With the City of Toronto’s Executive Committee meeting today to consider options for getting the City’s finances in order, REALTORS® are joining Torontonians in saying no to the status quo at City Hall.
“The time has come for City Council to make the tough decisions so that City Hall lives within its means. City Hall can’t continue to saddle future generations with insurmountable debt and unfair taxes, like the Toronto Land Transfer Tax. The status quo is not an option,” said Richard....

The federal government’s proposed 2011 Budget includes funding to extend the ecoENERGY Retrofit Grant program into 2011-2012.   However, the federal 2011 Budget Has Not Yet Been Approved by parliament.  The government has not yet provided details on how or when the extension would be implemented.  Further detail is expected, if and when the federal 2011 Budget is approved, however, given the pending no confidence vote hovering in parliament hill, it is unlikely this budget will ever see t....

CMHC will implement the following new measures to all applications for mortgage loan insurance:

Effective March 18, 2011:

Reduce the maximum amortization period from 35 to 30 years for new insured mortgages with loan-to-value ratios of more than 80 per cent.
Lower the maximum amount Canadians can borrow when refinancing  a 1 – 4 unit owner-occupied property from 90 to 85 per cent of the value of their homes.

Effective April 18, 2011:

Mortgage loan insurance will no longe....

Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty,  announced proposed amendments to the provisions in the Income Tax Act concerning the income tax treatment of real estate investment trusts (“REITs”).
REITs are trusts that are exempt from the tax on specified investment flow-through entities. To qualify as a REIT, a trust must meet certain conditions that recognize the unique history and role of collective real estate investment vehicles.
“Our Government is committed to providing clarity in the applica....

Derek Scott

THE CANADIAN PRESS

Buying a house in the hot housing markets of Vancouver, Toronto and other major cities in recent years has been a possible dream for some first-time home-buyers only because many of those houses had suites they could rent out.

But new rules coming into effect April 19 will all but wipe out that advantage in the eyes of banks handing out mortgages.

“It makes it much more difficult for people with rental properties to qualify for their own mortga....