Originally Posted by Almost Canadian (Post 10452947)

Bankruptcy, dying intestate, etc. If you have identifiable shares, that element of the property belongs to you. Joint tenants do not have indentifiable shares so, if one party dies, the equitable interest automatically passes to the other and is not part of the deceased's estate.

It appears that it is being done purely to receive some form of reduction of something. I hope it works out for you.

Originally Posted by Almost Canadian (Post 10452947)

Unless you have negotiated otherwise, either your vendor's realtor will be pocketing 100% of the commission or your realtor will be paid via you and paid via the commission s/he receives from the vendor's realtor. I can't see how it is a good deal for you.

Everything your realtor did for you is something that realtors are expected to do for their clients.

Originally Posted by james.mc (Post 10452276)

In our case there is a saving in BC to be made on that front also... because only one of us has owned a house (elsewhere in the world) there is a way of legally sharing ownership (someone feel free to proffer the correct legal terminology) 99%-1% in favour on the person that is a first time buyer. This means we get a 99% saving on applicable property transfer tax. The precise legal aspects of this escape me at present as the option was only explained to be briefly (by a lawyer) on our last visit but it seems worth taking up on.

Originally Posted by JonboyE (Post 10453097)

You might want to look into this a bit more. AFAIK there are three programs that assist first time buyers in BC.

1) Federal income tax credit. I don't think you will uqalify for this as one of the conditiions is:

You did not live in another home owned by you or your spouse or common-law partner in the year of acquisition or in any of the four preceding years (first-time home buyer).

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/t.../menu-eng.html

2) BC First time buyer's bonus. I don't think you will qualify for this either:

A first-time home buyer is an individual who has never previously owned a primary residence anywhere in the world. In the case of multiple buyers of a home, each buyer must be a first-time home buyer having never owned a primary residence anywhere in the world. (My bolding.)

http://www.sbr.gov.bc.ca/individuals...nus_faqs.htm#1

3) First time buyer property transfer tax exemption. Some of the conditions include:

* you are a Canadian citizen, or a permanent resident as determined by Immigration Canada,
* you have lived in British Columbia for 12 consecutive months immediately before the date you register the property, or you have filed 2 income tax returns as a British Columbia resident during the 6 years before the date you register the property,
* you have never owned an interest in a principal residence anywhere in the world at anytime, and
* you have never received a first time home buyers’ exemption or refund.

Also:

* the fair market value of the property is not more than the qualifying value of $425,000 (only if purchasing an existing home),

http://www.sbr.gov.bc.ca/documents_l...forms/0269.pdf