Real Estate Knowledge
Real Estate Glossary
Essential real estate terms and definitions to help you navigate the property market with confidence.
Assessed Value
Assessed value is the value a government authority (usually a city or municipality) assigns to a home or other piece of real estate for property tax purposes.
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Cadastral Description
A cadastral description is a textual description of a property in the Quebec land register. It includes details like lot boundaries, dimensions, survey references, and parcel location. The purpose of the cadastral description is to legally identify the property in words. This is so that anyone reading the land registry can know exactly which property is being referred to.
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Cadastral Number
Each property (or lot) in Quebec has a cadastral number (numéro de lot). This is a unique number that identifies the property.
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Civil Code of Quebec
In Quebec, the Civil Code of Quebec (CCQ) serves as the provincial law. It regulates how people and businesses interact with each other. It covers areas like property ownership, contracts, family law, inheritance, and civil liability.
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CMHC (the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation)
The CMHC is an acronym that stands for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. It is one of Canada’s federal Crown Corporations. It has the primary mandate of providing mortgage liquidity, assisting in establishing affordable housing development and providing arms length advice to the Canadian Government and housing industry.
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Common law: A Clear Guide to Courts, the Constitution & Civil Law
Common law is the system used across Canada. It is mainly based on the idea of precedent: when a court makes a decision about a case, that decision becomes a part of the law of the country. For example, the duty not to hide serious defects when selling a home did not come from one […]
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Days On Market (DOM)
Days on Market (DOM) is a real estate metric that tells you how long a property has been listed for sale before it goes under contract. It’s usually counted from the day the property is officially listed on the market until an promise to purchase is accepted.
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For Sale By Owner (FSBO) in Quebec: Costs, Benefits, Risks, and How It Works
For Sale By Owner (FSBO) describes a situation where a homeowner sells their property without using a licensed real estate agent.
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GDS (Gross Debt Service ratio)
GDS is an acronym for Gross Debt Service ratio. It is a financial ratio that helps lenders determine how much mortgage you can afford.
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Human In The Loop AI
Human-In-The-Loop AI (or HITL), is a system where the AI does the heavy data work, but humans review, correct, and guide the results. This human oversight ensures the final output stays accurate, safe, and higher-quality than what the AI could produce on its own.
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Hypothec of construction: What is it and who does it effect
A hypothec of construction is a legal claim or lien that a contractor, builder, or supplier can place on a property for unpaid construction or renovation work.
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Loan-To-Value (LTV) Ratio
Loan-to-value ratio (LTV) shows how much of a property’s price is financed by a mortgage versus your down payment. A higher LTV means you’re borrowing more of the home’s value.
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Montreal Zoning Laws: Key insights for buyers and sellers in 2026
For many property owners, zoning rules are something they rarely think about — until the municipality claims there is a zoning violation on their property. What begins as a routine construction project, or renovation such as converting a plex, finishing a basement, adding an extension, can suddenly turn into a dispute with the city with […]
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OACIQ
The OACIQ (Organisme d’autoréglementation du courtage immobilier du Québec) is the organization mandated by the Quebec Government to regulate and enforce the Real Estate Brokerage Act. In effect, the OACIQ oversees the actions of all real estate brokers to protect the public.
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Property title: What is it, How it works, Risks and Solutions
The property title is the legal record maintained by the Quebec Land Registry that proves you are the official owner of the property.
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Quebec Land Register
The Quebec Land Register (Registre foncier du Québec) is a public register that records all real-estate transactions carried out in Quebec since its creation in 1841.
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Sale-to-List Ratio
The sale-to-list ratio is a key real estate metric that compares a home’s final sale price to its original listing price, expressed as a percentage. It tells you how close a property sold relative to what it was listed for. This essentially shows you how effectively a home was priced and sold in the market.
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Total Debt Service (TDS) ratio
Your Total Debt Service (TDS) ratio shows what percentage of your gross income goes to all your monthly debt payments (housing plus other loans/credit cards). This acts as a key affordability measure for lenders, who typically want you to spend less than 44% and ideally between 36-40% on your monthly mortgage payments.
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Verified Reviews
Verified reviews are reviews that the Immovision platform confirms came from a real client who actually used the service or completed a transaction. Unlike anonymous or unverified reviews, where anyone can leave feedback, verified reviews require some form of proof or validation.
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