Blogs written by lawyers at Highlander Law Group in Tantallon, Nova Scotia for people in Halifax with an interest in Real Estate Purchase and Sale, Corproate, Litigation, Debt Collection, Divorce, Probate, Wills, Power of Attorney, Trusts, Child support, Spousal Support, Custody, Migration, Debt Collection, Builders Liens, Estate Planning, Trademarks, Copyright and other Intellectual Property issues. .
Keeping you home in tip top shape in order to show it can be a task. Particularly when you have pets in your home, but it can make a bad impression if you don't. Here are some things you should think about when your selling with pets:
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When you are buying a home in Nova Scotia there are a lot of moving parts to the process. When you are buying a condominium, often you can count on adding a few more. One of the requirements specific to purchasing a condo unit is getting your hands on the estoppel certificate. It’s important to understand why you need one.
Read MoreIf you are buying a home for the first time you may qualify for First Time Home Buyers' rebate.
A "first time buyer" is an individual who builds or purchases a newly built home and has not owned or occupied a home in Canada in the last five years.
Read MoreThere are many reasons home owners require an appraisal, but the most common appraisal requests are for lending purposes. When a financial institution is considering granting a loan to purchase, improve or refinance a property, they need confirmation of the current market value of the property that will be securing their investment. An appraiser is called upon to provide an unbiased opinion of value based on market research and analysis and a review of the subject property. Appraisals are also commonly sought for real estate transactions, estate planning, separation and divorce settlements and insurance purposes.
Read MoreA new year is a fresh start in many ways. It is a great time to re-set. Organizing your home can be a great way to do this. Read on to learn a few ways to take advantage of the timing and get organized.
Read MoreHygge is a word that has been popping up a lot in discussions of home decorating, particularly for the fall and winter. Consider how embracing Hygge when staging your house for sale in the winter can have a positive impact on offers.
Read MoreIn Nova Scotia real property is given an assessed value each year. The question is how do assessors arrive at that value, why are properties given an assessed value and what is that figure used for?
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While it may seem like a morbid topic of conversation, it is an important one to have. What happens to your home when you die? In Nova Scotia, typically, when the first spouse to passes away, the home simply stays with their surviving spouse. This happens because most spouses hold their homes as "joint tenants". This is only applicable in situations where both spouses are on title to the home, and listed as joint tenants. This designation is listed on the parcel register for your property and you can have a lawyer find this information for you if you are unsure of your current situation.
Read MoreIf you are like many lucky Nova Scotians buying or selling a home, you are working with a great team of professionals who will help you through the process. Your mortgage broker, real estate agent and lawyer will all help make the process as smooth as possible. There are a few things that you will need to do as well.
Read MoreMuch of a home buyer's initial search happens online these days. This means that the pictures and videos of your home online are the things that will capture someone's attention and impress them enough to see the home in person. You want to make the most of this opportunity. Virtual tours have also become a great way to show off your home. Professional home staging and photography are a great way to accomplish this.
Read MoreA yard sale can be a great way to declutter and reduce the amount of stuff you have to move when you move out of your home. It is also a great way to make a little extra cash in the process. Here are some tips for making the most of your yard sale in Nova Scotia.
Read MoreYou’ve been using a piece of land in Nova Scotia that you know is not your own for years and you’re wondering how to get legal title to this land. People commonly refer to this area of law as squatters’ rights, lawyers call it “adverse possession”. In simple terms, in order to have any legal right to someone else’s land you must have used the land in an open, notorious, exclusive, and adverse manner for 20 years.
Read MoreWhen you are selling your current home and buying a new one there are a lot of moving parts in order to get both deals closed. Ideally they could close a day or two prior to the purchase. However, things don't always go that way.
Read MoreGetting pre-approved for a mortgage is a great first step in your home shopping process. It will give you an idea of how much you qualify to borrow, which in turn gives you a budget to work with when you are looking. This is a number to work with before you decide on a certain property. It is important to note that there is a difference between pre-approval and final approval for your mortgage.
Read MoreIt is always exciting to buy a brand new home. New builds are often customized to you in ways that buying a home that is already built would require extensive renovations to achieve. This advantage comes with it own set of potential issues. One of the big common ones is "deficiencies". These are the things that are not completed by the builder as of the closing date. Best case scenario there are none, or they are minor things that needing to be finished.
Read MoreThere has been some recent discussion in the Halifax Council of the idea of removing the provincial assessment cap for annual property taxes. As a result I thought now would be the perfect time to review the cap, and some other details about property taxes in HRM that you should know, if you own, or are looking to buy a home in the area.
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Because each family and every situation is different, family law can be a unpredictable area of law. There are lots of grey areas and not very many things are carved stone. Child support proves to be the exception to this uncertainty because it tends to be clear cut by comparison.
Read MoreBuying a new home can be a very exciting prospect, however, there are also a lot of practical realities that go along with buying and owning a home. The first thing you should do before looking at any homes is determine your budget.
This means sitting down with a mortgage professional before you start your search in order to determine what you can afford. It can be a heartbreaking experience looking at homes outside of your budget, not to mention it wastes your, and your realtor's time and resources that could be better spent looking for the right house for you.
Read MoreWhat is Title Insurance?
First things first: the word "title" refers to your legal right to own, use, mortgage and sell real property. Title Insurance is there to protect your legal interest, and often that of your lender, in your property.
Read MoreThe average person knows that they have to have a lawyer to complete their real estate transactions - the real question is why? Here are some of the things your lawyer is doing for you:
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