Subscribe In the last year with the help of the tax credit, there has been a rise in first time home buyers. The National Association of Realtors says the percentage of first time buyer is up to 47% in 2009 compared to 41% in 2008 and 36% in 2006. The unemployment rate is close to [...]
Archive | November, 2009
Everyone in Ontario has a Will
Everyone Has a Will By Brian Madigan LL.B. Everyone has a Will. The problem is that most people don’t know where it is. They have never seen it, they never signed it and they don’t know what it says. The Ontario Government has written out a generic Will for everyone. It’s set out in the [...]
Updating Your Kitchen
According to the National Association of Realtors, the kitchen is the single most important room for most prospective home buyers. If you don’t have the funds to do a complete kitchen overhaul, don’t despair. For just $1,000 you can make some significant changes that will have home buyers doing a double-take, such as: Re-facing or [...]
Treasury Department Listens To Ideas on Easing Credit Crunch
There was a small business lending forum where bankers could talk to the Treasury department about ideas to ease the credit crunch.
Wherever you are… you can be happy/ thankful that you aren’t Detroit :)
The Detroit News published an article about the sale of the Pontiac Silverdome. The silver dome was the former home of the Detroit Lions which cost 55.7 million to build in 1975. Just recently the 80,300 seat indoor stadium sold for for $583,000 nearly 1 percent of what the original cost of building it was. [...]
Solicitor’s Opinion: The Gold Standard in Conveyancing
Solicitor’s Opinion: The Gold Standard By Brian Madigan LL.B. When it comes to conveyancing practice, the solicitor’s opinion is the gold standard, not a title insurance policy. Let’s have a look at the policy and determine where it fits in. First, it is an insurance policy. Historically, insurance has been against the law because it [...]
One Profession, Two Jobs
Almost everywhere, whether it is explicitly required or simply the practice, real estate agents represent either the buyer or the seller in a transaction. Although there are many common elements of the real estate transaction that all agents must understand thoroughly, the services that listing agents provide their clients and the optimal ways for them [...]
USDA Streamline Refinance Funds Finally Available
USDA Loans ARRA Refinance Funds NOW Available! The USDA just released a Notice of Funding Availability for USDA Loans Refinance Assistance under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Current USDA Loans may utilize Refinancing by using ARRA funds but will find it is a bit more restrictive than the typical USDA Loans. ARRA [...]
Title Insurance Preferred Over a Title Opinion
Title Insurance Preferred Over a Title Opinion By Brian Madigan LL.B. I thought that I would give you some good reasons to buy title insurance. Until 1997, the common practice in Ontario was to secure an opinion on title from a solicitor. If something went wrong, then you simply sued the lawyer. Now, that’s easier [...]
Free Tools to Help Real Estate Agents Get Organized
Sometimes, it seems almost as if real estate is the very definition of a disorganized business. Just ask any real estate agent what their job requirements are. Often the answers to the question would include tasks such as selling homes, working with clients, managing paperwork, showing houses, cleaning up homes to be shown, working with [...]
HST Adds to the Cost of a New Home in Ontario
HST Adds to the Cost of a New Home By Brian Madigan LL.B. The Province of Ontario has introduced legislation to combine the eight percent Provincial Sales Tax with the five percent federal Goods and Services Tax, creating a 13 percent Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). It is proposed that the HST will come into force [...]
Seller Conceals Truth and is Found Liable for Misrepresentation
Seller Conceals Truth and is found Liable for Faulty Disclosure Statement By Brian Madigan LL.B. The case of Cutts vs. Okipnik is another Disclosure case. The action was tried in the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba. The purchasers claimed that the vendor fraudulently or negligentyly misrepresented the condition of the property at the time [...]
Real Estate Investment Buying Tips
Foreclosures and bank REOs are pulling a new wave of novice investors into the market, some of whom are just a little clueless. They see the price and they say, wow! I can buy that house and turn it into a rental. But they don’t understand the local market, they don’t understand landlording, and don’t [...]
Homeless Man without an IQ Fails to Pick Up Million Dollar Lotto Prize
Homeless Man without an IQ Fails to Pick Up Million Dollar Lotto Prize By Brian Madigan LL.B. Well, let’s have a look at that statement: 1) Technically, he’s not homeless, but he lives with his mother on her $60/month pension 2) Technically, he’s not without any actual score, but his score cannot be measured 3) [...]
ORES Real Estate Index for October 2009
ORES Real Estate Index Toronto for October 2009 By Brian Madigan LL.B. Here is the “ORES REAL ESTATE INDEX” which tracks the average resale prices of single family homes and condominiums in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). It also tracks certain benchmark comparisons such as the price of oil and gold, as well as the Consumer Price [...]
Should I buy a Home Now in Yuma Arizona?
While the national media outlets are reporting housing price corrections, they often miss the underlying story of buy low and sell high. Too often we find the media creates additional questions that are left un-answered. The question that is received fairly regularly is: ______________________ Is This A Good Time To Buy? ______________________ The answer is always subject [...]
Market Report Offers Inside Track on Real Estate Markets
If you are a real estate investor, you’re going to love this. By real estate investor, I mean anyone who is considering the purchase of a home or property. One of the most important steps you can take as you plan for the buying process is to watch the local market with great care. Real [...]
Agent Cannot Force Seller to Provide Warranty
Agent Cannot Force Seller To Provide Warranty By Brian Madigan LL.B. The Bird and Ireland matter is another interesting case involving the use of the Seller Property Information Statement (SPIS), not for the purpose for which it was intended, but for other purposes. This particular matter came on by way of appeal from a lower [...]
Disclosure Statement Not Part of Agreement ~ Buyer Left Without Remedy
Disclosure Statement Not Part of Agreement ~ Buyer Left without Remedy By Brian Madigan LL.B. The Csada and Williams lawsuit is a case which involves the use of the Property Condition Statement in the Province of Saskatchewan pursuant to the terms of a residential agreement of purchase and sale. Mr. and Mrs. Csada submitted an [...]
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Carmen Brodeur: Very interesting! I better go buy more wrinkle cre...
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Ria Grace: What is good of having custom home is that you can...
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Patrick: A great online property management forum is agents...
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Kyle Pearce: Unfortunately, in every industry, there are some w...
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$10000 California First Time Home Buyer and New Home Tax Credit Extended
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Unite Against the Sarasota MLS Board
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Short Sale Heaven Coming April 5th 2010
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The Lones Group – Real Estate Social Media Marketing Firm – Sues Agent For Being A Zebra
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California Senate Bill 94 (SB94): Passes; Not even Attorneys can do it!
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