Recently, a number of my clients buying homes in Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Parkland County and the Edmonton region have agreed to accept Title Insurance in place of an RPR.  What do these terms mean?  What are the advantages and disadvantages? 

An RPR, or Real Property Report, is a survey of a property showing exact measurements of boundaries and the placement of all improvements or permanent structures (house, garage, shed, deck, fence, etc.), as well as the location of easements, utility rights of way, and so on.  The RPR is a legal document prepared by an Alberta Land Surveyor.  A certificate of municipal compliance attached to the RPR means that local rules have been followed regarding the current state of improvements.  That is, every structure on the property is the proper distance from the property boundaries or rights of way, permits are in place for things like attached decks of a certain height, and so on.

Real estate purchase contracts in Alberta require a seller to provide a buyer with a current RPR in conjunction with written proof of municipal compliance.  This could be problematic if the sellers have made improvements to the property, such as adding on to the home, putting up a fence, building a deck, and the like, and maybe they did some of these things without getting a municipal permit.  This would mean that the RPR they received when they purchased the property no longer reflects the current state of the property.  The sellers are then obliged to order a new RPR from an Alberta Land Surveyor (and this isn’t cheap or quick), or update the old one.  The sellers must also seek retroactive municipal compliance for neglected permits, sometimes a lengthy, complicated and difficult process – unless the buyer waives the requirement for the Real Property Report with municipal compliance.

Waiving that requirement may put the buyer at risk should it turn out that the improvements do not comply with municipal rules.  What if the detached garage was built too near the property line, or on top of the gas line?  What if the deck built on to the side of the house hangs over the neighbor’s property by a foot?  The new owner of the property could be on the hook for the considerable expense of making these things right, not to mention the hassle of tearing down perfectly good structures that just happen to be in the wrong place.

That’s where Title Insurance comes in.  Title Insurance in Alberta “guarantees” that improvements on the property comply with zoning bylaws and that there are no encroachments either from other properties or onto other properties.  Title insurance doesn’t magically make problems go away.  But, if bylaws have been broken or encroachments exist, title insurance (with some restrictions) will pay the cost of obtaining compliance or removing encroachments. 

Advantages? 

• Title insurance can be a good compromise in situations where a new RPR would uncover a problem (for example, no permit for an attached and covered deck) whose solution would be much more costly or invasive or time-consuming than either seller or buyer wants to undertake.
• It can also be an excellent hedge against such things as mortgage or title fraud, builder’s liens, or hidden deficiencies, such as basements developed without permits, underground storage, and the like.
• Title insurance usually costs considerably less and is often easier and faster to obtain than a new RPR.

However… there are some disadvantages that buyers in particular should be aware of:

• Property buyers in Alberta should know that the concept of title insurance originated in the US where citizens do not enjoy the same level of protection that the Alberta system of land titles registration provides.  An up-to-date RPR with municipal compliance is still the best protection for a buyer, as it ensures that the property meets all current bylaws, regulations and the like.
• Title insurance does not reveal underlying issues or correct structural deficits.   It merely provides the financial means for the future to clean them up should they be discovered and should there be an insistence that they be made right.  Note also that title insurance, even if obtainable, does not absolve sellers from the legal obligation to disclose all known defects about their property.
• The usual arrangement when title insurance is offered in place of an RPR is that the buyer purchases the insurance and is reimbursed by the seller, as per the purchase contract.  The new owner of the property is then the holder and beneficiary of the insurance policy for as long as he owns the property.  But… when it is time for him to sell the property, he must either pay for a new RPR after correcting problems, or offer and pay for the same deal he accepted, hoping that the new owner will agree to title insurance – not a foregone conclusion.

So, as a buyer, what is your best course of action?  Given the above, it might seem that you should always insist on a new RPR.   Sometimes that is the right thing to do.  But there are many situations, especially in cases where “correcting a problem” may be worse than living with the status quo, and where time is a limiting factor, when accepting title insurance in place of a missing RPR or in addition to an outdated RPR is the way to go.  Your realtor and lawyer are in the best position to help you decide.

For more information and detailed examples:

Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) Information Bulletin:  Title Insurance

Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) Information Bulletin:  Real Property Reports

(The above article is not intended to cover all aspects of the topic of RPRs and title insurance.  Buyers and sellers are urged to seek detailed expert advice relevant to their personal situations.)

Questions or comments about this or other real estate matters?  I’m here to help!  Call or text me at 780-910-9669, email me at barry@barryt.ca, or contact me here.

A guest blog article from one of my clients who refers to herself as Ms. Cranky Pants:

So, Barry took me to see your house in the region of Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Parkland County, and Edmonton, and I just wanted to mention the things that made me go Ewww.

Odors

I know you think all those little room deodorizer thingies will hide the fact that you’re a smoker, but you can’t fool me.  I wish I didn’t know that you had fried fish with onions and garlic for dinner.  And seriously people, do you ever clean that stinky litter box?  Open a window, for crying out loud!

Dirt

Disgusting grime in the tub, sticky spots on the kitchen counter, dirty dishes in the sink, mystery stains on the carpet, something brown and nasty in the corners…  Yuck!  I’d hate to have the CSI folks go through here with their ultra-violet lights.  I’m not a clean freak but no way do I want to wallow in anybody else’s crud, thank you.  Soap and water and elbow grease are cheap – get busy!

Stuff everywhere

When I view homes, I try to imagine living in the rooms with all my belongings in place.  Kind of hard to do when your junk is clogging up the space, making the place feel smaller than it really is.  Plus, it’s a real turn-off to see personal things like your toothbrush, razor and soggy towels cluttering up the bathroom, for example.  You need to get rid of at least half the stuff in your house — and I don’t mean hide it in the closets or the garage because I’m looking in there!  Here’s a tip:  Visualize a nice hotel room before you move in and unpack – sparkly clean, neat and tidy, room to move around.  That’s what your home should look like for showings.

Damp basement and water stains

Oh boy, is this one a red flag.  If I can see the results of water leakage, I just know I’d be buying a boatload of trouble to take on this baby.  Maybe you’ve got a bad foundation, but it’s more likely that water from spring runoff or summer rains is getting in because 1) your landscaping and grading isn’t sloped adequately away from the house; 2) your eavestroughing needs some work, with rain gutters cleaned out and downspouts aimed well away from the house; 3) your underground drains are clogged; or 4) your sump pump, if you have one, isn’t working properly.

Evident lack of maintenance or upgrading, or unfinished or poorly done reno projects

Yeah, I know your house isn’t brand new so you don’t have all the latest fixtures and decorative doo-dads.  I don’t mind a house that’s used.  What I object to is a house that’s used up.  If you’ve lived in your house for longer than 10 years, then it’s time to fix it up.  That could mean repairing broken windows, tightening loose hinges, or replacing cabinet handles, switches and plug-ins, faucets and shower heads.  It might also mean fresh paint inside and outside (neutral colors, please!).  Maybe what’s needed is a new roof, new furnace and hot water heater, new flooring or new appliances.  It could even mean a professional renovation of kitchen and bathrooms.  Notice I said professional renovation.  Do it yourself only if you have the skills and tools to do it right.  Oh, and don’t wait till just before it’s time to sell to do those things.  Maintain and renovate on a yearly basis so you get to enjoy your investment.

Weird decorating

I counted 5 different wallpaper patterns and 4 different types of carpet and lino just on the main level, but the real clincher was the purple living room, black bedroom and the mustard yellow dining room with its psychedelic wall mural!  This may be what you like to live with, but I want my house to be a frame for my life, not a Halloween horror show.

Lack of light

Hard to see if there are great features in this house because it’s like a cave in here.  I respect people trying to save money and energy, but up the wattage on the light bulbs so prospective buyers can actually see what you’re selling.  Open those drapes and blinds.  Trim the shrubbery from in front of the windows.  Clean those dirty, foggy windows.

Poor curb appeal and unattractive yard

I don’t know about you but I make a little effort when I show my face in public.  Same thing applies to houses.  Like it or not, first impressions count.  If your front door is askew and the paint’s peeling, if your driveway and sidewalks are cracked, plants overgrown, lawn brown and patchy, and there’s trash everywhere, this tells me you don’t care.  So why should I even bother to enter the front door if what I’ll see on the inside is more of the same?  Show a little pride, folks!

Pets on the loose

Hey, I love animals but your big snarly pooch scared the whatsits out of me.  I came to see your house, not get mauled by Cujo.

Price too high

Of course I’d like a bargain, but I’m willing to pay what’s fair for a decent house.  If your house needs a little work… well, I can forgive quite a lot if the price is right.  But there’s plenty I won’t pay for.  I don’t care that you spent $20,000 on a fancy new hot tub and deck, or that you owe too much on your mortgage to reduce the price to what’s reasonable, or that you have to have a certain amount so you can move into a bigger and more expensive house.  Price your house right based on factors such as its location, age, condition, size and what similar homes in your area have sold for, and I just might make you an offer.

Barry has some great articles in this blog on home staging and getting your house ready to sell.  Take a look at these:

Be Your Own Home Stager

Thinking of Selling Your Home in Spruce Grove, Stony Plain or Parkland County? 

Home Staging Starts With De-cluttering

Barry can help you find a great house, or sell your current one.  Call or text him at 780-910-9669, email him at barry@barryt.ca, or contact him here. 

Most people considering the purchase of a home, whether in Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Parkland County, the Edmonton region, or elsewhere, get around to asking the important question:  “Is now a good time or a bad time to buy a home?”  It sounds flippant or evasive if I respond with “Yes” or “That depends”, but both answers are correct!  For most people, buying a home is one of the most significant events in their lives, and it naturally comes with many positives and negatives based on individual situations.  Once people have made the decision to invest in a home, the best time to buy becomes “now”, no matter what the market is doing.

But the market at the moment in the Edmonton area is making the decision to buy much easier.  An article in the January 5, 2012 Edmonton Journal entitled “Real estate market healthy, agents say” contains some very encouraging news.   In spite of crises elsewhere (Europe’s money woes, the US housing market), prices and sales in our region remain steady.  The article quotes a statistic from the Realtors Association of Edmonton:  the average price of homes sold through MLS in 2011 was $325,457.  This is down slightly from $329,019 in 2010, but prices are not undergoing the wild swings we’ve experienced in the past or the ups and downs felt elsewhere.  The article also points out that 827 properties were sold in December 2011, compared to just two more the previous December.

Is right now, just after New Year’s, a good time to buy?  Sure, why not?  The article mentions that the market usually picks up in the summer, with April and May being peak months, but there is always an inventory of homes waiting for the right buyer, and the current market stability, combined with continuing low mortgage rates, all suggest the time is never better!

I’d love to help you find that perfect home!  Call me at 780-910-9669, email me at barry@barryt.ca, or contact me here.

“Keep Calm and Carry On” was a motto used by the British government in 1939, intended to strengthen the morale of the British public in the face of World War II.  It could just as easily be used to punch up the spirits of home sellers, especially in the current market in Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Parkland County and the Edmonton area where perfectly good homes can languish on the market for months.

An article in the December 10, 2011 Edmonton Journal, entitled “Park your emotions when selling your home”, is one of those “couldn’t have said it better myself” articles that I’d like to share with my clients.

Author Marnie Bennett starts by stating that “feelings and emotions muddy home-sale waters.  I can’t stress enough to keep them as far away from your business decisions as possible.”  She goes on to outline five “rules” to help sellers detach emotionally from the sale of their home.

Number one on her list is “Choose your agent wisely”, opting for a business-like approach that will maximize profits and minimize hassle.  Setting the proper price for your home, negotiating from a position of strength, staging your home to show off its best features, and above all, keeping one’s emotions out of the deal round out Ms. Bennett’s list of rules.  We’ve heard this good solid advice many times before, but it’s the kind of advice that deserves to be repeated and heeded by anyone trying to sell a home.  Why is this such good advice?  I encourage you to read the full article!

If it’s time to sell your home, I would be happy to guide you through as stress-free a process as possible.  Please call me at 780-910-9669, email me at barry@barryt.ca, or contact me here.

No matter how short or long a time you spend in your Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Parkland County or Edmonton area home, there will come a time when you leave it.  If you live in it long enough, it will need to be refreshed, updated, and renovated.  The question is:   Do you renovate it just for yourself, or do you renovate with a sales target in mind?

 The best answer to this question is to think about both goals.  Renovate it for your own taste, pleasure and functional use, but don’t forget that your home will eventually go back on the market and may need to appeal to tastes broader than your own. If you’re looking to maximize the value in your home, both for your own use now and for future resale, what sorts of renovations are the best ones to undertake?

 Ergil & Jackson Appraisals Ltd. in their excellent Home Renovation Guide, 2010 edition, give this advice:

GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR RENOVATIONS

According to the Appraisal Institute of Canada  and various professionals we’ve consulted, the following are a few things to keep in mind before you get started:

Invest in your kitchen!

About 10‐15% of the overall value of the home should be spent on the kitchen. If you don’t plan on selling for another 5 years, spending 15‐25% more on it today will give you about a 44% higher recapture depending on the quality of the renovations. For example, buyers need afunctionally designed, spacious, low maintenance kitchen. Scratch‐resistant, durable materials such as granite countertops and high‐quality appliances add tremendous value and have timeless appeal.

The bathroom is next!

You can expect up to a 60‐80% (and in some cases up to 100%) contribution to value on a well designed bathroom even if that requires a complete relocation of fixtures or walls. From floorto ceiling, new tiles, light fixtures and cabinetry to create one’s own personal spa is especiallyappealing. Luxury fixtures to enhance pampering may include water jets, soaker tubs and double sinks in the ensuite bathroom.

Don’t forget the floors and walls!

The buyer wants a home that’s ready to move into.  Smooth walls with quality, neutral paints will make spaces seem larger and will give you an 80‐110% recapture. Carpeting should be limited to bedrooms, if at all. Hardwood and tiles not only benefit in allergen reduction but add elegance as well.  Good flooring that flows from room to room and ties in with baseboards, cabinetry, walls and so on, can provide a 50‐75% better contribution to value than low‐cost, mediocre flooring.

Spend the money!

As the saying goes “You get what you pay for”.  Over the past year the cost of materials may not have increased dramatically but the cost of labour is certainly rising. Quality craftsmanship and insuring a job well done is key.  Nothing is more costly than having to do it twice or replace it early.  The importance of using the highest quality materials cannot be stressed enough.

Remember: High‐quality, easy maintenance, environmentally conscious products and timeless designs are all essential to ensuring value‐added appreciation with the best contribution to value possible.

Thanks to Ergil & Jackson for allowing me to quote portions of their document.  Please check out their full Home Renovation Guide for plenty of good information and advice.

Wondering what your home is worth in today’s market?  I’d be happy to do a free Home Evaluation for you.  Call me at 780-910-9669, email me at barry@barryt.ca, or contact me here.

Is it a good idea to tackle major renovations just before you put your home on the market to make your Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Parkland County or Edmonton area home more attractive to buyers? 

Some time ago, I posted a blog entry on this topic (Should You Renovate Before You Sell?  Learn Which Home Renovations Give You the Best Return), giving some details about the costs of various renovations and how much, if anything, those renovations might add to the value of your home when it came time to sell.  This information came from Henderson & Butt’s excellent 2009 Home Renovation Guide.  Well, Henderson & Butt are now Ergil & Jackson Appraisals Ltd., and the 2010 edition of the Home Renovation Guide offers even more great information to help you keep or increase the value of your home.  Many thanks to Ergil and Jackson for allowing me to use information from their guide in my blog posts.

I’ve revised my original blog post to include more current information courtesy of Ergil and Jackson.  To view my revised article, please visit my new blog on Active Rain.   

Are there topics you’d like me to discuss in these blog posts?  I’d love to hear from you.  Call me at 780-910-9669, email me at barry@barryt.ca, or contact me here.

Where do you go to get information for renovation projects?  The television set in your home in Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Parkland County and the Edmonton area is probably not your first choice, but flipping through the channels these days reveals something surprising:  Among the many sports, movie and mainstream networks, there are a large number of worthwhile programs and even whole networks offering valuable information to homeowners.  Check out some of these offered in the Spruce Grove/Stony Plain/Edmonton area by Shaw Cable and TELUS Optik TV.  A little disclosure:  After you’ve checked them out, let me know what you think because I admit I haven’t seen most of them myself!

A & E

(Shaw 25, HD 233; Telus 170, HD 670)

$100 Makeover, Disaster Guy, Drill Team, Fix This Kitchen, Fix This Yard, Flipping Vegas, Flip This House, Hoarders, Sell This House

CBC  (Click on Find a Program)

(Shaw 4, HD 209; Telus 4, HD 618)

All for One With Debbie Travis, Steven and Chris

Discovery Channel  

(Shaw 32; Telus 200)

Canada’s Worst Handyman

DIY Network  (Click on Shows A-Z)

(Shaw 136; Telus 144)

A whole network of house-related programming, such as:  Decked Out, The Dirt on Gardening, Disaster DIY, DIY Hot List Kitchens & Baths, Dream House, Garage Mahal, Holmes on Homes, House Crashers, I Hate My Kitchen, Man Caves, Rehab Addict, Turf War, Wasted Spaces, Weekend Handyman, Yard Crashers, and many, many more.

HGTV 

(Shaw 19, HD 231; Telus 142, HD 680)

Too many shows to list them all here!  A few of the more popular:  Colin & Justin’s Home Heist, Debbie Travis’ Painted House, Gardening by the Yard, Holmes on Homes, Holmes Inspection, House Hunters, Property Virgins, Real Renos, Sarah’s House.  Many more.

OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network)

(Shaw 92; Telus 202, HD 651)

Divine Design, Home Takeover with Simon & Tomas

PBS

(PBS Spokane on Shaw 22, HD 204; Telus 23, HD 607 Seattle

PBS Detroit on Shaw 81

PBS Boston on Telus 54, HD 629)

HandyMa’am with Beverly DeJulio, The Perennial Gardener with Karen Strohbeen, The Router Workshop, This Old House, The Woodwright’s Shop

Slice  (Click on Shows)

(Shaw 33; Telus 141)

Family Renovation, House Poor, Shotgun Reno, Till Debt Do Us Part

TLC The Learning Channel

(Shaw 35, HD 236; Telus 140, HD 671)

Hoarding: Buried Alive, Home Made Simple, Kitchen Boss, Spouse vs. House

W Network

(Shaw 34; Telus 146)

The Agents, All for Nothing, Anna & Kristina’s Grocery Bag, Building Bryks, Candice Tells All, Colour Confidential, Divine Design, Grin and Build It, Help My House is Falling Down, Home Wreckers, Inside the Box, Love It Or List It, Making House, Million Dollar Decorators, My House Your Money, Property Brothers, Take This House and Sell It

Not strictly related to houses and real estate but still very much related to home, so we have to give an Honorable Mention to:

The Food Network 

(Shaw 29; Telus 143)

Ace of Cakes, Barefoot Contessa, Chef at Home, Eat Shrink and Be Merry, Family Restaurant, French Food at Home, Iron Chef America, Jamie’s Meals in Minutes, Restaurant Makeover, The Best Thing I Ever Ate, Tough Cookies, and much more!

This list isn’t intended to be comprehensive, but if I’ve missed anything that really should be on it, please let me know!

I’d love to help you find a house to turn into a home.  Call me at 780-910-9669, email me at barry@barryt.ca, or contact me here. 

How do we go about changing the “For Sale” sign on your home in Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Parkland County or the Edmonton area into “Sold”?

Once your house is officially “on the market”, lots of things take place in my office to make sure that as many realtors and potential buyers as possible are aware of it.

First of all, I post your listing, consisting of a detailed description of your property, the pictures and measurements I took during my visit, and various other particulars such as the asking price, annual property taxes, neighborhood features and so on, to the Multiple Listing Service, or MLS®.  This powerful online service almost instantly makes your property’s information available to the thousands of realtors working in the Edmonton region.  They, in turn, can make this information available to their clients who might be looking for a property like yours.  Clients who create a customized search profile listing their desired property features can opt to receive automated “highlight sheets” showing properties available for sale that match what they are looking for.  These days, most realtors, or their offices, have websites with a direct link to MLS, making it possible for their clients to see all the pictures and other information posted on MLS.  Potential buyers can also search MLS listings directly by going to MLS.ca or Realtor.ca. 

Back at the Realty Executives Leading office, a full-color printed “window ad” showing a picture of your home and a verbal description is posted in the front window of our building so that passers-by and visitors to the office can see the properties listed for sale by the realtors from our office.  I may also create a glossy color highlight sheet featuring photos of your home’s best features for potential buyers to pick up when they are viewing your home with a realtor.

I advertise some or all of my listings every week in the local newspapers, the Grove Examiner in Spruce Grove and the Stony Plain Reporter in Stony Plain.  I also place ads in the Real Estate Weekly (circulation 60,000) published by the Realtors Association of Edmonton.  Printed copies of the Real Estate Weekly are inserted in home-delivered newspapers and sent out to newsstands selling the Edmonton Sun, as well as high traffic food stores, banks and real estate offices all around the Edmonton area.   Websites for all three of these publications have meant an even greater possible audience for this advertising.

I make as much use of technology in marketing your property as I can, featuring my listings on my website and on my Facebook Business Page, as well as posting ads on Kijiji and creating special in-house virtual tours, using software called VisualTour, that are attached to my MLS listings. 

While we still put a For Sale sign on your front lawn and maybe stage an open house, you can see that today’s real estate marketing goes well beyond traditional sales methods!

Looking to sell your home?  I can help!  Call me today at 780-910-9669, email me at barry@barryt.ca, or contact me here.   

Most Canadians look forward to owning their own home, whether that’s a house, a condo, or an acreage in Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Parkland County, the Edmonton area or elsewhere.  In the excitement of taking possession of a new home, moving in and settling down in a new neighborhood, sometimes people forget they’ve taken on a long-term commitment to look after the property and protect the biggest investment most of us will ever make.  Owning a home is a lot of work!

With proper planning and good routines, maintaining a home need not be overwhelming.  The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, CMHC, publishes numerous guides for homeowners.  Check out “Home Maintenance Schedule” for an extended season-by-season checklist of home maintenance tasks.  If you’re like me, you’re bound to find a few things on this list you might not have thought about.  For example, one suggestion is to remove the interior window screens in the fall to allow the circulation of air to keep condensation off the windows and to allow in more free solar heat.

Maintaining your home will make it safer, more attractive and more pleasant to live in.  But there’s another very good reason not to neglect these routines.   Time and again in the real estate business, the houses that sell the fastest and for the best price are those houses that have been looked after the best.  When it comes time to sell your most valuable possession, you’ll be glad you kept up the maintenance!

Thinking of selling your home?  I’d be happy to help you get it ready to put on the market.  Call me at 780-910-9669, email me at barry@barryt.ca, or contact me here. 

Buying or selling your Parkland County acreage or your Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, or Edmonton area home is likely to be the biggest financial transaction of your life.  Many different professionals may be involved, and it can be confusing to you, the client, as to what the roles of all these people are and how they can be helpful to you.

A short but very useful and informative video on YouTube entitled “The People to Know in a Real Estate Transaction” explains such things as:

• the difference between a listing agent and a selling agent (and to whom they owe loyalty);
• the difference between a mortgage broker and a mortgage banker;
• what things a home inspector looks for, and how the role of a home inspector differs from that of a home appraiser;
• why it pays to use a real estate attorney to complete your sale (required in Alberta when REALTORS® are involved).

Although the video is aimed at an American audience, the information is still mostly applicable to our situation in Alberta.

Need more information?  I’ll do what I can to find the answers to any of your questions.  Call me at 780-910-9669, email me barry@barryt.ca, or contact me here.