It’s the end of the first week of January, and by now you should have received your 2012 BC Assessment notice in the mail, or checked online to see what the provincial assessment authority values your property at. Most people simply open it, read it, and file it away with their other house documents. It makes great water-cooler banter, as colleagues ask “what was yours assessed at?” and “did yours go up or down?” But what if you disagree with your assessment?
BC Assessment’s mandate is to estimate the market value of your property as of July 1 of the previous year. They do this by using sale data from properties that sell during the year to compare them to yours and come up with a value that a buyer might have been willing to pay had it been for sale. They also get building permit data from municipalities. When you do an addition or alteration and take out a permit, the value of the permit is taken into account also.
If you believe your assessment is either too high or too low, you can dispute it. You have until January 31 to file your appeal (known as a ‘complaint’ or ‘review’ at this stage). Having gone through this myself last year, I thought I’d share what I learned.
I bought my house last fall, and BC Assessment valued it at over $100,000 more than what I paid for it. Because I felt I had a case, I decided to complain about my assessment. It is recommended that before you file a formal complaint, you call the local assessment office listed on your assessment notice and discuss your concerns. They will explain their reasoning behind the assessment. If that still doesn’t satisfy your concerns, you can then file a formal complaint. The easiest way is to do this online. Once you’ve filled in the form, you’ll be contacted with the date of your hearing.
Hearings are held by a Property Assessment Review Panel (PARP). PARPs are comprised of three lay people who are appointed by the minister responsible for BC Assessment. They are not employees of BC Assessment and are not necessarily experts in the assessment field. Their role is to listen to both sides and decide, based on the preponderance of evidence, who is correct.
Now, the hard part – proving your case. It’s easy to disagree with a paper notice, it’s entirely different to go up against a government assessment officer in the PARP hearing! I must admit, I was intimidated, despite valuing properties every day in my profession. You’ll need to gather evidence to support your claim. I would recommend first starting at e-valueBC, BC Assessment’s online property information checker. It’s available from the start of the assessment season in early January until March 31. You can enter your property’s details and select up to 8 other properties to compare it to. For example, if you knew that John’s house down the street sold in June for $400,000 and it’s very similar to yours, and your assessment came in at $450,000, you might be able to use John’s house to compare to yours to support the case.
The more information you bring, the better. Photographs of your property and of the comparable properties you’re using will also help prove your case. I also recommend using the CRD Atlas to print aerial photos and maps of your property and the comparables you are using. This visual aid will help the PARP understand your case. At the review hearing, you’ll be asked to present your case first. You can call witnesses, if necessary. If you have a written presentation, you will need to bring five copies. After your presentation, the assessor will give his or hers. He or she will likely sound a lot more professional and polished than you will, since they do this all the time! After both sides have presented, either can ask questions of the other. The panel usually makes its decisions within a few minutes – they will leave the room to deliberate. However in some cases (mine included), they will reserve judgment and you’ll get their decision by mail a few weeks later.
I was almost certain that I would be unsuccessful, as the assessor’s presentation was much better than mine, but I guess they found my evidence convincing, as my assessment was reduced to just over what I paid for the home, which I thought was fair.
If you still disagree with the PARP’s decision, you can appeal to the Property Assessment Appeal Board before April 30.
BC Assessment’s website contains lots of FAQs and information on the dispute process:
- Appeal Guide (short form)
- Fact Sheet
- FAQ
- And the mother of them all, The Guide (27 page PDF)
Were you satisfied with your assessment notice this year? Have you ever disputed an assessment? What was the outcome?
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The Whiffin Spit Christmas Tree
When I first came to Sooke to look at the house I eventually bought, I took a walk out Whiffin Spit. I knew nothing about the community that would become my home and my chosen place to start a family. I didn’t even know what Whiffin Spit was, I was just driving around exploring and found this cool seaside park with a light at the end of the path. It was just after Christmas, and as I meandered along the path, in addition to the many friendly people I saw and lots of dogs, there it was, this tree.
A lone Sitka Spruce, perched somewhat precariously on this exposed, windswept, salty spit of land. It had been decorated with all sorts of different ornaments. It was clear to me immediately that it was something special, and the eclectic array of ornamentations amused me. The salmon flashers and other bits of maritime and fishing-related items hung from its boughs and other home-made items made me think “How West Coast is this?!” I’ve enjoyed visiting the tree every year since and today went down to the spit to snap a few pictures for you.
With everything from plain old Christmas balls to driftwood, this is a real display of Island culture and I was amazed once again at the variety. There were many cute kids’ crafts on the tree, and also a number of touching tributes to lost family members, both human and canine, which is fitting as the Spit is a favourite for both to stroll.
I think my favourites are the ornaments fashioned from fishing gear, floats, and crab trap bait containers:
So, who decorates the tree every year? Well of course, it’s a public park, so anyone is welcome. But there is a group of local elves who has been taking care of the decorating and un-decorating of the tree since 1995. Read the interesting story, and learn about how you can help, here.
A bit of a bonus to my stroll down on the Spit today were the waves. They were big. I used to live very near the Spit so I know that’s not terribly uncommon in the winter, but it was a lot of fun to watch, and to photograph. The sun even poked its way through the clouds for a while and it looked spectacular. Here’s my favourite of the wave pictures. See more on Facebook.
The weather forecast isn’t great for Christmas, but I hope you’ve had a chance to stroll by the Tree in the days leading up – we’ve sure had spectacular weather for December. But if you haven’t, make sure you head down when we get a break in the weather like we had this afternoon! Below are all the pictures I took of the tree today. Merry Christmas, Sooke (and beyond)!
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Photo Credit: Mutley *--* on Flickr
One of the things that attracts people to Sooke is the price of housing. My clients are always amazed at what they can afford in Sooke compared to Victoria, or even just 20 minutes down the road in Langford. But have you ever wondered just how much cheaper homes are out here? Well, thankfully, CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) has crunched the numbers for us and they believe that by choosing to live in Sooke, you save about 24% over a home in Langford, all other things equal. In a study completed this fall, CMHC examined a large data set of 2,144 completed home sales from January to September 2011. They accounted for things like house size, lot size, age of home, and many other variables and found, compared to a home in Langford:
- Buyers pay a premium of 75% to live in Oak Bay
- Buyers pay a premium of 44% to live in the city of Victoria
- Buyers pay a premium of 35% to live in Saanich East
- Buyers pay a premium of 24% to live in Sidney
- Buyers pay a premium of 18% to live in Saanich West
- Buyers enjoy a 24% discount to live in Sooke.
Let’s have a look at a few recent sales to see how they compare to this study.
This home on Wild Ridge Way in Langford sold recently for $455,000. It has 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and 1,667 square feet on about a 4000 sqft lot. It is brand new, built in 2011.
Let’s compare it to this home which recently sold on Steeple Chase, in Sooke. It too is about 1600 sqft, has 3 bedrooms and 3 baths, on about 4000 sqft of land in a new subdivision, and was built brand new this year. But it sold for $360,000 – about 21% less than the similar house in Langford.
I believe the Sooke property is in a better location – just a short walk to an elementary and middle school, and walking distance to the town centre. The Langford home is way out Happy Valley Road, not really close to anything (although the Galloping Goose Trail is quite handy to it).
I know there’s nothing we can do about the extra time spent commuting to and from Sooke – about 20 minutes extra, each way – but I often hear people talk about the gas they’ll be saving by living closer to Victoria. Let’s calculate, just for fun, how much gas you could buy with the $95,000 you saved by buying in Sooke.
Let’s assume $1.20/l for gas (it’s been above and below this for the last little while, so I’d say it’s a fair average). $95,000 / 1.20 = 79,167 litres of gas. Assuming a 60-litre tank (I’d venture to guess that most commuter cars have smaller tanks), that’s 1,319 tanks of gas. Let’s assume you filled it once a week (maybe a little less frequently, but not out of the question for a 9-to-5-Monday-to-Friday commuter), that is about 25 years of gasoline for your car. Now obviously, this isn’t very scientific, and doesn’t account for inflation and the inevitable rise in the cost of oil, but it sure does illustrate that the gas savings argument doesn’t hold water.
Some other interesting tidbits in the study (again, all other factors being equal):
- Newer homes (10 years old or less) carried a 14% premium
- A home with a view averaged a 10% premium
- Older homes (30 or more years old) were 6% cheaper
If you’d like to read the entire report (which includes economic and housing outlooks for 2012 for the entire region), you can find it here.
So, knowing this, would you like to know more about moving to Sooke? Drop me a line or leave a comment – I’d be happy to get you all the information you need.
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As some of you know, I’ve been working on losing some weight and getting back into shape. It’s a typical story: boy is single, boy gets in shape. Boy meets girl, boy marries girl, fitness goes out the window, especially with all the ‘sympathy eating’ during girl’s pregnancy. Believe it or not, this was me just five years ago:
Slowly, surely, I became this:
*May not actually be me
So, understandably, I needed to do something about it. In addition to joining the gym at the Prestige Oceanfront Resort in Sooke, I met up with Michelle from MIJO fitness at a Sooke Chamber function. Michelle told me about her FITCamp program and I was intrigued. One of the things I’ve always hated about working out is the routine. Doing the same exercises and running on the treadmill gets excruciatingly boring after a while, and it’s easy to lose interest. Michelle promised that I wouldn’t be bored and that I’d get the best workout of my life.
She was right.
The fresh air alone is invigorating, and fall temperatures are perfect!
MIJO FITCamps are held outdoors at various parks and public facilities around Sooke (and there is a separate program in Colwood/Langford too). I arrived last Tuesday evening at Journey Middle School not really knowing what to expect. It started out easy enough, a short jog around the parking lot to warm up. Then it got serious. Michelle put us through our paces with some tough circuit training. There were giant step-ups, long jumps, and push ups followed by more running. And then stair climbing, squats and rows, and more push ups. And more running.
Giant steps
By 30 minutes in, I’m sweating profusely and I’ve already drank all my water. What’s next? More stair climbing, some stretchy-tube lat exercises, and – you guessed it – more push-ups. Finally we’re done – cooling down in the evening air and stretching our tired muscles. I felt amazing after the workout and couldn’t wait for the next class.
Michelle briefs the group on today's boot camp
Some things I noticed about the bootcamp. Every exercise Michelle had me do seemed a lot easier than it actually was. I would think ‘no sweat,’ and sweat I did. Michelle knows how to make her students really work. There are lower-impact options. Michelle makes sure that everyone can participate and offers alternatives to all the exercises to ensure that no one is left out or unable to perform the training. And finally, I was the only guy in the class! Why more men don’t take advantage of these classes, I really don’t know. It was fun, the fresh air was great, and it’s much more interesting than slogging away in the gym. And let me tell you – I haven’t ever been that sore the next day from a gym workout.
If you’re looking for a challenge, and something different than the ol’ gym routine, contact Michelle and sign up for FITCamp – you’ll be glad you did!
PS – if you’re not following me on Facebook, you’re missing out – like What The Sooke?! on Facebook!
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If there’s one guy who loves the Sooke region as much as I do, it’s my pal Jason at Discover Sooke. Jason was the first friend I made when I moved to the Island 6 years ago. He and Mrs. Discover Sooke eventually decided to move out here from Langford and haven’t looked back.
Jason was recently asked to produce three TV commercials for Sooke, which will be aired on TSN when they broadcast the Sooke Subaru Triathlon that was held on August 7. Below are the videos, and they are, in a word, outstanding. I’d move here all over again if I saw these on TV.
What do you think? Do these make you want to Discover Sooke?
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That’s right, 642Blog.ca is now known as What The Sooke?! I made the decision to move the blog to this new address a few weeks ago and have been working hard to get it all put together. I found out that moving a blog is nearly as complicated (and as much of a pain) as moving to a new house. Hopefully everything still works! So, what’s new?
- Theme. A fresh, clean look is what I was after. With no exaggeration, I must have perused hundreds of themes before deciding on this one.
- Logo. Jason from Inktvis Creative/DiscoverSooke did an outstanding job on both my blog logo and my new real estate logo, pictured below in the footer of the blog.
- Listings. I’ll now feature my listings on the blog – You can find them under the category ‘listings,’ oddly enough!
- More content! This whole exercise has been a lot of work and has really inspired me to put it to good use. I have some great ideas for articles and videos and I intend to post much, much more often than I have been.
- Easier sharing and subscribing. You’ll note that at the bottom of each post, you’ll find sharing buttons to share via Twitter, Facebook and several other methods (you can even print off the articles and frame them!)
- Featured Posts. Articles or listings of particular interest will now be ‘sticky’ and featured in a big featured posts slider on the front page.
I hope you’ll enjoy the new What The Sooke!? as much as I have enjoyed putting it together. As always, your comments are welcomed and encouraged – use the comment form, or send me a message here.
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The pillars look even larger than from the road
I was invited to take a hard hat tour of the brand new Prestige Oceanfront Resort and Convention Centre on the waterfront in Sooke. Their first Vancouver Island property, Prestige has pulled out all the stops and has created something incredible on our shores.
Everything is going to be top-notch and elegant. The hotel is much closer to the harbour than I had anticipated – the views are simply stunning and most rooms will enjoy a great view of the harbour, basin, East Sooke, Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Olympic Mountains.
The bar at the oceanfront Sal's Prime Steakhouse in Sooke at the Prestige Resort
A worker puts the finishing touches on the wine racks at Sal's Prime in Sooke
In addition to the main restaurant – Sal’s Prime Steakhouse and Bar – there will be a sushi bar, and The Mix by Ric’s cocktail bar. Sal’s Prime features a huge waterfront patio which will feature gas fireplaces to keep warm on windy Sooke evenings.
The Public Boat Launch continues construction beside the Prestige Sooke Resort
I also had a tour of the rooms – most are just about complete, right down to the wall finishes, carpets, and luxury bathrooms. Some of the deluxe rooms feature hardwood floors and jetted tubs. Many have private balconies which could only be described as massive – perfect for enjoying the view and the sunset with friends and family.
Massive private balcony for one of the rooms at the Prestige Hotel Sooke
The resort will also feature an ocean-view pool with doors on to a terrace to allow guests to take in the sun and the sea breezes. The health club will also have memberships available for local residents.
A worker works on the pool at the Prestige Sooke Oceanfront Resort
There is a buzz going around town and everyone is excited about this new addition to our community. While it looks like there is still a lot of work to complete before their early April opening (there is a convention booked), the hotel will be ready, shining and bright , to welcome guests to the New Sooke.
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Case in point:
Photo Credit: DiscoverSooke on Flickr
This amazing image was captured last night at Otter Point, just west of Sooke, by my good friend Jason from DiscoverSooke.com and Inktvis Creative. In addition to being an awesome guy, Jason is also a new dad (like me next month!) and constant advocate of all that is awesome about our seaside town.
-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional
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Wild Coast Cottages, Port Renfrew
Today, instead of our usual Sooke REALTOR® tour where we go around to the new listings in Sooke, we had a bus take us out to Port Renfrew for a tour of Three Point Properties‘ new Wild Coast Cottages development. The roughly one hour drive along Highway 14 is entirely different when you’re not driving – lots more time to look around at the absolutely stunning scenery around you: creeks, waterfalls, tall trees, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Olympic Mountains in the background. We even saw three black bears along the roadside.
Arriving on site we found a hub of activity – excavators, builders, trucks, and other workers getting the site ready. Title registration for the first purchasers should be coming in the middle of August. There are already two cottages at the site, one of each floor plan that they’re offering at the moment.
Wild Coast Cottages is more that your average cottage country development. With the usually high cost of recreational property, Three Point is trying to do something different – to keep these architecturally designed west-coast style cottages within reach of the average buyer. To do this has taken innovation for sure. Port Renfrew is pretty remote, and only has a population of about 200 residents. There are no hardware stores, building supply outfits, or large construction companies. So, instead of building the cottages on site, they are framed, built and completely finished, right down to the designer paint colours, 70 kilometres away in Sooke, and trucked up to Renfrew on a flatbed. This enables the builder to save on travel costs, and allows some economies of scale to be realized by “mass-producing” these cottages all in one place.
A breezeway connects the bedroom (pictured) with the living space
The current phase has 24 lots out of the 40 planned, and Three Point has more property in the area that they plan to develop similarly. The property is waterfront, and the cottage owners will have access to a boardwalk and a marina.
The cottages are small – around 400 sq ft, one bedroom and one bathroom. Furnished properly, they will easily sleep a family or group of 4. The two designs they had on site were lovely. One features a breezeway type covered deck joining the living space and the sleeping space and bathroom, and the other was a more traditional layout with everything together and a large deck out front. Finishing is impressive with natural-stained cedar, hardi-board type siding, pitched 50-year metal roofs, and high-end long-lasting composite decking material. These solid units are built to last, and built to withstand the bumpy ride from Sooke to Port Renfrew! The builder boasted that not even a crack in the finished drywall was evident after the transport of the finished cottage to the site.
Small, but ample living spaces define the Wild Coast Cottages
Pull out couch, full kitchen and living/dining space
Wild Coast Cottages sits on gorgeous high-bank waterfront
Overall, I was impressed. I was curious about this project since I first heard about it. Starting at $130,000 and ranging to $160,000 I think the price point is right on. There’s no way you could have a cottage built on a lot for that price, and certainly not a fully serviced (underground wiring, city water, common sewage disposal) lot on a waterfront development.
I won’t be surprised when Three Point sells this phase out.
-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional
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Mariner's Village, Sooke, Master Concept
Sooke is quickly becoming one of the province’s fastest growing communities. New neighbourhoods are under construction, new parks and trails being established, and new commercial developments are being undertaken. Perhaps the most exciting of these developments is the Mariner’s Village project. Mariner’s Village is a mixed-use, multi-phase waterfront development which will include condominiums and townhouses, a new marina, restaurants, shops, offices and more.
Much more than just a subdivision, Mariner’s Village is the first step in the re-imagining of downtown Sooke. The town’s official community plan calls for enhanced development south of Sooke Road (Hwy 14) to improve public access and sight lines of our spectacular waterfront of the Sooke Harbour and Basin.
For a few years, there has been talk about a new medical centre being built in Sooke – more comprehensive and modern than the town’s existing small clinics, scattered about the community. In the plan for Mariner’s Village is the “Sooke Professional Wellnes Centre,” a large (perhaps up to 10,000 sqft) facility complete with doctors’ offices, Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) space, lab space, x-ray clinic, and other medical and wellness facilities.
A more comprehensive medical facility is essential for our town’s growth, especially considering that the nearest hospital is 25-35 minutes’ drive away in View Royal. And for the communities further west of Sooke like Shirley, Port Renfrew and Jordan River, it will be even more critical.
The project is just getting started, with its sales office for the first residential phase having just opened a couple of weeks ago. While it will take some time for this facility to be built, it will be worth the wait. If you want more information about Mariner’s Village or any other developments or neighbourhoods in Sooke, please call me at 250-885-0512, email Tim@TimAyres.ca or fill in my contact form.
Want to know why Sooke is the place to be? Contact me!
-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional
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