BC's presale rules protect buyers who check them. These are the gaps that separate a well-run presale from one worth walking away from.
Kelowna Condo Presales3 min read
By the Serenity team. Published , checked .
Most useful for: First-time buyers, People moving from Alberta or the Lower Mainland.
Presale condo red flags in BC are rarely dramatic. They show up as an answer that stays vague, a document that is hard to get or a deadline that arrives before you have read the paperwork.
BC gives presale buyers real protection, but only if you check it before you sign. The list below is what BCFSA, the regulator, tells buyers to look at.
The clearest presale condo red flags in BC are a missing or vague disclosure statement, no clear answer about where your deposit is held and a developer whose past projects you cannot verify. A well-run presale answers all three without hesitation, and puts the answers in writing.
Each number is read from the sources listed at the end of this guide on October 16, 2026.
Every BC developer must file a disclosure statement with BCFSA before marketing units and must give it to you before you sign. If a sales team cannot produce one, or it is thin on specifics (no named warranty provider, unclear deposit terms, no completion window), pause. Serenity's disclosure statement has not been published.
By law your deposit must be held in trust by a brokerage, lawyer or notary in BC. If the sales process is vague about where the money sits, ask directly and get the answer in writing before you sign anything.
BCFSA suggests asking about a developer's past developments, whether they finished on time and what buyers say about them. PashCon Developments, Serenity's developer, is family-owned with two completed projects in Penticton (274 Kinney Avenue and 783 Martin Street) that you can look up. Lime Architecture and Hatch Interior Design are named as architect and interior designer.
BCFSA lists the main risks plainly. Completion can be delayed, or the project may never be completed, in which case the developer must return your deposit but owes no further compensation. If construction runs past a date set in the contract, the developer may ask for a higher price or let you cancel and take your deposit back. Read section 5.1 of the disclosure statement and the late-completion clause before you sign.
An assignment transfers your contract to someone else before completion. The developer must consent, and it reports each assignment to the province's Condo and Strata Assignment Integrity Register. If you assign and profit from a contract held under 730 days, the BC home flipping tax can apply. Assignment terms and any fee should be in the contract, not discovered later.
Pressure to sign quickly is a red flag in itself. Your seven-day cancellation period exists because a purchase is hard to judge quickly, but it is not a substitute for reading first. In September 2026 the Central Okanagan board reported 774 apartments listed at month end against 83 sold in the month, and CMHC counted 3,483 apartments under construction in the Kelowna area in August. There is time to read a disclosure statement.
One of these signs does not mean a project is unsound. It means you ask, in writing, and you wait for the answer before you sign. Keep the replies with your copy of the contract, because they are what you will point to later.
A project with several unanswered questions deserves more time. A BC presale gives you a seven-day cancellation period, counted from the later of signing and acknowledging the disclosure statement, and it works best when you have already read the paperwork.
Use it on any presale, not only Serenity. Ticks stay in your browser.
A yes to every item means the red flag is cleared.
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BCFSA says that if the project is never completed, the developer must return your deposit but owes no further compensation. Deposits are held in trust in BC by a brokerage, lawyer or notary, and generally cannot be used to build or market the project.
BCFSA notes that a developer may change a unit's layout, including making it smaller, and may substitute materials of a similar nature and quality. Check the contract and the disclosure statement for how much change is allowed before you sign.
Yes, if units are being sold. A developer must file the statement before marketing and give it to you before you sign. Before it is published a developer may take registrations, which is not a purchase, and no seven-day cancellation clock starts until you sign a contract.
Seven days, counted from the later of the day you sign the contract and the day you acknowledge in writing that you received the disclosure statement. After that period the contract binds you, so use the time to read the disclosure statement and the purchase agreement.
General information read from these sources on the date above, not legal, tax or financial advice.
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