Sunday, March 13, 2011
By Ozzie Jurock, The Province
"We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself." -American author Lloyd Alexander (1924 -2007).
Q: My husband and I want to buy a property at Whistler. We are confused between Phase 1 and 2 condos and nice-looking hotel-type units. Help?
A: Yes, it can be confusing. Phase 1 simply means: unlimited personal use (this is what you want!), and phase 2 means an assortment of limited personal uses: for instance, 28 days in winter and 28 days in the summer. (This is much less desirable).
Hotel-type units are a commercial-type investment. I have intensely disliked phase 2 and hotel units for 15 years. In the hottest real estate market of all time, you can buy Phase 2 (limited-use) condos at Whistler for 1996 prices, hotel-unit prices at the Four Seasons are off 45 per cent from 2008, and Phase 1 units and houses have doubled in value over the same period.
All prices at Whistler have come down, the Olympics having made no difference but I agree with you: Whistler prices may well be at the bottom.
Q: I read that I can make my home mortgage interest tax deductible. How do I do that?
A: It is called the "Smith manoeuvre." Type that into Google for a lot of answers. In a nutshell: You use your business or other income to pay the mortgage and borrow the money to pay your staff and other business expenses. That way, the interest on the money you borrow becomes tax-deductible over time while the mortgage on your home gets paid down.
However, be rigorous in keeping documents, bank accounts and payments separate. If you pay your company utility bills and your home hydro bill with the same Visa, you are doomed.
Ozzie Jurock is a senior real estate adviser at www.jurock.com. He can be reached by email at oz@jurock.com
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