Buying a home in Penticton and the South Okanagan

I built houses for twenty-four years before I sold them, so when I show you one I will tell you what is right with it and what is wrong with it. Here is how a purchase actually runs, in order, with the detail on my blog for each step.

1. Talk to a lender or mortgage broker first

Before you look at a single house, find out what you can borrow and what you will need in hand. The down payment is only part of it. There is also property transfer tax, legal fees, an inspection, and moving. Your lender or broker is the right person for the numbers. I am not, and I will send you to one if you need a name.

• Property transfer tax in BC, and the exemptions
• Speculation and vacancy tax in Penticton

2. Decide where

The South Okanagan is a lot of different places in a short drive. Lake, hillside, town, gated strata, leased land.

• Choosing where to live in the South Okanagan
• Sandbridge and The Springs compared
• Columbia, Duncan or Sendero Canyon
• Buying in Wiltse and Valleyview
• Living in Okanagan Falls
• Moving to Penticton from Alberta

3. Decide what kind of house

Stairs, yard, garage, and whether this is the last move.

• Rancher or two storey when you downsize
• What to look for if this is your last house

4. Look at houses the way a builder does

I start at the road, not the kitchen. The grade, the roofline, what the last owner spent money on. None of it replaces a home inspection. It tells you which houses are worth paying an inspector to look at.

• What I look at first on a walkthrough
• How to tell a well-built house from an expensive-looking one
• What to check in an older South Okanagan home
• Retaining walls on hillside properties
• Legal and unauthorized suites in BC

5. If it is a strata, read the documents

The monthly fee is the least important number. The depreciation report, the minutes and the bylaws are where the surprises are.

• What to check before you buy into a BC strata
• How to read strata documents before you buy
• Depreciation reports and what changed in 2024
• What is a bare land strata in BC
• Buying on leased land in Penticton

6. Write the offer, and use the subject period

Price is one term of many. Subjects, dates and deposit matter as much. In BC you also have a short rescission period after an accepted offer on most residential property.

• The BC home buyer rescission period
• Making the dates work when you sell and buy

7. Completion and possession

Your lawyer or notary handles the transfer and the money. I stay on it until you have the keys, and I check that the house is left the way the contract says.

Questions, or ready to start? Email dano007@shaw.ca or call 250.488.0226. More on my blog: blog.danjones.ca

Nothing on this page is legal, tax or lending advice. Talk to your lawyer, accountant and lender about your own situation.