Buying Real Estate for Non-Canadians

I’ve received a few emails from international buyers this month, asking about the financing aspect of buying real estate in Canada.

Basically, for a Canadian citizen and Canadian residents the requirement for down payment is 20%. If you’re planning to have less of that amount, Canadians and residents will be referred to the CMHC for mortgage insurance, it will allow you to purchase a home with as little as 5% down payment. For non-Canadians on working visa, the requirements are a little different, contact Danuta for more details.

Now, with non-Canadians, non-residents (foreigners not residing in Canada) or Canadian citizens non-residing in Canada (Canadian citizens who live abroad) the down payment requirements changes quite a bit. Read more >>

St Laurent and Sherbrooke: Full Building Ad

The building in the south east corner of St Laurent and Sherbrooke has gone through many full size advertising, as you can see here. The ad completely covers the renovation scaffolding, and even includes an illusion of bricks at the top and sides to the sign. This top image taken in april 2008.

Later in the summer of  last year, a new sign went up. This time displaying a Garnier (L’Oréal) product.

The ads were supposed to stay on, while some work and renovations were done. A few weeks ago, while passing by, I noticed no signs in the building..

but also didn’t see any signs of renovations in the exterior. Was that all just an advertising campaign, a way to monetize on the building’s location or was there actual work done? 

There was one more ad, I believe it was before the L’Oréal one. A huge image displaying AUDI, if I recall well.
Maybe it’s just a matter of time before we see a new one. Personally, I’m not missing them. Rather see an historic building, even if it looks run down, than huge advertising sign.
What’s your take on this? 

Opinions, amplifications and/or corrections are encouraged in the comments!

Update: Beware of the so-called “Exclusive Buyer’s Agreement”

Note: This article has been modified from its original content. The article contained errors that were brought to our attention, and has been updated with the accurate information. Thanks to one of our readers!

Last week there was a comment left on the blog concerning the signing of an Exclusive Buyers Agreement.
It’s important to know that from all the real estate agreements we use in Montreal [Update] this form is not obligatory in order to work with a buying agent.

To explain what this agreement is about, here is a quote from Blog Frankly Realty

What is an “Exclusive Buyer Agency Agreement”?
This is a contract that a buyer is oftentimes asked to sign by a buyer agent Realtor. In part it commits the buyer to use this one agent exclusively for several months. Read more >>

Real Estate Blogs: Suggested Reading

Informative articles from the Canadian blogosphere, Marg over at The Collingwood – Blue Mountain Real Estate Blog, explains or how to calculate sales to listings ratio in this article.

If you’re buying from a developer, and you wonder: What Happens to your Deposit Money if a Project gets Canceled? - Andrew LaFleur’s (Toronto Condo Blog) has some answers for you.

Following the mortgage rates, and the Bank of Canada  news, Canadian Mortgage Trends blog updates us with: Canada’s Key Rate Drops 1/2% 

Humor: In Vancouver, Larry from Yatter Matters gives us an unusual and fully disclosed reason why this person is selling:  Is An Anus A Patent Defect? 

Bon-weekend!

Montreal Image: Old Montreal Hotel Nelson

Credit: Biggest Myths, Mistakes, and Misconceptions

Good credit is well worth the effort it takes to both achieve and preserve it. If you have good credit, the following tips will help you keep it that way. If you are looking to improve your credit, however, now is the time to get started.

Give us a call. We’ll review your credit and find out exactly where you stand. In the meantime, if you plan on entering into a loan transaction in the next 6 to 12 months, you simply cannot afford to make the following credit mistakes:

• Don’t fall behind on existing accounts. This includes your mortgage and car payments. One 30-day late can cost you anywhere from 30-75 points.
• Don’t pay off old collections or charge-offs during the loan process. Paying collections will decrease your credit score immediately due to the “date of last activity” becoming recent. If you want to pay off old accounts, do it through closing, and make sure that
  1) you validate that the debt is yours, and
  2) the creditor agrees to give you a letter of deletion.
• Don’t close credit card accounts. If you close a credit card account, it will appear to FICO/BEACON that your debt ratio has gone up. Also, closing a card will affect other factors in the score such as length of credit history. If you have to close a credit card account, do it after closing, and make sure that it is an account you’ve opened more recently.
• Don’t max out or overcharge your credit accounts. This is the fastest way to bring about an immediate drop of 50-100 points in your credit score. Try to keep your credit card balances below 30% of their available limit at all times during the loan process. If you decide to pay down balances, do it across the board. Meaning, make an extra payment on all of your cards at the same time.
• Don’t consolidate your debt onto 1 or 2 credit cards. It seems like it would be the smart thing to do; however, when you consolidate all of your debt onto one card, it appears that you are maxed out on that card, and the system will penalize you as mentioned above. If you want to save money on credit card interest rates, wait until after closing.
• Don’t do anything that will cause a red flag to be raised by the scoring system. This would include adding new accounts, co-signing on a loan, or changing your name or address with the bureaus. The less activity on your reports during the loan process, the better.
• Don’t do it alone. If you feel that the credit challenges you’re facing are too much, or you don’t have enough time to do the work necessary to improve your own credit, don’t lose hope and give up.

Written by Danuta Levitzki. Conseillère en Financement Hypothécaire | Mortgage Loan Specialist
For current interest rates or to get more information on mortgage financing feel free to visit her website or call direct at 1-800-605-6154.

Real Estate Board encourages agents to start blogging

Finally, the Real Estate industry is picking up on the web 2.0 and its benefits. Here is a video from the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board discussing the use of technology and the way it can enhance agents/client relationships.

We can expect more blogs popping up soon. Hopefully, they will be filled with original content and not just listings. After all, that’s what listing sites are for. In blogging, the best content is the informative one, direct and honest opinions on the market and advice on how to go about buying/selling real estate. There’s of course, ample space for commentary and some humor :)

In addition to agents joining the blogging network, it will be great to see the buyers and sellers writing about their point of view and experiences in the market. Some un-biased information will be good for a change.

Have you read a good Real Estate Blog lately? Let me know on the comments form!

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