themadstans

I have been looking at houses in Ontario and there is such a variety with bumf saying new this and new that.

In Britain certain things are a standard requirement, central heating, roof tiles, damp proof course etc.

Have any of you fell foul of buying a 'pup' so to speak and has Canada got different 'must haves' when buying a house?

Judy in Calgary

Well the new this and new that may be relevant. For example, here is a web site that describes the different roofing materials that are used in North American construction. A roof made of asphalt tiles needs to be replaced after 20 years, sometimes sooner. If you're buying a 20-year-old house whose roof has been replaced in the last six months, that's quite a different kettle of fish from buying a 20-year-old house whose asphalt roof has never been replaced and likely will need to be replaced soon.

We have not, but we know people who have. The reason we've managed to avoid a serious mistake is that we've always made an offer to purchase that has been conditional on an inspection by an independent house inspector. We wouldn't dream of buying a house without that stipulation.

Yes. One example that springs immediately to mind is a short driveway. Well, I suppose it is not a "must have," but it most certainly is a "would be very, very nice to have." I don't know anyone who enjoys shovelling a long driveway. Another "nice to have" is a sidewalk that's on the south side of the property rather than the north side. In the autumn and spring, it can make a lot of difference to the amount of shovelling you have to do. In the transitional months, the snow on south-facing sidewalks melts in a couple of hours while the snow on north-facing sidewalks still requires shovelling. At least that's the case in Calgary. (What's your first clue to the fact that shovelling is not my favourite chore?)

A north to south facing house is better, in my experience, than an east to west facing house. We've lived in both. West-facing rooms can get very hot on summer afternoons.

Building codes take care of most of the "must haves." Provided you have the house inspected as I described before, most of what you need to look out for is the "nice to have" stuff.

First is the location -- access to work, school, shopping, recreational facilities, decent neighbours, etc. You can never be 100% sure about the decency factor of a neighbourhood. However, you can get some sense of it by walking around a community in the evening and observing if there are children in the playgrounds, people walking their dogs, etc.

I've already discussed orientation (the direction in which the house faces and the position of the house on the lot).

I would ask to see the utility bills (water, electricity and heating) for the previous 12 months. This is a fairly common request, and if the owners refuse to comply with the request it should be a red flag.

Something else that I think is essential and that most (but not all) houses have is a front entrance hall cupboard for the storage of coats and boots.

It's also nice to have a so-called "mud room" at the back entrance. This often is combined with the laundry room. As the name suggests, it's a room in which you can take off muddy outdoor boots before you go into the rest of the house.

Here is a check list that's published by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and that you can use to record information about each house you view.

When my husband and I have gone house hunting, we've first drawn up a list split into two parts, one a non-negotiable, must-have list and a would-be-nice-to-have list. We have found it very helpful.

Our must-have and would-be-nice lists have changed over time. For example, we had less money when we were younger and were buying our first Canadian house. Back then a garage and a mud room were on our would-be-nice list. We got neither of them for the price that we could afford to pay. When we moved from that first house to the next one, a garage moved to the must-have list, and has stayed on it ever since.

A mud room or at least a rear entrance hall has remained on our would-be-nice list. Except for our first Calgary house, we've been fortunate enough to have a rear entrance hall in every climate in which its existence has been significant. We didn't have one in Houston, but didn't miss it there.

Another thing I would say is really useful in Canada is a second loo (described as 1-1/2 bathrooms). It's more imporant here in Canada than it was in South Africa where we originally came from. The reason is that in South Africa it's customary for the loo to be in a room that's separate from the bath tub or shower. Here in Canada it's customary for the tub, shower, toilet and sink all to be in a single room. Consequently if you have a single bathroom in Canada, it's more restricting than if you have a single bathroom in South Africa. I've never lived in the UK, and don't know the customary layout of a British bathroom.

Hope that helps.

themadstans

Wow, thanks for that. I wouldn't have thought about some of those things, especially the short drive, though now youv'e mentioned it that makes perfect sense.

Thank you

Posidrive

Beware of Canadian toilet design. As Judy said, the ensuite does not necesserily have a door on the loo part of it. A certain well respected custom home builder has a show house house in Calgary that has an ensuite with facing door free his and hers loos. Call me strange if you like, but I find that decidedly odd

Souvenir

In addition to the roof, already covered, here are a few other things to look out for.

Windows also need replacing. Depending on where you are, it could be as often as 10-15 years. If you are looking at a house, check the windows for a date stamp (inside the frame and between the panes).

Water heaters do not last for ever. They also have a date of manufacture on them. Over about 8 years and you're probably due for a new one, unless you want to wait until your basement gets flooded. They are not massively expensive.

The same goes for furnaces. They last longer than water heaters, provided they are maintained regularly. Furnaces also have a date of manufacture on them, and should have a service log.

Look at the eavestroughs (gutters). If they have dirt on the underside, they have been overflowing because of a blockage. There is a risk of water infiltration.

Older houses (eg from the 60s) may have aluminium wiring, instead of copper (or even a mixture). You'd be better off without it.

Certain older houses may contain a type of insulation that is now banned. I can't remember what it is but its presence makes houses virtually unmortgageable.

Your house inspector will talk to you about all of these things.

Steve_P

By and large if there is no moisture between the panes the windows are likely to be fine.
I would say 8 years is a little on the early side but they do wear out. Although we had one go after 5 years.
Natural gas furnaces by and large last in neighborhood of thirty years or more . Ours is currently 33 years old and working fine however we shall probably replace it next year.
This is usually a maintainance problem not due to wearing out.
Late sixties early seventies here in Alberta. Our house was built in 1972 and does have aluminum wiring. You may be better off to avoid it but I would think that if the house is still standing after thirty years you are unlikely to have any problems with it. We certainly haven't had any problems with ours.

If I remember correctly that was an expanding foam type insulation formaldahyde or something like.


Your house inspector will talk to you about all of these things.

Souvenir

I don't know how to do this quote thing properly, so sorry for the mess.

I agree with pretty much all of this. Certainly, moisture in the windows is a dead giveaway that the seals have gone.

We had the tank go back at Easter. Just a pin-prick of a rust hole but sufficient to leave a reno bill of $7500. The replacement tank has a guarantee of 8 years. It will be replaced then. They are not expensive to buy and brother-in-law is a plumber. It's a good idea to have the thing installed in a trough with a link to the drain, just in case.

There is nothing wrong with aluminium wiring per-se. It is, however, fiddly to work with if you're wiring in new stuff. It breaks easily and is subject to corrosion that can cause shorting. Joining aluminium and copper wiring can be tricky and is best left to a qualified electrician.

Formaldehyde, that was it. When we had an appraiser (not inspector) come to our last house, the first question he asked us was about that.

London7

These are all good points, I have mentioned before about some materials that have since first applications have seen to be defective. A few major ones are a widely used cladding called innerseal, which is like a composite wood look alike, also some newer 2 coat stucco systems have found to be defective, another major one are some plastic (polybutylene) water pipes, problems with connections. A decent home inspector should be aware of some of these rogue materials/systems.
Someone on another post boasted about having no leaks in her basement, she's lucky cause theres a 90% chance you will at some time.

sysclp

LOL! This was #1 on my husband's list. He was the one in his family who always had to shovel the drive when he was a kid. :-)

We also both required forced air heat rather than baseboard heaters and air conditioning since we both hate hot weather. At least 1 1/2 baths and a kitchen with decent space and appliances were also on the must-have list along with 3 bedrooms, a finished basement, and a garage. Where we compromised was in taking a linked house (all the houses on the street are connected in the front by the garages but the houses are all either detached or semi-detached otherwise). We only share a wall with one other house and there is a small walkway between us and the house on the other side to allow access to the garage from the back. Never had seen this kind of set-up before, but it was better than a townhouse and cheaper than a full detached or semi-detached house.

As others said, definitely get a home inspection before buying and make your offer contingent on the house passing to your satisfaction. That is the best $300 peace of mind you will ever buy and it will keep you from getting stuck with a lot of hidden problems.

Souvenir

"Hidden problems", if they really have been hidden, can be grounds for legal action even years afterwards. In Quebec, anyway. If you, as a seller, deliberately hide an obvious major defect, and it is later discovered, you can be sued. I believe that the liability lasts for some years (I've heard 20 years but I'm not sure).

Purley

I would like to add my comments to those about north and south facing.

I have a driveway on the north side of the house. And, yes, it takes ages and ages for the snow to go, whereas on the south side - the garden side - the snow is gone a good month before that at the front.

However, in the summer when you want to sit outside or in the spring and fall, its awful cold sitting out in a garden that is on the north side of the house.

I guess what one needs is a lot on a turntable - so you can have the driveway on the sunny side in the winter and the yard on the sunny side in the summer!!!!!!!!!

themadstans

Thanks for all your replies. Very useful indeed.

dozzzzy

I have to say that I am most worried about the state of basements that are advertised with the agent and vendor not warrantying the "retro fit status" of the basement, I think that would make me walk away, as you have absolutely know idea if the work was done to any sort of "code" that you see Mike Holmes banging on about on his program.

Watched an episode last week I think where some poor person paid a builder to convert the basement and the work done was appalling, plastic sheeting over the furnace, no vapour barrier on the outside walls, nails through the wiring and LIVE, wiring junctions hidden behind drywall - apparently they must be accessible, a sewage drain that had no trap on the bottom of so gasses could enter the house. Absolute nightmare.

So I would have to suggest that any house must have the survey the folks above are cautioning about

Dozzzzy