There is no room for negotiation on price with an off-plan property. The price asked by the developer is the price - sometimes there can be negotiation in terms of upgrades, etc.
The process with off-plan properties is such
that a reservation contract is signed which holds the property you are
interested in. A small deposit (often no more than 5%) is required to
legalise the contract, thereby guaranteeing that the property is taken
off the market.
Further money will be required as the build
progresses. Completion only takes place when the build is complete,
the build has been inspected by the city and the entire purchase price
has been paid.
Developers are required to send a large
“discovery” document to all buyers. This document outlines exactly
what is being bought and the developer is legally required to provide
it to the buyer at point of reservation. You will have a short period
of time to review it and cancel the reservation if you wish – this
period can be as short as 10 days.
Buyers benefit from
strict legislation that prevents developers from renaging on
contracts. All money is held in trust (similar to escrow) and once
complete, provincial guarantees offer protection for up to 10 years.
See the Useful Links section for details on home warranties.
A resale property is one that has already been owned privately.The advantage to buying a resale property is that you don’t need to wait for it to be built and you could take possession in as little as 6 weeks.
Ski Safari offers a range of quality, resale properties throughout North America
If you are buying a resale property, you will work with us as well as a Canadian estate agent. The real estate industry is heavily regulated in Canada and as a profession, is taken very seriously.
Estate agents in Canada need to hold a licence in the province where they work. They are professionals who must be members of the provincial real estate association, and therefore, are bound by a code of conduct of the profession. They work to represent your interests and play an important part in the negotiation process between seller and buyer.
Much like in the UK, you can make an offer on a resale property. This is normally done in writing under seal. The offer is presented to the seller by the estate agent and then a written reply is given. Everything normally has to be done in writing for it to be legally binding. Once the seller accepts an offer in writing, they cannot accept any more offers. This part of the process varies slightly from province to province. If the vendor does not accept your offer, they can make a counter-offer which you can either accept or decline.
Once an offer or counter-offer has been accepted, the contract becomes binding.
You will receive an agreement of sale which will need to be reviewed. You can make amendments to this by form of negotiation with the vendor. The types of things you may wish to amend include date of handover of keys, inclusion of certain fixtures, etc. You never actually speak to the vendor, at this stage, the estate agents act as intermediaries.
The agreement of sale is always subject to certain terms and conditions which must be respected by both parties.
Breach of the terms could result in one party having the right to withdraw, but this rarely occurs.
We will only have to work with a registered estate agent if you are interested in buying a resale property. You need not worry about finding an agent, as we already work with quite a number in a number of ski regions. If the property you are interested in is off-plan (a new build), Ski Safari will not need to liaise with an estate agent.
You do not need to find the estate agent, we already work with them.
top of pageSolicitors
You will need a solicitor to assist through the purchase process whether you are buying a resale or off-plan property.This is legal requirement only once you have reserved a property. This makes the process much easier as you can liaise with your lawyer by email from.
If you are buying in Quebec you will have a notary and not a lawyer. The notary works for both parties and therefore, you will not need to find one yourself. The notary only becomes a part of the process at point of completion.
Many people who buy off-plan use the same solicitor as the developer. The reason for this is ease of process, and offers a little cash saving. Ski Safari recommends that clients employ their own solicitors (except in Quebec where this is against the norm).
top of page
The steps
- Research areas to determine where you would like to invest
- Determine your budget
- Obtain a mortgage pre-approval (this does not tie you to a mortgage, it simplifies the process later)
- Ensure you have the funds in place for a deposit
- Find a property in the region you have chosen
- Make an offer
- if it's a resale, make an offer in writing and wait for acceptance
- in the case of a new build, you will send the required deposit with attached contract
- Contact a lawyer (Ski Safari can assist with this) who will assist with the purchase (this is not required if buying in Quebec)
- Payments
- In the case of a resale, you will send a deposit on acceptance of your offer
- For new builds, there will be a payment schedule whereby all monies are put in trust until completion
Ski Safari can help with this process from your initial enquiry through to completion of the sale. We can assist with contacting solicitors on your behalf if you haven’t the time and we will liaise with the estate agent in Canada. We have a vast range of properties to offer, not all of which are on our website.
If you would like to do a site visit, Ski Safari can also assist. We can organise flights, car hire, accommodation and much more.
top of page