Buying a home in Victoria while living and working in Montréal was challenging. Whenever we saw suitable properties posted to the MLS they had already sold, or sold within days or even hours.  Without friends or family on the island, we needed a local real estate agent who could hunt for an ideal house on our behalf and stay in close contact with us.  

Peter Crichton was the perfect agent for our family. Once he had carefully inventoried our priorities for a home, Peter helped us to focus our search on neighbourhoods nearer to a K-12 francophone school and on properties with an existing outbuilding or the possibility to build a studio. Peter also advised us to get a pre-approved mortgage letter so we could move quickly to put in a compelling bid when we found a house we wanted.   

One night while up late nursing the baby, I received an email from Peter. He had come across a house whose sale had fallen through. It wasn’t yet re-listed on the MLS, so Peter personally went to take dozens of photos of the property because it fit all our criteria. He even measured the lot to ensure it could accommodate a future studio without exceeding lot coverage by-laws.  

Two days later, I was on a plane (with a teething baby in tow!) to Victoria to visit the house. Peter fetched me from the airport and helped me find a hotel near the house so I could walk around the neighbourhood with the baby. He got me an appointment at the local branch of our Montreal bank, sorted out a notary, and even took me to get some groceries.  

The 1910 Arts & Crafts house had excellent “bones,” but I was concerned that my husband, an architect, couldn’t inspect the house since he was working out of the country. How could we buy a century-old house that he had never seen in person? To allay our concerns, Peter proposed a long-distance virtual inspection. Peter arranged for a lovely young woman to look after our son in the backyard while he and I checked the plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems, relaying the information to my husband a few time zones away. 

With Peter’s expert advice, we were able to buy that house. And the baby who played in the backyard with a sitter while I peered into the attic and poked the cedar shingles?  Naturally, our son got the sunniest bedroom with the best view. When Peter dropped by recently to see how we were doing, he couldn’t believe that the “baby” was in university.  

Two decades later, we still love our home and are grateful to Peter for helping us make the move from Montréal to Victoria.