real property report?

[SOAB]

since I have sold my house, I need to supply the buyers with an rpr and I'm not sure I can find my old one.

can anybody recommend a surveying company to do this?

[Weapon_R]

Ask your lawyer or Realtor for a referral. They might have surveyors who give preferred rates. I use Jerrod at Arc surveys as he gives us the best rates I've found so far.

[blairtruck]

whats the rate. im a surveyor in edmonton and we shut down our calgary office 5+ years ago. just wondering comparable s.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[mr2mike]

Pang Surveys
http://www.pangsurveys.com

[ExtraSlow]

Agreed that is is MUCH cheaper to just get an updated one from the surveoyors that did thye last one. Getting a new one from scratch is hundreds more.

I've used Pang, no issues.

[nickyh]

I hope you have no issues with compliance on the RPR.

When we were selling our last house, we never expected to sell in a week and in the process we got an updated RPR because of fencing, deck etc.
We had two compliance issues which took 3 visits to city hall to rectify and it was one of the pieces of paper we had to hand over at the lawyers.

[turbotrip]

would u guys get new rpr's done if your neighbor on one side put up a fence?

[Weapon_R]

You'll need one for a fence addition yes

[403ep3]

Adding onto a question here.

Would I need a new RPR if a fence was recently put up that is 100% fully on the neighbours property? It's a zero lot line.

[imranm]

Arc Surveys Ltd.
201B 38th Ave NE
Calgary, AB T2E 2M3
Tel: 403-277-1272
Fax: 403-277-1275
Email: [email protected]

Cheap and quick

[rach]

Axiom Geomatics

[TomcoPDR]

Originally posted by imranm
Arc Surveys Ltd.
201B 38th Ave NE
Calgary, AB T2E 2M3
Tel: 403-277-1272
Fax: 403-277-1275
Email: [email protected]

Cheap and quick

Do you know how cheap and how quick


I called Lovse for an update from a 2013 rpr. It's still $450 with heads up prices might go up later on.


Kinda hijack. Does one need rpr update (from a 2013 survey), if you REMOVED a shed (that was on survey), and added some ground landscape (ie, river rocks, planks pathway so kinda like a deck but on the ground)?

I've seen rpr where they listed the amount of brushes (enproachment clarity I suppose)

[Kloubek]

So, dduke (before all the shit went down with him) built a deck for me and I believe it is a couple of feet over the setback line of 6m.

I know a RPR is requested at the time of sale.... what are the chances I can just provide the original RPR and hope for the best? Is it essential to have a valid, recent certificate of compliance, or is that really only a "nice to have" in the eyes of buyers and their representing Realtor?

[Horaysh]

I am an ALS at Newport Land Surveys. Some things to know about when you need an "updated" RPR.

RPRs are part of the Alberta Real Estate Association standard housing sale contract. Under this contract, the seller is guaranteeing to the buyer that all buildings and improvements comply with municipal laws/bylaws. It is not reasonable for most sellers to say they know the ins and outs of these bylaws and this is where the RPR comes in. When a "current" one is supplied with the municipality's compliance stamp, the seller has proved to the buyer(and buyer's lawyers and realtors) that the property complies.

Because this is a contract between two parties, you always have the right to provide an older RPR, an RPR without compliance or no RPR at all when both parties agree. But as a home buyer's laywer or realtor, it wouldn't be prudent to advise them to accept an "old" RPR or no RPR unlesss the buyer was completely comfortable with that.

You do always have the option of telling your buyer you will provide the previous RPR before a certain deck, fence, garage or whatever was built, but then they have to be comfortable with you taking on the liability that says its conforming. This isn't ideal as you don't want the buyer coming back any amount of years later claiming something doesn't conform and you signed saying it does.

RPRs are the equivalent of house inspections for property boundaries and municipal bylaw conformance(with respect to boundaries). Like house inspections, the requirements of how old it is, what is shown on it etc are up to the buyers acceptance, but I would imagine all buyers are looking to protect themselves and almost always request a current one.

Hope that helps.

[Kloubek]

Well, it does answer some questions. Thanks so much for the response.

I have heard that mortgage companies require the RPR, and perhaps that many/most/all require an up to date certification on it. Not sure if that is entirely true or not.... I read it on the internet, so it doesn't mean much.

I took a look at the deck today. It is 17 feet from roughly the property line. 6 meters is 19.7 feet, so either:
a) I try to apply for an easement
b) I hope the buyer doesn't insist on a new AND certified RPR, and I would of course be up front that the deck does not comply
c) I have to tear apart the deck. This option would really suck, as I can only cut it down 1.5 feet max before I hit the beam supporting the entire structure... so if I do this, I'd have to jack it up, rip out the current footings and replace them, then cut the deck down almost 3 feet.

Fuck a duck.

The deck is beautiful and I can't imagine a potential buyer wouldn't want it the size it is, but some people are sticklers for the rules.

Another class act move by dduke.

[imranm]

Originally posted by TomcoPDR


Do you know how cheap and how quick


I called Lovse for an update from a 2013 rpr. It's still $450 with heads up prices might go up later on.


Kinda hijack. Does one need rpr update (from a 2013 survey), if you REMOVED a shed (that was on survey), and added some ground landscape (ie, river rocks, planks pathway so kinda like a deck but on the ground)?

I've seen rpr where they listed the amount of brushes (enproachment clarity I suppose)

It was a year ago but I want to say $750, they took a week to come out.

[adam c]

Global Raymac Surveys does them as well

[Horaysh]

Kloubek, you are right, that is another party to sales that I missed, mortgage companies. If the buyer's mortgage company requires a current RPR, then you're stuck providing it to close the sale. Not all mortgage companies require an RPR, but I'm not sure which do and don't. Our mortgage company is based out of Ontario(Street Capital) and they didn't require one.

What is the height of your deck? If it is under 0.60m everywhere, then it would be considered a patio, and you should have no problem with it being in the setback area.

If it is a deck(over 0.60m high at any point), then the easement you are referring to is called a Development Permit Application for Relaxation. The City's fee for this is currently $412. We just completed a relaxation application for a client and it took 4 weeks.


For other peoples questions:

Typically, an RPR will only show permanent improvements(Buildings, concrete walks/patios, decks fences, retaining walls ETC). Some things that are not required to be shown on RPRs are patioblock walks or patios, stacked block walls that are not retaining anything and are not near any property lines, definitely not vegetation or anything you can pick up and move easily.

ANYTHING removed or added after an RPR is complete means you should check with buyer, realtors, lawyers and mortgage companies to ensure they are aware and will accept it as is.

[403ep3]

Hey Horaysh. Got a question for you:

Got an RPR done two months ago and then my neighbour started a fence on his side of the property (0 lot line). I assume that the new RPR won't even have the fence on it or am I wrong? Sold house, but now I am unsure if I need to waste money and update my RPR before I get my compliance stamp.

[Kloubek]

I was aware of the height thing, which is good because I added a lower tier. That one is under so no problems there, but no.... the original deck is nowhere close to being considered a patio, unfortunately.

[Horaysh]

403ep3,

If your neighbor put the fence on the property boundary between him and you, then an updated RPR should definitely show the fence, even in a zero lot line scenario. As you are probably aware, in zero lot line situations, your property line will be very close to, if not right on, your neighbors exterior wall line on one side of your house, and your house wall on the other side will likely be on the property line. That means that the RPR should make mention of anything near your neighbor's wall or its projection along the lot line(driveway, fences, eaves etc).

If you haven't applied for city compliance yet, I'd call the survey company that recently did the RPR and tell them that the fence has recently been added and you need it updated and make sure to mention nothing else has changed and they surveyed it very recently[emphasis on recently ;)]. They MIGHT be willing to update it for you for free or fairly cheap. If not, check with buyer, realtor, lawyers to ensure they are aware of it and get their take on it.

As long as there is no City land behind your property, and assuming the fence runs along the lot line from behind your neighbors house to the back of the property(IE: if there is no way the fence encroaches into City land), the City wouldn't even acknowledge it when they review the RPR for compliance. It would just be a matter of whether or not the buyer or his agents want to know where the fence is built in relation to the property line.

If you already have compliance, definitely try and get away without updating if you can.

[Weapon_R]

According to the recommended rules of practice concerning RPRs, a removal of a structure does not necessitate an update of the RPR since it's impossible for a compliance issue to arise from that. Patio stones and gravel are typically non-issues.

[403ep3]

Originally posted by Horaysh
403ep3,

If your neighbor put the fence on the property boundary between him and you, then an updated RPR should definitely show the fence, even in a zero lot line scenario. As you are probably aware, in zero lot line situations, your property line will be very close to, if not right on, your neighbors exterior wall line on one side of your house, and your house wall on the other side will likely be on the property line. That means that the RPR should make mention of anything near your neighbor's wall or its projection along the lot line(driveway, fences, eaves etc).

If you haven't applied for city compliance yet, I'd call the survey company that recently did the RPR and tell them that the fence has recently been added and you need it updated and make sure to mention nothing else has changed and they surveyed it very recently[emphasis on recently ;)]. They MIGHT be willing to update it for you for free or fairly cheap. If not, check with buyer, realtor, lawyers to ensure they are aware of it and get their take on it.

As long as there is no City land behind your property, and assuming the fence runs along the lot line from behind your neighbors house to the back of the property(IE: if there is no way the fence encroaches into City land), the City wouldn't even acknowledge it when they review the RPR for compliance. It would just be a matter of whether or not the buyer or his agents want to know where the fence is built in relation to the property line.

If you already have compliance, definitely try and get away without updating if you can.

Thanks for the information!

Not sure if this picture helps, but this is my situation:

http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah28/jreye012/C169D743-6083-4163-9B7E-0CF73DFBA2DA_zpsrz9z0npu.jpg
http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah28/jreye012/8590306B-FBF9-4506-AB28-DD6EB8072E31_zpssb6rt8ix.jpg

Possession is in August so trying to figure out if I need an update asap. Thanks again for your help!

[Horaysh]

403ep3,

That's pretty much what I was picturing when I responded.

The only place you'll find an answer if you're required to update it is the buyer and his agents. If you have your own realtor, tell them about it and get them to sell the buyer or his realtor on the fact that the fence is clearly very close to PL or right on. Shouldn't be too hard of a sell if your RPR has labelled your neighbor's house corner and garage corner distances to PL, likely labelled as on the PL or some small distance within his lot.

As far as the city is concerned, they will not consider the fence when reviewing for compliance.

[403ep3]

I appreciate all the info Horaysn!