Saturday, December 19, 2009
Rental Housing near Durham College & UOIT
Anyone having an interest in homes in the vicinity of Durham College and UOIT are encouraged to review the UPDATED BROCHURE - Residential Housing in the Vicinity of Durham College and UOIT which is available on REALTOR Link® (home page / Board news port) or on the City of Oshawa website (www.oshawa.ca/RRHL) for more details on residential rental housing standards and by-laws.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Newcastle Santa Claus Parade
What a great night....night you say? Yup - Newcastle had our Santa Claus Parade starting at 5:30pm this past Sunday - which was great because the fireworks display was fantastic (save and except for my dog freaking out and almost knocking over the baby stroller) - but also not so great as I thought it was a tad late for kids, especially little ones (maybe I'm a wee bit biased here). All in all it was a great scene - one of the umpteen reasons why I love living here - we have such an amazing community spirit, it's really a very special place in the world to be. To know more about Newcastle and it's residents, check out www.NewcastleLiving.ca - a site that I recently sponsored to help keep us connected (and sell gently used appliances, if need-be HA!)
Cheers,
-K
Cheers,
-K
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
HST Transition Information
Below is a copy of the notice re: the upcoming HST transition and how it will affect real estate, taken from the Toronto Real Estate Board notice pages:
HST Transition RulesOctober 21, 2009
The provincial government has provided rules/guidance on how it will transition to the implementation of the proposed Harmonized Sales Tax. BackgroundThe provincial government has announced that it intends to combine the eight percent Provincial Sales Tax with the five percent federal Goods and Services Tax, creating a 13 percent Harmonized Sales Tax (HST).
The HST is NOT YET IN EFFECT. The provincial government has indicated that it intends to bring the HST into effect beginning on July 1, 2010; however, note transition rules below.
HST will not apply on the purchase price of re-sale homes.
HST would apply to services such as moving cost, legal fees, home inspection fees, and REALTOR® commissions.
HST will apply to the purchase price of newly constructed homes. However, the Province is proposing a rebate so that new homes across all price ranges would receive a 75 per cent rebate of the provincial portion of the single sales tax on the first $400,000. For new homes under $400,000, this would mean, on average, no additional tax amount compared to the current system.
Transitional Rules for New Housing
Generally, sales of new homes under written agreements of purchase and sale entered into on or before June 18, 2009 would not be subject to the provincial portion of the single sales tax, even if both ownership and possession are transferred on or after July 1, 2010.
The tax would also not apply to sales of new homes under written agreements of purchase and sale entered into after June 18, 2009 where ownership or possession is transferred before July 1, 2010.
Additional Transitional Rules
Where services straddle the HST implementation date of July 1, 2010, the tax charged for the service may have to be split between the pre-July 2010 and post-June 2010 periods. However, the HST will generally not apply to a service if all or substantially all (90% or more) of the service is performed before July 2010.
Four key timelines are important (see below). All are based on the earlier of the time the consideration is either due (In general, an amount is due on the date of the invoice or the day required to be paid pursuant to a written agreement), or is paid without having become due. If consideration is due or paid, Before October 15, 2009, HST will generally not apply (however, see above transition rules for new housing).
From October 15, 2009 to April 30, 2010, certain business that are not entitled to recover all of their GST/HST paid as input tax credit may be required to self-assess the provincial component of the HST with respect to goods or services supplied after June 30, 2010.
From May 1, 2010 to June 30, 2010, HST will generally apply for services supplied after June 30, 2010.
After June 30, 2010, HST will generally apply. An exception to this rule would be where ownership of the property is transferred before July 2010 or the invoice relates to services provided before July 2010.
With regard to the lease or license of goods, including non-residential real property, HST will generally apply to lease intervals or payment periods on or after July 1, 2010 and the general rules noted above will apply. However, where a lease interval begins before July 2010 and ends before July 31, 2010, it is not subject to HST.
With regard to the sale of non-residential property, HST is due where both possession and ownership of non-residential property occurs on or after July 1, 2010.
More Detail
Additional detail on the transition rules is available at the provincial government web site here or by calling the provincial government enquiry line at 1-800-337-7222.
copyright © 2009 Toronto Real Estate Board. All rights reserved.
HST Transition RulesOctober 21, 2009
The provincial government has provided rules/guidance on how it will transition to the implementation of the proposed Harmonized Sales Tax. BackgroundThe provincial government has announced that it intends to combine the eight percent Provincial Sales Tax with the five percent federal Goods and Services Tax, creating a 13 percent Harmonized Sales Tax (HST).
The HST is NOT YET IN EFFECT. The provincial government has indicated that it intends to bring the HST into effect beginning on July 1, 2010; however, note transition rules below.
HST will not apply on the purchase price of re-sale homes.
HST would apply to services such as moving cost, legal fees, home inspection fees, and REALTOR® commissions.
HST will apply to the purchase price of newly constructed homes. However, the Province is proposing a rebate so that new homes across all price ranges would receive a 75 per cent rebate of the provincial portion of the single sales tax on the first $400,000. For new homes under $400,000, this would mean, on average, no additional tax amount compared to the current system.
Transitional Rules for New Housing
Generally, sales of new homes under written agreements of purchase and sale entered into on or before June 18, 2009 would not be subject to the provincial portion of the single sales tax, even if both ownership and possession are transferred on or after July 1, 2010.
The tax would also not apply to sales of new homes under written agreements of purchase and sale entered into after June 18, 2009 where ownership or possession is transferred before July 1, 2010.
Additional Transitional Rules
Where services straddle the HST implementation date of July 1, 2010, the tax charged for the service may have to be split between the pre-July 2010 and post-June 2010 periods. However, the HST will generally not apply to a service if all or substantially all (90% or more) of the service is performed before July 2010.
Four key timelines are important (see below). All are based on the earlier of the time the consideration is either due (In general, an amount is due on the date of the invoice or the day required to be paid pursuant to a written agreement), or is paid without having become due. If consideration is due or paid, Before October 15, 2009, HST will generally not apply (however, see above transition rules for new housing).
From October 15, 2009 to April 30, 2010, certain business that are not entitled to recover all of their GST/HST paid as input tax credit may be required to self-assess the provincial component of the HST with respect to goods or services supplied after June 30, 2010.
From May 1, 2010 to June 30, 2010, HST will generally apply for services supplied after June 30, 2010.
After June 30, 2010, HST will generally apply. An exception to this rule would be where ownership of the property is transferred before July 2010 or the invoice relates to services provided before July 2010.
With regard to the lease or license of goods, including non-residential real property, HST will generally apply to lease intervals or payment periods on or after July 1, 2010 and the general rules noted above will apply. However, where a lease interval begins before July 2010 and ends before July 31, 2010, it is not subject to HST.
With regard to the sale of non-residential property, HST is due where both possession and ownership of non-residential property occurs on or after July 1, 2010.
More Detail
Additional detail on the transition rules is available at the provincial government web site here or by calling the provincial government enquiry line at 1-800-337-7222.
copyright © 2009 Toronto Real Estate Board. All rights reserved.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
A garbage dump is not a Ravine!
I have HAD IT UP TO HERE with listing agents marketing every house that *doesn't* back on to another house as a "PREMIUM RAVINE LOT". This is veeeeery misleading and in my opinion, can be seen as false advertising if you have a buyer who pays a premium on the property for the "ravine lot" only to find out that it is merely privately owned vacant land with the potential for rezoning and development into high density housing in the near future - so much for your premium ravine lot! This is yet another reason why it is SO important for buyers to work with a dedicated buyer agent whose job it is to find these things out and protect their interests and hard earned money!
A few (REAL!) examples...
*A garbage dump, no matter how beautifully the perimeter is forested, is NOT a ravine
*A privately owned farmer's field, despite the festive and fanciful seasonal corn display, is NOT a ravine
*A 2 metre wide walking trail in between two backyards....you guessed it...it NOT a ravine
*A bulldozed parcel of land slated for development??? NOT A RAVINE!!!
You may be asking...how can I be sure what a ravine really is? Let us turn to the old standby, the dictionary, for clarification on the matter...courtesy of http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ravine
Main Entry: ra·vine
Pronunciation: \rə-ˈvēn\
Function: noun
Etymology: French, from Middle French, rapine, rush, from Latin rapina rapine
Date: circa 1772
: a small narrow steep-sided valley that is larger than a gully and smaller than a canyon and that is usually worn by running water
Happy House Hunting! :)
A few (REAL!) examples...
*A garbage dump, no matter how beautifully the perimeter is forested, is NOT a ravine
*A privately owned farmer's field, despite the festive and fanciful seasonal corn display, is NOT a ravine
*A 2 metre wide walking trail in between two backyards....you guessed it...it NOT a ravine
*A bulldozed parcel of land slated for development??? NOT A RAVINE!!!
You may be asking...how can I be sure what a ravine really is? Let us turn to the old standby, the dictionary, for clarification on the matter...courtesy of http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ravine
Main Entry: ra·vine
Pronunciation: \rə-ˈvēn\
Function: noun
Etymology: French, from Middle French, rapine, rush, from Latin rapina rapine
Date: circa 1772
: a small narrow steep-sided valley that is larger than a gully and smaller than a canyon and that is usually worn by running water
Happy House Hunting! :)
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