The view from the Second Floor of our palatial executive offices looks like this:
Canadian Cottage prices are going through the roof.
Remember Sam the Record Man in Toronto? Well, it’s closed, but here is the real estate story…
$15.78 million Toronto estate! MLS Details HERE!!!
Light-Hearted read with a nice “real estate” story at the beginning.
Saskatchewanmania!! No we didn’t find a big hairy beast. Just a booming western real estate market.
Enough with my ranting.
Here are some interesting articles….
After-Tax Exodus to 905-Area predicted.
Toronto Star backs Miller and Tax. (you gotta be kidding me!)
More proof Toronto Star loves Mayor Miller.
Toronto Sun reports on Tax Attack!
Peterborough weighs in on Tax debate.
Interesting analysis from a fellow blogger….
Demystifying the proposed Land Transfer Tax.
Happy Canada Day Everyone! Hope that you had a great long weekend!
The blasts are starting to come from inside city hall as well. Many of you know that Mayor Miller of Toronto is instituting drastic changes to the tax code in Toronto that will hit everyone who drives a car and owns a home. For what purpose? We really don’t know other than he is appealing to no one with a brain. Read Case Ootes’ reaction HERE.
Can you believe there is STILL debate about the investing in real estate versus stock market? Can’t we all just get along? Geez! Well, HERE is an article from Sympatico/MSN.
Did you ever like David Letterman? Well, I sure did! And I really enjoyed his Top Ten List! On most nights they were a good source of ab workouts, if you know what I mean. Well, in this spirit, I would like to present to you the Top Ten Reasons to invest in Kitchener/Waterloo Real Estate…….
That’s all for now folks!
Karim Kanji
Yes. I am sitting on the Second Floor of our palatial offices here in midtown Toronto. The sun is baking, the sky is threatening and the real estate market is showing no signs of slowing down!
So, here is the news as i see it from here!
When the U.S. sneezes, does Canada catch a cold? Apparently, we have been taking our echinecea. Read an elightening article HERE.
Despite the public outcry from the public and groups such as TREB, it looks like David Miller has gained the necessary approvals for his controversial new land transfer tax.
What does this mean to prospective home buyers?
Well, on a home purchase in Toronto of $400,000, the land transfer tax portion of your closing costs just jumped from $4500 to $9000. This doubling of the effective tax rate will raise the city an extra $300 million per year.
This is a cash grab in the worst possible way. Taxes will be doubled but home buyers will have nothing to show for it. Mayor Miller says that raising these taxes are the only way to pay for the City’s massive budget shortfall. Apparently he sees no other solution than to force the entire financial burden of the city upon those willing to invest in purchasing their own home! Go figure!!!
Toronto will soon have the highest land transfer tax rate in all of Canada! Home buyers contribute approximately $2 billion to Toronto’s economy. Make no mistake, the city will feel the impact of this new tax.
HERE is a CBC article about the opposition to the City of Tax, opps, I mean, Toronto’s proposed taxes.
A nice article about CONDO MANIA in Canada.
This piece of news isn’t making much noise. Even on the interenet. Nevertheless, I thought I’d report it HERE for you folks to pick up on and debate. The government of Canada is selling off alot of taxpayer owned buildings. No big deal but at what cost? Guess what? Apparently, nobody knows ’cause PM Harper ain’t telling. Interesting….
Little Timmins at the head of the LIST. Serious. Stop laughing!
Funniest Agent’s Listings! Will put a smile on your face!
That’s all folks! Have a great day!
As many of you read here, or in the Toronto Star, soneone complained that they recently “lost” $60,000 because they were too stupid to do real estate themselves…or something to this effect. Anyways, here’s a very well thought out rebuttle!
THE BOTTOM LINE
TheStar.com – Business – Being a realtor isn’t easy, or easy money
Being a realtor isn’t easy, or easy money
Jun 25, 2007 04:30 AM
Kristan Erner
Special to the Star
Your reader (The Bottom Line, June 11, “$60,000 in real estate commissions gone done the drain”) contends that licensing is simply a 90-hour course, and poof, we are super income earning realtors.
Not even close.
First comes Phase 1, 2 and 3, which amounts to about 160 hours (in most cases balancing a full-time job) of classroom time, followed by three separate three-hour exams, in which you must score a grade higher than 75%. Then, within two years three articling courses are required, two of the courses are mandatory, one 60 hours and the other 80 hours.
Plus, a 60-hour elective. All followed by a three-hour exam, again with a 75% minimum grade. Also, all realtors are required to fulfill 24 credits (24 hours of course load) of update credits every two years in order to stay licensed.
So let’s forget all of that for a while. Let us talk about the day-to-day activities of a realtor. The advertising, the constant marketing, the 16-hour days, the late-night calls, and most importantly, the missed bedtime stories and vacations with our children.
We are dedicated to our craft and our clients. We never shut down and it never ends at 5 o’clock. We provide for our families with great sacrifice. Why? Passion.
We dedicate ourselves to you, out of passion and a love of what we do. There is no pixie dust here, just dreams that we are trying to help complete.
It is certainly not only about the money. There is very little left after paying our expenses. We pay brokerage fees, franchise fees, advertising costs, on-going marketing fees, costs of signage, not to mention the replacement costs of vehicles and gas prices. What about all the hours spent with clients who do not buy, or the listings that do not sell. Sometimes there is a lot of money spent without ever earning a dime. The list goes on and on. What we go through on a day-to-day basis to make a decent living – it is absolutely insane!
If we make good money, it is because we sacrifice. Your reader must understand all this to appreciate what goes on behind the scenes. He may see 30 hours of work, but in fact it is with many long and sometimes arduous hours spent getting to the point of the sale. We are on your side. We are professionals.
Not every realtor’s story will be the same. But I assure you, for the 10% of us who can actually make a living doing this, it is a similar plight. We are realtors and we care.
Kristan Erner is a realtor with Coldwell Banker Case Realty. The Bottom Line is a weekly guest column. Please send your submissions to thebottomline@thestar.ca
So, lots of STUFF has happened in the weird and wacky world of weal, I mean Real Estate over the past couple of weeks.
Now, instead of all the boring stuff like how r.e. is the preferred investment choice of investors or that the market will/won’t crash, I bring to you the wacky stuff.
And beleive you me. It’s all WACKY!
Now this is interesting. Anthony Dorsett, son of Hall of Fame RB Tony Doresett was recently cut at training camp by my beloved Argooooooooooooooooooos! Did you know that he left football and started a successful real estate business? I would not call this a cut. Rather a promotion! Man, with real estate commissions who would wanna play for a mid-level CFL salary? (I hear they DO pay more than Toronto FC!)
Is the Canadian resale industry good for the economy? What about home affordability? Check out some of these interesting facts HERE. You can also look HERE.
READER ALERT! The following is a wonderful little story about a former Montreal area Realtor. Read theis heartfelt story HERE.
Well, not exactly, but it’s a very interesting read. Personally, I thought that the title was more interesting than the article.
So? Are you ready? I am! I am going to barbeque at least twice this weekend! I’m going to enjoy the amazing weather and even spend time with my 14 month old!
What are you going to do? I know many real estate agents take this time to meet with potential clients and do open houses. Many others take the weekend off to spend quality time doing recreational stuff and spend time with family. Whatever you choose to do, ENJOY LIFE!
And with that I bring to you some real estate news and views from my second floor palatial office…..
Ever wonder what the Toronto Sun has to offer in terms of real estate insight. Doubtful? Me too. Until I received a note from my service that originated from the Toronto Sun! Go figure! So, get this – with real estate booming and financing deals even more affordable then ever, why would anybody choose to rent (based on affordability) ? Well, lots of people! But the problem is that with vacancy rates at all time highs, rental housing units are still very expensive! My thoughts is that greed has taken over. Why rent a place that you;ve purchased with your blood, sweat and financial tears if you can’t make any money? Anyways, HERE’S their report.
I know this has nothing to do with real estate but I did find it on a real estate blog. From North Carolina. What’s wrong with people?!?!?
Well, that’s all for now!
Have a great weekend everybody!
Karim Kanji
The Secret.
It’s a blockbuster literary runaway success! Why? Because everyone wants to know the secret to success. How can I become more financially successful? How can I have a more successful family life? These are questions that everyone, since the beginning of time, has sought answers to. The Secret is not the first time “the secret” has been written about. In fact, thousands of books have been written and many more speeches have been given explaining ‘the secret’.
So, the question is why are we still looking?
I think it’s because we all need to be reminded of the steps we need to take to become successful. We know what it takes. We have been taught ‘the secret’ since we were in Little League and ballet class.
At RealCash, our goal is to help you become successful. To give you the tools you need to create the kind of life you want and deserve! Visit www.RealCashCanada.com and see how you can benefit from a business relationship with RealCash.
To show our committement to your success we would like to send you a FREE COPY of the EBook version of the classic, Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill. To receive your copy, please send an email to MoneyNow@RealCashCanada.com and enter: “I Want My Copy of Think And Grow Rich” in the subject line.
That’s all for now!
Have a great day!
Regards,
Karim Kanji
Manager – Client Services
RealCash
1.800.265.2694
I know, I know!
The real estate market ain’t crashing anytime soon in Canada. But, what would you do if it did? Are you prepared to handle the downswings? Would you tough it out, or just quit?
Well, there is an option. Life insurance!
Read the following thought provoking article HERE.
Karim Kanji