Useful Information And Tips For Real Estate Buyers

How To Avoid The Most Common Buyer Errors When Purchasing Kamloops Real Estate

December 5, 2010 Kirsten Mason Information For Buyers

Shopping for a new Kamloops home is an exciting experience. It also can be emotional, time consuming, expensive and comes with a myriad of details. Some buyers get caught up in the excitement of buying a new home tend to overlook some items. Their home purchase turns into an expensive process. These errors generally fall into three areas:

* Paying too much
* Losing a dream home to another buyer
* Buying the wrong home

When you have a systematic plan before you shop, you will be sure to avoid these costly errors. Here are some tips on making the most of your home purchase:

Making an offer on a home without being pre-qualified
Pre-qualification will make your life easier—so take the time to speak with a bank or mortgage broker. Their specific questions in regard to income, debt, etc., will help you determine the price range you can afford. It is an important step on the path to home ownership.

Not having a home inspection
Trying to save money today can end up costing you tomorrow. A qualified home inspector will detect issues that many buyers can overlook. You will have an idea about future repairs that will need to be made to the home and often you will be provided with a general idea of cost for those repairs.

Limiting your search to open houses, internet and newspaper ads
Many homes listed in magazines or newspapers have already been sold by the time the issue comes out in print. Open houses are a good way to start but once you are serious about finding a home a Realtor can provide you with up to date information on new listings that is not readily available to the general public. The public MLS website is 2-4 days behind the system Realtors have access to.

Choosing a Realtor who is not committed to forming a strong business relationship
Making a connection with the right Realtor is crucial. Choose a professional who is dedicated to serving your needs before, during and after the sale. There are a number of part time Realtors that sell Real Estate, would you want a part time surgeon operating on you?

Thinking there is only one perfect house out there
Buying a home is a process of elimination, not selection. New properties arrive on the market daily, so be open to all possibilities. Ask your Realtor for a comparative market analysis. This compares similar homes that have recently sold or are still for sale. This will give you a broader view of the market.

Not considering long-term needs
It is important to think ahead. Will the home suit your needs three to five years from now?

Not examining insurance issues
Purchase adequate home owner insurance. Advice from an insurance agent can provide you with answers to any concerns you may have.

Making an offer with too few subjects
It is important to have subjects in your contract to purchase a home. Typically buyers only think of subject to financing (or first mortgage) and subject to a home inspection. There are also a couple other important terms such as:

Searching title to ensure it is free of any encumbrances.
Reviewing and approving a Property Disclosure Statement provided by the selling party.
Obtaining home insurance or fire insurance.
Reviewing and approving a Building Information Request which will show any outstanding permits on a property.
If a strata title property reviewing and approving all the strata minutes, bylaws, etc.

Ensure your best interests are protected.

Not knowing all the costs involved
Early in the buying process ask your Realtor and Mortgage broker for an estimate of closing costs. Title insurance and lawyer fees should be considered and many pre-pay responsibilities like property taxes, municipal fees and fuel adjustments must also be taken into account.

Not following through on due diligence
Buyers should make a list of any concerns they have relating to issues such as; crime rates, schools, power lines, neighbours, environmental conditions, etc. Ask the important questions BEFORE you make an offer on a home. Be diligent so that you can have confidence in your purchase.

There are many important steps when purchasing real estate. Click here to review the purchase process.

Click here for a printable Buyer’s guide.

The HST and How It Affects Buying or Selling Real Estate In B.C.

August 7, 2010 Kirsten Mason Information For Buyers, Information For Sellers, Real Estate Information

Many consumers are unclear as to how the HST affects their home purchase or sale. Here is a short guide on how HST will affect you when purchasing or selling your Kamloops home.

The Home Seller:
• You will have to pay HST on any of the goods and services that you would have had to pay GST on before like legal fees and commissions.
• For all resale homes, the buyer will not pay HST when purchasing your home. Buyers may find it more appealing to purchase previously owned homes to avoid paying the HST.

The Home Buyer:
• Like the home seller, you will have to pay HST on any goods and services like your legal fees, home inspections, etc.
• When purchasing a previously owned home, you will not pay HST on the sale price.
•If you are are purchasing a brand new home the HST will affect your sale price, with that said, you are eligible for rebates depending on the value of the home.

See the table below for the rebate rates (rebates are for homes that are intended for use as a primary residence):

For further information about HST click here.

To view the Ministry of Finance Tax Information Notice Click Here.

Marijuana Grow Ops: What They Are, How To Identify One and What To Do When You Suspect A Grow Operation

April 26, 2009 Kirsten Mason Information For Buyers, Information For Sellers

Grow ops in BC continue to plague communities and Kamloops is not immune to this problem. Each grow operation presents many risks to the communities they exist in, such as drug traffic through the community and community safety related to this traffic. Marijuana production continues to be a multi-billion dollar industry in B.C. with thousands of charges laid against operators each year. There are endless stories of grow op busts of all sizes but the problem persists in B.C. and doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

What is a Marijuana Grow Operation?

Marijuana Grow Ops appear in homes or outbuildings in residential, rural or commercial/industrial areas. These operations can occur in apartments, small bungalows, large multi-million dollar homes and commercial buildings. The buildings appear to be fairly well maintained and don’t look out of the ordinary however the internal structure may have received significant structural, electrical and heating system modifications that are not up to code or deemed safe.

Changes to these systems are done to replicate warm, humid climates in which hybrid plants flourish to produce high potency marijuana. Structures that were previously Marijuana Grow Ops are often unsafe for human occupancy. This is because of compromised structural and mechanical integrity, as well as hazards from mold (mould) and chemical residue.

Is there a grow op in your neighbourhood? How to identify a grow op.

(It is important to note that a positive response to some of these questions does not mean it is a grow op house and that the residents are involved in criminal activity. Please use this questionnaire as a basic guideline only.)
1. Occupants don’t appear to have regular job hours and drive expensive automobiles.
2. Dark window coverings on many windows
3. Illuminated rooms or outbuildings nearly 24 hours a day.
4. Heavy condensation on windows, lack of frost or snow on roofs of houses when others have frost and snow. Blowing curtains from fans.
5. Abnormal number of roof vents or unusual amount of steam in cold weather.
6. Extra security such as large fences or guard dogs.
7. Entry is always through the automatic garage doors and residents are always in their cars
8. Strange smell or odor coming from the home.
9. Electrical humming sounds, numerous fans and running water.
10. Unusual wiring to the exterior of the home and or the hydro meter spins at a faster than normal rate.
11. Commonly experienced localized power surges or browning. Lights often dim or appliances slow down with lack of power.
12. Avoid making any contact with neighbours.
13. Toys are often outside the home but no children are ever seen at the home.
14. Large quantities of growing equipment & supplies are seen taken into the home/outbuildings but there are no flowers or gardens at the home. Often purchased in winter months.
15. Numerous pots, soil, garden hoses and fertilizers around the property.
16. Appears to be vacant, yard poorly kept and newspapers build up at the front door.
17. Hoses run from doors and windows to the outside of the home.
18. Visitors often park down the street and walk to the home.
19. In condominiums owners move in at night, disappear for long periods of time or you never see them move in.
21. Garbage days there is no garbage ever or there is no noticeable activity in the home but a lot of garbage.
Grow ops can either be lived in or maintained by visiting gardeners. The RCMP see a lot of operations now where the whole house is used, on the other hand, sometimes only a small portion of a home is used.

How to detect a Marijuana grow operation when purchasing a home.

When purchasing a home it is important to do all the appropriate tests and inspections to safeguard your purchase. A thorough environmental assessment which includes an air quality and mold inspection should be conducted. A proper inspection for mould should be thorough and include numerous air samples (spore test) and visual inspection of the structure. These comprehensive tests will survey the air quality to identify and locate hidden pollution and mould levels indoors. These tests will identify any areas that had previous grow operations and contain abnormal levels of mould or chemical pollution. These agents alone can cause serious health problems leading to long term conditions.

A listing Realtor is required by the Canadian Real Estate Association to have a home owner fill out a Property Condition Disclosure Statement. This statement is filled out by the home owner and requires a home owner to disclose any “material latent defects” such as a grow operation that cannot be detected with reasonable investigation. Grow op owners can and have hidden obvious signs of a previous grow operation and not disclosed it in this form. A potential buyer unfortunately has to search deeper before assuming all facts are disclosed by the homeowner. Talking to neighbours and local authorities often can uncover information.

If you suspect a marijuana grow-op in your neighbourhood

If you suspect a property is being used to grow marijuana or that a property has a bypassed electric meter, contact your local Police. If you wish to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (1-800-222-8477).

RCMP Grow Op Information
BC Hydro Grow Op Information

Buyers Could Use Real Estate Pre-Sale Advice

March 21, 2009 Kirsten Mason Information For Buyers

I found this article on the Vancouver Sun online. I thought it was important to post because there are a number of pre-sale units in Kamloops for sale, specifically in Sun Rivers and the Dunes Golf Course in Westsyde (Westlinks). Buyers have to know what they are signing when committing to these pre-sale contracts. It’s important to get legal advice or involve your Realtor to help negotiate the pre-sale contract. Just because a developer is asking ‘X’ amount for a pre-sale home, doesn’t mean that the price and terms are not negotiable. After all, real estate purchases are negotiable. Buyers have to get educated and informed when it comes to pre-sales. It is very easy to get caught up with the beautiful, colorful displays and convincing sales people. I have included the article below written by Derrick Penner.

When British Columbia’s real estate cycle was on the upswing, many condominium buyers reaped the rewards of buying so-called pre-sale condominiums which, in many cases, were worth more on closing than the agreed purchase price. Now the cycle is on the downside and a growing number of buyers are finding themselves compelled to honour contracts they signed to complete purchases of units that have fallen in value. They have few options to get out of deals even if they don’t qualify for a higher mortgage.

Pre-sales can be “a win-win transaction” for both buyers and sellers, in the words of an advice pamphlet produced and distributed by the Urban Development Institute and the B.C. Real Estate Association. They allow buyers to pick homes they want to live in, and give developers certainty about their ability to sell and finance projects they are taking the risk to build.

If buyers try to walk away after signing a deal, they can be sued by developers, and risk losing not only the deposits they paid to secure units, but the difference between the current, lower market price, and the price they agreed to pay the developer in their contracts. “What the biggest risk [in pre-sales] is,” said Kenneth Pazder, a Vancouver real estate lawyer, “[that] what you essentially are doing is, you’re playing a futures market in real estate.” Buyers put down a deposit, usually about 15 per cent, and trust that the price they agree to pay reflects the home’s value on completion of its construction when they have to take ownership. “How sophisticated is the average [buyer] to do that?” Pazder asked.

At least six different developers are suing some 74 different buyers for not completing the purchase of homes they’d signed contracts to buy. Pazder is in discussions with a number of buyers who want to counter-sue developers. Developers are required to file disclosure statements that outline their projects’ details and pass them on to prospective buyers. Pazder’s advice for buyers considering pre-sale purchases is to seek legal advice to understand the contracts they are signing and the disclosure statements they are agreeing to accept.

The B.C. Real Estate Development and Marketing Act (REDMA) allows developers to sell real estate before it is built, and sets out the conditions developers have to meet in doing so. One of the conditions is that buyers have a seven-day right-of-recision period — the ability to cancel the contract — if they change their minds. Pazder advises clients to use that period to get a legal opinion on the contract, and to bail out if that opinion is negative. It will cost a buyer $300 or $400 for the service, Pazder said, but he reckons it is worth the fee to understand the potential risks a buyer is assuming in signing the contract.

“Sometimes people feel that they know the price, [the purchase] is going to close in two years, and that’s good enough,” Pazder said. “Then the problem is when, like now, things go sideways.” Pazder said one of the most common questions he gets these days is how buyers can get out of their contracts.

Often, Pazder said, the buyers’ problem is that they can no longer secure a mortgage to complete the purchase at the price agreed to in the contract. Their bank or lender can lend them funds based only on their unit’s current, and lower, market price.

Pazder said contracts often contain language that allow a developer to seek damages greater than the deposit, if the amount the developer has to cut the price of a unit to sell it in the current market exceeds the value of that deposit when a buyer walks away from the contract. Pazder added that in the current market, pre-sale buyers will want to try to limit that clause: “You want [the clause] to say, ‘If I don’t complete the purchase, this deposit is forfeited as liquidated damages as the sole remedy of the developer.’ ”

He added that buyers will also want to look at firmer language around the completion dates for construction of the units and clauses allowing the developer to make changes in finishings or unit layouts that also give them an out. The Urban Development Institute and B.C. Real Estate Association pamphlet includes a checklist of items that are required to be in a disclosure statement.

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