Toronto Real Estate report on trends
Though long overshadowed by the likes of Rosedale and the Annex, homes in more modest Toronto neighbourhoods such as Downsview-Weston and Pickering appreciated the most the in the first half of 2009. They defied a trend in which homes in all but handful of real estate districts depreciated, some in double-digit proportions.
Though average sale prices increased the most in the Beaches, where the cost of a single family detached home was up 3.79 per cent in the first six months of this year compared to the same time in 2008 ($715,422, up from $689,278) , Pickering was close behind with an average sale price increase of 3.72 per cent ($389,536, up from $375,577).
Average sale prices were up 3.32 per cent in Willowdale-Newtonbrook where they rose from $754,470 to $779,537.
In Downsview-Weston, which overlaps 12 Division, where gang activity has caused homicide rates to climb, the average price of homes climbed 2.25 per cent to $384,485 from $376,007.
The data were collected by the Toronto Real Estate Board and compiled by RE/MAX.
"People are looking for opportunity in the city," said Michael Polzler, executive vice-president of RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada. "Places like the Annex, for example, which I think has done not-so-great this year, those areas have already been pushed up in price... You're just not going to see the big appreciations there."
Average sale prices were down the most in the downtown east and in North Pickering but both areas posted only about a dozen sales, so the sample size may be too small to draw any conclusions.
In the Mississauga-Clarkson district average prices were down 15.94 per cent to $683,568 from $813,227, and in the Birchmount Park-Cliffside district prices were down 13.57 per cent, to $377,248 from $436,491.
Jason Mercer, TREB's senior manager of market research, said that without details regarding the size and characteristics of the homes that were sold conclusions are hard to draw.
He said that the recent tightening of housing market conditions may have ignited some changes.
"As the market changes over time, people do shift their attention to different neighbourhoods," he said.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Harmonized SalesTax HST July 2010
The new Harmonized Sales Tax could be catastrophic to the already uncertain construction and housing industry in Ontario & B.C.
I'm looking to purchase a home within the next two years but if I don't buy before July 1, 2010, I definitely won't buy a new home, and I'm sure many others won't either.
The HST will lead to an increase in new home sales until July 1, 2010, followed by a steep drop. Fewer new homes will be built, construction jobs will be lost, home values will tank, etc.
The Liberals may argue that the HST in Atlantic Canada had no adverse effect on the housing market. But most homes there can be bought for much less than $300,000, so there is less tax, and those homes qualify for the GST/HST New Housing Rebate. Very few single detached homes in Metro Toronto & Vancouver would qualify.
I suggest the government exempt new home purchases from the Property Transfer Tax, to ensure construction and home values can survive. Colin Hansen stated that under the HST, the extra cost to an $800,000 new home purchase would be $20,200. If the PTT were exempt, that would reduce the cost by $13,000.
The government would still walk away with an extra $7,200 and they should be happy with that.
I'm looking to purchase a home within the next two years but if I don't buy before July 1, 2010, I definitely won't buy a new home, and I'm sure many others won't either.
The HST will lead to an increase in new home sales until July 1, 2010, followed by a steep drop. Fewer new homes will be built, construction jobs will be lost, home values will tank, etc.
The Liberals may argue that the HST in Atlantic Canada had no adverse effect on the housing market. But most homes there can be bought for much less than $300,000, so there is less tax, and those homes qualify for the GST/HST New Housing Rebate. Very few single detached homes in Metro Toronto & Vancouver would qualify.
I suggest the government exempt new home purchases from the Property Transfer Tax, to ensure construction and home values can survive. Colin Hansen stated that under the HST, the extra cost to an $800,000 new home purchase would be $20,200. If the PTT were exempt, that would reduce the cost by $13,000.
The government would still walk away with an extra $7,200 and they should be happy with that.
Air Pollution - wood burning fireplaces
Wood stove ban could go to court.
No Smoking - Air Quality
The city of Montreal will be forced to go before Quebec Superior Court to defend its recent ban on the installation of new wood-burning fireplaces / stoves.
The lawsuit is being filed by the Association des professionnels du chauffage, which represents 225 Quebec businesses that make, distribute, sell and maintain wood-burning stoves and related products.
No Smoking - Air Quality
The city of Montreal will be forced to go before Quebec Superior Court to defend its recent ban on the installation of new wood-burning fireplaces / stoves.
The lawsuit is being filed by the Association des professionnels du chauffage, which represents 225 Quebec businesses that make, distribute, sell and maintain wood-burning stoves and related products.
Laneway housing - Alternatives- Toronto City Hall
The laneway house: A novel solution to Vancouver's real-estate crunch
Donna Woodman is one of the many people in Vancouver anxiously waiting for council to approve Wednesday the city's latest effort to cope with high house prices and lack of space: the laneway house.
Like others who have expressed an interest in this new housing form - converting the garage to a home - Mrs. Woodman was considering the option at her son's east Vancouver residence because it would solve a lot of problems for the family.
Then the economic crash added another compelling reason. In the past year, the 77-year-old retired dietitian lost a quarter of the value of her investments, where she'd put all of the profits from the sale of her White Rock condo. Now, getting an independent place to live in Vancouver for only $150,000-$200,000, where the listings for one-bedroom apartments in the cheapest parts of town start at $202,000, is becoming her only real option.
"It's a housing type that suits the economic times," said Brent Toderian, Vancouver's head of planning. He heard more than one story like Mrs. Woodman's last week when more than 60 people appeared at city hall to speak for and against the plan to allow laneway houses in the city's two major single-family zones.
Laneway houses, similar to the one shown here in Toronto, may soon become an option for Vancouver homeowners.
Homeowners who can't afford to pay their mortgages, parents who want to give their struggling children a place to live, and recession-strapped boomer retirees who want to lower their costs by moving into their own backyards showed up to make the argument that this is a great option for Vancouver.
Builder Jake Fry, whose company Smallworks has been gearing up to build the laneway houses, said he's getting calls from families like the Woodmans "who are just finding it hard to get by, so they want to downsize and move in with the kids."
Some residents, including Linda MacAdam, were adamantly opposed during last week's public hearings. She complained bitterly that the "Vancouver we know and love now will no longer exist" once 65,000 homeowners potentially get the right to add another small house to their yards.
It's a foregone conclusion that council will approve the new option Wednesday, which will allow homeowners to build a 750-square-foot, 11/2-storey home, as long as there's 16 feet between the back of the main house and the front of the laneway house.
The only real decision will be how many parking spaces will be required. That's been the second most contentious issue at public hearings, since single-family units will now have the right to include both a secondary suite in the house and the laneway house, forming a potential small compound on a 33-foot city lot.
Vancouver's move is being watched with interest by cities across Canada and some in the United States, local architect Michael Geller said.
Laneway houses have been allowed by a few smaller cities, such as Maple Ridge to the east of Vancouver and Qualicum on Vancouver Island, although homeowners may be permitted either a secondary suite or a laneway house, but not both.
Large cities such as Toronto and Montreal have allowed laneway houses in small numbers on a special-permit basis, but very few have experimented with throwing open the gates to every single-family lot.
But it's been Vancouver's unique way of trying to add density to a city that, in spite of its much-praised residential downtown packed with towers and townhouses, has one of the largest proportions of single-family lots of any North American city.
The quasi-suburban feel of those neighbourhoods has always been vehemently defended by residents, especially on the wealthier west side, where even a proposal for a four-plex or a set of townhouses can turn into a political bonfire. Many of those defenders came out one more time against the laneway house, seeing the proposal as a sneaky way of squeezing thousands more people into their city.
But the initiative has also generated support from across Vancouver, and not just because it would help economically or create a more environmental city.
For Donna Woodman, it solves all kinds of family problems, including where to live in the later stages of her life.
With a laneway house on her son's lot, she will be close to her grandchildren, and her son and his wife would have built-in child care. Plus, Mrs. Woodman said, "I'd make it wheelchair accessible so that if anything happened, I'd have a place that's safe and close to my family, because long-term care is not as good as it used to be.
Donna Woodman is one of the many people in Vancouver anxiously waiting for council to approve Wednesday the city's latest effort to cope with high house prices and lack of space: the laneway house.
Like others who have expressed an interest in this new housing form - converting the garage to a home - Mrs. Woodman was considering the option at her son's east Vancouver residence because it would solve a lot of problems for the family.
Then the economic crash added another compelling reason. In the past year, the 77-year-old retired dietitian lost a quarter of the value of her investments, where she'd put all of the profits from the sale of her White Rock condo. Now, getting an independent place to live in Vancouver for only $150,000-$200,000, where the listings for one-bedroom apartments in the cheapest parts of town start at $202,000, is becoming her only real option.
"It's a housing type that suits the economic times," said Brent Toderian, Vancouver's head of planning. He heard more than one story like Mrs. Woodman's last week when more than 60 people appeared at city hall to speak for and against the plan to allow laneway houses in the city's two major single-family zones.
Laneway houses, similar to the one shown here in Toronto, may soon become an option for Vancouver homeowners.
Homeowners who can't afford to pay their mortgages, parents who want to give their struggling children a place to live, and recession-strapped boomer retirees who want to lower their costs by moving into their own backyards showed up to make the argument that this is a great option for Vancouver.
Builder Jake Fry, whose company Smallworks has been gearing up to build the laneway houses, said he's getting calls from families like the Woodmans "who are just finding it hard to get by, so they want to downsize and move in with the kids."
Some residents, including Linda MacAdam, were adamantly opposed during last week's public hearings. She complained bitterly that the "Vancouver we know and love now will no longer exist" once 65,000 homeowners potentially get the right to add another small house to their yards.
It's a foregone conclusion that council will approve the new option Wednesday, which will allow homeowners to build a 750-square-foot, 11/2-storey home, as long as there's 16 feet between the back of the main house and the front of the laneway house.
The only real decision will be how many parking spaces will be required. That's been the second most contentious issue at public hearings, since single-family units will now have the right to include both a secondary suite in the house and the laneway house, forming a potential small compound on a 33-foot city lot.
Vancouver's move is being watched with interest by cities across Canada and some in the United States, local architect Michael Geller said.
Laneway houses have been allowed by a few smaller cities, such as Maple Ridge to the east of Vancouver and Qualicum on Vancouver Island, although homeowners may be permitted either a secondary suite or a laneway house, but not both.
Large cities such as Toronto and Montreal have allowed laneway houses in small numbers on a special-permit basis, but very few have experimented with throwing open the gates to every single-family lot.
But it's been Vancouver's unique way of trying to add density to a city that, in spite of its much-praised residential downtown packed with towers and townhouses, has one of the largest proportions of single-family lots of any North American city.
The quasi-suburban feel of those neighbourhoods has always been vehemently defended by residents, especially on the wealthier west side, where even a proposal for a four-plex or a set of townhouses can turn into a political bonfire. Many of those defenders came out one more time against the laneway house, seeing the proposal as a sneaky way of squeezing thousands more people into their city.
But the initiative has also generated support from across Vancouver, and not just because it would help economically or create a more environmental city.
For Donna Woodman, it solves all kinds of family problems, including where to live in the later stages of her life.
With a laneway house on her son's lot, she will be close to her grandchildren, and her son and his wife would have built-in child care. Plus, Mrs. Woodman said, "I'd make it wheelchair accessible so that if anything happened, I'd have a place that's safe and close to my family, because long-term care is not as good as it used to be.
Bank of Canada -interest rates fueling Housing Boom & Renovations
Toronto- Canada Housing Boom fueled by low interest rates- Credit
Canada's households just keep on borrowing, taking advantage of low interest rates to buy new houses, build new decks and make myriad other purchases.
Bank loans to Canadian consumers rose almost 10 per cent in June compared with the same month a year earlier. But while policy makers in some countries are worried that rampant lending may be creating more bubbles, analysts and most bankers expect loan growth to cool in Canada in coming months. "Given where mortgage rates are, if you didn't have housing demand you'd be worried," said Robert Sedran, financial services analyst at National Bank of Canada.
"That said, we certainly do have expectations of loan growth slowing from here."
The home-buying binge that is driving new mortgages while rates are low is likely to abate as demand is sated, analysts at Toronto-Dominion Bank argue. In June, "potential home buyers were purchasing homes now rather than later," TD's economists wrote.
On top of that, federal tax credits that encourage home renovation come to an end in early 2010, which may slow borrowing for all those new kitchens and bathrooms.
Businesses, by contrast, are already slowing their borrowing. Loans to businesses rose only 1.1 per cent in June compared with June, 2008, as companies cut back on using credit as they sideline expansions, and as bankers reduce the amount they are willing to hand out in a recession.
Banks are also facing more competition from a resurgent bond market, where companies can also borrow.
"While bank credit filled the financing gap during the credit crunch and early stages of the recession, we expect bank business credit to contract over the coming months, owing to these demand-side factors," TD said.
Analysts add that banks are also likely to face headwinds as interest rates rise, squeezing their margins on loans, and as cheap sources of financing introduced by governments during the credit crisis are withdrawn.
Canada's households just keep on borrowing, taking advantage of low interest rates to buy new houses, build new decks and make myriad other purchases.
Bank loans to Canadian consumers rose almost 10 per cent in June compared with the same month a year earlier. But while policy makers in some countries are worried that rampant lending may be creating more bubbles, analysts and most bankers expect loan growth to cool in Canada in coming months. "Given where mortgage rates are, if you didn't have housing demand you'd be worried," said Robert Sedran, financial services analyst at National Bank of Canada.
"That said, we certainly do have expectations of loan growth slowing from here."
The home-buying binge that is driving new mortgages while rates are low is likely to abate as demand is sated, analysts at Toronto-Dominion Bank argue. In June, "potential home buyers were purchasing homes now rather than later," TD's economists wrote.
On top of that, federal tax credits that encourage home renovation come to an end in early 2010, which may slow borrowing for all those new kitchens and bathrooms.
Businesses, by contrast, are already slowing their borrowing. Loans to businesses rose only 1.1 per cent in June compared with June, 2008, as companies cut back on using credit as they sideline expansions, and as bankers reduce the amount they are willing to hand out in a recession.
Banks are also facing more competition from a resurgent bond market, where companies can also borrow.
"While bank credit filled the financing gap during the credit crunch and early stages of the recession, we expect bank business credit to contract over the coming months, owing to these demand-side factors," TD said.
Analysts add that banks are also likely to face headwinds as interest rates rise, squeezing their margins on loans, and as cheap sources of financing introduced by governments during the credit crisis are withdrawn.
Fire, Flood & Theft - Home Insurance
After you have saved up a down payment, arranged financing, found and finally purchased a home, the last thing you want is to see it -- perhaps literally -- go up in smoke.
Fire, flood or theft could turn your dream into a financial nightmare, so it's wise to budget for it from the outset.
The national industry association representing Canada's private home, car and business insurers, The Insurance Bureau of Canada, says unlike for automobile insurance, there are no government regulations that dictate how much home insurance you must have.
However, your bank or mortgage holder will likely impose some insurance requirements on you.
Many mortgage providers will compel you to have at least basic insurance on the property itself to protect their investment, as well as life insurance, so that if you die and are thus unable to pay your mortgage, the lender will still be able to collect the outstanding loan amount.
Fire, flood or theft could turn your dream into a financial nightmare, so it's wise to budget for it from the outset.
The national industry association representing Canada's private home, car and business insurers, The Insurance Bureau of Canada, says unlike for automobile insurance, there are no government regulations that dictate how much home insurance you must have.
However, your bank or mortgage holder will likely impose some insurance requirements on you.
Many mortgage providers will compel you to have at least basic insurance on the property itself to protect their investment, as well as life insurance, so that if you die and are thus unable to pay your mortgage, the lender will still be able to collect the outstanding loan amount.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Yesterday,Today & Tomorrow...
There are two days in every week we should never worry about, two days that should be kept free from fear and apprehension.
One is yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, its aches and pains, its faults and blunders. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control.
All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday.
We cannot undo a single act we performed, nor erase a single word we've said. Yesterday is gone.
The other day we should not worry about is tomorrow, with its impossible adversaries, its burden, its hopeful promise and unknown performance. Tomorrow is beyond our control.
Tomorrow's sun will rise either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds--but it will rise. And until it does, we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is as yet unborn.
This leaves only one day--today! Anyone can fight the battles of just one day. It is only when we add the burdens of yesterday and tomorrow that we break down.
It is not the experience of today that drives people mad. It is the remorse of bitterness for something that happened yesterday, and the dread of what tomorrow may bring.
Make today the best day it can be, and live one day at a time
One is yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, its aches and pains, its faults and blunders. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control.
All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday.
We cannot undo a single act we performed, nor erase a single word we've said. Yesterday is gone.
The other day we should not worry about is tomorrow, with its impossible adversaries, its burden, its hopeful promise and unknown performance. Tomorrow is beyond our control.
Tomorrow's sun will rise either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds--but it will rise. And until it does, we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is as yet unborn.
This leaves only one day--today! Anyone can fight the battles of just one day. It is only when we add the burdens of yesterday and tomorrow that we break down.
It is not the experience of today that drives people mad. It is the remorse of bitterness for something that happened yesterday, and the dread of what tomorrow may bring.
Make today the best day it can be, and live one day at a time
Focus on Actvities, Not Accomplishments
"Is this task in the top 20 percent of my activities or in the bottom 80 percent?"
The 80/20 Rule is one of the most helpful of all concepts of time and life management.
It is also called the "Pareto Principle" after its founder, the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who first wrote about it in 1895. Pareto noticed that people in his society seemed to divide naturally into what he called the "vital few", the top 20 percent in terms of money and influence, and the "trivial many", the bottom 80 percent.
He later discovered that virtually all economic activity was subject to this principle as well. For example, this principle says that 20 percent of your activities will account for 80 percent of your results, 20 percent of your customers will account for 80 percent of your sales, 20 percent of your products or services will account for 80 percent of your profits, 20 percent of your tasks will account for 80 percent of the value of what you do, and so on. This means that if you have a list of ten items to do, two of those items will turn out to be worth five or ten times or more than the other eight items put together.
Number of Tasks versus Importance of Tasks
Here is an interesting discovery.
Each of the ten tasks may take the same amount of time to accomplish. But one or two of those tasks will contribute five or ten times the value of any of the others.Often, one item on a list of ten tasks that you have to do can be worth more than all the other nine items put together. This task is invariably the frog that you should eat first.
Focus on Activities, Not Accomplishments
The most valuable tasks you can do each day are often the hardest and most complex. But the payoff and rewards for completing these tasks efficiently can be tremendous. For this reason, you must adamantly refuse to work on tasks in the bottom 80 percent while you still have tasks in the top 20 percent left to be done.
Before you begin work, always ask yourself, "Is this task in the top 20 percent of my activities or in the bottom 80 percent?"
The hardest part of any important task is getting started on it in the first place. Once you actually begin work on a valuable task, you will be naturally motivated to continue. A part of your mind loves to be busy working on significant tasks that can really make a difference. Your job is to feed this part of your mind continually.
Motivate Yourself
Just thinking about starting and finishing an important task motivates you and helps you to overcome procrastination. Time management is really life management, personal management. It is really taking control of the sequence of events. Time management is having control over what you do next. And you are always free to choose the task that you will do next. Your ability to choose between the important and the unimportant is the key determinant of your success in life and work.
Effective, productive people discipline themselves to start on the most important task that is before them.
They force themselves to eat that frog, whatever it is. As a result, they accomplish vastly more than the average person and are much happier as a result. This should be your way of working as well.
The 80/20 Rule is one of the most helpful of all concepts of time and life management.
It is also called the "Pareto Principle" after its founder, the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who first wrote about it in 1895. Pareto noticed that people in his society seemed to divide naturally into what he called the "vital few", the top 20 percent in terms of money and influence, and the "trivial many", the bottom 80 percent.
He later discovered that virtually all economic activity was subject to this principle as well. For example, this principle says that 20 percent of your activities will account for 80 percent of your results, 20 percent of your customers will account for 80 percent of your sales, 20 percent of your products or services will account for 80 percent of your profits, 20 percent of your tasks will account for 80 percent of the value of what you do, and so on. This means that if you have a list of ten items to do, two of those items will turn out to be worth five or ten times or more than the other eight items put together.
Number of Tasks versus Importance of Tasks
Here is an interesting discovery.
Each of the ten tasks may take the same amount of time to accomplish. But one or two of those tasks will contribute five or ten times the value of any of the others.Often, one item on a list of ten tasks that you have to do can be worth more than all the other nine items put together. This task is invariably the frog that you should eat first.
Focus on Activities, Not Accomplishments
The most valuable tasks you can do each day are often the hardest and most complex. But the payoff and rewards for completing these tasks efficiently can be tremendous. For this reason, you must adamantly refuse to work on tasks in the bottom 80 percent while you still have tasks in the top 20 percent left to be done.
Before you begin work, always ask yourself, "Is this task in the top 20 percent of my activities or in the bottom 80 percent?"
The hardest part of any important task is getting started on it in the first place. Once you actually begin work on a valuable task, you will be naturally motivated to continue. A part of your mind loves to be busy working on significant tasks that can really make a difference. Your job is to feed this part of your mind continually.
Motivate Yourself
Just thinking about starting and finishing an important task motivates you and helps you to overcome procrastination. Time management is really life management, personal management. It is really taking control of the sequence of events. Time management is having control over what you do next. And you are always free to choose the task that you will do next. Your ability to choose between the important and the unimportant is the key determinant of your success in life and work.
Effective, productive people discipline themselves to start on the most important task that is before them.
They force themselves to eat that frog, whatever it is. As a result, they accomplish vastly more than the average person and are much happier as a result. This should be your way of working as well.
Change has never been easy for me - but the Rewards are GR8!
" When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge."
peter-is-a-Newfoundlover
"When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge."~Tuli Kupferburg
Change is not easy. But it is simple.
Things will always change.
We don't have a choice about that, but we do have a choice on how we react to change.
The choice really boils down to this...either we manage change, or it will manage us.
As a leader, however, deciding to make changes is the easy part.
Getting your people on board is much more difficult. Why is that? Quite simply, change is an emotional process.
We are all creatures of habit who usually resist it, and welcome routine.
Uncharted waters are scary!
The truth, of course, is that change can be a wonderful gift.
In fact, it is the key that unlocks the doors to growth and excitement in any organization.
And, most importantly, without it...your competition will pass you by.
As a leader, a big part of success will be your ability to inspire your team to get out of their comfort zones; to assure them that even though they are on a new path, it's the right path, for the right reasons.
peter-is-a-Newfoundlover
"When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge."~Tuli Kupferburg
Change is not easy. But it is simple.
Things will always change.
We don't have a choice about that, but we do have a choice on how we react to change.
The choice really boils down to this...either we manage change, or it will manage us.
As a leader, however, deciding to make changes is the easy part.
Getting your people on board is much more difficult. Why is that? Quite simply, change is an emotional process.
We are all creatures of habit who usually resist it, and welcome routine.
Uncharted waters are scary!
The truth, of course, is that change can be a wonderful gift.
In fact, it is the key that unlocks the doors to growth and excitement in any organization.
And, most importantly, without it...your competition will pass you by.
As a leader, a big part of success will be your ability to inspire your team to get out of their comfort zones; to assure them that even though they are on a new path, it's the right path, for the right reasons.
Green Real Estate Agents
Become a Canadian Green real estate Agent.
Be a Leader In Your Community.
The National Association of Green agents and Green real estate Brokers.
Designation is not part of a fad. Call me for Grants, Canada, Ontario, & Toronto available to green renovate your Home.
Green real estate is changing fundamental market dynamics representing the new normal in our industry.
The Royal Lepage/NAGAB Angus Reid survey shows that almost three quarters of Canadians (72%) say they will look for a green-improved property in their next home purchase, and 63 per cent will be willing to pay more for an environmentally friendly home+.
These individuals recognized the link between Green properties, cost savings and healthy living.
Be a Leader In Your Community.
The National Association of Green agents and Green real estate Brokers.
Designation is not part of a fad. Call me for Grants, Canada, Ontario, & Toronto available to green renovate your Home.
Green real estate is changing fundamental market dynamics representing the new normal in our industry.
The Royal Lepage/NAGAB Angus Reid survey shows that almost three quarters of Canadians (72%) say they will look for a green-improved property in their next home purchase, and 63 per cent will be willing to pay more for an environmentally friendly home+.
These individuals recognized the link between Green properties, cost savings and healthy living.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Toronto Real Estate Mortgage- home loans
Credit , Credit & more Credit - Canada on fueled Real Estate Upswing
Housing market growth boosts real estate loans
Canadians, buoyed by a budding housing market recovery, took on more debt in June as they tapped banks for a variety of loans tied to real estate.
Total bank-issued credit to households grew by 1 per cent in June from May.
On a year-over-year basis, household credit increased by 9.9 per cent.
Housing market growth boosts real estate loans
Canadians, buoyed by a budding housing market recovery, took on more debt in June as they tapped banks for a variety of loans tied to real estate.
Total bank-issued credit to households grew by 1 per cent in June from May.
On a year-over-year basis, household credit increased by 9.9 per cent.
High Voltage Power lines - Danger
Danger of High Voltage Power Lines - 500kv
Only in Alberta would a monstrous and industrial-strength, high-voltage power line be called the Heartland Project.
Then again, the Heartland Project's mandate is to deliver electricity to the oil upgraders and refineries near Fort Saskatchewan, an area dubbed the Industrial Heartland.
So the name, Heartland Project, isn't so much a surreptitious marketing ploy as a bow to the provincial god, Oil.
Church of Oil, meet Cult of NIMBY --also known as the people of the Edmonton region.
A growing number of them are far from impressed by the Heartland Project, its name or its promise to erect skyscraper-sized power lines near their homes. In fact, they view the proposed towers of power as a threat to life, limb and property value.
While I often find NIMBY-ism dreary and dubious, these people have a point. It's one thing to protest a high-design, highrise condo development in a mature neighbourhood. It is another thing entirely to find fault with the quantum hum and gleam of 500 kilovolt power lines, not to mention towers 60 metres high and almost as wide.
The electromagnetic field created by power lines, some believe, causes everything from cancer to dementia. The science is up for debate, but that is actually beside the point. Perception is reality.
Who is going to risk their own health or that of loved ones? Who wants to buy a 2,500-square-foot bungalow in the suburbs if the view out back is an industrial power grid? And by the way, what IS that hum?
The Heartland Project involves four potential routes around Edmonton to the Fort Saskatchewan area.
Two of them run alongside urban areas: between Edmonton and Sherwood Park in one case; along west Edmonton and southern St. Albert in the other.
The Heartland Project is in the midst of public consultation. Epcor is gathering the citizen input. If Epcor's experience is anything like mine, its
-Residents voice concerns about power lines
- ears are ringing.
People are freaking out. Protest groups are forming and the newborn activists are dutifully informing neighbours of the health and safety concerns.
Are their worries legitimate?
Again, the health and safety issues are debatable. But the scope and scale of the Heartland Project is such that I believe it violates a basic premise of planning and civics.
It is simply unfair and unjust to put industrial projects next to people and neighbourhoods. Yes, many of these people bought homes alongside a utility corridor, but no one envisioned anything of this scope and scale.
Yet the power lines of the Heartland Project can't be simply dismissed.
If the Edmonton region is to enjoy a flourishing economy in decades to come, then new industry must be attracted.
To attract those industries, the infrastructure must be available to meet their needs. So how do we get power to them?
If not in your backyard, where?
Edmonton city council voted on this matter in June
. They asked for a report on the advantages and disadvantages of burying 500-kV power lines. A letter was also written to the premier, expressing council's desire for these industrial power lines to be placed underground.
The Alberta Electric System Operator-- it plans and manages transmission lines--is studying the feasibility of burying power lines.
AESO director Neil Brausen says it's not as simple, though, as digging a trench, dropping in a line and back filling. Often, tunnels or ducts must be constructed to house the lines.
There are some likely savings in maintenance costs. But the capital costs are typically five to 20 times more expensive than overhead lines, says Brausen.
He says a report on the feasibility and costs will be done in late August or early September.
Mayor Stephen Mandel says council is clear on the matter: "We want to see the lines buried and we will push to have that done."
But Mandel said people must also be prepared to pay any additional costs. By "people," he means us.
Brausen said the Alberta Utilities Commission, in an earlier case, rejected the city of Lethbridge's call for a 500-kV line to be buried. The commission, though, advised Lethbridge it could get its wish if it shared in the cost.
The people of the Edmonton region might have to do the same.
Pay the money and bury the line.
Save the Heartland.
Only in Alberta would a monstrous and industrial-strength, high-voltage power line be called the Heartland Project.
Then again, the Heartland Project's mandate is to deliver electricity to the oil upgraders and refineries near Fort Saskatchewan, an area dubbed the Industrial Heartland.
So the name, Heartland Project, isn't so much a surreptitious marketing ploy as a bow to the provincial god, Oil.
Church of Oil, meet Cult of NIMBY --also known as the people of the Edmonton region.
A growing number of them are far from impressed by the Heartland Project, its name or its promise to erect skyscraper-sized power lines near their homes. In fact, they view the proposed towers of power as a threat to life, limb and property value.
While I often find NIMBY-ism dreary and dubious, these people have a point. It's one thing to protest a high-design, highrise condo development in a mature neighbourhood. It is another thing entirely to find fault with the quantum hum and gleam of 500 kilovolt power lines, not to mention towers 60 metres high and almost as wide.
The electromagnetic field created by power lines, some believe, causes everything from cancer to dementia. The science is up for debate, but that is actually beside the point. Perception is reality.
Who is going to risk their own health or that of loved ones? Who wants to buy a 2,500-square-foot bungalow in the suburbs if the view out back is an industrial power grid? And by the way, what IS that hum?
The Heartland Project involves four potential routes around Edmonton to the Fort Saskatchewan area.
Two of them run alongside urban areas: between Edmonton and Sherwood Park in one case; along west Edmonton and southern St. Albert in the other.
The Heartland Project is in the midst of public consultation. Epcor is gathering the citizen input. If Epcor's experience is anything like mine, its
-Residents voice concerns about power lines
- ears are ringing.
People are freaking out. Protest groups are forming and the newborn activists are dutifully informing neighbours of the health and safety concerns.
Are their worries legitimate?
Again, the health and safety issues are debatable. But the scope and scale of the Heartland Project is such that I believe it violates a basic premise of planning and civics.
It is simply unfair and unjust to put industrial projects next to people and neighbourhoods. Yes, many of these people bought homes alongside a utility corridor, but no one envisioned anything of this scope and scale.
Yet the power lines of the Heartland Project can't be simply dismissed.
If the Edmonton region is to enjoy a flourishing economy in decades to come, then new industry must be attracted.
To attract those industries, the infrastructure must be available to meet their needs. So how do we get power to them?
If not in your backyard, where?
Edmonton city council voted on this matter in June
. They asked for a report on the advantages and disadvantages of burying 500-kV power lines. A letter was also written to the premier, expressing council's desire for these industrial power lines to be placed underground.
The Alberta Electric System Operator-- it plans and manages transmission lines--is studying the feasibility of burying power lines.
AESO director Neil Brausen says it's not as simple, though, as digging a trench, dropping in a line and back filling. Often, tunnels or ducts must be constructed to house the lines.
There are some likely savings in maintenance costs. But the capital costs are typically five to 20 times more expensive than overhead lines, says Brausen.
He says a report on the feasibility and costs will be done in late August or early September.
Mayor Stephen Mandel says council is clear on the matter: "We want to see the lines buried and we will push to have that done."
But Mandel said people must also be prepared to pay any additional costs. By "people," he means us.
Brausen said the Alberta Utilities Commission, in an earlier case, rejected the city of Lethbridge's call for a 500-kV line to be buried. The commission, though, advised Lethbridge it could get its wish if it shared in the cost.
The people of the Edmonton region might have to do the same.
Pay the money and bury the line.
Save the Heartland.
Sears-downtown- one of the largest retrofit's in North America
Ontario Realty Corporation to spend $100 million on green office conversion
The Ontario Realty Corp.(ORC) is poised to start work this fall on a $100 million greening of a 40-year-old building in downtown Toronto.
The retrofit is believed to be one of the largest of its kind in North America.
To be undertaken at the former Sears Canada head office on Jarvis Street, the project will create 455,000 square feet of state-of-the art green office space. A construction manager is expected to be hired by the end of this month.
Toronto’s WZMH Architects has been retained to help design the green workplace.
Schematic design is currently under way.
LEED Gold is being targeted.
The project is scheduled to be completed by spring 2011.
The retrofit is the first project in the Toronto Accommodation Plan, a provincial initiative to green and retrofit a number of Ontario government buildings in the city. The nine-storey building has 250 sub-grade parking spaces and two surface parking lots.
In a statement, the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure said the project provides opportunities for various energy-efficient design initiatives such as construction of a green roof, use of solar energy and incorporation of state-of-the-art IT infrastructure.
Other measures could include a reduction in parking spaces and provision of bicycle storage facilities to encourage green commuting, the ministry said.
The project is being undertaken by ORC on behalf of the ministry.
“This project presents a unique opportunity to renovate a 40-year old building and create a greener, more efficient workplace that will be used as a model for retrofits across the province,” said ORC president and CEO Dave Glass.
The Ontario Realty Corp.(ORC) is poised to start work this fall on a $100 million greening of a 40-year-old building in downtown Toronto.
The retrofit is believed to be one of the largest of its kind in North America.
To be undertaken at the former Sears Canada head office on Jarvis Street, the project will create 455,000 square feet of state-of-the art green office space. A construction manager is expected to be hired by the end of this month.
Toronto’s WZMH Architects has been retained to help design the green workplace.
Schematic design is currently under way.
LEED Gold is being targeted.
The project is scheduled to be completed by spring 2011.
The retrofit is the first project in the Toronto Accommodation Plan, a provincial initiative to green and retrofit a number of Ontario government buildings in the city. The nine-storey building has 250 sub-grade parking spaces and two surface parking lots.
In a statement, the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure said the project provides opportunities for various energy-efficient design initiatives such as construction of a green roof, use of solar energy and incorporation of state-of-the-art IT infrastructure.
Other measures could include a reduction in parking spaces and provision of bicycle storage facilities to encourage green commuting, the ministry said.
The project is being undertaken by ORC on behalf of the ministry.
“This project presents a unique opportunity to renovate a 40-year old building and create a greener, more efficient workplace that will be used as a model for retrofits across the province,” said ORC president and CEO Dave Glass.
Toronto
Rooftopping Toronto: Rising Above The Core
Toronto City July 29, 2009
Toronto's beautiful raised views are unique not only in what they give, but in what they take away.
The more distant one gets from the street below, the more layers of noise and density fold away - but, at the same time, the more clarity and perspective one gains as his focus widens.
Although farther north than usual, we had been quietly observing our target urban lookout for quite some time.
Trumped in height only by the potentiality of One Bloor in the direct vicinity, our journey seemed rather daunting.
After surprisingly little hesitation, however, we headed up.
Watching the city slowly drop away as if into a fog, each individual floor seemed so marginal, yet in sum, this particular experience eventually gave way to a spectacular view of Toronto.
Although slightly muggy, the low-lying buildings in the distance seemed covered with a thick mist - Casa Loma seemed particularly buried...
Toronto City July 29, 2009
Toronto's beautiful raised views are unique not only in what they give, but in what they take away.
The more distant one gets from the street below, the more layers of noise and density fold away - but, at the same time, the more clarity and perspective one gains as his focus widens.
Although farther north than usual, we had been quietly observing our target urban lookout for quite some time.
Trumped in height only by the potentiality of One Bloor in the direct vicinity, our journey seemed rather daunting.
After surprisingly little hesitation, however, we headed up.
Watching the city slowly drop away as if into a fog, each individual floor seemed so marginal, yet in sum, this particular experience eventually gave way to a spectacular view of Toronto.
Although slightly muggy, the low-lying buildings in the distance seemed covered with a thick mist - Casa Loma seemed particularly buried...
Symptoms of Hazardous Mould
Symptoms of Hazardous Mould
Skin Rashes
Chronic Fatigue
Nose Bleed,
Burning Eyes or Blurred Vision
Depression
Aggravation of Asthma
Unexplained Irritability
Arthritic-like Aches
Flu-like Symptoms
Chronic Headaches
Trouble Breathing
Loss of Balance
Sinus
Congestion
Nausea
Sneezing
Chest Tightness
Skin Rashes
Chronic Fatigue
Nose Bleed,
Burning Eyes or Blurred Vision
Depression
Aggravation of Asthma
Unexplained Irritability
Arthritic-like Aches
Flu-like Symptoms
Chronic Headaches
Trouble Breathing
Loss of Balance
Sinus
Congestion
Nausea
Sneezing
Chest Tightness
Toronto Home Inspection - Real Estate
Home Inspection is crucial for a safe and smooth Real Estate transaction:
it provides peace of mind for Buyers and releases a lot of potential problems for Sellers.
Buying a car usually involves a consultation with a mechanic, but with your life’s biggest investment there is no room for risk - you must know the exact condition of the property that you are buying.
That is where a Home Inspector comes into place.
There is a variety of problems that can be detected:
foundation and structural problems (starting from $25,000 to fix), hidden roof leakage (from $5,000), mold that causes severe health problems ($2,000 – $25,000 to eliminate). On top of that, professional Home Inspectors show Buyers how to operate complicated electrical switches and other home equipment.
Whether you're producing a seller's home inspection or expecting the buyer's home inspector to show up on your doorsteps, it's best to be thoroughly prepared.
10 Tips for smooth Inspection
1. Clean the House
This sounds so simple yet home owners often overlook this tactic. Home inspectors are people first and inspectors second. As people, they carry preconceived ideas of how well a home has been maintained. Clean homes say you care and take care of the house.
2. Be On Time Because the Inspector Will BeSometimes home inspectors are early.
If an inspector makes an appointment with you for 9:00 a.m., have the house ready for inspection at 8:30. It's also common for inspectors to start on the exterior of the home, so leave the shades down or drapes drawn until you are dressed. More than one unprepared seller has been "surprised" by a stranger stomping around in the back yard.
3. Leave the Utilities Connected
The home inspector will need to turn on the stove, run the dishwasher, test the furnace and air conditioning, so leave the utilities on, especially if the house is vacant. It's impossible to check receptacles for grounding and reverse polarity if the power is turned off. Without utilities, the inspector will have to reschedule, which could delay the closing of your transaction and the removal of the buyer's home inspection contingency.
4. Provide Workspace Around Furnace and Water Heaters
Remove boxes, bookcases, furniture and anything else blocking access to your furnace, air conditioner and water heater. The inspector will need three to four feet of working space to inspect these items.
5. Keep Pilot Lights Ignited
Many home inspectors will refuse to light pilot lights because they are not covered for that type of liability. If your pilot lights are not lit, then important items such as the water heater, gas stove or furnace will not be inspected and the buyer could delay closing until those inspections are completed.
6. Provide Access to Attic and Garage
The inspector will need to get into your basement and / or attic as well, so keep a path cleared. Move boxes away from the walls. Vacuum spider webs.
7. Leave Keys for Outbuildings & Electrical Boxes
Leave the remote controls for your garage door opener or a key if the garage is unattached to the house. Unlock the covers for your sprinkler system and electrical box. Leave a key for exterior building access.8. Clear Away Brush from Exterior Inspection PointsNobody expects you to shovel a tunnel around your home if snow drifts are blocking the foundation but, in the winter, do provide a path around the house. In the summer, cut down dead tree branches and clear brush from the foundation. Move trash cans away from the house.
9. Provide Repair Documents
Make available to the home inspector all invoices and documents regarding remodeling projects or new items such as a roof or furnace. If you've upgraded the electrical from ungrounded to grounded, installed a new dishwasher or repaired a leaky faucet, find the paperwork. It will give the buyer peace of mind to know those items were reinspected.
10. Prepare to be Away for Three Hours Minimum
Often the buyer will accompany the home inspector, and buyers feel uncomfortable asking questions if the owner is present. Try to schedule a time for the inspection when you can be out of the house, and take the children with you. Crate your pets if you cannot remove them from the premises.
it provides peace of mind for Buyers and releases a lot of potential problems for Sellers.
Buying a car usually involves a consultation with a mechanic, but with your life’s biggest investment there is no room for risk - you must know the exact condition of the property that you are buying.
That is where a Home Inspector comes into place.
There is a variety of problems that can be detected:
foundation and structural problems (starting from $25,000 to fix), hidden roof leakage (from $5,000), mold that causes severe health problems ($2,000 – $25,000 to eliminate). On top of that, professional Home Inspectors show Buyers how to operate complicated electrical switches and other home equipment.
Whether you're producing a seller's home inspection or expecting the buyer's home inspector to show up on your doorsteps, it's best to be thoroughly prepared.
10 Tips for smooth Inspection
1. Clean the House
This sounds so simple yet home owners often overlook this tactic. Home inspectors are people first and inspectors second. As people, they carry preconceived ideas of how well a home has been maintained. Clean homes say you care and take care of the house.
2. Be On Time Because the Inspector Will BeSometimes home inspectors are early.
If an inspector makes an appointment with you for 9:00 a.m., have the house ready for inspection at 8:30. It's also common for inspectors to start on the exterior of the home, so leave the shades down or drapes drawn until you are dressed. More than one unprepared seller has been "surprised" by a stranger stomping around in the back yard.
3. Leave the Utilities Connected
The home inspector will need to turn on the stove, run the dishwasher, test the furnace and air conditioning, so leave the utilities on, especially if the house is vacant. It's impossible to check receptacles for grounding and reverse polarity if the power is turned off. Without utilities, the inspector will have to reschedule, which could delay the closing of your transaction and the removal of the buyer's home inspection contingency.
4. Provide Workspace Around Furnace and Water Heaters
Remove boxes, bookcases, furniture and anything else blocking access to your furnace, air conditioner and water heater. The inspector will need three to four feet of working space to inspect these items.
5. Keep Pilot Lights Ignited
Many home inspectors will refuse to light pilot lights because they are not covered for that type of liability. If your pilot lights are not lit, then important items such as the water heater, gas stove or furnace will not be inspected and the buyer could delay closing until those inspections are completed.
6. Provide Access to Attic and Garage
The inspector will need to get into your basement and / or attic as well, so keep a path cleared. Move boxes away from the walls. Vacuum spider webs.
7. Leave Keys for Outbuildings & Electrical Boxes
Leave the remote controls for your garage door opener or a key if the garage is unattached to the house. Unlock the covers for your sprinkler system and electrical box. Leave a key for exterior building access.8. Clear Away Brush from Exterior Inspection PointsNobody expects you to shovel a tunnel around your home if snow drifts are blocking the foundation but, in the winter, do provide a path around the house. In the summer, cut down dead tree branches and clear brush from the foundation. Move trash cans away from the house.
9. Provide Repair Documents
Make available to the home inspector all invoices and documents regarding remodeling projects or new items such as a roof or furnace. If you've upgraded the electrical from ungrounded to grounded, installed a new dishwasher or repaired a leaky faucet, find the paperwork. It will give the buyer peace of mind to know those items were reinspected.
10. Prepare to be Away for Three Hours Minimum
Often the buyer will accompany the home inspector, and buyers feel uncomfortable asking questions if the owner is present. Try to schedule a time for the inspection when you can be out of the house, and take the children with you. Crate your pets if you cannot remove them from the premises.
Original Serenity Prayer
God, Grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the Courage to change the things I can
and the Wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it.
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
Amen.
the Courage to change the things I can
and the Wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it.
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
Amen.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Learning to Dance in the Rain
peter-is-a-Newfoundlover,
The date was July 16, 2008. It was late in the afternoon and I was sitting in my hotel room. I was a little "down in the dumps."
I had been invited to show up at 6:00 to see a performance they said I'd enjoy. Little did I know that I was about to see something I would never forget.
They introduced the young musician. Welcome...Mr. Patrick Henry Hughes. He was rolled onto the stage in his wheelchair, and began to play the piano. His fingers danced across the keys as he made beautiful music.
He then began to sing as he played, and it was even more beautiful. For some reason, however, I knew that I was seeing something special. There was this aura about him that I really can't explain and the smile...his smile was magic!
About ten minutes into Patrick's performance, someone came on the stage and said..."I'd like to share a 7-minute video titled, The Patrick Henry Hughes story."
And the lights went dim.Patrick Henry Hughes was born with no eyes, and a tightening of the joints which left him crippled for life. However, as a child, he was fitted with artificial eyes and placed in a wheelchair. Before his first birthday, he discovered the piano. His mom said, "I could hit any note on the piano, and within one or two tries, he'd get it." By his second birthday, he was playing requests (You Are My Sunshine, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star). His father was ecstatic. "We might not play baseball, but we can play music together."
Today, Patrick is a junior at the University of Louisville. His father attends classes with him and he's made nearly all A's, with the exception of 3 B's. He's also a part of the 214 member marching band. You read it right...the marching band! He's a blind, wheelchair-bound trumpet player; and he and his father do it together. They attend all the band practices and the half-time performance in front of thousands. His father rolls and rotates his son around the field to the cheers of Patrick's fans. In order to attend Patrick's classes and every band practice, his father works the graveyard shift at UPS. Patrick said..."My dad's my hero."
But even more than his unbelievable musical talent, it was Patrick's "attitude of gratitude" that touched my soul. On stage, between songs, he would talk to the audience about his life and about how blessed he was. He said, "God made me blind and unable to walk. BIG DEAL! He gave me the ability...the musical gifts I have...the great opportunity to meet new people."
When his performance was over, Patrick and his father were on the stage together. The crowd rose to their feet and cheered for over five minutes. It gave me giant goose bumps!My life was ready to meet Patrick Henry Hughes. I needed a hero, and I found one for the ages. If I live to be a hundred, I'll never forget that night, that smile, that music, but most importantly, that wonderful "attitude of gratitude."
"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain!"
I thought...that's it! We all face adversity in our life. However, it's not the adversity, but how we react to it that will determine the joy and happiness in our life. During tough times, do we spend too much time feeling sorry for ourselves, or, can we, with gratitude...learn how to dance in the rain?
It almost sounds too simple to feel important, but one word...gratitude, can change your attitude, thus, your life, forever.
Sarah Breathnach said it best...
"When we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present....we experience heaven on earth."
Learning to Dance in the Rain
The date was July 16, 2008. It was late in the afternoon and I was sitting in my hotel room. I was a little "down in the dumps."
I had been invited to show up at 6:00 to see a performance they said I'd enjoy. Little did I know that I was about to see something I would never forget.
They introduced the young musician. Welcome...Mr. Patrick Henry Hughes. He was rolled onto the stage in his wheelchair, and began to play the piano. His fingers danced across the keys as he made beautiful music.
He then began to sing as he played, and it was even more beautiful. For some reason, however, I knew that I was seeing something special. There was this aura about him that I really can't explain and the smile...his smile was magic!
About ten minutes into Patrick's performance, someone came on the stage and said..."I'd like to share a 7-minute video titled, The Patrick Henry Hughes story."
And the lights went dim.Patrick Henry Hughes was born with no eyes, and a tightening of the joints which left him crippled for life. However, as a child, he was fitted with artificial eyes and placed in a wheelchair. Before his first birthday, he discovered the piano. His mom said, "I could hit any note on the piano, and within one or two tries, he'd get it." By his second birthday, he was playing requests (You Are My Sunshine, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star). His father was ecstatic. "We might not play baseball, but we can play music together."
Today, Patrick is a junior at the University of Louisville. His father attends classes with him and he's made nearly all A's, with the exception of 3 B's. He's also a part of the 214 member marching band. You read it right...the marching band! He's a blind, wheelchair-bound trumpet player; and he and his father do it together. They attend all the band practices and the half-time performance in front of thousands. His father rolls and rotates his son around the field to the cheers of Patrick's fans. In order to attend Patrick's classes and every band practice, his father works the graveyard shift at UPS. Patrick said..."My dad's my hero."
But even more than his unbelievable musical talent, it was Patrick's "attitude of gratitude" that touched my soul. On stage, between songs, he would talk to the audience about his life and about how blessed he was. He said, "God made me blind and unable to walk. BIG DEAL! He gave me the ability...the musical gifts I have...the great opportunity to meet new people."
When his performance was over, Patrick and his father were on the stage together. The crowd rose to their feet and cheered for over five minutes. It gave me giant goose bumps!My life was ready to meet Patrick Henry Hughes. I needed a hero, and I found one for the ages. If I live to be a hundred, I'll never forget that night, that smile, that music, but most importantly, that wonderful "attitude of gratitude."
"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain!"
I thought...that's it! We all face adversity in our life. However, it's not the adversity, but how we react to it that will determine the joy and happiness in our life. During tough times, do we spend too much time feeling sorry for ourselves, or, can we, with gratitude...learn how to dance in the rain?
It almost sounds too simple to feel important, but one word...gratitude, can change your attitude, thus, your life, forever.
Sarah Breathnach said it best...
"When we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present....we experience heaven on earth."
Learning to Dance in the Rain
Monday, July 27, 2009
after 36 days the Toronto Garbage strike is Over ? !
Toronto City Union Garbage Strike is Over?
The Toronto city union strike is very close to being over.
After 36 days off the job (and following a night of midnight oil burning, marathon talks) Mark Ferguson, the head of union representing outside workers under CUPE Local 416, took to the mic at 8:30am and announced that a tentative deal has been reached but is conditional on Local 416 member ratification.
He encourage the city to get the same from inside workers of CUPE Local 79, who have yet to reach a deal with the city. Hopefully member ratification happens quickly for both unions and all workers return to the job soon.
A late night message from Ann Dembinski, the president of Local 79 to their members, was posted to their web page and suggests that things are pointing towards an agreement: "I want to let all Local 79 members know that we believe we are close to a negotiated settlement."
It's clearly a bittersweet moment for both sides. Details of the tentative agreement are not yet being released but will become known in the fullness of time. Ferguson is reportedly saying that no concessions were made on the union's part. Mayor Miller is remaining hum. Hopefully everyone is happy with a settlement that meets the demands of both sides, somewhere in the middle.
I'm sure we're all especially looking forward to the return of garbage collection, the cleanup of our city's parks (many of which have acted as temporary garbage dumps), the return of city-run
The Toronto city union strike is very close to being over.
After 36 days off the job (and following a night of midnight oil burning, marathon talks) Mark Ferguson, the head of union representing outside workers under CUPE Local 416, took to the mic at 8:30am and announced that a tentative deal has been reached but is conditional on Local 416 member ratification.
He encourage the city to get the same from inside workers of CUPE Local 79, who have yet to reach a deal with the city. Hopefully member ratification happens quickly for both unions and all workers return to the job soon.
A late night message from Ann Dembinski, the president of Local 79 to their members, was posted to their web page and suggests that things are pointing towards an agreement: "I want to let all Local 79 members know that we believe we are close to a negotiated settlement."
It's clearly a bittersweet moment for both sides. Details of the tentative agreement are not yet being released but will become known in the fullness of time. Ferguson is reportedly saying that no concessions were made on the union's part. Mayor Miller is remaining hum. Hopefully everyone is happy with a settlement that meets the demands of both sides, somewhere in the middle.
I'm sure we're all especially looking forward to the return of garbage collection, the cleanup of our city's parks (many of which have acted as temporary garbage dumps), the return of city-run
Tax dedution in moving costs - a breakdown Canada tax law
July. 2009 09:10AM EDT
Moving this summer?
Make sure you save some income tax in the process.
Consider the following:
Time your move
If you're moving to another province, time it carefully. You see, you're generally considered to be resident in the province in which you live on Dec. 31 each year. So, if you're moving to a lower-taxed province, move before Dec. 31 if you can. This way, you'll pay tax at lower rates in your new province for 2009. If you're moving to a province with higher tax rates, delay your move until early next year if possible.
Move more than 40 km for work or school
You can claim moving expenses only where you've moved to a new location for employment, to carry on your own business, or attend school full time. To qualify, the distance from your new home to your new place of work or school has got to be at least 40 kilometres closer than from your old home to your new work or school. The good news? The 40 kilometres is measured by the shortest normal route open to the travelling public – not “as the crow flies.”
Meet the other criteria for deductions
You'll be able to deduct moving expenses to the extent that:
They are not paid by your employer; they were not deducted in a prior year; they were not deducted as some other type of expense (such as child care expenses); they are not more than your income for the year from your new work or school; and any reimbursement or allowance you received for these expenses has been included in your income.
Claim all expenses possible
There's a lot you can claim.
Consider: travelling costs for you and your family, the cost of transporting and storing your stuff, the cost of meals and lodging for up to 15 days, the cost of cancelling a lease on your former place, the cost of revising legal documents to reflect address changes and replacing your driver's licence and vehicle permits, the costs of connecting and disconnecting utilities, costs of selling your old home (including advertising, legal fees, real estate commissions, mortgage prepayment or discharge fees), and certain costs of acquiring your new place (legal fees and land transfer taxes, but not GST/HST or value-added taxes).
And, get this – you can also deduct up to $5,000 of interest, property taxes, insurance premiums and utilities costs on your old home during a period in which you had already vacated the place and were making reasonable efforts to sell it (and not renting it out).
Earn qualifying income
You've got to earn income in your new location to be eligible to claim moving expenses. This can be income from employment, self-employment, or school (scholarship or research grant income), but not simply investment income. You can only deduct up to the amount of income earned in the new location in the year of your move. If you haven't got enough income that year to claim all your expenses, you can carry the excess amounts forward and deduct them in the next year, up to your income from eligible sources in that second year.
Pay an adult child to help
Want to save a few bucks in moving costs? Hire your child who is 18 or older to help in the move. You'll be entitled to a tax deduction provided the costs otherwise qualify as eligible moving expenses. Now, your child will have to report that income, but if he has little or no other income (under $10,320 in 2009), he won't pay any tax on the amount paid to him. It's a great income-splitting tactic; a way to save tax as a family.
Claim expenses on either return
A recent technical interpretation issued by the Canada Revenue Agency on May 21, 2009, dealt with a situation where both spouses in a family are eligible to claim moving expenses in respect of the same move.
Who should claim those expenses?
While the CRA acknowledged that the person who paid the expenses should technically deduct them, it did say that it would administratively allow the spouses to choose who should claim the expenses.
It makes sense, then, for the spouse with the higher marginal tax rate to make the claim (assuming that spouse has sufficient post-move income in the year of the move to claim all the expenses).
More tax will be saved this way
Moving this summer?
Make sure you save some income tax in the process.
Consider the following:
Time your move
If you're moving to another province, time it carefully. You see, you're generally considered to be resident in the province in which you live on Dec. 31 each year. So, if you're moving to a lower-taxed province, move before Dec. 31 if you can. This way, you'll pay tax at lower rates in your new province for 2009. If you're moving to a province with higher tax rates, delay your move until early next year if possible.
Move more than 40 km for work or school
You can claim moving expenses only where you've moved to a new location for employment, to carry on your own business, or attend school full time. To qualify, the distance from your new home to your new place of work or school has got to be at least 40 kilometres closer than from your old home to your new work or school. The good news? The 40 kilometres is measured by the shortest normal route open to the travelling public – not “as the crow flies.”
Meet the other criteria for deductions
You'll be able to deduct moving expenses to the extent that:
They are not paid by your employer; they were not deducted in a prior year; they were not deducted as some other type of expense (such as child care expenses); they are not more than your income for the year from your new work or school; and any reimbursement or allowance you received for these expenses has been included in your income.
Claim all expenses possible
There's a lot you can claim.
Consider: travelling costs for you and your family, the cost of transporting and storing your stuff, the cost of meals and lodging for up to 15 days, the cost of cancelling a lease on your former place, the cost of revising legal documents to reflect address changes and replacing your driver's licence and vehicle permits, the costs of connecting and disconnecting utilities, costs of selling your old home (including advertising, legal fees, real estate commissions, mortgage prepayment or discharge fees), and certain costs of acquiring your new place (legal fees and land transfer taxes, but not GST/HST or value-added taxes).
And, get this – you can also deduct up to $5,000 of interest, property taxes, insurance premiums and utilities costs on your old home during a period in which you had already vacated the place and were making reasonable efforts to sell it (and not renting it out).
Earn qualifying income
You've got to earn income in your new location to be eligible to claim moving expenses. This can be income from employment, self-employment, or school (scholarship or research grant income), but not simply investment income. You can only deduct up to the amount of income earned in the new location in the year of your move. If you haven't got enough income that year to claim all your expenses, you can carry the excess amounts forward and deduct them in the next year, up to your income from eligible sources in that second year.
Pay an adult child to help
Want to save a few bucks in moving costs? Hire your child who is 18 or older to help in the move. You'll be entitled to a tax deduction provided the costs otherwise qualify as eligible moving expenses. Now, your child will have to report that income, but if he has little or no other income (under $10,320 in 2009), he won't pay any tax on the amount paid to him. It's a great income-splitting tactic; a way to save tax as a family.
Claim expenses on either return
A recent technical interpretation issued by the Canada Revenue Agency on May 21, 2009, dealt with a situation where both spouses in a family are eligible to claim moving expenses in respect of the same move.
Who should claim those expenses?
While the CRA acknowledged that the person who paid the expenses should technically deduct them, it did say that it would administratively allow the spouses to choose who should claim the expenses.
It makes sense, then, for the spouse with the higher marginal tax rate to make the claim (assuming that spouse has sufficient post-move income in the year of the move to claim all the expenses).
More tax will be saved this way
Pent Up Demand + Low interest rates fuel Housing Sales Recovery
Pent-up demand, along with low interest rates and greater affordability were behind the June rebound in residential housing sales in Canada and “a clear signal” that the sector has shifted into recovery mode, HomeLife said Monday.
Canada's largest markets, Toronto and Vancouver, led the charge, with June sales among the highest in history for both cities' local real estate boards, HomeLife said in a news release.
The company, part of a global network of real-estate agents, said major markets began to recover in March, posting escalating sales in April, May and June.
Most centres are now forecasting year-end sales on par or ahead of 2008 levels, ReMax said.
Close to 11,000 properties changed hands in Toronto, up 27 per cent over June 2008, setting a sales record for the month and just slightly off the all-time peak of 11,146 units.
Residential sales in Greater Vancouver increased 75.6 per cent over the year-earlier period to 4,259 units, just short of the record 4,333 sales of June 2005, HomeLife said.
Over all, average prices held steady or climbed in June, while the number of days houses remained on the market was down as inventory levels continue to tighten, especially at entry-level price points, it said.
HomeLife agent Peter Tarshis attributed the recent surge in resale activity to three key factors:
pent-up demand, low interest rates, and greater affordability.
“The combination — in conjunction with declining inventory levels — has created heated market conditions in hot pocket neighbourhoods, prompting a resurgence in multiple offers in June,” Peter said.
“Although the current pace may be unsustainable, all markers point to greater stability in the market, leading to healthier activity in the long run, with inventory levels a key variable influencing pent-up demand.”
Canada's largest markets, Toronto and Vancouver, led the charge, with June sales among the highest in history for both cities' local real estate boards, HomeLife said in a news release.
The company, part of a global network of real-estate agents, said major markets began to recover in March, posting escalating sales in April, May and June.
Most centres are now forecasting year-end sales on par or ahead of 2008 levels, ReMax said.
Close to 11,000 properties changed hands in Toronto, up 27 per cent over June 2008, setting a sales record for the month and just slightly off the all-time peak of 11,146 units.
Residential sales in Greater Vancouver increased 75.6 per cent over the year-earlier period to 4,259 units, just short of the record 4,333 sales of June 2005, HomeLife said.
Over all, average prices held steady or climbed in June, while the number of days houses remained on the market was down as inventory levels continue to tighten, especially at entry-level price points, it said.
HomeLife agent Peter Tarshis attributed the recent surge in resale activity to three key factors:
pent-up demand, low interest rates, and greater affordability.
“The combination — in conjunction with declining inventory levels — has created heated market conditions in hot pocket neighbourhoods, prompting a resurgence in multiple offers in June,” Peter said.
“Although the current pace may be unsustainable, all markers point to greater stability in the market, leading to healthier activity in the long run, with inventory levels a key variable influencing pent-up demand.”
Downpayment & Closing costs - 1st. time buyers
Daily Real Estate News July 10, 2009
Downpayment, Closing Costs Biggest Obstacles Most North Americans still consider having enough money for downpayment and closing costs to be the biggest obstacles to buying a home, according to the 2009 National Housing Pulse Survey, an annual survey released Thursday by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.
The survey, which measures how affordable housing issues affect consumers, also found job security concerns to be the highest in seven years of sampling. Two-thirds of North Americans think job layoffs and unemployment are a big problem; eight in 10 cite these issues as a barrier to homeownership.
“Homeownership is an investment in your future; however, saving for a downpayment and closing costs is still too great of an obstacle for 82 percent of house hunters looking to take advantage of the current market.
Our hope is that the tax credit will be extended and expanded to all home buyers and will help bring stability to the housing market and enable more Americans to achieve the dream of homeownership."
Downpayment, Closing Costs Biggest Obstacles Most North Americans still consider having enough money for downpayment and closing costs to be the biggest obstacles to buying a home, according to the 2009 National Housing Pulse Survey, an annual survey released Thursday by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.
The survey, which measures how affordable housing issues affect consumers, also found job security concerns to be the highest in seven years of sampling. Two-thirds of North Americans think job layoffs and unemployment are a big problem; eight in 10 cite these issues as a barrier to homeownership.
“Homeownership is an investment in your future; however, saving for a downpayment and closing costs is still too great of an obstacle for 82 percent of house hunters looking to take advantage of the current market.
Our hope is that the tax credit will be extended and expanded to all home buyers and will help bring stability to the housing market and enable more Americans to achieve the dream of homeownership."
Fences in your Mind
I've watched the movie Chicken Run at least a half-dozen times. Just beneath the surface of its simplistic look and story line lie a number of wonderful messages told through the eyes of a bunch of Claymation chickens trying to break out of their chicken-wire world to escape their fate at the chopping block. Their freedom leader, a feisty little hen named Ginger, comments profoundly in one scene: "the fences are all in your mind." She reminds her fellow chickens (and us), that a bigger obstacle than the physical fences they're surrounded by are the mental fences that hold them captive.
It's been a good reminder for me on those occasions when I've been dealing my own mental fences...those created by self-doubt, uncertainty, fear. Can you relate? Where have you fenced yourself in mentally in recent days or weeks? Perhaps your mental fence is procrastination, a deadening habit that keeps you stuck. Maybe yours, like mine, is related to self-doubt, and the on-going internal noise it produces that keeps you immobilized. Perhaps yours is the belief that you don't deserve success, so you sabotage yourself to avoid having to find out how successful you could be. There are a million variations of the theme, but the result is still the same: we stay stuck like the chickens in the movie.
One of the key questions in the Best Year Yet® program is: "How do I limit myself and how can I stop?" Those limitations are never external. They always live inside us. The antidote to being trapped by our mental fences is to create a compelling enough vision that, like Ginger and her flock of chicken friends, we're willing to resort to amazing measures to break out. The formula:
VISION + CONSISTENT ACTION = FREEDOM!
I challenge you to take some bold, even outrageous steps to break free of your mental fences. If it's procrastination, declare a "freedom day" and take action on everything you've been putting off: from cleaning your office to making phone calls or responding to emails you've avoided.
If it's self-doubt, sit down and write out everything you value and why it's important. Then challenge yourself to eliminate anything that doesn't absolutely reflect your values, or add something that is a profound statement of who you are.
FREEDOM IS JUST THE OTHER SIDE OF ACTION.
Recognize that your mental fences can only keep you stuck as long as you're looking at them. They can only contain you as long as you're not taking actions consistent with your vision. Go ahead, take the action you've avoided and leap into a future filled with possibilities. And remember, the fences are all in your mind!
It's been a good reminder for me on those occasions when I've been dealing my own mental fences...those created by self-doubt, uncertainty, fear. Can you relate? Where have you fenced yourself in mentally in recent days or weeks? Perhaps your mental fence is procrastination, a deadening habit that keeps you stuck. Maybe yours, like mine, is related to self-doubt, and the on-going internal noise it produces that keeps you immobilized. Perhaps yours is the belief that you don't deserve success, so you sabotage yourself to avoid having to find out how successful you could be. There are a million variations of the theme, but the result is still the same: we stay stuck like the chickens in the movie.
One of the key questions in the Best Year Yet® program is: "How do I limit myself and how can I stop?" Those limitations are never external. They always live inside us. The antidote to being trapped by our mental fences is to create a compelling enough vision that, like Ginger and her flock of chicken friends, we're willing to resort to amazing measures to break out. The formula:
VISION + CONSISTENT ACTION = FREEDOM!
I challenge you to take some bold, even outrageous steps to break free of your mental fences. If it's procrastination, declare a "freedom day" and take action on everything you've been putting off: from cleaning your office to making phone calls or responding to emails you've avoided.
If it's self-doubt, sit down and write out everything you value and why it's important. Then challenge yourself to eliminate anything that doesn't absolutely reflect your values, or add something that is a profound statement of who you are.
FREEDOM IS JUST THE OTHER SIDE OF ACTION.
Recognize that your mental fences can only keep you stuck as long as you're looking at them. They can only contain you as long as you're not taking actions consistent with your vision. Go ahead, take the action you've avoided and leap into a future filled with possibilities. And remember, the fences are all in your mind!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Federal-Provincial-Toronto Grant incentives to improve -Go Green
"Move or Improve": Weighing the benefits of renovating -Federal/Provincial/Toronto grant incentives
These are exciting times for the Greater Toronto Area resale housing market. Last month, 10,955 properties changed hands, making it the best June on record. While many GTA residents have capitalized on low mortgage rates to make their next move, this year's federal tax incentive has motivated others to renovate instead.
If you are a homeowner, eventually you may have to decide whether to renovate or move on. There are many factors you should consider when weighing both options.The most significant consideration of course, is cost.
When you undertake a renovation, costs can escalate due to a number of variables. As well, bear in mind that if you are planning to renovate, the project has to make economic sense. You might really want sparkling granite countertops and radiant floor heating, but consider whether these improvements are advisable in your current location.If after renovations are complete, the value of your home is no longer in line with the value of other properties in the area, it could affect your return on the investment.
In other words, if the cost of your renovation outweighs the market value it will add to your home, the wiser decision could be to simply move on.The Appraisal Institute of Canada provides information for renovation planning and not surprisingly, fix-ups to kitchens, bathrooms and paint are the best options, returning up to 100 per cent of your investment. Its recent study showed that energy efficient upgrades, like windows and heating systems, have an average recovery rate of 61 per cent.If you are working towards a greener home though, some of the costs can be offset by a number of government programs.Natural Resources Canada for example, provides a grant to homeowners who undertake renovations that improve the energy efficiency rating of their homes.
An EnerGuide for Houses evaluation must be performed prior and subsequent to renovations to determine the change in the home's rating. Grants are $750 on average, but vary based on the amount by which the home's energy rating improves as a result of renovations.As well, the federal government's 2009 Home Renovation Tax Credit provides a 15 per cent credit that can be claimed on a portion of eligible fix-ups between $1,000 and $10,000, a credit of up to $1,350. Another federal government initiative, the Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program provides financial assistance on renovations that bring housing up to basic health and safety standards, to a maximum loan of $16,000 in the Toronto area.
The Ontario government offers a $500 rebate when you replace an inefficient central air conditioner with an ENERGYSTAR® certified system, and a $50 rebate when you have your central air conditioner tuned up by a registered participating contractor. There is also a $75 rebate on the supply and installation of programmable thermostats.
The City of Toronto's WaterSaver Program offers residents $60 cash back plus a chance to win $2500 when they buy eligible high-efficiency washers, and various municipalities, including Toronto, have implemented Residential Toilet Replacement programs, offering cash incentives to replace units with selected water-efficient models.Before you undertake any renovations though, it's important to recognize the magnitude of inconvenience you will experience. Consider that moving into a home can be accomplished in about 60 days while major renovations can take up to a year.
You can choose to live through the chaos or rent elsewhere, adding to your overall costs. When you are confronted by changing needs, the most cost-effective choice is often to move on.
To explore all of your options talk to a REALTOR® and visit www.TorontoRealEstateBoard.com for full details on government programs, market statistics and neighbourhood profiles.
These are exciting times for the Greater Toronto Area resale housing market. Last month, 10,955 properties changed hands, making it the best June on record. While many GTA residents have capitalized on low mortgage rates to make their next move, this year's federal tax incentive has motivated others to renovate instead.
If you are a homeowner, eventually you may have to decide whether to renovate or move on. There are many factors you should consider when weighing both options.The most significant consideration of course, is cost.
When you undertake a renovation, costs can escalate due to a number of variables. As well, bear in mind that if you are planning to renovate, the project has to make economic sense. You might really want sparkling granite countertops and radiant floor heating, but consider whether these improvements are advisable in your current location.If after renovations are complete, the value of your home is no longer in line with the value of other properties in the area, it could affect your return on the investment.
In other words, if the cost of your renovation outweighs the market value it will add to your home, the wiser decision could be to simply move on.The Appraisal Institute of Canada provides information for renovation planning and not surprisingly, fix-ups to kitchens, bathrooms and paint are the best options, returning up to 100 per cent of your investment. Its recent study showed that energy efficient upgrades, like windows and heating systems, have an average recovery rate of 61 per cent.If you are working towards a greener home though, some of the costs can be offset by a number of government programs.Natural Resources Canada for example, provides a grant to homeowners who undertake renovations that improve the energy efficiency rating of their homes.
An EnerGuide for Houses evaluation must be performed prior and subsequent to renovations to determine the change in the home's rating. Grants are $750 on average, but vary based on the amount by which the home's energy rating improves as a result of renovations.As well, the federal government's 2009 Home Renovation Tax Credit provides a 15 per cent credit that can be claimed on a portion of eligible fix-ups between $1,000 and $10,000, a credit of up to $1,350. Another federal government initiative, the Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program provides financial assistance on renovations that bring housing up to basic health and safety standards, to a maximum loan of $16,000 in the Toronto area.
The Ontario government offers a $500 rebate when you replace an inefficient central air conditioner with an ENERGYSTAR® certified system, and a $50 rebate when you have your central air conditioner tuned up by a registered participating contractor. There is also a $75 rebate on the supply and installation of programmable thermostats.
The City of Toronto's WaterSaver Program offers residents $60 cash back plus a chance to win $2500 when they buy eligible high-efficiency washers, and various municipalities, including Toronto, have implemented Residential Toilet Replacement programs, offering cash incentives to replace units with selected water-efficient models.Before you undertake any renovations though, it's important to recognize the magnitude of inconvenience you will experience. Consider that moving into a home can be accomplished in about 60 days while major renovations can take up to a year.
You can choose to live through the chaos or rent elsewhere, adding to your overall costs. When you are confronted by changing needs, the most cost-effective choice is often to move on.
To explore all of your options talk to a REALTOR® and visit www.TorontoRealEstateBoard.com for full details on government programs, market statistics and neighbourhood profiles.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Toronto - Loblaws Food Giant on the move
Loblaw buying T&T Asian food chain
Friday, July 24, 2009
Grocery retailer Loblaw Companies Ltd. said Friday it is buying T&T Supermarket Inc., Canada's largest Asian food retailer, for about $225 million.
Loblaw said the deal is for $191 million in cash, with the rest in preferred shares issued by T&T.
The value of the preferred shares will be tied to the future performance of the business.
Launched in 1993, T&T operates 17 stores in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, and four distribution centres —three in Vancouver and one in Toronto.
"T&T's talented management team and colleagues have developed what we believe are the best Asian stores in Canada, which will be used to help Loblaw extend its ethnic offering to better serve Canada's largest growing customer segment," Galen G. Weston, executive chairman of Loblaw, said in a release.
Sales at T&T hit roughly $514 million in the 12 months leading up to June 30.
"Some of our customers have a nickname for us — the Asian Loblaw. Today we are proud it has become a reality," said Cindy Lee, CEO of T&T.
The deal is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Loblaw's store chains already include Zehrs, Fortinos, Real Canadian Superstore, valu-mart, Atlantic Superstore, Maxi, Maxi & Cie, no frills, Provigo and Extra Foods.
The company has about 1,000 corporate-owned or franchised stores across the country.
Shortly after announcing the T&T deal, Loblaw told investors its second-quarter earnings jumped by 38 per cent.
The Toronto-based company said it made $193 million, or 70 cents a share, up from $140 million, or 51 cents a share, a year earlier.
Sales in the quarter rose by 2.8 per cent to $7.2 billion on growth in its food and drugstore operations. Same-store sales — which track sales at stores open at least a 12 months — gained 2.5 per cent, topping the one-year rise of 0.7 per cent seen in the same quarter of 2008.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Grocery retailer Loblaw Companies Ltd. said Friday it is buying T&T Supermarket Inc., Canada's largest Asian food retailer, for about $225 million.
Loblaw said the deal is for $191 million in cash, with the rest in preferred shares issued by T&T.
The value of the preferred shares will be tied to the future performance of the business.
Launched in 1993, T&T operates 17 stores in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, and four distribution centres —three in Vancouver and one in Toronto.
"T&T's talented management team and colleagues have developed what we believe are the best Asian stores in Canada, which will be used to help Loblaw extend its ethnic offering to better serve Canada's largest growing customer segment," Galen G. Weston, executive chairman of Loblaw, said in a release.
Sales at T&T hit roughly $514 million in the 12 months leading up to June 30.
"Some of our customers have a nickname for us — the Asian Loblaw. Today we are proud it has become a reality," said Cindy Lee, CEO of T&T.
The deal is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Loblaw's store chains already include Zehrs, Fortinos, Real Canadian Superstore, valu-mart, Atlantic Superstore, Maxi, Maxi & Cie, no frills, Provigo and Extra Foods.
The company has about 1,000 corporate-owned or franchised stores across the country.
Shortly after announcing the T&T deal, Loblaw told investors its second-quarter earnings jumped by 38 per cent.
The Toronto-based company said it made $193 million, or 70 cents a share, up from $140 million, or 51 cents a share, a year earlier.
Sales in the quarter rose by 2.8 per cent to $7.2 billion on growth in its food and drugstore operations. Same-store sales — which track sales at stores open at least a 12 months — gained 2.5 per cent, topping the one-year rise of 0.7 per cent seen in the same quarter of 2008.
Zillow "True Mortgage Cost" calculation service
Daily Real Estate News July 24, 2009
Zillow Debuts 'True Cost' Mortgage Calculator
Zillow.com has introduced a "true cost" calculation service that it says allows borrowers to determine how much they will pay in interest and fees over the period they plan to live in the home.
Borrowers can see how much they will pay in total interest and fees for various loan quotes from potential lenders over a five, 10, or 20-year period.
Zillow also displays the principal as an additional number to consider, because it will grow at varying rates depending on loan program.
"Truly shopping for a loan and comparing terms and costs on an apples-to-apples basis is excruciatingly difficult for the average consumer to do," Zillow President Lloyd Frink says. "This is why so many consumers find themselves in loans they don't understand."
Source: Zillow.com
Zillow Debuts 'True Cost' Mortgage Calculator
Zillow.com has introduced a "true cost" calculation service that it says allows borrowers to determine how much they will pay in interest and fees over the period they plan to live in the home.
Borrowers can see how much they will pay in total interest and fees for various loan quotes from potential lenders over a five, 10, or 20-year period.
Zillow also displays the principal as an additional number to consider, because it will grow at varying rates depending on loan program.
"Truly shopping for a loan and comparing terms and costs on an apples-to-apples basis is excruciatingly difficult for the average consumer to do," Zillow President Lloyd Frink says. "This is why so many consumers find themselves in loans they don't understand."
Source: Zillow.com
Toronto Life Square has gone into receivership
Building a winner in midst of failure Building a winner in midst of failure
For Sale:
A Central Square Toronto Life Square, a building at one of the country's busiest intersections, has gone into receivership. But, as the Star's Christopher Hume explains - that doesn't mean it was a failure. (July 23, 2009)
As failures go, this is one of the most successful in the city's history.
Despite the fact the company behind Toronto Life Square has gone into receivership, the project is by all accounts doing just fine, thank you very much.
In case you're wondering, Toronto Life Square shouldn't be confused with Yonge-Dundas Square across the road. The latter really is a square, the former a building.
Constructed on land expropriated by the pre-amalgamation City of Toronto in the late 1990s, the massive entertainment complex was developed by a subsidiary of PenEquity Realty Corp. From the start, however, the project was nothing but trouble for the firm.
Work on the building began five years behind schedule, and only after a series of setbacks. At one point, Disney, a prospective tenant, simply walked away from the table, leaving PenEquity in a state of open-mouthed shock.
Of course, Toronto Life Square - the building - isn't much to look at. Big, grey and hopelessly plain, it had almost nothing going for it other than its location, but what a location. Occupying the northeast corner of Yonge and Dundas, one of Toronto's and Canada's busiest and most important intersections, it couldn't help but succeed.
The collapse of PenEquity has more to do with its own ineptitude and the economic meltdown than the viability of the complex itself.
Indeed, when the city took over the land, the idea was to use the public realm as a way to intervene and reverse the decline of the neighbourhood. In the late 1990s, don't forget, Yonge and Dundas has been sucked into a downward spiral of dollar stores and cheap clothing outlets, drugs and crime. Landlords weren't maintaining their buildings and visitors were staying away in droves.
The Eaton Centre didn't help either.
Though it is the city's largest tourist attraction, it sucked people off the streets, turning the neighbourhood into an urban wasteland.
But since then things have improved hugely; though Dundas Square has not been universally embraced, there's no question it has improved the look and feel of the area immeasurably, attracting thousands and thousands of people and prompting millions of dollars worth of improvements to surrounding buildings. Even the Eaton Centre rebuilt its main facade and life returned to the streets.
So it's no surprise that real estate professionals say it won't be hard to find a buyer for Toronto Life Square.
In fact, the complex has never been more desirable as a piece of real estate.
PenEquity's crisis was triggered three months ago when the Royal Bank called in its $123 million loan.
By then, the developer's debt had soared to $280 million.
But as James Robinson, the executive director of the Downtown Yonge Business Improvement Association, points out, "It makes little difference to the public who owns the building."
"The project was conceived as a catalyst for regeneration of the district," he explains, "and that has happened. What we're seeing in the receivership is a result of financing and economic conditions.
There's no doubt Toronto Life Square has reinvigorated the street. Even before it was built, it had spurred investment. People forget but in the mid-1990s, the area was in serious decline with drug dealing and petty crime. The building is fully tenanted from a retail perspective, and they all seem to be doing well. In my view, it has done its job."
Those tenants, who include AMC, Future Shop, Adidas and various restaurant chains, may be the usual commercial suspects. But in this case, they will be wanted whether PenEquity is dead or alive.
For Sale:
A Central Square Toronto Life Square, a building at one of the country's busiest intersections, has gone into receivership. But, as the Star's Christopher Hume explains - that doesn't mean it was a failure. (July 23, 2009)
As failures go, this is one of the most successful in the city's history.
Despite the fact the company behind Toronto Life Square has gone into receivership, the project is by all accounts doing just fine, thank you very much.
In case you're wondering, Toronto Life Square shouldn't be confused with Yonge-Dundas Square across the road. The latter really is a square, the former a building.
Constructed on land expropriated by the pre-amalgamation City of Toronto in the late 1990s, the massive entertainment complex was developed by a subsidiary of PenEquity Realty Corp. From the start, however, the project was nothing but trouble for the firm.
Work on the building began five years behind schedule, and only after a series of setbacks. At one point, Disney, a prospective tenant, simply walked away from the table, leaving PenEquity in a state of open-mouthed shock.
Of course, Toronto Life Square - the building - isn't much to look at. Big, grey and hopelessly plain, it had almost nothing going for it other than its location, but what a location. Occupying the northeast corner of Yonge and Dundas, one of Toronto's and Canada's busiest and most important intersections, it couldn't help but succeed.
The collapse of PenEquity has more to do with its own ineptitude and the economic meltdown than the viability of the complex itself.
Indeed, when the city took over the land, the idea was to use the public realm as a way to intervene and reverse the decline of the neighbourhood. In the late 1990s, don't forget, Yonge and Dundas has been sucked into a downward spiral of dollar stores and cheap clothing outlets, drugs and crime. Landlords weren't maintaining their buildings and visitors were staying away in droves.
The Eaton Centre didn't help either.
Though it is the city's largest tourist attraction, it sucked people off the streets, turning the neighbourhood into an urban wasteland.
But since then things have improved hugely; though Dundas Square has not been universally embraced, there's no question it has improved the look and feel of the area immeasurably, attracting thousands and thousands of people and prompting millions of dollars worth of improvements to surrounding buildings. Even the Eaton Centre rebuilt its main facade and life returned to the streets.
So it's no surprise that real estate professionals say it won't be hard to find a buyer for Toronto Life Square.
In fact, the complex has never been more desirable as a piece of real estate.
PenEquity's crisis was triggered three months ago when the Royal Bank called in its $123 million loan.
By then, the developer's debt had soared to $280 million.
But as James Robinson, the executive director of the Downtown Yonge Business Improvement Association, points out, "It makes little difference to the public who owns the building."
"The project was conceived as a catalyst for regeneration of the district," he explains, "and that has happened. What we're seeing in the receivership is a result of financing and economic conditions.
There's no doubt Toronto Life Square has reinvigorated the street. Even before it was built, it had spurred investment. People forget but in the mid-1990s, the area was in serious decline with drug dealing and petty crime. The building is fully tenanted from a retail perspective, and they all seem to be doing well. In my view, it has done its job."
Those tenants, who include AMC, Future Shop, Adidas and various restaurant chains, may be the usual commercial suspects. But in this case, they will be wanted whether PenEquity is dead or alive.
Toronto the Good - Muddy York blog
End the Strike Now Campaign
People are becoming more vocal about the ongoing Toronto city union strike... especially online, where anonymity allows everyone to openly vent frustrations. Though many comments take the shape of rants, they also reveal the impact this strike is having on the everyday lives of Torontonians.
One citizen (who requests anonymity) has decided to channel some of this anger and frustration in the form of an informal petition to End the Strike Now.
In Toronto's often lukewarm political environment, it's refreshing to see the reaction. From garbage in parks and swimming pools, to child care concerns, the End the Strike Now campaign is attempting to record the impact of the strike and the legitimate concerns of dissatisfied citizens.
Too bad it took such a stinking mess to evoke a response.
When I interviewed the mind behind the End the Strike Now initiative, I was expecting a stern political agenda to emerge out of the petition. However, it quickly became clear that the intention is to formally register the complaints, concerns, and effect that this strike has evoked in the city.
"There are hundreds of blog comments on sites, such as yours, but I know the rest of the 2.5 million people in Toronto feel some level of disgust with what's going on.
I wanted to see if there were more people against this and this seemed like the only way to find out."
The website takes visitors through a few factual statements about the strike - its duration (32 days and counting) and how long the initiative has been waiting for a response from the City (7 days and counting) - as well as recent news developments. Otherwise, there is no obvious agenda - the creator seems to geniunely offer a public forum for registering a 'strike impact statement.'
Everything is collected anonymously, and at this point is not a formal petition but rather a test to see how much support there is for this initiative. Interestingly, the people who are leaving comments (which at present, are not displayed publicly) are sharing the dramatic impact that this strike has had on their lives.
"This is very grass roots, in that these are real people who are struggling and even suffering due to the strike. These are intelligent comments that don't only vent frustration, but suggest very thoughtful people who have a genuine interest in changing the situation in our city."
The link to the petition website was initially kept secret, sent only to city councillors and select media outlets (including blogTO). Already over 100 people have left comments on the site, and over 1000 have visited - suggesting that there are a large number of people being motivated to take action against the strike.
Though the petition is not currently public (there are legalities around what defines a public petition), the creator's intent is to garner enough support to then take the petition to the Mayor, the Premier, or even CUPE. All comments left are kept private, but by leaving your name and email, the creator can contact you to see if you would like to be added to the official petition once it is registered.
The hope is that this new-found public interest in city operations will renew the public's political motivation, and the creator is very much aware of this tenuous political interest.
There's a municipal election coming (November 8, 2010 to be exact) and while the current political climate is charged thanks to the strike, the public often forgets once the situation is resolved.
Already Miller has attempted to placate the public, refunding summer camp, pool and leadership program fees, but as yet has offered no relief on property taxes or garbage collection fees.
The End the Strike Now website will help to ensure that the impact of this summers strike isn't forgotten, and can be used to drive positive change in city planning and policy.
"I don't have the answer - are people being affected by the strike? The mayor? The Union? The NDP? This 'petition' is more of a conscious retaliation to the current strike situation.
What difference does it make when 24,000+ workers leave their job?
The bottom line is that people are really concerned, and they need to voice those concerns."
People are becoming more vocal about the ongoing Toronto city union strike... especially online, where anonymity allows everyone to openly vent frustrations. Though many comments take the shape of rants, they also reveal the impact this strike is having on the everyday lives of Torontonians.
One citizen (who requests anonymity) has decided to channel some of this anger and frustration in the form of an informal petition to End the Strike Now.
In Toronto's often lukewarm political environment, it's refreshing to see the reaction. From garbage in parks and swimming pools, to child care concerns, the End the Strike Now campaign is attempting to record the impact of the strike and the legitimate concerns of dissatisfied citizens.
Too bad it took such a stinking mess to evoke a response.
When I interviewed the mind behind the End the Strike Now initiative, I was expecting a stern political agenda to emerge out of the petition. However, it quickly became clear that the intention is to formally register the complaints, concerns, and effect that this strike has evoked in the city.
"There are hundreds of blog comments on sites, such as yours, but I know the rest of the 2.5 million people in Toronto feel some level of disgust with what's going on.
I wanted to see if there were more people against this and this seemed like the only way to find out."
The website takes visitors through a few factual statements about the strike - its duration (32 days and counting) and how long the initiative has been waiting for a response from the City (7 days and counting) - as well as recent news developments. Otherwise, there is no obvious agenda - the creator seems to geniunely offer a public forum for registering a 'strike impact statement.'
Everything is collected anonymously, and at this point is not a formal petition but rather a test to see how much support there is for this initiative. Interestingly, the people who are leaving comments (which at present, are not displayed publicly) are sharing the dramatic impact that this strike has had on their lives.
"This is very grass roots, in that these are real people who are struggling and even suffering due to the strike. These are intelligent comments that don't only vent frustration, but suggest very thoughtful people who have a genuine interest in changing the situation in our city."
The link to the petition website was initially kept secret, sent only to city councillors and select media outlets (including blogTO). Already over 100 people have left comments on the site, and over 1000 have visited - suggesting that there are a large number of people being motivated to take action against the strike.
Though the petition is not currently public (there are legalities around what defines a public petition), the creator's intent is to garner enough support to then take the petition to the Mayor, the Premier, or even CUPE. All comments left are kept private, but by leaving your name and email, the creator can contact you to see if you would like to be added to the official petition once it is registered.
The hope is that this new-found public interest in city operations will renew the public's political motivation, and the creator is very much aware of this tenuous political interest.
There's a municipal election coming (November 8, 2010 to be exact) and while the current political climate is charged thanks to the strike, the public often forgets once the situation is resolved.
Already Miller has attempted to placate the public, refunding summer camp, pool and leadership program fees, but as yet has offered no relief on property taxes or garbage collection fees.
The End the Strike Now website will help to ensure that the impact of this summers strike isn't forgotten, and can be used to drive positive change in city planning and policy.
"I don't have the answer - are people being affected by the strike? The mayor? The Union? The NDP? This 'petition' is more of a conscious retaliation to the current strike situation.
What difference does it make when 24,000+ workers leave their job?
The bottom line is that people are really concerned, and they need to voice those concerns."
Toronto Real Estate Feature article July 2009 on 142 Bedford Road
www.142BedfordRoad.com
HOUSE OF THE WEEK TheStar.com Real Estate Stately mansion could be family compound
Jul 24, 2009 04:30 AM
Special to the Star
Address: 142 Bedford Rd., Bernard Ave. and Bedford, The Annex
Asking price: $3,375,000
Size: 4,845 square feet, not including finished basement
Lot: 35 by 111-feet, single car attached garage, circular drive parking for up to five cars
Taxes: $10,630.31 (2008)
Bedrooms: 4 plus 2
Bathrooms: 9
This historic home is one of the largest in the prestigious Annex neighbourhood, situated between Avenue Rd. and Spadina Ave., just south of Davenport Rd.
Surrounded by stately detached renovated homes, the Laidlaw Mansion was built in 1893 by architect George Martell Miller in the Grand Victorian style and is part of the Annex Conservation District.
In 2001, the interior of the home was fully restored with a massive renovation that cost about $1 million.
Most of the interior layout was unchanged and all the original details - such as archways, stained glass windows, wood trim, 10-foot solid oak doors and moulding - remained untarnished.
For the first 60 years, this three-storey brick home served as a single-family dwelling.
Now, with six bedrooms and nine washrooms, it boasts five apartments, all with their own entrances.
"To convert it back to a single family home, I would suggest getting rid of the second and third floor kitchens and turning them into a family room and library," says listing agent Peter Tarshis.
"This house could be an `urban family compound' with space for various family members, such as parents with older children and even grandparents, all with autonomy and privacy."
Because of its location, this mansion could also ideally be used as a live/work dwelling. "The rent currently generated from the existing luxury apartments is about $160,000 a year average.
New condos for sale in the near vicinity are starting at $1 million, and other, much smaller single family homes in the area are selling for anywhere between $1.5 to over $3 million," says Tarshis.
The home is walking distance to Bloor St. and the Dupont subway station. There are many schools close by, including an alternative school, a Montessori school, a Waldorf school, George Brown College and the University of Toronto. As well, high-end shops, restaurants and cafés are all a short walk away.
The front door features a transom window and opens to the main floor apartment unit with a large foyer and a four-piece washroom.
Double doors lead to the huge - 28 feet long and 23 feet wide - great room, which could also be used as a ballroom or living room.
It has hardwood floors and the original stone fireplace.
Nestled between the great room and the dining room is the kitchen, with slate floors, granite counters and a pantry. The dining room features a hardwood floor, a vaulted ceiling, another original fireplace and a powder room. Double doors open to a bedroom with a walk-in closet and a vaulted ceiling. As well, there is a walkout to a private courtyard.
Still on the main floor is a living room with a large bay window, fireplace, two-piece bathroom and two entrances. A spiral staircase goes one level down to the kitchen, breakfast room, bedroom and four-piece bathroom.
On the second floor is a two-bedroom apartment, one bedroom with its own fireplace. Also on this level is a living room with a fireplace, a dining room, kitchen, four-piece bathroom and two-piece powder room and laundry room. It also features a private deck.
The third floor apartment has a combined living room/dining room with a fireplace, a kitchen, laundry room, bedroom with large closet and three-piece bathroom and powder room. This level also has a private deck.
The finished basement has another apartment with above-grade windows.
If the home was converted back to a single-family dwelling, this apartment could conveniently serve as an in-law suite or be used as nanny quarters. It features a bedroom, living room, three-piece bathroom, kitchen and a separate side entrance.
To have a look at this house, contact listing agent Peter Tarshis, Homelife/Realty One Ltd.,
Brokerage, 416-705-1181;
www.142BedfordRoad.com.
"HELPING YOU IS WHAT I DO"
I Believe in building relationships.
I am here to meet your needs- to Serve & Protect - Your Investment.
As a Real Estate Consultant I am dedicated to the Real Estate Investor & Home Owner- who is willing to work for one of the most precious things in the World - Freedom.
Posted by Peter Tarshis on 07/24/2009 09:19 AM
HOUSE OF THE WEEK TheStar.com Real Estate Stately mansion could be family compound
Jul 24, 2009 04:30 AM
Special to the Star
Address: 142 Bedford Rd., Bernard Ave. and Bedford, The Annex
Asking price: $3,375,000
Size: 4,845 square feet, not including finished basement
Lot: 35 by 111-feet, single car attached garage, circular drive parking for up to five cars
Taxes: $10,630.31 (2008)
Bedrooms: 4 plus 2
Bathrooms: 9
This historic home is one of the largest in the prestigious Annex neighbourhood, situated between Avenue Rd. and Spadina Ave., just south of Davenport Rd.
Surrounded by stately detached renovated homes, the Laidlaw Mansion was built in 1893 by architect George Martell Miller in the Grand Victorian style and is part of the Annex Conservation District.
In 2001, the interior of the home was fully restored with a massive renovation that cost about $1 million.
Most of the interior layout was unchanged and all the original details - such as archways, stained glass windows, wood trim, 10-foot solid oak doors and moulding - remained untarnished.
For the first 60 years, this three-storey brick home served as a single-family dwelling.
Now, with six bedrooms and nine washrooms, it boasts five apartments, all with their own entrances.
"To convert it back to a single family home, I would suggest getting rid of the second and third floor kitchens and turning them into a family room and library," says listing agent Peter Tarshis.
"This house could be an `urban family compound' with space for various family members, such as parents with older children and even grandparents, all with autonomy and privacy."
Because of its location, this mansion could also ideally be used as a live/work dwelling. "The rent currently generated from the existing luxury apartments is about $160,000 a year average.
New condos for sale in the near vicinity are starting at $1 million, and other, much smaller single family homes in the area are selling for anywhere between $1.5 to over $3 million," says Tarshis.
The home is walking distance to Bloor St. and the Dupont subway station. There are many schools close by, including an alternative school, a Montessori school, a Waldorf school, George Brown College and the University of Toronto. As well, high-end shops, restaurants and cafés are all a short walk away.
The front door features a transom window and opens to the main floor apartment unit with a large foyer and a four-piece washroom.
Double doors lead to the huge - 28 feet long and 23 feet wide - great room, which could also be used as a ballroom or living room.
It has hardwood floors and the original stone fireplace.
Nestled between the great room and the dining room is the kitchen, with slate floors, granite counters and a pantry. The dining room features a hardwood floor, a vaulted ceiling, another original fireplace and a powder room. Double doors open to a bedroom with a walk-in closet and a vaulted ceiling. As well, there is a walkout to a private courtyard.
Still on the main floor is a living room with a large bay window, fireplace, two-piece bathroom and two entrances. A spiral staircase goes one level down to the kitchen, breakfast room, bedroom and four-piece bathroom.
On the second floor is a two-bedroom apartment, one bedroom with its own fireplace. Also on this level is a living room with a fireplace, a dining room, kitchen, four-piece bathroom and two-piece powder room and laundry room. It also features a private deck.
The third floor apartment has a combined living room/dining room with a fireplace, a kitchen, laundry room, bedroom with large closet and three-piece bathroom and powder room. This level also has a private deck.
The finished basement has another apartment with above-grade windows.
If the home was converted back to a single-family dwelling, this apartment could conveniently serve as an in-law suite or be used as nanny quarters. It features a bedroom, living room, three-piece bathroom, kitchen and a separate side entrance.
To have a look at this house, contact listing agent Peter Tarshis, Homelife/Realty One Ltd.,
Brokerage, 416-705-1181;
www.142BedfordRoad.com.
"HELPING YOU IS WHAT I DO"
I Believe in building relationships.
I am here to meet your needs- to Serve & Protect - Your Investment.
As a Real Estate Consultant I am dedicated to the Real Estate Investor & Home Owner- who is willing to work for one of the most precious things in the World - Freedom.
Posted by Peter Tarshis on 07/24/2009 09:19 AM
Toronto - 80 story Condo at 1 Bloor/Yonge - on the edge of extinct
'If I lose 1 Bloor, I don't just lose a deal - I lose my dream."
The gleaming 80-storey condominium tower that was to lead the revitalization of the Yonge-Bloor intersection in Toronto is teetering on the edge of extinction.
Anna Cass had the distinction of being one of the first people in line to buy a unit at 1 Bloor in what she figured was a special property.
"We rented a room at the Marriott and took shifts," says the Royal LePage realtor. "I didn't invest in a property to flip. I wanted to live there."
Cass eventually chose a nearly 1,300-square-foot unit for herself. She remembers the name. It was called the Dream 1290.
"I hope this isn't poetic justice, that it was all a dream," says Cass. "If I lose 1 Bloor, I don't just lose a deal - I lose my dream."
Cass said some purchasers who had units on the higher floors received letters this month telling them that their units would not be built, since the tower would not be as tall as originally planned.
One of those purchasers called Cass asking if she could repurchase another unit in the building.
"They still want to live in this building. It really is a great spot," says Cass.
"It has the location, the amenities. There's a hotel. People around the world knew about it."
Cass did not say what she paid for her unit, but she figures it would be worth "at least" $300,000 to $400,000 more today.
She also sold several units to her clients.
"I believed in this project, and I wouldn't tell anyone else to invest if I didn't personally think it was a good project," she says.
Cass said she hasn't received any information lately from developer Bazis International about the status of the project.
And she has not heard about a possible receivership.
"I thought for legal reasons they weren't commenting. But as far as I know, the project is still going ahead," she says. "I thought they were still solid."
The gleaming 80-storey condominium tower that was to lead the revitalization of the Yonge-Bloor intersection in Toronto is teetering on the edge of extinction.
Anna Cass had the distinction of being one of the first people in line to buy a unit at 1 Bloor in what she figured was a special property.
"We rented a room at the Marriott and took shifts," says the Royal LePage realtor. "I didn't invest in a property to flip. I wanted to live there."
Cass eventually chose a nearly 1,300-square-foot unit for herself. She remembers the name. It was called the Dream 1290.
"I hope this isn't poetic justice, that it was all a dream," says Cass. "If I lose 1 Bloor, I don't just lose a deal - I lose my dream."
Cass said some purchasers who had units on the higher floors received letters this month telling them that their units would not be built, since the tower would not be as tall as originally planned.
One of those purchasers called Cass asking if she could repurchase another unit in the building.
"They still want to live in this building. It really is a great spot," says Cass.
"It has the location, the amenities. There's a hotel. People around the world knew about it."
Cass did not say what she paid for her unit, but she figures it would be worth "at least" $300,000 to $400,000 more today.
She also sold several units to her clients.
"I believed in this project, and I wouldn't tell anyone else to invest if I didn't personally think it was a good project," she says.
Cass said she hasn't received any information lately from developer Bazis International about the status of the project.
And she has not heard about a possible receivership.
"I thought for legal reasons they weren't commenting. But as far as I know, the project is still going ahead," she says. "I thought they were still solid."
Toronto Women Builders
There aren't many women who build homes, but those who do say they are perfectly suited to the task.
It's hard to miss the new three-storey house looming above the Edwardian and Georgian homes in the upscale Toronto Casa Loma neighbourhood near Spadina and St. Clair.
The 5,000-square-foot luxury home took a year to complete - exactly the amount of time the builder said it would take from the demolition of the old house to the final carpentry and painting. Pamela Silver, 42, president of Intrabuild Custom Homes, proudly pulls out the detailed 10-page project schedule she devised weeks before construction began.
"I hit every target date on time. I was right on schedule every step of the entire project."
Silver is among a very small number of female builders operating in the Greater Toronto Area. Stephen Dupuis, CEO of the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), which represents 1,450 homebuilders and developers in the GTA, confirms the fact.
Only three out of the 32-member BILD board of directors are women, Dupuis says. "Our board typically is made up of company principals. Fewer principals are women."
Dupuis surmises that the large capital risk may deter women from becoming builders. "It probably appears more intimidating than it is."
Condominium builder Julie Di Lorenzo insists that it's not the financial risk that keeps female entrepreneurs out of construction. "They have avoided the building industry because there's a perception that this industry is a man's world."
Di Lorenzo, 45, co-president of Diamante Development Corp., ventured into the business when, as a university student in 1982, she teamed up with two male partners to start a concrete forming company. The concrete work provided cash flow for their early development projects.
Di Lorenzo says she's been very comfortable working in this male-dominated environment. "I appreciate the guys on the job and they respect me. They've watched me grow up in the business. They know I understand it from the bottom up."
In 1992, Di Lorenzo and partners Joe Foti and Paolo Palamara founded Diamante with restaurateur Franco Prevedello. The company is known for such condominium projects as 1 Balmoral, at Yonge and St. Clair, and One City Hall, near Bay and Dundas.
Each partner has an area of expertise. Di Lorenzo is responsible for the financial and development side of the business. She says as a woman she's more on the lookout for obstacles than her male partners. "Anticipating problems is characteristic of a woman's thinking," she says.
Nevertheless, Di Lorenzo is not fazed by the current downturn in the sale of new homes. She's proceeding with construction of the Florian, a 21-storey luxury building at Bay and Davenport with units starting at $1 million. Having been through three recessions, Di Lorenzo says she's ready to face the latest economic storm. "I'm an optimist," she declares.
Di Lorenzo has weathered many challenges, some by choice, she says. For instance, in 2005 she took on the presidency of BILD when she was eight months' pregnant. "Even with the baby, I never missed a meeting."
The business gives her the flexibility she needs to raise a pre-schooler and toddler. She brings them to meetings and at home she's never without her BlackBerry. "I live and breathe this business 24/7."
Mary Lawson, vice-president and general manager of Dalerose Country Homes, a custom home-building company in Orangeville, was also raising young children when she started a renovation company in the Kitchener-Waterloo area in the early '70s.
Lawson, a 40-year industry veteran, has had a multi-faceted career in construction. She's been an independent and she's held executive positions, working on condominium developments and single-home subdivisions in Alberta throughout the '80s and in the GTA since 1991.
Women are well suited to running construction sites, Lawson observes. "Most women are born multi-taskers. They're more organized than men."
Along with custom work, Lawson is also overseeing a production project of eight homes in the $650,000 range in Caledon East. "I wish we were all sold out," she laments. "But with the present economic uncertainty, consumers are reluctant to make major financial decisions like buying a new home."
Lawson has been a trailblazer in the residential construction industry. She was the first woman to head a Canadian homebuilders' association when she was elected president of the Calgary organization in 1988. She held the equivalent position in Toronto in 1998 and in 2004, she was the national president. But she recalls being excluded from association meetings in the '70s. "Women were welcome only for ladies' night."
Still, she says she was always treated as an equal in Western Canada. "I think Toronto in the '80s would have been a tougher go."
Overall, she has felt well respected by her male peers. "If you know what you're talking about, you don't get too much flak."
After 23 years in the building and land development business, Laurie Gordon, 46, president of Berkshire Homes, is accustomed to being the sole woman on a building site.
She says people are often surprised when they meet her. "They say, 'This is an unusual place for a woman.'"
But the comments don't bother her. "You know your ability to deliver because you understand the business."
Gordon studied urban and regional planning at university in preparation for a career as a developer. She started in land planning servicing subdivisions with sewers and roads. She became a builder in 1997 when she established Berkshire Homes with John Carbone. "It was a natural progression," she says.
Berkshire, BILD's green builder of the year, just completed a project of semicustom homes in the mid-$400,000 range on heavily treed lots near Bolton and Orangeville. "Environmentally sustainable projects are the future of this business," she says.
Like other companies, Berkshire has been hit by the economic downturn, and while sales have slowed, Gordon stresses she's still on the lookout for development opportunities.
Silver says that thanks to custom work, she is not as financially vulnerable as people who build on spec.
The Casa Loma home is her sixth major project since she started building six years ago. She has a degree in interior design and 13 years' experience as a professional project manager.
"I was managing multi-million dollar projects for a major technology company," says Silver, who is based in Toronto. "That's a skill set that's very adaptable to building."
Her foray into building started with personal projects. First she renovated her house. Then she hired a builder to construct a new family home. "When I saw what he did, I said to myself, 'I can do this.'" So she sold that house and built another one on her own. Then she put up the Intrabuild shingle.
Silver is pleased about the positive relationship she has developed with the male subcontractors. "They like working for me because I'm very organized. I make their work easier for them."
She says a key skill she brings as a woman is her ability to communicate effectively with the homeowner and the people in the trades.
"I'm the liaison between them. I'm trying to translate the client's vision into an outstanding finished product."
It's hard to miss the new three-storey house looming above the Edwardian and Georgian homes in the upscale Toronto Casa Loma neighbourhood near Spadina and St. Clair.
The 5,000-square-foot luxury home took a year to complete - exactly the amount of time the builder said it would take from the demolition of the old house to the final carpentry and painting. Pamela Silver, 42, president of Intrabuild Custom Homes, proudly pulls out the detailed 10-page project schedule she devised weeks before construction began.
"I hit every target date on time. I was right on schedule every step of the entire project."
Silver is among a very small number of female builders operating in the Greater Toronto Area. Stephen Dupuis, CEO of the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), which represents 1,450 homebuilders and developers in the GTA, confirms the fact.
Only three out of the 32-member BILD board of directors are women, Dupuis says. "Our board typically is made up of company principals. Fewer principals are women."
Dupuis surmises that the large capital risk may deter women from becoming builders. "It probably appears more intimidating than it is."
Condominium builder Julie Di Lorenzo insists that it's not the financial risk that keeps female entrepreneurs out of construction. "They have avoided the building industry because there's a perception that this industry is a man's world."
Di Lorenzo, 45, co-president of Diamante Development Corp., ventured into the business when, as a university student in 1982, she teamed up with two male partners to start a concrete forming company. The concrete work provided cash flow for their early development projects.
Di Lorenzo says she's been very comfortable working in this male-dominated environment. "I appreciate the guys on the job and they respect me. They've watched me grow up in the business. They know I understand it from the bottom up."
In 1992, Di Lorenzo and partners Joe Foti and Paolo Palamara founded Diamante with restaurateur Franco Prevedello. The company is known for such condominium projects as 1 Balmoral, at Yonge and St. Clair, and One City Hall, near Bay and Dundas.
Each partner has an area of expertise. Di Lorenzo is responsible for the financial and development side of the business. She says as a woman she's more on the lookout for obstacles than her male partners. "Anticipating problems is characteristic of a woman's thinking," she says.
Nevertheless, Di Lorenzo is not fazed by the current downturn in the sale of new homes. She's proceeding with construction of the Florian, a 21-storey luxury building at Bay and Davenport with units starting at $1 million. Having been through three recessions, Di Lorenzo says she's ready to face the latest economic storm. "I'm an optimist," she declares.
Di Lorenzo has weathered many challenges, some by choice, she says. For instance, in 2005 she took on the presidency of BILD when she was eight months' pregnant. "Even with the baby, I never missed a meeting."
The business gives her the flexibility she needs to raise a pre-schooler and toddler. She brings them to meetings and at home she's never without her BlackBerry. "I live and breathe this business 24/7."
Mary Lawson, vice-president and general manager of Dalerose Country Homes, a custom home-building company in Orangeville, was also raising young children when she started a renovation company in the Kitchener-Waterloo area in the early '70s.
Lawson, a 40-year industry veteran, has had a multi-faceted career in construction. She's been an independent and she's held executive positions, working on condominium developments and single-home subdivisions in Alberta throughout the '80s and in the GTA since 1991.
Women are well suited to running construction sites, Lawson observes. "Most women are born multi-taskers. They're more organized than men."
Along with custom work, Lawson is also overseeing a production project of eight homes in the $650,000 range in Caledon East. "I wish we were all sold out," she laments. "But with the present economic uncertainty, consumers are reluctant to make major financial decisions like buying a new home."
Lawson has been a trailblazer in the residential construction industry. She was the first woman to head a Canadian homebuilders' association when she was elected president of the Calgary organization in 1988. She held the equivalent position in Toronto in 1998 and in 2004, she was the national president. But she recalls being excluded from association meetings in the '70s. "Women were welcome only for ladies' night."
Still, she says she was always treated as an equal in Western Canada. "I think Toronto in the '80s would have been a tougher go."
Overall, she has felt well respected by her male peers. "If you know what you're talking about, you don't get too much flak."
After 23 years in the building and land development business, Laurie Gordon, 46, president of Berkshire Homes, is accustomed to being the sole woman on a building site.
She says people are often surprised when they meet her. "They say, 'This is an unusual place for a woman.'"
But the comments don't bother her. "You know your ability to deliver because you understand the business."
Gordon studied urban and regional planning at university in preparation for a career as a developer. She started in land planning servicing subdivisions with sewers and roads. She became a builder in 1997 when she established Berkshire Homes with John Carbone. "It was a natural progression," she says.
Berkshire, BILD's green builder of the year, just completed a project of semicustom homes in the mid-$400,000 range on heavily treed lots near Bolton and Orangeville. "Environmentally sustainable projects are the future of this business," she says.
Like other companies, Berkshire has been hit by the economic downturn, and while sales have slowed, Gordon stresses she's still on the lookout for development opportunities.
Silver says that thanks to custom work, she is not as financially vulnerable as people who build on spec.
The Casa Loma home is her sixth major project since she started building six years ago. She has a degree in interior design and 13 years' experience as a professional project manager.
"I was managing multi-million dollar projects for a major technology company," says Silver, who is based in Toronto. "That's a skill set that's very adaptable to building."
Her foray into building started with personal projects. First she renovated her house. Then she hired a builder to construct a new family home. "When I saw what he did, I said to myself, 'I can do this.'" So she sold that house and built another one on her own. Then she put up the Intrabuild shingle.
Silver is pleased about the positive relationship she has developed with the male subcontractors. "They like working for me because I'm very organized. I make their work easier for them."
She says a key skill she brings as a woman is her ability to communicate effectively with the homeowner and the people in the trades.
"I'm the liaison between them. I'm trying to translate the client's vision into an outstanding finished product."
Buying Real Estate in Mexico & Central America
Buying into real estate paradise? Do your due diligence.
Want to buy into some swank resort south of the border?
There may be deals out there, but take care and make sure everything is sound.
With the recession hitting the United States worse than Canada, and the Canadian dollar still strong, this may be a great time for Canadians to buy that sunny, tranquil getaway in the U.S. or further south.
But to make sure it is tranquil, do your due diligence, just like you would at home.
Tom Kelly, a syndicated columnist based in Washington State has co-authored two books about buying real estate in Mexico and Central America.
He believes prices in those areas will go up once American baby-boomers recover some of their wealth.
Baby boomers in the U.S. weren’t prepared for the economic downturn and once they rebuild they are going to look for a cheaper life style and it’s definitely cheaper in Mexico and Central America, Kelly said.
Canadians, on the other hand, haven’t been as hard hit and were better prepared, he said.
So they are in a better position to buy now.
“And the further you go typically the less expensive it’s going to be,” Kelly said
Panama, for example, “is a bargain right now,” Kelly said. “But it costs money to get there.”
And while Puerto Vallarta and other places in Mexico are easier to get there, deals can be found there too, because not as many people are buying, he said.
The outbreak of swine flu in the spring turned some people off. And the rash of drug-related crime did too, kelly said.
But Kelly believes Mexico is perfectly safe, with the violence limited to the drug trade near the border.
“There’s no history of these people targeting non-nationals,” Kelly said.
Mexico is also safe from a purchasing perspective with title insurance now available to those buying property, he said.
And a lot of the horror stories of people buying in Mexico and ending up with nothing really stemmed from “non-nationals buying property they should have never bought in the first place because nobody owned the title to it,” Kelly said.
So just like you would in Canada, “go out and do the due diligence” before you buy, he said.
“Don’t leave your brains at the border,” he said.
Check out the property in person to make sure it’s what you want, rather than buying off the internet,” Kelly said.
And for financing, it’s cheaper to remortgage your Canadian property and buy with cash than get local financing. While there are international banks that will lend you money they will charge more, he said.
David Ingram is a North-Vancouver-based former real estate agent who has made a career out of advising Canadians who want to buy property outside the country, and foreigners who want to buy property in Canada. About 6,000 people attended his seminars last year, an indication of the interest in offshore real estate, Ingram said.
The first thing to remember is every country, and every state, is different. So get the advice you need to learn the rules before you buy.
In Mexico for example, non-nationals aren’t allowed to buy within a certain distance of shores or borders, as part of national security. But that can be overcome by setting up a trust to purchase the property, for which title insurance is available.
But other things to think about are local laws relating to rentals. If the property is to be rented out, chances are tax must be paid on the rental income, both Kelly and Ingram said.
While owners may be tempted not to pay the tax, Kelly recommends against it. Because if you don’t pay and the government finds out you will have to go through a hearing and the government could put a lien on the property.
“So it’s better to be safe than sorry,” Kelly said.
Other things to think about?
Don’t forget about visa requirements to stay in the country, Ingram said.
While no visa is needed for the U.S. if you stay too long you may have to pay tax on your worldwide income.
And if you’re not careful, you may lose your entitlement to B.C.’s medical services plan which requires residents to be “physically present” in the province for at least six months of the year.
“So get proper advice,” before you buy, Ingram said.
Want to buy into some swank resort south of the border?
There may be deals out there, but take care and make sure everything is sound.
With the recession hitting the United States worse than Canada, and the Canadian dollar still strong, this may be a great time for Canadians to buy that sunny, tranquil getaway in the U.S. or further south.
But to make sure it is tranquil, do your due diligence, just like you would at home.
Tom Kelly, a syndicated columnist based in Washington State has co-authored two books about buying real estate in Mexico and Central America.
He believes prices in those areas will go up once American baby-boomers recover some of their wealth.
Baby boomers in the U.S. weren’t prepared for the economic downturn and once they rebuild they are going to look for a cheaper life style and it’s definitely cheaper in Mexico and Central America, Kelly said.
Canadians, on the other hand, haven’t been as hard hit and were better prepared, he said.
So they are in a better position to buy now.
“And the further you go typically the less expensive it’s going to be,” Kelly said
Panama, for example, “is a bargain right now,” Kelly said. “But it costs money to get there.”
And while Puerto Vallarta and other places in Mexico are easier to get there, deals can be found there too, because not as many people are buying, he said.
The outbreak of swine flu in the spring turned some people off. And the rash of drug-related crime did too, kelly said.
But Kelly believes Mexico is perfectly safe, with the violence limited to the drug trade near the border.
“There’s no history of these people targeting non-nationals,” Kelly said.
Mexico is also safe from a purchasing perspective with title insurance now available to those buying property, he said.
And a lot of the horror stories of people buying in Mexico and ending up with nothing really stemmed from “non-nationals buying property they should have never bought in the first place because nobody owned the title to it,” Kelly said.
So just like you would in Canada, “go out and do the due diligence” before you buy, he said.
“Don’t leave your brains at the border,” he said.
Check out the property in person to make sure it’s what you want, rather than buying off the internet,” Kelly said.
And for financing, it’s cheaper to remortgage your Canadian property and buy with cash than get local financing. While there are international banks that will lend you money they will charge more, he said.
David Ingram is a North-Vancouver-based former real estate agent who has made a career out of advising Canadians who want to buy property outside the country, and foreigners who want to buy property in Canada. About 6,000 people attended his seminars last year, an indication of the interest in offshore real estate, Ingram said.
The first thing to remember is every country, and every state, is different. So get the advice you need to learn the rules before you buy.
In Mexico for example, non-nationals aren’t allowed to buy within a certain distance of shores or borders, as part of national security. But that can be overcome by setting up a trust to purchase the property, for which title insurance is available.
But other things to think about are local laws relating to rentals. If the property is to be rented out, chances are tax must be paid on the rental income, both Kelly and Ingram said.
While owners may be tempted not to pay the tax, Kelly recommends against it. Because if you don’t pay and the government finds out you will have to go through a hearing and the government could put a lien on the property.
“So it’s better to be safe than sorry,” Kelly said.
Other things to think about?
Don’t forget about visa requirements to stay in the country, Ingram said.
While no visa is needed for the U.S. if you stay too long you may have to pay tax on your worldwide income.
And if you’re not careful, you may lose your entitlement to B.C.’s medical services plan which requires residents to be “physically present” in the province for at least six months of the year.
“So get proper advice,” before you buy, Ingram said.
Radon Gas
Exposure to radon gas could do it.
On July 21, 2009, a United Nations committee said radon gas in homes is directly linked to a small risk of lung cancer. Based on the report, the World Health Organization and other agencies are in the process of revising their recommendations on maximum radiation doses for homes and workplaces.
According to an earlier report by a government committee that was set up to review Canada's radon guidelines, lung cancer caused by exposure to radon gas killed 1,589 Canadians in 2001. It accounted for more deaths that year than accidental poisonings, homicides and drownings - combined.
On July 21, 2009, a United Nations committee said radon gas in homes is directly linked to a small risk of lung cancer. Based on the report, the World Health Organization and other agencies are in the process of revising their recommendations on maximum radiation doses for homes and workplaces.
According to an earlier report by a government committee that was set up to review Canada's radon guidelines, lung cancer caused by exposure to radon gas killed 1,589 Canadians in 2001. It accounted for more deaths that year than accidental poisonings, homicides and drownings - combined.
Zero Carbon Homes
Chicago Net-Zero House is "Clean-Lined and Elegant"
All too often, houses that are really green are not architectural gems, and vice versa. Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin visits Michael Yannell's Net Zero house, designed by Jonathan Boyer of Farr Associates.
He approves, noting:
The Yannell House, which has four bedrooms, two bathrooms and three occupants (the owner and his two cats), is more than a mere technical feat. Clean-lined outside and light-filled within, it issues an elegant rebuttal to the supersize, decoration-slathered McMansions that exemplify the pre-crash age of excess.
A Net-Zero (Zero Carbon in the UK) house is defined as one that, in its annual operation, produces as much energy as it consumes, so, for example, it can be putting excess energy into the electrical grid in the daytime and taking it back at night. But there is more to it than that; as Kamin says,
"A well-designed net zero house should be about more than slapping a huge array of photovoltaic panels on a roof."
Blair Kamin is one of the best writers about architecture around, and all I can do is quote him:
Its exuberant "butterfly" roof folds upward with sculptural verve, even as it cleverly hides the house's 48 photovoltaic panels and doubles as a rainwater collector. Coming closer, you encounter a delicate "rain screen" facade (left), consisting of an outer layer of warm cedar panels and cool, fiber-cement board panels. An inner layer provides thermal insulation. The rain screen seems to breathe like a skin.
"Environmental expressionism," Boyer calls it.
Some tech details: Solar systems are projected to generate 18,000 kWr per year, exceeding projected energy use by 40%. Ground source heat pumps provide heating and cooling; gray water recovery system supplies toilets
Google's Android to Invade Homes
Manufacturers are putting the Web giant's Android software in home management devices and remote controls.
In a sign that Google's Android mobile platform has a future far beyond cellphones, San Francisco-based start-up Touch Revolution says a string of well-known companies will introduce a range of Android-powered household gadgets before the end of the year.
The devices will fall into three basic categories: home control devices, media control devices and home phones, says Bill Brown, Touch Revolution's vice president of marketing. All the gadgets will feature touch-screens in sizes ranging from 4.3 to 10 inches, support Android as an operating system, and connect to the Web through wi-fi or wired ethernet. Depending on their purpose, they will sport bases (for perching on a desk or kitchen counter) or have a flat, tablet shape for handheld use or for embedding in a wall.
Brown says the new devices capitalize on Android's strength as an open operating system with sophisticated communications features. The home control devices are designed to talk to major household systems, such as lights, locks, security and heating/ventilation/air conditioning (HVAC). The media devices play a similar unifying role in the entertainment realm, allowing users to program their digital video recorders (DVRs), remotely control their stereo systems, and view TV listings directly on the gadget's screen.
Touch Revolution is calling the third category of products, "smart phones for the home." These cordless phones, meant for indoors use only, will communicate via radio waves like typical home phones or through voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) on wi-fi.
Each of these devices could be programmed to do even more. A home phone could act like a digital photo frame, for instance, given the right software. As Android devices, they will be able to access the same applications written for Android cellphones unless the companies marketing them limit that feature.
Expect to see most of the products before the end of the year, in the U.S. and elsewhere. Brown says Touch Revolution is working with "companies with major brands" on upcoming launches. Touch Revolution provides the touch screens and Android features, encapsulated in a module. Its partners then customize the hardware and software, if they choose, and bring the product to market.
Why use Android at all? Brown says its partners liked the operating system's ease of use, openness and touch-centric features. They also regarded it as a bargain since Google ( GOOG - news - people ) is distributing it for free.
Though just 17 months old, Touch Revolution boasts some flashy credentials. Founder and Chief Executive Mark Hamblin spent more than five years at Apple ( AAPL - news - people ), eventually rising to senior product design engineer. While there, he worked on both the iPhone and iPod touch, according to Brown.
In a sign that Google's Android mobile platform has a future far beyond cellphones, San Francisco-based start-up Touch Revolution says a string of well-known companies will introduce a range of Android-powered household gadgets before the end of the year.
The devices will fall into three basic categories: home control devices, media control devices and home phones, says Bill Brown, Touch Revolution's vice president of marketing. All the gadgets will feature touch-screens in sizes ranging from 4.3 to 10 inches, support Android as an operating system, and connect to the Web through wi-fi or wired ethernet. Depending on their purpose, they will sport bases (for perching on a desk or kitchen counter) or have a flat, tablet shape for handheld use or for embedding in a wall.
Brown says the new devices capitalize on Android's strength as an open operating system with sophisticated communications features. The home control devices are designed to talk to major household systems, such as lights, locks, security and heating/ventilation/air conditioning (HVAC). The media devices play a similar unifying role in the entertainment realm, allowing users to program their digital video recorders (DVRs), remotely control their stereo systems, and view TV listings directly on the gadget's screen.
Touch Revolution is calling the third category of products, "smart phones for the home." These cordless phones, meant for indoors use only, will communicate via radio waves like typical home phones or through voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) on wi-fi.
Each of these devices could be programmed to do even more. A home phone could act like a digital photo frame, for instance, given the right software. As Android devices, they will be able to access the same applications written for Android cellphones unless the companies marketing them limit that feature.
Expect to see most of the products before the end of the year, in the U.S. and elsewhere. Brown says Touch Revolution is working with "companies with major brands" on upcoming launches. Touch Revolution provides the touch screens and Android features, encapsulated in a module. Its partners then customize the hardware and software, if they choose, and bring the product to market.
Why use Android at all? Brown says its partners liked the operating system's ease of use, openness and touch-centric features. They also regarded it as a bargain since Google ( GOOG - news - people ) is distributing it for free.
Though just 17 months old, Touch Revolution boasts some flashy credentials. Founder and Chief Executive Mark Hamblin spent more than five years at Apple ( AAPL - news - people ), eventually rising to senior product design engineer. While there, he worked on both the iPhone and iPod touch, according to Brown.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Inner Light
"Sometimes our light goes out but is blown again into flame by an encounter with another human being.
Each of us owes the deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this inner light."
Albert Schweitzer said these words and how very true they are.
We've all had times in our life when we desperately needed a "shot of inspiration" to move forward.
Each of us owes the deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this inner light."
Albert Schweitzer said these words and how very true they are.
We've all had times in our life when we desperately needed a "shot of inspiration" to move forward.
Learning about Toronto Real Estate
... Learning about real estate also involves knowing what areas are going for and being able to calculate what a property is worth. This comes from years of knowledge and you can add this valuable tool to your arsenal by doing research. You should try to view as many properties as you can and start learning how to judge there worth.
Coaching By Peter
Coaching By Peter
Astonishing Heights ! Real Estate in Toronto Rebounds
I have been pounding the table
since January that all the signs
were clearly pointing to a fast
real estate recovery in Toronto.
At that time, we were starting to
see growth month-over-month
in sales, but the “chicken littles”
in the media and financial
community were still promoting
the doomsday scenario with an
apocalyptic fervor.
My advice had been for buyers to enter the
market as soon as possible.
With some leftover motivated
fall ’08 sellers and crazy interest
rates - it was a great time to buy,
a fleeting setback in a rising,
long-term, bull real estate
marketplace.
My prediction was
for the real estate market to
settle down and start rising
again, represented by a strong
seller’s market by fall ‘09.
I also indicated that Toronto’s
development sites, which
buyers have avoided like the
plague for the past year, were
going to get very busy by the
fall. Well, I was 100% correct
about all of it, except that the
real estate recovery happened a
little faster than I predicted back
in January.
June ’09 MLS sales
were nothing short of
spectacular. Almost 11,000
(10,955) homes were sold. This
represents an all-time high.
Keep in mind that June is
typically the 4th or 5th strongest
month of the year. We are
smack dab in the middle of a
seller’s market. Most properties
sell in a few days, many with
multiple offers. Prices are rising
fast. I expect that for the
balance of 2009, we are going
to see strong numbers.
Currently, the time to sell, or
number of days on the market,
has fallen to an average of 33
days. Chronic inventory
shortage exists in most areas.
What is now going to happen is
a surge in new development
sales. July and August will set
the tone for a busy fall when I
predict that over 1000 units per
month will sell for the next
several months. Buyers still
have a great opportunity to
purchase at rock bottom prices
at most of the city’s new sites.
The inventory of ‘leftover’ suites
is shrinking. Pricing at all of the
city’s developments are going
to start to rise. New
development prices are
currently 10-15% lower than
resale prices. This margin will
close to nothing in 3-4 months
with the strengthening new
development marketplace. I
predict that some new
developments will be launched
in the fall and several will come
to market next spring.
It appears to me that our
economy in mending quite
nicely and by late fall we will be
back to business as usual.
Despite what some doomsdayers
still predict, the U.S. and
the world is in a better place
economically. We are now in a
recovery mode. By 2010, the
negative prognosticators will be
safely trotted back to their dark
little holes where they spend the
majority of their lives, having
enjoyed their fleeting 9 months
in the sun.
“June ’09 MLS sales were
nothing short of spectacular...
Most properties sell in a few days,
many with multiple offers.
Prices are rising fast.“
JUNE MLS SALES HIT
ANSTONISHING HEIGHTS!
ECONOMY ON THE REBOUND
since January that all the signs
were clearly pointing to a fast
real estate recovery in Toronto.
At that time, we were starting to
see growth month-over-month
in sales, but the “chicken littles”
in the media and financial
community were still promoting
the doomsday scenario with an
apocalyptic fervor.
My advice had been for buyers to enter the
market as soon as possible.
With some leftover motivated
fall ’08 sellers and crazy interest
rates - it was a great time to buy,
a fleeting setback in a rising,
long-term, bull real estate
marketplace.
My prediction was
for the real estate market to
settle down and start rising
again, represented by a strong
seller’s market by fall ‘09.
I also indicated that Toronto’s
development sites, which
buyers have avoided like the
plague for the past year, were
going to get very busy by the
fall. Well, I was 100% correct
about all of it, except that the
real estate recovery happened a
little faster than I predicted back
in January.
June ’09 MLS sales
were nothing short of
spectacular. Almost 11,000
(10,955) homes were sold. This
represents an all-time high.
Keep in mind that June is
typically the 4th or 5th strongest
month of the year. We are
smack dab in the middle of a
seller’s market. Most properties
sell in a few days, many with
multiple offers. Prices are rising
fast. I expect that for the
balance of 2009, we are going
to see strong numbers.
Currently, the time to sell, or
number of days on the market,
has fallen to an average of 33
days. Chronic inventory
shortage exists in most areas.
What is now going to happen is
a surge in new development
sales. July and August will set
the tone for a busy fall when I
predict that over 1000 units per
month will sell for the next
several months. Buyers still
have a great opportunity to
purchase at rock bottom prices
at most of the city’s new sites.
The inventory of ‘leftover’ suites
is shrinking. Pricing at all of the
city’s developments are going
to start to rise. New
development prices are
currently 10-15% lower than
resale prices. This margin will
close to nothing in 3-4 months
with the strengthening new
development marketplace. I
predict that some new
developments will be launched
in the fall and several will come
to market next spring.
It appears to me that our
economy in mending quite
nicely and by late fall we will be
back to business as usual.
Despite what some doomsdayers
still predict, the U.S. and
the world is in a better place
economically. We are now in a
recovery mode. By 2010, the
negative prognosticators will be
safely trotted back to their dark
little holes where they spend the
majority of their lives, having
enjoyed their fleeting 9 months
in the sun.
“June ’09 MLS sales were
nothing short of spectacular...
Most properties sell in a few days,
many with multiple offers.
Prices are rising fast.“
JUNE MLS SALES HIT
ANSTONISHING HEIGHTS!
ECONOMY ON THE REBOUND
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Obligations of the Landlord selling a tenanted property
Showing rented property has its
issues
If you are thinking of selling your
home this year and a tenant
currently occupies it, then I
recommend that you end the
tenancy before putting your home
on the market.
Let's look at your obligations and
rights as a landlord if you are trying to sell your home today and it is occupied by
tenants.
You have to give the tenant at least 24 hours' notice before you can show the home to a
prospective buyer.
You can only show the property between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
You cannot prevent the tenant from being present when the property is being shown to or
inspected by buyers.
You may be liable for damage claims if your tenant states that buyers either damaged or
stole some of their belongings.
You cannot give notice to terminate the tenancy until you have a signed agreement of
purchase and sale with a buyer.
You have to give your tenant 60 days' notice to vacate.
If your tenant does not vacate, you are looking at a tenancy board application that could
take an additional two months.
Most owners will want to properly "stage" their home for potential buyers. This will
involve making some minor repairs to the home as well as arranging the furniture and
contents to make the home show better.
Most experts in staging recommend that you
first de-clutter the home, remove oversized furniture and arrange the space to make it
most appealing to potential buyers. The problem is that as a landlord, you have no right
to order your tenant to de-clutter their rental space. Many tenants may deliberately try
and make the home look messy or say negative things about the home during any home
visit to discourage potential buyers from putting in offers.
Most interested buyers will want to see your home almost immediately. They will not
want to wait for 24 hours. There have been many instances where even when a landlord
ends the tenant's agreement before putting home up for sale.
Most buyers expect to receive and ask for an empty home on closing. If your tenant
refuses to leave, your deal may have to be extended, and if your buyer cannot make
arrangements for their financing to be extended, your entire deal could fall apart.
Not all tenants are disagreeable. If you have a good relationship with your tenant, you
can obtain the agreement from your tenant to perhaps waive their right to receive 24
hours' notice and just let potential buyers in when requested.
They may also co-operate to let you properly stage the home as well as make diligent efforts to find another place to live so that you will be able to give an empty home to your buyer. Yet in my experience, this is the exception, not the rule.
The best way to ensure that you will have no problems from any existing tenant is to pay
them an incentive to leave before you even put the property up for sale.
The amount of the incentive will vary, depending on how easy it is for the tenant to find alternate accommodation.
The guideline is about one month's rent or payment of all or part of the
tenant's moving costs.
I know that many sellers are against paying any incentive as a matter of principle. I
would remind sellers that it is not about the principle, it is about obtaining a higher sale
price for your home with much less stress.
By paying your tenant an incentive to leave before you put your home up for sale, you
can ensure that you will have no issue when:
Properly preparing or staging your home for sale.
Showing your home to prospective buyers at any time.
Obtaining an empty home on closing.
issues
If you are thinking of selling your
home this year and a tenant
currently occupies it, then I
recommend that you end the
tenancy before putting your home
on the market.
Let's look at your obligations and
rights as a landlord if you are trying to sell your home today and it is occupied by
tenants.
You have to give the tenant at least 24 hours' notice before you can show the home to a
prospective buyer.
You can only show the property between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
You cannot prevent the tenant from being present when the property is being shown to or
inspected by buyers.
You may be liable for damage claims if your tenant states that buyers either damaged or
stole some of their belongings.
You cannot give notice to terminate the tenancy until you have a signed agreement of
purchase and sale with a buyer.
You have to give your tenant 60 days' notice to vacate.
If your tenant does not vacate, you are looking at a tenancy board application that could
take an additional two months.
Most owners will want to properly "stage" their home for potential buyers. This will
involve making some minor repairs to the home as well as arranging the furniture and
contents to make the home show better.
Most experts in staging recommend that you
first de-clutter the home, remove oversized furniture and arrange the space to make it
most appealing to potential buyers. The problem is that as a landlord, you have no right
to order your tenant to de-clutter their rental space. Many tenants may deliberately try
and make the home look messy or say negative things about the home during any home
visit to discourage potential buyers from putting in offers.
Most interested buyers will want to see your home almost immediately. They will not
want to wait for 24 hours. There have been many instances where even when a landlord
ends the tenant's agreement before putting home up for sale.
Most buyers expect to receive and ask for an empty home on closing. If your tenant
refuses to leave, your deal may have to be extended, and if your buyer cannot make
arrangements for their financing to be extended, your entire deal could fall apart.
Not all tenants are disagreeable. If you have a good relationship with your tenant, you
can obtain the agreement from your tenant to perhaps waive their right to receive 24
hours' notice and just let potential buyers in when requested.
They may also co-operate to let you properly stage the home as well as make diligent efforts to find another place to live so that you will be able to give an empty home to your buyer. Yet in my experience, this is the exception, not the rule.
The best way to ensure that you will have no problems from any existing tenant is to pay
them an incentive to leave before you even put the property up for sale.
The amount of the incentive will vary, depending on how easy it is for the tenant to find alternate accommodation.
The guideline is about one month's rent or payment of all or part of the
tenant's moving costs.
I know that many sellers are against paying any incentive as a matter of principle. I
would remind sellers that it is not about the principle, it is about obtaining a higher sale
price for your home with much less stress.
By paying your tenant an incentive to leave before you put your home up for sale, you
can ensure that you will have no issue when:
Properly preparing or staging your home for sale.
Showing your home to prospective buyers at any time.
Obtaining an empty home on closing.
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