December 16, 2024
When it comes to selling your property, be it your home, a ‘fix and flip’ or an investment property, there are a number of different strategies you can use. You can start high. After all, studies have shown that for most people the largest chunk of their net worth is in their real property. And so, you want to realize as much equity as possible from the sale. And of course, the mind set often is ‘I can always come down’. And who knows, even if you are overpriced, there is always the possibility that someone will come along who absolutely falls in love with your property and is willing to pay what you are asking or beyond. You might get lucky.
There is a housing crisis in Canada and it is impacting both prospective home buyers and prospective tenants. Simply put, there are more aspiring occupants than there are dwellings to put them in. Of course, the problem isn’t consistent in all locations across the country. Remote areas and areas with limited growth and slim employment opportunities aren’t impacted. But high-density urban areas, areas where population is consistently growing and areas within reasonable community distance of large centres are definitely feeling the pinch. And that pretty much encompasses all of Southern Ontario.
October 15, 2024
Pretty much every year they spend millions of dollars that they don’t have. Now I’m not saying that the money they spend is not spent on worthwhile endeavours. Health care, enhanced infrastructures, education. The problem is that every dollar they spend over and above what they take in adds to the annual deficit and increases the national debt. And that debt will have to be re-paid one day. And in the meantime, the debit will have to be serviced. The interest needs to be pa
September 16, 2024
In the last two or three issues of these Money Machine articles, we’ve taken a look at the growing problem between landlords and tenants especially when evictions, either ‘fault’ or ‘no-fault’ come into play. We’ve seen why economically tenants feel they are in the driver seat and why the Landlord and Tenant Board in many ways contributes to the problem. And while we outlined what needs to be done to remedy the problem, until changes are made, landlords need to be doubly sure that they don’t make a mistake that could have been avoided during the tenant selection process.
As we saw last issue, there is a growing problem affecting a large segment of the residential rental market. Pitting landlords against tenants. It’s come about because of the incredible increase in acquisition costs of residential rental property together with soaring interest rates and an alarming rise in maintenance and utility costs. All the while residential rents for existing tenants continue to be suppressed by rent controls. I maintain that at the heart of the problem is the Residential Tenancies Act and the approach taken by the Landlord and Tenant Board. These things need to be fixed, and they can be. Quite easily.
July 15, 2024
The relationship between landlords and tenants should in theory be a pretty simple one. Landlords provide a product for tenants to use. In the case of residential property that product is a dwelling for them to live in. In the case of commercial property it may be a building for them to run a business from. In either case, the tenant in return for the right to occupy the bricks and mortar, pays the landlord rent. With that rent, the landlord pays his expenses: mortgage, taxes, insurance, etc. And hopefully realizes a return on his investment. Pretty straight forward.
June 17, 2024
I’m sure it comes as no surprise that Ontario has a shortage of housing. Certainly, anyone in real estate is acutely aware of this. It quickly becomes apparent when you are trying to find a good rental unit for a perspective tenant, and even in spite of the post-covid slowdown in real estate, the right house is sometimes hard to find. This is especially critical in and around Toronto because it is the province’s epicentre for immigration. But housing shortages are a reality across the province.
May 15, 2024
There is a restaurant I go to once every week or so for a bit of lunch. It’s a handy place to meet a client or friend. And it’s very affordable. Soup and a sandwich for each of two people generally with tax comes in at around $27.00. Always less than $30.00. And I always leave a $10.00 tip.
