Struggling to buy a property in Vancouver? You can still invest in the housing market and get a good return on your money, by taking part in the “tax sale” being held November 5, at which homes with unpaid property taxes are up for auction.
The City of Vancouver holds a tax sale every November, at which properties with three years of unpaid property taxes are offered for sale. The in-person auction is being held at City Hall and a full house is expected.
Here’s the list of the November 5 properties for sale.
However, this is not a cheap way to get a Vancouver home – there’s a catch, and it’s a big one. In fact, auction bidders are almost never trying to buy a property, but rather make a quick return on their investment.
The successful bidder has to pay the upset price and outstanding taxes immediately, but the original owner still has one year to repay the property tax bill – plus 6 per cent annual interest rate to the winning bidder – in order to get their property back.
Many of the bidders are simply looking for that 6 per cent rate of return on their investment.
However, if the property is not redeemed, the successful bidder actually has to buy the property, and the process of transferring the property’s ownership to the new owner starts.
According to a CBC report, Esther Lee, director of financial services with the City of Vancouver says that outcome is extremely rare. She says tax sale-auctioned property in Vancouver has only changed hands once since 2008 and in that case, the owner of the property was already trying to sell.
For more information, go to the City’s tax-sale web page.
