Buying a resale home
What ages in an older house, what an inspection covers and what it does not, the strata papers, and what the assessment does and does not tell you.
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Most homes for sale here are resales, many of them decades old. The price is half the decision; the other half is what the house will ask of you after you move in.
A resale home has a record: renovations, repairs, and the things that were never done. Reading that record before you commit is what the subject period is for. In BC a buyer usually makes an offer subject to an inspection and to financing, then removes those subjects once satisfied.
This is the checklist we work through with buyers. It does not replace the inspector, the lawyer or the lender; it points them at the right things.
What ages in an older house.
Drainage and the perimeter drains
Water is the costliest problem an older house can hide. Ask the inspector about grading, downspouts and the perimeter drains around the foundation. In older homes these can be clay tile that roots and silt block over time, and a camera scope of the drains is a modest cost against a large one.
Poly-B and older pipe
Polybutylene (Poly-B) water piping went into many homes built in the 1980s and 1990s, and some insurers ask about it or price it in. Older homes can still have galvanized steel supply lines. Know what is in the walls before you remove subjects.
Oil tanks
Homes heated with oil before natural gas reached the street often had a tank, sometimes buried. Many were removed, some were not, and lenders and insurers ask. If the house is old enough, ask for the removal record or a scan of the yard.
The panel and the wiring
Look at the age and capacity of the electrical panel, and ask the inspector what wiring the house has. A small panel matters if you plan a suite, a car charger or a heat pump.
Roof, windows and foundation
Ask the age and type of the roof, whether the windows are original, and what the foundation shows: cracks, staining, past repairs. None of these is a reason to walk away on its own; each is a cost to understand before you agree a price.
Asbestos in older homes
Homes built before 1990 can contain asbestos in materials such as drywall compound, flooring and insulation. It matters most if you plan to renovate, because it has to be tested and removed properly first.
What an inspection is, and what it is not.
Home inspectors in BC are licensed by Consumer Protection BC. A general inspection is visual: it covers what can be seen and reached on the day, not what sits behind finished walls or under a slab. Where the inspector flags something, a specialist follows: a drain camera, an electrician, a roofer, an oil tank scan.
Be at the inspection, ask questions as you walk, and read the whole report, not only the summary.
Most sellers complete a Property Disclosure Statement, answering questions about the home to the best of their knowledge. It is useful, and it is not a warranty. Read it with the inspection report beside it.
In a strata, the building is half the purchase.
With a townhouse or a condo you buy into a building and its finances. Before removing subjects, read the strata’s recent minutes, the depreciation report, the financial statements, the bylaws and the Form B information certificate, which sets out the fees, the contingency reserve and any special levy.
The minutes show what the owners are dealing with: a roof, an envelope, a levy coming. The bylaws set the rules on pets, rentals and age. Read both before you fall for the suite. Our note on strata properties in BC goes further.
The BC Assessment value is a starting point, not a price.
BC Assessment values every property as of July 1 of the previous year, and the notices go out at the end of December. The 2026 values you see on listings now describe the market of July 2025.
Since then prices on the peninsula have eased. The detached benchmark was $1,612,500 in September 2026, 7.4% lower than a year earlier (October 2026 market report). So many current assessments sit above what similar homes are selling for, and an asking price below the assessment is not, on its own, a bargain. In a rising market the reverse happens.
The assessment also works from mass data: the lot, the size, the age, the location. It does not see a renovation, a view or a tired roof. The comparables do.
Recent sales of similar homes nearby, the homes competing with it right now, and the house itself. For any home you are serious about, ask us for the comparables.
Four things to have in hand.
- The comparables: recent sales of similar homes nearby, and what is competing with the house now.
- A sense of what the inspection is likely to find on a house of that age, so nothing in the report surprises you.
- An inspector booked, so the subject period is short and clean.
- Financing pre-approved, with your lender aware of anything unusual about the property, such as a suite or an older tank.
A question about a resale home? Ask it here.
A house you are watching, a strata, an inspection report you want a second read on. Twenty years on the peninsula; a plain answer, usually the same day.
Looking to buy? Tell Hamish the type of home, your budget and your must-haves. He will contact you in the way you prefer when a suitable home comes up.
More for buyers.
Moving here with a familySchools by address, the four public secondaries and Southridge, the 351 to Richmond, and what to sort out first.
White Rock vs South SurreyOne is its own city, the other part of Surrey: taxes, bylaws, housing stock and how prices behave on each side.
The neighbourhood guidesNine neighbourhoods, each with its schools, parks, shops, what we check before you offer, and this month’s numbers.The questions buyers ask us most about resale homes.
What should I check before buying an older house in White Rock or South Surrey?
Drainage and the perimeter drains, the plumbing (Poly-B or galvanized pipe), any old oil tank, the electrical panel, the roof, windows and foundation, and asbestos if you plan to renovate. A licensed inspector covers what can be seen; specialists follow where the inspector flags something.
Is the BC Assessment value what a house is worth?
No. It is a mass valuation as of July 1 of the previous year. When prices have eased since then, as they have on the peninsula, many assessments sit above current prices; in a rising market they sit below. Recent comparable sales are the better guide.
Do I need a home inspection in BC?
It is not required, but buyers usually make an offer subject to inspection and financing. Home inspectors in BC are licensed by Consumer Protection BC.
Is the seller’s Property Disclosure Statement a guarantee?
No. It records what the seller knows and is worth reading with the inspection report, but it is not a warranty.
What should I read before buying a townhouse or condo?
The strata minutes, the depreciation report, the financial statements, the bylaws and the Form B information certificate. Together they show the fees, the reserve, any special levy coming, and the rules on pets, rentals and age.
Sources, checked 22 October 2026: BC Assessment, understanding the assessment process; Consumer Protection BC, home inspector licensing; Fraser Valley Real Estate Board MLS® Home Price Index, October 2026 report (September data). This is general information, not a substitute for your inspector, lawyer or lender.