There was an interesting and quite disturbing story in Quebec City's Le Soleil newspaper recently about a couple from the Chaudière region. They thought they'd bought their dream home on a cliff overlooking the Chaudière river.They made a winning bid on the property and promptly sold their own home and got ready to move.
Everything came to a crashing halt on the day the transaction ...
Posted by Mary Lamey
on April 17, 2012
New home construction in the Greater Montreal Area fell by 40 per cent in March as demand for new homes slowed, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported.
Despite the overall decline, builders began work on slightly more condos during the first three months of the year than they did during the same period a year ago.
A total of 1,339 dwellings were started, meaning the foundations were poured, ...
Posted by Mary Lamey
on April 11, 2012
Big splash in the Globe and Mail this morning about a new function on Zoocasa.com's do it yourself real-estate search site. Now with a few keystrokes consumers can get an appraisal of their property. Zoocasa, which is owned by media giant Rogers Communications, has partnered with Centract Settlement Services, an appraisal firm owned by Brookfield Residential PropertyServices. Brookfield, by the way, ...
Posted by Mary Lamey
on October 26, 2011
Courtesy of The Huffington Post Canada.
Posted by Mary Lamey
on October 13, 2011
If you're Canadian, chances are you've never been gazumped. It might sound like an obscure German sexual practice but no. Gazumping is a real estate term I'd never heard until last week when a client, newly arrived from the U.K. sprang it on me. First I blushed, then I asked her to explain. In Quebec, a home seller who accepts a promise to purchase signs a legally binding contract. You can't ...
Posted by Mary Lamey
on September 23, 2011
Did you know that Montreal offers financial incentives to encourage tenants to become home buyers? The incentives are even better for households with at least one child under the age of 18. You don't have to be a first-time buyer to be eligible, but you must prove that you have not owned a property for at least five years. As with most government programs, this one is more than a little complicated. ...
Posted by Mary Lamey
on August 15, 2011
I took part in a live online chat on the The Gazette's real estate web page, Open House this lunch hour. Hey, you've really got to be on your toes when the questions start flying. It was fast-paced fun. You can read the transcript here. Michael Chetboun of Sequoia Gestion Immobiliere, a property management firm, was the other panelist. He is also a veteran property flipper.
Enjoy!
Posted by Mary Lamey
on May 19, 2011
I've been keeping my eye out for a piece of undeveloped land in inner-city Montreal for the last few months because Habitat for Humanity is on the lookout for a site to build it's next project. Habitat buys land and, using volunteer labour as well as funds and materials donated by corporate partners, build houses for people who might not otherwise be able to achieve the dream of home ownership. ...
Posted by Mary Lamey
on May 11, 2011
Good news from an economist at the Quebec Federation of Real Estate Boards. The number of properties that went into foreclosure, or were seized by mortgage lenders because of non-payment of debt, fell by 15 per cent last year to 2,356. That compared to 2,782 properties seized in 2009. The report was prepared by economist Paul Cardinal. How does foreclosure work? If you have a mortgage, you are ...
Posted by Mary Lamey
on May 7, 2011