Answers

One question, one page, answered as plainly as I can manage. Where a number appears it carries its source and its date, so you can check it or watch it go out of date.

What it costs to own

• What does it actually cost to own a house in Winnipeg?

  Every recurring line — tax, hydro, gas, water, waste, insurance, maintenance — with the current rate and its source.

• What will property tax actually cost me in Winnipeg?

  How the bill is built, and why the figure on a listing may not be the figure you pay.

• What does the average Winnipeg house price actually tell me?

  What the board-wide average measures, what it hides, and what to use instead.

Before you buy

• What should I check in an older Winnipeg house?

  Red River clay, aluminum wiring, Poly-B, older panels, vermiculite — with the years they belong to.

• What should I check on a rural or cottage property?

  Wells, septic, permits and warranty — the due diligence a home inspection does not cover.

• What should I ask before buying a lot in Manitoba?

  Use, access, services, documents and cost — and where the authoritative answer for each one lives.

If the question you have is not here, ask it. If the answer is useful to more than one person it becomes a page, with your name nowhere near it.

Before you sell

• What should I fix before selling, and what should I leave?

  Where the money comes back, where it does not, and the findings that blow up deals.

For the longer version, the guides cover buying a house, buying a condominium, the cost of owning and preparing to sell, one downloadable document each.