Darryl Bandoro

Ontario recently passed a groundbreaking Green Energy Act which outlines a strategy to improve conservation, increase renewable energy generation and create green jobs. The bill passed on May 14th by a vote of 59 in favour and 13 against, and will be effective immediately after it gets Royal Assent.

The new act has earned praise from a wide variety of individuals and groups. "This is an exciting time for Ontario; it's never been clearer that environmental solutions and economic solutions are one and the same," said Dr. Rick Smith, Executive Director of Environmental Defence. "Today, Ontario not only takes action on its international obligation to reduce greenhouse gases and pollution, it becomes a leader in an emerging industry."

According to the Ontario government’s website the new act will:
• Spark growth in clean and renewable sources of energy such as wind, solar, hydro, biomass and biogas in Ontario.
• Create the potential for savings and better managed household energy expenditures through a series of conservation measures.
• Create 50,000 jobs for Ontarians in its first three years.
• Create a Feed-in Tariff that guarantees specific rates for energy generated from renewable sources.
• Establish the right to connect to the electricity grid for renewable energy projects that meet technical, economic and other regulatory requirements.
• Establish a one stop streamlined approvals process, providing service guarantees for renewable energy projects that meet regulatory requirements.
• Implement a 21st century “smart” power grid to support the development of new renewable energy projects, and prepare Ontario for new technologies like electric cars.

What the bill does not contain is the requirement that every home sold in Ontario have an Energy Audit. In an earlier draft of the new act, all sellers were obligated to conduct energy audits on their homes before they could be sold. This would give potential homebuyers information on the energy-efficiency of the home. This part of the law was altered before the Act was passed. Now, audits are not mandatory for all home sales. However, if the purchaser requests information on the energy efficiency of the home, the seller must provide such information. Despite the fact that they are not mandatory, energy audits remains an important way for home owner to not only learn about the energy use in their home, but the audits also allow homeowners to access thousands in dollars in home improvement grants offered by both the federal and Ontario governments.

What are your thoughts on the new Green Energy Act?

Putting in a deposit for a home that has not yet been built can certainly cause headaches. New constructions often seem to end up taking much longer than anticipated. In a recent edition of the Ottawa Citizen, Les Vandor answered a question posed by a couple who's condo finish date was pushed back by over a year. They had paid their deposit on the home in September 2007 with the expectation that it would be built by July 2008. However, the ready date was postponed to August 2009 and then again to December 2009. Clearly frustrated, the couple was wondering if they could ask for their deposit back or sell the condo before it was completed.

The options available to the couple, according to Mr. Vandor, really depend on the original terms of the agreement signed by the couple when purchasing the home. The contract may or may not allow for cancellation on payment of a penalty and it again may or may not allow for a sale before completion. Either way the couple is bound to the terms of the agreement. One option they may have is to negotiate a separate deal with the developer, if the developer is willing. Ultimately, this will likely involve the loss of some or all of the deposit (especially given the market slowdown).

This is just another reason to carefully examine contracts before you sign them, so that you understand the consequences as much as possible. Legal advice, while expensive, may also be helpful in saving you hassle and large sums of money down the line.

Buying your first home can be quite a challenge. This can be especially true for 20-somethings who may be fresh out of school and may lack the savings needed for a downpayment or the income needed to qualify for a big enough mortgage. Still, owning a home, as opposed to renting, is a much better financial option in the long-run. So, maybe it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that there are a growing number of young, single people teaming up to jointly buy a home together.

The catch-phrase for this emerging type of venture is "co-hos", short for 'communal homeowners'. Carolyn Ireland, wrote an interesting article on this subject in The Globe and Mail. The central appeal of buying a home with a friend is that by teaming up, homebuyers are able to afford a much nicer property. Plus, of course, there is the benefit of building equity in the home as opposed to simply paying rent. Forming a partnership and being accountable to someone else, can also help build financial discipline.

Clearly, in order to make this type of arrangement work, the partners need to get along. More importantly however, they should have a written plan that describes how they will deal with regularly occurring issues (such as mortgage and utility payments) and special scenarios (such as if one of the partners moves out). Having a written agreement can save headaches down the road. Personal and work situations can change quickly, sometimes making it necessary to move, so having a plan for the property is very important.

As we mentioned earlier this week, the resale housing market in Ottawa is staying strong. The Ottawa Citizen gave us more evidence of this with an article that talked about how homes are selling for as much as 15% over provincial assessments. MPAC - the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation, an independent agency that evaluates all Ontario homes for property tax purposes, recently produce estimates for what they believed homes were worth as of January 2008. It turns out, however, that the property valuations may have been a bit on the low side, at least in Ottawa.

Lower priced homes were on average selling for 4% more than assessed value, while mid priced homes ($400,000 to $500,000) had a 10% gap. Luxury homes (those $600,000 and up) were on average selling for 15% above appraised value, at least according to the Ottawa Citizen. MPAC's vice president of property values notes that higher priced homes are probably being under-assessed as they likely have upgrades that have not yet been taken into account by the property evaluators.

So what does this all mean? Well if you own a home in the Ottawa area, you can make a pretty safe bet that your house is worth more than what's stated on your MPAC statement. What's more your property tax bill may be a little lower than you might expected given the actual value of your home.

The Green Wellness Expo is the second green show being held this weekend. This show will take place this upcoming Sunday, April 19, from 11 am to 4 pm at 6600 Carrière Street, Orleans.

The Green Wellness Expo is the only show of its kind in Ottawa East. The Expo aims to save attendees time and money by providing the opportunity to sample the most innovative health, lifestyle and green enhancing products within their community.

Show visitors will have the unique opportunity to spend one-on-one time asking questions and learning from an incredible group of leading natural healthcare professionals and environmental specialists all under one roof...all in one day!

Visitors will also be entered into a draw to be eligible to win one of many unique Green Wellness Expo Door Prizes. Winners will be announced at the end of the day and will be contacted by email or by phone.

The show is being organized by Dr. Nathalie Beauchamp, D.C. , owner of Beauchamp Chiropractic (www.beauchampchiropractic.ca), and Deborah MacDonald, a Health & Wellness Consultant, Speaker & Trainer (www.deborahmacdonald.com).

Don't forget to come by The Mortgage Group booth and ask us about our Green Mortgage products and energy efficiency rebates!