Ep. 108 — Co-Buying a Home in BC With a Friend or Family Member: Pros, Risks & Exit Strategy

Co-buying a home in BC — with a friend, sibling, partner, or parent — is one of the most searched strategies for getting into the BC real estate market right now. In Episode 108 of The Real Deal Pod, Fraser Valley realtor Allister Carrington and BC mortgage broker Geoff Lee cover how co-buying a BC mortgage actually works, what the real risks are, and exactly what every co-buyer needs to have in writing before they sign anything.

With the average BC home now $175,000 below its 2022 peak and Chilliwack condos back at $290,000–$299,000, BC affordability is the best it's been in nearly a decade. Co-buying is how many first-time buyers in the Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver are making the math work.

What you'll learn:

• The BC co-buying mortgage basics: how combined income and pooled down payments work with a lender
• Why both co-buyers' debts matter as much as their income — and the formulas that determine your borrowing power
• What joint mortgage liability really means: if your co-buyer misses a payment, the lender comes after you for the full amount
• Why you need a written co-ownership agreement covering payments, expenses, major decisions, and the exit strategy — before you buy
• The exit questions to answer while everyone is still friends: what if one person wants to sell? What's the buyout process? What if neither qualifies alone?
• Buying with parents: co-signer vs. co-borrower, and how co-signing affects a parent's own future borrowing power
• First-time homebuyer privileges in a co-purchase: your PTT exemption, FHSA, and RRSP rights still apply even if your co-buyer isn't a first-time buyer
• The 4-year rental rule: how to re-qualify as a first-time BC homebuyer after renting
• BC affordability in real dollars: $175,000 below peak, and why talking in dollars matters more than percentages
• Vancouver's rise to #9 in North America for tech talent — and what it means for BC real estate demand
• The Victoria realtor fined $200,000 and suspended by BCFSA for affordable homeownership fraud
• Canada tariff update: what bank CEOs' Q3 earnings actually say about the economic impact

Hosted by Allister Carrington | BC Realtor, KIC Realty | www.AllisterCarrington.com Co-hosted by Geoff Lee | BC Mortgage Broker, GLM Mortgage Group | www.GLMmortgage.com