Absolutely majestic! Include a myriad of velvet accents and upholstered leather furniture to your bedroom or living room and you will achieve a captivating design, especially if you add a touch of satin to the decor. Classic elegance, you say? Better! A heavenly space.

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Velvet fabric and upholstered furniture, side by side, offers ultimate elegance. It’s timeless. Even after centuries, this style is still in vogue. A long time ago, in palaces and mansions, marble was also part of the decor, and that says it all. Elegance attracts elegance.[……]

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A plant product that is sustainable, recyclable and rot-proof: cork is sought after as a floor covering and is considered one of the most efficient insulating material for walls, doors, roofs and floors. In addition, it looks beautiful and inviting. In short, it’s a God-given product.

Let’s start with the basics. Cork is often used as a subfloor for a hardwood or floating floor because of its sound and crush-resistant properties and its elasticity. A more discreet role, but an efficient one, nonetheless.

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Far from being unattractive, cork is most usually used above ground, in the form of slabs, as a flooring material. It has numerous qualities. It is flexible, effective against vibrations, soft to the touch, and pleasant to look at. A dozen shades, if not more, are available on the market.[……]

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On January 1, 2018, the revised Guideline B-20 came into effect, governed by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI). The changes to Guideline B-20 reinforce OSFI’s expectation that federally regulated mortgage lenders (FRML) remain vigilant in their mortgage underwriting practices. The full outline of the revised Guideline can be found on their website.

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How do these new changes affect you?

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Most real estate brokers will tell you: overpricing your home from the moment you put it on sale is asking for trouble. You have so little to gain and so much to lose. Here are the reasons why.

A seller may be tempted to ask for an exaggerated price in case a buyer, too naive to realize it or too rich to afford wasting time, finishes by taking the bait. That is wishful thinking. The odds of that happening are slim. Very slim.

Perhaps the homeowner thinks, since there is no hurry, that he will patiently wait for his price, comfortably seated at home. A buyer will eventually come knocking. Wrong!

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Perhaps the seller overestimates the value of his property or demands an unreasonable price to compliment his homeowner’s pride. No matter the case, he will regret his decision.[……]

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The last article of our series on buying a condo focuses on additional information the buyer should know before signing the ultimate contract: services, property taxes, new home warranty program, developer, and insurance.

Ask the condo manager about the municipal taxes and the services offered: garbage pickup, road repairs, snow removal, etc. Are the general services included in the monthly fees? Some co-owners pay independent contractors through an additional condo service charge.

To get an idea of the property tax amount you will have to pay, contact the municipality if the building is new. In the case of a resale condo, ask the property manager to provide you with a copy of the most recent property assessment and most recent tax statement. The real estate broker may also have this information on hand.[……]

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Is it a crime to talk about a colour as dull as grey when spring is right around the corner ready to show off its vibrant colours? Not at all. On the contrary! Grey is a lively colour once you learn how to adopt it. Who knows, maybe it’s the colour you’ve been looking for!

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Grey is a neutral colour, like black and white. It is the perfect backdrop to make all the colours of the artist’s palette stand out, from lime green to yellow, followed by pink and purple. However, unlike white and black, the contrast is less intense with grey. It is much softer. Grey’s main attribute — its magical trait so to speak — is creating contrasts in a soft and cozy atmosphere.[……]

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As for any single home, you will have to write a promise to purchase to acquire the condo you wish to buy. Although the content of both forms is similar, the promise to purchase for condominiums includes some particularities. It is in your best interest to know them well.

In the case of a divided co-ownership property, the promise to purchase includes:

  • the cadastral description of your private portion;
  • if the parking lot and storage space are also private portions;
  • the cadastral designations of the parking lot and storage space;
  • the share and cadastral description of the common portions; and,
  • whether the parking lot and storage space are private portions, common portions for restricted use or other; and,
  • the area of the condo’s private portion described in the certificate of location.

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