Underworld

1) Would it be possible for me to purchase a house with my Canadian girlfriend within the first year of me living in Canada? (I was wondering whether there would be any quibbles with me not having a year of financial history in Canada).

2) Would it be advisable to purchase a house sooner than later? - It seems prices are going up in Calgary to the point I can just afford a nice one, but if it continues to rise it might not be so feasible.

3) Can any one point out any good sources for Calgary + area's house prices? Speculation and predictions would be a great help.

Many thanks.

newshoney

I'm sure Judy in Calgary will jump on and give you all the best links but IMHO
I would say purchase sooner... prices are still going through the roof. I was not resident in Canada when we bought, so though the process was straightforward for my OH as a Canadian national I found that as a non-national non-resident I could not have my name on the mortgage etc. As you are already a resident (with PR?) your best bet is to consult the bank where you have your checking and deposit accounts. Otherwise, you could always just marry your girlfriend

I'm sure you are already scanning www.mls.ca for properties on sale but nothing beats a reccie by a real live human to point out pitfalls. For the best mountain views you want to be on a ridge in the NW or SW. We chose the NW as we wanted both the view and easy access to Transcanada 1 westbound. It's a mixed bag - you can find some "reasonably-priced" properties in, say, Tuscany, but on small lots, with tiny back yards that are overlooked by your neighbours. Then up in Tanglewood and Rocky Ridge they're over a million. (e.g. the new Rock Lake development of larger homes (still tiny lots, no back yard). Calgarians we knew told us to avoid the NE (poorer neighbourhoods, higher crime). If you are looking for older properties needing refurb I've seen quite a few transformations along Memorial Drive so that seems very much on the up again.

For more see the wiki: http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Calgary

Underworld

Thanks Id forgotten about that proprety site, ill look through that some more.

Any other comments appreciated.

Judeandandy

Hi Underworld

My husband and I are hopefully moving to Calgary this winter... if his LMO ever comes through... we are now on week 18 and still no news!

We want to buy a house as soon as we get there, we have noticed a big rise in prices even this year.

I don't know if you want to buy the house on your own or jointly with your girlfriend but as a non-resident, if you bought a house you would have to put down a 35% deposit. There are also tax implications if you are still non-res when you sell though I am not sure what exactly as we are intending on applying for residency so that doesn't matter so much to us.

We found a great real estate site, http://www.calgaryrealestatelink.com/
You can look at various properties without having to register and the realtor, Elke Babuik, has been very helpful. We contacted her in February as we expected to be in Calgary for June. She gave us some useful info and has recently emailed me again to see how we are getting on with the move... I let her know we are still stuck in the UK!

Hope this is helpful and good luck.

Jude

DOBBIE

Hi Underworld,

We bought within two weeks of arriving here and managed to get a mortgage without any grief. A sizeable deposit helped, but a colleague of mine had no problem either and he didn't have much to put down. I used RBC and he went to Scotia Bank....

It looks like the housing market here in Calgary has slowed, year on year it is still an increase, but the last two months have seen a slight dip - according to figures I read on the internet yesterday.....

Cheers

Dobbie

newshoney

Just beware that when you contact a Canadian realtor direct (even via a website on which you don't have to register) it is considered a bit like starting a relationship and they may well expect to you to buy through them and no-one else. It's not like the UK where the estate agent's duty is to the seller only and buyers can flit between any number of agents. I fell into this same trap - not a Maxwells realtor but another on the web - fortunately my sister-in-law tipped me off so I immediately emailed the realtor to explain that we were not in a position to enter a contractual relationship with him but had been just browsing his website! Even then he pestered me with spam and direct emails. It's a fine solution provided you really, really intend to buy through this person.

gryphea

Hi Jude - we are 17 weeks 5 days into our albertan LMO - what was your exact date? Any chance you could post of HDSRC LMO timeline on Immagration?

gryphea

Any news on your LMO Dobbie?

Beebop

I hear there is a lot of property on the market at the moment but you are best to contact a realtor and take advice.

I've met Gerald Rotering who is a condo specialist and I thought he had an excellent knowledge of condos, condo law and the market. Most impressed and a really nice guy.

I was also in contact with a realtor who was more into houses called Bob Mathison of Maxwell Canyon Creek and he was really helpful.

The mortgage bloke was confident he could sort me a non-resident mortgage and I'll give you his contact details if you PM me as I think I've plugged enough people in this post already!

Judy in Calgary

As far as I know, that's not true.

As far as I understand, that's how it is in Canada too.

The realtor may have pestered you with spam, but he had no actual (legal) hold on you.

Under normal circumstances in Canada, the two realtors (the seller's realtor and the buyer's realtor) split the commission, which is paid by the seller only. So, in effect (when push comes to shove), both realtors work for the seller.

Realtors always say that they represent buyers fairly, show them a selection of houses, and let them choose. However, I've always wondered what I would do if I were in a buyer's realtor. Would I really go out of my way to point out a flaw that I had noticed and that the buyer had not noticed? I've never been in that position, and I don't know how I would behave if I were in that position.

That's one of many reasons why my huband and I consider it absolutely essential to make the offer to purchase conditional on a satisfactory inspection by a building inspector whom we have hired.

It's not only that the realtor may be tempted not to point out a flaw. It's the fact that a realtor genuinely may be unaware of a flaw. A building inspector, who climbs up into the ceiling, who goes through the house with a fine toothcomb looking for signs of previous water damage, etc., has a better chance of finding flaws.

In any case, in recent years an increasing number of buyers have chosen to enter into contracts with realtors who would represent them during the house buying process. In that instance they (the buyers) pay the realtor a fee to represent them. They have the comfort of knowing that, because they are paying the realtor, he/she truly is working for them (or at least they've greatly increased the chances that that is the case).

But a realtor doesn't become a buyer's agent just because you've looked at his website or asked him some questions. He/she doesn't even become a buyer's agent because he/she has shown you around some houses. If he/she shows you a specific house, and if you buy that house, he/she will earn 50% of the real estate commission. But you could get another realtor to show you another house across the street the next day. If you bought that other house, the previous realtor who'd shown you the previous house would get nothing for his/her efforts.

I personally think the morally decent thing to do is to stick with one realtor when you're buying a house. Many realtors put in hours and hours showing prospective clients around houses, only to have those clients abandon them and go with other realtors.

Realtors also work ungodly hours. When a buyer and a seller are exchanging offers and counter-offers, all of the parties involved (including the buyer's and seller's realtors) can be up till midnight.

So I certainly think it's wrong to turn your back on a realtor who has done a bunch of work for you. But I'm just pointing out that, unless you've signed a contract with a realtor to act as a buyer's agent, a realtor has no legal hold on you.

Judy in Calgary

As others have said, the Multiple Listing Service is a good source of information.

Indeed they would. So much so that, if I were able to provide them, I'd be sitting on a Caribbean Island sipping a G&T even as we speak.

The only thing I'm willing to go out on a limb and tell you is that, all other things being equal, the historical cycle in Calgary has been that house price have fallen over the autumn and winter and risen in the spring.

If people have a choice, they like to move in warmer weather. Also, when the primary breadwinner of a family is transferred to another city, they typically will go ahead of the rest of the family while one parent will stay behind with the children until school finishes at the end of June. So, many houses are bought and sold in the spring (say April onwards), in anticipation of a summer move.

But, as I said, that's if all other things are equal. In Calgary there have been times when all other things have not been equal.

Underworld

So no feelings that the market is going to bottom out from the above posts?

Helen Parnell

You can buy a house, when you arrive I would recommend you speak to your bank and a mortgage broker and see how much you can borrow before you start looking.

House prices are levelling off a bit and it is very much a buyers market at the moment. Who ever you choose as a realtor just make sure they are representing you and are willing to negotiate a low price. A house near me just went for 70,000 less than asking price, and I just got a place for a client 19,000 less than asking. So don't panick as it is a buyers market.

The best site which has all houses that are for sale publically is mls.ca
Realtor websites just have thier own listings and are not always updated.

If you need more information just PM me.

Steve_P

Oh it most likely will at some point.

I'm not convinced the recent rate of price increases is/was sustainable but a major decline? Not for a while yet.

Underworld

Thanks for the support, help and advice offered.

The only thing I can compare Canada to, is what I experience in the Uk. I know that they are constantly hiking the rates up and up to control the rising costs of house prices. If this was not done I would think that house prices would continue to rise until falling over from its own weight of over valued pricing.

I assume rates have stayed stable over there for some period of time?