Central Bank leaves interest rate untouched

Uncertainty about the world economy, especially the crisis in Europe, left little choice for the Bank of Canada, but to leave its target for the overnight rate at 1 per cent – the 10th consecutive meeting the Bank has left the rate alone.

Balanced conditions set to return to most Canadian housing markets in 2012,

Canadian residential real estate defied conventional logic and outperformed expectations in 2011, posting another solid year of housing activity virtually across the board.  The trend is expected to carry forward into 2012 as Canadians continue to demonstrate their faith in homeownership, despite concerns over the European debt crisis and its impact on the global economy, according to a report released by RE/MAX.

 

 

What Your Ceiling Says About Your Home

What does every room in the home have, yet rarely gets noticed? Look up – it’s the ceiling. While it may not get the attention of the walls and floors, the ceiling can be an indicator of certain elements of the home’s condition, so it’s important to identify and address any problems that arise.

Housing affordability improves: RBC

“After two consecutive quarters of deterioration, Canada’s housing affordability has improved modestly in the third quarter, according to the latest Housing Trends and Affordability Report released today by RBC Economics.

How to Evaluate Properties in 60 Seconds or Less

I have to give credit to Julie for this little tip. This is her creation. Somewhere along the line she just started doing this to simplify and speed up the process of evaluating properties for their cashflow potential. As she confessed last month, she doesn’t like numbers and math to evaluate properties. And, this technique is one simple calculation that tells her to continue looking at a property or to move on. While I spend hours pouring over spreadsheets and killing the battery on my calculator to assess the cashflow of a property, Julie can make her decision whether to investigate a property further in 60 seconds.

MOISTURE ISSUES IN NEW HOUSES

Cracks in the walls and ceilings of a newly-constructed home don’t necessarily indicate a structural concern.

Cellphones Which Cell Plan???

Here is a little help to sort through all of the plans that the carriers offfer.

Which Cell Plan? A Checklist
helps you think about what you want and need before shopping for cellphone plans

Which Cell Plan? A Practical Guide to the Canadian Cellphone Marketplace
provides in-depth information for consumers, as well as consumer affairs professionals on the topic of cellphones

Take Charge of Your Debt

Welcome to your online one-stop shop on how to better manage your debt

This online tool from the Government of Canada will help you fully understand your debt problems and some options that are available to you, regardless of your level of debt and to whom you are indebted. You will also find information on making a budget and budget counselling, collection agencies, credit and credit repair. Finally, if you wish to further increase your knowledge in any of these subject areas, a list of relevant publications is provided for your reference.

• Warning Signs of Debt
• Ways to Reduce Your Debt
• “Last Resort” Options (by Region)
• Collection Agencies
• Credit Reports, Credit Scores and Credit Repair
• Resources on Personal Finances and Debt
• Glossary of Terms

 

The Office of Consumer Affairs would like to thank all of its collaborators for their valuable help in this project: The Association coopérative d’économie familiale de l’Outaouais staff, Dr. Ruth E. Berry (Manitoba Association of Home Economists), Rob Boulanger (Credit Counselling Services of Atlantic Canada, Inc.), Jocelyne Lévesque (Université Laval), the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy and Fran Smith (Credit Counselling Services of Alberta Ltd.).

Disclaimer
When businesses or consumers cannot pay their debts, they may file for bankruptcy or make a proposal (a payment arrangement with their creditors to prevent bankruptcy). These are legal proceedings carried out under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and must be registered with the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy.

“Take Charge of Your Debts” may not be relevant for people involved in either process.

Money Matters $

If you do nothing else to save money this year, take 5 minutes to see how increasing or accelerating your mortgage payments can save you thousands of dollars in interest. Grab your latest mortgage statement, plug your numbers into Industry Canada’s online mortgage calculator, then play around with the figures. See how much you could save if you switched to biweekly payments, or increased your payments by 5% or more.

 The site can also show you what would happen to your payments if interest rates changed or you refinanced your mortgage. Click here to ceck it out.

HST Ontario – Purchasing a home?

The introduction of the Harmonized Sales Tax in both Ontario and British Columbia on July 1st 2010 has been widely cited by real estate professionals and analysts as one of the major factors affecting a slowdown in housing sales.

 This theory seems to be supported by a recent survey commissioned by the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) and conducted by Ipsos Reid, which shows that 56% of people in Ontario believe that the new HST applies to the cost of resale homes.

In fact the HST only applies to the cost of services used in the act of buying or selling resale properties (realtors, lawyers, surveyors, home inspectors etc.) HST applies to the cost of new homes over $400,000.

Norm Paget sales Rep. RE/MAX Real Estate Centre Inc. Brokerage 905-877-5211