Thinking of Moving to BC? Which City Matches Your Personality?

Marci • May 12, 2015

Have you made the life-altering decision to move to British Columbia?

Are you considering relocating to Vancouver and becoming part of the great expat community ? The Northwest will not let you down. It really has something to offer everyone, set against a constant backdrop of natural beauty.

Which British Columbian city is the one for you? Here we match up personality types with cities! Enjoy!

The Athlete

Do you enjoy riding the natural endorphin high? For a sports enthusiast, the Whistler area is your best match. This Olympic co-host provides state-of-the-art skiing and snowboarding opportunities with over 200 marked trails leading you down the mountain. Blackcomb Peak, another top-notch skiing mountain, can also be found in the area.
Don’t feel the need to be at the top of the mountain at 9:00? Sleep in and take a relaxed snowshoe stroll or cozy up to the family in a horse-drawn carriage. Thus, Whistler fulfills the needs for snow athletes and their families!

The Outdoorsy Type

Surf’s up, dudes. Head to the western side of Vancouver Island if you need some time with the waves. Tofino is quite the place, it even has a taco shack. This is also an ideal area for kayakers, hikers, and cyclists alike. For energetic nature lovers, this is a must-experience or even a must-live in region.

The Golfer/ Wannabe Painter

If laidback sports are your thing, Kamloops offers great golfing prospects. Golf courses abound. There are also many opportunities to hike, mountain bike and camp if you’re up for a more challenging pastime. Furthermore, if you do decide to take on some water sports, lakes and rivers provide excellent opportunities for fishing, canoeing, kayaking, tubing, and rafting.
Kamloops also hosts many music and theatre festivals, to satisfy its large arts community.

The Student

In Victoria and Kelowna, a significant part of the population consists of students. If you are hitting the books, you’ll feel at home, and you’ll be able to find others who feel your pain when it comes to exam time. For those considering Victoria, you will enjoy the aesthetic perks of living in a historic waterfront capital with artsy areas, cosmopolitan architecture, and plenty of shopping opportunities. Those calling Kelowna home, however, may just become wine experts, being surrounded by wineries.

The Explorer of Cultures

If you dig the multicultural vibe, try Richmond, with 60% of its population being of Asian descent. Shopping and dining in the Golden Village provide some of the most authentic experiences that you will come across outside of Asia. This city is only 25 minutes from downtown Vancouver and has further international connections through Vancouver International Airport, located in Richmond.

The Tranquility-Seeker

Craving a quaint living environment with the perks of a large city? Steveston is the place for you. This seaside fishing village provides a peaceful atmosphere, historic buildings, and all the fresh seafood dining you could ever dream of.

The Beach Babe

The 180-km long Sunshine Coast provides an island-like atmosphere. With the scenery combining forests with beaches, and mountains with ocean, you could not ask more of nature. Bohemian culture is prevalent along the coast and options for outdoor activities are limitless. If you’re up for some adventure, paddle out to one of the nearby islands.

The Big Guns

As a city of over 603,000 people, living among natural beauty, Vancouver has a lot to offer. Vancouverites have the luxury of hitting the slopes in the morning and warming up on the beach in the afternoon. The environment offers many routes of escape from life, such as skiing and whale watching.

Vancouver rivals its fellow Canadian cities, Montreal and Toronto, for the honorary title of Canada’s culinary capital. It has the biggest Asian dining scene and an amazing variety of fresh seafood, including wild salmon and spot prawns.

Multiculturalism is a way of life in Vancouver. Presently, almost half of the population is bilingual. Neighborhoods at the height of the multicultural scene include Chinatown, Punjabi Market, and Little Italy. Few major cities can compete with the quality of life in Vancouver. Ranked fifth in the 2012 Mercer Quality of Living Survey, the city comfortably remained in the top ten for more than a decade. However, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Cost of Living Survey 2013, Vancouver was ranked 21st on an international scale and was named the most expensive city in North America to live in. Thus, the career type may suit this city best.

With so many possibilities and places to live, it will not take long to adapt to the Canadian way of life.

This was previously published on the site Oct. 7th 2014, but it was too good to stay buried in the archives, so we brought it out to play! Also, this post was originally sourced here  with some of our own additions!

Share

RRSP As A Downpayment

By Marci Deane • May 14, 2025
Did you know there’s a program that allows you to use your RRSP to help come up with your downpayment to buy a home? It’s called the Home Buyer’s Plan (or HBP for short), and it’s made possible by the government of Canada. While the program is pretty straightforward, there are a few things you need to know. Your first home (with some exceptions) To qualify, you need to be buying your first home. However, when you look into the fine print, you find that technically, you must not have owned a home in the last four years or have lived in a house that your spouse owned in the previous four years. Another exception is for those with a disability or those helping someone with a disability. In this case, you can withdraw from an RRSP for a home purchase at any time. You have to pay back the RRSP You have 15 years to pay back the RRSP, and you start the second year after the withdrawal. While you won’t pay any tax on this particular withdrawal, it does come with some conditions. You’ll have to pay back the total amount you withdrew over 15 years. The CRA will send you an HBP Statement of Account every year to advise how much you owe the RRSP that year. Your repayments will not count as contributions as you’ve already received the tax break from those funds. Access to funds The funds you withdraw from the RRSP must have been there for at least 90 days. You can still technically withdraw the money from your RRSP and use it for your down-payment, but it won’t be tax-deductible and won’t be part of the HBP. You can access up to $35,000 individually or $70,00 per couple through the HBP. Please connect anytime if you’d like to know more about the HBP and how it could work for you as you plan your downpayment. It would be a pleasure to work with you.

Selling Your Property? Let's Talk

By Marci Deane • May 7, 2025
If you’ve been thinking about selling your existing property, for whatever reason, it would be in your best interest to connect with an independent mortgage professional before calling your real estate agent or listing it yourself. And while talking with your mortgage professional might not sound like the most logical place to start, here are a few scenarios that explain why it makes the most sense. If you’re buying a new property If you’re selling your property, chances are, you’ll have to move somewhere! So, if you plan on buying a new property using the equity from the sale of your existing property, chances are you’ll need a new mortgage. Don’t assume that just because you’ve secured mortgage financing before, that you’ll qualify again. Mortgage rules are constantly changing; make sure you have a pre-approval in place before you list your property. Also, by connecting with a mortgage professional first, you can look into your existing mortgage terms. You might be able to port your mortgage instead of getting a new one, which could save you some money. If you’re not buying a new property Even if you aren’t buying a new property and want to sell your existing property, it’s still a good idea to connect with a mortgage professional first, as we can look at the cost of breaking your mortgage together. Unless you have an open mortgage, or a line of credit, there will be a penalty to break your mortgage. The goal is to work on a plan to minimize your penalty. Because of how mortgage penalties work, sometimes it’s just a matter of waiting a few months to save thousands. You'll never know unless you take a look at the details. Marital breakdown The simple truth is that marriages break down. When that happens, often, people want closure, and unfortunately, they make decisions without really thinking them through or seeing the full picture. So, instead of simply selling the family home because that feels like the only option, please know that special programs exist that allow one party to buy out the former spouse. The key here is to have a legal separation agreement is in place. If you’d like to discuss the sale of your property and your plans for the future, connect anytime. It would be a pleasure to work with you!

Options For Your Downpayment

By Marci Deane • April 30, 2025
Your downpayment refers to the initial payment you make when buying a property through mortgage financing. A downpayment is always required when purchasing, because in Canada, lenders are only allowed to lend up to 95% of the property value, leaving you with the need to come up with at least 5% for a downpayment. In fact, securing mortgage financing with anything less than 20% down is only made possible through mortgage default insurance. Canada has three default insurance providers: the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Sagen (formerly Genworth Canada), and Canada Guaranty. There is a cost for default insurance which is usually rolled into the total mortgage amount and is tiered depending on how much you put down. As your downpayment can be a significant amount of money, you probably need a plan to put this money together. So, let’s take a look at some of the options you have to come up with a downpayment. Money from your resources If you’ve been saving money and have accumulated the funds and set them aside for to use for your downpayment, you'll need to prove a 90-day history of those funds. As far as the lender is concerned, this is the most straightforward way to prove a downpayment. Any large deposits to your bank account that aren’t from payroll will require you to prove the source of funds. For example, if you recently sold a vehicle, you’ll need to provide the paperwork as proof of ownership, which corresponds to your account’s deposit. Or, if you have funds in an investment account that you’ve transferred over, statements of that transfer or account would suffice. You have to prove the source of your downpayment funds to the lender when qualifying for a mortgage to help prevent money laundering. Funds from the sale of another property If you’ve recently sold a property and you’re using the proceeds of that sale as the downpayment from your new purchase, you can provide the paperwork from that transaction to substantiate your downpayment. RRSPs through the Home Buyer’s Plan Okay, so let’s say you don’t have all the money set aside in your savings, but you do have cash in your RRSP. Assuming you’re a first-time homebuyer, you can access the funds from your RRSP Tax-Free to use as a downpayment. You’re able to access up to $35k individually or $70k as a couple. The money has to be paid back over the next 15 years. If you’d like more information on what this program looks like, please get in touch. Gifted downpayment Now, if you don’t have enough money in your savings, but you have a family member who is willing to help, they can gift you funds for your downpayment. With the increased cost of living, making it harder to save for a downpayment, receiving a gift from a family member is becoming increasingly commonplace. Now, to qualify, the gift has to come from an immediate family member who will sign a gift letter indicating there is no schedule of repayment and that the gift doesn’t have to be repaid. Proof that the money has been deposited into your account is required through bank statements. Gifted funds can make up part of or the entire amount of downpayment. For example, if you purchase a property for $300k and have $10k saved up, your parents can gift you the remaining $5k to make up the total 5% downpayment. Borrowed downpayment Suppose you aren’t fortunate enough to have a family member who can gift you a downpayment, but you have excellent credit and a high income compared to the amount you’re looking to borrow. In that case, you might qualify to borrow part or all of your downpayment. It’s possible to borrow your downpayment as long as you include the payments in your debt service ratios. Typically this is 3% of the outstanding balance. So there you have it, to qualify for a mortgage, you’ll need to come up with a downpayment. That can be through your resources, a property you sold, an RRSP, a gift from a family member, borrowed funds, or a combination of all five sources. If you’d like to discuss your downpayment or anything else related to mortgage financing; it’s never too early to start the conversation about getting pre-approved for a mortgage. Please connect anytime. It would be a pleasure to work with you!