Sunday, March 20, 2011

Resolving the Residential Condo Property Disputes by Ravinder Tulsiani

There are basically four ways in which you can come over from the property disputes. These are:

Litigation
Arbitration
Mediation
Negotiation

Litigation – This is the last resort of fight the property related dispute, where a case is filed in the court against the erring condominium corporation or council. The court then takes appropriate action on hearing the complaint. There are challenges in the entire litigation process. The litigation process is time consuming, expensive and many-a-times very uncertain, as to what will be the possible results. In case you are stuck between choosing litigation or arbitration as the solution for the dispute, then I would say that you should consult a condominium law specialist. Don’t be in haste, as you have to face dire consequences in the later stage.

Arbitration – Most provinces condominium legislations have certain procedures set aside for the arbitration process. The disputes that come under the arbitration largely includes, fines put in case of breach of bylaws or rules and regulations; disputes related to contributions related to expenses shared by those living in the condominiums; damage caused to common elements, amenities etc.

Under the arbitration process, it is necessary that parties agree to a single arbitrator. However, there are provisions available where each party selects an individual arbitrator, and the two arbitrators are presided over by a third arbitrator, who is a chairperson. Further, the arbitrators should have been the owner and occupier of a condominium unit in some another condominium development for at least a year. The arbitrator should not be a member of Condominium Corporation, who is involved in the arbitration. The arbitrators make just and a balanced decision, which is also considered the final decision by the court of law. Remember, the procedures in different provincial condominium legislations are different.

Mediation – Here the complaint is lodged to the condominium council of respective province in order to show that the other owner has bylaws, rules and regulations.

Negotiation – In this method, a direct, one-to-one conversation is carried out between two persons in order to get over the dispute. Just breaking your personal hindrances and doing the things in a better way, is just needed.

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Buying a Brand New House by Ravinder Tulsiani

Everybody dreams of buying a new house that can serve as the means of becoming your principal accommodation or becomes your primary source of investment. The prime advantages of going for a brand new home are:

• Comparing the market prices in the adjoining areas become easy, as there are other houses in the same locality that have been built in same land space and with almost similar model.
• New homes stand at lower rates, especially if they are built in the sub urban zones, where the land value is quite low.
• Being new, the house looks, fresh, neat and tidy, and also has a fresh ambience altogether.
• Since the homes are usually built by the builders who are registered under the New Home Warranty Program in the respective province, you have the foolproof safety from any of the builder defaults, as New Home Warranty Program takes all the necessary care.
• Since the houses are brand new, they adhere to the construction standards that include, plumbing, heating, cooling, insulation, and many more.
• Every builder offers to the buyer several house models. The buyers can go for the customized selection procedures, where they look for kitchen appliance colors; kitchen and bathroom floor coverings; etc.
• New houses are designed with sense and the room layout is also very structured. Care is taken to provide en suites, high ceiling level in the basement, well spaced family room, patios and much more.

Like advantages, a brand new house has also got some of the demerits to its credit. These include;

• A condition occurs where the builder who has made the property has not registered itself with the New Home Warranty Program. In such a case, it would become a difficult task for the purchaser of the property to approach any genuine person if any problem occurs with the house at any point of time.
• The purchase documents made by the builder are often confusing and too lengthy to be understood in a less time.
• In case the builder doesn’t acts, as thought, there is the possibility that the purchase might lose deposit funds. Though in Canada, there are some provinces also offer strong consumer protection legislation to safeguard the funds.
• Many a times what happens is that houses are purchased even before they actually come on the land. The architect sketches the model plan of the house and that’s it. A purchaser purchases the property based on it.
• There are very common occurrences where the constructions are delayed, wither there are some finishing touches that need to be done; landscaping or anything extra needs to be done. And all this requires time and more expenses, which often eat away the patience of the purchaser.

A piece of advice here! When you go for any of the purchasing the property, you need to know that following things about the builder and/or the contractor. These comprise:

• Check from the Local or Provincial Home Builder’s Association, whether the builder or contractor is the member of the association or not.
• Check whether or not any complaints have been lodged either in past or at present with the local Better Business Bureau.
• Check the buildings or houses made by the contractor or the builder in other localities. It is the right of the purchaser to ask the contractor about his ongoing projects as well as previous development projects.
• Check whether the builder who is making the property is registered with New Home Warranty Program. If they are not registered, then don’t sign any document without consulting or seeking your lawyer’s advice.
• You can also check about the credibility of the builder or contractor from municipal business licensing office.

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Thursday, March 3, 2011

Choosing the Option to Buy or Rent by Ravinder Tulsiani

Buying, selling and renting is an integrated process included under any real estate. Every real estate can and is rented, purchased or sold at any point of time. There are provincial and municipal rules and bylaws that guarantee one or either of the processes for the renter or the purchaser of the property.

Whether it is your first property purchase, or you are the first property renter, you have to remain attentive, with eyes wide open to see and know what new adventures are playing in the real estate market. An option to choose to buy a real estate property needs the investor to take into account various socioeconomic factors and also see what is the best thing available in the property market.

It is for the property investor to see that does the property holds value, does it has all the amenities to raise the value in the market, is the property situated in a commercial zone, etc. Above all the investor also has to take into account any provincial bylaws that can affect the purchase. Considering the fact that what all mortgage options can work rightly for the investor at any point of time is yet another smart move to go for.

Investors or property purchasers going for short term and long term mortgage plans have to prove their credit history anyways. From the lender’s perspective, a property is the way of doing the business in profitable manner. He wants to remain risk free all the time. Though, doing business is a risk, but lending the mortgage plans which work best is what keeps going behind the mind of a mortgagee.

Renting a real estate property for commercial or residential purposes takes into account various municipal and provincial laws that are applicable at any point of time. All types of properties including homes, residential properties, houses, townhouses / town homes, apartments, condos, lofts, villas, single family homes, detached houses, barns, cabins, cottages, triplex/duplexes, apartment buildings, commercial real estate, retail spaces, office spaces, warehouses, industrial properties, farms ranches, horse properties, foreclosure homes, hotels, motels, hostels, golf course real estate, double-wide homes, mobile homes can be rented in Canada/US.

Some provinces/states and cities have rent control, which limits the amount a landlord can charge for the apartment. Each province also has rules on how much a landlord can increase the rent each year for an existing or new tenant. Disputes between tenants and landlords can be taken to a rental tribunal.

It is important to note that rent paid may or may not include such utilities as heat, electricity, gas and water. Before you agree to a rent, find out what it includes. Cable for television and the cost of a telephone line are usually not included and you will be billed directly by the respective utility companies for those amenities.

The landlord pays the property taxes and takes care of insurance for the building, but the tenant is responsible for insuring individual personal items.