Every once in a while, I find myself tracing my roots back to the beginning. I don’t mean to Montreal, which is where I was born, or to Europe, which is where my grandparents came from. I’m referring to a charming, 13th century village called Scanno which is in the mountains a few hours outside of […]
Margaret and Pierre had been looking for a new home for a while when they finally found one they liked (names, prices and other details have been changed to protect everybody’s privacy). It wasn’t perfect, but it had some very nice features. It was nicer than most similar homes, but at $995,000, its price reflected […]
They tell me to write short blog posts. As you can tell, I’ve been having difficulty. Let’s see how this one goes. If you’ve ever bought a home in Ontario, you know about Land Transfer Tax. You probably don’t remember it fondly, but you can’t forget it because it was so substantial (approximately $16,500 for […]
Due diligence. When I was a lawyer, I hated this term. It meant long days and nights reading through countless, boring documents. I’m shuddering right now just thinking of it. Thankfully, I don’t have to do that kind of due diligence any longer, but due diligence has not disappeared from my life altogether. When you […]
The kids are back to school and I’m back to blogging, just in the nick of time for the Fall market. If only someone made a realtor crystal ball. All signs seem to be pointing towards a very robust Fall market in central Toronto. By that I mean that we can expect the supply of […]
It’s summer time again – sunshine, heat, long days, ice cream (my personal favourite)……and plenty of articles about the demise of the real estate market. It seems that this happens every summer. Recently, the Globe and Mail reported that “In Vancouver, the seller’s market recedes” (July 5, 2012). On another day, the headline read “Housing bubbles: Messy […]
What are these changes all about? Well, the real estate market has been hot. Everyone knows that. The government is concerned that a major correction in the real estate market, if one does occur, will have negative consequences for the entire economy. To prevent a major correction from happening, the government has implemented a few changes […]
At some point during every hot spring real estate market in central Toronto, the tide turns a little. There are still crazy bidding wars, but fewer homes receive multiple offers and some homes take a little longer to sell. Whether this is a result of buyers getting tired of bidding, sellers getting greedy and setting […]
I was hoping to write this newsletter a few weeks ago, but I’ve had a bit of writer’s block. After 20 years and 4 newsletters a year, sometimes the ideas don’t flow as easily as they should. Still, this newsletter has always contained my own thoughts and views so even if it takes a bit […]
I just attended my 25 year law school reunion. That may be why I’ve been thinking of school lately and why this edition of the newsletter is in the form of a case study. There is much to be learned from real life situations. Ted and Tina were getting divorced and decided to sell their […]
Without a doubt, the question I get asked most often is How’s the market? This question can mean many different things, depending on what the person asking the question has in mind. It can mean How much is my house worth? or Is it a good time to sell? It might be a reference to […]
It used to be that you could buy a house on a handshake or with a $500 deposit. You can still do that in certain places, but not in Toronto. It’s now not uncommon to see deposits of $50,000-$100,000 or more. While this could be seen as a somewhat sad comment on the morals of […]
It’s too early to determine exactly what will happen when the spring market arrives in March, but early signs indicate that it will likely be a strong one. There weren’t a lot of new homes that came on the market in January, which is typical for this time of year, but the good homes that […]
True story: When my friend asked her husband why he wasn’t returning his emails, he said “Because I’m not going to get caught up in that fad.” Funny? Yes, but also very telling. Whether email is a fad or not isn’t the point. The point is that he’s not using email because he doesn’t find […]
There’s no question that technology is a fabulous tool to use in real estate and that improvements are being made all the time. In fact, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that technology has changed how people buy and sell homes over the past 10 years and will probably instigate even bigger changes in […]
It’s time for a reality check. For the past 13 years, there have been reports in the media that the real estate market is due for a correction or is about to slow down or that the bubble is about to burst. As far as I can remember, this prediction has come true exactly once […]
Last night my clients offered on a nicely renovated house in Allenby. They loved it, but so did 21 other potential buyers. That’s right. There were 22 offers! Fortunately, the sellers chose my clients’ offer over all the others and they got the home of their dreams. While luck always plays a part in these […]
My very first blog posting. Very exciting. I’m dedicating this blog to all those people who want to make sure they don’t make costly mistakes when buying or selling their homes and will attempt to fill it with useful tips learned from real life situations. While I specialize in homes and condos of all prices […]
