Rosalin Smith-Carr

This traditional Moore Park home on a wide 40′ foot lot offers abundant space for a growing family. The attractive side centre-hall design with generously proportioned formal living and dining rooms, allows for easy entertaining.

The spacious eat-in kitchen opens to a delightful private garden with many flowering shrubs. The current owners enjoy the easy access to downtown, highly regarded schools and the much enjoyed stores, boutiques and restaurants on Mount Pleasant and Bayview.

Featuring four bedrooms, two and half baths and a perfect teen retreat in the lower level, this very attractive home is perfect for a growing family. The large third floor attic affords great possibilities for an ideal new master suite.

Extras included in this sale: Slate foyer, Dacor dual range, Bosch dishwasher, refrigerator, built-in microwave oven, second refrigerator in basement, all window treatments, all electric light fixtures, broadloom where laid, water softener, washer and dryer, furnace rental from Enbridge at $58.71/month.

Avail of this great opportunity- Moore Park four bedroom with private drive and generous lot. This traditional side centre-hall home boasts excellent curb-appeal.

For more information or to view email Rosalin Smith-Carr or call 416-482-8330 ext. 3519

Today the Bank of Canada announced it was slashing interest rates by half a percentage point to 3.5 per cent.

The bank also signaled more rate cuts are likely as it seeks to protect the Canadian economy from a slowdown in the U.S. The cut is welcome news to Canadians hoping to buy a home, as analysts anticipate a cut in mortgage interest rates also.

"Overall, today's move from the Bank of Canada suggests that although domestic demand in Canada remains incredibly healthy, they're increasingly concerned about spillover effects from the slumping U.S. economy," said Jacqui Douglas, economics strategist at TD Securities.

On a daily basis, as I monitor the Toronto real estate market, I wonder whether these interest rate cuts will only add fuel to the fires and serve to bring back the bidding wars we have witnessed for several years now.

Hopefully with the spring market just around the corner we will begin to see more homes come on the market, bringing more balance for a buying public, who is growing increasingly weary of having to fight so many other buyers in order to buy their dream home.

(This article was first published March 06, 2008)

Lawyer Bob Aaron wrote an interesting article recently about a home seller's obligations to disclose house defects to buyers. According to Aaron, the main criterion the courts apply to decide if a seller is responsible for repairs/defects is whether the defects are patent (obvious) or latent (hidden).

Case in point: The buyers of a home in Leduc County, Alberta, inspected the house three times before signing on the dotted line. The only problems they found were minor wiring issues.

Soon after they moved in, however, they discovered an infestation of carpenter ants in a bedroom ceiling and mould in the basement.

Because of the ant infestation, the entire roof had to be removed and replaced with a metal one. But when the buyers took the matter to court, the judge ruled that they'd failed to take reasonable steps to determine the full extent of the defects before buying the home. The buyers would therefore have to bear the repair costs themselves.

Read the rest of this article at:

http://primetorontoneighbourhoods.com/2008/11/17/how-to-avoid-a-law-suit-after-selling-your-house/

Read other related articles:

Are Home Sellers Obligated to Disclose If There Has Been a Death or Violence in Their Home?

What You Don't Tell the Buyer May Come Back to Haunt You When Selling Your Home.

"There are far too many agents out there who don't specialize, who do just two or three deals a year. Would you use a part-time lawyer or a part-time dentist? We need to raise the bar." So says a high-profile executive of a prominent Toronto real estate firm, and I agree with him.

More than 1,000 real estate agents and brokers gathered Monday for a general meeting of the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB). They came to discuss the current market conditions and to brainstorm. The executive was one of several speakers, but his words hit home.

Last year in Canada, there were close to 100,000 Realtors, up from 77,000 in 1987. This is simply way too many. And the majority of these newcomers are part-timers.

Some time ago, TREB asked the province to restrict real estate licenses for part-timers. The move was struck down by those who believed the board's request was unconstitutional and restricted labour rights.

I did not agree with those who opposed TREB's suggestion then, and I do not agree now. This is because I believe the business of real estate is far too important to you to have it handled by a part-time agent.

Read the rest of the article at:

http://primetorontoneighbourhoods.com/2008/11/06/tough-times-are-no-time-for-inexperienced-realtors/