About Essex County, ON

The Canadian mortgage market has been free of the drama characterizing the US stage due its more conservative lending practices. To save Canadians from the traps of no money down mortgages, the government banned both 100 percentage mortgages and 40 year terms "to reduce the risk of as US-style housing bubble in Canada."

Mortgage brokers, however, claim that the rules can easily be sidestepped. According to Innis mortgage broker Paula Siemens, borrowers have several ways around the new rules.

•· They can use a non-Canadian bank. US Bank Wells Fargo makes 100% loans available to Canadians.

•· They can borrow the down payment to comply with Canadian banking rules that allow loans up to 95% of the mortgage balance. The loans might come from friends or family or lines of credit or cash advances from credit cards.

•· They can use a cash-back mortgage offered by some banks. That gives the borrowers 5-7% back upon closing. Those banks try to prevent borrowers from using the cash for down payments, but if a mortgage applicant raised the money from family and friends for the down payments and then later repaid his sources with his cash-back funds, the loan would still be in place. The cash-back mortgage usually comes with a higher interest rate.

Banks resist no money down deals because the borrowers have less at stake if they fall on hard times. Just because there are ways around the no money down ban does it mean this option makes good sense for most people, aside from possiby young professionals with high credit scores and large earning potential.

Stable, equity-backed loans are part of what has kept Canadian banks sound in comparison to their southern neighbors in need of bailouts.

For information about great places to live in Windsor, call your Prudential Select Real Estate Agent Mark Tesolin at (519) 972-5505 or visit http://marktesolin.com

Headlines in several Canadian newspapers report that consumers are nervous buying a condo out of fear that what they contracted for will not be built. A more substantial fear is that due to current oversupply, condominiums are getting harder to sell. In Toronto, 22,654 condos were sold in 2007, but only 16,000 are expected to be sold this year. While the long term outlook for the condo market is good, building starts are expected to decline by 6% as prices decline. For current owners in Ontario, this news should be only mildly upsetting as prices will actually increase by 3-5%. Western markets in Calgary and Vancouver, where housing is somewhat overvalued, may not only see an end to double digit inflation in condo prices but a 3-5% decrease.

Condominiums are popular in Canada because they meet the needs of a very urban population. As of 2006, 80% of Canada's population was centered in cities compare to 62% in 1951. Condos offer style and convenience in an environment-friend package that uses less land and resources. They sell for half the price of a detached bungalow in Vancouver and a third of one in Calgary and Ontario, as well as cost less to maintain. Since the median age of the population is increasing, the convenience of condo living has a secure future in Canada.

Though prices and supplies of condominiums might be declining, Toronto Real Estate Board President Maureen O'Neill is optimistic that the impact of these declines will be greater stability in the future.

For information about great places to live in Windsor, call your Prudential Select Real Estate Agent Mark Tesolin at (519) 972-5505 or visit http://marktesolin.com.

Everyone loves a bargain, especially in housing where a few percent off adds up to thousands of dollars. In a buyers' market, where some sellers who need to move their homes are facing the prospect so of having their time in the market longer and ultimately selling for less, it's tempting for buyers to overestimate how far down sellers will go.

So, as a buyer, what's the best way to get the best price?

Dream a little but be reasonable. Even in a buyers' market, it's unlikely that you will get a $500,000 home for $250,000. Doing a little neighborhood research will reveal what other comparable homes in the area have sold for. This should tip you off that you may get the home for $50,000 less. If a $450,000 is out of your pricing comfort zone, it's time to start looking at more affordable homes for your price range.

Don't insult the seller. Some sellers may overvalue their homes because of what they've put into them, what they speculated the home would be worth, or just because it's theirs. Few sellers react well to a buyer who comes in, exaggerates all the flaws in the home, and then makes a lowball offer. The seller may need a little reality therapy, but if you want the house, you are probably not the one to give it. (Here's the time to look to your agent.)

Consider the "negotiablity" factor. Economist Jonathan Miller out into words what everyone knows to be true. There's usually a difference between what homes list for and what they sell for because sellers usually list in anticipation of having to come down in price. Sellers have a price in mind that hope (or need) to clear. Occasionally a seller will say their price is "firm," but the buyer can reasonably expect a little wiggle room. How much depends on why the seller wants to move and his level of urgency. A seller who's been transferred, who's had the house on the market a long time, who's in financial difficulties, etc., might be more motivated to sell now than someone who just wants to upgrade.

Consider hiring a professional negotiator. Negotiating is a skill. Not all parties in a real estate transaction are natural negotiators who can remain impartial enough to persevere through the give and take. A professional negotiator not smitten with "house love" might be able to strike a better deal. There's some risk in negotiating - seller may take a better offer, may reconsider selling, or may refuse to yield - but a professional with less emotional stake in the house usually knows when to quite bargainling and when to suggest you pull out your checkbook if you want the house.

For information about great places to live in Windsor, call your Prudential Select Real Estate Agent Mark Tesolin at (519) 972-5505 or visit http://marktesolin.com.

If the economy makes you want to run to Fantasyland, now you can at discounted prices. With stock prices dropping 6.1%, income off 13%, and hotel bookings down, Disney amusement parks announced discounts on vacation packages to any of its parks. For vacations booked by December 20, a 7 day vacation is available for the price of a 4 day vacation - a 34% discount. Vacationers who visit between January - March, 2009 will also get a free $200 gift card redeemable for food and souvenirs. (All trips must be taken in 2009, with blackout periods around Easter vacation and part of the summer.) Thirty percent discounts are also available on hotels rooms (without tickets) for those who don't want to stay the whole week.

Discounts at Disney are unprecedented. Though the discounts do not affect the hefty daily ticket prices if purchased separately, they are applicable to the value priced rooms and vacation packages which makes a Disney vacation more affordable for families.

For information about great places to live in Windsor, call your Prudential Select Real Estate Agent Mark Tesolin at (519) 972-5505 or visit http://marktesolin.com

Recent good news reported here about the thriving Canadian auto industry is threatened by bad news from Detroit: the US auto is in such bad shape that the big three automakers are lobbying for a $25 billion low interest loan from the government. Without aid, predicts the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, MI, the US economy would lose over 2.5 million direct and indirect jobs plus $100-150 billion in taxes.

Over the past few years, the Canadian auto industry has regrouped through job cuts and increased efficiency measures. The cost reduction efforts are expected to result s in a $155 million profit this year - even though production is likely to be down by 4.6% and revenues down 10% due to falling demand. Improved efficiencies and cooperation from labor unions have brought projects such as the Dodge Hybrid minivan, the Nissan-Chrysler partnership, and electric car production to the Windsor horizon. By 2012, the industry is projected to earn profits of nearly $1.5 billion.

The plight of US automakers is due to slumping sales, the lowest in a decade, but the auto industry is a vital part of the world economy. Since Canada produces many goods for US automakers, further declines in the industry would impact the local economy as well. The research report from Ann Arbor suggests that further declines in Detroit would necessitate the involvement of Prime Minister Stephen Harper to preserve Canada's automotive sector.

For information about great places to live in Windsor, call your Prudential Select Real Estate Agent Mark Tesolin at (519) 972-5505 or visit http://marktesolin.com

For recent articles on developments in the Canadian auto industry, see A Secure Future for Windsor Assembly Jobs and Hybrid Minivans on Our Horizon.