New Home Properties and Recent Builds Across Metro Vancouver

New Home on a Greater Vancouver listing can describe a completed build, a presale contract or a recently finished house being resold by its first owner, so ask which one before you tour.

Confirm What Kind of New Home the Listing Describes

The three are legally different purchases. A finished home on the market today is bought and completed the usual way. A presale is an agreement to buy something not yet built, with a disclosure statement, a rescission period, deposits held in trust and a completion date that can move by a long way. A first resale looks like a normal purchase but carries the remaining warranty from the original build. Ask the listing agent which applies, and if it is a presale, have a lawyer read the disclosure statement before you sign.

Then ask who built it. Look up the builder's licence, ask what else they have completed nearby, and walk one of their earlier projects if you can. A builder's previous work tells you more than a show suite does.

Ask About Warranty, Deficiencies and Tax

Newly built homes in this province come with mandatory third-party warranty coverage on materials and labour, the building envelope and the structure, each running for a different length of time. Ask for the warranty certificate, confirm what has been claimed already, and check when each coverage period started, since it runs from the original occupancy rather than from your purchase.

Walk a deficiency list before completion. Look at door and drawer alignment, window operation, grout and caulking, floor levelness, exterior grading and drainage, and ask how deficiencies get resolved after you move in. Finally ask your mortgage professional and your lawyer about the tax treatment, since sales tax generally applies to a newly built home and any rebate depends on price and use, which is not something to work out after you have signed.