Vancouver Condos and Homes

One of the newest condo developments is Reflections, located in the Burnaby Highgate neighbourhood.  This development is a collection of highrise apartments and lowrise townhomes.  Public transportation is good since it’s only about a 5 minute walk to Edmonds Skytrain station.

Some key features that make this condo different:

-next to Byrne Creek, a 3 acre park
-electric fireplace with custom mantle lit by ceiling accent lighting
-granite or stone composite kitchen countertops
-Whirlpool stainless steel appliances
-Soaker tub in master ensuite
-full size stacking Whirlpool washer and dryer
-bicycle storage locker for each home
-entry phone outside main lobby with security camera which will allow you to see your visitors on your TV
-3 minute drive to High Gate Village, which contains a Save On Foods, Shoppers Drug Mart, TD Bank

The presentation centre is located at

7377 18th Street
Burnaby, BC

Check out their official website here

Today we’re going to preview Nest.  Yesterday we checked out Origin.  You can check out that post here.

Nest is scheduled to be ready for occupancy for the summer of 2012 and requires a 20% deposit.  Maintenance fees are going to range from $175.05 – 328.21 and includes heat, hot water, and ongoing maintenance and repair.  One parking spot is included in Plans A, B, and G.

I checked our the model suite.  It’s a 888 square foot home containing 2 bedrooms and work centre.  The kitchen is laid out nicely and you’ll find the usual stainless steel appliances, including a LG fridge and a Panasonic microwave.  The work centre is an intelligently designed desk area next to the kitchen as you can see from the photos below.  The shelving and the desk is an upgrade but it looks nice and is a good use of space.  Once you walk past the kitchen and dining area, you’ll be in the living area and there is a decent sized balcony to the left.

Nest is a well thought out and well executed set of apartments.

The presentation centre is located at

SW Corner of 9055 University High Street
Burnaby BC

Check out their official website here

I went up to SFU (Simon Fraser University) to check out Origin and Nest.  These two developments are going to be next to each other on campus.  I’m going to chat about Origin in this post and talk about Nest tomorrow.

The great thing for families about Origin is the development of the Elementary school across the street.  Across the other street is Nestor’s market.  It’s a nice, cozy market and I bought a bag of Kettle potato chips that were on sale there.

The display suite is very nice.  The kitchen has stainless steel appliances, including a Samsung fridge.  Checking out the bathroom, I found a nice double sink.  I like the slick modern look of the double sinks.  The shower/bathtub split combo was nice too.  I guess it can save a couple some time if one takes a shower while the other takes a bath.  Then each person brushes their teeth in their respective sinks.  Smart thinking.

Origin also includes 2 parking spaces per condo, which is great even if you don’t drive because you can rent out parking spots to help out the mortgage.  I checked out the prices of SFU parking and it isn’t cheap.  The current rate is between $91 to $130 per month depending on where you choose to park.  If you can rent both spots out for $60 each, that’s an easy $120 in your pocket.

The presentation centre is located at

University High Street and Tower Road
Burnaby, BC

Check out their official website here

I like condos near a Skytrain station.  It’s great for those work along the Skytrain route and especially downtown.   Downtown parking is getting expensive.  Cornerstone is a new development of condos located about 1 minute walk from Gateway Skytrain station according to Google Maps.  In reality, it would probably take at least 5 minutes from the moment you leave the condo to when you get to the Skytrain platform but that’s still pretty fast though.  Then it’s about a 40 minute ride to get to downtown Vancouver.

Each condo comes with Stainless Steel Whirlpool fridge, range, dishwasher & hood fan.   The presentation centre is located at

13468 Gateway Drive
Surrey, BC

Check out their official website here

By now, everyone should have heard that the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), has approved a settlement with the Competition Bureau regarding how agents can offer a variey of services on the MLS.  Basically this means that the homeowner can solely purchase the service of asking the realtor to put their home on MLS.  The howeowner can take care of the legal contracts (via a lawyer, of course) and handle the appointments and price negotiations.

While the homeowner still doesn’t have access to MLS directly, this is going to be a major shift in the options available to a homeowner in selling their house.  I’m guessing there will be many homeowners who are going to take the “For Sale By Owner” route.  I’ve also already seen another website that is offering the service to post the house on MLS only.

Maybe this website should provide this service?  Of course, this will require me to pass the real estate course and sign up with a real estate brokerage firm.