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Happy New Year! Here are my 10 favourite blog posts from 2024
The champagne has popped (or the non-alcoholic bubbly which there are so many delicious options to choose from these days,) the resolutions have been made and we are hopefully all looking forward to the new year with a positive outlook. I took a few minutes and looked back at my blogs over the past year…
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When Developers are NOT to Blame for High House Prices
Development charges are the hidden fees municipalities charge to developers to cover a variety of items. Infrastructure, including water management, road maintenance and sewer treatment and basically helping to fund the town’s growth. These fees are paid at the time of a building permit being received and ultimately get passed on to the Buyer of…
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Let’s Plan to Retire in Luxury
I have a great idea. I think you should buy a rental property in 2025. This blog post may help you retire much more comfortably than if you had not read it. I bought my first rental property when I was 24. It was a 3-bedroom condo at Mclaughlin Square, and it came with a…
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Oshawa vs. Pickering
Oshawa is slightly east of Pickering. Travelling along the 401 it takes about 10 minutes to get to Oshawa once you pass Pickering. Both have GO-Train stations, access to GO-Busses and similar amenities. Looking at them as competing football teams, which one is the winner? Let’s dig in and see what differences we can identify. …
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A 5-Year View of Real Estate in Durham Region
A few years ago I remember a conversation I had with an investor. The couple were considering purchasing a rental property and our chat centered around what type of property would offer the best return over a 5 year plan. We looked at detached and semi-detached homes, condo townhomes and freehold townhomes. I created a…
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Parents Helping Kids Buy Homes Today
With a career spanning almost 4 decades I have worked with clients as young as 18 and as old as 98. One thing I have experienced, is when a homeowner is in the 65+ range, they start to look at where they will direct their assets. These can be their personal residence, rental properties or…
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Should you Consider a Power of Sale Property?
Looking back at the history of Real Estate in Ontario, I remember a time when there were more homes being sold under power of sale than by happy homeowners. We had a boom in the late 1980’s that ended in 1989. From 1990 – 1991 the market values dropped about 30% which caused homes to…
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Turn Renters into Homeowners
How does a young person get ahead with Real Estate prices as high as they are? Surprisingly, it may be simpler than you think. Let’s sidestep the high cost of homes for a minute and review what it costs to rent an apartment in 2024. A quick search showed a 1-bedroom basement apartment was recently…
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Small Changes – Big Impact
Over the past decade prices for homes have spiked. The average detached home in Durham Region was selling for $444,000 a decade ago and currently the same homes are selling for $991.000. When values increase as dramatically as they have the results are damaging to Buyers. Add to this mortgage rules that lessen the borrowing…
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The September numbers are out and are all over the place.
When I review the previous month’s selling statistics, I do my best to use the KISS principles. (Keep it simple, stupid) It is easy to go down a rabbit hole trying to find nuanced changes; however, I feel when many people do that, they are looking to prove a point rather than interpret what is…
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