Frank Steinhausen, Broker
FSteinhausen@REMAX.net
RE/MAX Rouge River Realty Ltd., Brokerage
Phone 905-428-6533
Fax 905-668-1850
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Realosophy - Pickering Schools, Home Prices and Neighbourhood Photos
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Archive for the 'Real estate investment' Category
9 Ways to Lower Your Homeowners Insurance Costs
September 22nd, 2009 Categories: Area interest, Real Estate, Real estate investment
pennies. Some of our necessary expenses can be adjusted with a little know-how. Here are some points to consider about your home insurance policy:
1. Raise your deductible. If you can afford to pay more toward a loss that occurs, your premiums will be lower.
2. Buy your homeowners and auto policies from the same company. You’ll usually qualify for a discount. But make sure that the savings really yields the lowest price.
3. Make your home less susceptible to damage. Keep roofs and drains in good repair. Retrofit your house to protect against natural disasters common to your area.
4. Keep your home safer. Install smoke detectors, burglar alarms, and dead-bolt locks. All of these will usually qualify for a discount.
5. Be sure you insure your house for the correct amount. Remember, you’re covering replacement cost, not market value.
6. Ask about other discounts. For example, retirees who are home more than working people may qualify for a discount on theft insurance.
7. Stay with the same insurer. Especially in today’s tight insurance market, your current vendor is more likely to give you a good price.
8. See if you belong to any groups—associations, alumni groups—that offer lower insurance rates.
9. Review your policy limits and the value of your home and possessions annually. Some items depreciate and may not need as much coverage.
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Drop In Housing Prices Still Occurring But Market Activity Increasing
June 12th, 2009 Categories: Buying real estate, Real Estate News, Real estate investment
The experts haven’t said that we are at the bottom of the house price hill, but the real estate market is hopping in some areas. The key factor ruling the market right now is affordability.
The Toronto Real Estate Board reported that May sales this year out-stripped last year’s mark. And prices still declined one percent.
April 2008 was the high water mark for the prices in Toronto.
The opportunity here is in the decline in prices AND ultra-low interest rates.
You can’t really time the market. Will we know when prices have bottomed out? Only when they start rising again.
If you are making a decision to buy a house because you have a baby on the way, and you need more space, you shouldn’t try to time the market. You should buy the home for what it is—a home, not an investment.
If you are waiting for a further decline in house prices, you could find that happens, but that the interest rates rise. The interest rates are at all time lows and they likely won’t stay there (and they can’t get much lower). The US has seen an increase already. Maybe prices will come down a little bit, but if you see the interest rates go up, then it’s really a wash. Small increase in interest rates negate large drops in prices.
Want to see the difference? I can show you.
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6 Creative Ways to Afford a Home
June 9th, 2009 Categories: Buying real estate, Mortgage, Real Estate, Real estate investment
If your income and savings are making homebuying a challenge, consider 
these options.
1. Investigate downpayment options. Your mortgage lender has several choices that can reduce your downpayment.
2. Get the seller to provide financing. In some cases, sellers may be willing to finance all or part of the purchase price of the home and let you repay them gradually, just as you do a mortgage.
3. Consider a shared-appreciation, or shared equity, arrangement. Under this arrangement, your family, friends, or even a third-party may buy a portion of the home and thus share in any appreciation when the home is sold. The owner/occupant usually pays the mortgage, property taxes, and all maintenance costs, but all investors’ names are usually on the mortgage. There are companies that can help you find such an investor if your family can’t participate.
4. Get help from your family. Perhaps a family member will loan you money for the downpayment and/or act as a cosigner for the mortgage. Lenders often like to have a cosigner if you have little credit history
5. Lease with the option to buy. Renting the home for a year or more will give you the chance to save more toward your downpayment. And in many cases, owners will apply some of the rental amount toward the purchase price. You usually have to pay a small, nonrefundable option fee to the owner.
6. See if you can qualify for a short-term second mortgage to give you the money to make a higher downpayment. This may be possible if you have a good income and little other debt.
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Banks Are Lending To Qualified Buyers
June 5th, 2009 Categories: Buying real estate, Mortgage, Real Estate News, Real estate investment
As a follow up to my last post, I see that David Bach, author of The Automatic Millionaire (among others).
Although this video references US loans and forms, the information is equally true here in the Greater Toronto Area. CHMC can insure mortgages if you have less than 20% down payment and you do need proof of income for mortgage pre-approval.
If you have any questions, call me to get information about a mortgage that you can qualify for.
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Need to hide some cash…Real estate is still a good investment.
March 17th, 2009 Categories: Area interest, Neighbourhood fun, Real estate investment
Well, it’s not about real estate, but I thought there might be some CEOs needed to find a place to hide some of their bonus cash from AIG. JetBlue, an American airline, has the same philosophy. Check out their latest ad campaign.
http://www.blackbookmag.com/article/jetblues-welcome-bigwigs-ad-campaign/6771
And, if you do need to find a great real estate investment, I can be very discreet. Thanks @workhomeexpert.
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Rental Transactions Increase in Toronto
February 12th, 2009 Categories: Buying real estate, Real Estate News, Real estate investment
TORONTO, February 5, 2009 – Between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008, Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) Members reported 3,433 rented condominium apartments and townhouses in the Greater Toronto Area.
This represented a 30 per cent increase over the 2,635 transactions recorded during the same time frame in 2007. A good part of this increase likely came from rental listings in newly completed condominium apartment buildings containing investor-owned units.
“The increasing strength of the rental market combined with low interest rates and reasonable home prices mean that now could be an excellent time to purchase an investment property,” said Maureen O’Neill, President, Toronto Real Estate Board.
“Given the demand for rental units, tenants can cover some of the owner’s operating costs for an investment property, while property owners look forward to a healthy return in owner’s equity in the long term.”
Condominium apartment rents on an annual basis rose for one, two, and three bedroom types during the September to December period. Two bedroom units, for example, rose two per cent to $1,895 per month.
“Investor-owned condominium apartments have become an increasingly important component of the GTA rental market,” according to Jason Mercer, Senior Manager Market Analysis.
“Very few purpose-built rental apartments have been completed in the GTA over the past fewyears. Many renters searching for apartments with modern finishings and amenities have been attracted to rental condominium apartments listed by TREB Members on the TorontoMLS system.”
Visit www.TorontoRealEstateBoard.com for a complete copy of the Rental Market Report.
Considering an income property, let me show you how it can work.
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Top Places In The World To Live
February 2nd, 2009 Categories: Area interest, Buying real estate, Real estate investment
Although the sun is shining today, Wiarton Willie tells me that there will be 6 more weeks of this season before I can come out of hibernation. I often wonder, at this time of year, why my parents settled in Canada instead of some more tropical environment. What were they thinking?
International Living magazine is helping me to narrow down my choices for where I would choose to settle.
The retirement and relocation publication compared about 200 countries in nine categories including, cost of living, culture, economy, environment, freedom, health, infrastructure, safety and risk, and climate. They went to reputable international organizations such as the World Health Organization, and The Economist. And they polled many other groups.
France scored at the best place in the world to live for the fourth year in a 
row. It scored high marks across the categories, but its main appeal is the quality of its culture and leisure activities, says managing editor, Laura Sheridan.
France is a buyer’s market for anyone looking at overseas real estate. Sheridan says, “Today, a euro is worth about $1.31US. Six months ago, a 100,000–euro home for sale in France would have cost you $159,000. Today, the same house would cost you $132,000. That’s a 17% drop in six months.”
Here are International Living’s top 10 best places in the world to live and their overall scores out of a possible 100:
- France, 80
- Switzerland, 79
- United States, 78
- Luxembourg, 77
- Australia, 76
- Belgium, 75
- Italy, 74
- Germany, 73
- New Zealand, 72
- Denmark, 71
I hear the thermometer dipped below 40 degrees Celsius in Australia last week. I could handle that.
(Source: International Living—1/15/09)
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Another Large Subdivision for Ajax
June 3rd, 2008 Categories: Ajax, Buying real estate, Pickering Village, Real Estate News, Real estate investment
As you drive down Brock Road in Pickering, you crest a hill and get a 
glimpse of the Ajax-Pickering landscape. It is roof tops as far as the eye can see. And the Town of Ajax has recently approved plans for 1400 more rooftops to be built.
A massive housing development has been approved for northeast Ajax.
Council’s community affairs and planning committee on Monday approved a 1,420-home subdivision proposal from Sundial Homes. The project, at the southwest corner of Rossland and Audley roads, would be built in phases and, depending on the market, take about five years to complete.
Construction would begin along Rossland and move southerly, towards the existing Lexington County subdivision, said Chris Matson, the development manager for the project.
“It’s driven by marketing. We need to generate sales and activity,” Mr. Matson said.
The project includes conventional single-detached homes, detached homes, semi-s and townhouses with rear lanes, and back-to-back townhouses.
The variety of housing types and sizes makes the project “diverse,” Mr. Matson said.
Services will start going in this year and construction of the houses is to begin in the winter or spring of next year, he said.
“There’s a good blend of housing types and sizes,” said Mayor Steve Parish. “I like the treatment along Rossland and Audley. It lends itself to transit usage. I think it does what we want it to do.”
Sundial is the builder of the houses at Bayly Street and Monarch Avenue.
Want to know how new building affects the value of your home? I can tell you.
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Gather the Facts Before You Jump Into Your First Mortgage
May 6th, 2008 Categories: Buying real estate, Mortgage, Real estate investment
There was recently it was reported that many young women buying their 
first home alone. It is no longer love, marriage and a house with a baby carriage. More single, young women are opting for the home first.
I am all for the forced saving, nest-egg growing opportunity that home-buying offers. I wouldn’t be in real estate otherwise. I would like to present a little bit of the devil’s advocate position to caution young people before they jump in with both feet. Make sure you have all the information that you need.
Here is some helpful information:
- Two-thirds of all buyers are taking mortgages of up to 40 years amortization. This means that without pre-payment options or accelerated payments, young first time buyers may be paying their mortgage when they hit retirement age.
A 40–year amortization means that you are paying over $736,000 for a $300,000 house. That is $436,000 in interest payments. - An increasing number of buyers are putting little or no-money down. Increasing your mortgage principle increases your monthly payments, or your amortization. Either way, you are paying the bank more money to borrow theirs.
- Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation introduced an interest-only mortgage option echoing the US mortgage market trouble where house prices stopped increasing and people have ended up owing more than the house is worth.
Canada has taken some precautions to ensure that our housing market does not follow the US down. Higher risk mortgages are only available to buyers with good credit. However, buyers who are stretching themselves into buying a home make themselves susceptible to financial difficulties if the housing or job markets soften or if interest rates climb again.
Do you have questions about what mortgages are right for you, or when to buy into the market? I can help.
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2007 Year of the Condominium: Condominium appreciation outpaces single-detached housing
January 25th, 2008 Categories: Buying real estate, Real Estate News, Real estate investment, Selling real estate
Condominiums experienced unprecedented upward pressure on average price in 2007, surpassing gains reported in the single-detached category for the first time in key GTA districts, including the central core and west end.
According to RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada, the average price of a condominium rose 12.2 per cent in the central core in 2007 ($327,559 vs. $292,064) while values in the west end jumped 7.3 per cent from $215,036 to $230,749. Statistics for single-detached homes reveal an 11.5 per cent increase in average price in the central core ($910,906 vs. $816,938) and a 6.6 per cent increase in the west ($417,407 vs. $444,945) during the same period.
Condominiums are clearly a viable—and now financially feasible—alternative to single-detached housing. With so many purchasers forced to compromise on their choice of housing, the ever-growing return on investment in the condominium market is proving to be quite the consolation prize.
Despite higher prices across the board—approximately 20 per cent, or 12 of 63 Toronto Real Estate Board Districts, experienced a double-digit increase in average price in 2007—the condominium lifestyle allows purchasers to live in the GTA’s most coveted communities at a fraction of the price of a single-detached home. The best performing markets in 2007 include top-ranking Bayview Village (C15), leading with a 40.7 per cent increase in average price year-over-year ($241,611 vs. $340,113); Yorkville,
Condominiums now outsell single-detached homes two to one in the central core. Condo sales have accounted for an increasing percentage of the marketplace in the central, west, and northern districts since 2005. The trend is expected to continue as affordability levels diminish, particularly in the central core. It’s also important to recognize that the vast majority of these purchasers are end-users and speculation is a rare occurrence in the resale condominium market.
Although they carry some pretty hefty price tags, single-detached homes continued to post solid gains as well, with approximately 21 per cent or 13 of 63 Toronto Real Estate Board districts, reporting increases over 10 per cent in 2007. The best return on investment occurred yet again in proven blue chip neighbourhoods. Forest Hill (C03) led the way with a 21.1 per cent increase in average price in 2007, rising from $849,697 in 2006 to $1,028,960. Leaside (C11), Lansing, Willowdale (C07), and Bathurst Manor, Armour Heights (C06) placed second, third and fourth, with prices rising 16.6 ($791,083 to $922,607), 15.4 ($537,891 to $621,185), and 13.9 per cent ($523,736 to $596,551) respectively year-over-year. Thriving Port Credit (W12) placed a strong fifth with a percentage increase of 9.4 per cent in average price, bringing single-detached housing values in the area to $577,461 from $509,380 in 2006. (Based on districts reporting over 100 sales per annum)
When it comes to bricks and mortar, homeownership can be cost-prohibitive. The surge in condominium sales and prices is a glimpse at the future. Not only is the condo lifestyle more widely accepted, it is also highly coveted by many. Location, price, amenities, views, low-maintenance living—it’s the ideal package for a growing number of purchasers. As such, price growth and demand are expected to continue strong into 2008.
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