James Carlson's Real Estate Blog

I wanted to let everyone know that we have a great new team member joining James Carlson and Associates.  Welcome D’Arcy Boardman to our team!

He will be committed to providing excellent service to our clients and live up to your greatest expectations here at CalgaryCityCondos.com

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Have you ever sold your house and found out that you needed a Real Property Report (RPR)? As well as a Certificate of Compliance?  Having a RPR is an important part of selling your home. A RPR provides a map of everything found on your property.  It shows the borders of your property and the structures within these boarders including your house, garage, walkways, patios, deck etc.  The Certificate of Compliance is a stamp designating that all items on the RPR meet required land use bylaws for the City Of Calgary.

When do you need a Real Property Report?

–          When you purchase a property – you need to know what you are buying.

–          When you sell a property – A RPR shows the locations of the property you are selling and any improvements you may have made.

–          If the City of Calgary requires one for compliance reasons such as bylaws and fire codes.

–          Mortgage Lenders will occasionally ask for one.

There are many reasons to have an updated RPR.  It is useful to have one if you are planning anything significant with your home.

An RPR can only be provided by a Registered Land Surveyor   In Alberta, look for a company that is part of the Alberta Land Surveyor’s Association.

You can find list of Registered Surveyor’s here.

At Alberta Land Surveyor’s Association website.

https://www.alsa.ab.ca/FindACompany.aspx

I suggest calling around. The prices will vary so calling a few Surveyors might save you some money.  If you have an older RPR try calling the same company that completed the previous survey.  They might give you a deal since they already have an old copy.

Now that you have an RPR you need a Compliance Stamp.

What does this Certificate of Compliance Stamp provide?  Exactly what it sounds like. It proves that all structures and developments within the borders of your property meet city bylaws.  It also tells you if any structures encroach on other properties or if someone else’s property encroaches onto yours.

You can apply in 2 ways. Send the RPR through the mail with a Request Form, found here.

At the City of Calgary website.

http://www.calgary.ca/PDA/DBA/Pages/Certificates-of-Compliance/Application-Requirements.aspx

The address to send the Survey with the completed Request Form is

The City of Calgary
Development & Building Approvals
PO Box 2100, Station M (#8108)
Calgary, Alberta T2P 2M5
403-268-5311

Remember to send all copies of the Survey plan.

Or you can head downtown to City Hall and apply in person at

The City of Calgary
Development & Building Approvals
Customer Service Counter
3rd Floor, Municipal Building
800 Macleod Trail SE
Calgary, Alberta T2P 2M5
403-268-5311

When applying for the Certificate of Compliance Stamp:

• Bring at least two copies of the RPR, generally you will be given four copies so bring them all.
• A completed Request Form.
• Go to the Development and Building Approvals Customer Service Counter, found on the third floor to your right.
• Current fee is $158 after tax.
• Call to make an appointment.  This may save you time!

For properties located outside of Calgary, contact me and I will be happy to provide you with the necessary information.

Learning what is on an MLS sheet Part 3.

This week I will be focusing on “Features.” It is always important to know all the little things that might be part of your specific unit.  This list is similar to “Amenities” except for the fact that items included on this list might just be unit specific.

Learning what is on an MLS sheet Part 2

This week I will be focusing on “Amenities” It’s an important fact to be aware of when owning a property.  This allows you to understand the extra benefits or useful features you might get for owning a certain property.

A lot of times on the MLS sheet this section might be left blank, so call me and I can fill in the blanks for you.

If you have bought or sold a house, you have probably seen something called an MLS sheet.  An MLS sheet is a page detailing all necessary information about a property being bought or sold.  The MLS is short for Multiple Listing Service, which is a system designed to allow realtors to have access to and provide information about a property.

To consolidate the information onto one page, we abbreviate many of the items.   I thought it might be helpful to provide a detailed explanation about the abbreviations.   Once a week, I will focus on ONE section of the MLS sheet.  Stayed tuned each week!

This week I’ve focused on the  “Goods Included” section.