Clocks Change / Battery Replacement

This was forwarded to me, great advice.

Important reminder - when you are walking about your house changing the time on your clocks, coffemakers, microwaves, etc, take a moment to change the batteries in your smoke alarms.

After all, it doesn't matter if you know what time it is if you are having smoke inhalation "issues"!

Even electrically powered smoke alarms can have back-up batteries, and your CO detector may need a battery too.

You also want to suck the dust out of your detectors with a vacuum, and if the smoke alarm is older than 10 years, you should replace it (CO alarms should be replaced every 7 years).

Thanks,
Mark

Good news on the horizon

I know you are interested.

The US$ just broke today.

Which means the markets are going for another short-term rally.

Including OIL. But not GOLD.

You never make anything if you don't sell. In other words, to make money you have to SHORT aka sell.

For example, when you sell a house only the seller makes money, the buyer buys "hope". It's time for the buyers to be buying as interest rates are at all time lows and the values have dropped, good buying opportunities in Mississauga and GTA

Now we are playing against another drop in the US$. The markets will go up as long as the US$ goes down.

See this graph: http://www.mississauga4sale.com/Market-Emotions-Cycle.htm In my view we are only near the panic and despondency area of this cycle, so we still have some way to go!

Good luck,
Mark

Mortgage Interest Rate announcement

Good Afternoon,

The banks followed the Bank of Canada lead yesterday and reduced their prime lending rate to 2.50%.

However, the banks have not announced rate decreases on fixed rate mortgages. It's not unusual for these changes to trickle in....almost as if they are all waiting for someone else to make the first move!

These are the latest rates, I hope to be able to communicate some further decreases within the week.

Please call if you have any questions, or if I can help you in any way.

Best rates as of March 4th, 2009*

Prime...............2.50%
Variable............Prime plus .80%
1 yr closed.......3.50%
2 yr closed.......3.90%
3 yr closed.......4.00%
4 yr closed.......4.14%
5 yr closed.......4.19% (over $500K; under $500K rate is 4.29%)
7 yr closed.......5.90%
10 yr closed.....6.05%

*Rates subject to change without notice

I hope this finds you Happy and Healthy!

All the Best!

Mark

A. Mark Argentino
P. Eng. Broker
Specializing in Residential & Investment Real Estate

Thinking of Selling? Best Mortgage Rates Current Home Prices Search MLS Newsletter
RE/MAX Realty Specialists Inc.
Providing Full-Time Professional Real Estate Services since 1987
( BUS 905-828-3434
2 FAX 905-828-2829 ÈCELL 416-520-1577
› E-MAIL : mailto:mark@mississauga4sale.com?subject=Mississauga
Website : Mississauga4Sale.com

• Thinking of selling your home in the next 3 to 6 months? Would you like a Complimentary & Quick Over-The-Net Home Evaluation ?
• Power of Sales and Foreclosures
• If you have not already signed up to receive my monthly real estate newsletter, you may do so here: On-Line Real Estate Newsletter sign up
• See seasonal housing patterns
• Would you like me to send you a 2009 Calendar?

Mortgage interest rates for longer terms are falling slightly

You will see the current posted and best mortgage rates available in the GTA in the table below.

Longer term rates are falling, this is good news for anyone thinking of buying in the next few months!

I hope this finds you Happy and Healthy!

All the Best!

Mark

TERM	POSTED	Best RATES*
6 Month	5.2%	5%
1 Year	5%	3.89%
2 Year	5.75%	4.34%
3 Year	5.75%	4%
4 Year	5.69%	4.19%
5 Year	5.79%	4.22%
7 Year	7%	5.9%
10 Year	7.35%	6.05%
Variable Rate		3.75%
Prime Rate		3%

* Rates are subject to change without notice.

A. Mark Argentino
P. Eng. Broker
Specializing in Residential & Investment Real Estate

Thinking of Selling? Best Mortgage Rates Current Home Prices Search MLS Newsletter
RE/MAX Realty Specialists Inc.
Providing Full-Time Professional Real Estate Services since 1987
( BUS 905-828-3434
2 FAX 905-828-2829 ÈCELL 416-520-1577
› E-MAIL : mailto:mark@mississauga4sale.com?subject=Mississauga
Website : Mississauga4Sale.com

• Thinking of selling your home in the next 3 to 6 months? Would you like a Complimentary & Quick Over-The-Net Home Evaluation ?
• Power of Sales and Foreclosures
• If you have not already signed up to receive my monthly real estate newsletter, you may do so here: On-Line Real Estate Newsletter sign up
• See seasonal housing patterns
• Would you like me to send you a 2009 Calendar?

Bank of Canada drops Prime Rate .5%

The Bank of Canada dropped the prime rate today by 1/2% to .5% from 1%.

The major lenders followed suit and reduced their bank rates from 3% to 2.5% which means that variable rate mortgages instantly fall and most likely the major banks will be dropping short and long term mortgage rates over the next few days

Other news, the price of gold per ounce in USD was $913 today, down from just over USD1000 a week ago

This is the time to purchase real estate if you want a great mortgage rate

All the best
Mark
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Bottom line in Mississauga residential real estate

The bottom line is that you want an agent who will:

• do a great job for you at all times
• represent your best interests
• create excellent marketing materials for the sale
• deal fairly with the other agents which correlates to your benefit and n
• negotiate very hard to get you the best price and terms.
  
  I will do an excellent job for you at every step of your sale!

Thank you and have a nice day,
Mark

Mississauga Real Estate

Mississauga realtor provides valuable home selling information

When you're selling your home I will prepare comparative marketing analysis and advise you on your Home's market value

I will list your house to the multiple listing service in the Toronto area which is the database of property for sale that all the other realtor is on the front real estate board can find and see information about your home

I will negotiate all offers on your behalf

I will ensure that you get the best pricing terms for your home in this difficult market

The reason you want to use me as your agent in Mississauga and Churhcill Meadows or Erin mills is because I understand all the economic trends in the current realestate market

I know the local marketplace and can sell Homes at the highest price in the shortest period of time with the best terms and conditions for you the seller

I've sold two homes in Churchill Meadows in January and early February of 2009 and can certainly service your real estate needs as well

Have a great evening

Good evneing

from Mark Argentino

I hope this finds you Happy and Healthy!

All the Best!

Mark

A. Mark Argentino
P. Eng. Broker
Specializing in Residential & Investment Real Estate

Thinking of Selling? Best Mortgage Rates Current Home Prices Search MLS Newsletter
RE/MAX Realty Specialists Inc.
Providing Full-Time Professional Real Estate Services since 1987
( BUS 905-828-3434
2 FAX 905-828-2829 ÈCELL 416-520-1577
› E-MAIL : mailto:mark@mississauga4sale.com?subject=Mississauga
Website : Mississauga4Sale.com

• Thinking of selling your home in the next 3 to 6 months? Would you like a Complimentary & Quick Over-The-Net Home Evaluation ?


• Power of Sales and Foreclosures


• If you have not already signed up to receive my monthly real estate newsletter, you may do so here: On-Line Real Estate Newsletter sign up


• See seasonal housing patterns


• Would you like me to send you a 2009 Calendar?

Power of Sales Percentage Increase in past 2 years

I received another great email question and I thought I would share my answer with you.

Hi Mark,

Out of curiosity, what is your best estimate as to the % increase in foreclosures/powers of sale in the Oakville and GTA area over the last ~2 years?

I am 26 yrs old and in the market for a house (I will be getting married this summer). I first started searching for homes in 2007 realizing that prices were massively inflated. I've been waiting for these days of crumbling home values, and like you, I follow TREB statistics and plot them on a monthly basis to get a good indication of where the housing market is going. Hence, I was just wondering (as another 'indicator') what the approx. increase in foreclosures has been. I'll also mention that I am currently working as a mechanical engineer (in training), so as you can understand I do have a "technical" interest in the housing market :)

Any response would be helpful. Thanks.

Regards

MC

Hello MC,

Thank you for your real estate inquiry. Nice to hear you are getting a good education, nothing will replace that in your life !

POS properties have increased in Mississauga from about 40 to 43 at any one time to 50 to 55 at any given time, thus about 20%, on average.

Yes, average prices have fallen, but a great part of the drop is due to the upper valued homes dropping by 100k or more. The lower end of the market is still 'tight' so I don't see those prices falling much further than existing levels. Mortgage rates are at or near all time lows. You will only know that prices have bottomed about 2 to 4 months after they have bottomed, and that will be too late. Prices will have possibly escalated 5% or more by that time.

I can't predict more than 2 to 4 weeks in the future, but nobody knows the direction of our marketplace for sure, nobody. I think we may see a small increase this spring, then another drop in the summer and another rise in the fall. Where the absolute average price is in the fall is anybody's guess. Many are predicting another 5 to 10 drop, so hold on!

Please let me know if you have any other questions or if there is anything else I can help you with.

Thank you again for contacting me and I will do my best to help you with your real estate needs,

Mark

A. Mark Argentino
P. Eng. Broker
Specializing in Residential & Investment Real Estate

Thinking of Selling? Best Mortgage Rates Current Home Prices Search MLS Newsletter
RE/MAX Realty Specialists Inc.
Providing Full-Time Professional Real Estate Services since 1987
( BUS 905-828-3434
2 FAX 905-828-2829 ÈCELL 416-520-1577
› E-MAIL : mailto:mark@mississauga4sale.com?subject=Mississauga
Website : Mississauga4Sale.com

• Thinking of selling your home in the next 3 to 6 months? Would you like a Complimentary & Quick Over-The-Net Home Evaluation ?
• If you have not already signed up to receive my monthly real estate newsletter, you may do so here: On-Line Real Estate Newsletter sign up
• See seasonal housing patterns
• Would you like me to send you a 2009 Calendar?

Falling market, moving up to larger home, should I sell?

I received another good question about whether to buy a larger home since the price of the home they are selling is falling. The full question and answer are below.

Mark

---

From: mc
Subject: Re: Selling my townhouse and moving up to a larger home

Hello,
thank you for getting back to me, I was looking to put my townhouse up for sale some time this summer.

I was looking to get 300,000 for my home so that I could have some money to put down on another home since I would like to move to a bigger home.

Thanks
mc

Mark's answer:

Hello MC,

It's possible that your townhome may sell for $300,000 it depends upon how the market is at the time that you list it for sale. As well as condition, extras and upgrades of course. But the market conditions are most important.

As you probably have read and heard, our real estate market is softer than it has been for the past 12 years or so. This means that it may take a little longer to sell your townhouse.

Plus, people are predicting prices may drop more this year, most likely this is the case. Although this will affect your selling price, the larger homes will drop more than townhomes, so in the final analysis, the difference between the sale price of your townhouse and the purchase price of the larger home will be less and you will benefit!

At any rate, keep me posted regarding your plans and please let me know if you have any other questions at this point in the process.

Thank you,
Mark

Condo versus Freehold Townhouse- what about maintenance fees?

One common question that I see is regarding the maintenance fees on a condo townhouse. Many buyers ask for freehold townhomes, but condo townhomes can have low maintenance fees and there are other benefits too.

I hope this finds you Happy and Healthy!

All the Best!

Mark

---

This is the question I received from: GR
Subject: RE: townhomes

Thank you for getting back to me.

My only trepidation with condo townhomes is the arbitrary increase in maintenance fees that can happen. What range would you say the low maintenance fees are in?

thanks,

GR

__________________________

This is my answer to her question:

__________________________

Hi GR,

I understand your hesitation and have had other purchasers feel the same way. What I have found is that maintenance fees must be voted on by the board of directors and then the owners must ratify any increase. Normally, maintenance fees would only go up by 1 to 5% at about the most.

With the newer complexes they are fixed for the first 3 years and then escalate very slowly. The status certificate is a document that shows current and future budgets and will indicate any potential increase in maintenance fees over the next year and sometimes longer. Just depends on the range of the future budget.

Low maintenance fees would be in the range of about $90 to $175. I would think that higher maintenance fees are in the range of $250 and up. There are many complexes in Mississauga and surrounding areas that have low maintenance fees.

Also, the maintenance fee covers grass cutting, snow shoveling, garbage removal, common area lighting etc. Most important it covers your building insurance. Thus, you require less property insurance as you only need to insure your contents. I would say that you would save about $200 from your insurance premium in a condo townhouse versus a freehold townhouse, maybe more.

We will email you some listings with lower maintenance fees so you can see what you are getting into.

Thank you,

Mark

A. Mark Argentino
P. Eng. Broker
Specializing in Residential & Investment Real Estate

Thinking of Selling? Best Mortgage Rates Current Home Prices Search MLS Newsletter
RE/MAX Realty Specialists Inc.
Providing Full-Time Professional Real Estate Services since 1987
( BUS 905-828-3434
2 FAX 905-828-2829 ÈCELL 416-520-1577
› E-MAIL : mailto:mark@mississauga4sale.com?subject=Mississauga
Website : Mississauga4Sale.com

• Thinking of selling your home in the next 3 to 6 months? Would you like a Complimentary & Quick Over-The-Net Home Evaluation ?
• Power of Sales and Foreclosures
• If you have not already signed up to receive my monthly real estate newsletter, you may do so here: On-Line Real Estate Newsletter sign up
• See seasonal housing patterns
• Would you like me to send you a 2009 Calendar?