You would think it should be binary. It’s either SOLD or it’s not. This isn’t however how things work in our real estate system as there are procedures, situations and therefore categories to describe stages along the way. There are also rare exceptions and extreme circumstances which I won’t bother you with but rather outline the major categories that you are most likely to encounter while looking to buy or sell real estate in Nanaimo.
Sold: As you may expect, when you see that red sign that says SOLD or SOLD BY going up on the property and it shows up as sold on the MLS system, and the contract is sealed. This means that the subject clauses have just been removed and that there is a solid agreement in place for the purchase of the home. The date when money changes hands (completion) and possession are probably at least a few weeks away yet, but the deal is done.
Sold Subject: This means that an offer has been negotiated and accepted between a Buyer and the Seller. The Buyer is in the process of working through the subject clauses. Statistically speaking, there’s a roughly 9 in 10 chance that the deal will go through. If not, that deal will be taken apart after a few signatures that show that it was taken apart according to terms laid out in the contract and that both parties agreeeto this. Once that is done the place is open to offers as before. That said, just because there is an accepted offer on a property doesn’t mean that another offer, which we call a “backup offer”, can’t be negotiated. The backup offer is negotiated and is subject to the collapse of the first offer.
A variation of sold subject worth noting is when is has a time clause. This is something that usually scares other Buyers away from the idea of writing an offer but I don’t think it should. When an offer has a time clause it means that the offer is subject to the sale of their existing property. That is, they need to sell what they have in order to afford what they want to buy and there are certain parameters for that in the contract. Those parameters being that they have a certain amount of time to have an unconditional/subject free sale on the property (usually a month or two) and that if any other offers are accepted from other buyers that they will be given a certain amount of time to sell the property or otherwise come up with the funding. That amount of notice they are given is really short. Usually 24 to 72 hours which basically means that if an offer is accepted from another Buyer that their chances of bumping out the first set of Buyers is pretty high.
Rather than making the last post go on for many pages I thought it best to do it in two pieces. The following is an exploration of a point which I think deserves more press than it gets regardless of the real estate market situation. Here, I’d like to talk about what is going on with interest rates and how they affect your actual costs. Interest rates are mentioned fairly regularly in the media but I find that like with so many other things the context is not adequately explored to give people a sense of their importance and they are largely pushed aside by the usual “Are real estate prices going up or down today?” silliness.
I won’t go into great detail with this but instead paint a broader picture. It bears mentioning that I am a Realtor and not a Mortgage Broker. So for detailed and up to date info on that I recommend asking a Mortgage Broker. I will be asking at least one to have a look at this post before I put it up just to make sure all the details line up.
Ok, on to mortgage interest rates, an aspect of real estate that a lot of people have a hard time wrapping their heads around. It’s ok, don’t feel bad if this is you. It is however really worth learning about as it can and will affect your long term financial well being.
Mortgages and other related ways of financing your home are tailored specifically to the Buyer, their new home and of course financial and real estate markets.
Interest rates affect everyone who makes use of a mortgage and it makes a very big difference in terms of what you’re paying for your real estate long term. Actually, it makes a bigger difference short term than I think most people realize. As they’re at historic lows lately and are expected to hold for a little while before rising again, I would highly recommend paying attention to this matter if you have a mortgage or are thinking of getting one. Even if you aren’t but have some savings, maybe you should still look into it. Just a chat with a Mortgage Broker can change your life.
To put things in perspective, let me show you how the monthly payment on a $300,000 mortgage differs based on a change of interest rates. You can verify my numbers by making use of my online mortgage calculator if you like. Even better, talk to a mortgage broker. I am using 10% down and including the CMHC insurance payment on a 25 year amortization. (I am not saying that these are the criteria available in the particular offers of that rate. This is for reference.) The first number is a currently advertised rate through a local mortgage broker with a five year term, the rest are incrementally increased from there.
FYI, the historical average since they started tracking these numbers in the 70′s is around 9%. That number is skewed a bit by what happened in the early 80′s but it still gives you an idea.
2.89% – $1290
3.0% – $1306
3.15% -$1328
3.5% -$1379
4% -$1454
4.5% -$1531
5% -$1610
5.5% -$1691
6% -$1774
6.5% -$1860
7% -$1946
That’s just per month. Let’s look multiply these by 12 and look at what the difference is over a period of one year:
2.89% – $15,480
3.0% – $15,672
3.15% -$15,936
3.5% -$16,548
4% -$17,448
4.5% -$18,372
5% -$19,320
5.5% -$20,292
6% -$21,288
6.5% -$22,320
7% -$23,352
And that is just the beginning. Over a period of five years it adds up even more. For the sake of simplicity I’m not getting into variable rates and how they work and what they will do. Talk to your mortgage broker about that. The point I’m trying to make is that interest rates on mortgages and how hard/easy it is to qualify for them is at least as important as whether market prices seem to be going up this week or down, yet it is so rarely talked about in the press and if it is it’s usually presented in an unclear fashion. Why? Well, I think it’s because it’s so easy to tug people’s emotions with ye olde “up is good, down is bad” rhetoric.
The point should also be made that what you can actually qualify for (get) will change considerably depending on what interest rates are even if the amount you are paying per month doesn’t change. For example, based on a payment of $1500 per month, a rate of 2.89% and a 30 year amortization today you can have a mortgage of roughly $362,000. If rates move by 1.5% and become 4.39%, and you get the same 30 year amortization at the same payment of $1500, you can only get a $301,000 mortgage.
Interest rates are life changers, don’t you think?
Back to the broader point on this two part series and much of what I write about on this blog, yes the ups and downs of the real estate markets have meaning. Do not however allow yourself to think that they are the most important thing to be aware of regarding real estate. There are details, like your own financial standing, which trump that and there are many other things to be aware of that will make it easier to keep your financial standing intact.
Short answer: I would say that it”s because they need something “new” to talk about to make it “news” and because it creates a sense of drama. Painting a picture of the real estate market that makes it seem like a roller coaster ride that everyone needs to be constantly updated on works well for their business model. That’s my short answer, but saying only that wouldn’t be much of a blog post now would it?
Before we get to the long answer it is worth pointing out that I am not trying to say that the ups and downs don’t affect people. They certainly can and do and sometimes the effect can be dramatic. That said, I have long held the opinion that too much is made of the market ups and downs when applied to most people most of the time. I would also like to emphasize that a solid understanding of certain fundamental principles of real estate will go a long way to make that ride a lot smoother, more enjoyable and greatly reduce your likelihood of getting hurt. There is so much going on with regards to real estate in both our collective lives and our individual lives that this tunnel vision about ups and downs is really not healthy. There are other important things to consider as well! This blog is written with the philosophy of giving people the info that they should be getting rather than more of the kind of info that is being crammed down their throat every day. A counter culture to mainstream real estate media. A holistic approach to real estate? Well not quite, but it’s a start.
When reading or listening to the news, you hear talk about the ups and downs just about every day and quite often you’ll see reports published at the same time that are in apparent disagreement. That’s the problem with trying to oversimply things, not showing them in context and being described by people whose profession usually has little if anything to do with the esoteric world of real estate. If you are like most people (including the reporters) you do not work in the industry and are not in a position to see what is going on behind those numbers and even if you are, you will know that there are many reasonable ways to interpret those numbers and no one has a monopoly on knowing what’s going on. Yes, that’s right, even the experts often don’t see eye to eye on everything. Shocking, I know. Most of the reports you see have a way of making even the ordinary sound extraordinary simply by not explaining the context. They also make it sound like there is a solid conclusion to be drawn from them. But here’s my issue what taking those things at face value: Fully informed views don’t fit into ten second sound bytes or even well written full page articles. In order to be presented with clarity they would need to be reported by someone who is a seasoned professional in the industry. Also, the drama would need to be tuned down in order to have a level headed view. My guess is that if the media companies took the time to explain things clearly and fully they would go out of business due to costs associated with the extra hours staff would have to put in plus the fact that most people won’t pay attention long enough to get the full message. They need an audience that is captivated and still watching long enough to make it to the ads.
The major strategies in real estate are pretty timeless and even though such strategies are the sort of thing that would be most useful for people to know about, they are neither new or easy to hype so they don’t have the sizzle needed for a snappy headline/news item. You will still want the help of an active Realtor and related professionals to know how to get the very most out of applying these principles to your specific case but a simple grounding in the basics is likely to change your life for the better. I will try to fit a summary into this post but keep reading this blog in general for a broader view. I know that the topic is dry to most people but it is well worth familiarizing yourself with.
Here are a couple of these major principles that I don’t think get much if any airtime despite their importance to pretty much everyone:
The homeowner should buy when they can afford to put the downpayment down and keep up with monthly costs. No sooner no later. Then, they must be prepared to hold on for a few years at least. It other words, it is always a good time to buy real estate if you can afford to. Some times are a little better than others but your own financial situation will generally trump the other factors. This is especially true if it is your own home you are talking about. Once you are in, you have to be willing to be patient. By ‘patient’ I mean expect five to ten years but it may vary a little.
As I’ve previously stated in great detail, the short term ups and downs of property values don’t affect homeowners nearly as much as most people assume. Remember that although prices go up and down in the short term they do go up in the long term and they do so faster than inflation. This is why I generally recommend that when you buy a place that you are in a position to hold on to it for five to ten years. Yes, there are exceptions like flipping in an up market but even then you should be prepared to hold on to in for a bit just in case things change (yes the market is one of a myriad of other things that could affect this) before you have completed your reno. It costs money to sell your home (Realtor fees, Lawyers, fixing it up and mortgage penalties if you don’t plan it right) and it takes time for your equity to build enough to make all of that easy to deal with.
If you are a first time buyer or just don’t currently own the goal is to just own something. Don’t wait for the lowest point in the market because the only way to know you have found it is by looking back at it after it has passed. There are so many other factors that make the timing better or worse and your personal financial position is the biggest factor of all. Just own something modest that you can live in and pay for. Rent is basically just paying someone else’s mortgage for them and what you pay per month in rent for a place around these parts is pretty similar to what you would pay per month as an owner. The main difference is of course that you need to have the credit and downpayment available to get into that ownership situation.
It does bear mentioning that lives change suddenly sometimes. So when you are looking to buy, choosing a place where there is a renting option just in case you need it is a good plan. If you can swing a plan b as well then you will sleep better overall.
If you are and owner who is concerned because you bought a house a couple of years ago and prices haven’t really budged or maybe they’re slightly lower the question you should be asking yourself is “Do I need to sell?” If not, what’s the problem? Keep paying the mortgage and maintain the place and be patient, it’s just a matter of time before things go up again. Besides, you’re paying off equity bit by bit as you go anyway and at the interest rates we have lately paying things off is cheaper. In a few years you will probably look back and remember how cheap it was to pay your mortgage because rates will have almost certainly gone up again.
Paying attention to the details of price fluctuations is more the game of the investor who makes their living, in whole or in part, off of real estate revenue. A homeowner mainly needs to get in, hold on, maintain the property and keep paying that mortgage. If you need to move and the equity isn’t there to pay for it then renting part or all of the property out is hopefully an option. If you can’t afford to keep it, you can’t rent it in part or in whole and can’t afford to sell it and have equity left that’s when the tough decisions have to be made. Hopefully you can find some way to make ends meet but if you have to sell to avoid things falling apart then that’s what you have to do. It’s no fun and I totally empathize but you need to understand that the real estate market does not. If you are in this situation putting it on the market at the price you ‘need’ is folly unless that price also happens to be the market value otherwise you are on the slow road to foreclosure. The market is merciless and Buyers only care what the best deal is. The second best property for the price does not sell, only the number one property does. The worst thing you can do for yourself is putting up an overpriced listing that will sit for a long time. That’s just going to make your money troubles worse, in a slow and painful way.
So I have just clearly stated my position that most people’s perception of the importance of markets going up and going down is getting caught up in short term drama and not really that meaningful if you are thinking long term and don’t have some sudden major upset with your income. There are many other important factors to explore. One of which that affects us collectively is interest rates and as this post is already lengthy, I will continue with that in my next post.
Early in my real estate career, a cohort said to me “It’s not my job to make decisions for my client. It is my job to make sure that my client’s decisions are informed decisions.”
This little gem stuck with me and has been one of the fundamental principles in how I do my work. I do my best to make sure that that each client understands the potential risks/benefits of various choices and options they have in front of them. Much of the info are common principles with buying real estate or selling real estate but there are also many things that are specific to that client, that property and that time.
Even if I were a control freak, trying to make my client’s decisions for them would not make sense. Their tastes in lifestyle and aesthetics are theirs and not mine. Their ability to maintain and repair their property is theirs and not mine as is how much they want to put into that. They know what their own comfort level is with regard to finances. Knowing how much you can spend is more than just the results of calculations, it is also the result of a personal philosophy of how far one wishes to stretch themselves and how much risk vs. potential gain they are comfortable with. I can and do talk about these things at length with clienets and get a sense of where they’re at on all of these things but after a certain point I am only guessing about what will work for them. That is the point where there is nothing left for me to say and it is up to them make a decision before we can move forward.
There are also topics that are more clear cut as patterns emerge when you consider many similar transactions. (See this post for Sellers and this post for Buyers for an intro on that.) The trouble is, and the reason why I think this is worth writing a post about, that some people have the mindset that answer should be able to be snappy and fit into one sentence and be cut and dried. Could I answer things that way? Sure! Would it be good service? No!
As stated above, I focus on making sure they are entering a situation with their eyes wide open and I do so while advocating a sense of balance and caution. If I think someone is getting reckless (like overpricing their listing or not thinking they need an inspection for the place they want to buy) I will tell them what I think and make it clear what the risks are. I however cannot make a client do anything nor can I give a 100% guarantee what the future holds. If I had either of those magical powers I would not need to work for a living.
Another title for this post could be “Listing Your Home vs. Selling Your Home” as they are not the same thing and not everyone recognizes that.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about Buying Real Estate on a Budget Do’s and Dont’s and it is worth noting that as a Realtor I am playing both sides of the coin on a regular basis. That is, sometimes I am working for the Buyers and sometimes I am working for the Sellers. The Sellers, just like the Buyers, are trying to finish the transaction with as much money as possible, as a rule. The stakes are high and no one wants to lose. It’s about more than winning for ego’s sake, it’s about fulfilling your financial potential in what is probably the biggest financial transaction of your life. The concept is in itself dizzying for most people and just like the Buyers, the Sellers are also trying to outsmart the system. They are trying to get more and save more at the same time. Again we see people trying to think outside the box not knowing what the box looks like. Most of the time, they are standing right in the middle of it and don’t even know it. That said, I will again say that there is a time and a place for creative thinking and that knowing what is typical and what isn’t is the first step in being able to recognize an effective strategy versus having an expensive learning experience.
So, if you are looking to sell your home for top dollar:
DO:
Price it right, and price is right from the beginning. I cannot possibly emphasize this enough. Overpricing is the number one way to cost yourself money when selling real estate and it is what most people will naturally do unless they listen to their Realtor. Almost every Seller is (initially) under the impression that if they have a higher asking price, the offers will be higher. I understand why people think this but it is simply not true. Your home has to be the best deal among the competition, period. Not second best, the best. Yes, how it is presented is a huge part what makes it best. I make this point with the assumed undestanding that the Seller and I are both doing as much as possible for the presentation side of things. Even when the property’s presentation in advertising and in person is finely tuned, the price is still the most important thing. If your price is higher than the other comparable options it will simply make the others look more appealing and they will be getting the offers instead. Sure, you can lower the price later if there is no action but by then half of the Buyers are thinking that there must something wrong with the place and all of the Buyers are under the (probably correct) impression that there is no urgent need to make an offer on this one right away because it’s not likely to be snatched up by someone else while they ponder about it. So, in order to make it more appealing, you will have to price it even lower than you would have had to in the beginning. This is especially true is you wait months and months before doing so. The risk of over pricing is greater than that of under pricing as seriously good deals will attract multiple offers and drive the price up in the end if the situation is right and it is handled properly. As a Realtor, it is my job to make sure you get top dollar for property and I have this conversation with almost every Seller at length and it is sometimes hard to communicate that I am in fact trying to help them make more money rather than less with this key strategy. Some truths are counterintuitive I suppose.
Understand that your tastes are yours, and not everyone else’s. I often say that if I were to build my real dream home, that I would have to die in it because it would be so strange and specific to my ideas and tastes that few people if anyone would share them let alone pay an amount that makes up for what it cost me to build the crazy thing. Such a home would be so focused on me and my personality that other people would look at the home and see me in it rather than seeing themselves in it. Because of my profession I am acutely aware of what a bad idea it would be for me, financially speaking, to build or alter my home to such a state unless I am prepared to live out the rest of my days there. The best way out would be to pay for renovating it into something marketable. Sure, I’m talking about an extreme example here for the purpose of illustrating my point but every Seller should keep in mind that the reason they chose the home they’ve got is because it was the one they chose. It suited their tastes and over time they have continued to alter/decorate it to make it more and more suitable to their own tastes. Some people really like unique and brightly coloured walls and I will admit that I have a certain fondess for rich coloured Victorian style wallpapering but neither are good ideas for marketing your home. Light, off white paint has been the basic go to for a long time for a reason: It works. It creates a sense of space and light which are very similar to the sensation of being able to breathe and it also gives them mental room to see their own ideas and life in the space rather than yours. Listening to your Realtor (that’s me) will help you with ideas on making the home marketable without wasting too much money.
Ask questionsAs part of my process I will in one way or another make sure that you are given the information you need to make an informed decision as all decisions are ultimately up to the client. This does not mean that you are expected to understand every term and concept that the real estate world throws at you right away so don’t be too proud to say “I don’t understand.” Candor is not a weakness in my books but a kind of strength. You will need to wrap your brain around a lot of info before you make a decision though and asking questions helps both of us better know what we need to be talking about as things progress. Most questions I can answer easily, some are more case by case and subjective while others will require speaking to a specialist.
Be prepared to paint, clean, mop, do minor repairs, garden, send some stuff to storage, get brighter light bulbs, hunt down mould, slightly change your decor, shampoo the rugs and stop cooking funky smelling foods for a while. In some cases a new roof or some flooring may be needed. It is all case by case but regardless of the property there is no doubt that in order to attract top dollar you will need to polish her up.
Be ready for sudden phone calls and showings. Generally speaking showing requests will come in a day before but it isn’t unusual for a Buyer to see the listing on the system and then suddenly decide to call me or whichever Realtor they are working with hoping to get in on short notice. Maybe they are high maintenance but maybe they are excited about your property and it’s best to let them come have a look. Yes, it is often inconvenient but you never know which Buyer is going to be the one who actually buys. Sometimes they will have looked at it a day or two ago and then suddenly they want to put in an offer without warning. This is an ongoing thing so you will want me to be able to reach you easily and quickly.
Remember whose side I am on.My particular style of business is to offer the best quality and most ethical service that I possibly can. This means that what I tell you is something I am saying because I take fiduciary duty seriously. It’s not just because I am trying to push the next sale through. I think long term and I want you and your friends to be my clients for life and I also want us all to feel good about that. If I was self centered I wouldn’t have a page like this on my main website or give one percent of my revenues to environmental causes or put posts like this or this on my blog.
DON’T:
Be offended by negative feedback from Buyers Don’t take it personally. You are not your home and the sooner you can get comfortable with that the easier this will all be. Even negative feedback from a recent showing is a good thing to have especially if there is a recurring theme from various Buyers. In some cases it may be something we can compensate for without affecting your bottom line and sometimes not. Regardless, negative feedback is an opportunity for us to refine our game plan.
Leave your home messy Your competition is doing things like putting flowers on the table, keeping everything in the home spotless as if it were in a magazine, making it smell nice, leaving lights on, playing happy music, doing meticulous gardening, leaving select curtains and blinds open to get the most out of the view and natural light and so on. From a logical sense, a few dirty dishes in the sink have nothing to do with how nice of a home you have but when Buyers are seriously looking, any little detail rational or otherwise can make the difference between choosing property A or property B.
Stay home during showingsIt’s your home and of course you have the right to do this. It does however only remind them that it is your home and not theirs. It won’t allow them to properly relax and feel like they can speak or look around freely while they are there. And if you happen to be home when they show up do not glue yourself to them and try to explain everything about the home to them. They will almost always feel trapped and not want to stick around long. If they ask you questions, then by all means answer them but most of those questions are best answered via me, your listing agent, as there is a certain art to being honest without tipping your hand too much negotiations wise.
Use cut rate real estate services or the services of those who promise you themoon This would require quite a lot of explanation to make clear as to why this is the case. I go through it in this series that I also link to below. The short of it is that expecting, hoping, wanting, needing something to be the case does not make it the case. The market is bigger than you or I and it is a reality that we have to deal with. It’s often not easy to accept but it’s better to figure out how to properly play the game early rather than getting an extended beating from the market.
Wait a long time for a price change if there is no serious interestThis brings us back to the first one of the ‘do’ end of the list. The appropriate time period to wait will vary depending on the property type, the market and how motivated you are as a seller but there may come a point where it is clear that the price we are at is not working. I have many tricks up my sleeve and will have explored all reasonable options before suggesting a price reduction. Again, my goal is to make you as much money as possible and part of doing that is by making sure that your listing is priced better than the comparable places that haven’t sold yet either. Waiting too long reduces the likelihood and seriousness of interest from Buyers and it makes the whole thing more painful and drawn out for you.
Push away serious interestIf you get an offer within the first few weeks, the tendency is for sellers to try and hold out for a better offer. This is generally a mistake. The biggest fish usually bite first, so keep in mind that your first offer will often be your best.
There are other posts on this theme you may enjoy reading:
There are more too if you hunt through my blog. I’ve been building this blog for over five years at this point so these major concepts have been explored already in one way or another. A lot of the details of real life strategies are case by case but the general stuff ends up here on my blog. I do try to present things in a fresh way every time though, so for depth of undertsanding it is worth reading some or all of these entries if you wish to take the time.
The following is a guest post from the local heating and plumbing experts Torry and Sons. In hopes of adding depth and variety to the knowledge shared on this blog, I thought it would beneficial to have the perspectives of various experts from various specializations. In this post they describe a line of what I have mostly seen referred to around here as “ductless heat pumps” which is also something that I became quite familiar with during my time living in Japan. But these each of these ones have a twist…
Daikin Altherma is an innovative Air to Water heat pump system that heats and cools spaces and even produces domestic hot water. This system has the unique ability to use a renewable energy source – the outside air! Therefore no gas or oil consumption which will reduce CO2 emissions.
The Coefficient of Performance (COP) is the ratio of heat produced to energy consumed. Depending on the model and conditions, a Daikin Altherma air-to-water Heat Pump delivers between 3 and 5 kWh of usable heat for every 1 kWh of electricity it uses. That is a great ratio from 3:1 to 5:1! And because these systems deliver a considerable savings in energy, they also deliver significant savings on your heating bill.
A Daikin Altherma heat pump “pumps” heat from a low to a high temperature level. The heat raised is transferred to the water distribution system, which can be: In-Floor heating, low temperature radiators or fan coil units with ductwork in the home. Fan coil units with ductwork enable us to use the Altherma for cooling as well as heating. This allows for very quiet operation of this heating system.
Daikin Altherma Heat Pump systems offer complete flexibility for new construction and deep energy refurbishment projects.
Daikin Mini-Split Heat Pumps
Daikin also offers an Air to Air Mini-Split option. This is a Heat Pump for any home or office areas that requires heating and cooling – it can be zoned and it operates without ducting. One outdoor unit can operate up to 4 indoor units providing zoning comfort in a streamlined, wall-mounted design that compliments any interior.
The Multi-Room system is designed to run quietly, indoors and out. Plus, unlike conventional air conditioners that stop and start, the system uses advanced inverter technology, which reaches the desired temperature faster and maintains it without great fluctuations. By running at energy-conserving speeds, this unique technology enables
Daikin systems to achieve extremely high energy efficiencies.
The Daikin Mini-Split System offers very efficient and economical options to heat and cool almost any retrofit project.
Peace of Mind
Torry and Sons have factory trained technicians providing a thorough installation, seamless start up and easy operation. And, Daikin offers industry leading comprehensive standard warranties for extra peace of mind. The Torry and Sons experts can help guide you into the right system to fit your application and will assist you to conserve energy and save money on you heating bills.
If you’re buying or selling real estate in British Columbia, you’ve most likely encountered a Property Disclosure Statement (PDS). It’s an important document for everyone. It is one of the steps of the property selling process that is designed to keep bad surprises and misunderstandings from happening between parties. This is all in hopes of protecting the Buyers, Sellers and Realtors involved.
Disclosure is a huge thing in real estate, period. The PDS is a multi page document that clearly asks a series of questions about the use, potential use and condition of the property. The Seller is required to answer these questions honestly to the best of their knowledge and to sign it. They fill this out at the time of listing so it is on file for when there is serious interest in the property from a Buyer. Generally speaking, an offer will include a subject clause that requires review and approval of this document or sometimes it will simply be built into the contract. Sometimes both, but regardless of what the contractual voodoo is, the document needs to be handled correctly by all parties. This means that the Seller must be forthcoming with the info (there is a certain art to being honest without being alarming) and the Buyer must make sure that they review the document and make any inquiries that arise from it. Usually things are pretty straightforward but sometimes there are things found that are more… interesting.
I will include a screenshot of one page of one of these documents here. Be aware that it is not the whole document and that it is an ever evolving document that is part of an ever evolving process. Things like this are constantly changing in our business due to changes in legislation, significant court cases, technology to name just a few factors.
This is more from the tourism perspective but it sums up much of our playtime around here during spring, summer and fall. It doesn’t go into the scuba diving or the skiing that is nearby though and since this is my Nanaimo real estate blog I’d like to point out that we are just across the water from Vancouver and our real estate is about half the price and the lifestyle is much calmer.
