When writing an offer to purchase, you need to choose a closing/ possession date. That’s the day the money is sent to the seller’s lawyer, and the day you get to move in.  It’s best to avoid Fridays.

Keys are not released on a property until funds have been received by the seller’s lawyer.  (Check out our what happens on closing day).
Most of the time, funds are received by about 11:30 am, and keys are released right away with no problem.  However, once in a while, there is a slowdown at the bank releasing mortgage funds.  When there is a delay, possession can be delayed until the next business day.  If your possession is on a Friday, this next business day is Monday, (and if there is a long weekend, the buyer could be stuck until Tuesday).

It is possible that the seller might grant Tenancy at will, (which means giving possession before the funds have been received.  But they do not have to.

If you are moving out of your rental into a new home, give yourself a week if you can when you still have the rental, and own your home.  This gives you time to move out of the rental, and get it ready for the inspection with your landlord. 

Why a written offer is better than a verbal offer. 

Occasionally, we’re asked, “Can we just make a verbal offer until we finalize something in writing?” In most cases, I strongly advise against it. Here’s why verbal offers are generally not a good idea:

Lack of Seriousness: A verbal offer can come across as insincere. If you’re not willing to put your offer in writing, why should the seller take you seriously? Some sellers have told me, “I will only respond to written offers.”

Invalidity: A verbal offer is not legally binding. Even if a seller verbally accepts your offer, they are free to accept a better one from someone else if it comes along.

Efficiency: With digital signing, submitting and signing offers or counteroffers can be done quickly and efficiently.

There are a few situations where a verbal offer might be appropriate, such as:

Finalizing Details: If you’ve already made a written offer and are just working out minor details, like the possession date.

Negotiating Inclusions: If you’re discussing one or two specific inclusions.

Verbal offers might also be considered in unique circumstances, such as:

Extended Possession: When the possession date is six months away.

Conditional Offers: If the offer is contingent on the sale of a house and you want to gauge the seller’s willingness to consider that condition.

Your REALTOR should be willing to take the time to put your offer in writing for you. 

Should I ask for a professional cleaning of a home I am buying? 

Sometimes in the terms, people can ask for a house to be professionally cleaned prior to possession.   You could say something like, “Seller will have the home professionally cleaned for a minimum of 12 hours”.  However, all houses are different, and some will require more time than others, and a level of cleanliness is hard to quantify.  Sometimes doing deep cleaning of appliances, floors, shower doors, etc, can take much more time. 

When having a Lethbridge Home Inspection, you may find a home that has poly b piping.  Poly B, is a flexible grey pipe used in residential plumbing and hot water heating systems from the mid-70s through the 80s and into the mid-90s.  

At Team Viewlethbridge we have worked with insurance companies that insure homes with PolyB piping. Some of us on the team have Poly b piping in our own homes. 

If you are looking to insure a home with Poly B piping, try contacting the agents below. 

Desjardins. 
Seth Jacobs, Office Manager
Desjardins Insurance
1921 Mayor Magrath Dr S, Unit 101
Lethbridge AB
Bus: 403-331-3100

https://insuranceinlethbridge.com/

Schwartz Reliance Insurance Coaldale
Jamie Dickinson | Commercial Broker |
1716 20^th Avenue
Coaldale, Alberta T1M 1N2
Business: (403) 345-4848

www.schwartzcoaldale.com

Writing a Backup offer in Real Estate in Lethbridge and Southern Alberta 

In a busy market like this, often properties get offers on them right away. Usually, when an offer is made, it is pending for about 10 business days. The buyer gets to lock the property in, while they do what is necessary to remove their conditions. Approximately 75-90% of the time, deals do come together, (conditions are removed and the house becomes officially sold). However, sometimes, deals fall apart. Often it is one of two things, (there can be more). People do not get their financing, or something comes up in the property inspection that cannot be worked out between the buyer and seller.

Sometimes, when an offer is pending, people will write a backup offer. A backup offer ensures that you are first in line, should the currently accepted offer collapse. Often there is a sellers’ condition in a backup offer that is something like:
“this is a backup offer, and will come into play should the currently accepted offer collapse”.

If you are in love with a property that currently has an offer on it, you can write a backup offer. Your REALTOR® should explain the pros and cons of doing this. Some people may want to wait, to see if the offer collapses and then write an offer. This allows you to keep looking in the meantime. However, if you wait, someone else could come in before you with a backup offer. If your backup offer is accepted, and you are waiting to hear what is happening with the first offer, then you might feel stuck if you come across a better home during that waiting period. Make sure you contact your REALTOR® so you know your options.

Some laws changed after COVID-19. Now it is possible if you can’t meet your Alberta or Lethbridge Real Estate Lawyer in person, you can sign remotely.

• You receive documents from the lawyer by email
• You print the documents
• Sign the documents through a Facetime, or Zoom meeting with your lawyer
• You courier the original documents back to your Alberta Lawyer. 

We have had many clients in the past few years sign for their purchases and sales this way.  Many of our remote buyers sign this way.  We have helped many buyers and sellers sign remotely and we can recommend a lawyer who can help you sign remotely as well. 

We may have Lethbridge in our name, but Team Viewlethbridge.com works all over Southern Alberta.   We have helped clients in many communities including 

Barons,  Barnwell, Bellevue, Bow Island, Carmangay, Calgary, Champion, Cardston, Medicine Hat, Coleman, Crowsnest Pass, Coaldale, Coalhurst, Cowley, Fort Macleod, Hill Spring, Little Bow Resort, Lomond, Moon River Estates, Nanton, Picture Butte, Red Deer, Stirling, Stavely, Taber, Vulcan and Warner

If you are looking to buy or sell in Southern Alberta, or make a move and maybe do both, contact us at teamviewlethbridge.com.  If we can’t help you we can connect you with a professional who can. 

Do you want to buy and sell at the same time? Do you have questions?

What if my house sells too fast?  What if my house doesn’t sell? What if I fall in love with a house and can’t buy it yet?
There are a few ways to go about this… It’s not always perfect, but our team will work with you to make this as stress-free as possible.
1)  Find the perfect house… sell later. 
This option is great if you have a lot of money. You find the house of your dreams, buy it, and then sell your other house later.  This gives you time to move out, or do what you need to do to the new house.   The problem with this is that not many people have enough cash to do this.

2) Find the perfect house… keep your current house as a rental. 
you may be able to get approved by keeping your current house as a rental.  Your mortgage specialist can give you some numbers about what your house could rent for, and then when the time comes, you move into your new house.  You can still sell the old one though, but if it doesn’t sell, you can go use the rental route.  

3) Make an offer subject to the sale of your house
You find a house, and make an offer on it with conditions, and in the offer, you ask for a certain amount of time to sell your house.   There is usually a clause put on the house that gives the seller of your dream home to continue to market their house. If the seller gets another offer before you have sold your house, then the seller has the opportunity to accept that second offer, (they will usually give you 24-72 hours to remove all of your conditions, financing, inspection, and home sale).   If you go with this route, make sure to work with your REALTOR so that you don’t sell your house, and end up with no house on the other end.  This option can be a bit tricky, as not all sellers are willing to negotiate a sale subject to the sale of another house. 

4) Sell your house… start looking as soon as you get an offer on your house
This is the option we see the most… it is the easiest to do financially and makes the paperwork a bit easier.  This option works well if you are searching for a new house and have lots of options.  Your negotiating power will be stronger when you are buying if you already have an accepted offer on your house.

5) Sell your house and rent while you look for the perfect place (or move in with family)
We have a few clients who want to sell their house and take their time looking.  They don’t necessarily want to rent but know that what they are looking for is hard to find.  For example, the perfect acreage only comes up once in a while, and if you are looking for one, you may want to have your house already sold, so that you can jump on the perfect acreage when it comes up with a strong offer. We also have some clients who sell and move into their own rental while they look for the perfect place.

Whatever route you decide, (there are probably a few that are not written down here), team viewlethbridge.com is here to help you alleviate the stress, answer all your questions, and give you a smooth transition into the home of your dreams. 

If you are buying and selling at the same time, whether you want to downsize or get into something bigger, it’s a good idea to have an experienced REALTOR on your side.