the site of what is now Petro-Canada at Lynn Valley Road & Mountain Highway.

The building of Westlynn Terrace was just underway - 265 homes on 80 acres of land - and described as "creating its own character as a community of large family homes and attractive gardens, with broad, paved, fully serviced streets and an atmosphere of quiet dignity".

Most homes were on  60' x 125' lots, priced between $17,950 to $23,500, and "standard features" were wall to wall carpet, built in oven & range, double carport, shake roof & colored plumbing - !  Bring on the Cerulean Blue, Avocado, and Harvest Gold fixtures!

If you scan the photos attached, you may find a house like the one YOU grew up in - and we'd love to hear your comments on the memories you have from the Lynn Valley & Westlynn of the 1960's !

What does “I’m home” mean to you? Is it family, comfort, style or relaxation? Is it gardening, a favourite room, or cooking dinner? Royal LePage would like to know what you love about the place you call home.   Post a photo of a favourite moment at home HERE to enter the Royal LePage #IMHOME Contest and share it on social media with the hashtag #IMHOME!

Enter to win great prizes!

From June 16, 2015 to October 5, 2015, share your photos and be entered for a chance to win:
• A $2,500 Grand Prize home shopping spree at Hudson’s Bay, Home Depot or Best Buy Canada, awarded at contest end
• A $250 gift card of your choice*, awarded monthly
• A $25 gift card of your choice*, awarded weekly

How to enter the Royal LePage #IMHOME Contest
Entering the contest is as easy as sharing a moment at home of you with your friends and/or family or on your own! Upload up to 5 photos a week. Share the contest for an extra entry. Use the hashtag #IMHOME when sharing on social media.
Full details and contest rules and regulations are available HERE, but keep these guidelines in mind:

• Be in the photo!
• Keep it PG
• Get consent from everyone in the photo
• Exclude brands and logos
• Make sure your photo is in JPG or PNG format and does not exceed 5 MB
• Read and agree to the rules and regulations of the contest

Show us what #IMHOME means to you! Enter today!

You may have asked yourself this question before you begin a renovation project… 

Home owners are investing more money in home renovations than ever before.  Whether a small cosmetic change, or a major professional renovation, many homeowners are investing time and money to make their residences more functional , comfortable, and stylish.

Although considered by many to be an added inconvenience and expense, building permits and building inspectors are actually important safeguards that help ensure you get sound workmanship and good value for your money, plus they addresses safety concerns and add value to the home !

A building permit is issued by the local municipality prior to beginning work and ensures that your project conforms to local building codes and bylaws. Your project will later be inspected by a qualified building inspector who ensures that the project is consistent with the plans submitted for the permit.

All these measures are of benefit to you, your neighbors, and subsequent homeowners.  After all, who wants to find out after you’ve already built a new deck that’s it’s too close to your neighbor’s property, and that they can require you to move it over by three feet? What if this happens after you’ve sold your home? Yikes.

In addition to ensuring that your project used the correct materials and conforms to safety standards, the benefits to you and your family are obvious. If you’re working with a professional contractor, it is their responsibility to obtain the permit prior to commencing your work.  BEWARE the contractors that suggest a permit is not required – especially for electrical, gas, plumbing and structural work !!  If the contractor implies the job will be cheaper without the permit, you should seriously consider another opinion.  Permit costs, as a function of the total price of a renovation are minimal. 

Think of it as an ‘insurance policy’ !  If you are well organized submitting the required information to the municipality, the process is not long.  If you use a contractor to do the work, consider a local contractor with experience dealing with the local municipal authorities.

We check permits for every home we list or sell – and you as a homeowner must disclose whether work was done with or without a permit.  The risk is that the local municipality can require that you undo work done without a permit, whether it appears well done or not !  The prudent way to go?  Obtain permits for work requiring permits.  Not sure what is required ?  Check out the North Shore’s Municipal web sites:

North Vancouver District

North Vancouver City

West Vancouver District

Aaah, taxes. Always more complicated than we think, or would like. Building or buying a home with a laneway house ? Sigh.  Best to check with the professionals (tax accountant, lawyer & Realtor) before you get going.

A laneway house is a small detached residential infill house that typically fronts on the lane of a larger principal house. 

If you own a principal residence and you hire a builder to build a new laneway house, then rent or lease the laneway home to a non-relative, the CRA considers you to be the builder, and to have:

* sold, repurchased, or “self-supplied” the laneway house at its fair market value;
* self-assessed and collected the GST on the sale; and
* paid the GST on the repurchase of the laneway house

This is just once scenario provided by the CRA, and it gets more complex from there. In for some bedtime reading ? You could read the CRA’s, "The HST/HST Implications of the Construction of Secondary Housing Unites (Laneway Housing)".

Did you know?

A laneway home can increase the value of a home. Building a laneway home:
* could affect your eligibility to claim the Home Owner Grant because of the increase in property value beyond the price thresholds; and
* may also result in increased property taxes.
* can affect a your principal residence exemption

It’s important for property owners to understand their options before building a laneway house or buying a property with a laneway house. Get professional advice first !

Have you owned your current home for ten years ?  The North Van benchmark price for detached property has gone from $648,333 to a record high of $1,167,000 in that time period !   WOW that’s 80% in 10 years - CRAZY !!!

Ten years ago a benchmark townhome would have sold for about $425,000; today in North Vancouver, that number is $634,000.   And, while the re-sale apartment market has been slower these past 5 years, if you have held your apartment for ten years or more, you will on average have seen an appreciation of about 45%.  There’s a whole new meaning to, “Time is money”.

Real Estate is a hot topic today, and has been, especially in the Lower Mainland, for quite a while.  It really has always been an excellent, LONG TERM investment.  Don’t worry so much about the media stories of “bubble”, “affordability”, and “crash”.  You have to live somewhere – even if it means starting out with a small space and a room mate.  Invest in your future – invest for the long term.

And to those who only hear how much it costs to own a typical home on the West Side of Vancouver (now at about $2.5 Million) it may interest you to know that the MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $684,400. This represents only a 9.4 per cent increase compared to May 2014.

As always, we are here to help you navigate the process of Buying, Selling, and Owning.  On our team, we have over 60 years’ combined experience in the industry, and we are here to help!

Walter Mackay Langdale Draycott was a Lynn Valley Pioneer, and lived to the ripe old age of 102.    Thirty years after his passing,  Milori Homes’ newest project is a testament to Walter.

“Walters Place” -  by Milori Homes is tucked away on a private cul de sac on Draycott Road, the former home for many years of Irly Bird Building Centre.

There are 35 two and three bedroom homes here in this 5 storey wood frame building, four of which Top Floor, Penthouse suites with extra large terrace style decks.

Today, we had a chance to preview the Sales Centre and 2 bedroom display suite.  Many thanks to Gail who took us around and made sure we knew everything we needed to know!   The homes here are a nice mix of contemporary, urban & West Coast design.

The two available color schemes are timeless and neutral, and appear to have high quality finishes.  Small details are attended to - the closets come with organizers, all the appliances are included, and the storage lockers are private & secure.  Of course, the display suite is decorated beautifully – and there even the “vistas” from this building are painted on the windows so you can imagine what sitting on your deck might be like here.

Steps to shopping ,trails, transit & Lynn Canyon – an awesome location, and a great, ‘boutique’ development.

This will be a lovely addition to the Lynn Valley core, and in our opinion, represent great value for new construction.  Contact us for more details & pricing!

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Want to learn more about Walter? http://greatwarchronicle.ca/about-us/life-of-walter-draycott/

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