Westside Owner - "I am grateful for what I have, I take care of my property and live frugally so I am able to pay mortgage and property tax. I am paying tax on an over-valued asset."

notsellingyet at VREAA 25 June 2011 at 1:01 pm-
“In his movie, ‘Everything’s Gone Green,’ Douglas Coupland introduced a couple other means of livelihood in Vancouver–lottery scams and internet porn. Don’t know anybody involved in those ‘industries’ so not sure how much $$ those ‘jobs’ bring in. My husband and I bought a fixer-upper in westside Vancouver in 2000 (market still depressed) with down payment from our own savings and a gift from generous relatives. We diligently paid the mortgage over the years with hard-earned $$ from our respective white-collar jobs (medical research, computers). He passed away recently– I used his life insurance proceeds to gut the house and put in a rental basement suite. My total square footage increased 14.5%, while my property tax increased 33.3%, thanks to yearly tax increases, increase in my property assessment and property tax shifting (from business to residential properties) started by the NPA and continued by Gregor’s gov’t. In BC, property assessment values are based on market value (therefore influenced by skewed prices) and not replacement value. In this scenario, banks and municipal governments always win. Banks will keep enticing home owners with home equity loans they can’t afford based on unrealistically high property assessment values, and municipal gov’ts collect ever-increasing property taxes based on unsustainable, hyper-inflated market values. As far as I am concerned, market value is irrelevant as long as I don’t sell my house, but under the current property taxation system, I am paying for an over-valued asset which is clearly on paper only or, as poster DM has called it, ‘illusion of wealth.’
I am grateful for what I have, I take care of my property and live frugally so I am able to pay mortgage and property tax, but there may come a time when I may have to consider lottery scams — internet porn and drug peddling aren’t my thing. I also know I’ll keep buying goods via the internet (started during reno), and pick up from a relative’s place in WA state, or a mail receiving business in Blaine. I’ll bulk-buy to minimize cross-border travel. I hope as long as I am upfront with Canada Customs border agents, they’ll continue to wave me through without collecting sales taxes. Sorry, local businesses, I can’t support you much anymore–wanna join my future lottery ‘business?’
PS. The house across the street from mine has changed hands 2x in the last 18 months. A young family (from somewhere in the Far East, they did not venture out much) lived in it for approx 1 yr, then put the house up for sale in March this year. Sold in April, the house has been reno’d cosmetically since then, and will be back on the market soon. I’d like to see how much this one goes for.”