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By admin, July 13, 2009 9:48 pm

There is Land Transfer Tax for Ontario and if you live in the city of Toronto there is an additional tax there as well. There is a great LTT calculator here http://www.torontorealestateboard.com/LTT_splash/ltt_calculator.htm.

In Ontario:

The tax is calculated as follows:

* 0.5% of the value of consideration for the transfer up to and including $55,000,

* 1% of the value of the consideration which exceeds $55,000 up to and including $250,000, and

* 1.5% of the value of the consideration which exceeds $250,000, and

* 2% of the amount by which the value of the consideration exceeds $400,000 for land that contains at least one and not more than two single family residences.

First-time homebuyers may be entitled to a refund of Ontario’s land transfer tax, up to a maximum of $2,000. This refund is usually claimed at the time of registration.

The Toronto Land Tranfer Tax is calculated as follows:

Price of the Home

Up to and including $55,000.00      0.5%  plus

$55,000.01 to $400,000.00             1.0%  plus

Over $400,000.00                                  2.0%

FOR EXAMPLE: A home with a consideration value of $500,000.01 (excluding GST):

0 to $55,000.00                                   55,000.00 x 0.005 = $275.00

$55,000.01 to $400,000.00      $344,999.99 x 0.01= $3,450.00

$400,000.01 to $500,000.00     $99,999.99 x 0.02= $2,000.00

Total MLTT= $5,725.00

If you are a first-time purchaser of a newly constructed or re-sale residential property. The rebate for first-time home purchasers is up to a maximum of $3,725.00.

Your lawyer applies for the credits for you when registering your home.

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By admin, July 10, 2009 3:58 pm

Your credit score is used by most companies to see if you are a good credit risk or not. A credit score of over 680 is considered excellent.

What Can You Do to Improve Your Score?

1. Order a copy of your credit report from www.equifax.com or www.transunion.com to review it and make sure there are no errors.
2. Pay your bills on time.
3. If your credit history is questionable, open a few new accounts and use them responsibly.
4. Don’t open accounts and not use them. Having 6 or 7 of the same type of credit does not work in your favour.
5. Keep your balances low relative to your amount of credit available.
6. Pay off credit card debts!

What Does This Mean to Home Buyer’s?

The better your credit score the higher you buying power (income dependent as well). You will also qualify for the best mortgage products at the best rates.

To see what your credit score is and how much of a home you can afford, make sure to talk to your Real Estate Agent and Mortgage Broker before shopping for your Toronto Home.

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By admin, July 7, 2009 9:02 pm

Buying Your Home:
The Process

Purchase “Agreement of Purchase and Sale” forms

For example: Name, Property address, Legal description, Deposit,
Your choice of Clauses, Chattels, Exclusions, etc.

1. CASH OFFER
   PURCHASER AGREES TO pay the balance of the purchase price in cash or by certified cheque
   to the Vendor on closing, subject to the usual adjustments.

2. CONDITIONAL UPON ARRANGING SATISFACTORY FINANCING
   THIS OFFER IS CONDITIONAL upon the Purchaser arranging satisfactory financing on or before
   ______, otherwise this Offer becomes null and void and the deposit money shall be returned
   to the Purchaser in full without interest. The Purchaser reserves the right to waive this
   condition at his sole option within the specified time period. The said proceeds for
   financing shall be paid to the Vendor on closing as part of the purchase price.

3. CONDITIONAL UPON QUALIFIED INSPECTION
   THIS OFFER IS CONDITIONAL for a period of _____ days from the date of acceptance by the
   Vendor upon the Purchaser having the subject property inspected by a qualified home
   inspector and finding said inspection satisfactory to him, failing which, this Offer shall
   become null and void and the Purchaser’s deposit shall be returned in full without
   interest. The Purchaser reserves the right to waive this condition at his sole option
   within the specified time period.

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By admin, July 2, 2009 9:03 pm

I have a great condominium listing right now and we have had lots of traffic from Buyer’s Agents.  What surprises me the most is the calls I keep getting from Buyers who are just calling around to a bunch of listing agents to view their listings.  There is very little awareness in the marketplace as to the advantages of having a Buyer’s Agent working on your behalf.

First of all you don’t need to search the Toronto MLS for listings every day. An agent can automatically send you the listings that meet your search criteria and let you know about exclusive listings that are not available to the public.

The agent schedules the appointments for you and can work within your schedule to make sure you get to see all the homes you are interested in.  It is so much easier to be “chauffeured” around rather than randomly go see homes on your own.

An agent will also educate you on the process of buying a home.  This way when you find the perfect home for you, you will be confortable and ready to put in an offer.

The agent will prepare the Offer of Purchase and Sale for you and will include clauses to protect your interest, for example the conditions of financing or a home inspection.  They will negotiate on your behalf to get you the best possible price for the home.  A selling agent wants to get the highest possible price for their client’s home.  This is not the price you want or should be paying, a well prepared agent will pull comparables in the area to help negotiate the best possible price for you as a buyer.

In a multiple offer situation, an agent is essential to helping you form the right pricing and terms strategy to get you the home of your dreams.

And after the negotiation is over, their job is not done until closing where they work with the lawyer, the lender, and the seller’s agent to make sure that everything will be ready for closing.

So instead of going in by yourself to meet with the listing agent, hire someone you can trust to represent you and protect your interests in achieving your Real Estate goals.

When buying your home in Toronto, make sure to hire a Buyer’s Agent!

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By admin, May 27, 2009 9:54 pm

You are starting your search for Toronto Real Estate and you aren’t really sure which neighbourhood to choose.  There are so many great areas in Toronto, how do you decide.  Here are some factors to keep in mind:

• What activities do you regularly engage in.  Do you go to the movies?  Do you attend church?  How far are you willing to travel for these activities. 

• Look into the schools and child care options available in the area.  How do the schools score?  Are you interested in private, public, French or Catholic education?  Do you need before and after care?  Even if you don’t have children now you may in the future and a good school will be important to you then.

• Is the area safe?

• How close do you need to be to work?  Some people don’t mind a long commute.  Some prefer the train over driving.  What is important to you and does the area have transportation available or easy access to highways?  Are you prepared to drive an hour to work and be able to afford more of a house?

• Walk or drive around the area to see if you get a homey feeling before you start looking at homes.  Being focused on a particular neighbourhood will help your Real Estate Agent pinpoint the right homes for you.

There are many websites that offer neighbourhood information.  One of my favourties is ZooCasa

Also I have a pageon this blog that links to the Toronto Life website and their information about neighbourhoods.

Enjoy and if you have any questions about Toronto Homes for Sale and various neighbourhoods, give me a call.

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By admin, May 19, 2009 8:55 am

Well, this is a very good question that I often get asked by my clients.  The ideal down payment is what you personally can afford to make but there are some things to keep in mind.

The down payment is the amount of money you are paying up front for your home.  You can make a down payment for any amount but there a mortgage insurance premiums you  will have to pay depending on the lender and the down payment amount. The higher the percentage of the total house price/value that you borrow, the higher percentage you will pay in insurance premiums.

This chart which is available on the CMHC (Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation) Website shows the premiums charged:

An example of this is for a $100,000 mortgage with 5% down, the mortgage premium would be around $2,750.

It is very important to know what your mortgage payments will be before you look at homes, so you are comfortable and know all the details of how much home you can afford.

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By admin, May 18, 2009 2:53 pm

Well, it may not be hot outside this Victoria Day Weekend in Toronto but the Real Estate Market is really taking off.  April sales were down 3% from the previous year but this is a big improvement over previous months this year.

I have been quite busy with first time home buyers this month.  I attribute this to great home inventory on the market and historically low interest rates.  I always love to work with them because of the unique process I take them through.  This is a great journey they are embarking upon and I want to meet them in person before we go to look at any homes.  First, it is important to make sure they have been pre-approved to buy a home.  Then, I like to lead them through the home buying process.  Only then do we look at their unique needs and start looking at homes for sale in Toronto after setting up their personlized listing notification system.

To sign up for my unique buyer system, give me a call at 416-518-8188 or e-mail me at info@torontosuburbs.ca.

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By Lisa Collins, February 4, 2009 12:15 pm

I heard a crazy story recently, that a couple viewed a home 12 times before putting in an offer and even then it was way below the asking price, they would not move up much on price and the seller’s actually sold it to them.

So first of all we have to ask why was the home so overpriced?  The market right now is more of a buyers market and sellers, really have to be realistic about what they are asking.

The other more important question is why did it take the buyer so long to decide what to do and were they really motivated buyers?

As a Realtor, I don’t have enough time in my days to go view a home 12 times.  I am just too busy with other clients to afford this amount of time to one couple.  I also like to believe that I am very skilled at assessing my clients needs so we only go tome homes they are going to like. It is very rare that I have to take my clients out 12 times to get them the right house.

I think in this situati0n, one party loved the house and the other wasn’t convinced it was the right house.  In my experience, my buyers either love a house the first time they see it and put in an offer or they go back to see it a second time to affirm their feelings.

I wonder how long these buyers will live in the home before they decide to move on again? Hmmm.

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By Lisa Collins, November 3, 2008 6:21 pm

Between September 2007 and September 2008 the average price of a home in Toronto dropped 6% to $393,647.  This is a great relief to buyers trying to enter the market.  Also interest rates are still at an all time low, so buying now makes sense.  Waiting may cost more money long-term in interest rates go up.  With the changes in the market there are fewer bidding wars and home sellers are being more realistic about pricing their homes at or below market value to attract buyers.