Kristy Mattiazzo has been licensed since 2004 and works with buyers throughout Coquitlam and the Tri-Cities from RE/MAX Heights Realty. As an Accredited Buyer’s Representative® (ABR®), she represents buyers through the whole purchase — from narrowing down which Coquitlam neighbourhood actually fits how you live, through reviewing strata documents, evaluating comparable sales, structuring an offer and negotiating the terms that follow. Her professional home-staging background also means she reads a property the way it was prepared to be seen, which is as useful on the buying side as it is on the selling side.
Buying in Coquitlam
Each of these steps carries its own decisions. Neighbourhood selection in Coquitlam is rarely just about price — areas such as Burke Mountain, Westwood Plateau, Maillardville and Coquitlam West differ in housing stock, age of construction and setting, and those differences matter more over five years than the asking price does. A strata purchase adds a second layer: the minutes, the depreciation report, the contingency reserve and the bylaws all change what you are actually buying. Comparable-sale analysis is what turns an asking price into an informed offer, and the subject removal period is where inspections, financing and document review have to line up. Kristy is a Real Estate Negotiation Expert and works through each of these with her buyers rather than around them.
Frequently Asked Questions
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It depends on the kind of home you want, your commute and your budget — Coquitlam changes a lot over a short distance. Burke Mountain is the newest part of the city, mostly detached homes and townhouses built in the last two decades. Westwood Plateau sits higher up the hillside and tends toward larger homes on bigger lots. Central Coquitlam is older and established, with mature trees and a mix of original houses and rebuilds. Coquitlam West borders Burnaby and is closest to the Lougheed SkyTrain and Highway 1, while Coquitlam Centre puts you beside the mall, the Evergreen Extension and most of the city’s amenities.
The questions that narrow it fastest are not about price: which schools matter to you, what your commute actually looks like at 8am, and how long you expect to stay. A house that suits a five-year plan is often not the one that suits a fifteen-year plan.
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Start with the strata, not the suite. Ask what the monthly fee covers, what the contingency reserve fund holds, and whether any special levy has been approved or discussed. Read the last two years of council minutes — recurring items about the building envelope, roof, elevators, plumbing or parkade membrane are the ones that turn into levies later.
Then check the bylaws for the things that are easy to assume: pets, rentals, age restrictions, and what you are actually allowed to do with a balcony or a parking stall. Building age matters too. Wood-frame buildings from the late 1980s and 1990s are the ones to ask rainscreen and envelope-remediation questions about, and whether that work has already been done and paid for.
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They change what you are buying, and sometimes what it is worth. The Form B states the strata fee, the contingency reserve balance, any special levies, and what parking and storage actually come with the unit — which is not always what the listing says. The depreciation report projects what the building will need over the next 30 years and how it is expected to be funded; a thin reserve beside a long list of upcoming work is a future cost to you, not to the seller.
Council minutes are where problems appear first, usually months before they become a levy. Bylaws decide whether you can rent, keep a pet or renovate. This is why an offer on a strata property normally carries a subject clause for reviewing the documents: it gives you a defined window to read them and to walk away if what they show is not what you expected.
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Look at the expensive things first, in this order: roof, drainage, electrical, plumbing and the foundation. Perimeter drains have a service life and replacing them is not a small job. On the electrical side, check the panel and ask about knob-and-tube or aluminum wiring — both can affect what insurers will offer you. For plumbing, poly-B supply lines are common in BC homes built between roughly 1985 and 1998 and many insurers now treat them as a condition.
Two more that are specific to older properties here: buried oil tanks on pre-1960s lots, which are the buyer’s problem once the sale closes, and asbestos in flooring, insulation and drywall compound in anything built before the 1990s, which matters the moment you want to renovate. Also confirm that additions, decks and any suite were actually permitted. A qualified inspection during the subject period is what turns this list from guesswork into numbers.