“World's Most Complete Neighborpedia”
Sponsor a Community — What is Localism? | Register or Sign In
Explore:   What's happening in your neck of the woods?
HomeOntarioToronto

About Toronto, ON

Blog_tag

HST rebates on New condo Purchase for Investors

01-17-12
David Pylyp
David Pylyp: Real Estate Agent in Toronto, ON
  • view my blog
  • Office: (905) 272-3434
  • Mobile: (647) 218-2414
  • Secondary: (905) 361-3387
David Pylyp: I'm with Shadi Nasseri; A Condominium Law Specialist in Down Town Toronto. Tell me about HST (Harmonized Sales Tax Rebates) Can I get a rebate on the purchase?
Shadi Nasseri: When you purchase a new condo in Ontario you have to pay HST on the purchase price. There are however some exceptions to that rule. You can get a rebate of your HST payments, of a certain portion of your HST, if you qualify based on two factors, one, is if you live in the condo yourself, so there's a rebate that applies that you occupy the unit yourself, from the "occupancy date" and at least for a year, after the final closing date.
The other exception is where you rent it. In that case you do not apply for the rebate right away, so it is not deducted from the purchase price on closing, but it is rebated to you, a year after the closing, whereby you show proof that you rented, leased or rented the unit out, for the entire year and that you still own it.
David Pylyp: So, How can people reach you?
Shadi Nasseri: They can reach me on my website - MyTorontorealestatelawyer.com or by telephone at 416 400 6167
0 Comments
Blog_tag

You have 10 days to examine your Condo Contract

01-16-12
David Pylyp
David Pylyp: Real Estate Agent in Toronto, ON
  • view my blog
  • Office: (905) 272-3434
  • Mobile: (647) 218-2414
  • Secondary: (905) 361-3387
David Pylyp: With Shadi Nasseri a Toronto condo Law Specialist, When you buy a condominium from a builder developer there is a cooling off period correct?
Shadi Nasseri: Yes, You actually have a limited time to have your condo agreement of Purchase and Sale revied by a lawyer. Its called the Rescission Period, and usually its 10 (ten) days from the day that you signed the Agreement of Purchase and Sale. This also includes Holidays and weekends! Usually, so... Make sure that you get to a lawyer, contact a lawyer, to review the agreement as soon as possible.
David Pylyp: What types of things are you looking for?
Shadi Nasseri: You want to make sure that you are OK with all the terms of the Agreement.
Although a lot of people say the agreements are standard, What may be standard in One agreement of Purchase and Sale, May not be in your best interest, specific to you, So you ALWAYS need to review it and make sure It is OK for you and your specific conditions.
David Pylyp: I've seen agreements recently that don't even contain the square footage of the condo...
Shadi Nasseri: Yes, Unfortunately that is quite common. They don't have the square footage
and often there are provisions in the agreement that state that the builder has the right to change any aspect of the size and shape of the condo, as they wish.
So you need to make sure, either one that your OK with that or that you can speak to a builder to PIN down exactly what you are going to get.
David Pylyp: How are you dealing with Capped Closing Costs?
Shadi Nasseri: I always like to put in some sort of cap IF it is agreeable to the builder, just to manage your expectations, or the purchaser's expectations on closing. So that when It comes time for closing you are not surprised by the fees that you have to pay with respect to adjustments or HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) excetera, and you can save up for that. If we can get a CAP set with the Builder; you know exactly how much money you will need to close.
David Pylyp: And How do people reach you?
Shadi Nasseri: You can reach me on my website on myTorontoRealEstateLawyer.com or by telephone at 416 400 6167
David Pylyp: Pleased to have Shadi Nasseri on our TEAM of trusted professionals. Shadi is a Toronto Condominium Law specialist with offices in the heart of Toronto's City Center at Yonge and King.
0 Comments
Blog_tag

Are you selling a Home in Toronto and Unsure whether to Stage your Home? Check Out the Money You Will Save If You Stage Before You List. Survey Statistics Included.

01-16-12
Rachel Craggy
Rachel Craggy: Home Stager in Toronto, ON
  • view my blog
  • Office: (416) 256-0088
  • Mobile: (416) 206-8781

You're selling your home in Toronto, and want to get the most money for invesment. If you're still unsure as to whether home staging is going to get you the biggest bang for your buck, let's simply look at the surveys that have been conducted. I've then taken the liberty of creating a breakdown of the cost of carrying a house for you to compare. Please feel free to leave a comment. Check out how I have calculated the money you can save just on carrying costs and how I arrived at $14,700, which is additional money in a sellers pocket. We haven't even scratched the surface on how much more money you will get for your home if it's staged.

  • "Staged homes sell, on average, within 35 days of being placed on the market. Homes not staged took, on average, 175 days to sell." StagedHomes.com survey
  • "Homes that sold after four weeks on the market sold for 6% less than ones within the first four weeks!" Survey by the National Association of Realtors
  • "The staged homes realized on average a 6.4% increase over the list price." Coldwell Banker Broker on 2772 homes in 8 cities
  • "Elements that create 72% of the first impression inside the home are within the control of the seller - well-trained staging consultants know how to show these to their best advantage." 1999 Proctor & Gamble Survey
  • "Landscape your outside entrance - Add a few new flower pots, small shrubs or hanging plants to spruce up the outside. Spending just $400 to $500 on fresh landscaping, according to the survey, can boost your homes value by $1,600 to $1,800." Home Gain Survey 2007
  • "87% of ALL home buyers and 94% of buyers aged 25 to 44 used the internet to search for homes." NAR Profile of Home buyers and Sellers 2008 - THIS MEANS YOUR PICTURES BETTER LOOK GREAT!
  • "63% of buyers will pay more for move-in-ready homes." Maritz Survey
  • "Vacant home previously on the market 190 days un-staged had not sold. Those same homes were taken off the market, staged and re-listed. Those properties on average sold after 28 days on the market after they were staged. which is 85% less time on the market." RESA Survey 2008
  • "Un-staged occupied homes on the market an average of 57 days, had not sold. Those homes were taken off the market and staged and re-listed. Those properties on average sold after 6 days on market after they were staged, which is 89% less time on market." RESA Survey 2008

Let's look at the 2009 survey that was conducted and showed 126 homes that sat on the market 9 months unstaged, and when staged sold in 2 months by RESA, feel free to click on the RESA link to view the PDF and get a copy for yourself.

MONTHLY MORTGAGE PAYMENT: $1,800 FOR 9 MONTHS $16,200.00

MONTHLY CARRYING COSTS: $300 FOR 9 MONTHS 2,700.00

TOTAL COST TO CARRY A HOME ON THE MARKET FOR 9 MONTHS: $18,900.00

MONTHLY MORTGAGE PAYMENT: $1,800 FOR 2 MONTHS $3,600.00

MONTHLY CARRYING COSTS: $300 FOR 2 MONTHS 600.00

TOTAL COST TO CARRY A HOME ON THE MARKET FOR 2 MONTHS $4,200.00

COST TO CARRY FOR 9 MTHS - COST TO CARRY FOR 2 MTHS = DOLLARS SAVED

$18,900 - 4,200 = $14,700

1 Comment
Blog_tag

MORTGAGE RATES TORONTO

01-13-12
John Cocomile
John Cocomile: Mortgage Broker in Toronto, ON
  • view my blog
  • Office: (416) 941-1444
  • Mobile: (647) 282-8208
  • Secondary: (800) 265-1188

In Canada, why do fixed rate mortgages continue to go down?

There's a few reasons:

1. the financial issues in Europe, and continued uncertainty in North America are resulting in uncertainty in the equities markets...in both Canada and US, the markets are down again today. This results in a flight to safety ie. bonds, which drives up the price, resulting in lower interest rates

2. the start of new year means launch of campaigns by various lenders...and they are getting aggressive!

More to come!!!!

2 Comments
Blog_tag

The Joy of Books

01-13-12
Chris Smith - South Simcoe, Caledon, King, Orangeville Real Estate
Chris Smith - South Simcoe, Caledon, King, Orangeville Real Estate: Real Estate Agent in New Tecumseth, ON
  • view my blog
  • Office: (866) 936-3500

Do you love to read a book? ... for me, it's the imagination, the escape, the feel of the book, the sense of turning the pages, and so much more.

Kudos to Kobo, Kindle, Playbook and IPad, Audio Books and other technological advances that have made the reading more "convenient", and there is a place for them in this transient and ever short of time world we live in. However, for me, there is nothing like getting comfortable and curling up with a good book. Almost always, if I have read the book first, the movie tends to be a little bit of a disappointment.

I was tutoring a student in Grade Twelve math last night, and we were talking off-topic about the advances in curriculum over the years when he postulated to me that, perhaps some day in the future, learning would become obsolete and information and knowledge could be programmed into young minds... I thought about this and told him, that I thought the real value in learning was not really the information imbedded, but creating the desire for knowledge and teaching us how to acquire it... the journey more so than the result.

For me, it is very similar with a good book. It definitely is the message behind this short stop motion video filmed in TYPE, a Toronto Bookstore in October 2011. The director and his crew took over the bookstore from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 a.m. for 4 days to shoot this imaginative video that seems to be going "viral" on YOUTUBE.

16 Comments