BC Tax assessment notices were recently sent out to property owners, some owners saw an increase while others saw a dramatic decrease in the assessment of their property. The assessment notice that property owners receive reflects the the value as of July 1 of the previous year, in a changing market, on the day when assessments are sent out they are already 6 months old. There are important factors to consider when a buyer looks at
assessment notices, homeowners in the same neighborhood may have protested their taxed value, there may have been a sale that skews the value, upgrades that didn't require a permit, and the length of time since the BC Assessment appraiser has conducted a property inspection.
The Market Value takes into consideration recent Real Estate transactions, supply and demand of housing in the local market, current economic situation, and mortgage rates. If your looking at purchasing a property, you may choose to get an appraisal rather than looking at the tax
assessment as they will consider similar homes that have sold and replacement cost formulas based on current prices. Mortgage Lenders will likely require an appraisal to make sure you aren't paying more than market value.
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Gabriola is a great Island for many reasons, one of the important ones is the numerous access points that you have to the beach. We've had some great weather in the last week, which led me to one of the waterfront parks in the Whalebone area. These "neighborhood" parks were well thought out, there are 5 located in this area, each have two pathway allowances into the park and have at least 6 homes bordering onto them, I think it was a great way to share the waterfront properties. The waterfront parks, have nice cleared areas, gorgeous north facing views, and some have benches so that you can sit down and enjoy the view.
