SYDNEY, N.S. — Varunkumar Patel thought he was investing in his future and helping international students in need of housing when he bought a home in Sydney.
The Indian man, who is a registered nurse, immigrated to Canada five years ago to work in health care in Ontario. He currently lives in London and owns the condominium he resides in.
After learning about the housing shortage for students in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Patel decided to invest his savings into a property in Sydney.
The three-bedroom home at 69 Rockdale Ave. seemed like a good choice to Patel, who was given a virtual tour by the realtor involved in the sale of the property.
It looked clean and freshly painted, with some new windows and what looks like a new roof.
Patel purchased the property for $165,000 and put a $37,000 deposit on it. At the time, there were tenants in the home who moved out in August 2022, said Patel.
In mid-August, Patel came to see the property and clean it for new tenants. He was surprised to find water in the basement and the furnace looked corroded.
“I was shocked,” said Patel during a phone interview on June 22. “I’m like, is this how it should be because I live in Ontario and we have really good basement in the houses right now…and I am not familiar with the radiator (heating) in the room, like, you know, in the living room there is a (hot water) radiator which provides the heat.”
Unsure if this was how properties in Nova Scotia should be, Patel called a repair company and was told to keep the sump pump in the basement on. Patel said repairs were done and everything was working well before he returned to Ontario and rented the home to some students.
The ceiling of the home at 69 Rockdale Ave., Sydney has begun to fall apart. The drywall is soggy and falling off and the wood is dark, as if very wet or rotted. When Varunkumar Patel received photos of the Sydney house he wanted to buy, there was no evidence of water damage and the ceiling was perfectly intact in the bathroom. – Nicole Sullivan
The students had moved out by February and the property remained empty until June, when Patel rented it to a family in Ontario who wanted to move to Cape Breton.
Patel said he was aware of some issues at the home which he discussed with the new tenant and worked out a deal to have the tenant, Matt Rourke, do the repairs.
However, the home needs more than minor repairs and Rourke left after about a week; a week he spent sleeping in a tent outside because the condition of the home didn’t seem safe.
Water damage on the floors due to the pipes in the water radiators breaking has resulted in what appears to be black mould or mildew.
There was a leaking pipe in the ceiling in the living room which has left the ceiling soggy. It moves at places when pushed on and crumbles at the spot Rourke opened up to fix the leak.
Rourke, a contractor, put in a new sump pump that properly discards the water in the basement but was appalled by the state of the furnace which is corroded.
He also believes there are electrical issues with the property, which currently has no heating system.
Fast facts
Housing sales in Nova Scotia in May 2023 • 1,205 units sold. Down 17.6 per cent since May 2022 • Home sales 8.2 per cent below five-year average • Home sales 1 per cent below 10-year average • Home sales totalled 3,925 from January to May. Down 28.7 per cent from January to May 2022 • Benchmark price single-family home: $395,000. Down 2.8 per cent from May 2022 • Average price of homes: $485,175. Increase of 1.2 per cent from May 2022 • New listings: 1,742. Down 20.9 per cent from May 2022 • Active residential listings: 3,113 units at end of May. Increase of 14.1 per cent from May 2022
Source: Nova Scotia Association of Realtors MLS Statistical Report
Since purchasing the home for a rental property, Patel said he’s invested about $30,000 more in repairs. The quote he was given for a new heating system is around $21,000 and some windows are needed.
The drywall on the ceiling in the bathroom has started to fall off, crumbling due to apparent water damage, and the exposed wood looks to be wet and rotted.
Patel didn’t get a home inspection before purchasing the property because he thought what he saw in pictures and the virtual tour was what he was getting — an OK home that would be better when upgraded but still good to be rented.
It wasn’t until Rourke explained to him in detail over many phone and text conversations that Patel really understood the true condition of the home and that he couldn’t rent it until extensive repairs were done.
“It wasn’t a good idea (that) I purchased this house. So, I do regret that after purchasing that house,” Patel said.
“Now I have a mortgage ongoing and everything is in bad shape … I want to fix the house but the thing is, it’s pretty expensive.”
Patel would sell the property if he could recover some of his money, but at this point, he realizes he might not even get the amount left on his mortgage without investing in the repairs.
Be prepared
Roger Burns, Nova Scotia Association of Realtors board of directors: “I don’t care if it’s $20,000 or a million dollars, you want to send the money and you don’t get it (inspected) to know what you’ve got, you’re starting off on the wrong foot.” – Nicole Sullivan
Realtor Roger Burns, who is the director for Cape Breton of the Nova Scotia Association of Realtors, said Patel made a big mistake when he didn’t get a home inspection done.
“I don’t care if it’s $20,000 or a million dollars, if you want to send the money and you don’t get it (inspected) to know what you’ve got, you’re starting off on the wrong foot,” Burns said.
The Cape Breton Post tried to contact the realtor Patel said sold him the property but was unable to reach them before publication time.
Burns said he has worked with the realtor in the past and believes the realtor is one who would disclose all issues with a property to a buyer if he was aware of them.
However, he said an unethical realtor might not disclose some things — like a death in the home or flooding problems — which could reduce the property value or appeal.
Over his decades-long career in the real estate industry in Cape Breton, Burns said he hasn’t heard of many realtors who would do this.
A part of the floor in the kitchen of the home at 69 Rockdale Ave. in Sydney is black with what appears to be mildew or mould. The black substance was seen throughout the home in June. When Varunkumar Patel was given a virtual tour of the property by the realtor before purchasing it in April 2022, there was no sign of mould or mildew. – Nicole Sullivan
There is also the possibility that the seller didn’t disclose the full property history to the tenant, which the realtor wouldn’t know of at the time of showing and sale of the unit.
This has happened only once or twice to Burns over his 32 years in the business.
Burns stresses home buyers need to make sure they do their due diligence before buying through inspections and having someone walk through the property.
“Don’t trust me (the realtor). I’m not going on the hook for you. I’m not a furnace guy. I’m not an electrician,” Burns said. “If the gentleman said, look, I like you. I trust you. I’m gonna send my brother, Jimmy down. I’ll take his and your word. Roger Burns would say, you know what bud? You take your brother’s word. Don’t take mine. I’m not an inspector and I’m not going on the hook for you … spend four or $500 with a certified inspector, let them tell you, you come back to them.”
Housing sales in Cape Breton • Sold between $139,000-$218,000 • 113 in 2021 • 92 in 2022 • 70 so far in 2023
Source: Nova Scotia Association of Realtors MLS Statistical Report
Matt Dauphinee, president of the Nova Scotia Association of Realtors, has been a realtor in the Halifax Regional Municipality for 12 years. To the best of his knowledge, he’s never been misled by a seller and echoes Burns’ sentiments on the importance of getting home inspections and finding out the history of the property.
“Buyers … can ask for a property disclosure statement from the sellers as well as they can perform home inspections on the property with anyone of their choosing,” he said. “Inspections could range from bringing in a home inspector to a licensed electrician to someone who can do sewer, well, septic — any type of inspection that they were concerned about the property.”
He also said members in Nova Scotia adhere to the code of conduct provided by the Canadian Real Estate Association.
“It’s always in your own best interest to do all the due diligence that is afforded to you in the transaction,” Dauphinee said.
Matt Dauphinee, president of the Nova Scotia Association of Realtors: “Members of Nova Scotia Association of Realtors (are) adhering to our policies and that of the Canadian Real Estate Association for the Code of Conduct.” – Contributed
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was higher in late-morning trading, helped by strength in energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also moved up.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 34.91 points at 23,736.98.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 178.05 points at 41,800.13. The S&P 500 index was up 28.38 points at 5,661.47, while the Nasdaq composite was up 133.17 points at 17,725.30.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.56 cents US compared with 73.57 cents US on Monday.
The November crude oil contract was up 68 cents at US$69.70 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up three cents at US$2.40 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$7.80 at US$2,601.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.28 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets climbed to their best week of the year.
“It’s been almost a complete opposite or retracement of what we saw last week,” said Philip Petursson, chief investment strategist at IG Wealth Management.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
While last week saw a “healthy” pullback on weaker economic data, this week investors appeared to be buying the dip and hoping the central bank “comes to the rescue,” said Petursson.
Next week, the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut its key interest rate for the first time in several years after it significantly hiked it to fight inflation.
But the magnitude of that first cut has been the subject of debate, and the market appears split on whether the cut will be a quarter of a percentage point or a larger half-point reduction.
Petursson thinks it’s clear the smaller cut is coming. Economic data recently hasn’t been great, but it hasn’t been that bad either, he said — and inflation may have come down significantly, but it’s not defeated just yet.
“I think they’re going to be very steady,” he said, with one small cut at each of their three decisions scheduled for the rest of 2024, and more into 2025.
“I don’t think there’s a sense of urgency on the part of the Fed that they have to do something immediately.
A larger cut could also send the wrong message to the markets, added Petursson: that the Fed made a mistake in waiting this long to cut, or that it’s seeing concerning signs in the economy.
It would also be “counter to what they’ve signaled,” he said.
More important than the cut — other than the new tone it sets — will be what Fed chair Jerome Powell has to say, according to Petursson.
“That’s going to be more important than the size of the cut itself,” he said.
In Canada, where the central bank has already cut three times, Petursson expects two more before the year is through.
“Here, the labour situation is worse than what we see in the United States,” he said.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
