The References
Calgary real estate resources
Who we point you to, and when.
Questions come up in this work that are not ours to answer. What the Residential Tenancies Act requires before a deposit comes back. What a builder's licence covers. What it costs to register a transfer at Land Titles. Which benefit a parent qualifies for at seventy-two. The organizations below hold those answers, and we keep this list because we reach for it ourselves.
Every link goes to the organization itself rather than to a copy we saved, so the page you land on is the one its publisher maintains. The trade is that publishers rearrange on their own schedule. If a link has moved, the organization's name is the search.
Home maintenance
Health Canada's radon guide · the federal guide for homeowners on the gas, what it is and how a home gets tested for it.
Investors and landlords
Rentfaster · where Calgary rentals list, and where a landlord reads the going rate on a comparable two-bedroom before setting one.
Landlords and tenants, from the Government of Alberta · the province's own statement of what each side owes the other under the Residential Tenancies Act, the deposit rules included.
Laws for landlords and tenants in Alberta · the Centre for Public Legal Education's site on the same ground, written for the person holding the lease rather than for the lawyer.
The Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service · the province's alternative to court for landlord and tenant disputes, for the point where talking has stopped.
Short-term rental licensing at the City of Calgary · the business licence a short-term rental needs inside city limits, with requirements that turn on the number of rooms offered.
Condos
Understanding condo finances before you buy · CPLEA's guide to reading the corporation's budget and reserve fund before an offer goes in.
Buying and owning a condominium · the Government of Alberta's booklet on the purchase and the years of ownership after it.
Pre-possession issues on a new condo · CPLEA's guide to the stretch between signing for a new build and taking possession, while the building is still drawings and a schedule.
Condo documents, decoded · our own Field Guide to what arrives in an Alberta document package, and the ten-day clock the Condominium Property Act puts on producing it.
Due diligence
The Alberta builder registry · the public record the province keeps on residential builder licences, searchable by company name before anybody signs a construction contract.
Closing costs in Alberta · our own page on what a purchase costs beyond the price, with the calculator that totals cash to close across four down payment scenarios.
Seniors
Alberta's affordable housing programs · the province's index of housing help, seniors lodges and rent assistance among the programs.
Alberta 55 plus · the association that runs provincial games and activity programs for people fifty-five and over, with zones across the province.
Elder abuse help · where the province names the signs and lists the lines that answer, for the day something at a parent's house reads wrong.
Alberta seniors health benefits · the provincial coverage that opens at sixty-five, prescription drugs and dental assistance among the benefits.
The Seniors Home Adaptation and Repair Program · the provincial home-equity loan for the repairs and adaptations that keep a household in its own house longer.
Public pensions, from the Government of Canada · the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security in one place, application paths included.
The Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee · the provincial office behind guardianship and trusteeship, for the decisions a person can no longer make alone.
Veterans Affairs Canada · the federal department's front door for veterans' services and benefits, pensions through long-term care.
The FLC Seniors Club · a Calgary club whose activity groups run from golf to bridge, for members fifty-five and up.
The associations
The Real Estate Council of Alberta · the consumer side of the regulator that writes the rules we work under, where a licence gets checked and a complaint gets filed.
The Calgary Real Estate Board · the board whose MLS® System carries the listings, and the publisher of the monthly statistics our Index reads from.
The Alberta Real Estate Association · the provincial association behind the standard forms, the residential purchase contract among them.
The Canadian Real Estate Association · the national association that owns the REALTOR® and MLS® marks and runs realtor.ca.
Condo Law for Albertans · CPLEA's site on condominium law, bylaws through the dispute tribunal.
The Condo Owners Forum Society of Alberta · the association where Alberta condo owners and board members compare notes.
Buying and owning
Alberta Land Titles · the register where ownership actually changes hands, transfers and mortgages both.
SPIN2 · the province's search system, where a copy of a title or a registered plan gets ordered.
CMHC's buying guides · the federal housing agency's guides to the purchase, with the homebuying calculators beside them.
Property assessment and tax at the City of Calgary · the page behind the January assessment notice and the June tax bill, TIPP enrolment included.
For your numbers, talk to a mortgage professional.
Where we come in
The organizations above hold the law and the programs. The Desk holds what we have learned taking purchases and sales through them. When the question is about one address rather than a category, start the conversation.
Ricky Jin
Founder
FOUNDRY COMPANY · Marketing & Design
Real Estate Professionals Inc.