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Home
Buying In Canada
By Dave
Lympany
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June 2006
| It
is often said that home buying is one of the most stressful times of your
life. Well, after moving countries it should be a piece of cake - right?
If your chosen country is Canada you will find this information an invaluable
guide to help you through the process and make it as pain free as possible.
Types of
Houses - There are several different types of housing available:
Single Family
- Basically a detached one or two storey building designed for a single
family occupancy. One storey buildings are Bungalows. Most will have a
basement as standard which maybe developed (this means it will finished
to the same standard as the rest of the house).
Duplex - This
is essentially a semi-detached building. Again it can be one or more storeys
but will have a common dividing wall.
Fourplex -
Four apartments together in a block (2 up, 2 down). Normally rented.
Townhouse
- Similar to a Terrace, several two storey houses joined in a row.
High Rise
Apartments - Multiple apartments (flats) in a single high rise building.
Newer developments in the Cities are luxurious and expensive with excellent
facilities.
Ownership
There are
2 main different types of property ownership - Freehold and Condominium.
Freehold -
The same as most countries. The home and the land it is on are owned outright
and subject to certain laws, bylaws and codes, the owner can do whatever
they want. When you purchase a freehold, the Lawyer will lead you through
all the clauses and explain each in turn. You will also receive a copy
of these legal documents for your future reference.
Condominium
- This is definitely a North American style of ownership. Normally either
apartments or townhouses are sold as condominiums and offer a low maintenance
lifestyle in most cases. The apart-ment or house itself (unit) is owned
outright and an equal share of communal areas - gardens, elevators, secure
parking etc. A monthly "condo" fee is charged to maintain these communal
areas and also build up a contingency fee.
All of this
is managed by a legally established condominium corporation either made
up of the residents or contracted out to a professional property manager.
Mortgages
As agreeing
to the RIGHT mortgage for YOU is such an important decision we have dedicated
a complete page to the subject. So, please follow this link for all the
information about Canadian Mortgages
Home Buying
Process
The first step
in the home buying process is to find out exactly what you can afford mortgage
wise (see link above). In Canada, you will have to be pre-approved by the
prospective lender who will issue a cer-tificate showing how much you have
been approved for. When you find the property of your dreams, you are then
able to enter into negotiations straight away knowing that barring disasters,
the financing is in place. One extra bonus is that the rate will be held
for 3 months - unless they go down!
Next on the
list is to research where you want to live. It is definitely worth
enlisting the help of a Realtor for guidance. The seller pays all the fees
involved with the realtors so it is free advice. Basically, the sell-ing
commission is split in half. One half goes to the realtor who LISTS the
property for sale, the second half is paid to the realtor who introduces
the buyer.
The Realtor
will know what is on the market, if it is a fair asking price for the market
conditions, show you around the homes on offer and help you when it comes
to making a purchase offer.
When we were
home buying, our realtor sat with us and discussed the area and budget.
He told us our options, drove us all around the town to show us the different
areas and left us a list of houses in our range. When we had decided which
we were interested in he made appointments and took us around the homes
to view them. Eventually, we decided to build a new home - he handled the
negotiations and we ended up with the home we had always wanted!
If you are
looking to build or buy a new home you can deal directly with the builder’s
representative. How-ever, unless you know the "ins and outs" of the process
you may as well enlist a realtor to help you out. Some builders reps may
offer you a discount if you don't as then they won't have to split the
commission. For a couple of thousand dollars it doesn't seem worth it to
miss out on expert, unbiased advice acting in your interests to guide you
to a reputable builder.
You will have
the choice of floor plans or can have your own design custom built in the
location of your choice. You will have to pay GST at 3.5% on the purchase
and will have all the usual expense associated with a new house - landscaping,
curtains etc. Also, most builders will give you an appliances "allowance
" at a particular store. You choose your appliances at the builders discounted
rate, if you want to pay more for a better model that’s fine. You may also
be able to buy other electrical items at the discounted rate as well -
always ask!
Do ensure the
builder is a part of the provincial new homes warranty program for your
own protection. You will have a standard 1 year builder’s warranty, followed
by an additional 4 years cover from the new homes warranty. This is extendable
to 10 years total for a small fee. (We paid approximately $250.00). Being
a member of the warranty program is vital for a builder to show their quality
so normally they will not jeapordise this by poor workmanship or failing
to honour warranties. - Article Continued Below -
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- Article
Continued From Above -
We built our
house through Beattie homes, based in Calgary and had a very positive home
buying ex-perience. For the first 3 months we were still in the UK (we
did the deal whilst on vacation) and dealt with issues via fax and phone.
Once in Canada, the house was finished 2 weeks early and we are very happy
with our purchase!
If you buy
a new home you may be able to use the builder's lawyer free of charge to
do the paperwork. They will always act for the builder in case of a dispute
but this can save you money in normal circumstances.
Otherwise,
you will have to pay for your own lawyer to carry out the legal work and
to close the deal. It is worth finding a lawyer who specialises in real
estate. By the time the additional costs (searches/title regis-try etc.)
and GST are added the fees may be close to $1,000.
Most lenders
will make the mortgage offer subject to an appraisal on the property. This
may be worth doing as a condition on your offer to buy to make sure the
house is ok or to give you some negotiating leverage if you want one to
restore. Remember, though the houses are well built, they are mainly wooden
and perceptible to a whole host of problems that may be expensive to fix.
For example, most roofs will need to be replaced every 20 years or so.
Problems found several months after purchase can ruin your home buying
experience.
We aim to
have a dedicated home buying resource page for each city soon. This will
provide links to pro-fessionals (Lawyers, Realtors, Appraisers etc.) offering
their services in those particular areas. Please check out the Real Estate
links in the cities you are interested in for more information.
Insurance
Nearly all
lenders will require some sort of life and buildings insurance on the property.
You can take out a life policy that will pay off the mortgage balance in
the event of one or both of the mortgagee's deaths. Another option is to
take out an independent life policy for a fixed sum that will cover the
mortgage balance and then leave some extra.
Buildings insurance
is normally linked to contents cover as well and it definitely makes sense
to have both. Why go through all the effort and stress of moving countries
and then not adequately protect youself, family and belongings?
Once You
Are In!
After the
home buying is complete there are plenty of other processes to be completed.
The owner
of each property is required to pay local property taxes. This normally
equates to approximately 1% of the assessed value of the home, paid annually.
Do note that the property value may be dif-ferent than the price you paid
as it is set by the local council and assessed each year.
These taxes
go directly to the local council and will pay for the local services (police,
fire, ambulance etc.) and schooling. When you move in you will submit a
form detailing which school board you want the money to go to. Contact
your local council for exact details of what services are covered by their
budget. Some areas have a monthly payment scheme that can be included with
the mortgage payments - your lawyer and mortgage lender should discuss
this option.
The household
utilities will have to be changed over into your name - the builder’s rep
or your realtor will be able to assist with contact details for these.
These include cable/satellite TV, electrics, gas, phone, garbage collection,
recycling, water supply and sewage.
Most services
are now privatised so you should have some choice (unless you are in the
wilderness!!). We had to pay a security deposit as we had no credit history
with the electrical, gas and phone companies - we have since been reimbursed
(after 12 months) by the electrical company. After about 6 months you should
be able to enroll in a monthly budget plan if you want and some service
providers may offer fixed rate contracts.
Your realtor
should be able to provide an estimated cost of utilities for different
sized properties to assist with any rough budgets you wish to calculate.
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RESOURCES FOR RELOCATING
TO EUROPE
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| Jean Taquet's Insider Guide to
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This is not a book written by a US College drop out, this fully detailed
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Adrian Leeds World Famous Paris Restaurant Guide - Parisians do it
and you can do it, too --
have a great three course meal with wine and coffee in Paris for between
$10 and $35 including tax and tip! Adrian Leeds has been scouting good-value
restaurants in Paris for more than nine years. The Leeds Good Value Guide
to Paris Restaurants is her on-going effort to bring you secrets to great
dining in all the districts of Paris. There are more than 200 good-value
restaurants in the guide -and she samples each and every one and only recommends
the best. |
| The Insider Guide To Black Paris
- The
Insider Guide To Black Paris - Now
the cultural hub for English-speaking Blacks -- Africans, African-Americans,
West Indians, Blacks from the UK and Canada -- Paris is home. When
Melinda Herron first came to Paris twenty years ago, she wanted to know
where the Black hair salons were, where you could go to listen to Black
music, where you could buy foods like sweet potatoes, corn meal and black-eyed
peas. Even though she thoroughly enjoyed Paris and all it had to offer
culturally, it was essential somehow to get a taste and feel for "back
home." So, just like many sojourners who arrive in a new city, it became
important for her to connect with other Blacks in order to transform that
feeling for community in a living reality. |
| The Writers Insider Guide To
Paris - The
Writers Insider Guide To Paris - This
guide will set you off on the right footing by bringing to your attention
all the international and French resources available to writers in Paris
which might otherwise take you many pains and hours of research to locate.
The guide also directs you toward the active community of writers currently
located in Paris: i.e. the journals, bookstores, cafes, and soirées
where you can seek support, listeners, and public outlets for your work. |
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moving to Ireland. Written without any punches pulled. If you've ever thought
about moving to Ireland, this is the report to read. |
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eBooks
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eBooks are a great idea. Consider
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