Blog by Betsy Carstairs

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Closing costs

Reminder: Additional Property Transfer Tax

Out of area buyers need to seek independent professional advice to determine if their trade in real estate will be subject to the Additional Property Transfer Tax.

A 15 per cent tax that foreign entities or taxable trustees pay in addition to the general property transfer tax on transfers of residential property in the Greater Vancouver Regional District, the  Additional Property Transfer Tax has now been in effect for more than a year.

Of note this update was  taken from the real estate board of Vancouver's news letter & I thought it important to remind out of area buyers that this will be a additional cost on closing. A extra 15% could be a deal breaker if the buyer did not calculate this into the total costs to purchase & surprises like this could wreck havoc at the last minute of a deal closing. A situation like this happened to me last year & it was very stressful for everyone. Buying & selling has become so much more complicated than when I 1st started selling in the 80's & it is ever so important today to connect with a proactive realtor who alligns with a legal team to avoid last minute hiccups.