Property Tax: Basic things you need to know

Property tax is an unfortunate reality for homeowners. They can be paid in installments (monthly, four or six times a year) or for some it is added into their mortgage payments (lenders may insist on making the payments). There are a few basic things that you should understand about your…

Winterlicious 2012: January 27th – February 9th

It’s that Winterlicious time of year again! Starting on Friday the 10th installment of this event will start with participating restaurants offering prix fix menus ranging from $15, $20, $25 for lunch and $25, $35, $45 for dinner. Restaurants have already started taking reservations for the event so if you…

Condo Renovations: Tips on starting your project

With over 58,000 high-rise units built in Toronto between 1984-1994 (according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.) many condo owners are at a point where they are considering renovating their suites and some buyers find that they are considering purchasing a unit with the intention of renovating. Renovating a condo…

Painting This Weekend? Check out these tips.

I am not a fan of painting and for those of you out there that fit into that category, give me a call and I’ll give you the contact information of the painter that has proven to be a wonderful resource to me in the past. For the rest of…

How To Improve Your Credit Score

Here is a simple truth: if you want the lowest mortgage rate in Canada you have to have good credit. So what happens when you run your credit score and it turns out that it isn’t as good as you had thought? First of all you should check to make…

GTA REALTORS Report January Mid-Month Resale Housing Market Figures

The numbers are in from TREB for the first two weeks of 2012. Again we see an increase in the GTA with prices (up 8.5%) and listings (up 3.7%) over the same period last year. Check out the report and chart below. TORONTO, January 17, 2012 – Greater Toronto REALTORS®…

Moving Day: Research And Plan Ahead

An article posted today by Kathy Tomlinson of the CBC, reminds me again about how important it is to research your moving company. In the article Tomlinson reports about an Ontario moving franchise, based in Kitchener-Waterloo and Toronto owned by Himanshu (Lucky) Batta, part of the parent company Two Small…

Factors That Influence Your Credit Score

With banks and financial institutions continuing to tighten lending requirements it is becoming extremely important to maintain a high credit score. Your credit score is a summary about your financial health and is used by lenders to determine whether you are a credit risk or not. So have you ever…

Royal LePage House Price Survey and Market Survey Forecast

This morning saw the release of Royal LePage’s House Price Survey for Q4 2011 and the Canadian Housing Trends 2012 Market Survey Forecast. Royal LePage is predicting a few things including that a national real estate price correction will most likely not happen until 2013 at the earliest and that…

Preparing A Property Wish List

When starting to shop for your new home it’s always helpful to start with a basic list of things that you would love to have. As you go through the shopping experience expect that this list will undoubtedly change; you’ll exchange some of your old wish list items with new…