More landlords refuse to rent to social assistance recipients

 An increasing number of landlords are reportedly not accepting people on social assistance until they receive the proper support system from provincial government.

Provincial governments will pay a heavy price for not having a fair system in place to support private landlords that house those on social assistance.

That is the view of many landlords who are now refusing to accept those on social assistance. “In Cambridge, we have 3,100 families waiting for non-profit housing and yet there are only a few hundred units being built,” says Kayla Andrade from Ontario Landlords Watch. “Investors are shying away until there are better systems in place.”

She says that landlords want a “three strikes and out system” in place. “They should have to pay their rent with social assistance money or their payment gets cut off,” she says. ‘Every landlord I know wants the three strikes and you are out system.”

While recognizing the frustrations of landlords dealing with non-paying tenants, the Federation of Rental-Housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO)  advises landlord not to refuse a rental to someone just because they are on social assistance support.

"To do so would be a serious violation of section 2.(1) in Ontario’s Human Rights Code (likely also in other provinces) and would certainly result in heavy fines and penalties against the landlord (up to $25,000). Landlords should conduct credit checks, income checks and reference checks, but should never consider social assistance support as a ground for refusal. Landlords can also better protect themselves by requiring guarantors and conducting criminal background checks on rental applicants."

Many landlords have cited the growing number of “professional” tenants taking advantage of loopholes in the system and more sophisticated methods to deceive the landlord.

“We are seeing more tenants bring their own credit checks, which are often fake, to landlords that do not cop on that they are false,” she says. “Work papers are also being forged. There are many places now to get these false papers and so it’s easier for them.”
Written by  Grainne Burns

Steven Porter, Broker - REMAX Aboutowne Realty Corp., Brokerage

Property sales in Canada reach highest level since March 2010

 Residential property sales in Canada increased by 0.8% in June compared to the previous month, the five monthly rise in a row, taking transactions to their highest level since March 2010.

The data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) also shows that national average price for homes sold in June was $413,215, up 6.9% from the same month last year.

The national sales to new listings ratio was 53.6% in June, up slightly from 53.2% in May but still well entrenched within the range between 40 and 60% that marks balanced market territory. Just over half of all local markets posted a sales to new listings ratio in this range in June, with a fairly even split among the remainder between those in buyer’s market and seller’s market territory.

Steven Porter

High-end of market continues to show strength: Sotheby’s

Luxury home owners worried about offloading their million-dollar properties can take heart from the figures in the new Sotheby’s report.

The controversial removal of Canada’s immigrant investor class program may have frightened a lot of homeowners, but a new report is showing that appetite and interest in the high-end of the market has remained relatively strong.
The Realtor says that sales of homes worth more than $1 million boomed in the first half of 2014 across all of the country’s major markets – Vancouver (up 34%), Toronto (up 34%), Calgary (up 17%) and Montreal (up 11%).
“Several factors are driving Canada's high-end real estate market in 2014: net migration into major urban markets, immigration of high net-worth individuals into cities like Toronto and Vancouver, significant transfer of wealth between generations and historically low interest rates,” said Ross McCredie, CEO of Sotheby's International Realty Canada.
“Heading into the second half of the year we expect Canada's high-end housing market to remain strong, especially in the single-family home category where inventory remains tight. We're also expecting to see renewed confidence in Montreal's real estate market given the recent change in the political climate,” he added.
Homeowners in Vancouver were particularly concerned about the impact of the cancellation of the program. However, according to the Sotheby’s report, the greatest sales gains were in the single-family home sector, posting a 38 per cent increase with a 37 per cent increase in condo sales.
written by:  Grainne Burns - Canadian Real Estate Wealth

Steven Porter, Broker, Buyer Rep. - REMAX Aboutowne Realty Corp.

How to win a bidding war on a home

In many hot housing markets, bidding wars have been breaking out on a regular basis -- and some house hunters are getting beaten out time and again.

But it's not always about who has the most money. Sellers will accept lower offers if it means less hassle.

What sellers really don't want to do is waste time. That means getting pre-approved for a mortgage and having all your paperwork -- your pre-approval, proof of income, work history and bank statements -- in hand. It also helps to have your lender at the ready so you can act fast.

Related: Fast online mortgage preapproval

But first you have to beat out all of those other bidders.

Here's how you can win over a seller and get the house you want:

Pay with cash. The best way to get a seller's attention is with cold hard cash. That is, if you can afford it. In fact, all-cash sales have become extremely common, representing more than 40% of recent sales. Ever since the US housing meltdown, getting a mortgage has become a longer and more arduous process.

With all-cash offers, sellers are sure the buyer is qualified. And they won't have to wait through the loan approval process.

Depending on the market and the seller's situation, they may even accept a lower offer just because it's in all cash.

Get your mortgage ready in advance. Don't have a ton of cash to put on the table? Try pre-underwriting a mortgage instead.

With pre-underwriting, lenders take the pre-approval process a step further by reviewing all of the income and asset documentation that they would typically need to approve a mortgage.

Related: A foolproof plan to secure the best financing rates

Sellers look favorably on pre-underwritten offers because they don't have to worry that the buyer's mortgage application will be rejected. All that needs to be done after the contract is signed is to complete an appraisal.

Be flexible (but not foolish) with contingencies. Contingencies are clauses that allow buyers to back out of deals if specified conditions are not met. A bidder will sign a contract to buy a home contingent on the appraisal coming in at or over the selling price, for example.

Another common contingency clause is the right to back out if you can't find a buyer for your home. In hot markets, buyers often waive this right because they figure it should be easy to sell their old home quickly. In less heated markets, you could get stuck paying two mortgages.

Related: Housing Market Newbies BEWARE

One contingency you should think twice about before waiving is the home inspection. Should the inspector discover a major problem, such as widespread insect damage or a badly cracked foundation, it could cost far too much to fix. You want to know that before making a commitment you can't back out of.

Related: 11 Home Inspection Pitfalls

Be first. See the home as soon as it comes on the market. That way, you can get your bid in early and preempt later offers.

Real estate agent Steven Porter, has a new service that can help. Its a VIP House Hunter service that enables buyers to receive notification of new listings the moment signal that they're put up for sale allowing buyers to beat out the competition. Homebuyers can find these potential properties by neighbourhood, price, type or city.

Agree to outbid everyone. Do you really want the place? You can outmatch every other bidder by creating a contract with a so-called "escalation clause?"

The clause basically states that you will pay $1,000 or $10,000 more than whatever the highest bidder offers.

So if the seller gets an offer for $200,000, your bid will automatically jump to $201,000 if you have an escalation clause.

Related: How to negotiate a better price

The danger with escalation clauses is twofold. You never really know if the other offer is real. Sellers can ask someone to submit an offer just to get the buyer to raise their bid.

The second problem is that the final home price may be a lot higher than the appraised value of the home. That could jeopardize the mortgage or force you to come up with a lot of cash to make up for the shortfall.

One way to prevent that from happening is to place a cap on the bid, offering to pay no more than 10% or 20% above the original asking price.

Using a cap means, however, that you may not end up with the home in the end. 

Find homes for sale.

Based on a editorial by Les Christie, CNN Money

Steven Porter, Broker, Buyer Rep. - REMAX Aboutowne Realty Corp. Brokerage

Now is the time for home closing protection insurance

Due to the growing possibility of buyers being declined their financing at the last minute, sellers need some protection in the event their closing is delayed or cancelled and they are forced to carry 2 homes for an extended period of time.

One company that I have dealt with that provides this coverage is Canadian Home Shield. Their President, James Vlachos, who is an insurance broker, advises me that for as little as $99, sellers can purchase a $25,000 insurance policy that will cover all mortgage payments, real estate taxes, utilities and insurance premiums up to a total of $25,000 in the event that the deal does not close through no fault of the seller. I personally have had 2 seller clients recover over $9,000 in costs after a buyer failed to close their purchase agreement.

Buyers can also purchase breakdown insurance protection for their home systems and appliances. Since most real estate contracts provide that sellers only warrant their systems and appliances to the date of closing, this provides buyers with the opportunity to purchase additional insurance protection for a year after closing.

For further information, please see the attached website: http://www.canadianhomeshield.com/ 

by Mark Weisleder, Real Estate Lawyer, http://www.markweisleder.com