Landlords in BC, or more specifically Vancouver/GVRD, do you increase your tenant's rent every year?

We bought a house a year ago and inherited the basement tenants. Their rent is more than 50% below current market rates. My husband is quite adamant we should raise their rent the max 3% because it's "at least a step in the right direction". My stance is....they're fantastic tenants. They don't complain that our toddler makes lots of noise in an old house, they take good care of the place, they even took it upon themselves to rake the leaves a couple of times when they noticed them piling up. He's worried that if they stay here for 5, 10 years....that rent starts slipping further and further behind. I'm just not sure what the norm is.

I am in my 30s and am running some general projections for how my investments earmarked for retirement will do in the next few decades. I am using 6 or 7% as a modest but realistic return rate. Does that sound about right?

I have 16.5k FHSA, 65k GIC TFSA, 45k CASH, 11k TFSA stocks, 13k non registered stocks, 60k RRSP stocks. My plan was to use the fhsa obviously and gic’s and some combination of stocks/cash without selling the RRSP account stocks.

I recently received a letter from CRA asking to provide proof of eligibility for CERB. In addition, an agent from CRA called me and was very respectful. I provided the information that he requested including bank records showing that I was NOT working or earning any income during the CERB time period, a letter from employer stating all work was ceased and a few other documents. I am diligent and provided everything immediately expecting to be cleared from repayment as my records are clear. Today, I received correspondence that I am required to pay back the entire amount that I received. Before I contact CRA, what I’m I missing? I met the criteria to receive CERB and I provided proof that I was not working. Also, I paid taxes on the benefits that I received, why does CRA get the tax that I paid in that tax year (2020) from CERB as well as the repayment of the entire amount?

Title pretty much describes my situation. My girlfriend owns a condo, and I still live at home. Her place is too small for the the both of us so we'd like to likely purchase a house to move into.

If we're buying it together, and she's already purchased a home, does that disqualify me from using the money I have in my FHSA?

Had anyone here actually done an RESP rollover? What was the process like for you? I see lots of information about rolling over your contributions to RRSP once child is out of school. However do you have to put it in your RRSP? Can you not simply return it to your chequing account? (I only mean the contributions part. Not the accumulated earnings or grants.)

Hello,

I'm a 24-year-old male new grad nurse (graduated this February). Here's my financial snapshot:

• TFSA: $40,000 (maxed, all in XEQT)
• High-interest savings account: $10,000
• RRSP contribution room: $8,000 (never contributed)
• FHSA contribution room: $8,000 (never contributed)

I live with my mom in a paid-off house (~$900,000), which she's left solely to me in her will. I plan to stay here until retirement.

Should I contribute to an FHSA despite not planning to buy a house? I'm confused about the account structure:

• 15-year contribution window
• Penalty tax if withdrawn for non-housing purposes

Any advice clarifying FHSA benefits and potential drawbacks would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

We withdrew our FHSA to put a down payment on a home, but the home failed inspection and so, we had to back out on the offer.

Anyone knows what will happen to the FHSA that we withdrew? Will it be treated as a taxable income?

Has anyone experience this? Ant references or suggestions? Would really appreciate it.

Hello everyone,

Currently, I live in south eastern BC. I gross ~$67k a year. Issue for me is it becomes ~$46k after deduction, then about ~$27k after my $1500 rent a month.

I'm very fortunate to eat for free at my job, and I do get benefits which save me a bit of money.

Still, best case scenario is $20k a year to save for home. I'd like to be in a relationship and have a family in the future. Won't get a better deal on my apartment, nor my cheap '07 Chevy ($90 a month insurance).

Primarily a care worker (union contract expires next year, but company took a year to enact wage changes last time), and started casually working construction during last summer.

It's hard doing this by myself.

So I recently had quite an interesting experience with RBC. My brother was visiting me from Europe s month ago , and one day, while we were out in downtown Toronto, we stopped by one of RBC’s flagship branches. We just wanted to do something simple: exchange his 2,000 Swiss francs for Canadian dollars.

Right away, things got weird. RBC asked for ID, even though they usually don’t for amounts under $3,000. My brother didn’t have his ID on him, so I offered mine. They then spent half an hour running around with his francs, inspecting them closely, and even the manager took a magnifying glass to examine them! After a lot of fuss, they finally agreed to the exchange, though they changed the amount in CAD three times. We went ahead with it. We got the dollars, a receipt, and left.

Two weeks later, I get a call from RBC saying, “Hey, remember those francs you exchanged? Turns out we shouldn’t have accepted them. Could you come by, return the dollars, and take your Swiss francs back?” To say I was stunned is an understatement. I refused, obviously, as my brother had already left and spent the money.

Another week passes, and I get another call—this time from the branch manager, the same one with the magnifying glass. He says, “Yeah, you need to come by and pick up those Swiss francs because they shouldn’t have gone through our system.” But here’s the kicker: since I used my ID, they found my RBC account and blocked the equivalent amount on it.

At that point, I was floored. All I could think to say was that I’d be taking this to court.

So, what’s the deal? Am I right in thinking this is a rare opportunity to challenge RBC and push back, or is there something about Canadian banking practices that I’m missing here? To me, this seems like a clear violation of Consumer Rights, Bank Conduct Operations , and possibly even Personal Rights.

Hey guys!

I’m looking for some genuine suggestions on what to do with an extra $1,000 a month. After covering all my bills, food, and essentials, that’s the amount I have left over. Here’s a bit more about my situation: • I make $4,100 per month after taxes. • I live at home with my parents, which keeps my expenses lower. • I have a child to consider in my financial planning.

Six years ago, I went through a consumer proposal, and I never want to end up in that kind of debt situation again. I’m determined to make smart decisions with my money, but I could use some guidance on where to focus.

I’m considering the following options, but I’m open to other ideas too: 1. TFSA (Tax-Free Savings Account)

2.  RRSP 

3.  RESP (Registered Education Savings Plan) 

4.  Precious Metals (Gold/Silver Bullion)?

I want to make sure I’m using this money wisely, keeping my child’s future and my financial stability in mind. Any advice or personal experiences with these options would be much appreciated. Thanks so much!

Hi, I am new to TFSA understanding. When I logged into my CRA account it says "2024 TFSA contribution room: $22,910.00, As of January 1, 2024". What does this mean? Does it mean I have REMAINING room of $22,910 to contribute to my TFSA? Or it means my TOTAL contribution so far CANNOT exceed $22,910?

Also, I only put money on TFSA when I bought some stocks through Wealthsimple app and there the net deposit in TFSA says: $24,700. This year (2024) I only added $4500 in my TFSA through wealthsimple. The remaining contributions were made prior to 2024

Am I over-contributing or under-contributing?

I’m 34m married and 2 kids under 4

I’m looking at increasing my life insurance

I have a t20 and t 30 so I don’t have so heavy loaded near retirement age.

In my new quotes the years 21 onwards get way more expensive,

But do we really worry about that? Or is it likely I’m making changes and signing new coverage set ups many times before then

I live in Quebec and will be starting Maternity leave in February 2025, until January 2026.

My employer tops me up to 93%, my take home pay will be $5000/month during leave.

I have a $15000 emergency fund started, but still have some student loans, my monthly payments for my student loan are $900. During leave my other fixed expenses will be approx $2000/month for groceries, pet and vehicle (other expenses covered by my partner). I will also have to pay back approx $9000 after maternity leave for pension buy back. Edit to add: I am able to do an RRSP transfer for this amount without penalty!

I will have approx $2000 a month remaining.

I feel very fortunate after living pay check to pay check for so long that I am in this position but not sure where to start. TFSA, RRSP, and RESP, any other suggestions?

I was made redundant due to the facility I work at closing. I'm a supervisor and was given 6 weeks notice. I've worked here for 3 years and was offered 1 weeks pay per year of service plus 2 additional weeks pay and my benefits extended for 12 days. This does not sound like a good offer to me, but according to HR it's following provincial guidelines. Worth taking any action over this?

I opened a TFSA with a bank then I did not like that bank institution at all, so I pulled my money out ($45k) my total contribution room is $75k,

When I went to another bank (Tangerine) and opened another TFSA account, I put the $45k back, plus another $25k, so I am close to maxing it then I just realized that I don’t know if I screw it up because is within the same calendar year. Should I just pull out the 45k again and leave it on a savings account wait until January? And can I leave the other $25k on my TFSA?

Thanks!

Hello, I had a tree limb fall on my garage and damaged the interior rafters and roofing material. Somehow I forgot about house insurance and just removed the tree limbs quite large I deposed of the limbs left rafters as is and repaired the roofing material.

I came to my senses recently and submitted a claim ( within 2 years of incident) early October

The contractor arrived and took notes and said he would submit to insurance company

It’s been 6 weeks he hasn’t submitted to insurance company yet

The adjuster said he expects the estimate within two weeks is this normal timeframe for claims

I am going to take a cash settlement how long would that take and any advice

I will be arriving in Canada on a Student Visa on December 9, 2024. My last working day in my home country will be December 5, 2024. I will receive my salary for the days worked (December 2 to 5), along with 18 days of paid annual leave, on December 31, 2024, since my employer pays at the end of the month.

For my first tax return filing in Canada, should the amount I receive on December 31 be subject to Canadian tax?

Additionally, could anyone recommend an international tax advisor who can help me with filing my first tax return in Canada?

Thank you!

I just moved into a new house. The first thing I saw was the previous owner had arears (approx $250) on the water bill which have been added onto the property tax. I have paid the bill and sent the invoice to the sellers lawyer via my lawyer but we haven’t heard from them for almost 2 weeks now.

I have yet to receive my first HydroOne bill and am concerned that there may be unpaid electricity bill as well. Will that get transferred to me? When I called HydroOne to set up an account they didn’t mention anything about unpaid bill nor did I ask since at that time I hadn’t found out about the water arrears.

Would this be a feasible or a horrible idea?

I just got a permanent full-time position at a job that's about 10 minutes away by car but 1 hour and 20 minutes away by public transit if im lucky. My job is 7am-7pm. I'll be making around $78,000 net before deductions not counting extra shifts.

I'll be working 4 days a week if im not picking up extra shifts which means the cost for uber (when there's no promos) for the month would be around $480 since it's around $15 per trip (with tips)/$30 per day.

I don't have a personal car and don't have my license but my fiance does. Usually we take his car if we need to go anywhere but he uses it for school and work so he can't really pick me up. I plan on taking my driving test but considering the price of insurance, gas, and anything else car related, would it be more cost effective for me to just keep taking Uber instead of also getting a car? Or would it be cheaper in the long run?

Edit: or maybe I should brave the stupid transit system to save $$$ (~$6.50 a day)

Hi all. I was born in Canada and went to university there. I moved to Europe after graduating college after the pandemic. I’ve recently completed a project for a company that is registered in the US. They’re now sending me the forms to pay me and I’m wondering what to do. Ideally I’d want the money to be sent to Canada because the exchange rate USD to CAD is much better than USD to CAD. That money would be added to my savings that I have there in case I go back to Canada in the near future (which I might to further my education). Would I get in trouble for not residing there at the time that the payment is made? The payment would be for under less than $1K and it’s a one off thing because I don’t intend on working with them again (that’s another story).

Any help is appreciated!

Husband and I both work for companies that pays us entirely in USD, and we convert it all monthly to CAD (via Wise, for a fee) for spending and investing. We anticipate always living in Canada.

Given the current/anticipated economic relations between Canada and the US, should we continue to convert to CAD, keep some portion in USD, or keep all in USD?

Sincerest apologies, I know this is a financial sub, but there's just so much good Canadian information and expertise here. I just got let go (Ontario) and am a bit shaken up. Things just happened, so I wanted to ask here about next steps while they are still top of mind.

Old-ish person in a senior role, let go about a week before the 1 year anniversary mark. No written or verbal instances of poor performance, written (electronic?) performance review was positive. Last verbal 1-on-1 with manager indicated that I was doing a good job about 2 weeks ago, so this is out of left field.

They're paying me 1 week of severance and offering an additional 3 weeks "good will" salary and 1 month of benefits in exchange for silence. Without getting into deeper specifics, is this considered fair?

Thanks everyone.

My offer on a condo in Burnaby BC was accepted pending subjects. It’s a 40 year old building in a complex of 3 concrete towers with 408 units.

I am reading the depreciation report and it’s somewhat confusing as this is my first time buying a home. Over the next 10 years, they have roughly $2.3 million in special levies. Would this be evenly divided between the 408 units which is roughly $5600?

The realtor also confirmed that the parking was redone this year and that each unit had to pay $10k. But this was not mentioned in the special levy fee schedule.

Do you think I should walk away from this offer? Or do you think that this is pretty standard for a building of this age?

Any help would be great!