Seller's Guide
Preparing a Property for Sale in Quebec
Preparing a property before listing it means two things at once. A presentation job, which everyone knows about. …
Real Estate Insights
Market trends, buying tips, investment advice, and local neighbourhood guides for Montréal, Laval, the Laurentians & Lanaudière.
Finance
The Best Mortgage Rate in Canada
The rate advertised in a bank window and the rate written into your contract are rarely the same number. Between …
Finance
Mortgage Pre-Approval: The Limits
Plenty of buyers treat a pre-approval as a finish line. You get a number, you start visiting, and you assume the …
Real Estate 101
Language and Your Transaction in Quebec
A real estate transaction in Quebec runs on documents: a brokerage contract, declarations by the seller, a promise …
Buyer's Guide
Off-Market Properties in Quebec
Off-market is the most misused phrase in Quebec real estate. It suggests a back door and an insider price. The …
Buyer's Guide
Negotiating a Property in Montreal
In the popular imagination, negotiating means holding out longer than the other side. In Quebec, it starts with …
Buyer's Guide
Open House: The Broker and the Seller
An open house looks like neutral ground. The door is open, the feature sheets are on the counter, someone greets …
Buyer's Guide
The Hidden Costs of Homeownership
The mortgage payment is the number the bank decides on, and it is also the only number most buyers budget for. …
Investment
Rental Properties in Montreal and Laval
Buying an income property is a decision. Managing one is a practice governed by statute, article by article. In …
Buyer's Guide
The Home Inspection Checklist, Item by Item
On inspection day, most buyers trail the inspector from room to room and nod. They leave with a report dozens of …
Buyer's Guide
Buying New Construction in Quebec
The brochure shows the finishes, rarely what protects you if the builder delivers late, delivers poorly or does not …
Investment
Income Plexes in Montreal and Laval
A plex is two purchases in one: a home for you and a small rental business. It is neither a shortcut to wealth nor …
Seller's Guide
How Long Does It Actually Take to Sell a House in Montreal?
When a seller wonders how long it will take, they are usually thinking about the gap between listing and accepted …
Real Estate 101
Separation, Divorce and the Home, Quebec
When a couple separates, the home is often the largest asset on the table. Yet most of the decisions are technical: …
Market Insights
A Montreal Housing Crash: The Data
The question comes back the moment a headline mentions a slowdown: is the market going to crash? I am not going to …
Real Estate 101
Real Estate Commission in Quebec
Commission is the fee everyone has heard of and almost nobody gets explained in full. Sellers often discover the …
Real Estate 101
5 Questions You Must Ask Before Hiring a Real Estate Broker
Choosing a real estate broker is one of the most consequential decisions in a transaction, and most people give it …
Buyer's Guide
Bidding Wars in Montreal: How They Work
In Quebec, what people call a bidding war has a more precise name on the forms: a multiple promise to purchase …
Buyer's Guide
Your Promise to Purchase Was Refused
Losing a multiple-offer situation in Quebec goes by three different names: your promise to purchase was refused, it …
Buyer's Guide
The Real Cost of Buying Your First Home in Quebec
Everyone tells you what the house costs. Nobody tells you what buying it actually costs. The pattern repeats …
Honest Advice
Eight Situations Where You Should Not Buy
Qualifying and being ready are two different things. A lender measures your repayment capacity at one precise …
Buyer's Guide
Buying a Heritage Building in Montreal
The word heritage covers everything and says almost nothing. A 1910 house with no legal status, a building cited by …
Buyer's Guide
Welcome Tax in Quebec: How Much, When, and Who Pays It
It is the most predictable unpleasant surprise in Quebec real estate. You signed at the notary, you moved in, …
Practical Guide
Moving in Montreal or Laval: Checklist
A move in Quebec is not just about boxes. It is a sequence of notices, legal deadlines and accounts to transfer, …