Ajax Pickering Real Estate Blog

Before buying your home, find out what’s covered and what’s not

By Nadia Dalimonte, Articling Student, LAWPRO
From New Dream Homes and Condos Magazine

When it comes to the single largest investment most of us will make – buying a home – you want to make sure you’ve protected that investment to the best of your ability.

Why even consider title insurance? Because the unexpected can and does happen. The most typical situation in which homebuyers call on their title insurance policies involves unpaid utility or realty tax bills from the previous owner. The second most frequent category of claims relates to building code issues. For example, a couple buys a house planning to add a new wing to their home. When the building inspector arrives for an on-site inspection, he discovers that an earlier renovation was not done to code, and the whole home needs to be rewired. If the owners have a title insurance policy in place, the insurer could compensate the homeowners for the costs of bringing the electrical work up to code.

Title insurance also protects homeowners if the house is not located on the property accurately and encroaches onto neighboring land, or if a pool has been built that is actually on a neighbour’s property. A title insurer could resolve this problem by buying the piece of land that the house (or pool) actually sits on from the neighbour, and taking care of all the related legal work.

Condominium owners have also found title insurance protection useful. Take the example of a newly built condominium unit purchase. The buyer of a particular unit is shocked to find out that the unit purchased is a different unit from the one that he or she was expecting to buy. Unfortunately, the unit actually acquired is worth less because it does not have a “lakefront” view. In this instance, the legal services coverage available through the TitlePLUS policy was called on, and the buyer was compensated for the difference in value between the unit he took possession to, and the unit he thought he had bought. This legal service coverage, which protects you for losses suffered as a result of the negligent errors of your lawyer, is generally not available from most other title insurance companies.

Title insurance can also benefit you in other ways: It can eliminate the need for an up-to-date survey while protecting you against any title-related issues that would have been identified by that survey.

For many buyers, the fraud coverage provided by title insurance is particularly reassuring: it not only helps protect you if you are the victim of fraud, but also pays the costs involved in defending your ownership in the property and restoring your title to the home.

As with any type of insurance policy, certain exclusions will apply. Typical issues not covered include native land claims, environmental hazards and the buyer’s rights to change the use of the land or undertake renovations or construction. Problems the buyer agreed to in the purchase agreement or failed to disclose to the lawyer will also not be covered. It is therefore vital that you tell your lawyer of any problems that your agent told you about or that came to light when you visited the property. As well, individual policies may contain exceptions specific to the homebuyers’ property. For example, minor utility easements or rights-of-way for a mutual driveway may be specifically listed as exceptions to coverage.

Bear in mind that, in general, if the problem is not a “legal problem,” it is likely not covered. Title insurance provides protection against title-related problems; it is not home warranty insurance, and will not protect you if your fridge breaks down or the furnace gets old. As with any insurance purchase, you should consult the policy for full details of the actual terms and conditions and have your real estate lawyer advise you. When purchasing a home, your real estate lawyer can help you sort out the various protections offered by different title insurance companies in order to get an idea of which risks are covered and which are excluded.

To help homebuyers better understand the benefits of title insurance, and the important role of a lawyer in a real estate transaction, TitlePLUS insurance has created a free Real Simple Real Estate Guide. You can access the guide by going to www.titleplus.ca.

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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960

What many prospective borrowers don’t realize is that the pricing of mortgages and other loans is based in part on their credit-worthiness.  Consumers need to be aware of how their credit is evaluated by lenders, and how they can work to avoid so-called “bruised credit” – people with a lower credit score can find themselves paying a higher interest rate, or even denied access to certain types of loans.

A credit report is a detailed history of how consistently you meet your financial obligations, and provides a picture of your financial health based on your past behaviour.  A credit score is a three-digit number, usually between 300 and 900, representing your overall credit-worthiness, based on personal information from your credit report and other sources.

Both your credit report and score are important.  When deciding whether or not to grant a mortgage loan, lenders refer to an applicant’s credit report and score, along with a range of other factors such as income, employment history, and size of down payment.

The higher your score the more likely you are to be approved for a mortgage and receive favourable rates because the lender considers you to be a better credit risk.  Several factors are used by the two credit agencies in Canada (Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada) to calculate credit scores:

* Debt payment history.
* Amounts owed compared to your current credit limits with lenders.
* How often you seek new credit.
* Length of time you have had credit accounts.
* Type of credit, such as car loans, lines of credit, credit cards.

About Invis
Invis is Canada’s largest mortgage brokerage firm with a national team of over 750 mortgage consultants. Invis Mortgage Consultants provide unbiased financial analysis, mortgage sourcing and mortgage advice for both first time homebuyers and repeat buyers.  Invis arranged more than $6 billion in mortgages in 2006.

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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960

Chestnut Hill Homes offers a limited-time sports equipment gift package with each purchase at San Francisco By The Bay

San Francisco By The Bay is making a big splash on the shores of Frenchman’s Bay in Pickering. The community offers an appealing selection of condominium suites and townhomes from an award-winning builder, value-packed prices, innovative designs, fabulous features, parkland and greenspace, along with an incredible location. For the next few weeks, there are six more reasons to choose San Francisco By The Bay as your home – a raft of toys to help you start enjoying life here right away. Chestnut Hill Homes invites buyers to “Live Where You Play” by offering a special sports equipment gift package. With each purchase (upon occupancy), receive his’ and hers’ pairs of inline skates, two mountain bikes, a kayak for two, plus the opportunity to enter to win a Sea-Doo.

The package celebrates the recreational opportunities in this outdoor-lover’s haven, which is handy to walking and biking trails and is just steps from the bay. Master-planned, pedestrian-friendly San Francisco By The Bay is located at Bayly Street, just east of Whites Road, close to the Pickering Town Centre, Pickering GO station and Hwy. 401. The prices are so reasonable, that in many cases it would cost more to rent an equivalent space elsewhere – a fact that is attracting everyone from first-timers to young families and empty-nesters.

A great selection remains in the 16- and 18-ft. condominium towers, which share a two-storey podium that will include 25,500 sq. ft. of retail-commercial suites including live-work units. Active residents will appreciate the 12,500-sq.-ft. amenity area, where they can work out in a fabulous fitness room, take a dip in the indoor pool, entertain friends in the party room that opens onto a deck, host gatherings in the multi-purpose room, or just unwind with the latest best-seller in the quiet reading lounge.

In the suites themselves, owners will reap the benefits of individually controlled heating and air conditioning, a stacked washer and dryer, four kitchen appliances, ceramics, engineered laminate hardwood flooring and much more. These one- and two-bedroom designs, many with dens, start from the $160’s.

Those who choose a townhome will enjoy luxurious interiors framed by brick, stone and/or stucco exteriors, most with a rooftop garden. Each townhome includes two parking spots, vinyl casement windows, engineered floor systems, nine-ft. main-floor ceilings, designer-imported ceramics, custom-styled kitchen cabinetry, and more. Prices start from the mid-$200’s.

If you’d like to Live Where You Play, act soon to take advantage of the limited-time gift package. (Qualified purchasers will have the option of accepting the cash equivalent of any of these prizes if they wish. Some restrictions apply.

San Francisco By The Bay buyers come out for a specialized banking seminar

For a first-time purchaser, buying a condominium suite or townhome means an exciting new lifestyle – and possibly some financial questions.

Recognizing that, developer Chestnut Hill Homes recently hosted an event for their San Francisco By The Bay community in Pickering, popular with a range of buyers, including those making their first home purchase. With a selection of tasty summer refreshments on offer, the team at Chestnut Hill welcomed some VIP guests, as well as their VIP buyers, to discuss the banking aspects behind buying a suite or townhouse in the community.

The Condo Guide Magazine is an excellent source of housing information for those looking for information on new condos in Ontario, Canada. We offer the most up-to-date information on new condominiums across the greater Toronto area.

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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960