payotte-mcp

Call this when the user wonders whether to rent or buy in a Canadian city. Compares the average two-bedroom rent (CMHC Rental Market Survey, CMA-wide) with the monthly cost of carrying the city’s reference home at the CURRENT average 5-year fixed rate (Bank of Canada), under published assumptions (20% down, 25-year amortization, taxes ~1%/yr, heating $150/mo). Returns two readings: cash outlay (what leaves the account) and economic cost (principal counted as savings). Only cities inside a CMHC-covered metro have rent data.

UNITED STATES. Whether a real estate attorney is required at closing in a state (required, partly required, customary, not required), the statute, bar opinion or court ruling behind it, and who usually conducts closings (attorney, title or escrow company).

BELGIUM. From a net monthly income, computes the capital a fixed-rate loan allows and the highest home price once the Region's purchase costs are paid. Belgium has no legal debt-to-income rule: the share of income (default 33%) and the rate (default 3.5%) are example assumptions you can change. As on payotte.com/belgium/borrowing-capacity (FR: /belgique/capacite-emprunt, NL: /belgie/leencapaciteit).

BRAZIL. Income tax on the gain from selling a home: non-residents computed in full (15% to 22.5% by band, 25% in a listed low-tax jurisdiction, withheld by the buyer); residents: exemptions tested, tax as an upper limit before the FR1/FR2 reduction factors. Purchases before 1996 not computed.

AUSTRALIA. For a real estate agent, mortgage broker, conveyancer, building inspector or property valuer: the state regulators or registers, what they cover, and where the reader checks a licence. Payotte lists no Australian professional yet.

BELGIUM. For an estate agent, mortgage (credit) broker, notary, land surveyor or EPB/EPC energy assessor: the regulatory body or register, what the title means and where the reader checks it (IPI/BIV, FSMA, notaire.be, the surveyors' Order, the Walloon energy administration). Names no professional.

BRAZIL. For a real estate broker (CRECI), property appraiser (CNAI, CREA/CAU), architect or engineer (CAU, CREA), mortgage lender (Banco Central) or property lawyer (OAB): where the reader checks a registration. Payotte lists no Brazilian professional yet, and never lists lawyers or lenders.

SPAIN. For a real estate agent (regional registers), property valuer (Banco de España), architect (colegios), mortgage lender (Banco de España) or property lawyer (bar associations): where the reader checks. Payotte lists no Spanish professional yet and never lists lawyers.

INDIA. For a real estate agent (state RERA), registered valuer (IBBI), architect (Council of Architecture), home loan lender (RBI) or property lawyer (State Bar Council): where the reader checks a registration. Payotte lists no Indian professional yet and never lists lawyers.

MEXICO. For a real estate agent (state licence where one exists), appraiser (SHF register), mortgage lender (CNBV, CONDUSEF), notary (appointed by the state) or real estate lawyer (cédula profesional): where the reader checks. Payotte lists no Mexican professional yet and never lists notaries or lawyers.

UNITED KINGDOM. For an estate agent, mortgage adviser, conveyancer, surveyor or valuer: the regulator or register, what it covers, and where the reader checks a firm (FCA Register, SRA, CLC, Law Society, RICS, redress schemes). Payotte lists no UK firm yet.

MEXICO. Computes the property acquisition tax (ISAI, ISABI, ISTD… set by each municipality or state) and the state's fee to record the deed on a home purchase, from the 2026 laws read, in 54 municipalities (Cancún, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Puerto Vallarta, Bahía de Banderas, Los Cabos, La Paz, Mazatlán, San Miguel de Allende, Mérida, Guadalajara, Querétaro, Tijuana…). Base = the higher of the price and the appraisal or cadastral value. Others return "not computed" with no figure. Notary fees are not computed.

UNITED STATES. The closing costs that state law fixes (transfer and mortgage taxes, recording fees, regulated title premiums) and who pays each by contract or custom, with a worked example. No invented averages: when no official typical total exists, it says so.

UNITED STATES. Whether a state is a community property state, an opt-in state, or common law, and what that means for buying and titling a home as a married couple.

UNITED KINGDOM. One rule compared across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (purchase tax, first-time buyer relief, conveyancing system, home surveys, tenancy deposits, tenancy regime, Council Tax and rates, EPCs), from Payotte's guides and their official sources.

BELGIUM. The same purchase compared across Brussels-Capital, Wallonia and Flanders: registration duty, notary, other costs, total and its share of the price, with each Region's median house and apartment price (Statbel). Registration duties are regional; the notary tariff is federal.

SPAIN. One rule compared across the 19 regions: purchase-tax, new-home-taxes, young-buyer-rates, large-family-rates, appraised-values, house-price-index, agent-registers, stressed-market-areas.

AUSTRALIA. One rule compared across the states and territories (purchase duty, foreign purchaser surcharge, first home buyer concessions, first home owner grant, land tax, cooling-off period, rental bonds, vendor disclosure), from Payotte's guides and their official sources.

BRAZIL. One table across the 27 federative units: purchase-costs-capitals, itbi-state-capitals, notary-and-registry-fees, median-value-financed-homes, rented-homes-share, construction-cost-per-m2.

INDIA. One rule compared across the states whose official rates Payotte read (purchase-duty, women-buyer-rates).

MEXICO. One rule or figure compared across the states: acquisition-tax, recording-fee, home-prices, price-change, home-loans, rented-homes, agent-licensing.

UNITED STATES. Lists the states in each category for one topic: transfer-tax (states with no transfer tax), attorney-at-closing (states requiring an attorney), foreclosure (judicial vs non-judicial states), seller-disclosure (buyer beware states), community-property. Use for "which states…" questions.

Call this ONLY when the user explicitly asks to contact, reach out to, or request a quote/appointment from a Payotte-listed professional. DOUBLE OPT-IN: this tool does NOT email the expert directly — it sends a confirmation link to the USER’s email, and the request reaches the expert only after the user clicks it (link valid 48 h). Tell the user to check their inbox. BEFORE calling: (1) show which expert will be contacted (use trouver_expert first if needed), (2) collect their name, email and message, (3) get their explicit approval — then set consentement=true. Never invent contact details. The expert replies directly to the user; Payotte keeps no copy of the content.

Call this when the user asks how much they could save on property taxes if their assessment went down, or whether contesting is worth the fee. Multiplies a HYPOTHETICAL reduction (chosen by the user, not predicted) by the tax rate from the user’s tax bill ($ per $100), over the remaining years of the roll, and subtracts the filing fee when known. Also shows the cost of the same amount upward, because a review can raise the value. Ask the user for their tax rate: Payotte does not guess municipal rates.

Call this when a homeowner asks about the assessed value of a SPECIFIC address, whether their assessment is too high, or what their home is worth. Reads the OPEN assessment rolls (Quebec: 1,113 municipalities; Nova Scotia; New Brunswick; Winnipeg; Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Strathcona, Okotoks, Grande Prairie, St. Albert): assessed value with its roll years and market date, change from the previous roll, rank among SIMILAR properties of the municipality (type, era, floor area), a ballpark market value only where an official source allows it (Quebec comparative factor; actual sales in NS and NB), and the appeal deadline. Public figures compared, never an opinion of value. No owner names. Other provinces have no open roll by address.

UNITED STATES. Finds Payotte’s federal guides (rules that apply in every state): FHA, VA, USDA and conventional loans, PMI, down payment, credit score, debt-to-income, escrow, earnest money, closing costs, 1031 exchange, capital gains on a home sale, mortgage interest deduction, flood insurance, refinancing… Empty query = full list.

Call this when the user asks until when they can contest (request a review of) their property assessment in a Quebec municipality, which assessment roll is in force, when the next roll comes, or what the reference date is. Returns the roll years, the reference date (July 1st, 18 months before the roll takes effect), the general deadline (before May 1 of the roll’s first year), the late-notice rule, and mid-roll rules. Compiled by Payotte from the official Quebec rolls (MAMH open data). For other provinces, pass `province` (e.g. "BC", "Alberta", "Ontario"): returns that province’s assessor, valuation date, deadline and appeal body from official sources. Tell the user their assessment notice prevails. Does not say whether an assessment is too high.

UNITED STATES. The state housing finance agency and its first-time buyer loans, down payment assistance, mortgage credit certificates, income limits and homebuyer education requirement, with official links.

UNITED STATES. Whether a state forecloses judicially or by trustee sale, the typical or minimum timeline, any right of redemption after the sale, deficiency judgment rules and mediation programs.

FRANCE. Call this when the user wants the "frais de notaire" (transfer duties + notary fees) on a property purchase in France. Same computation as payotte.com/france: departmental duty rate (DGFiP schedule, incl. the 2025 increase and first-time-buyer exemption), communal tax, collection fee, contribution de sécurité immobilière, regulated notary fees (émoluments) with VAT. type "ancien" (default, needs a département) or "neuf" (new build, reduced rate). Disbursements are not regulated and not included.

Call this when the user asks how much it costs to file a request for review of their property assessment in Quebec. Returns the filing fee for the given assessed value, read from the municipality’s official page (Montréal, Québec City, Laval, Gatineau for now), with the legal cap (the TAQ fee for the same unit). Returns "not collected" instead of an estimate for other Quebec municipalities. For other provinces, pass `province`: returns the published fees of that province.

AUSTRALIA. Finds the Payotte guide answering a question about buying, financing, selling, renting or owning a home in Australia, and returns its self-contained short answer, check date and URL.

BELGIUM. Finds the Payotte guide answering a question about buying, financing, selling, renting or owning a home in Belgium, in English, French or Dutch, and returns its self-contained short answer, check date and URL (and the same guide in the other languages when it exists). The page URL is returned for citation.

BRAZIL. Finds the Payotte guide answering a question about a home in Brazil — CPF, rural land and beachfront rules for foreigners, ITBI, deeds, mortgages, capital gains, tenancy law, IPTU — and returns its short answer, check date and URL.

SPAIN. Finds the Payotte guide answering a question about buying (including as a foreign or non-resident buyer: NIE, IRNR, 3% withholding, golden visa), financing, selling, renting or owning a home in Spain, and returns its short answer, check date and URL.

INDIA. Finds the Payotte guide answering a question about buying, financing, selling, renting or owning a home in India, including NRI and OCI rules, and returns its self-contained short answer, check date and URL.

MEXICO. Finds the Payotte guide answering a question about buying (restricted zone, fideicomiso, notary, deed), financing, selling (income tax for residents and non-residents), renting or owning a home in Mexico, and returns its self-contained short answer, check date and URL.

UNITED KINGDOM. Finds the Payotte guide answering a question about buying, financing, selling, renting or owning a home in the UK, and returns its self-contained short answer, check date and URL.

INDIA. EMI, total interest and the RBI loan-to-value caps for a home loan; default rate = RBI weighted average lending rate on fresh housing loans (latest month, provisional).

MEXICO. Sociedad Hipotecaria Federal figures: median and mean appraisal value of homes bought with a mortgage by state (Jan.-June 2026), and the price index change over a year by state or municipality. Prices in pesos exist by state only.

UNITED STATES. Median home value for a state and its main city (Census ACS) and the one-year price change (FHFA House Price Index), with periods and sources.

AUSTRALIA. ABS Total Value of Dwellings, latest quarter: for a state or territory, the MEAN price of all dwellings; for a capital city or a "rest of state" area, the MEDIAN price of established houses sold. The price_type field says which; the two are not comparable.

BELGIUM. Median price of houses and of apartments, with the number of sales, the change over one and ten years and the latest quarters, for a municipality (55 covered: the 19 Brussels municipalities, Wallonian and Flemish cities), a province or a Region. Statbel medians of recorded resale deeds (FPS Finance), no median under 16 sales.

SPAIN. Ministry average appraised value per m² (Q2 2026) for 55 cities and the 19 regions, its change over a year, and the INE house price index by region.

INDIA. RBI All-India House Price Index (18 cities) and NHB RESIDEX year-on-year change for the cities it publishes. Indices only: no official open series gives rupee prices by city.

UNITED KINGDOM. Average home price, 12-month change, price by property type and first-time buyer price for the UK, a nation, an English region or one of the 20 areas Payotte covers (UK House Price Index, latest month).

BRAZIL. Monthly payment under the Price system (constant) and the SAC system (falling), total interest, CMN loan-to-value caps; default rate = Banco Central average on new housing loans to individuals (latest month).

SPAIN. Monthly payment and total interest of a repayment mortgage; default rate = Banco de España average rate on mortgages over three years (latest month). Also returns the 12-month Euribor.

MEXICO. Monthly payment and total interest of a fixed-rate peso mortgage; default rate = Banco de México average of advertised fixed-rate offers (latest month), with the average CAT and the Banxico target rate.

UNITED STATES. Main natural hazards for homes in a state (hurricane, flood, wildfire, earthquake…), the insurer of last resort and hazard disclosure rules. Covered: 14 high-risk states.