First month’s rent won’t even pay the taxes on this 'charming' City of Kelowna rental home
A Kelowna realtor has tracked down the location of a “charming” little house that the City of Kelowna has posted for rent for $2,300 a month.
The realtor doesn’t want to be identified but pointed out that the city just bought the house, at 802 Wilson Ave., this spring for $724,900.
“I see people are complaining about the rent, but the rent does not even come close to covering the $725,000 capital cost, insurance and taxes,” the realtor wrote in an email. “If those people knew what money the city bought it for, they might have other comments.”
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The posting she sent shows taxes at $2,791, more than the first month’s rent.
“The rental rate is based on market price and functionality of the home,” JoAnne Adamson, the city’s manager of property management, wrote in an email to iNFOnews.ca.
That posting says it was sold on June 18 but the B.C. Assessment listing says it was sold May 2.
Both have the same sale price and both say it was built in 1935 but the city’s posting and B.C. Assessments says it’s two bedrooms. The real estate listing says it’s three bedrooms, with an upstairs loft.
The property borders on both Wilson and Cawston avenues between Richter and Ethel streets, near downtown Kelowna.
It’s near the middle of the block and in the middle of eight properties that the city has designated in its upcoming Official Community Plan as parkland.
“The property was acquired using Park (Development Cost Charges) monies; as such, the purchase is not financed,” Adamson wrote. “The rental is an interim use to generate revenue to go back into the parks fund and provide housing until such a time as the park is developed.”
This is one of eight properties, from 772 to 824 Wilson Ave. on that block that are designated as a future park.
If the other properties also sell for $725,000 each, it will take more than $5 million to buy up enough land for the park. That means, whoever gets to move in on Sept. 1, will likely get to live there for many years to come.
For privacy reasons, including the fact that some people rent city-owned homes through the Central Okanagan Mental Health Association, the city doesn’t make the location of its 33 other rental homes public, Adamson wrote.
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