Does Brand Power Still Matter?

What Agents do for you!






Does market share matter anymore? Is everything about a personal connect and engagement on Facebook or Social Media?

What do you think?

If you have clients that are relocating to Toronto or Mississauga I would be pleased to send you a referral and a tin of Tim Horton's Coffee. Its the Canadian way eh.

Tech Savvy Agents in Toronto

Real Estate agents in Toronto that are tech savvy are now adding qr codes to their for sale signs and business cards.



If this is on the back of their business card; they are providing you with all their contact information for the Linked In, Facebook and Twitter [amongst others] that people are now using to integrate social media into their marketing. This will also contain their contact telephone numbers and a short 250 character text field.

The extra edge would be to print this one time code, on the for sale sign of a house as you drove by and snapped it with your smart phone, to collect a link to all the property details including a copy of the listing, a direct photo array of the interior and other mundane issues like how to contact me.

Simply put, we need to stay on the leading edge or someone else will.

If you are ready to start planning a purchase or sale give me a call at 647 218 2414.

Ask John Scholl... What about Mom's house?

One of my clients, Jeremy, phoned me and as usual was concerned about a potential tax liability.

He is married with 2 kids and has a house in Toronto. His father recently passed away, and his mother Bernadette, is getting on in age. She has lived in their principal residence under joint ownership in Vancouver for well over 15 years and does not rent out any part of it. She and her husband bought the house for $225,000 and it is now worth over $500,000.

His concern was that when Bernadette passes away, how much tax would be payable on increased value of the Vancouver house and who would have to pay for it. Bernadette updated the will leaving the house in Vancouver to Jeremy. Initially, he was thrilled because it is a beautiful home that he always envisioned he could use as a vacation property. He and his family have visited his parents every year for short vacations and have always been impressed with its upkeep and surroundings. Then he got worried… will he be nailed for capital gains when she dies? Will her final tax bill reflect the growth and have no cash available to pay all the tax? Should he convince his mother to put his name on the deed now to reduce the impact?

This has caused Jeremy and his wife, when he told her of his concerns, a lot of stress as he really didn’t have a lot of spare cash and to cash in RRSPs to pay the cap gains tax bill would also incur tax on his behalf because withdrawals from RRSPs are 100% taxable at his marginal tax rate.

I managed to relieve their stress dramatically. Here is what will happen.

Normally when you are the final survivor in a marriage/common law relationship, upon your death, you are deemed to have disposed of your assets at Fair Market Value. This would be shown on your final tax bill and taxed to the deceased accordingly. The asset then would pass to your estate at that Fair Market Value and dispersed according to the will. The executors role is to ensure the final tax bill is paid.

There are a lot of exceptions…..e.g.: if spouse was alive under joint ownership, then the asset passes to the surviving spouse outside of the will (no probate).

For principal residences in Canada, growth is not taxable, so when Bernadette passes away, the house and property would pass to the estate at Fair Market Value and no tax from its growth in value is payable on Bernadette’s final return.

Jeremy however, should ensure a fair market value assessment is done on BOTH his own Toronto property and Bernadette’s Vancouver property shortly after her death because he already has a principal residence and any growth from here on is a capital gain.

If Jeremy shortly after were to sell his mothers property, no capital gains would be incurred.

If Jeremy shortly after were to sell his Toronto property and move to Vancouver, there would be no capital gain on this either (Principal residence exemption on Toronto property).

If Jeremy were to keep both properties, live in one and visit the other property at least once a year (CRA does not define a lower limit to number of days/year you must live in a property to call it a principal residence), but not rent it out, then, at the time he sells one of the properties, he can determine which residence he wishes to treat as principal residence. He would choose as his principal residence the one that grew the most (tax free principal residence exemption), but the principal residence election can be split year by year for the two properties. Suppose he keeps both properties for 10 years. Growth in value of the Toronto property for 6 of the years was greater than the Vancouver property , but in the other 4 years Vancouver prices took off. Then, he could choose principal residence exemption for the Toronto property for 6 of the years and the Vancouver property for 4 years to maximize that capital gains savings.

The worst option Jeremy would be to have his mother add him as joint owner on the Vancouver property. They would have to get a fair market value assessment done for the date of sale (because that’s what it is). There would be no capital gains on the 50% sale to his mother because it was her principal residence, but what does it do for Jeremy. He would immediately start to accrue capital gains on the Vancouver home from the date of the registration as joint owner because it is his second property. Eventually, when he sold the Vancouver home, he would owe capital gains tax on the growth of the home from the date of joint ownership instead of having the options above from the date of his mother’s death.

Jeremy, was just so relieved that he had options and wouldn’t have to sell his mother’s legacy to pay a tax bill.

John Scholl , CLU (Chartered Life Underwriter),CGA, B. Mathematics,

Financial Consultant - Investors Group Financial Services Inc.

& Investors Group Insurances Services Inc.

Wealth Management & Financial Planning

Phone: (905) 450-2891 X529 Toll Free: 1 (866) 799-2223 x529 Cell (416) 731-3660 Fax: (905) 450-9747

Maybe there is a question that you would like answered; Why not post it below or add an email to david@davidpylyp.com

Fall Market Update Toronto west Real Estate

I want to keep you updated with the Fall Toronto Real Estate Market. There have been many negative stories in the media recently about how the market is “slipping” or that “prices in a housing bubble”.

Here is some interesting news that will take another week to be released to the media .... & because it isn’t Headline grabbing doom and gloom, they likely won’t report it. After reviewing the latest sales figures for the Toronto Real Estate Board;

We are continuing in a “SELLER’S MARKET”!

In the entire Toronto area as a whole, we currently have a 3 month’s supply of homes for sale. Experts consider this a “seller’s market”!

Yes there are over priced listing based on hope and what sold in the spring But Fall prices are historic What I mean is that we compare what sold before Not setting new price levels.

The vast majority of neighbourhoods in the Toronto are still experiencing a seller’s market.

There are a few that are in what could be described as a “balanced market”.

September 2010 there were 6,300 sales for the month The number of homes for sale IS STAYING LOW at 19 thousand. We thought many would be listings but that has not happened. The Reduced supply is holding prices firm. Most were predicting a sharp increase in new listings for September.

Proper pricing and presentation will find you buyers quickly. Buyers do have more choices this year. So in contrast to what you may be seeing in the news, we are doing just fine in Toronto.

Go out and Vote! We need your voice.

Oakville Power Plant Victory

Oakville's Citizen movement to halt the Power Plant at the QEW inspires the voters and residents, Comments on Grass Roots organization, Flip Flop from McGuinty But what are the factors? We all use electricity.... So what is the solution? These are but a few of the polarized comments that are posted at the Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/province-pulls-plug-on-gas-fired-plant/article1747600/comments/

DGC traveler...

1:05 PM on October 7, 2010

They are going to need a lot more transmission lines if the residents of Oakville want to keep the AC and the pool heaters running.

You know Latte machines do not work well during a brownout.

NIMBY - They need power, but don't want the generators to produce it....

2 replies1 reply 2 replies1 reply Please wait while we perform your request.

Catcity

1:27 PM on October 7, 2010

Before accusing Oakville of NIMBY-ism do some research about the issue.

The transmission lines already exist. They run from Nanticoke who has requested that this plant be located in their community.

Natural gas fired plants of this size are hazardous and should not be built in any neighborhood - Oakville or others. These kinds of plants need buffer zones.

Rosehill Ave

2:10 PM on October 7, 2010

The Nanticoke site is being reserved for a nuclear plant to be constructed in the 2020+ time frame.

You don't waste firm transmission capacity on a smaller peaking gas plant like this, that would be stupid.

The transmission capacity from Nanticoke supports its former capacity of 3,600 MW, which is about the size of small nukes.

Sorry Catcity, but constructing a smaller plant like this at the Nanticoke site would be a waste of transmission capacity, and thats a fact. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/province-pulls-plug-on-gas-fired-plant/article1747600/comments/

David Pylyp This is such a charged issue. I don't want to see a power plant near residential housing, But Hydro lines and transmission corridors are also a blight on the landscape. (Transmission corridors also consume the power they transmit) While Oakville may be waining in its Hydro consumption I seem to recall that Toronto News Media was talking about record consumption levels of Electricity in Toronto with the warming summers.

What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving Toronto?

Here we are just a few scant weeks away from Halloween and approaching Thanksgiving this long weekend. This year, we have a new mouth to feed in my household. http://twitpic.com/2sa485

Canada has many things to be grateful for; We have seemingly avoided the housing crisis that plagues the United States, Retailers are expecting a banner year for new electronic gadgets, Auto sales are up! Homes Sales and renovation construction are still driving forces in our economy, Apple and iPAD sales are through the roof!

I am a believer that Toronto is a Top 10 City in North America. If you agree go out and Vote.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8wVUgujTfU

Have a Condo with a Balcony? The fall colours are magnificent! DOT furniture put together a wrought iron bistro set for me. http://twitpic.com/2q3409

The real estate market has not collapsed as has been proposed by so many, people are simply withdrawing to see what will happen and accordingly there is less for sale. Less for Sale means that a 3 – 4 month supply of houses keeps us in a balanced market and some product choices (select neighbourhoods and price ranges) still enjoy bidding wars. We are up about 2% over the rate of inflation from last year.

http://www.eleganthomesinwesttoronto.com/ShowResources.cfm?Pageid=47833&TypeOfPage=1

The Competition Bureau says that discount brokers are permitted on the MLS system and agents are rushing to be first offering flat fee mls programs. A la carte may mean you answer your own sign calls and do your own showings and negotiate your own offers or as one agent posted $150.00 per property showing. The a la carte menu could run you more for the appetizers. OH, counter offer? That will be an extra $400.00, please.

A mechanic is a mechanic because [he] has all the necessary tools; the garage, the lift, the compressed air and the knowledge to use them. The mechanic is not a financing specialist or home stager or home inspector/ mechanic. But If you are aware of someone looking to buy or sell, please send me an email david@DavidPylyp.com with how best to reach them with their contact information. If you are considering a change, tell me about your dream home http://Bit.Ly/GetDave I can be their housing mechanic.

As always, stay well and enjoy each moment you can. Drop something off at the Food Bank.