Buying at the top of a cycle and completing into a softer market is the situation a lot of BC presale owners are in right now. It is not a personal failure and it is not unusual — it is what happens when you sign a price three years before you take possession. What matters now is choosing between three options with clear eyes.
Sell at a loss now. You crystallise the loss, stop the exposure, and free your deposit for something else. This makes sense when completing is not financially possible, or when holding would strain you into a worse decision later.
Hold through completion and rent it out. This works when you can carry the mortgage with rental income covering most of it, and you are comfortable holding through a recovery of unknown length. It requires honest numbers — mortgage, strata fees, property tax, vacancy, and the rules in your building about renting.
Complete and sell as a resale. Sometimes a completed, tangible home sells better than a contract, and it removes assignment restrictions and assignment-specific tax treatment. The trade-off is that you pay the closing costs, GST and transfer costs first.
There is no universally correct answer, and anyone who gives you one without seeing your numbers is guessing. What we do is model all three against your actual contract, deposit and financing position, then tell you which we would choose — including when that means not transacting at all.
We represent buyers and assignors — never developers. That is the whole point: the person on the other side of the table already has someone working for them.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Assignment tax treatment in particular is unforgiving, and we will tell you to speak to a CPA before you accept an offer.
You have three realistic options: sell the assignment at a loss and stop the exposure, complete and rent the home out while holding, or complete and sell it as a resale. The right choice depends on whether you can finance completion and how long you can hold.
Walking away means not completing, which is a breach of contract. You can lose your deposit and may face further liability. It is generally the worst of the available outcomes and should be a last resort after the alternatives have been explored.
It depends on whether rent realistically covers most of your carrying costs, how long you can hold, and whether completing is financeable at all. Both are legitimate; the decision should be made on your actual numbers rather than on sentiment about the market.
Assignment sales of new residential property are subject to GST on the assignment amount, and tax treatment does not simply disappear because the outcome was a loss. Speak with a CPA who handles BC real estate before accepting an offer — this is the area where sellers are most often surprised.
Talk to a buyer-side presale specialist: (672) 258-1100. Free contract review and valuation — we don't work for the developer.