Rob Vanovermeire - YOUR GUIDE TO PURCHASING A HOME

sub floor and flooring were needed.

The electrical panel needed to be replaced & so did the furnace as the exchanger was cracked. The shingles were at the end of their life and if they didn't get replaced there was a huge risk of leaking especially in the spring when the rains come to Airdrie let alone the hail that often hits in the summer. In the end, their $10,000 savings only helped to give them a bit of consolation when they paid out $27,000 for all of the repairs. On the bright side they now have a new furnace and shingles that will last a long time, but it was a little steep being new buyers. The five-bedroom house sat on acreage near Priddis at less than $380,000, seemed a steal. But it wasn’t a bargain. The well that fed the water for the home was on the neighbor's property and so was the driveway. There was not a registered easement on the property so there was no protection to owners if the neighbor's decided not to cooperate. The buyers were not informed of this issue because their agent didn't pull the title and review the Real Property Report. The buyers lawyer discovered these issues at closing which now presented a problem. The buyers did not want to close on the purchase until some protection was offered on the well and driveway. It turned out to be a very stressful situation. One first time buyer bought a home in Mckenzie Towne in the SE part of Calgary on the Inverness side of the community. There was a restricted covenant registered on the title but the buyers nor their agent thought to pull it up & read it before making an offer. They discovered after they moved in that the garage was built too close to the back alley and didn't meet the restrictive covenant's requirements. This put the buyers at great risk because the neighbors on that street could file an injunction forcing the new owners to move the garage in order to make it compliant. They were fortunate to obtain title insurance which is great however its only good for as long as they own the home its not transferable to buyers when you sell.