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Triple Crown > Articles by: Mathieu Powell

Author: Mathieu Powell

Man on Golf Course - Outdoor Activities in Langford BC

Outdoor Activities in Langford

Outdoor Activities in Langford BC

If you purchased a condominium in Triple Crown’s Resident 3 or 4, once you move in, you’ll soon be able to enjoy a wide variety of outdoor activities in Langford!

Golfing

Vancouver Island draw golfers from around the world and is also the gateway to the Vancouver Island Golf Trail consisting of fourteen scenic and challenging courses through a 250-kilometre-long network. For both beginners and experts, Victoria offers golf experiences with some of the best vistas on earth. If you’re a golf enthusiast soon to be living at Triple Crown, you’re practically surrounded by excellent golf clubs! Here’s how long it takes to get to four of the closest courses:

Bear Mountain – 9 minutes away – is a 36-hole premier course of Jack Nicklaus design. It’s a huge, idyllic course with plenty of other amenities. You can spend days here and never run out of things to do.

Royal Colwood – 8 minutes away – is a private club built in 1913. It is a traditional style parklands championship course set amongst 450-year-old douglas firs and majestic garry oaks.

Highland Pacific – 10 minutes away – is a family run, 9-hole course plus driving range. It’s dubbed as “Victoria’s Friendliest Public Golf Course”.

Olympic View – 14 minutes away – is an 18-hole course which was rated ‘Top 10 Best’ in BC by Score Golf Magazine. You’ll enjoy excellent views of the Olympic Mountains while you play.

Juan de Fuca – 15 minutes – is a 9-hole course is an excellent course for beginner golfers to sharpen your short game, or a great place to take your family.

Hiking

Vancouver Island has some of the most beautiful and iconic trails in the world. All told, Greater Victoria has 16 scenic trails to choose from, and the best of them intersect close to your new home.

For instance, Mount Finlayson Trailhead is 8 minutes away. The mountain is an excellent journey for experienced hikers.

There are plenty of parks and green spaces nearby as well. Goldstream Provincial Park & Mill Hill Regional Park are both 7 minutes away. Goldstream attracts people from all around (and eagles and bears) during the salmon spawning season. Mill Hill is a perfect hike and picnic for families looking for panoramic views.

Mount Wells Regional Park and Sooke Hills Wilderness Regional Park are a 10- and 13-minute drive. Mount Wells is a mall regional park at Humpback Lake with second growth forest and excellent views. Like Finlayson, it’s suitable for experienced hikers. The Sooke Hills Wilderness Trail is excellent for hiking, biking, and horseback riding.

Water Activities

Love water activities? It’s all here, from scuba diving to kayaking, swimming to fishing, with lakes and ocean beaches just a short drive away.

Florence Lake, Langford Lake, and Thetis Lake are all within a five-minute drive. If you’re looking for ocean beaches, Esquimalt Lagoon and Witty’s Lagoon are about 20 minutes away. There are plenty of places you can rent water equipment such as West Shore Rowing and Paddling Centre. One of the more unusual rentals includes Hot Tub Boat Victoria which allows you to explore the Gorge waterway in a hot tub. Okay, maybe that’s not a water sport, but it’s sure fun!

Triple Crown Community has the keys to easy access for fun and affordable outdoor lifestyle.

Couple Kayaking - Outdoor Activities in Langford BC
in Condominium Lifestyle Posted by Mathieu Powell
Three Post Secondary School Langford Students

New Post Secondary School in Langford BC

The recent announcement of a new, collaborative, post secondary school campus is welcome news to families in Langford.

The campus is slated to be built on the corner of Goldstream Avenue and Peatt Road as a collaboration between RRU, the University of Victoria, Camosun College, and the Justice Institute of British Columbia.

The campus will cost $98 million. The City of Langford is planning to spend an additional $27.5 million to upgrade road infrastructure in the area.

Post-Secondary-School-Langford-Rendering

With more young adults staying home longer along with their reluctance to commute over long distances, an investment into a local post-secondary campus is not just a good idea, but an essential requirement for the entire West Shore community.

More 18 – 29-year-old children are living at home with their parents than at any time since the Great Depression – a rising trend since 1960 due to affordability according to a 2020 Pew Research Center’s analysis of decennial census. Moving out of your family’s home at 18 may still be a reality for some Canadians, but it isn’t for many. Some stay at home for cultural reasons, and others stay for financial reasons.

With more kids living at home with their parents, more want to attend local post-secondary schools. For West Shore residence, this currently means long commutes.

“As a high school student in Langford, we’re faced with quite a long commute if we want to go to school at UVic or at Camosun, and that can really affect our decision with what school we go to,” said Connor Hogan, a Belmont High school student looking at his post-secondary options.

“When this new campus opens up, it will definitely help open some doors for us to study where we are, close to home.”

The province tracks West Shore’s direct-to-post-secondary transition rates, and West Shore’s stats of 38 per cent are considerably lower than the provincial average of 51 per cent.

This is a statistic the province, local post-secondary schools and the City of Langford intend to address with the new campus which will provide excellent educational options for students in Sooke, Langford, Colwood, View Royal, Metchosin and Highlands, and for southern Vancouver Island First Nations students.

“Providing post-secondary opportunity for Langford youth has been a top priority for council for many years,” stated Stew Young, mayor of the City of Langford in an interview with Business Examiner.

“This unique partnership will serve residents across the entire Westshore, remove barriers to access and provide pathways to higher learning for all.”

The goal for the new campus is to open the campus to 600 students by fall 2024 and reach full capacity of 1,300 students by 2035-36.

The Westshore is one of the fastest growing regions in Canada, with a population growth of nearly 50 per cent between 2001 and 2016, the West Shore is one of the fastest growing regions in Canada.

With that kind of growth, families are looking for places to live here. Contact Todd Mahovlich or Justine Connor if that’s you.

in real estate investment Posted by Mathieu Powell
Langford BC Goldstream Village

Langford is BC’s Darling Municipality

Langford has caught the attention of real estate pundits and reviews extolling the municipality. Once known as Victoria’s rural outback “Dogpatch”, the city is now one of Canada’s fastest growing municipalities, growing to over 46,000 people – a 30 per cent increase since 2016.

Maclean’s magazine ranked Langford as best community in B.C. and 18th best in Canada. Toronto-based insurance website RATESDOTCA ranked Langford the “most livable” place in the country out of over 150 communities. B.C. Business Magazine rated Langford as “Most Resilient City” and “Best Place to Work” two years in a row, stating Langford has a “unique and growing array of business services and amenities, including a dynamic restaurant scene.”

The once quiet city has grown tremendously under the stewardship of Mayor Stu Young, who, along with a pro-business Council, rolled up their sleeves over the last twenty years to build sewers and streetlights, parks, and recreational facilities. They wooed big box stores like Costco while also supporting local business initiatives. They facilitated family focused amenities. Their hard work paid off. Families are flocking to the small city, creating demand for not only housing, but also an elementary and middle school which are scheduled to open this fall. As well, the provincial government has promised a future secondary school on a site near Triple Crown and Costco.

Housing Demand is Growing

To meet steadily growing demand for housing, the Mayor and Council are working to revitalize its downtown core with high-rise towers, parks and perhaps even a university in the future.

Langford’s Official Community Plan, Policy 1.5.1, states that “Over time, the entire City Centre is expected to transform to higher-density forms of development, with the highest density being situated in closest proximity to the principal transportation corridors: Goldstream Avenue and the E&N Rail Corridor.”

“There’s no endless supply of land,” says Mayor Stu Young. “For a community our size, we build a lot of homes for families and that’s how Langford was built. Now we have the economy here, we have jobs, you can raise a family here. … We want to see more (affordable) condos being built. The only way you can make affordable condos is to [build] higher.”

The Attraction of Langford

This is a beautiful place to live, and when it comes to natural settings Langford has plenty to boast about in her trails, lakes, and vistas. Hikers, cyclists, and horseback riders enjoy the 55-kilometre Galloping Goose Trail, once a picturesque railway line, which connects Victoria and Sooke through Langford. Visitors flock to Goldstream Provincial Park around this time of year to see the salmon run in Goldstream River, along with feasting bald eagles. The popular provincial campground and trails are excellent for hiking, and Mt. Finlayson offers scenic views looking south towards Langford.

The city’s objectives include developing more networks of parks and open spaces to support biodiversity and recreational uses. Policy 4.0 entitled “Our Natural Settings, Parks & Open Spaces” states the following:

“…Breathtaking natural setting is also defined by the sea, mountains, lakes, creeks, streams, and community parks. The amount, proximity and quality of these places reinforce a unique identity and sense of place. Continued access to these places is a significant aspect of the livability in the region and a top priority of residents.”

Langford continues to draw families and business into its thriving economy as the world recognizes the municipality as a desirable place to live for the natural beauty, amenities, and relatively affordable housing.

in Interviews, Uncategorized Posted by Mathieu Powell
Mother with sleeping baby needs a quiet condominium

How Quiet is My Condominium?

“What about the noise?”

We hear this question time and again as a concern our customers have when they are considering a condo purchase.

“I like the idea of the condo lifestyle,” a customer told us. “I’m just not excited about hearing my noisy neighbours on all sides. I like a quiet space.”

We get it. We feel the same way.

“Did you know there have been recent changes to the National Building Code (NBC) to reduce noise transmission” we asked?

In 2015, the NBC, which is Canada’s building code that sets technical provisions for the construction of buildings, was updated to change how builders and architects design for acoustics to ensure you have quieter neighbours.

What is required and how they measure it needs a little explaining.

The measure of how much material can reduce noise transmission is called the Sound Transmission Class (STC). The higher the STC number, the less sound transmitted. The NBC now requires an STC rating of 50. For our technically inclined readers, this number is calculated by taking the Transmission Loss (TL) values at 16 standard frequencies over the range of 125 Hz to 4000 Hz and plotting the results on a graph. The TL is simply the difference between decibels in the area from which noise originates and another area the sound travels to. For example, let’s say your neighbours are having a party and they are creating a 90dB tone. That’s quite loud – about as loud as a large truck driving by. When we measure for the same tone on your side, we find it has been reduced to 40 dB – the sound level of a quiet home. That is a 50 dB Transmission Loss. 50 dB less sound energy made it through the wall to the other side for the single tone we measured.

But high STC ratings alone do not always guarantee a quiet condo. That’s because sound does not only travel through the air from one room to another. It also travels through the walls, floor and ceiling. This is called “flanking” noise and it isn’t considered in the STC. Fortunately, the NBC required a new rating called Apparent Sound Transmission Class (ASTC) – a much more realistic measure of the actual sound level transmitted between units because it includes noise transmitted through wall, ceiling and floor junctions. In addition to an STC rating of 50, adjacent units in a building must be separated by a wall, floor or ceiling partition with an ASTC rating of at least 47.

We don’t promise your condo will be as quiet as a vault. That’s unrealistic. An especially loud neighbor or an open patio door will still transmit some sound, but isn’t it nice to know you won’t be forced to live through the everyday activities of daily living next door?

Our Triple Crown builders are committed to making sure you can live in relative peace and quiet. It’s one more way we’re helping to ensure you have an amenable relationship with your neighbours!

Todd and Justine

in Condominium Lifestyle Posted by Mathieu Powell
Lifestyle and Amenities - Kids in a Kayak

Amenities and Lifestyle at Triple Crown Community

Amenities Close at Hand Means Great Lifestyle!

If you are a future homeowner in Triple Crown’s Resident 3 and 4, you can look forward to excellent amenities and lifestyle with so many activities close at hand. To give you a taste, we’ve listed beaches and lakes for water activities, golf courses, hiking trails and a couple special venues for the whole family.

Water Activities

Do you enjoy water activities? It’s hard not to be as we live on an island! It’s all here, from scuba diving to kayaking, swimming to fishing, and you have lakes and ocean beaches just a short drive away:

• Florence Lake – 2 minutes
• Langford Lake – 5 minutes
• Thetis Lake – 7 minutes
• Glen Lake – 12 minutes
• Lookout Lake – 16 minutes
• Esquimalt Lagoon – 22 minutes
• Witty’s Lagoon – 28 minutes

Golfing

Vancouver Island draw golfers from around the world and is also the gateway to the Vancouver Island Golf Trail consisting of fourteen scenic and challenging courses through a 250-kilometre-long network. For both beginners and experts, Victoria offers golf experiences with some of the best vistas on earth. If you’re a golf enthusiast soon to be living at Triple Crown, you’re practically surrounded by excellent golf clubs! Here’s how long it takes to get to four of the closest courses:

• Bear Mountain Golf Club – 9 minutes
• Royal Colwood Golf Club – 8 minutes
• Olympic View Golf Club- 14 minutes
• Juan de Fuca Golf Course – 15 minutes

Hiking

Vancouver Island has some of the most beautiful and iconic trails in the world. Hiking enthusiasts will find the following trails nearby:

• Mount Finlayson Trailhead – 8 minutes
• Goldstream Provincial Park – 7 minutes
• Mill Hill Regional Park – 7 minutes
• Sooke Hills Wilderness Regional Park – 13 minutes
• Mount Wells Regional Park – 10 minutes

Family Fun

Looking for something more unique for your family? The recently opened Malahat Skywalk and the Boulder House Climbing are well worth checking out.

The Skywalk takes you through an arbutus forest and onto a spiral ramp that towers above the Finlayson Arm. Once you’re done taking in the spectacular view, you can zip down the 20 metre spiral slide. You AND your kids will want to go again!

Boulder House is not just for hardcore climbers. It has 6000 sq. ft. dedicated to kids, and they take pride in turning a passing interest in climbing into an obsession. Get ready to be inspired.

Excellent lifestyle means easy access to living, working, and playing in your city. Langford and the Triple Crown Community do it well.

in Condominium Lifestyle Posted by Mathieu Powell
Group of Millennials

Six Compelling Reasons for Millennials to Choose Condo Living

A great location in Langford

Condos get built in popular areas, and Triple Crown is no exception. Entertainment, restaurants, and shopping are all close by in the vibrant city of Langford BC. If the great outdoors is more your style, lakes, biking paths and golf courses are all around you. Triple Crown is close to town on the edge of nature.

Condos Are More Secure than Houses

You don’t have to worry about installing alarm systems or video cameras. A two-key system – one for the front door and one for your unit makes the possibility of robbery slim to none. And your neighbours are a built-in block watch! It’s really hard for a thief to operate in a condominium without being seen. The added security will give you peace of mind.

Condos Provide Maintenance Free Lifestyle

Condominium lifestyle a maintenance-free lifestyle. That means you have more time to do what you enjoy doing. Who wants to be mowing the lawn when you could be on an outdoor adventure or entertaining friends? Time-consuming tasks like cutting the lawn and cleaning the gutters just don’t exist when you live in a condominium. Instead, you contribute to a monthly fee that takes care of building maintenance and repairs.

That also means the big repairs will cost you less because everyone contributes to a contingency (reserve) fund which takes care of future costs like roof repairs or window replacements. Many years from now when the roof must be replaced, the financial impact on your lifestyle will be far less than the 10+ thousand it would take to replace the roof of a house.

Living in a Condo Gives You More Freedom and Money to Travel

When you want to travel, you don’t have to make your plans around house maintenance considerations. Someone else is doing it for you. All you need to do is ask one of your trustworthy neighbours to water your plants while you are gone, then you can come and go as you please. Many a house owner has sadly had to forgo their adventure to take care of a house maintenance cost!

Condos Provide the Best Amenities Already Built In

All Triple Crown’s condominiums provide you with brand new, high quality appliances like modern kitchens with gas range cooking, a water and ice refrigerator, quiet close cupboards, dishwasher and in-suite washer and dryer. Your condo home will also feature quality cabinetry, quartz countertops, luxurious carpets, and Euro hardwood floors. Round that out with large decks, community gym and rooftop terrace and you have clean sleek, quality living at its best. Check out all the features.

Condos at the Triple Crown Community

Joining a condominium equals instant community! The condo lifestyle at Triple Crown offers residents a vibrant Langford lifestyle and neighbours from all walks of life from millennial to retirees. When you live among like-minded people, the potential to develop a friendly, close-knit community is greater.

Living in a Triple Crown Community condo in Langford provides Millennials with a lifestyle of convenience, freedom, and enjoyment than a house just can’t provide.

Explore the lifestyle condominium living affords. Contact us to book your private meeting with our Sales Team in our show suite.

in Condominium Lifestyle Posted by Mathieu Powell
RBC Plaza

RBC’s Preferred Builder Program

Why RBC’s Preferred Builder Program for Presell Units Provides Peace of Mind

RBC has provided a very notable program for clients who are purchasing pre-build condominiums, including our Triple Crown Community project. It is called the RBC’s Preferred Builder Program – in essence a long-term financing package for presell units.

With more than 25 per cent of sales is coming from new construction, it is a market RBC has been serving well for over a decade, though few are aware of the program or how it works.

The package offers long-term financing packages for presales. And if you’re considering a pre-build condominium purchase, this program offers key advantages and protections.

First, RBC will approve you up-front with no conditions.

What does this mean?

It means you will not be asked to reapply with the approach of the closing date. You don’t have to requalify 30 days before approval. You’re insulated and protected from banking changes, government regulations, or changes in your own life situation; you are approved based on your situation right now.

RBC Knows Life Happens

Your application approval is based on what is happening now. If 30 days before closing, you end up losing your job or you become disabled, or you break up with your spouse, you don’t have to worry. You could have purchased an F150 along with a $500 per month payment towards the truck. It doesn’t matter. You’ve already been approved.

RBC also offers long-term close rates that are protected until the completion of the unit. They give a slightly discounted rate based on today’s rates, and they will honour it for two to three years out. They will hold the rate. And, 120 days before the closing date, if rates are better, if rates have gone down, they will provide the better rate, without having to requalify you.

That’s real peace of mind.

Another important fact about the Preferred Builder Program is the appraisal. RBC often appoints an appraiser to a building who will evaluate all the units and get to know the building inside and out to ensure accurate pricing in the current market.

What happens if the market changes?

Fast forward two years from now, if the market actually dips down a bit, you do not have to worry about making up the difference between the purchase price that they paid and potentially the new appraisal that is lower.

Most banks lend based on whatever is lower; the actual purchase price or the appraised value. If you are not dealing with the Royal Bank’s special financing package where the evaluation is completed in advance, and the prebuild is reappraised two years later and it’s lower, the client has to make up the difference between the purchase price and the actual appraisal, and that will be above and beyond the actual down payment they planned on putting down.

But how does RBC appraise a property that hasn’t been built yet?

Their assigned appraiser visits the location, looks at surrounding amenities, look at plans for the current units (all which have risen in value), talks to the builder and discuss the quality of finishing to find out if they are building in quartz counter tops, hardwood floors, high end appliances (hint: we are) and comes up with an up-front value.

Yes, but do I pay a higher interest rate?

RBC’s interest rate on a four-year fixed, to hold it for two years, is higher than today’s rate. However, the Bank of Canada is extremely interested in raising rates. In two years, if the four-year rate climbs higher than RBC’s four-year fixed rate, you will be thanking your lucky stars that you locked in. Conversely, if in two years, the four-year fixed rate is lower at 120 days before closing, RBC will offer you the lower rate and reset the commitment start date.

RBC’s Preferred Builder Program is a Win/Win.

Why isn’t everyone using this pre-build package? Because not a lot of people know about it. Do your research and consider locking in with this program. You will certainly sleep better for the two years that it takes to build!

Another benefit: RBC offers free mortgage insurance. For example, if a couple are purchasing a unit together, we can offer free life and disability insurance. If one person passes away, and even if the condominium has not been built to completion and has not been funded, the survivor will have a free and clear home. It costs $0 for the duration of the build, and there are zero payments. Mortgage insurance is free and can be cancelled at any time. (But why would you?)

You can also include critical illness, if you are diagnosed with one of the big three: heart attack, stroke, or cancer. If diagnosed, you receive a $300,000 lump sum towards your mortgage. That’s just a diagnosis, you don’t have to be terminal to receive the payout. And this insurance is also… you guessed it…Free.

RBC really takes care of their client and provides real peace of mind in presale.

We do not receive any benefit from sharing this information with you, except that we can help our clients make more informed financial decisions.

To your health and wealth!

Todd Mahovlich and Justine Connor

in Financial Strategies Posted by Mathieu Powell
David Echaiz-McGrath WA Principal - excellent condo building design for Triple Crown Communities Principal

Designing Excellence: WA Architect David Echaiz-McGrath

Excellent condo building design starts with an excellent team of architects, and our team is WA Architects Ltd. serving Vancouver and Victoria. Their tag line ”Architecture Made Personal” encompasses their vision of fostering good relationships as a foundation of great design.

“We make a great impression. And so do our buildings.”

David Echaiz-McGrath is one of the four Principals of WA. Better residential architecture is his journey and his obsession, which started with Environmental Design from University of Manitoba, then Architecture from Carlton University. He moved around a lot in his early days as an architect; Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary then down to San Francisco during the dot-com boom.

How and when did you join WA?

“I went looking for a good firm where I could influence and make an impact in design,” says David. “After I moved back to Canada, I found WA, staked my claim in the office and learned a great deal from Neil Banich, our Design Director. I’ve been with them for over 15 years now.”

When he joined WA, the company’s primary focus at the time was shopping malls and commercial real estate. Less than five percent of their portfolio was residential.

“The experience and contacts I brought in helped us to refocus on residential,” he says, and he went to work building up their mixed-use commercial and residential portfolio.

He also brought innovative technological improvements, such as setting up a hub intranet for WA. “Kind of like an Instagram for architects and technologists,” laughs David.

Eventually, the went through a full rebranding, which included a review of their guiding principals and their evolving company identity. They became WA – an acknowledgement of their predecessor, Jim Wensley. They set out to design communities, not just buildings, and they established a strong and healthy company culture.

“We play hard, but we also work hard. That’s our office culture. We need to know people fit in the office, but they also need to have a life and outside interests to sustain them.”

How Did WA get involved with Triple Crown?

Wensley Architecture Ltd. has worked with Cliff Curtis and Stu Gordon for years. We’ve built a strong working relationship but also have become friends. Cliff and Stu’s business venture with Kent Sheldrake and Kevin Parker provided the opportunity for us to work with these gents. We found out quickly that their development/design process worked well with ours. It’s been a fortunate and rewarding relationship.

David and WA (Neil Banich was very much involved in the initial design) enjoyed the collaborative process of designing Triple Crown Community. “I appreciate their openness to discussion about the criteria. They had a vision, but it was a collaboration and discussion. They respect design. They knew how important it was for their final product.”

“They are businessmen for sure. They know what they want to do, they know how to approach it, and they let us do what we do; what we are specialized in.”

“It’s great to have clients that buy into designing a community. They don’t just gloss over the planning process to get to the work. They were totally into planning.”

“And they are fun guys to socialize with,” laughs David.

How do you approach design?

“We stay curious, and we respect what people have to say. A lot of our staff are into sustainability and into the wellness buildings. We like to design it in a way that will encourage happenstance meetings. Security is more than lock and key. It has to do with knowing your neighbours and knowing your surroundings.”

Is there a way to design a condo building so it feels more secure and friendly?

“Absolutely. Especially when you’re introducing things like common courtyards and outdoor seating spaces, a fitness studio, or a multi-purpose room. Things like this where people will have to bump into each other, working out, walking their dog. That means more eyes on the plaza and more people you know.”

“How a community is organized and how tenants inhabit a space are important considerations for a real community. We work to implement community mindedness from the beginning along with more pragmatic issues such as FSR setbacks and building height. They are all important aspect of our profession.”

What do you like most about Triple Crown’s design?

“The modern ascetic,” says David.

“Another reason I like Triple Crown so much is because it is a community within a community. I’m always assessing buildings as I drive by. A lot of times, I’ll say ‘wow, that’s beautiful’, but then I find out it’s just a residential building and there is nothing else to it. I think that’s a bit of a miss when it comes to developments.”

“Triple Crown Community has everything to offer: Fitness centers, mixed use rooms, commercial and retail spaces. It’s not just a condo building. It has much more to it.”

Learn more about Triple Crown by contacting Todd Mahovlich or Justine Connor.

in Condo Building Design, Interviews Posted by Mathieu Powell
Millennial couple searching for home

First Time Home Buyers Thinking Like Investors

First Time Home Buyers Thinking Like Investors

FIrst time home buyer questions we hear often include, “Is it a good idea to get help from family?” According to a survey conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights for the Bank of Montreal (BMO), the answer is “yes’. Their survey revealed 56 per cent of first-time homebuyers in Canada will rely on family for financial assistance to purchase their home.

New buyers in the provinces of British Columbia and Ontario are most likely to look to family for help – 59 and 58 per cent respectively. That makes sense considering the cities with most expensive housing markets in Canada are Vancouver, British Columbia and Toronto, Ontario.

Millennials (24-39 years old) are more likely to seek help than Gen Xers (40-55 years old), according to the survey. (Millennials have obviously had less time to save for a down payment). Of those seeking assistance, one-quarter are looking for between $10,000 and $50,000. Millennials are seeking $100,000 or more. The average ask was just over $45,000.

Before you borrow from a parent, consider the fact that many report they are not comfortable with their retirement savings and haven’t been able to save enough as a result of supporting their adult children financially. If you ask them, they are likely to say “yes” for emotional reasons. Make sure they can afford it unless you want to support them in retirement!

Even with the help from family, affordability is a challenge with Canadian banks requiring mortgage holders spend no more than 30 per cent of their monthly income on housing. With the prices of single detached home rising out of reach, first time buyers are stepping into the real estate market with condominiums.

The First-Time Home Buyer Incentive is useful for some, though its benefits are limited. The maximum amount the program allows borrows is four times their qualifying income if household income is less than $120,000 per year. That means the maximum amount of a mortgage may be and still be eligible for the incentive is $480,000. That significantly limits the kind of housing first time buyers can purchase in Canada’s more expensive real estate markets.

Savvy millennials are thinking like investors. A pre-construction condominium purchase is becoming more popular among this generation because it allows them to invest in housing now and save money towards the building completion and the closing date.

A five percent deposit to hold the property sale gives Millennials more time to save more towards the down payment. Read our article on RBC’s Preferred Builder Program for more ideas on how to finance your purchase

Note: The First-Time Home Buyers Survey was conducted via an online survey between August 25 and August 31, 2020, with an online sample of 801 adult Canadians. The margin of error for a probability sample size of 801 ± 3.5% is 19 times out of 20.

Reference:

https://newsroom.bmo.com/2020-10-22-BMO-Housing-Survey-COVID-Has-First-Time-Homebuyers-Leaning-Towards-Fixed-Rate-Mortgages-and-Many-Will-Look-to-Family-for-Financial-Help

https://www.ratehub.ca/blog/first-time-home-buyer-incentive

in Financial Strategies Posted by Mathieu Powell
Interview symbol over Triple Crown Community

Interview with Sarah Houston – Caesarstone® Accounts Manager

Caesarstone Quartz Countertops style 6041 Nordic Loft and Style 2141 Blizzard

The Best Countertops in the Industry

Caesarstone®  quartz countertops and surface products are highly regarded in the construction industry, which is why Triple Crown’s builders and designers ordered their top-rated quartz countertops for installation into Residence III and Residence IV.

Actually, it was Caesarstone® which invented and pioneered quartz surfaces on their mission to bring the beauty of earth’s raw minerals into their customer’s homes.

“Hands down, we are definitely the best quartz out there,” says Sarah Houston, Account Manager for Vancouver Island. “Our branded quartz surfaces are 93 per cent quartz content, which is really important, especially for developers and builders who are making these selections.”

The reason they use quartz is because it is one of the strongest minerals in the word. The quartz in Caesarstone’s engineered stone countertops provides advantages that are unattainable in marble, granite, or other natural stones.

“When you have a high quartz content, it’s more durable and it will last a long time. You’re not going to ever need to dispose of your countertops. These are meant to last a lifetime,” says Houston.

Caesarstone® provides a lifetime warranty on their quartz countertops. Even better, their warranty is transferable. If the first owner sells their condo, Caesarstone® will warranty their product for the next condominium owner.

“We stand behind our product.”

Sarah Houston’s Story

Indeed, it was Caesarstone’s commitment to their product which attracted Sarah to the company in the first place. “I joined Caesarstone® about two years as their account manager,” says Houston. “I came from the cabinet industry, and I wanted to join forces with a company that was well recognized and stood behind their product. That was really important to me.”

She started her new career in Alberta, then moved over to BC because (construction on) the Coast was booming. “My boss said we really needed someone to cover Vancouver Island, and I’m like, ‘send me over there!’”

Sarah and her family moved to Victoria, and they have been here for a year now. She admits she loves living here. “I’m originally from Ontario. I tell you; I’ll never move back to Ontario OR Alberta. This is the good life! It’s fantastic.”

As V.I.’s Accounts Manager, she spends much of her time with developers and builders to see if she can assist with projects they are working on. The other half her time is spent visiting architects and designers in the kitchen and bath industry. She serves the distribution channels to ensure they have all their products stocked in their libraries.

Additional Advantages of Caesarstone® Quartz Countertops

Beside a lifetime warranty on the countertops, when you purchase a condo in Residence III and IV, you can expect your countertops will be non-porous and very low maintenance.

“You need only use soap and water. It’s that simple,” says Sarah. “There’s no need for anything else. You never need to seal your counters like you would if they were natural stone. Our quartz counters are heat resistant, crack resistant, easy to maintain and very, very durable.”

The design for Residence III and Residence IV condos includes 3cm Quartz Caesarstone Nordic Loft, 6041 countertops for kitchens and main bathrooms, along with White 2141 countertops for Ensuite bathrooms. To see more details about the floorplans, click here. Our downloadable brochure has even more details.

Want to find Caesarstone® products?

Greater Victoria BC suppliers include Colonial Countertops, which supplied the Caesarstone® countertops, South Shore Cabinetry Ltd. located in the Triple Crown Community, along with, Stone Age Marble Ltd. and Abstract Stone.

Or contact Sarah Houston, Caesarstone Accounts Manager for Vancouver Island, you can reach her on her main line at 778-834-2929, or 604-638-1485, or email her at shouston@caesarstone.ca |www.caesarstone.ca

in Condominium Lifestyle, Interviews Posted by Mathieu Powell
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