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• High Technology Homes

High tech gadgetry has become part of our daily lives. The people that make up generation Y grew up connected to the internet and each other. Most could not imagine life without gadgets. In contrast the Baby Boomers grew up in an era where the television was a new-fangled device. Yes I am talking about the black and white tube-based version housed in a large cabinet. Even that generation, however, has become increasingly connected to and reliant on high tech devices. This technological development and trend has increasingly found its way into our all of the finest luxury real estate in Courtenay.
 
Remote Controls
Remote controls for things like lighting, fans, gas fireplaces, televisions, in floor heating and other climate control features have become common place in most newer homes and those that have been recently updated. Selecting something from the comfort of your couch without one of these devices is rare in this day and age. Smart phones, tablets and touch screen control panels are now offering new ways to control many different features and settings in homes.
 
Home Automation
Going a step further, smart phones and tablets now have the capability to control many elements in your home such as the lights, and temperature. The designers of these devices tell us that they are configurable to control other things such as major appliances, fountains, yard fixtures, pool pumps, water heaters and sprinkler systems. Increasingly fairway homes offering luxury in Crown Isle are being outfitted with these types of devices 
Security Monitoring
These capabilities also extend to security systems that monitor your home’s doors, windows, motion sensors, water leak sensors, smoke and carbon dioxide sensors and WiFi cameras. Home automation, control and monitoring is starting to become a way of life.
 
Pet Feeding and Clean Up
Yes there are even devices that remotely dispense pet food and apps that allow a visual confirmation with a camera that the food is available for Fido to eat and drink. How about remote control litter box cleanup for cats? It may be on the horizon.
 
Morning Wakeup
Programmable alarm clocks and coffee makers have been around for quite a while. Now your smart phone can wake you up and turn on your coffee pot from your bedside saving you the trip to the kitchen to get your day started.
 
Home Access
Being able to unlock doors without keys is being marketed as a way to access your home and leave it secure without having to carry keys. They fail to mention that you have to have your smart phone or tablet with you instead. Is this progress? You decide.
 
Reconfiguration
Beyond electronic control, some homes are offering a bit of reconfiguration by being able to move a few walls around to change the layout of your home when you get bored. What the gadget maker does not address is who or how the furniture gets rearranged. Likely the old fashioned way.
 
More Gadgets
Floor plan portrayed light switches are now available so that you know which light switch controls what part of the home without having to remember what lights you are turning on and off. Touch screen control panels that you can stick to windows so that the solar panels at the back can keep it powered. How about self-sterilizing UV light door handles? What about an eco-cleaner that uses ultrasonic waves to clean dishes and convert the waste to reusable compost? How about a fingerprint accessed smart board or an intelligent bathroom mirror that displays the news, weather or provides you with some form of audio-visual entertainment while you get ready for the day? Clearly not all and perhaps few of these new devices will make their way into most homes. But most homes will have some form of remote control that can be moved around and taken out of the home in the not too distant future if peoples’ love for their smart phones is any indication. How many times have you seen smart phones appear on beaches during a winter holiday? Not sure why but some people just cannot seem to get unplugged from their electronic devices.
 
What is next?
What are your thoughts on where all of this is headed? Home automation seems to be here to stay and likely to be part of many new luxury waterfront homes built over the next decade. For those of you that can afford a great home theatre system it just seems like the right fit to be able to control the ambience and system from the comfort of your fully adjustable chair that also accommodates your drinks and snacks. Most of our homes will never offer our guests their choices of music, temperature and lighting from panels activated by pins that they wear like the Gates super tech home but is that really necessary or even desirable? The next time you are ready to buy or build a house, think about adding some home entertainment, climate control, ambiance, security monitoring, access control, and device automation ideas to make your life more enjoyable. If nothing else the high tech features and gadgets may entertain and impress your guests with the comfort and functionality built into the home. From your perspective the level of impressive technology is only limited by your imagination and pocket book.

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• Comox Valley Luxury Homes Options

The Comox Valley offers a vast array of luxury homes options. Luxury homes are located in both urban and rural neighbourhoods. Let’s start with the urban areas.

The luxury home neighbourhood of Crown Isle located in East Courtenay offers the most luxury homes located in a single area in the Comox Valley. Homes in this upscale subdivision are mostly Freehold owned and many are custom built. The newer ones are easy to spot by their tile roofs and HardiePlank exteriors. The entry level price for single family homes generally starts in the mid 400K range and goes up to over $1M. This enclave of luxury homes is close to many conveniences including the new hospital currently under construction in just past the Ryan Road and Lerwick Road intersection. The development of this high end neighbourhood began in the early 1990s and the area continues to expand and be developed – a trend that is expected to last for many more years.

The Valley View Estates area also located in Courtenay East also offers a number of luxury homes, some of which offer captivating views of the Comox Glacier and surrounding mountain range as well as the City of Courtenay. More luxury homes can be found in the Mission Ridge and Mission Hill areas of East Courtenay. Some located in the Mission Ridge area offer views of the Georgia Strait and Coastal Mountain Range. A sprinkling of luxury homes can also be found in the Aberdeen Heights area.

Right next door is the desirable Town of Comox that borders the Comox Bay area. Most Comox Luxury real estate options can be found in a few areas of Foxxwood Heights as well as the newer areas of Lancaster Heights and Beckton Estates. There are, of course, many other luxury homes that are tucked away in many different smaller areas throughout Comox that do not constitute neighbourhoods. Some are located along streets that contain mostly luxury homes while others may be single homes located in an area of finer homes.

The Comox Peninsula also contains many different luxury home options that are generally found on rural properties that are larger than what are offered in the urban areas. Forest Grove Estates, Sand Pines, Harwood Beach Estates, Claddagh Estates, Seal Bay and many different individual streets offer some exclusive and private home options.

More rural areas to the South, North and West of Courtenay also offer many different luxury home properties. Some are very secluded yet close to the City while others are tucked away in more remote areas. There is not much you cannot find in the Comox Valley. Current luxury homes start near the ½ million dollar mark and surpass the million dollar mark all the way to $4.5M. If you can dream it you may just already find it here in one of the most beautiful areas of Canada.

If your next dream home is not currently on the market contact Brett Cairns of RE/MAX Ocean Pacific Realty and let him know what you are looking for so that you can be advised as soon as the one matching your search criteria comes on the market

Brett Cairns is a Realtor with REMAX Ocean Pacific Realty and he goes Above & Beyond for clients to meet their real estate needs. Brett is also active informing and updating people on the entirety of the Comox Valley luxury real estate market. His office is located in the town of Comox in the Comox Valley region of Vancouver Island.

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• Luxury Homes | Sewerage Systems | Riparian Areas

While many luxury homes in the Comox Valley can be found within the urban confines of Courtenay and Comox, many others are located in rural areas nearby the ocean, wetlands or watercourses and where septic systems are often the norm. Comox Valley waterfront homes are and will continue to be affected by the following laws and regulations. Changes to BC law can and do affect real estate in the province. Two fairly recent major changes included the Riparian Areas Regulation (RAR) of 2006 and the Sewerage System Regulation (SSR) of 2005. These laws and their supporting regulations introduced new processes and restrictions that now apply to and affect many properties in the province.

Riparian fish habitat is protected by the federal Fisheries Act and the provincial Fish Protection Act (including the RAR), the Water Act and municipal bylaws. The RAR was enacted in 2004 and amended in 2006 to protect riparian areas (the areas bordering on streams, lakes and wetlands that link water to land) during residential, commercial and industrial development. The setbacks introduced by the RAR aim to protect fish habitat and for properties that are within or near riparian areas, they also affect where septic fields can be installed.

What most people commonly refer to as a septic system is now called a sewerage system in BC Law. The provincial government introduced a new Sewerage System Regulation (SSR) on May 31, 2005 which falls under the BC Public Health Act. Prior to the SSR, the generally accepted approach of septic systems was disposal but the new regulation focuses on treatment and dispersal and it requires that onsite system must be constructed with the result of not causing or contributing to a health hazard. The SSR contains prescriptive standards such as treatment standards and setback standards for horizontal separation to wells.

The SSR categorizes the onsite systems as either Type 1, Type 2 or Type 3. Type 1 is treatment by septic tank before the effluent is released into land. Type 2 and 3 systems introduce further treatment in order to produce a higher quality affluent that can be dispersed into the soil. For the more technically driven person, the differences between Type 2 and 3 systems are described in the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC (APEGBC) Professional Practice Guidelines Onsite Sewerage Systems (dated Jan 7, 2013) as follows:

• Type 2 is treatment that produces an effluent consistently containing less than 45mg/L of total suspended solids and having a five day biochemical oxygen demand of less than 45mg/L
• Type 3 is treatment that produces an effluent consistently containing less than 10mg/L of total suspended solids and having a five day biochemical oxygen demand of less than 10mg/L and a median fecal coliform density of less than 400 Colony Forming Unites per 100 mL.

The SSR requires that system design, construction and maintenance only be undertaken by or under the supervision of Authorized Person who are either professionals or Registered Onsite Wastewater Practitioners (ROWPs). Registered Onsite Wastewater Practitioners (ROWPs) can be Authorized Persons for Types 1 and 2 small flow (less than or equal to 9100 L/day daily design flow) systems. However, all Type 3 systems and all large flow (daily design flows of over 9100 L/day) must be designed, constructed and maintained by or under the supervision of a professional. A ROWP or other person may install and maintain Type 3 and large flow systems under the supervision of a professional.

The maintenance of systems installed before May 31, 2005 does not require an Authorized Person but a significant alteration or repair of these systems is subject to the SSR and maintenance by or under the supervision of an Authorized Person.
Health Authorities and Environmental Health Officers have statutory authority to administer and enforce the SSR, receive and respond to complaints about health hazards, to inspect and take corrective action to alleviate health hazards related to an onsite sewerage system and to carry out legal remedies such as orders and tickets.

It is important to note that under the SSR, the owner is responsible for record keeping and ensuring maintenance is done in accordance with the time intervals defined in the sewerage system maintenance plan. This tidbit of information is just one of the ways a knowledgeable real estate agent can help you when you buy or sell a home.

The above short discussion just scratches the surface of these two important laws. There are many other laws that also can and do affect real estate in the province. Knowing what can and does affect the dream luxury property that you are thinking of making your own is an important part of the overall real estate home buying process. Rarely will you see mountain view homes in Crown Isle that are affected by the aformentioned laws. Turn to the Brett Cairns for Comox Valley executive homes and to help you with those important decisions.

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• A Higher Standard of Living or Quality of Life?

A commonly help perception is that if you improve your standard of living your quality of life will also increase. Not so fast. More times than not the exact opposite can be true. Why is that?

One’s standard of living is often measured against success in terms of money, power, or influence. Most often people aspire to positions of greater authority and prestige and higher wages. How often have you heard “congratulations I have good news and bad news for you. The good news is that you are getting promoted. The bad news is that you have to relocate to city XYZ.” Most major corporations have their headquarters in major cities and if you are moving up the chain you will likely end up there at some point in time. If you like large cities this may be a good thing for you. However, how many of you like the traffic, commutes and stresses associated with most major cities?

Within Canada most major cities are expensive to live in. Buying a home in some of them like Vancouver is beyond the reach of the average Canadian. So if you get promoted and have to move there, what do you do? You can rent or you can buy out in the outlying suburbs but if you do you are likely faced with a long commute to work. Spending hours getting to and from work may not be such a good thing. If you can take public transportation you can get some work done or enjoy a book or listen to the radio but most people end up driving themselves and they have to put up with the extra stresses and strains of driving in heavy traffic with many other stressed out people.

Beyond the stresses of city life there is the additional debt burden associated with living there and commuting to work. Yes most major cities have more opportunities to enjoy a wider variety of things. But will you have the time and money to take advantage of what they offer? Will the added stress and worry be worth the promotion you worked so hard to get? This is often the two-edged sword of working hard to realize a higher standard of living in Canada. Of course, there is also the extra tax burden associated with making a higher wage in Canada. Not only does the amount go up but the percentage taken by the government for working harder goes up as well.

If this storyline applies to you perhaps it is time to focus more on your quality of life and enjoying life before you get too old? Perhaps it is time to see why some many older Canadians have decided to move to the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island and buy a luxury home in the Comox Valley real estate market. If you want to learn more about this terrific region of Canada contact Brett Cairns of RE/MAX Ocean Pacific Realty to be your guide and Realtor.

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• Most Expensive Homes for Sale in the Comox Valley

Have you ever wondered what the most expensive homes for sale look like in the Comox Valley. Here are the homes listed at more than $2 million in Courtenay and Comox and those listed at more than$ million in Crown Isle. Select one of the following links for all Comox real estate listings and all Courtenay real estate listings and Crown Isle real estate listings

#ComoxValley #ExpensiveHomes #HomesForSale #MultiMillionDollarHomes

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• Why Comox Valley Property Tax Assessments Can be a Bad Measure of Market Value

How many times have buyers used the Property Tax Assessed Value of a home as an indicator of its market value? As a realtor I hear this metric used far too frequently by buyers as justification to make a low offer on a property. While the property tax assessed value of a property may come close to market value is some circumstances, it is not a reliable measure on which to base any decision as a home buyer.

Property Tax Assessments

Let’s talk about property tax assessments. They are completed on an annual basis in British Columbia by BC Assessmenton the following schedule:
• July 1st of the previous year – the assessed value is estimated for most properties as of this date;
• Oct 31st of the previous year – the assessed value is supposed to reflect the physical condition and permitted us of the property as of this date;
• January of the current year – Property assessment notices are distributed;
• February 2nd of the current year – deadline for filing a notice of complaint for the assessment;
• February 3rd to March 15th – hearings are held on the complaints
• Spring of the current year – tax rates are set by municipalities; and
• July 2nd of the current year – taxes are payable on the property by this date.

A few observations about this process

Assessed value. Assessments are only done once a year by a handful of assessors in the BC Assessment office. In the Comox Valley Last year the BC Assessment Courtenay office issued about 34,000 assessments. Excluding weekends and holidays there are about 250 business days in a calendar year. The BC Assessment office is open on business days from 8:30am to 4:30pm. With time off for lunch and breaks that means they are working about 7 hours a day. How much time do you think each assessor spent on an individual home? Not much based on the math.

BC Assessment has our properties in an online database called e-value BC. On their website they encourage homeowners to update the database when homeowners renovate, update, or add to their home or property. They place a great deal of emphasis on keeping this database up to date. The problem with statistics is this. Two Crown Isle fairway real estate that are statistically similar may have dramatically different finishing inside each of them so much so that one home can be worth $100K more than the other. How many homes did the assessors actually visit the 34,000 homes before they did an assessment? When was the last time an assessor came to your home before doing an assessment on it? How, then can they ensure that the assessment reflects the physical condition and permitted use of the property if they do not actually visit the property? The plain and simple answer is they cannot.

Last year the assessment office issued a press release that said “most homeowners in the Comox Valley will see modest changes in the -5% to +10% range. I do not know about you but a +10% change in a year is not modest.

Let’s say a homeowner receives an assessment that indicates their home is greatly undervalued. How many homeowners receiving this type of assessment will complain about it? Not many, and why would they? Increased assessed value generally means higher property taxes. Lower assessed value means lower property taxes. A system that relies primarily on statistics for assessments and on homeowners to update a public database especially when renovations and improvements are made to their home or property is fundamentally flawed. How many homeowners actually use or update the database, or for that matter are even aware of it?

In some parts of the Comox Valley real estate market homes can and do sell for close to assessed value. A typical split level home in Comox is one example of where this is often the case. These 1960s built homes are plentiful and most have the same features, are located on similar sized properties and sell for very similar prices unless they are substantially updated. However, in many other segments of the market such as waterfront listings assessed values can be found between $100K low and $200K high without much effort. Much more significant variances have also occurred especially in higher end listings.

A Practical Example

A case in point. A short while ago a buyer asked me to write an offer for them on a home that was built a few years ago. They told me what they thought a fair price for their offer. They based the offering price on what they claimed was a comprehensive statistical analysis of property tax assessed values and homes sales. Their conclusion was that most homes in the Comox Valley sold in the past year close to assessed value. In the price range, location and type of home they were considering, they were dead wrong. Of 17 comparable home sales over the past year only 3 sold for within 5% of their assessed values. The other 14 sold for between 40K and 120K over their assessed values.

Property Tax Assessments serve a purpose. They are used as the basis for the property tax notices that we all receive once a year. However, they are all too frequently NOT a good metric with which to determine the market value of a home for sale on the Comox Valley real estate market. Experiences in other markets may vary. It is important to remember that all real estate markets are local and comparisons with other markets are too often an apples to oranges comparison.

Other Estimates of Home Value

Home valuations can appear in a variety of different forms. Actual value, Insured value, Lending value, Appraised value, Assessed value and Market value are most of them. In a perfect world each of these would be the same for the same home. The world is not perfect and they all too often are not the same. Moreover, in some instances they are quite different. They each serve a different purpose, but the methods by which they are calculated often differ along with some of the underlying assumptions and constraints that are associated with their valuation processes.

Home Market Value

Market value is the only reliable metric for determining the price that a home might reasonably be expected to realize when sold by a willing seller to a willing buyer after adequate time and exposure to the market. The BC Assessment website acknowledges this metric as the best one and they probably strive to base assessments on market value but as discussed above the process is flawed.
Even market valuations are not without their challenges. First, not all Realtors have the same level and type of education, training and experience. Second, not all Realtors will go beyond a statistical search of comparable sales to generate a market valuation. Remember what I said earlier about the need to visit homes being assessed?

Experienced, conscientious and competent Realtors who know the market well can often provide a reasonably precise market valuation of luxury homes. The next time you need advice on market value as either a buyer or as a seller, turn to the Brett Cairns real estate team.