Costs Associated with Buying a Home in Kelowna BC

This is a question we get often from our clients looking to relocate to Kelowna from Alberta, Ontario and the rest of Canada.

How much is the land transfer tax? What are the closing costs? What is the cost of buying a home in Kelowna BC?

If you're from Ontario you are very familiar with the land transfer tax, if you're from Alberta, probably not so much.

In a nutshell the land transfer tax calculation as of 2022 is 1% on the first $200,000 and 2% on the balance up to $2,000,000 and then 3% of the balance above $3,000,000.

So, if you are buying a home in Kelowna for around $600,000 you can expect to pay a land transfer tax of around $10,000. If you are buying a home in Kelowna for $500,000 then the tax would be $8,000.

This fee is required as part of your closing costs, so when you meet with your lawyer or notary here in Kelowna, make sure that you have the funds to cover off the tax.

What is the Speculation Tax?

This is where I get a little bit political...the speculation tax was put in by the NDP government in 2018 to try and stop foreign investors from taking over the housing market in BC.

What the government, in their infinite wisdom, failed to realize is that the prices were not being driven up by less than 3% of the buyers in BC.

The price of housing is all about supply and demand, what the government has done is hurt local investors looking to provide solid housing for the rental market as well as the parents looking to buy a place in Kelowna for their kid to have a place to live while they go to UBCO.

Sometimes having a place here is cheaper than paying rent.

So, if you're a Canadian citizen and you are looking to purchase an investment property here in Kelowna or West Kelowna you will be subject to a tax of about .5% of the homes value which will be required to pay during tax time.

Legal Fees and Other

Alright, if you are looking for a lawyer or a notary here in Kelowna the prices are going to vary somewhat. 

This will mostly come down to the price of the home that you are purchasing, expect to pay somewhere between $1500-$2500 (or more) for your legal fees including disbursements and taxes.

The other costs associated with buying a home in Kelowna would be things like a home inspection or condo document review. Both of these are going to run you somewhere between $400-$700, so make sure that they home you are making an offer on is THE one you want.

It can get expensive if you walk away during the conditonal phase of the offer period by figuring out you don't like the home as much as you thought you did.

These fees are non refundable.

As for your Kelowna Realtor or your Kelowna Mortgage Broker, you don't have to pay either of us. As your Realtor I am compensated by the llisting agent's brokerage who is paid by the seller and the broker is paid by the lender.

If you're interested in having a conversation about making a move to Kelowna BC you can book in with me right here.

For videos about what it's like to live here, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel: LiveLoveKelowna

The Okanagan Trestle Tour: Is it Worth It?

After two years of being off the organizers of the Okanagan Trestle Tour got it off the ground for 2022!

The big question is, was it worth the investment of $500 for a family of 4?

Before I get there, let's talk a little bit about the trip itself.

How Were the Trestles?

The Okanagan Trestle Tour had three options:

1. 20 KM
2. 40 KM
3. 80 KM

If you wanted to see the amazing Myra Canyon and ride over the trestles then you needed to sign up for the 80 KM trip. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that when we signed up.

We weren't too worried about it though, our 13 year olds likely would have tried to off us in our sleep if we made them ride 80 KMs, we were pushing it when we told them about the 40km option.

Luckily though we did a 17 km ride starting at Myra Canyon and heading out to Trestle #2 and then back, so we got to see what those riders saw during their ride.

What was the Ride Like?

It was raining when we got started but it stopped less than 20 minutes in, the skies opened up and we had sunshine for the rest of our ride.

It was a nice and comfortable 22 degrees, the rain cooled everything off, the day before was 30 degrees.

I couldn't imagine doing that ride in that kind of weather.

The trail was mostly downhill from the 40 KM start, at least it felt like it. The only incline was when we were about 3kms from Penticton, and even then it wasn't anything any of us couldn't handle.

The trail was mostly sand and rock at the beginning, once we hit the 23 km mark though the trail turned to crush gravel and was far more taken care of with no potholes or mud.

The views were amazing!

Although the start took you through a lot of bush, once you broke out to the mountain side the views of the lake, orchards and vineyards were truly breathtaking.

The Volunteers Were Amazing

An event like this could not run and operate with volunteers to help with registration, bike loading, bike off loading, bik transport, rider transport, running aid stations, security, first aid and so much more.

The volunteers at the aid stations were some of our favourties, they were so personable and so happy to be out there handing out bagels, juice boxes and our fave...watermelon!

THANK YOU to everyone that put in their time that weekend, you were truly appreciated.

So, Would You Ride the Okangan Trestels Tour Again?

In talking with my wife afterwards during our well deserved burger and beer, we figured it would be a perfect set up for a couple or a couple of couples.

Truthfully, we didn't see a lot of kids on this tour, it was almost all adults.

Part of the cost of this ride was bike transport, if we had two bike carriers or a truck and a bike carrier, we would be able to do this trip ourselves.

So, would we do it again as a family?

Likely not, at least not through this organized event. We will likely go back up there for another ride this summer, the views never get old.

That said, we would love to sign up with some of our friends to do this ride as a couple, that would be a lot of fun.

It is one of those Okanagan experiences though that you must take in at least once!