Jim Burtnick, Author at Silver Burtnick & Associates

In Toronto, buying a condo can provide a cozy and sensible living space, while simultaneously helping you get into the cycle of homeownership. In the world of real estate, condos are unique. For buyers who are looking to enter the condo market, it helps to gain an understanding of some of the most essential steps in the purchasing process – like status certificates.

Unique to condos, status certificates are important documents that provide a long list of critical information about the property, condo corporation, and unit itself. When it comes to gaining greater transparency in your condo purchase, they’re a big part of protecting yourself and your investment.

If you’re thinking about buying a condo in Toronto, here’s what you need to know about status certificates.

Searching for more information about buying a condo in Toronto? Explore these blog posts.

Breaking Down The Details

When buying a condo, obtaining and reviewing the status certificate is a very important step. Similar to how a home inspection would help a buyer identify potential concerns or red flags in a home, status certificates allow you to closely look at a myriad of critical information that will directly impact your purchase.

To say that status certificates cover a lot of information would be an understatement. These documents are very in-depth – and that’s to your benefit. Thankfully, your real estate agent and lawyer will help you make sense of it all and ensure your interests are protected. Here’s a high-level look at what important elements are included in status certificates.

Corporation Information

First and foremost, status certificates share key information about how the property itself is owned and operated. They provide the name of the condo corporation, as well as who is responsible for its management. The corporation may manage the property in-house or may contract a dedicated property management company for these duties. It will also outline the condo’s board of directors – including their names, roles and responsibilities, and length of term served.

Beyond everyday operations, the status certificate will also note any relevant legal actions that have been levied against the corporation, management company, or board. This could include any outstanding lawsuits, assessments or judgements that are underway.

Finances

Status certificates also divulge important information about the financial standing of the condo corporation and property reserve. This includes items like the annual budget, outstanding debts, and reserve funds. It will also include information about the various insurance policies that protect the building and any claims currently under review.

Reserve Fund Study

One of the most critical details included in a status certificate is the reserve fund study. This study analyzes what repairs and maintenance are on the agenda for the next five years. This information then is typically prepared by an engineer who informs the condo corporation and board about the rough costs for these items. In Ontario, all condos are required to create and maintain adequate reserve fund studies for the protection of the owners.

Rules & Bylaws

Beyond information about building operations, the status certificate also includes important details about how condo owners may use the space. For instance, whether or not pets are permitted in the building, use of common areas, short and long-term rental permissions, or balcony restrictions. When reviewing the building bylaws it’s important to note or flag any rules that may interfere with your ideal lifestyle.

What Are the Costs?

Given the critical information they provide, obtaining a status certificate is well worth the small cost entailed.

Under the Ontario Condominium Act, a condo corporation may charge buyers a fee in exchange for fetching a status certificate. However, they may not charge more than $100 – including HST, other taxes, and materials. Some management offices may attempt to inflate this cost or charge extra, so it’s important to be aware of this regulation.

Downsizing from your detached home to a compact condo? Check out some of these helpful articles from our blog.

Other Traits Unique to Condos

A condo makes a great home for buyers of a wide range of lifestyles. While there are many unique advantages to owning a condo, the niche nature of this kind of property also extends into the purchasing process. Beyond status certificates, there are several ways in which purchasing a condo is highly specialized. If you’re looking to buy a condo in Toronto, whether pre-owned or pre-construction, you’ll want to work with an experienced real estate professional who is vastly familiar with the city’s distinct condo market.

Ready to find the perfect Toronto condo? As knowledgeable and locally leading real estate agents, we can help. Call us at 416-587-3300 or click here to send an email.

While buying a home with your spouse or partner is an exciting milestone, there are some important legal implications to be aware of. Whether you’re married or a common law couple, understanding your rights, along with your partner’s rights is an essential part of ensuring you’re both protected in the future.

Note: While this blog post covers a few high-level considerations, it’s not intended to provide formal legal advice. In these cases, there’s no substitute for proper guidance from a lawyer.

Thinking about sharing a home with your partner but don’t know if you should move in with them or buy something new? Explore our blog post on the topic to discover which path suits you best.

Legal Implications For Common Law Couples

In today’s day and age, a lot of couples may choose to buy their first home together before even tying the knot. In Ontario, a couple is considered common law if they have lived together for a minimum of three years. A couple that lives together and has a child together may also be considered common law if they’ve shared a home for a significant period of time that is less than three years.

Despite a common law relationship and a marriage sharing many common characteristics, they’re not the same in the eyes of the law. One of the biggest differences is that common law couples do not have the automatic right to property. This could impact you or your partner in the event of a separation or if one of you passes away.

When a common law couple breaks up, each partner keeps their own belongings and shared assets are divided equally. This includes property, which is typically sold jointly with the money spilt evenly between partners. Alternatively, one partner can buy the other out. If you and your common law partner choose to buy a home together, it’s important to ensure both names are on the title.

Getting ready to move in with your partner? Explore these blog posts for helpful tips on making the most of your shared space.

Consider a Cohabitation Agreement

In a common law relationship, one of the easiest ways for each partner to protect themselves when buying a home is with a cohabitation agreement. This is a formal document that determines how your home and shared belongings will be divided in the event of separation. While creating a cohabitation agreement can be somewhat awkward, it helps protect you and your partner in the long run.

How it Works For Married Couples

When it comes to buying a home together, things are typically less complicated for married couples compared to common law partners. In Ontario, certain legal factors of homeownership are already predetermined for married couples.

Once a couple gets married, certain possessions are automatically shared – including the home. Even if only one partner’s name is on the title of the home, both spouses are considered to have equal rights to possession.

Who Takes Care of the Mortgage?

For most married couples, a joint mortgage is the easiest method of financing a home together. On top of sharing responsibility and key decisions, a joint mortgage also provides couples greater leverage during the buying process as they’re able to make a larger down payment.

In some cases, only one partner may be eligible to put their name on the mortgage due to personal or financial circumstances. However, even if only one person is on the mortgage, both partners will still have equal rights to the home under the Family Law Act.

Are you (and your partner) planning on buying a home for the first time? Explore these blog posts to expand your knowledge about the process of buying a home in Toronto.

Unlock a Personalized Buying Experience

If you’re looking to buy a home with your spouse, partner, or on your own, the best way to break into the market is with the help of an experienced real estate agent. At Silver Burtnick & Associates, our expert buying services are tailored to your unique goals. Our team can help you and your partner find your dream home – whatever it may look like.

Whether you’re looking to merge households or sell and buy a new place together, our team is here to help! Call 416-587-3300 to get started! Or send us an email.

buying a home real estate tips toronto

While there are many financial indicators that point towards a successful home purchase, it’s equally as important to consider homeownership from an emotional (and practical) perspective. Yes, purchasing a home makes a strong financial investment, but it’s also the centrepiece of your everyday life.

Here are 5 telltale signs that it’s time to upsize from rental housing to your first home purchase.

Looking to make the most out of your first home purchase? Check out these blog posts for unique pointers about Tornoto’s dynamic housing market.

1. You’re Starting a Family

Starting a family is a fairly common motivator for first-time buyers in Toronto, and it’s easy to understand why. Welcoming children, while exciting, means you’ll need a lot more space. Although it is possible to raise a child in a smaller rental unit for a few years, it’s much easier to buy a home ahead of time.

2. You’re Staying Put

A great first home should meet your existing needs and serve as a launchpad for future growth. Buying a home is a big commitment both financially and from a lifestyle standpoint. However, if you’re happy with where you are in your life and are ready to lay down roots, buying a home is a smart way to do just that.

As a general rule, if you have the financial means and don’t intend to move for at least five years, it could be the right time to buy. Beyond the stresses of moving, selling your home (and buying another) comes with a lot of additional expenses. If you plan on moving again in the next few years for any reason, it may be best to wait.

Dreaming of buying your first home? There’s a lot to know before you enter the market. Explore these blog posts to expand your knowledge about the process of buying a home in Toronto.

3. You’ve Got a Strong Financial Foundation

As a homeowner, your monthly mortgage payments will be one of your largest recurring expenses. Looking into the future, you’ll want to ensure you’ll be able to make regular payments on time. If not, you could find yourself in hot water. However, If you’re well-established financially and have a stable career or income, you’ll be able to find the perfect home for your needs.

4. You’re Ready to Invest

As a renter, you’re essentially paying your landlord’s mortgage. When you upsize to your first home, it allows you to finally build equity for yourself instead of someone else. As you’re able to grow your wealth through your home and avoid stressing over rising rental rates, it’s an ideal move both emotionally and financially.

Looking for more insights about building equity? Check out our blog post about luxury investments beyond the realm of real estate here.

5. It’s What You Want

The right time to upsize and buy your first home will always be when you’re ready to. Buying a home is a big commitment, but it’s also exciting. As an upsizer, you’ll have greater freedom and flexibility in how you enjoy your home. If you know what you want in a home and you’re ready for the commitment, upsizing can offer you the exciting perks of being a homeowner.

Buying With Your Heart vs Buying With Your Head

Today, some would-be buyers are hesitant to purchase a home because they believe that if they wait for a “better market” they’ll be able to get a better deal. While it’s great to be aware of how market changes can impact home prices, at the end of the day, waiting on “ideal buying conditions” could leave you on the sidelines of homeownership for several years.

When it comes to your first home, it’s important to buy with your heart as well as your head. Think of your home like a wedding ring. A wedding ring carries two values, the first being the emotional or sentimental value you’ve attached to it, and the second being the physical value of the ring as an item. Like a ring, a home’s market value can fluctuate up or down depending on broader economic elements, however, its emotional value to you will always remain the same.

Therefore, if your heart is telling you it’s time to buy a home, it makes sense to do so. If you do have concerns about your financial eligibility regarding homeownership, talk to a real estate agent. Their up-to-date market knowledge can help you determine what you can afford. They can even help you take advantage of tax rebates to ensure you use every financial tool available to help with your home purchase.

Ready to buy your first home in Toronto? As market-leading real estate experts, we can help you find a home that speaks to your heart. Send us an email or call 416-587-3300 to discover your path to success.

buying lifestyle tips toronto upsizing

Moving in with your partner is undeniably an exciting milestone. Whether you’re looking to build a new home together or simply take your relationship to the next stage, combining households comes with a lot of important decisions.

One of the biggest choices you and your partner will need to make is if one person will move into the other’s current home, or if you would like to start fresh and find a new space together.

This post will look at the pros and cons of each path, and the common emotional and logistical considerations that come with them. By having a better understanding of each option, you and your partner can make the best choice for your next chapter together.

First Things First

Combining households is fun, but before you get too far into the process it’s important to keep a few things in mind. Making decisions as a couple is a two-way street and open communication is key. Always be as honest as possible with your partner about how you’re feeling, and be cognizant of their needs too.

Talk regularly about the process and what you’re looking for in a shared home. Ensure you’re clear about major elements like your budget and any “must haves” in a living space.

Whether you buy a new place together or share an existing home, merging households will require compromises from both partners. This is especially true if you both have more belongings than your shared space can accommodate. Joint decluttering can seem overwhelming on the surface, but with clear communication and a strong game plan, you can make the process relatively stress-free.

Looking for insights about selling your current home and starting fresh in today’s market? Explore these blog posts.

Starting Fresh

For some couples who are looking to build a home together, starting fresh is the way to go. Buying a new home with your partner provides a blank canvas for your next chapter. Not only does buying new allow you to find a great property that meets your shared needs, but it can also simplify the process of deciding which furniture will work best in the home.

Key Decisions

While buying a new home with your partner introduces new freedoms and opportunities, it does require navigating a handful of considerable logistics. First and foremost, if you plan on buying a home with your partner you’ll need to decide what to do with your current home. Most often, this means selling it.

A home sale is no small process. Although it’s an exciting time, you’ll want to avoid getting so caught up in the house-hunting journey that you underestimate your home sale. Thankfully, by working with the right real estate agent you take most of the selling work off your plate. A great agent can make your sale feel automated to ensure you have time to focus on what’s important to you.

Ready to begin your house-hunting journey? Explore our featured listings here.

Merging Households

Instead of buying new, some couples go the path of one partner moving in with the other. There are two main advantages to this path – it’s a lot easier, and it’s fairly cost-friendly.

Rather than selling two homes and navigating the market as a buyer, moving in with your partner (or vice versa) means dealing with far fewer logistics. In addition, beyond the cost of property in today’s market, the processes of buying, selling, and moving come with a fair bit of expenses. When one partner moves into the other’s home, there are fewer of these costs between the two of you.

Key Decisions

One of the major considerations of moving into a partner’s existing home is sharing costs. Of course, it’s completely fine to leave the mortgage in the name of the existing partner and work out an alternative arrangement for expenses between the two of you, however, where this can become complicated is in the event of separation, or the legal homeowner passing away.

Looking for helpful tips about decluttering in preparation for moving in with a partner? Check out these posts from our blog.

Whether you’re looking to merge households or sell and buy a new place together, our team is here to help! Call 416-587-3300 to get started! Or send us an email.

buying combining households lifestyle selling tips

With some of the most exciting and immaculate developments in North America, it’s no surprise that Toronto’s pre-construction condo market continues to heat up year over year.

Buying a pre-construction condo is a unique, highly advantageous path to home ownership. However, it’s also a specialized process, one that comes with additional logistics and details to navigate. For some buyers, the many complexities that come with pre-construction transactions can cause some confusion.

This post will look at one of the most common misconceptions amongst pre-construction condo buyers in Toronto – interim occupancy.

Like any construction project, delays with pre-construction condos can occur. Explore our blog post about buyer’s rights in the case of occupancy delays here.

Pre-Construction Occupancy at a Glance

After you buy a pre-construction condo unit, you’ll need to wait before you can move in. In Toronto, this waiting period is often up to 2-4 years depending on the project.

As the building gets closer to completion, you may be granted permission to move into your unit before construction is completely finished. However, even if you’re living in the building, it doesn’t mean you have complete ownership of your unit just yet.

The period between moving in and the official closing of the project (when ownership is transferred to you) is known as the interim occupancy period (IOP).

Life in your condo will be a little different during the IOP compared to when you have full ownership of your unit. From variations in rights to additional costs, it’s important to be aware of how your IOP differs from ownership, and how you can best prepare for this stage in your buying journey.

Interim Occupancy Duration

Interim occupancy begins when a buyer’s unit is deemed liveable. In most cases, units on lower floors are ready for move-in first, and those at the top last. As a result, the duration of interim occupancy varies buyer by buyer. Your IOP could be as long as 18 months (in rare cases of significant delays) or as short as a few weeks depending on your unit and developer.

In need of more helpful resources related to the unique complexities of pre-construction? Explore a few of these posts from our blog.

Rights & Permissions

While you may be able to move into your unit before construction is finalized, you won’t have complete rights to the space until the building is finished. If you move in during interim occupancy, it’s important to have a complete understanding of your rights to avoid confusion or potential violations.

During the IOP, you’re essentially leasing your unit from the developer. This means that even though you’ve moved in, they still own it. Therefore, if you intend to modify, upgrade, or even lease out your unit, you’ll need written permission from the developer first. Depending on what you’re looking to do, they may be able to deny your request until you’ve received a transfer of ownership.

With some of the highest home prices in North America, buying property in Toronto is out of the realm of possibility for many millennials. However, the city features many great options for renters. Check out these posts to learn more.

IOP Fees

During the interim occupancy period, you will be required to pay the developer a monthly occupancy fee separate from your existing mortgage. Be aware, you’ll be on the hook for this cost even if you don’t move in during this time period! This is an important detail that can lead to unpleasant surprises if overlooked.

While typically not as high as a monthly mortgage payment, interim occupancy fees can be quite substantial. Therefore, you’ll need to ensure you budget adequately in advance. This is especially true if there will be an overlap between your rental lease and when you intend on moving into your unit.

This is another reason why working with a real estate agent during the purchase of your pre-construction condo is essential. They’ll ensure you’re well aware of interim occupancy fees and any other hidden costs upfront.

Have questions about buying a pre-construction condo? Our team of local experts is here to help. Send us an email.

buying a condo occupancy pre-construction rightsizing toronto

In a bustling and expansive market like Toronto, there’s no shortage of real estate agents for home sellers to choose from. That being said, no two agents are the same and if you’re looking to get the most out of your sale it’s imperative that you do your best to find the right one for you.

If you’re looking for a real estate agent to sell your home, knowing where to start can feel like a challenge – but it doesn’t have to! Here are our top tips for finding and interviewing agents before your home sale.

Preparing to sell your home? Visit these blog posts to learn more about finding the right agent for you.

Why Selecting the Right Agent Matters

Real estate is a growing business. Each year hundreds of enthusiastic new agents enter the Toronto market. That’s all great, but as a seller, it makes the most sense to work with someone who has decades of experience working in the industry. For many years Toronto was a hyper-active seller’s market. Today it’s cooled off significantly and many agents in the city have no experience selling in these kinds of market conditions.

Beyond industry experience, you’ll want to work with an agent who has a strategic and well-defined approach to preparations and marketing. Undertaking thoughtful preparations (such as staging) before you list is one of the most effective ways to increase your home’s market value. Therefore it’s imperative that you ask each potential agent about their approach to getting homes market-ready. The same goes for marketing. Every day new homes enter the Toronto market. It’s your agent’s job to ensure your home stands out from the crowd in the eyes of buyers.

At the end of the day, choosing the wrong agent for your home sale could mean a more stressful process, a longer sale, and money left on the table.

Torontoism’s Richard Silver talks about the importance of opening the “Pandora’s box” when considering an agent for hire and better understanding their recipe for a successful sale.

Interview Tips

The best way to prepare for interviewing real estate agents is by making a personalized list of interview questions based on your specific needs, expectations, and worries. Then when it comes time to start your search, you’ll already have a good idea of what you’re looking for.

After discussing any unique concerns you have, there are also some standardized questions you should ask any potential agent. Based on our decades of experience, here are a few of those must-asks:

How long have you been in business?
How many homes have you sold in my neighbourhood?
Tell me about your pricing strategies.
Will I be working with you directly, or with another member of your team?
What is your approach to preparing and staging homes?
How will you market my home?
Can you offer me a rough timeline for getting my home on the market?

Getting Started

With hundreds of real estate agents working in Toronto, beginning the search process and narrowing down your choices can seem overwhelming. Luckily, we’ve got tips for that too.

A great place to start in your search for the right agent is through referrals. Do you have a family member or friend in Toronto who sold their home in the past few years? Ask them about the agent they choose to work with, what they liked about them, and where they feel things could’ve been better.

Next, perform a web search. There are a lot of real estate agents in Toronto, so the broader your search is, the more results you’ll need to sift through. For a more refined approach, be as specific as possible. Include the name of your neighbourhood in your search, and any other unique elements you may be looking for in an agent such as a specialty in downsizing, condos, or investment properties.

Beyond managing the listing process of your Toronto home, some real estate agents offer above-and-beyond services to support the unique goals of clients. Explore these blog posts to learn more.

The Magic Number

So how many agents should you interview before selling your home? After conducting your own research and speaking with friends and family, narrow down your search to just your top three choices.

Once you’ve got your top three, reach out to each agent for a seller’s interview. Ask as many questions as you can. When it comes to selling something as significant as your home, there’s no such thing as a silly question.

After you’ve interviewed each real estate agent, go with your gut. Each agent will have their unique pros and cons, but you know what you’re looking for better than anyone.

Looking for an experienced, industry-leading real estate team that can maximize the sale of your Toronto home? Silver Burtnick & Associates can ensure you find success on the market. Click here to call us.

real estate selling staging tips toronto

Author: Jim Burtnick

Buying a Toronto Condo? Here’s What to Know About Status Certificates