Buying a Presale Condo in BC

Under BC's Real Estate Development Marketing Act (REDMA), a presale buyer has a non-waivable 7-day rescission period from the later of (a) signing the contract and (b) receiving the disclosure statement. During those 7 days you can cancel for any reason and recover your deposit in full. Use this window — read the disclosure statement, the strata bylaws if available, and ideally have a real-estate lawyer review the contract.

Typical Vancouver-area presale deposits are 15–20% of purchase price, paid in stages: 5% on contract signing, 5% at 90–120 days, 5% at 180–365 days, sometimes a final 5% at substantial completion. Deposits go into a developer's trust account at a designated trust company under REDMA — they cannot be released to the developer until specific milestones are met.

Yes. New residential construction in BC is subject to 5% federal GST on the full purchase price (plus 1% PST on appliance/fixture allowances in some cases). GST is typically payable on completion (not signing), and is added to your closing funds. There is a federal New Housing Rebate (partial GST refund) for principal residences under $450K, plus the new 2025 federal First-Time Home Buyer GST Rebate on builds up to $1.5M (full rebate up to $1M, phased above). I run the GST math on every presale I show.

Assignment means selling your contract to a new buyer before the building completes. Most modern Vancouver-area presale contracts either prohibit assignment, allow it only with developer consent (often with a fee of 1–2% of purchase price), or restrict it to family members. Check section 8 or 9 of every presale contract before signing. Note: BC and federal anti-flipping rules apply heavily to assignments — federal anti-flipping treats assignment income as fully taxable, BC Home Flipping Tax can apply.

BC Property Transfer Tax is paid on completion (not contract signing) based on the original purchase price (NOT the appreciated value). On a $750K purchase, regular PTT is $13,000. The Newly Built Home Exemption can fully exempt PTT on new builds up to $1.1M (partial up to $1.15M) — a big deal that I always confirm eligibility for upfront. Foreign nationals also pay 20% Additional PTT on the original purchase price.

Five common ones: (1) completion delay — projects routinely run 6–18 months late; (2) market shift — values can fall before completion (your deposit is at risk if you can't close); (3) interest rate change — your mortgage rate is typically not locked until 90–120 days before completion; (4) finishes don't match marketing — contracts allow developer substitution; (5) low appraisal — if the appraisal at completion comes in below contract price, the lender may fund less than expected. We screen every presale offer for all five before deposit.

Critical question. Look for: developer's track record (10+ years, multiple completed projects in BC), bonding (a designated trust company holds your deposit), warranty provider (2-5-10 home warranty mandatory under BC Homeowner Protection Act), and project financing (construction loan in place before sales). REDMA disclosure statement lists the developer's past projects — read it.

BC requires every new home (including presale condos) to come with a third-party home warranty: 2 years on labour and materials, 5 years on building envelope, 10 years on structural defects. Top providers: Travelers Canada, Aviva, Pacific Home Warranty. Always confirm warranty provider in the disclosure statement and verify their financial standing — warranty is only as good as the insurer.