Real Estate Talk:
Certificate of Location /2
Why it should be up-to-date upon the property entering the market
By Joseph Marovitch
The seller, after months of campaigning, finally receives an offer on their property. The conditions of inspection and financing are satisfied. Then the notary indicates to the seller that the seller requires a new certificate of location since the old certificate is 15 years old and the bylaws and cadastre numbers have changed. The seller says no problem and orders one.
The surveyor indicates to the seller that it will take up to four weeks to prepare if there are no issues to overcome such as servitudes, bylaws, illegal views, proximity issues to the neighbour’s property and so on. The deadline to sign is two weeks away, and the certificate taking four weeks to acquire, the seller must now request an extension on signing from the buyer and prepare an amendment to the purchase offer. The buyer now has a way out of the offer and the transaction is at risk. What a hassle when the entire process could and should be hassle-free.
A certificate of location is a document that indicates the boundaries of a property and if the property conforms to current municipal bylaws. Whenever a residential property is sold, the current owner must provide an up-to-date certificate of location to the buyer.
If changes have occurred between the time the current owner purchased the property to the moment they sell it, then the current owner is required to have a new certificate prepared by a qualified surveyor.
Over time changes may or may not take place to the by-laws of a city, the structure of a property or the cadastre numbers that indicate the lot the property is on. If changes have occurred between the time the current owner purchased the property to the moment they sell it, then the current owner is required to have a new certificate prepared by a qualified surveyor.
If there have been no changes, the owner is not required to prepare a new certificate as indicated in an OACIQ promise to purchase form in clause 10.3 titled Ownership Documents. However, if the buyer is obtaining a mortgage, the financial institution they are working with may require a new certificate if the old one is seven years or older. If there have been no changes to the bylaws, cadastre numbers or structure of the property, the acquisition of a new certificate would be the buyer’s expense.
Most sellers will have an up to date certificate of location. If the buyer is using a knowledgeable real state broker, the broker upon examining the certificate may advise the seller to acquire a new certificate as soon as possible. The reason for the urgency is that if the certificate is not up to date, it can take up to four weeks to acquire a new certificate.
If the certificate is ordered only upon an accepted offer on the property, the certificate can delay signing. As well, the surveyor may discover issues such as servitudes, illegal views, structures such as fences, pools or cabanas on the neighbour’s property that can delay signing at the notary even more so.
Always check the certificate of location at the beginning of the marketing campaign and order a new one if required. Do not wait until you have an accepted offer.
Should you have questions or comments, please refer to the comments section at the bottom of the page. As well, to view past articles, click here.
Next article: Preparing for the autumn market
State of the market
The big news is that buyers are lining up to purchase homes, according to an article in the Gazette and various real estate agencies. As I mentioned last week, there has been pent up demand for property by buyers who either sold their homes or had their lease expire within the last four months. These are buyers who must find a place to live now.
For everyone else who either has been unemployed for the past three months or had their business shut down, purchasing big-ticket items may not be on their list of “to do right now”. The city has just passed a bylaw stating that everyone must wear masks in all indoor public facilities.
Another bylaw has been passed stating bars and restaurants must close by midnight. These bylaws are due to increasing infection and hospitalization rates from people frequenting bars, going to parties and backyard BBQs, not wearing masks, and thinking everything is okay.
‘… there has been pent up demand for property by buyers who either sold their homes or had their lease expire within the last four months. These are buyers who must find a place to live now.’
It is difficult to see the direction of the market in Montreal for the long term, as long as the pandemic situation is not under control yet. What does seem clear is that for those that can afford it, the market is making gains in areas such as the Laurentians and Townships.
Stay safe and have a great weekend!
Let’s not forget that people with cancer are vulnerable too!
You are invited to keep giving to the following organizations since it’s now more important than ever to support cancer research! Click on the logos below to find out how:
Other articles by Joseph Marovitch
Joseph Marovitch has worked in the service industry for over 30 years. His first career was working with families from Westmount and surrounding areas, hosting children between the ages of 6 to 16 as the owner and director of Camp Maromac, a sports and arts sleep away summer camp established in 1968. Using the same strengths caring for the families, such as reliability, integrity, honesty and a deep sense of protecting the interests of those he is responsible for, Joseph applies this to his present real estate broker career. Should you have questions please feel free to contact Joseph Marovitch at 514 825-8771, or josephmarovitch@gmail.com
There are no comments
Add yours