Real Estate Glossary: W

Waiver
The deliberate and voluntary relinquishment or surrender of a claim, right, or privilege.

Walk-through
The buyer’s final inspection of a property which is being purchased is called a walk-through. This final inspectiongenerally takes place on the day of closing or one day prior to ensure all the conditions of the sale have been met.

Warranty
In real estate, warranty refers a document certifying clear title a property.

Witness
An individual who signs his or her name to a document for the purpose of attesting to its authenticity. For example, a witness is usually required to sign a deed, will or other legal document.

Workout
A type of mortgage where basic terms such as interest rate, term, and monthly payment are altered to prevent foreclosure. This is not a typical practice in Canada.

Wraparound Mortgage- [Updated]
A form of secondary financing in which a seller extends to a purchaser a junior mortgage which wraps around and exists in addition to one or more superior mortgages. Under a wrap, a seller accepts a promissory notefrom the buyer for the amount due on the underlying mortgage plus an amount up to the remaining purchase money balance.  {source: Wikipedia}

The Mount Royal Cross gets a pricey make-over

Photo: HalfandHeart

According to CBC News, the Mount Royal cross will be turned off Friday - I’m guessing today- to have some renovations done:
Paint, change to polychromatic bulbs (funky, we like), the cost for this make over is expected to be $982,138. Not sure if this was a typo, maybe the meant $9,821.38. or maybe 98,000? Because the six figure total seems like an incredibly high price to pay for a change of bulbs and a fresh coat of paint, even if the cross is 31 meters long.

“Montreal’s landmark electric cross on Mount Royal will be turned off Friday to allow for renovations.
The 83-year-old cross will be repainted and outfitted with a new energy-efficient lighting system, which will include polychromatic bulbs to allow a greater variety of colours.
Makeover costs are expected to total $982,138, Plateau Mont Royal borough Mayor Helen Fotopoulos said.
The 31.4-metre cross was installed in 1924 and normally glows white, but turns purple as a sign of mourning when the pope dies.”

Makes you wonder…How much are they paying for those bulbs?

Builders and Land Developers facing challenges right now

With financial markets roiling, oil and gas prices gyrating and the extent of the fallout in the Canadian real estate market uncertain, many current and aspiring homeowners seem content to stand still and wait out the turmoil.

Home builders don’t have that option.

“This whole industry is a big ship and it doesn’t turn on a dime,” says Niall Haggart, vice-president at Daniels Corp.

Builders and land developers face a battalion of challenges right now: Spillover from the collapse of the U.S. housing market is starting to drag down real estate sales and prices in Canada but no one can predict how long or steep the slide will be.

In Ontario, the government’s official plan to curb urban sprawl is making land available for building scarce and therefore more expensive, developers complain.

At the same time, higher materials costs for builders are also pushing up the cost of even a modest townhouse in the suburbs out of the reach of first-time buyers.

Meanwhile, immigration brings potential new buyers into the housing market just as the looming retirement dates of baby boomers could lead to a wave of downsizing.

Builders buy land several years before they ever have a house or condominium unit ready for a buyer. Many are trying to adjust to the shifting landscape and predict where the market will be a few years out.

Read the complete article

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East End Chronicles: Homes for sale by the Golf Course (Pointe-aux-Trembles)

The construction stopped but still there is a chance to get your hands on a property by the Golf Course. That’s right, there are two homes left for sale at the Pointe-aux-Trembles Golf Course Project.

You didn’t know there was a Golf Course up there? Well there is. The East end its not just about refineries and industrial space, you know. They have detached homes (and semi detached in the case), backyards facing parks and golf courses!!

The specs:

Asking Price: $247,882 + GST/QST
Property Type : Two or more storey semi detached
Bedrooms : 2
Bathrooms : 1
Interior Floor Space : 1200 sqft
Built in : 2007
Location : Pointe-aux-Trembles (East Montréal)
Available: Immediately
Listing Agent: Sheila Iacono!

Want a property by the Golf Course. You know what to do now folks, contact Sheila for more info.
And if it’s already sold by then, don’t worry, they still have another one just like it.

For more articles on homes for sale, join the Montreal Real Estate Blog

Canadian Market News: Credit Crunch & Stock Market Effects

• Canadians ’should not be too worried’ - [Financial Post]
  Wall Street may be imploding while financial markets around the world are in retreat, but as far as most Canadians are concerned, it’s business as usual.
  (…) Canadians need to be cautious in making financial decisions in the months ahead as the economic environment becomes more challenging. For instance, they should be aware that credit conditions could get tighter as the banking system responds to the global credit crunch.
• Credit crisis pushing up vacancy rates (Toronto) - [The Star]
  It’s going to be a “bumpy road ahead” for the Greater Toronto office market, according to sober forecasts released yesterday by leading Canadian brokerage firms.
  The office market is expected to see slower than average growth over the remaining half of the year as the finance, insurance, real estate and commercial services sectors digest the Wall Street implosion, caused by the weakening economy and the failure of the U.S. investment banking sector, says a Colliers International study.
• Montreal housing advocates rally for federal funding program [CBC News]
  About 100 people rallied in downtown Montreal on Thursday to protest planned cuts to federal funding of homeless support programs.
  Advocates against homelessness, joined by federal candidates, gathered in front of the Guy-Favreau federal government building on René-Lévesque Blvd. for the protest.
• Canada’s boom in the housing markets is definitely over - [The Star]
  Canadian existing home housing prices are decelerating quickly with the steepest decline in more than a decade recorded in August, as analysts say homeowners in some cities should prepare for further depreciation

Ma propriété n’a pas été vendue: Communication entre le client et l’agent

[ Part IV de l'article: Ma propriété n’a pas été vendue, pourquoi? ]

Les 3 premiers points nommés, sont ceux qui reviendront le plus souvent lorsqu’il est question des raisons pourquoi une propriété en arrive à expirer. Ce dernier point est à mon avis tout aussi important. Lors de la mise en vente d’une propriété qui n’a pas le succès escompté, il y a souvent détérioration de la relation client/agent. Cette détérioration pourrait facilement être évitée avec une meilleure communication.

Premièrement, si votre agent ne vous tient pas informé de se qui se passe avec la vente de votre maison, cela diminue l’efficacité de l’ensemble  des efforts de vente.

Il est important de faire un suivi avec les clients ou les agents qui visitent votre propriété, leurs commentaires peuvent être constructifs. S’il n’y a pas d’action sur la propriété après un certain temps, il faut se rasseoir et voir ce qui se passe sur le marché pour savoir si le problème réside dans votre maison ou dans le marché en général. Bien des problèmes pourraient être corrigés avec une meilleure communication. Par exemple, si vous avez beaucoup de visites mais pas d’offre, votre agent pourrait vous conseiller les services d’une professionnelle du «home staging» pour trouver des solutions à certains commentaires négatifs des visiteurs ou encore envisager des arguments  déjà conçus à certaines objections. Vous aussi vous pourriez avoir des suggestions précieuses pour votre agent.
N’oubliez pas que votre agent est votre allié le plus précieux et qu’il ne travaille pas contre vous mais pour vous, alors misez sur l’honnêteté et la franchise avec lui. C’est la façon la plus efficace de mener vos projets à bon port.

Maintenant vous devez mieux comprendre pourquoi votre propriété n’est pas vendue et il est temps de passer à la prochaine étape.

Ne vous pressez pas pour remettre votre maison sur le marché car vous pourriez refaire les mêmes erreurs.  Vous devez sans doute déjà avoir reçu beaucoup d’appels, de cartes postales ou de visites d’agents immobiliers qui vous sollicitent le contrat de vente de votre propriété. Même si vous ne voulez pas signer avec eux il est indiqué de rester polis avec eux car ils auront peut être un acheteur pour votre maison lorsque vous déciderez de la remettre en vente.

La première étape est de choisir le bon agent. Celui qui comprend le marché, qui travaille dans l’immobilier à temps plein et qui saura vous faire bénéficier  des meilleures chances et conditions possibles pour la vente de votre propriété. Lors de votre rencontre il devrait venir bien préparé avec une étude comparative du marché et un plan marketing bien établi.

Je vous dis BONNE CHANCE dans tous vos projets! Je peux aussi vous offrir mes services ou vous référer à un de mes collègues pour une opinion claire, professionnelle, franche et honnête de la valeur de votre propriété sur le marché actuel.

Ecrit par Sheila Iacono. Agent immobilier affilié.
Royal Le Page Habitaction. Courtier Immobilier agreé.

Tuesday Morning: Housing Market and Subprime on the news

Good morning, Montreal.
Here is a list of Real Estate market, subprime mortgage and Commercial Real Estate investment news.

• Soft landing predicted for real estate [Montreal Gazette]
  Economists say they’re expecting a soft landing for the Canadian real estate market despite a new study that concludes house prices in Montreal and other major Canadian cities are overvalued by as much as 25 per cent.
• Housing market rebounds, Ontario leads way [Reuters.ca]
  Housing starts rebounded in August, beating expectations, but some economists cautioned against reading too much into the number since it followed a weak reading in July.
• CIBC chief says corner being turned on subprime [Calgary Herald]
  The top executive at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce shied away from predicting when the bank would stop taking structured-credit charges, but he hinted the worst of its subprime mortgage troubles could be over.
• CREIT Buys 8 Canadian Tire Properties for $137M [Commercial Property News]
  Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust (CREIT) has acquired a portfolio of eight retail properties from Canadian Tire for C$137.3 million. Canadian Tire has leased each of the eight properties back under 15-year triple-net leases at current market rental rates, with escalating contractual rents over the term. The properties have all been either significantly renovated or expanded within three years by Canadian Tire.

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What you need to know about credit scoring: Part II

Part II: The Five Factors of Credit Scoring

There are five factors that comprise the credit score. They are listed below in order of importance, just as an underwriter would look at the score:

1. Payment History: 35% impact. Paying debt on time and in full has a positive impact. Late payments, judgments and charge-offs have a negative impact. Missing a high payment has a more severe impact than missing a low payment. Delinquencies that have occurred in the last two years carry more weight than older items.

2. Outstanding Credit Balances: 30% impact. This factor marks the ratio between the outstanding balance and available credit. Ideally, the consumer should make an effort to keep balances as close to zero as possible, and definitely below 30% of the available credit limit when trying to purchase a home.

3. Credit History: 15% impact. This marks the length of time since a particular credit line was established. A seasoned borrower is stronger in this area.

4. Type of Credit: 10% impact. A mix of auto loans and credit cards are more positive than a concentration of debt from credit cards only.

5. Inquiries: 10% impact. This quantifies the number of inquiries that have been made on a consumer’s credit history within a six-month period. Each hard inquiry can cost from 2 to 50 points on a credit score, but the maximum number of inquiries that will reduce the score is 10. In other words, 11 or more inquiries in a six-month period will have no further impact on the borrower’s credit score.

Remember, a computer that’s not taking any personal factors into consideration calculates these scores. When a credit report is generated, it is simply today’s snapshot of the borrower’s credit profile. This can fluctuate dramatically within the course of a week, depending on the individual’s own activities. The borrower should be made aware of this when they enter into the loan process, and know that it’s not in their best interest to go out on a shopping spree. They need to make sure they are not creating a negative impact on the score while the lender is reviewing their file.

Secondly, it is often beneficial to compile a duo-merge credit report. This provides scores from the two credit bureaus, TransUnion, and Equifax. The lender should be provided with this rounded profile because these two scoring systems can vary in their results.

Stay tuned for Credit Scoring, Part III: Dealing with Challenges

Written by Danuta Levitzki.
Conseillère en Financement Hypothécaire | Mortgage Loan Specialist
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Sherbrooke’s Le Montmartre: Get it while is hot.

Right in the corner of Sherbrooke and rue de Bullion, there’s a nearly finished condo project that began construction late 2006. Le condos Montmartre, has only just a few units available for sale.
For those who frequent the area, you’ve probably seen this sign before.

Taking a quick look of the projects completed units, I came across this sign. A finished non occupied condo is already for rent.

Notice the little white sign on the window?

According to their website, the project was built on ” a heritage site, surrounded by splendid edifices built at the turn of the XXth century.”

The sales office itself looks like the heritage building, but obviously not the new construction. Wondering it the will be placing the sales office for sale as well.

As for the remaining units, their asking price ranges from 300,000+ to half a million.

1^st floor 407,700

4^th floor 559,700

5^th floor 337,100

Here are a few snap shots of the floor plans:

Or visit their website to view the rest of the units.

For more news on developments, subscribe to our blog (hey, it’s free!)

Improved Financial Assistance Plan to Encourage Home Ownership

The Ville de Montréal improved its Home Ownership Program, which aims to help tenants purchase affordable housing in Montréal.

Since last year, the QFREB has been working with the Office municipal d’habitation de Montréal to make the Ville de Montréal revise this program. The QFREB considered that the program’s guidelines were no longer realistic, considering the increase of property prices over the last few years.

The announced improvements include, among others, larger subsidies for those who wish to purchase property in Montréal. For example, households with at least one child are now eligible for $10,000 in financial assistance compared to the previous amount of $7,500. Including taxes, the maximum purchase price has also been increased from $200,000 to $235,000. Subsidies for singles and couples without children have also been improved, as well as the subsidies offered to tenants who wish to purchase the rental property they live in (plexes with 2 to 5 dwellings). The QFREB will continue to call for other measures from the Ville de Montréal, which will become part of a strategy to attract families to Montréal.

Good news, don’t you think? Tenants and first time buyers get moving, before their generosity runs out.

For more information, visit la Ville de Montreal Site, or if you need a step by step process and help with the purchase process contact Sheila.

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