Municipal Tax Sale Properties in GTA, Mississauga and Ontario

I received a question from a reader and thought I would share my answer with you.

Subject: Question/Your article on taxes

Hello Mark;

I found your web page http://www.mississauga4sale.com/Power-Sales-TAX-Sales.htm and found your article fairly interesting. I am wondering if you could let me know how I can get a list of properties in default of taxes in Ontario/Canada before they appear on MLS? Is there a web site/Government web site that maintains such records? Or do I have to visit each municipality web site or directly call the municipality?

Sincerely
A.

Hi A.,

Thanks for your comments. Yes, you have to do the work.

I do not know of such a list, it's mostly hard work to seek out tax sales, each municipality publishes their own lists, so you have to scour local newspapers to find them.

No government site that I know of, again, it's a municipal sale, so it tends to be very local.

Thank you

Mark

May 2009 GTA and Mississauga resale housing stats report more sales

GTA May Resale Housing Sales Higher Than Last Year

TORONTO, June 3, 2009 - In May 2009, Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 9,589 sales, up almost two per cent from May 2008 – the first annual increase since December 2007. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales in May was 81,3001.

"The resale housing market in the GTA has remained resilient in the face of challenging times globally," according to TREB President Maureen O’Neill. "Many home buyers have taken advantage of extremely low mortgage rates."

The average price for May transactions was $395,609 – down less than one per cent compared to the same month last year.

"The average resale home price has moved in line with last year’s level because of tighter market conditions experienced this Spring," stated Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. "Home sales have increased strongly relative to new listings, bolstering home prices."

Read more at Current Home Prices

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 : mark@mississauga4sale.com
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?

Current Market Observations and what to do with your investment dollars

These are my personal observations regarding where things may be heading in the next few months.

My observations are this:

Many are saying gasoline will be $1.09 in the summer-this means it will go to at least $1.15 or $1.20

Everyone said 8 months ago we'll be out of recession in 1st QTR 2010 - we will be out of recession in 1st QTR 2010


Many are saying CDN$ will go to parity in a while- this means it will be at or near parity in a few months

We are just leaving the trough of an ugly recession, there is great opportunity for those with vision and big nerve - where to put your spare $$ is a difficult decision

Many are cash rich-they too are looking to invest and double their money

Hindsight is everything- by the time you know where to invest it's too late - so take out the dice and you'll probably be right - or wrong - you have a 50/50 chance

Maybe it's time to buy Magna shares, again you need large nerve and excess cash to possibly lose

No matter what you invest in, pick something where a bank or a broker that does not make most of the money-good luck again

I like real estate for investment, but only on a 5+ year horizon as you are at least guaranteed the tenant will pay it off for you, but that takes plenty of time

In these record low interest times, it's almost idiotic to not do leveraged investing, such as real estate or even in the financial markets

Another thing in my mind is another similar event to 911 as this would give the pundits another reason the pound the financial markets and take out more cash and profits from the marketplace


So, what to do with your spare cash, there sure are many options!
All the best!
Mark

When selling should you list furniture items for sale?

Some of my sellers want to tell the buyers that they wish to sell furniture in the house when they list their house for sale.



‬‪The issue of the furniture is one we come across from time to time. It is my belief that we sell the house first and then give the buyer an itemized list of furniture etc. with prices and then the buyer can decide what they may or may not want.



Again, a 'normal' buyer most likely would look negatively upon a seller who offers their furniture upfront as this may again indicate desperation, marital problems, lack of funds by the seller or some other negative consequence to your sale or price.‬‪

Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

When Selling should you tell people you are moving out of town?

This is a question that I receive from some of my sellers



There are mostly negative aspects of stating you are moving out of town after your closing or out of the province or even worse overseas.



In my experience, it is very negative to mention that you are moving far away on the listing or to even tell the buyer this fact. The buyer would most likely become very nervous knowing you are moving out of the country and would worry about the condition of the unit and removal of any items and how they would possibly remedy any unforeseen problems after the closing date if you left the country. ‬‪ ‬‪



Also, moving out of the country can be interpreted as 'the owner is desperate and must sell" and this could negatively impact your sale price. Thus, I can only see a negative impact on your sale if you mention this anywhere or anytime.‬‪



I hope this helps.‬‪ ‬‪



Thank you,‬‪ Mark‬‪

mortgage rates may be increasing shortly.

Recent bond market shows that fixed rates might be on rise soon. Thus you
may wish to get a pre-approval to lock the rate.

The followings are the best rates I have recently seen.

5-year variable at P+0.4% (2.65% right now.) This is a new promotion,
available for pre-approval.

3-year fixed at 3.15%, Available for pre-approval (might be lower to 3.05%
when finalized dpending upon variables in transaction)

5-year fixed at 3.41%, not available for pre-approval.

My suggestion: Get a pre-approval for 3 year fixed or 5 year variable right
away.

I hope this finds you Happy and Healthy!

All the Best!

Mark

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

Public Open houses - are they still effective?

Back in the 80's and 90's Public Open houses in the Mississauga and GTA were a very hot commodity. Agents loved to sit at an open house on a Saturday or Sunday because quite frequently the property would sell from a purchaser who walked into the open house. The odds of selling the property from the open house were about 1 in 20. This has dramatically changed lately.

Open houses are not necessarily the best method to sell a property in our current marketplace. Agents like to do open houses in an attempt to try and pick up a buyer client, and occasionally the property sells from the open house.

Statistics show about 1 in 100 to 1 in 50 properties may sell through open house, but you never know, so they do work sometimes. The reason they are not as effective as they used to be is that most buyers are working with an agent and are being emailed all new listings or the buyer can find all the listings on the internet, so the buyers, just like you with your house search, have most if not all the listings to see already on their computer including address, price, closing date and inclusions. The buyer of today is nearly completely empowered and have most of the information ahead of time compared to the buyers of the 80's.

Of course, you have to see inside a property before you can buy it, but my point is that people often prefer open houses when they are casually looking or far in advance of a purchase or for curiosity, when they are ready to purchase, they call their agent and go see the narrowed down list.

The other reason that agents do open houses is to market themselves and their services to potential listing clients. If you are a potential seller in the area of the open house, you may go to the open house to see the property and meet the agent. When that agent sells the property, you may call them to list your property with them.

These are the facts in our Mississauga real estate market regarding open houses.

Have a great weekend!

Mark

What is the lowest possible interest rates on a 5 year mortgage?

This is a question that I often receive. Here is the full question and my
answer.
Thanks
Mark

Hello,
What is the lowest possible interest rates on a 5 year mortgage?
Before I go ahead, is there any pointers you might have?
Would you consider giving me a couple pointers?
Thank you for your help.
Susan

Hi Susan,

Thank you for your email. The interest rates that I've seen on the 5 year
rate seem to vary almost daily. The best option for you to is contact my
mortgage contact with TD Canada Trust, they are often the least expensive or
will at least match the least expensive rate on the market.

Normally, I would recommend going short on your mortgage, but the 5 year
rates (and the 3 year rates) are very good these days and almost too hard to
pass up on. This decision is one for you to make as it really depends upon
your personal situation, your ability to withstand the unknown if you go
short term and your ability to withstand and deal with the risks involved
with going short versus long term.\

My mortgage is still short term because there is still some savings between
the prime plus .8% and the fixed rates, but as soon as the prime rates
increase I will likely lock in for the long term.

Please let me know if you have other questions.

Thank you,
Mark

How to become a real estate agent in Ontairo

I receive many questions about how to become a real estate agent and what
are the courses required and can you take the real estate course online,
etc. I made up a few pages on my site so that this would help people.

Below is a common question that I receive.
Thanks
Mark


Hello,

My name is K and I am interested in becoming a real estate agent. I
wondered if you could help me and let me know the steps you took in order to
get to where you are?

I currently work full-time and wondered if you knew of any correspondent
courses I could take as I would have a conflicting schedule?

Thank you for your time,
K

Here is my answer:

Hello K,

Thank you for contacting me. I am guessing you have read some of the pages
on my site related to becoming a real estate agent, such as:
http://www.mississauga4sale.com/how-to-become-a-real-estate-agent-realtor.htm

Yes, you can take course 1 and 2 online, but not course 3.

You can read all about the courses from the main educator for real estate
and the organization that the governing body that certifies you to become a
Real Estate Agent OREA http://www.orea.com/

I hope this helps. If you need more information, please don't hesitate to
contact me.

Thank you,
Mark

More Interest Rate reductions -just in time for long weekend!

You will see from the chart below that the 3 and 4 year rates have dropped slightly, just .05% but at least they are going down!

As well, I have a contact with a mortgage broker who is offering 100 % FINANCING WITH 40 YEAR AMORTIZATION IS NOW AVAILABLE, IF YOU NEED IT.....(O.A.C. of course!)

I hope this finds you well.

Have a great long weekend!

Mark

TERM	POSTED	BEST Found RATES*
6 Month	4.75%	4.25%
1 Year	3.90%	2.90%
2 Year	4.05%	3.05%
3 Year	4.15%	3.15%
4 Year	4.84%	3.69%
5 Year	5.25%	3.54%
7 Year	6.60%	4.95%
10 Year	6.70%	5.25%
Variable Rate		2.95%
Prime Rate		2.25%

* Rates may vary and are subject to change without notice OAC.
Rates Last Updated: Thursday, May 14, 2009

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?