Section 01
Maps, boundaries and what actually adjoins the lot
Start with the registered plan and a current survey rather than with the fence. Establish where the parcel ends, whether municipal reserve, park, utility right of way or private land lies beyond it, and whether any structure, terrace or stair sits outside the boundary.
Then compare the surveyed position against the municipality's mapped valley and ravine information. A property can be entirely conventional in title and still sit inside a mapped area that governs what may be built or replaced.
Section 02
Slope, top of bank and setback questions
The questions to ask are where the mapped top of bank sits relative to the house, what setback applies, whether any part of the existing structure sits inside it, and what that would mean for a future addition, replacement or rebuild after a loss.
None of these is a visual judgement. Ask the municipality for the mapped position and the applicable requirement, and treat a neighbour's recent construction as no evidence at all about what your parcel permits.
Section 03
Geotechnical context and when an engineer is required
Ask whether a geotechnical report exists for the property or the immediate area, when it was prepared, what it examined, and whether its recommendations were implemented and maintained. An old report addressing a different question is not coverage.
Where the property has a retaining structure, a history of movement, an unexplained repair on the slope side, or a planned addition near the bank, an engineer's opinion is not optional and no website can substitute for it.
This atlas never states whether a slope is stable or a property is compliant. Those are professional and regulatory determinations.
Section 04
Drainage and water movement
Establish the approved grading design, whether the grade has been altered by landscaping, where water leaves the site, and what happens to it after it leaves. Ask about sump systems, weeping tile, backwater valves, downspout routing and any history of water entry.
Water arriving from uphill neighbours matters as much as water leaving. Where recent construction has occurred above the property, ask specifically what changed about the flow across it.
Section 05
Flood and hazard information
Ask which municipal or provincial mapping applies, what it depicts, and its date and limitations. Mapping products differ in purpose, and a map that shows one kind of hazard does not speak to another.
Then ask an insurer directly, before conditions are removed, because insurability and the terms attached to it are a commercial question that mapping does not answer.
Section 06
Vegetation, trees and slope maintenance obligations
Ask what rules govern removal or pruning on the property and on any adjoining public land, whether previous clearing was authorised, and who is responsible for maintaining vegetation on the bank.
Vegetation on a slope is usually performing drainage and stabilisation work. A cleared view is a change to a system, and the question is who authorised it and what replaced its function.
Section 07
Permits, utilities, access and seasonal observation
Request the permit history for the house, decks, stairs, retaining structures and any accessory building, and ask which items have no record. Confirm utility routing, private stairs or paths crossing public land, and any agreement governing them.
Visit in more than one season if the timeline allows. Spring melt and heavy rain reveal drainage behaviour that a dry summer viewing conceals entirely.
Section 08
Insurance questions and professional-review triggers
Ask a broker what coverage is available for this specific address, what exclusions apply, what the deductible structure looks like, and whether any prior claim history attaches to the property.
Trigger a professional review whenever an answer is missing, contradictory or dated: an absent geotechnical report near a bank, an altered grade with no record, a structure with no permit, unexplained slope repair, or a survey predating visible work.
Section 09
How to use the printed brief
The brief lists your selected questions with space for the answer and its source. Send the relevant portion to the municipality, the seller's representative, your lawyer, your insurer and your engineer, and record which authority answered each item.
Answers gathered this way become the basis of contract conditions. Unanswered items should stay visible in the document rather than quietly dropping out of the process.