steve of 5-0

I am being straight with you, obviously if you compare ON to NB, when it comes to property prices, your place will sell for a lot more.

ON is not in economic slump like NB.
More people immigrate into ON then any other province.
40% of Canada lives in ON.

So naturally this means that taxes etc. are reflected.

Here in NB it is beginning to look like the UK industrial seen of the mid seventies - mini depression. Hence property prices, valuations are not rising now, it is a buyers market.
Atlantic Canadians flock to AB for the "black gold in the sand" rush.

Hence if we wanted to sell seriously, we are at the bequest of a buyers market. Hence we only paid $651 for 2005, 1 acre cleared, 14 acres pine and cedar, detached 1,700 sq. ft. 4/5 bed house and large det. garage.

iaink

Sorry, was never questioning that, just interested in the cost/value and the tax rate.

Compared to say TO, my 1.4% rate seems high compared to a typical .8% there, but of course property values are a lot higher there than here, So Im guessing even that $1700 seems cheap compared to life in the GTA, but then salaries outside the GTA are a bit lower too, not that I would swap.

Maybe we will retire to the Maritimes in 20 years or so!

jcexit

A Realtor would have recommended a septic tank inspection by a qualified Septic Engineer - not an inspector's job. Hopefully you had the water tested (quality and quantity) by your local health authority. How come you didn't notice a basement wall missing? (how did the house remain upright?)... or that there was no fuse or breaker box... and what's a 'breaker not fuse box'? I always go around with a home inspector and I always recommend the buyers do too. During the license qualification courses there are certain subjects which are emphasized time and time again: septic tank systems, well water, basement leaks, electrical supply and wiring, and termites are just a few. Was this the house you bought without the free services of a Realtor?

You really do seem to attract the worst, don't you? Coincidence or what? I would check the activities of the disciplinary committee of our profession's regulators (RECO) - no solicitors here!

http://www.reco.on.ca/site.asp?C=39&...yCategory=2005

If you bought the house mentioned in your item '1.' above through a listing Realtor and or a buyer Realtor take your complaint to RECO - they love disciplining us.

Souvenir

I didn't know that. Why do they do it? I can only assume it's something to do with spiders not liking damp. Thus, if spiders are in evidence, the basement isn't damp. Would that be it?

dbd33

[QUOTE=jcexit]A Realtor would have recommended a septic tank inspection by a qualified Septic Engineer - not an inspector's job. Hopefully you had the water tested (quality and quantity) by your local health authority. How come you didn't notice a basement wall missing? (how did the house remain upright?)... or that there was no fuse or breaker box... and what's a 'breaker not fuse box'? I always go around with a home inspector and I always recommend the buyers do too. During the license qualification courses there are certain subjects which are emphasized time and time again: septic tank systems, well water, basement leaks, electrical supply and wiring, and termites are just a few. Was this the house you bought without the free services of a Realtor?[QUOTE]

The house with the missing basement wall is my brother's. The house with the malfunctioning septic system is mine as is the one that had neither breaker nor fuse box.

At my brothers house much of the basement wall is still missing, it had been removed in support of some sort of venting system when the place was a grow op. What he's done is to partition the house and support half of it properly. They live in that half and are renovating it slowly, it had bigger problems than the absent basement wall in that much of the roof was missing and the previous occupant left with the windows (!) At the time of the inspection the windows were in place and the lack of the roof was obvious, what he wanted from the inspector, and what he didn't get, was a proper assessment of the structural integrity of the walls, roof trusses and so on.

In the case of the house with the failed septic system we had a realtor, Doreen someone of Royal LePage in Clarkson, as well as an inspection firm, Carson Dunlap ? Carson Someone. The house was unoccupied and no one thought to try the toilet. We haven't had the water tested but did put the house on the sewer.

The house with the tangle of cheerily sparking wires is the one I live in now, the one bought from the open house. I knew something was wrong with the electrics because the listing agent, John Den Ouden, then of ReMax, remarked that he knew the owners had "never blown a fuse". If he hadn't mentioned this I might not have looked at/for the box, once I did I saw why they never blew fuses; there weren't any. I knew when making a offer that the box it was missing and had priced the installation of one nonetheless National Home Inspection failed to mention it in their report. I consider that an error.

The job of the agent is to make a transaction happen. They sell houses. I don't say estate agents are especially dishonest but I don't think they're more credible than someone selling say televisions or cars, the prospective purchaser should take what they say with a pinch of salt. Inspectors are all together a dodgier business, they represent themselves as professionals having a degree of expertise and impartiality; they often have neither.

Biiiiink

Our vendor signed the "no known faults" declaration. As it happened, we were the only bidder (unusual at the time/price range) and so put in a home inspection condition. The "no known faults" was rapidly crossed out and amended to "leak around gas pipe which we will have professionally fixed". Funny that!

iaink

I thought it was to discourage people who dont like spiders from poking around down there too much.

Begs the question...are these spiders comercially available as a bulk item then? or do realtors breed them specially, or do they herd there own spiders up at home and save them for business use!

dbd33

Apparently spiders only live in dry places so people check for them and take their presence as a good sign. This, of course, is in an area of old and damp houses, I don't suppose any of this is an issue in newer properties.

dbd33

Wouldn't the agency supply them ? Agents pay a fee for services to the firm with whom they're associated, I suppose in return they get a desk, phone, internet, spiders and use of a nifty book of synonyms.

iaink

LOL!, You forgot the really bad digital camera that only takes low resolution blury shots!

Souvenir

Quite a few of the realtors I have come across carry their own spiders; stuck to their eyelids.

And as for some of the women......

dbd33

Maybe I'm naive but I have the idea that estate agents in small towns might be more reputable. I'm thinking that they'll want to list the house again when it's sold and, anyway, in a small place everyone knows everyone and reputations count. Here it's all much more anonymous and making the single sale is more important than building a relationship.

jcexit

To qualify to get licensed to work as a Realtor a person has to take and pass at a very high pass mark three courses within an 18 month period: Phases I, II and III. 70% of those who pass Phase I give up without taking Phase II. Many do not pass Phases II or III and simply give up. Of those who get licensed 82% fail and leave the profession in the first five years. The ones who get licensed after successfully passing the initial courses are only temporarily licensed. (by the time they get to this stage and paid to become a member of a local real estate board this has all cost around $3,500).
To get their full license they must take another three courses (and pass the exams) during their two year temporary license period. Another $1500. It is at this point that many of the 82% drop out.
Then during the next two years Realtors have to collect 24 continuing education points by attending seminars at a cost of $50 to $80 each. After that they must collect 12 points each year if they wish to remain licensed. Beyond that they have to take refresher courses regularly. We adhere to the Codes of Ethics enforced on us by the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) who are empowered by law to protect the public from malpractice by Realtors. We have another set of rules to abide by through the Canadian Real Estate Association. http://www.reco.on.ca/site.asp?C=39...ByCategory=2005

jcexit

Then why do I have spiders in my old 1840 basement? Smart reply coming....

dbd33

One of the spidermen told me that the median income for realtors in Toronto is $20,000. I know that there are lots of part time agents but still, that seems a desperately low number, do you think it's right ?