Municipal Property Assessment Corp
, also known as MPAC. is responsible for property assessments in your city. You can read more about their corporate overview on their website http://www.mpac.ca/about/corporate_overview/default.asp
When a new home is registered with the municipality, MPAC gathers relevant information such as lot size, building size, square footage, bedrooms, and services for the purposes of assessing your property tax obligations. In the past, access to this information was usually limited to municipalities and the home owners. However in 2012, MPAC launched AboutMyProperty™
,
an online portal allowing assessment information to be readily available electronically. From there, property owners can view up to 100 properties on an interactive map or through an address search, see basic information on each of these 100 properties and view a detailed property report on up to 24 properties of their choosing. REALTORS® have access to detailed information on any property for a small fee. Specific information on square footage is very important to REALTORS® because it allows us to verify the measurements included in residential listings. It would be important for buyers to know whether they are paying for a 2200 square foot home or a 1900 square foot home. This means it has become very important for home owners to verify and correct any inaccuracies in their MPAC assessments. I would go further to suggest that it is also very important for home owners to keep copies of their floor plans. This is obviously not possible for older homes, but going forward, it should be a rule of thumb to keep all documentation associated with the characteristics of your home. The next time you decide to move, verifying this information could otherwise be a challenge and affect the sale price of your home.
Francesca Belle, Sales Representative EXIT REALTY HARE (Peel)
