Never buy a house without a home inspection

Posted on February 22, 2012 by mj

Ontario’s hot housing market continues to spark bidding wars and, in many cases, buyers are being advised by agents to make “clean” offers to get the house they want.

By “clean”, the agent means an offer without any conditions in order to make it more acceptable to the seller. Big mistake. I constantly hear stories from ‘successful’ home buyers, who bought without an inspection. They later uncovered major problems, many of which could have been identified with a proper inspection. This meant large repair bills and unfortunate lawsuits involving unhappy buyers, sellers and real estate agents.

In a column last September, I wrote about the issue and offered a simple 20-item home inspection checklist for buyers. The home inspection system is far from perfect, but it is the best way to safeguard your interest.

Full Story Below:

By Mark Weisleder | The Toronto Star

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Become a Home Owner in Peel with Down Payment assisstance of up to $15,000

Posted on February 21, 2012 by mj

Buying a home is one of the biggest decisions you will ever make.

Owning a home is a long-term investment and will always be one of the best investment opportunities available.

Become a Home Owner in Peel (Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon) with Down Payment assisstance of up to $15,000, for those who qualify.

Participant Eligibility

  • Applicants must be 18 years of age or older
  • Applicants must not own or have an interest in another residential property in Canada or elsewhere
  • The home must be the sole and principal residence of the purchaser
  • The applicant must currently be renting and looking to buy a sole and principal residence
  • The applicant must have a total gross (pre-tax) household income not exceeding $80,000
  • The applicant must be able to obtain a mortgage pre-approval from a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) approved and insured lender and must submit it with their application
  • Participants may not include anticipated rental income from a portion of the property in order to obtain a mortgage
  • The applicant must be able to pay all additional closing costs

This program will assist eligible applicants who have a total gross (pre-tax) household income of $80,000 or less to purchase a home in the Region of Peel that does not exceed a purchase price of $280,000.

The down payment loan is for a 20-year period and no interest is charged if:

  • The home remains the sole and principal residence of the owner. The home is not to be rented, leased or sold in the 20-year period.
  • On the 20th anniversary date of the agreement, the loan is automatically forgiven provided there has been no default.

Don’t let your Dream pass you by, Buy your home today. If you already own a home, pass this information to a friend, family or neighbour who is a First-time Home Buyer.

To get started, Call Savita at 416-880-9661

As funding for this program is limited, participants are selected on a first-come, first-serve basis.

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GTA real estate: Average price nudges $500,000

Posted on February 16, 2012 by mj

House sales have softened across the country — Toronto included — although the average price of a home in the GTA continued to edge closer to $500,000 in January.

Sales activity was down in over half of Canada’s housing markets, led by an almost 3 per cent decline in sales across the GTA when adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, according to January housing statistics released Wednesday by the Canadian Real Estate Board (CREA.)

New listings were also down a seasonally adjusted 4.3 per cent across the GTA, as the low inventory of new resale properties on the market continues to be a problem, especially in the 416 regions of Toronto.

That helped drive up the average house price across the GTA by 3.8 per cent just from December to January to $486,654, according to CREA.

The average GTA home was worth about 8.5 per cent more in January than over the same period a year ago, the statistics show.

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By Susan Pigg | The Toronto Star

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Family Day Long Weekend: Cheap hotel rates – An insider’s tips

Posted on February 15, 2012 by mj

I worked in the hotel industry for 10 years and enjoyed several company perks, including cheap hotel rates across the country.

Even though I no longer qualify for an employee discount, I still refuse to pay the standard rate for a hotel room. Here are five tips to get cheap hotel rates:

Ask friends or family: Canadian hotels employ 284,000 workers and there’s a good chance you know one of them. Hotels offer cheap rates for employees’ friends and family, up to 50 per cent off, which are often valid across the entire chain. If you someone in the industry, ask them to help book your room.

You may already get a preferred rate: Most hotels offer preferred rates to government and corporate employees and they will often honour these rates for personal use. You can also get a discount if you belong to a professional association or carry an auto-club membership.

Off-peak saving: Most resorts and sports destinations fill up on the weekends, and then empty out on Sunday/Monday. Conversely, most big cities are busy with meetings and corporate travel from Tuesday to Thursday, especially the downtown hotels. Save up to 50 per cent by traveling during off-peak times.

Book in advance – Hotels offer advanced booking discounts on their website. The earlier you book, the more you save. It sounds straightforward, but there is a catch. The bigger the discount, the more conditions apply to your booking. For example, a 14-day advanced purchase rate likely comes with a no-cancellation clause, and you’ll have to pay up-front, rather than at checkout.

Third party websites – Look at the rates offered on Expedia.ca or Travelocity.ca. Hotels are required to offer rate parity to these third party websites, which means the lowest rate offered on the hotel website must also be offered on Expedia and Travelocity.

Full Story:

By Robb Engen | The Toronto Star

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CMHC sees steady housing market ahead

Posted on February 15, 2012 by mj

OTTAWA — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is predicting the Canadian housing market will remain fairly stable this year and next, with little change from 2011 in prices, new home construction and sales of existing homes.

The national housing agency said Monday in its first-quarter 2012 report that the foreseen stability stems from an economy that appears set to expand at only a moderate pace over the next two years. The Bank of Canada’s key overnight rate — which affects mortgages tied to prime rates — will likely remain low until mid-2013, which should also act to keep activity on an even keel.

“With the Canadian economy set to expand at a moderate pace and mortgage rates expected to remain low, activity levels in 2012 in both new home construction and sales of existing homes will stay close to levels seen in 2011,” CMHC deputy economist Mathieu Laberge said in a statement.

Low mortgage rates and high demand have driven housing prices sharply higher in large urban centres such as Toronto and Vancouver, leading many experts to warn that a housing bubble could burst when rates finally do rise.

Full Story Below:

The Toronto Star

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Down payment assistance up to $15,000

Posted on February 14, 2012 by mj

If you live in the Region of Peel (Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon) and are looking to buy a home, down payment assistance of up to $15,000 is available, here is what you need

  • Applicants must be 18 years of age or older
  • Applicants must not own or have an interest in another residential property in Canada or elsewhere
  • The home must be the sole and principal residence of the purchaser
  • The applicant must currently be renting and looking to buy a sole and principal residence
  • The applicant must have a total gross (pre-tax) household income not exceeding $80,000
  • The applicant must be able to obtain a mortgage pre-approval from a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) approved and insured lender and must submit it with their application
  • Participants may not include anticipated rental income from a portion of the property in order to obtain a mortgage
  • The applicant must be able to pay all additional closing costs

As funding for this program is limited, participants are selected on a first-come, first-serve basis. There is no wait list for this program; once all funding has been allocated, program will end.

Call me for more details, Call NOW 416-880-9661

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Toronto real estate: Average detached house $606,600

Posted on February 7, 2012 by mj

The Canadian Real Estate Association has launched a new system for tracking home and condo sales prices aimed at giving buyers and sellers a more precise picture of what’s happening right in their neighbourhoods.

The new system will track Canadian and regional home sales and price escalations based on “benchmark prices.” Those benchmarks are based on quantitative factors (the number of rooms, bathrooms, age of home) and qualitative factors (proximity to schools, parks) and are intended to shine a light on highly localized factors that may be skewing prices up or down but not necessarily reflect market conditions.

CREA has also established a new MLS Home Price Index — similar to the Consumer Price Index which measures price inflation — that tracks prices relative to January, 2005 based on house type, be it single-family homes with one or two storeys, townhouses, row homes or condo apartments.

As of January, the benchmark price of a single-family home in Toronto hit $606,600 — $100,000 more than the $499,800 benchmark price for a similar home in the rest of Canada. That Toronto home cost 50.3 per cent more than it would have in January, 2005.

Over time, far more localized data will become available for MLS districts that should paint a clearer picture of neighbourhood trends.

“One of the key goals is to take a little bit of volatility out of housing statistics,” says Jason Mercer, senior analyst for the Toronto Real Estate Board. “It’s going to provide a good tool for consumers to understand where their home fits into the market.”

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By Susan Pigg | The Toronto Star

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Average Toronto house price nears $500,000

Posted on February 3, 2012 by mj

Low interest rates, and low inventories of houses for sale, helped push house prices up almost 9 per cent across the GTA this January over last, according to statistics released by the Toronto Real Estate Board Friday.

The average sale price across the GTA hit $463,534 in January. But average price of a home in the Toronto 416 regions came in just shy of $500,000 — $499,045 — compared to $442,380 in the 905 regions, TREB says.

Some 4,567 GTA homes changed hands through the MLS system last month, up 8.8 per cent from almost 4,200 sales in January, 2011.

“Low inventory levels have kept competition between buyers strong, resulting in robust annual rates of price growth over the last year,” said TREB senior market analyst Jason Mercer.

TREB is hoping that the higher prices will encourage more people to list their homes, which could see more inventory come on the market in the second half of this year.

Full Story Below:

By Susan Pigg | The Toronto Star

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GTA REALTORS® Report Mid-January 2012 Resale Housing Market Figures

Posted on January 23, 2012 by mj

TORONTO, January 17, 2012 – Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 1,506 sales through the TorontoMLS® system during the first two weeks of January 2012. This result represented a six per cent increase compared to the first 14 days of January 2011. New listings were also up on a year-over-year basis, but by a lesser 3.7 per cent.

“The market didn’t miss a beat after the holiday season, with robust sales growth continuing and sellers’ market conditions remaining in place. Strong competition between buyers continued to push the average selling price higher in the Greater Toronto Area relative to a year ago,” said Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) President Richard Silver.

The average selling price during the first two weeks of 2012 was $444,473 – up by more than 8.5 per cent compared to the same period in 2011.

“Prices were up for most major home categories in the GTA in comparison to last year. The strongest price growth was for single-detached homes in the City of Toronto. The average price of singles in the 416 area code was up by 22 per cent year-over-year, pointing to a greater weighting of higher end detached homes changing hands compared to the same time last year,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

Summary of TorontoMLS® Sales and Average Price (January 1 – 14)
2012 2011
Sales Average Price Sales Average Price
City of Toronto (“416″) 552 $467,152 581 $416,647
Rest of GTA (“905″) 954 $431,351 839 $404,341
GTA 1,506 $444,473 1,420 $409,376
TorontoMLS® Sales & Average Price By Home Type (January 1-14)
Sales Average Price
416 905 Total 416 905 Total
Detached 161 503 664 705,509 521,345 565,999
Yr./Yr. % Change -4% 13% 8% 22% 4% 8%
Semi-Detached 38 115 153 440,168 369,986 387,417
Yr./Yr. % Change -22% 22% 7% -1% 8% 3%
Townhouse 59 190 249 396,685 343,341 355,981
Yr./Yr. % Change -13% 30% 16% 7% 17% 12%
Condo Apartment 290 128 418 354,127 261,045 325,624
Yr./Yr. % Change 1% -2% 0% 6% 6% 6%

Source: TREB

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Pre-sale painting, staging costing us $4,500

Posted on January 23, 2012 by mj

It’s going to cost at least $4,500 to paint our two-bedroom condo to get it ready to put on the market.That’s a lot, but we believe we’ll get it back in the purchase price.

Our two-bedroom condo with a den is just over 1,100 square feet. Painting all the rooms, including the kitchen and two bathrooms, along with the doors and frames will cost about $3,165. That price also includes some small repairs to fix some scrapes and holes in the walls.

Staging will cost $1,328 for one month. That includes bed linens, artwork and accessories for each room. If it takes longer to sell, this cost will increase.

My husband and I considered doing the fixing and painting ourselves to save money, but we haven’t done this kind of work before, and this is not the right time to start. Instead, we’re focused on de-cluttering, packing, and cleaning.

As for the staging, it’s best to let the professional do it.

Our stager is not insisting on high-end renovations or appliances, the so-called HGTV effect. During a consultation she explained how small touches such as neutral colours, uncluttered counter tops, open spaces, fresh flowers, and art could really make our place standout to a potential buyer.

We were a little skeptical, but then we went to some open houses. The difference between the ones that had been de-cluttered and staged and those that hadn’t was striking.

I was surprised at how distracting it is to see other people’s personal affects everywhere.

Full Story Below:

By Madhavi Acharya-Tom Yew | The Toronto Star

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