Selling and buying in the Fraser Valley, one step at a time
Each guide below is a set of pages that build on one another. Start at the top of one and read to the end, or open the one question you came for. The downsizing guide is for long-time owners. The other guides are written for a first purchase in Surrey, Langley, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission, and Maple Ridge.
- 11 parts
Downsizing in the Fraser Valley
Selling a long-owned house and moving to a smaller home: sell first or buy first, tax on the sale, 55 and over strata rules, one-level homes, property tax deferment, and helping your children buy.
- Downsizing in the Fraser Valley: The Complete Guide
- Sell First or Buy First? How Downsizers in BC Decide
- Getting a 30-Year-Old House Ready to Sell in the Fraser Valley: What to Fix and What to Leave
- Do You Pay Capital Gains Tax When You Sell Your Home in BC?
- 55 and Over Buildings in BC: The Rules for Downsizers
- Condo, Townhouse or Rancher: Which Smaller Home Suits a Downsizer in the Fraser Valley?
- Strata Fees on a Fixed Income: What a BC Downsizer Should Check Before Buying
- BC Property Tax Deferment and the Seniors Home Owner Grant: 2026 Rules and What You Repay When You Sell
- Sell in Surrey or Langley, Buy Farther East: What Downsizers Gain and What It Costs
- Giving Your Child a Down Payment in BC: How a Gift Works After You Downsize
- Downsizing Checklist for the Fraser Valley: Every Step From the First Price Check to After the Move
- 9 parts
From accepted offer to keys
What happens after the seller signs: the three-day rescission right, the subject conditions and the one signature that makes them go away, conveyancing, and why possession day is not completion day.
- From Accepted Offer to Keys: How Closing Actually Works in BC
- Home Inspection Guide for BC First-Time Buyers: Condos and Townhouses
- Subject Removal in BC Real Estate: What It Is and How It Works
- BC Home Buyer Rescission Period: The 3-Day Rule First-Time Buyers Need to Know
- Title Insurance in BC: The One-Time Premium That Protects Your Ownership
- The Property Disclosure Statement in BC: How to Read What the Seller Tells You
- From Accepted Offer to Keys: The BC Closing Timeline Week by Week
- Notary or Lawyer for Your BC Closing? How First-Time Buyers Should Decide
- The Final Walkthrough Before Completion in BC
- 9 parts
Older homes and building condition
The building problems that change what a home is worth to you: Poly-B and Kitec plumbing, older wiring, asbestos, buried oil tanks, radon, and rainscreen repairs, plus what a home inspection leaves out.
- The Condition Problems That Change a Fraser Valley Offer
- Radon Testing for Fraser Valley Home Buyers: What to Ask Before You Close
- Buried Oil Tanks: The BC Liability That Follows the Property, Not the Person
- Poly-B Plumbing in BC Homes: What Buyers Should Do When They Find It
- Kitec Plumbing in BC Condos: How to Spot It Before You Buy
- Leaky Condo Era Buildings: How to Read a Rainscreen Remediation
- Asbestos in Older Fraser Valley Homes: What Buyers Should Know
- Knob-and-Tube and Aluminum Wiring: When Insurance Says No
- Galvanized and Cast Iron Plumbing in Older BC Homes
- 8 parts
BC buyer programs and taxes
The property transfer tax exemptions, the FHSA, the RRSP Home Buyers' Plan, and the GST rebate, and how they stack for a first purchase in BC.
- BC Buyer Programs and Taxes: A First-Time Buyer's Map for the Fraser Valley in 2026
- The BC Property Transfer Tax First-Time Buyer Exemption: How It Actually Works
- The BC Newly Built Home PTT Exemption: What Counts as New, and What It Saves
- The First Home Savings Account (FHSA) for BC Buyers: How to Use the Best Account the Government Has Ever Built
- The RRSP Home Buyers' Plan for BC First-Time Buyers: $60,000, 15 Years, and the New 5-Year Grace
- GST on a New Home in BC: The Old Rebate, and the New 2026 First-Time Buyer Rebate That Changes Everything
- Is There a First-Time Home Buyer Grant in BC? What Actually Exists in 2026
- What Happened to the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive? (Discontinued 2024)
- 8 parts
Mortgages and affordability
What a lender will actually approve, how the stress test changes the number, and the gap between qualifying power and a monthly payment you can live with.
- How Much House Can You Actually Afford in the Fraser Valley in 2026?
- GDS and TDS: The Two Debt-Service Ratios That Decide What You Qualify For
- Fixed vs Variable Mortgages in BC: How to Choose in 2026
- Mortgage Broker vs Bank: Who Should a First-Time Fraser Valley Buyer Call First?
- Insured vs Uninsured Mortgages in BC: What Changes at the 20% Down Payment Line
- Mortgage Renewal vs New Origination: The Trap We See at Year Five
- Pre-Approval vs Approval: The Difference That Costs Fraser Valley Buyers Their Deposit
- Minimum Down Payment in BC (2026): The Rules by Price, with Fraser Valley Examples
- 7 parts
Buying new presale
Pre-sale, under-construction, and brand-new resale homes all look the same in a listing photo. The paperwork, the timelines, the risks, and the taxes behind them are different. Here is the FRIVE team's plain-English map of a new-home purchase in the Fraser Valley.
- Buying New and Pre-Sale in BC: A Fraser Valley First-Time Buyer Hub
- Buying a Pre-Sale Condo or Townhouse in the Fraser Valley: REDMA, Disclosures, and Completion Risks
- Assignment Sales in BC: What First-Time Buyers Should Know Before Buying One
- The BC 2-5-10 New Home Warranty: What It Covers and Why First-Time Buyers Should Care
- Presale vs Resale in BC: Which Should a First-Time Buyer Choose in 2026?
- The Builders Lien Holdback on a New BC Home
- The Deficiency Walkthrough on a New BC Home
- 7 parts
Condo and strata due diligence
The strata documents to read before subjects come off: depreciation reports, the contingency reserve fund, special levies, and the restrictions that catch buyers out.
- Buying a Condo in the Fraser Valley: What to Check Before You Sign Anything
- How to Read a Strata Depreciation Report Before You Buy a Fraser Valley Condo
- Strata Special Levies in BC: What They Are and How They Hit Buyers Mid-Transaction
- The Strata Contingency Reserve Fund (CRF): What Fraser Valley Condo Buyers Should Actually Check
- BC Strata Rental Restrictions in 2026: What's Allowed, What's Gone, and What This Means for Buyers
- Strata Pet and Age Restrictions in BC: What's Enforceable in 2026
- Strata Documents Review: A First-Time Buyer's Checklist for BC Condos
- 7 parts
Owning your first home
Move-in week, the real first-year costs, the maintenance nobody warns you about, strata renovation rules, and the signs it is time to move up.
- Owning Your First Condo or Townhouse in the Fraser Valley: What Happens After Closing
- Condo Insurance vs. Strata Insurance: What Your Building Covers and What You Still Need
- What Your First Year of Owning a Condo or Townhouse in the Fraser Valley Actually Costs
- The Condo and Townhouse Maintenance Checklist for New BC Owners
- Your First Week in a New Fraser Valley Condo or Townhouse: What to Do First
- Renovating a Condo or Townhouse in BC: What Needs Strata Approval
- Signs It's Time to Move Up From Your First Condo or Townhouse
- 7 parts
Writing the offer
What goes on the page of a Fraser Valley Contract of Purchase and Sale: price, deposit, dates, subject conditions, multiple-offer rules, the three-business-day rescission right, and where first-time buyers get surprised.
- Writing the Offer in BC: What Goes on the Page and What It Will Cost You
- How to Write a Competitive Offer in a Buyer's Market (Without Giving Up Your Protections)
- Deposit vs Down Payment in BC: Two Different Cheques First-Time Buyers Mix Up
- Your Deposit in a BC Home Purchase: Where It Goes and How It Is Protected
- Multiple Offers: What a Buyer Is Told, and What Stays Private
- Escalation Clauses: Why They Are Rare in BC and What Buyers Use Instead
- Backup Offers: Being Second in Line Without Being Stuck There
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