If you’re thinking of buying a home in Winnipeg, you will probably have questions. Whether you’re a first time buyer or someone looking to move up to a larger home, or selling to move into a retirement condo. Here is a collection of some of the most frequently asked questions about buying real estate in Winnipeg.
In Winnipeg, (as in most North American areas) when a home sellers lists their house or condo for sale, they built a buyer agents’ commission right into the price. It works out that in about 95% of cases, your buyer agent fee is already covered by the seller, so that you (the home buyer) does not have to pay out of pocket.
If you are buying a condo unit, you are actually becoming a part-owner of the entire building (or complex). For example, if a high-rise building has 100 suites, and all are the same size, you would be a 1% owner of the entire building.
This becomes important when something goes wrong: For example, if the roof needs to be replaced, at a cost of $75,000, and there is not enough money in the Reserve Fund, all owners will have to chip in via a ‘Special Assessment’. Each owner is responsible for the percentage of the building they own….in this case, 1% of $75,000 would mean that you have to chip in $750.