Death of the Euro (or Wake Up and Buy North American Soil)Prepare, prepare, prepare! My advice: Did your stocks take a dive in 2000? Remember that feeling seeing your dollars shrink? Well, here it is again... This time in a real estate format the least. Everyone shouts: WE ARE LOOKING FOR GREAT REAL ESTATE OPPORTUNITIES! HERE IS A BETTER ONE FOR YOU: Buy Canada! The most stable nation in the G8. The Country attracting most investment in the G8. And, with the development of Alberta's Oil Sands, guess what: CANADA WILL BE THE RICHEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD! Just Like the Middle East, without the dessert! Wake up!!! They say: NO ONE LOST BY BUYING REAL ESTATE! IT IS TRUE! (always depends on which side you're on...) Wake up World! Buy American Property! Buy Canadian Property! It's Cheap! North America is here to stay!!! Fight 100% Land Transfer Tax IncreaseAsk Clients to Fight 100% Land Transfer Tax Increase Stop Toronto Land Transfer Tax: Your Help is Crucial June 2007 -- Your help is needed! The City of Toronto wants to charge a second land transfer tax that would NOW double the current provincial land transfer tax. This could impact real estate markets, YOUR business, and YOUR CLIENTS. The proposal is moving forward quickly so it is critical that City Council hear from REALTORS® NOW. City Council will vote on this in mid-July. Options to Help Fight Toronto Land Transfer Tax 1. Encourage your clients, friends, family and colleagues to email the Mayor and City Councillors with their opinions. It is VERY important that the Mayor and City Councillors hear from REALTORS® AND the general public. As a REALTOR®, you likely have many contacts that will be impacted by this tax who may appreciate being informed. CLICK HERE and an email that you can send to your contacts will be opened with a message that will include a link to make it easy for them to email the Mayor and City Council (You only have to add your contacts' email addresses). Alternatively, you can click here for a flyer that you can print to hand out or download to email. 2. TREB is asking you to once again send an email voicing your concern about this proposal to the Mayor and all City Councillors by CLICKING HERE (even if you previously sent an email)
3. Send an email to your MPP: Click here to go to OREA’s special web site that will look-up your MPP and supply you with an already drafted letter to email telling them to take action.
4. Attend the Toronto City Council meeting in July:
Meeting Details:
More Information Under the City’s proposal, Toronto homebuyers would have to pay a second land transfer tax at rates identical to those currently charged by the Province, as follows: 0.5% up to $55,000 TREB has been fighting against this proposal.
06/26/07 Note to users: Although TREB endeavours to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of information, it is not guaranteed. TREB accepts no responsibility for any loss arising from any use or reliance on the information contained herein. All information on this site is copyright © 2007 Toronto Real Estate Board. All rights reserved.
IT's Not The LEAD. It's What You Do With It!Wow! I am at a stage many would only dream of... - 100+ qualified leads a day and increasing daily! But there is one thing I have a problem with: WHAT TO DO WITH THEM! I have come to realize that Converting a LEAD is the MOST important step and there is difficulty in this! Those with multiple teams and leads, PLEASE HELP: - Is a TEAM the Best Way To Go? I Appreciate Your Comments. Toronto Real Estate Market update - Toronto Housing Market Reaches New Heights!Toronto Housing Market Reaches New Heights!June 5, 2007 -- With an astonishing 11,146 sales in May, the Toronto Real Estate market put in its best performance since records have been kept, President Dorothy Mason announced today. "The Toronto Real Estate Board has been tracking the local housing market for over forty years, and there has never been a month that even approaches this level of activity," Ms. Mason stated. "May was up 18 per cent over April, our previous record month (9,452 sales), and also up 18 per cent over May of 2006 (9,434 sales), which now ranks as the third highest sales total recorded." Ms. Mason further noted that, according to statistics compiled by the Canadian Real Estate Association, every home sale generates about $27,000 in economic activity (for renovations, furniture purchases, and so forth) over and above direct expenditures involved in the transaction. "This means that Realtors® and their clients have contributed over $300 million to the local economy in ancillary costs last month alone." However, while sales sky-rocketed, price increases were restrained, with the average rising a mere five per cent to $382,787 from the $365,537 recorded during May of 2006. Breaking down the total, 4,175 sales were reported in TREB's 28 West districts and averaged $356,836; 2,038 sales were reported in the 14 Central districts and averaged $506,172; 2,323 sales were reported in the 23 North districts and averaged $408,391; and 2,610 sales were reported in TREB's 21 East districts and averaged $305,168. (Gracefully reposted from the Toronto Real Estate Board) OwnHomeShare - New Vacation Concept! Join us for the Next Sale: July 1, 2007!
Beware Those Bearing Gifts!Here is what I received lately from multiple sources:COORDINATE FOR MY CLIENTS IN AQUIRING FOREIGN PROPERTIES AROUND THE WORLD AND THE NEED HAS ARISE TO GET 5 VILLAS /COUTRY HOME FOR THEM. I SHALL BE REPRESENTING THEIR INTEREST BECAUSE MY CLIENTS ARE SERVING MINISTERS IN MY COUNTRY WHO WILL NOT WANT THEIR IDENTITY TO BE DISCLOSED FOR SECURITY REASONS. I GOT YOUR CONTACT FROM A FRIEND IN LONDON WHO ATTESTED TO YOUR WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE IN REAL ESTATE. WHAT WE WANT IS A PROPERTY WITH MINIMUM OF 4 BEDROMS. ADDED SWIMMING POOL WILL BE A PLUS BUT NOT MUCH NECESSARY WHILE OUR BUDGET IS WITHIN 500/850,000$ PER VILLA. HOPE TO READ FROM YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE REGARDS SULEYMAN JOHNSON Be alert. Up to now, we've seen these in our spam email. Well now, these threats are real! Peopel are actually replying! I played along with one of them and their ways are really interesting, if not scary. Money laundering and scam artists operating under the radar. In my last job, I was Information Secuirty Manager for a large Bank. I had never came so close to one of them... Why Sign a Buyer Agency Agreement? Lesson Learned...OK... I just have to get this off my chest. I need to feel better and learn the lesson.And here's the story. I was working with a Pakistani client since December 2005. In January, we signed a Buyer Agency Agreement that was valid for 90 days. Although I forgot to renew it, we kept on working till beginning of September. My service to them continued non stop for months, most of the time on a daily basis. My client's requirements were quite difficult to satisfy: find a place to accommodate all 10 members of the family, the property had to be new or fixed up and close to the 600K range. Well, we spent a lot of time seeing properties with no luck. I advised the client to raise their price and we started looking in the 800K range. I must have shown them 50 homes or more because they wanted to see "everything", big and small, knockdowns, two side by sides, new construction and land. I worked my ass off and usually had to visit them after 11 pm at night because the family came back from work too late. I spent hours and hours away from my family in order to accommodate their needs. Evenutally we put in 4 offers on cetain properties. They signed the Buyer Agency Agreement in January 2006 for 90 days. We attempted an offer on a property in February 2006 with no luck. The price was too high. The client was still under contract. The 4th and last offer we pursued was in the beginning of summer but as mentioned the Buyer Agency hadn't been renewed. After the house came off the market, and while officially we were still looking for properties and emailing and calling each other back and forth and she is telling me "find me a property", they went back privately to the 2nd house we had put in an offer, and bought it straight from the Seller! The same property we had made the offer on... Even with hundreds of emails, of confirmations, of showings, of logs of what we have seen, of offers on properties we pursued, because I forgot to renew one stupid little piece of paper (everything else was signed properly), I cannot claim the $21,000 of commissions owed and I have to bite the bullet...???!!!??? Where is RECO justice in this country? Pif... Well, I promise you thing: NEVER AGAIN... Lesson Learned Make sure your Buyer signs the Buyer Agency Agreement! You never know when the client will screw you... Personal Feelings Is the job and time of a Real Estate Saleperson not worth anything? Solution The Buyer Agency Agreement should be mandatory Thanks for your time... I feel better now... :-) Well, life goes on... doesn't it? Want to be a Renovator? (or the answer to "why you should contract your renovation out")Today I am going to offer small advice to "amateur renovators" (can there really be such a bread of creatures?) taken from personal experience (feel free to add you own tips and stories):1) Estimate the renovation costs. This is the most difficult task to accomplish. What are the prices of material? How much money will I need? How much time will I need? What is expensive and what is a good deal? If this first task is too difficult for you to accomplish, do yourself a favour and contract the job out. You will gain years of life at the end... 2) Can you do the work or any part of the work yourself? Always factor your time in the expenses! If you can make $100 doing something else, do it and contract out your renovation to someone else. 3) Choose a smaller supplier They are way more thankful store owners than Home Depot at which you find your neighbor (you know who) giving you "expert advice"! If they were seriously good in plumbing and electrical, why wouldn't they been doing the job instead? Save yourself a buck and let the contractor run 10 times to pick up nails and glue and cement and annything else they need... 4) Pay for all your permits ... or do us a favour and cover those windows. Large and heavy renovations should be approved by the city or they will come after you, even years later... It is wise if your left hand does not to know what your right hand is doing. 5) Licensed vs non-licensed trades When in doubt, play it safe! 6) Use a competent real estate agent Not all agents are the same. Find one who understands your goals and can help you through. Not all renovations pay... And some quicky-tips: - Demolition is somewhat easy as long as you know where to stop... - Get cheap labour from hotels and coffee shops early in the morning - Cleaning up is also easy. Dump the garbage yourself... - Protect your bins! Neighbours tend to think you won't mind if they dump all their garbage in your bin. - Never ever pay by the hour, unless you are an SOB and every hour of every day you'll stand above their heads! - Always ask: "...and when will it be done by?" - Always get a serious answer to the question: "what happens if it's not ready by then?" - Why not? Sign a contract! - Take a video and before - after pictures - If you do not want receipts and pay under the table, at least take a video of the contractor working. When at court later, you can at least prove that the idiot actually worked for you and "it is his fault your honour"... - Gather all receipts. - Do some calculations and see if it is worth your time and effort. Ask yourself: should I do this again? - Work with a competent agent that can advise you all the way through I invite you to briefly tell us our horror story! Help us learn... No need to reinvent the wheel...
Security For Corporate Users - Its a Security Jungle Out There! Part 2 of 4CORPORATE USER SECURITYSecurity Risks Corporate users and those working in real estate offices are exposed to more serious security threats than home users. They are also responsible to maintain and follow corporate polices as implemented by their company’s security groups. Smaller companies unfortunately do not have the capacity to employ a security group and most security controls are missing. Most owners’ security awareness goes as far as Antivirus on the desktop and possibly a hardware firewall/router at their Internet gateway. Hardening steps are non-existent and default passwords have never been changed. The company relies on its employees to protect and safeguard Confidential and Internal information. The use of portable devices, such as laptops, USBs, CDs, DVDs, Palms, Smart Phones, has introduced new risks to corporate data. Once the employee walks out the door, corporate data leaves with the employee and is now susceptible to loss and theft. Social engineering is on the rise again and dumpster diving a real threat. So what are the basic steps to security every employee should know? Familiarize yourself with your company’s security policies. - Most companies’ policies are posted on the internal network and available to you. Make sure you review the security policies when you are hired. Employees are held liable for security ‘misconduct’. Be alert for security breaches and report security incidents - ‘Out of the ordinary’ behavior is an indication of a possible security problem. Ask for guidance. Always keep your security officer’s phone handy. Handle corporate and client information with care - Corporate and client information is for internal use. Once taken off premises, it becomes confidential and should be encrypted. The company trusts this information in your hands. Do not use it for personal purposes. Do not share Corporate information. Secure portable devices and storage media - Do not store corporate information on such media. Ask for an encryption program to protect the information. Do not share your company’s laptop. Do not plug them on your home network without proper protection. Use email and other software tools only for business use - It doesn’t matter if you receive unwanted email. Don’t forward jokes and other material. Anything you write will be held and used against you if necessary years later. Find out and use corporate data destruction policies - Destroy data off media prior to shipping outside of the company. Keep or destroy hard disks when the computer is decommissioned. - - - Canada’s Privacy Officers may enforce penalties of up to $100,000 to companies that do not take the basic precautions to protect customer data (personal and financial data). We have all seen our top Canadian Banks in the headlines for stolen client information. Yours and mine. This is the sort of publicity any company does not want. For a minimal investment, security companies can guide you through the process of securing your data and implementing the exact amount of security your company needs. Seek the advice of a security expert! Security is Insurance ! Buyer Tip #1 - Reasons Buyers use to lower Purchase Price - Add yours...What are Buyers mostly negotiating for 6. Flooring 7. Simply want a better deal - - - |
Sam Kamoutsis Toronto, ON More about me… RE/MAX 2000 Realty Inc. Office Phone: (416) 743-2000 Cell Phone: (416) 951-0110 Email Me
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