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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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How to Hire… Anyone
Recently I was in need of a local company to install some eavestroughing at my home and started my search by asking a few friends who they may know that I could trust. Before we go any further, trust is a big word when hiring anyone… a plumber, electrician, contractor, financial advisor or heck even…
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