# kijiji sale



## faline (Feb 10, 2011)

Starting the process of a private kijiji sale and I'm learning as I go.
Buyer (conditional offer) wants a copy of my 2018 tax bill. Any reason I shouldn't email him a copy? (privacy concern?)

thanks in advance


----------



## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

Is this a property and a property tax bill you are talking about? 
NO. Absolutely not. Too much personal info and potential for a scam. They could potentially re-mortgage or even sell the place out from under you. 
Selling a property on kijjii would be the ultimate in poor judgement IMO.

If you are talking about some other item -similarly NO.


----------



## Just a Guy (Mar 27, 2012)

Most jurisdictions have an online way of confirming the property tax bill based on address. Otherwise, you could send him a heavily redacted copy of the bill. Technically, you should just be able to tell them the number because there are laws that punish you for lying about that kind of information.


----------



## Mortgage u/w (Feb 6, 2014)

As far as I know, property tax are public information. At least it is in my neck of the woods.

I'm assuming the buyer is being asked by his financial institution to provide it to qualify his mortgage?

Personally, I don't see any danger. If someone wanted to scam your property, it wouldn't be with a tax bill - that's for sure.


----------



## faline (Feb 10, 2011)

thanks for feedback, three very different answers! 

OnlyMyOpinion: why is selling via kijiji the ultimate in poor judgement?
Yes, a property and property tax bill.

Just A Guy: I'm in Ottawa. by any chance, do you know how we can confirm publicly online?


----------



## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

Well it is OMO. 

I just feel that DIY for a large RE transaction risks missing something in a field that I don't regularly work in. 
Whether the marketing, showings, or closings, in multiple RE transactions over the years, I've never felt that the commission wasn't money well spent. In fact a good realtor has provided connections & value I wouldn't have otherwise accessed. 

But I know people do sell DIY successfully, so I certainly wish you all the best!

PS. I'm also anal about personal info, so clearly my opinion on that is not necessarily one to heed either.


----------



## faline (Feb 10, 2011)

Thanks for response.

I was planning to list my place and had a real estate agent look at it briefly and we agreed it should be listed at 315k. It's a condo terrace home so easy to assess based on previous sales. I'd have to hire a stager and deal with showings. 

Then I saw a "looking for" ad on kijiji so got in touch. They came by, they want it. Selling for the 315K, splitting saved realtor fees. If I sold for full 315k with a realtor I'd walk away with over 10k less than the private sale.
Yes, it will be a learning curve to figure out how to go about this, but I figure as long as I don't sign anything without checking with my lawyer, and giving any info like property taxes without checking to see if it's a good idea first, it's 10k well saved.

If I'm missing anything, I'm all ears.

thanks again.


----------



## faline (Feb 10, 2011)

Also, for cottages in Val-Des-Monts you can look up any property tax bill just inputting the address. So it seems strange that information is available to anyone online if its a potential for a scam. I checked all my neighbours property tax bills because I was curious and it was available.


----------



## nobleea (Oct 11, 2013)

faline said:


> Also, for cottages in Val-Des-Monts you can look up any property tax bill just inputting the address. So it seems strange that information is available to anyone online if its a potential for a scam. I checked all my neighbours property tax bills because I was curious and it was available.


In Edmonton, there's a public map website where one can look up the city assessed value of any property in the city, as well as the property tax account number. You won't get the tax bill, but a little digging can determine the mill rate (tax rate) and just multiply that by the assessed value to get the property tax.
MLS listings would have the annual tax bill amount on the listing.


----------



## Mortgage u/w (Feb 6, 2014)

faline said:


> ....Then I saw a "looking for" ad on kijiji so got in touch. They came by, they want it. Selling for the 315K, splitting saved realtor fees....


This part I'd be wary. How lucky do you and your buyer have to be to have found each other from a 'wanted' ad? 

As I stated earlier, providing the tax bill is not an issue since its public information - as you have also witnessed.

If I were you, I'd do some research on the buyers. Find out where they live, work, etc. If you're not too sure, I'd have your Notary be your intermediary. They will validate the buyer's identity and also make the transaction more structured for you both. This way, you don't overlook anything.

I know the buyer usually chooses the Notary, but in this case, you should maybe force to deal with one you trust.


----------



## Longtimeago (Aug 8, 2018)

So you saw an ad on kijiji by someone saying they were looking to buy a condo terrace home in your area and you got in touch. They came by and looked at your property and offered you full asking price on the spot. Is that right? If so, then lucky you. People do sell privately obviously but I agree with Mortgage u/w, that you should be wary.

They are asking you for property tax info, nothing wrong with that perhaps but what are you asking them for? Have they given you a written offer to purchase? Have they sent a deposit to your lawyer to be held in trust until the sale is finalized? Are you communicating through your lawyer to their lawyer?

If as part of a written 'conditional offer' they are asking for this info, then you should be going through that written offer with your lawyer and taking advice on how to respond to any conditions including property tax info.


----------



## faline (Feb 10, 2011)

A lot of people made me wary of selling my condo through kijiji. Now that it's all said and done, I can report that it went really well. I had no issues and filling out the forms was fairly straight forward. Our lawyers made sure they were done properly.
I saved 2.5% + tax, buyer saved 2.5%

It was especially great for the buyer IMO because he could ask me questions directly about the place. 
every time I had a question about the place I bought I had to ask my agent, who had to ask the sellers agent, who had to ask the seller....and back. It was often like broken telephone! So annoying. 

Maybe I got lucky with my kijiji sale, but worked great.


----------



## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

hey. good for you. so, you got the money? no problems? done deal?


----------



## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

We did a private sale last year , the buyer got their lawyer and we had ours.The lawyers dealt with it and we never directly provided anything to buyer at all.It went very well for both with 0 real estate commission.


----------



## Ag Driver (Dec 13, 2012)

Deleted.


----------



## Longtimeago (Aug 8, 2018)

Glad it went well. Not all do and anyone reading this good news ending should also keep that in mind.


----------



## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

Ag Driver said:


> Fantastic. I have always thought the self made real estate industry is a bit of a scam. Why should some stranger make money on my single largest purchase in my entire life. There are pro's and con's and certain aspects that some people are willing to pay for, but I for one want to sell privately when it comes time.
> 
> It would be great if you could outline the process.


agree. but Ive seen a number of people in our neighborhood try to go the private route...then a month or 2 later we see the real estate signs on the lawn..... private doesnt seem to have a high batting average, and we're in one of the more sought-after neighborhoods...


----------

