Robert Morrow

The home renovation giant Lowe's recently entered the Hamilton market and, to my understanding, has had huge success thus far (at least they spend an incredible amount on advertising).

So, perhaps their research is worth repeating.

Their lates survey states that the new Home Revovation Tax Credit in the 2009 Budget will make one in five Canadians more likely to undertake renovations in the next 12 months.

"For Canadians who may have been postponing their renovation projects,
big or small, there is no better time to invest in their home and take
advantage of the temporary tax credit," said Lowe's Canada president, Don T.
Stallings. "This is the year to save on home renovations..."

The federal government's temporary tax credit is designed to stimulate
investment in Canada's home renovation sector. The HRTC is a temporary 15 per
cent tax credit that can be claimed on up to $10,000 of eligible home
renovation expenditures between Jan. 27, 2009, and Feb. 1, 2010. The credit
will apply to the portion of eligible expenditures that exceeds $1,000 but
does not exceed $10,000, up to a maximum credit of $1,350.

Patricia Lovett-Reid has some good advice on how to spend the credit: http://finance.sympatico.msn.ca/Investing/PatriciaLovettReid/article.aspx?cp-documentid=17402069

Here's the link to Canada's Economic Action Plan page with further details on the Home Renovation Tax Credit:http://www.budget.gc.ca/2009/plan/bpa5a-eng.asp#Personal

Robert J. Morrow is editor of www.HamiltonHomeReview.com, an online real estate magazine serving Greater Hamilton, Ontario. Click here for a FREE SUBSCRIPTION sent to your email monthly. Click here to receive new Hamilton area listings in your email daily.

Well, with the billions of dollars being thrown around in both the US and Canada these days, a tax credit doesn't seem like much, does it?

However, for those buying their first home, the credit, based on $5,000, will certainly come in handy, though not when you're actually buying the home. My understanding is that it works out to about $750 in actual tax relief, which of course, doesn't even cover legal costs.

As for the increase in allowable withdrawals from your RRSP from $20,000 to $25,000, how many first time buyers have you met who even have that much saved yet?

Can anyone explain how this thing works because if you read the government release below, I think you have to be an accountant to "get it". I'm just a poor journalist/agent/consumer.

Here's the link to Canada's Economic Action Plan page with further details on both the Home Buyers Plan and the First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit :http://www.budget.gc.ca/2009/plan/bpa5a-eng.asp#Personal

Robert J. Morrow is editor of www.HamiltonHomeReview.com, an online real estate magazine serving Greater Hamilton, Ontario. Click here for a FREE SUBSCRIPTION sent to your email monthly. Click here to receive new Hamilton area listings in your email daily.

With some of the blame being thrown on banks for not helping us out of this economic downturn, at least TD is attempting something, albeit minor in my opinion.

Now you can defer up to four mortgage payments at any time during its tenure. You still pay interest, and future payments are adjusted to ensure the mortgage renewal date doesn't change. After all, we can't disturb the bank's mandate of making money for its stakeholders according to schedule, can we?

If you're going through some rough periods, it'll put some grocery money in your pocket, at least.
TD calls it an extension to their "Mortgage Payment Extension Policy". If your mortgage isn't with TD, you'll have to wait while the others play catch-up...or not.

We'll take this one for now.

Okay, I know it's a subject we don't like to discuss. But with job losses mounting in certain parts of Ontario, it is clear that many will be considering bankruptcy as a solution to their problems.

The first consideration is whether or not you lose your home. And although people will give you differing advice on this, it is the "intent" of the law not to kick you out of your home. Most trustees will work out an arrangement with the bank (or other mortgage holder) so that you pay back equity in the home. After all, in most cases, paying rent is more expensive than paying a re-negotiated mortgage, so it's in everyone's interest to keep you at home.

You will lose leased cars (due to no outright ownership) but can negotiate to keep a car you own (even with a loan balance). You can keep up to $5600 worth of clothing but will lose any items of any value that aren't required to live comfortably in your home. Who decides how comfortable you'll be? The trustee, but you can negotiate to some degree. by-the-way, if you've had money in RRSPs for over a year, you get to keep that. And if you were smart enough to put the home in your spouse's name, the bankruptcy usually doesn't affect them. But you can't make that change at the last minute either.

If you make a good wage but not enough to pay debts, you'll pay more for the trustee to steer you through bankruptcy. If you're out of work and there's no income coming in, it'll still cost around $1,400 but you don't have to pay it all at once.

They tell you that you can get credit back after 6 years. I've heard stories of people getting credit cards again within a year. And I've heard other stories of people still being rejected after 7 years. If, for any reason, you get into trouble a second time, you not supposed get credit back for 14 years. I've heard that people rack up incredible debts on credit cards just before going bankrupt and then having it all wiped out. I've also heard of people having to pay 30 cents on the dollar no matter what the amount. Which one is more accurate? I would count on the worst case scenario. People--even those not embarrassed enough to keep it to themselves--will brag about what they got away with. People tend to embellish embarrassing moments to make things sound like they were "smart". in actual fact, bankruptcy is very demeaning and has the potential to affect the way you live for several years to come. If you're a survivor, you'll get through it and be better off than you were when financial stress was a daily occurrence.

For many, the positive relief far outweighs the negative results. But the important thing is not to listen to anyone other than a trustee, in my opinion. They can pretty much predict what will happen during the course of your bankruptcy (which lasts for a year). But they can't tell you what happens after that.

Best thing to remember? There are few black and white regulations on this, contrary to popular belief. Oh, the laws are straightforward enough. It's the interpretation by consultants, trustees, creditors, and banks that make the whole thing confusing and, sometimes, bias.

Get the facts before you make a move. And get more than one professional's advice.

Here's a link with a little more info and further links on the subject:

http://business.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090204.wbankrupt0204/BNStory/SpecialEvents2/home?cid=al_gam_mostview

Robert J. Morrow is editor of www.HamiltonHomeReview.com, an online real estate magazine serving Greater Hamilton, Ontario. Click here for a FREE SUBSCRIPTION sent to your email monthly. Click here to receive new Hamilton area listings in your email daily.

I like to deal in fair play to my competitors, especially when they are activerain peers also.

So here's a blog post from a FSBO company in Durham County (that's in Canada's mid-north). I can find little fault with what they say about selling privately, other than that they don't substantiate their testimonial. In fact, it verifies what I have been saying all along: That if the timing, price and location are right, you WILL sell your house quickly, privately or otherwise.

Unfortunately, a lot of Sellers are missing one of those elements.

Check out the post and post your comments here.

http://activerain.com/blogsview/914414/What-Is-The-Cost-To-Sell-For-Sale-By-Owner-And-How-Much-Can-You-Save

Robert J. Morrow is editor of www.HamiltonHomeReview.com, an online real estate magazine serving Greater Hamilton, Ontario. Click here for a FREE SUBSCRIPTION sent to your email monthly. Click here to receive new Hamilton area listings in your email daily.