Dear David,
What is the difference between Joint Tenants and Tenants in Common? – Legal Eagle

Dear Eagle,

Property can be owned either individually, or jointly. “Joint tenants” and “tenants-in-common” are two types of joint property ownership that differ in their outcomes if one owner passes away.

With joint tenancy, the property goes to the “last man standing”: if one tenant dies, the property automatically belongs to the surviving owner. Most married couples own property this way. Tenants-in-common means that each tenant owns a set portion of the property. Should one of the owners pass away, their share of the property is retained by their estate (and is not automatically disbursed to the surviving owners). This is a good option for a property owned by multiple investors; if an owner dies, the value of his/her share remains with their estate (and can be retained by their spouse, for example) rather than being divided among the remaining investors.

Dear David,
Where do I figure out where school boundaries are located? – School Parent

Dear Parent,

In Waterloo Region, catchment areas for public and Catholic schools are, for the most part, determined by the student’s home address. The Waterloo Region Public School Board (www.wrdsb.ca) and Waterloo Catholic District School Board (www.wcdsb.ca) offer online boundary information, which we recommend to clients who wish to locate within a specific school catchment. Magnet programs (French Immersion, for example) cast a wider net when it comes to which school your child can attend, but keep in mind that services like bussing may be lost if you choose to register outside your standard catchment area.

Dear David,
If we are buying a home and get into a bidding war, how much over ask should we be going? – Eager Buyer

Dear Eager,

The pricing strategies in play in our current seller’s market make it essential to look at the house, not the price tag, when considering how much to offer. Low inventory and an influx of Toronto buyers has prompted some local agents to list homes $20,000-$150,000 under market value in order to encourage bidding wars. In this environment, you need to consider what the comparables are selling for, rather than focusing on the listing price alone. If the frequency of multiple offers seems overwhelming, I remind my clients that we are hoping the market will normalize as the balance of the spring inventory rolls out.