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10 Common Costs of Owning a Home
1-Property tax. May of the services you will enjoy in your new neighbourhood, from parks and recreation facilities to road maintenance and schools, are funded by property taxes. Rates vary widely from region to region and home to home. Annual taxes can top several thousand dollars in urban centres, so many ...
Continue ReadingFree Home Buyers Guide Book
I recently revised my Home Buyers Guide Book. It's a collection of how-to’s, checklists, and worksheets to help buyers understand what to expect during the real estate purchasing experience. Click here to get a free copy. ...
Continue ReadingBeware of Phishing Emails
What is Phishing? Phishing is a cyber attack that uses disguised email as a weapon. The goal is to trick the email recipient into believing that the message is something they want or need — a request from their bank, for instance, or a note from someone in their company — and to click a link ...
Continue ReadingPre-Emptive or “Bully” Offers
My salesperson showed us two property listings and, in both instances, we wanted to submit an offer. But the properties were sold before the posted offer date. How can this happen? In a seller’s real estate market, you can expect to find that more than one buyer is interested in a ...
Continue ReadingWhen You Can Only See a Property Once
If you’re searching for a new home within a tight time frame or searching for an out-of-town property, you may not have time to make multiple visits. In fact, you might only get a chance to view a property once before deciding whether or not to make an offer. In ...
Continue ReadingHome Maintenance Tips for the Spring Season
These jobs are best done during warm months, so make them part of your regular spring home maintenance routine. 1 of 18 Clean air conditioner condensers and evaporators A little sweat equity now will help both your wallet and your comfort level later when summer's heat sets in. Most of the job can ...
Continue ReadingOntario Human Rights Code – Housing as a Human Right
Adequate housing is essential to one’s sense of dignity, safety, inclusion and ability to contribute to the fabric of our neighbourhoods and societies[3]. As the Commission heard in this consultation, without appropriate housing it is often not possible to get and keep employment, to recover from mental illness or other ...
Continue ReadingChanges to Non-Resident Taxes in Ontario Real Estate
In addition to all the usual taxes residents have to bear owning real estate; all non-residents selling or buying Canadian real estate are required to undergo some additional tax burdens made to deter non-resident investors from speculating in the housing market and ensure governments collect their due taxes. Without proper ...
Continue ReadingPricing Psychology and Selling your Home
Have you ever seen a product at a store and thought, “Whoa. That price is outrageously high. It’s just not worth it!” Conversely, you might have also reacted to another product with, “That’s awfully cheap. The quality must not be good.”Welcome to the psychology of pricing! According to research, people tend ...
Continue ReadingWhat You Need to Know About Canada’s Underused Housing Tax
In effect since January 1st, 2022, the UHT is an annual 1% federal tax on real estate owned by any non-resident, non-Canadian, and considered vacant or underused. In some situations, this also applies to Canadian owners. The Underused Housing Tax Act (UHT) requires individuals impacted by this tax to file an ...
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