Buying in the Laurentians: The Inspection Guide

The north shore: suburbs and pyrite

Blainville, Boisbriand, Sainte-Thérèse, Mirabel, Saint-Eustache and Saint-Jérôme have many neighbourhoods of bungalows, cottages and recent homes. Houses from the 1970s to 1990s are due for drain, window, roof and electrical panel replacements.

Cases of pyrite-bearing fill have been documented in several north-shore municipalities, in buildings from the 1970s to the 2000s. A heaved or star-cracked slab, partitions rubbing on the ceiling or distorted door frames should lead to a fill test before buying.

For a new home in the many recent developments, the acceptance inspection and the inspection before the warranty ends protect your recourse.

Lac des Deux Montagnes and the floods

The shores of Lac des Deux Montagnes and the Rivière des Mille Îles saw major floods in spring 2017 and in 2019. In 2019, a dike breach in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac forced thousands of residents to evacuate. Deux-Montagnes, Pointe-Calumet and Saint-Eustache also have exposed areas.

For a property in these areas, check flood-zone mapping and history with the municipality and the seller. The inspector looks for flood traces, assesses repairs and checks protections: backwater valve, sump pump, raised equipment.

Also ask what protective work has been done since, like rebuilding or raising dikes, and talk to your insurer before waiving your conditions.

Dikes change the picture but don't erase it. A house protected by a dike is safer from ordinary spring floods, yet it depends on that structure being maintained, and insurers and lenders may still treat the area differently. Ask the municipality about the dike's status and any work planned.

Cottages and resort homes

Saint-Sauveur, Sainte-Adèle, Val-David, Mont-Tremblant, Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts: the Laurentians are Québec's great resort region. Cottages, mountain condos and waterfront homes are in high demand, and many were enlarged or converted into year-round homes.

For these properties, the septic system and the well are the two costliest items to fix. Several lakeside municipalities monitor septic compliance. Ask for the permit, age and pump-out records, and have the well water lab-tested.

Sloped lots, roofs under heavy snow loads, wood heating and floors over crawl spaces are other items to check carefully.

Short-term rental is another consideration in the region. If you plan to rent the property to visitors, check the municipal rules and registration requirements first, and remember that guests expect working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, safe stairs and a reliable heating system, all things the inspection reports on.

The Upper Laurentians and Mont-Laurier

Further north, around Mont-Laurier, Rivière-Rouge and Ferme-Neuve, properties are often rural, with a well and septic system, and partly wood-heated. Winters are longer, and freeze protection is an important issue.

Some properties in the Mont-Laurier area are reportedly affected by a concrete problem similar to Mauricie's pyrrhotite. For a house in the area whose foundation shows spider-web cracking, discuss it with the inspector and consider a lab analysis of the concrete.

Remote cottages also need particular attention to winter access and private road maintenance.

Planning your inspection in the Laurentians

Book as soon as the offer is accepted, specifying the property type. For a 1970s–2000s home on the north shore, allow time for a possible fill test. For a cottage, combine the inspection, water test and septic assessment.

The cottage market is very active in spring and fall. Leave a few days' margin in your conditions, and account for the lab's turnaround for water.

For a property on Lac des Deux Montagnes or a resort lake, check the mapping, shoreline protection rules and insurability in parallel with the inspection: in the Laurentians, these three questions often decide the transaction's fate before the report is even read.

• North shore: pyrite and drain
• Lac des Deux Montagnes: floods and dikes
• Cottages: septic, well, slopes, snow
• Mont-Laurier: concrete cracks
• New homes: acceptance and warranty

Questions to ask the seller in the Laurentians

For a north-shore house, ask whether the slab was ever tested for pyrite and whether work was done, with documents. For a waterfront property, ask whether it flooded in 2017 or 2019, what work followed and whether a claim was made.

For a cottage, ask for the septic permit, pump-out records, water test results, heating type and chimney maintenance. Also ask how the access road is maintained in winter and at what cost.