Homeowner wins assessment Supreme Court ruling
Posted on Jun 14, 2021 in Property Assessment
A British Columbia homeowner challenged his property assessment, in Supreme Court, and the judge’s ruling was issued earlier this month. The decision was interesting and it could have an impact on other British Columbians interested in taking Property Assessment Review Panel (PARP) valuations to court.
The judge’s decision, which focused on “institu...
Staging to sell: ways to make your home more appealing to buyers
Posted on Jun 08, 2021 in Selling tips
When you’re ready to list your home, it’s always a good idea to put yourself in the shoes of the potential buyer. You walk into the house and the first thing you do is imagine that it’s your home.
So the family photos of people you’ve never met don’t make you feel at home. Neither does the generous collection of souvenirs that somebody brought back...
Federal Government to help finance greener homes
Posted on May 27, 2021 in Energy efficiency
The Federal Government’s Canada Greener Homes Grants program was barely announced when its popularity was evident. The “applications page” was down because it was overwhelmed with such a high demand.
The grants — up to $5,000 — are to help home owners retrofit their primary residence to make it more efficient. The first step in the application proce...
Competitive bidding fuels ‘skip the inspection’
Posted on May 25, 2021 in Home inspections
Often, Vancouver and Toronto are connected when the discussion turns to real estate, mainly because they frequently experience similar trends when it comes to house prices. That being said, there’s a current trend in Toronto that could be foreboding for buyers in the Lower Mainland.
It has to do with inspections.
In Toronto (or GTA as Torontonians sa...
CMHC’s incentive for first-time home buyers
Posted on May 22, 2021 in Buying a house
With all the real estate activity there is, somewhere in the mix there are likely many first-time buyers, or perhaps first-time-buyers-to-be. If you’re among them, or you know somebody who is, you might find this blog particularly interesting.
To help first-time buyers qualify for a mortgage, the Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation makes it eas...
Buy new? Buy pre-owned? Always an interesting question
Posted on May 18, 2021 in Buying a house
There are always advantages to buying something new or something “pre-owned” whether you’re talking about cars, homes, computers or lawn mowers.
In terms of real estate, these days the choices between “new” and “pre-owned” probably applies more to condos or townhomes than it applies to single family dwellings that are not being built at the same pac...