Cesia

Getting credit

If you are a first-time buyer, you are eligible for tax credits for costs associated with buying your first home. Items like legal fees, land transfer tax, and other costs associated with buying your home are open for a claim on your income taxes the following year. Keep those receipts! CesiaCesia is a real estate… Continue reading Getting credit

Monitoring abusive condo owners

Back in August, a decision was released on York Condominium Corporation No. 137 v. Hayes, which involved a condo owner who was verbally and physically abusive to other residents in the building. The condo board was attempting to have Hayes removed, and had applied to the court to have her forced to sell her unit… Continue reading Monitoring abusive condo owners

Inspecting the inspectors

Jeff Lem is a well-known real estate lawyer in Toronto. He wrote this article a couple of weeks ago for the Law Times, and it caught my attention: the province of Ontario is looking at bringing in regulations for home inspectors. Currently, only British Columbia (in Canada) regulates and licences home inspectors. While there is… Continue reading Inspecting the inspectors

Buying bookshelves

In my home office, I have three large IKEA bookshelves. I acquired them separately over the years, but made sure to always buy the same exact model and finish so that, now that they are in a row on the same wall, they look like a beautiful, built-in shelf, where all of my books are… Continue reading Buying bookshelves

Leasing to own

In the Barrie area, we have several adult communities; most notable are Hoe Doe Valley, Big Cedar Estates and Sandy Cove Acres. All of these communities are comprised of communal areas and, generally, mobile (or otherwise movable) homes. Sometimes, the land is owned; sometimes, there is a lease over the land for many years. In… Continue reading Leasing to own