Balmoral Place, Port Moody: what to know before you buy or sell in the complex

Balmoral Place is a 1979 townhouse complex on the North Shore side of Port Moody, a few minutes on foot from Newport Village, Suterbrook Village and Rocky Point Park. People search the name every month, usually because a unit has come up and they want to know what they are looking at. I sold 249 Balmoral Place in February 2022, so here is the complex as I found it, and what I would check before buying or listing there.

The numbers

• Built: 1979
• Type: multi-level townhouses with carports, most with a private yard
• Unit 249 as sold: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,309 square feet
• Heating: natural gas, forced air
• Envelope: new windows and siding were completed on the complex before 2022
• Walk to: Newport Village, Suterbrook Village, Rocky Point Park, Inlet Centre SkyTrain

What the complex is

This is a 1970s wood-frame townhouse strata, and it should be read as one. The layouts are split across levels rather than stacked, the parking is a carport rather than a garage, and the yards on the outer units are unusually large for Port Moody. 249 had one of the biggest in the complex. Nobody buys here for the finishes; they buy for the location and the space, and then they renovate.

What has been done, and what to check

The strata replaced the windows and the siding in the years before 2022, which is the single most expensive item on a building of this age and the first thing a lender's appraiser will ask about. What I would still read closely: the depreciation report for the roofs and the plumbing, the contingency fund balance against the age of the buildings, and the minutes for anything about drainage. A 1979 complex with a recently done envelope and a healthy fund is a different purchase from one without either.

Why the location carries it

From Balmoral Place you can walk to the shops at Newport and Suterbrook, the waterfront at Rocky Point, the brewery row on Murray Street and the Evergreen Line. Port Moody has built a lot of new condo stock around Inlet Centre in the last decade, and none of it comes with a yard. That is the trade: an older building, and outdoor space at a price the new towers cannot offer.

If you own here

Units in this complex sell on the yard, the level of renovation and the state of the strata's paperwork, in that order. When I listed 249 the story was the backyard and the location, with the upgrades inside as support. If you are thinking about selling, that is the order I would tell it again, and I would want the current depreciation report in hand before the photos are taken.

Want to walk it?

If a unit is listed at Balmoral Place I can usually show it the same week. If you own one and want to know what it would sell for today, call or text 778.928.7653.

Jody Squires, REALTOR® — Red Viking Real Estate, RE/MAX Sabre Realty Group

Details are taken from the MLS® listing for 249 Balmoral Place (MLS® R2652304, sold February 2022) and should be verified independently; strata condition and documents change, so confirm the current position for any specific unit.

This is not intended to solicit properties already listed for sale or buyers already under contract. Each RE/MAX office is independently owned and operated.