Richard Silver

Archive for March, 2009

Toronto Real Estate: A New Commercial/Residential Listing

[realestateshows]388207[/realestateshows]Continue Reading...

Real Estate: My New Job as a Tax Collector

In yesterday's Ontario Budget, the Liberal Government, in a effort to help the business community has heaped more taxes on Homeowners. After last year's City of Toronto Land Transfer Tax(doubling the existing Tax but only in the 416 Region), there will now be further new taxes when you buy and sell homes. Previously, services such as Lawyer's fees, Home Inspection and Realtor's Commission were only subject to the Federal GST but now the Province in "Harmonizing" taxes has decided that these...Continue Reading...

The Big Secret of Moving Day…

I often get asked about what happens after the conditions are lifted and the Agreements are off to the Lawyers...from that point on, usually one week after the signing of the documents, the Buyer's lawyer busies themselves with searching the title for any glitches and the Seller's Lawyer prepares the transfers, gets ready to pay out any existing mortgages, leans or  deal with any encumbrances. The Realtor is out of the loop usually except for visits by the Buyer to...Continue Reading...

Toronto Real Estate: The Globe and Mail DREAM of the Week.

Every Friday the Globe and Mail has their Real Estate section and today' s Home of the Week is 2 Aberdeen Avenue, a property that I listed and sold earlier this week. It is a great article about the history of the house and its different incarnations over the years, with previous owners, each showing the house a lot of love. However, the real story here is one of dreams. The owners of Aberdeen had a dream that included owning a Horse farm...Continue Reading...

Toronto Real Estate: The News is Getting Better!

Toronto Real Estate Board: 2,565 RESALE HOUSING TRANSACTIONS SHOWS RATE OF DECLINE SHRINKING TORONTO, March 19, 2009 –   Greater Toronto REALTORS® announced 2,565 transactions in the first half of March compared to 3,183 during the same period last year. The annual rate of MLS® sales decline was the smallest in five months. Mid-month March MLS® sales increased compared to the 2,044 sales experienced in the first half of February.   MLS® sales follow a recurring seasonal trend, with transactions generally increasing between January...Continue Reading...

Toronto’s Garbage Problem….Garbage Bins Take Over Our Victorian Landscape Downtown!

Sunday is one of my favourite mornings. We get up early, get the dog on his lead, grab a few fetch-balls and of course, poop bags, and head over to the Lower Riverdale Park with a quick stop at Jet Fuel Cafe' for our Latte's. Every second week our neighbor Helen and her dog join us and we have a longer walk to the Brickworks or through Riverdale and the Danforth. This last week the three of us could not get...Continue Reading...

Technology: IPhone vs. Blackberry or Touch Screen vs. Qwerty

I have been a "Crackberry" for years...It is so bad that I have a second Blackberry in waiting in case my first one needs fixing... However, I have been going back and forth over the IPhone or the Blackberry Storm (both are the cool touch screen models). While I have really enjoyed my Blackberry Bold, it is not touchscreen and just does not seem to be as cool as a cool techie like me should be using....but here is my reasoning: (more...)...Continue Reading...

Real Estate: A Sad Story of Mould.

A few years back my sister-in-law in Quebec City bought a to-be-built Condo from plans. It was a perfect space for her and her young daughter and we spent a few weekends there helping her decorate, hang pictures and connect new appliances. It was a great apartment and her first-ever home purchase but within a few months of living there, her young child started having problems breathing and was hospitalised a couple of times. At the same time, Patricia noticed that the windows were...Continue Reading...

Cabbagetown: What’s in a Starbucks??

Later on today, between 4 and 7 PM there will be a fundraiser for the Cabbagetown Youth Centre to open the new Starbucks at the corner of Aberdeen Avenue and Parliament Street . The Youth Centre is a great cause that the Community has supported for years and needs some help to replace their existing roof and assist in their programs. Today's event in also in aid of the opening of the Starbucks. Let me preface this by telling you that for years,...Continue Reading...

Over 700 Homes Recently Insulated with Urea Formaldehyde Insulation with Government Grants.

The Federal Government gave out grants to be used to insulate over 700 homes across Canada. The substance used, RetroFoam, has been found to contain Urea Formaldehyde and was purchased from the United States. Urea Formaldehyde has been banned in Canada since the early 1980's. The insulation was quite controversial as it is easy to insert but to remove it means that the interior walls will need gutting and chemical washing which is a very expensive procedure to remove. Health Canada...Continue Reading...