I check in regularly at OntarioHomeOwner.com for news about anything and everything related to real estate. The other day, I saw a post stating that it is now legal to use violence when protecting your home. Some background: In 2006, Cedric Forde, a career criminal,...
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Building for charity
I came across this post the other day at TheRedPin, a website devoted to people looking to buy condos in the GTA. Jessica Speziale, of Options for Homes, wrote the post about what Options does to help people get into the housing market. Basically, Options has been...
How much will that house cost?
I read Money Sense Magazine occasionally. A while ago, I came across a post from Gail Vax-Oxlade, who hosts a show I (secretly) love to watch called Til Debt Do Us Part. She wrote this article to help home buyers figure out what they actually need to save in order to...
Design dreams
Often, when I'm at home, I daydream a bit about what I would do with my house if I had unlimited funds. Conveniently, there is now a website that will let me run wild with those daydreams. I was on Twitter the other day when I saw a post by Mashable about Houzz, a new...
What exactly is an easement?
It is very common for properties to be transferred subject to easements. But you may be wondering, what exactly is an easement in the first place? In a nutshell, an easement is a real property law term for the right to use someone else’s property without actually...
First-timers
The Globe and Mail published an article a few weeks ago on tips for first-time buyers. In a nutshell: don't overspend on furniture or "unnecessary" remodelling; don't ignore important maintenance; hire qualified people if you do need to do repairs; get help with your...
Selling your house while you are on vacation
When I bought my home three years ago, I ran into a small snag: the vendors were insistent on closing on a date when I was not going to be in the country, as I had booked a (very) long-planned visit to old friends overseas. Not wanting to lose the house over this...
When do you have to pay HST on a house?
In Ontario, HST always applies to the purchase of land unless there is a specific exemption. For most residential resale transactions, there is an HST exemption in place so that it does not apply. For many new homes, there are significant rebates for HST, as long as...
LiveHigh 3.0
I have been very honoured to be guest blogging at www.livehigh.com. After a series a while back on closing costs (you can read those posts here and here), they invited me to guest blog this week on additional considerations for non-resident buyers and sellers. You can...
Wouldn’t it be nice…
Many of us have seen the commercial: happy elderly people paying for renovations, trips and university education for their grandchildren through a reverse mortgage. I came across this excellent post from the Retire Happy blog, which details the pros and cons of a...