BUNGALOW TOWNHOMES WITH WALKOUT BASEMENTS - BUILDING EXACTLY WHAT BROCKVILLE NEEDS!  2 bed, 1.5 bath, modern bungalow townhomes with ICF constructed basements.  Open concept living.  Master bedroom with ensuite, front porch and attached single car garage.  Three different layouts - all interchangeable.

Brandy Burns

Sales Representative

Direct:  613.246.1600

Brandy@robthompson.ca

Located on an immaculately landscaped acre of land, this custom designed home shines with owner’s pride and maintenance.  This 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom unique Cape Cod home features hardwood and ceramic flooring in the main living areas and bathrooms, hardwood in master bedroom, wall-to-wall carpet in the other two bedrooms, and laminate in the basement rec room.  This customized home walks you into open-concept living and dining rooms and the open-concept continues into the kitchen with a breakfast bar and eating nook. There is a cozy gas fireplace to warm up to on cold winter nights and a vaulted ceiling in the living room.  Main floor also has a den/office, laundry and powder room.  The basement has a fair-sized recreation/family room, a large utility room and huge work shop.   The property also boasts a 22.8’ x 22.8’ fully insulated & wired attached garage.  The front entrance is covered with double doors. This lovely piece of country property with maintenance-free landscaping is nicely treed and shows off with a large pond with a 3 tiered waterfall in the back yard.  From the eating nook there is access to a barbecue deck (with BBQ propane hookup) which steps off onto an interlocked patio with pathway around to the front of the house.    With only a short drive to Kemptville, where the amenities keep expanding, why not enjoy country living at its best?

Rob Thompson                                 Peter Thompson

Broker of Record                             Sales Representative

Direct:  613.223.6624                     Direct:  613.223.0790

Rob@robthompson.ca                        Peter@robthompson.ca

BUNGALOW TOWNHOMES WITH WALKOUT BASEMENTS - BULDING EXACTLY WHAT BROCKVILLE NEEDS! 2 bed, 1.5 bath, modern bungalow townhomes with ICF constructed basements.Open concept living. Master bedroom with ensuite, Front porch & attached single garage. Pre-construction discount of $10,000 will be applied to units purchased in Blocks 1, 2 & 3 prior to the completion of the model home. 3 different layouts - all interchangeable.

Brandy Burns

Sales Representative

Direct:  613.246.1600

Brandy@robthompson.ca

BUNGALOW TOWNHOMES WITH WALKOUT BASEMENTS - BULDING EXACTLY WHAT BROCKVILLE NEEDS! 2 bed, 1.5 bath, modern bungalow townhomes with ICF constructed basements.Open concept living. Master bedroom with ensuite. 2 walk-in closets, 10x12 deck & attached single garage. Pre-construction discount of $10,000 will be applied to units purchased in Blocks 1, 2 & 3 prior to the completion of the model home. 3 different layouts - all interchangeable.BUNGALOW TOWNHOMES WITH WALKOUT BASEMENTS - BUILDING EXACTLY WHAT BROCKVILLE NEEDS! 2 bed, 1.5 bath, modern bungalow townhomes with ICF constructed basements.Open concept living. Master bedroom with ensuite. 2 walk-in closets, 10x12 deck & attached single garage. Pre-construction discount of $10,000 will be applied to units purchased in Blocks 1, 2 & 3 prior to the completion of the model home. 3 different layouts - all interchangeable.

Brandy Burns

Sales Representative

Direct:  613.246.1600

Brandy@robthompson.ca

This property is ideal for the mechanically minded do-it-yourselfer with a 1 car garage & attached office. Cute little bungalow recently renovated from roof to basement includes: new roof & trusses, blown insulation, subfloor covered with hardwood/carpet, kitchen cupboards, bathroom with Jacuzzi, exterior doors, 2 decks (8' x 8’), wiring, plumbing, uninstalled laminate basement flooring & 2 month old oil fired hot water tank. Appliances new in 2010.

Peter Thompson

Sales Representative

Direct:  613.223.0790

Peter@robthompson.ca

This three bedroom, one bath, open concept side-split home in the popular north end, is close to plenty of amenities. This home features a single attached garage, updated kitchen, laminated floors, and large foyer. The lower level has a finished rec room with existing rough-in for a 4 Pc bath, with the potential of 2 additional bedrooms.  This home has been highly maintained and is move in ready, lower level has large windows for lots of natural light and comfort.    Make an appointment today for your private viewing of your next home.

Dean Fowler

Sales Representative

Direct:  613.340.3288

Dean@robthompson.ca

ENJOY a gorgeous view of the St. Lawrence River from your executive home featuring cathedral ceilings, gable end windows, hardwood floors, inground pool and a granny residence approximately 1200 square feet with three bedrooms, one bathroom and cathedral ceilings. Granny residence sizes: Kitchen/dining (19x15), living room (19x13.10), Bedrooms (12.8x11.6)(11.5x9.9)(10.1x13.2) and bathroom (5x9.8)Many upgrades and Land Scaping between the home and Hwy #2.

Dean Fowler

Sales Representative

Direct:  613.340.3288

Dean@robthompson.ca

Commercial - HIGH traffic-7712 Kent Boulevard. Approximately 835 square feet of retail rental space with plenty of parking in a well situated popular plaza just off Stewart Boulevard surrounded by restaurants and retail shops. $1725.00 all in (based on normal electrical use)

Dean Fowler

Sales Representative

Direct: 613.340.3288

Dean@robthompson.ca

LOOKING TO LIVE NEAR CHARLESTON LAKE? WHY NOT BUILD YOUR DREAM HOME ON BEALES MILLS ROAD WHERE YOU WILL CAPTURE A RARE AND STUNNING VIEW FROM THE HIGH-GROUNDS OF THE PROPERTY - JUST 2 KMS FROM CHARLESTON LAKE AND ONLY 20 MINUTES FROM THE CITY OF BROCKVILLE. THIS PICTURESQUE 2.94 ACRE LOT IS READY FOR NEW ONWERS.
 

 

Brandy Burns

Sales Representative

Direct:  613.246.1600

Brandy@robthompson.ca

The answer is, "It depends".  

Firstly, it depends whether you are buying or selling. If you are selling, you only have to pay HST on the commission you pay to your Realtor.  So, if your home sells for $250,000 and your commission is 6% the government's piece of your pie will be 13% of $15,000, which is $1,950.  This $1,200 more than you would have paid prior to July 1st, 2010. (Commission has always been subject to GST)

Now, if you are a Buyer of real estate, you don't need to worry, unless you're planning to purchase a new home.  Just like the GST, the HST applies to new construction only, not resale homes.  

The good news for New Home Buyers is, just like the GST you get a rebate on the HST.  

Here's how it works:  We all know that HST is a combination of the GST (5%) and the PST (8%).  The rebate on New Home Construction is divided into the two parts and calculated separately.  The GST portion, has not changed, you still get the rebate, which you assign back to the builder, whom in turn, burys it into the price of the home.  The PST portion is calculated in a similar fashion. The Government will rebate back to you, 75% of this portion of the HST - not bad!  

So, to keep it simple, PST was 8% and 75% of that is 6%, which means that you will only be paying an extra 2% on that new home.  Not only that, but your builder will calculate the tax and the rebate, and build it into the sticker price on your new home - just like the builders have always done with the GST.

Here's the rub:  There is a cap on the amount of that new rebate - it's $24,000 and since that rebate represents 6% of the total cost of the home, the maximum home value for which you can claim the rebate is $400,000.  Every dollar above $400,000 that you spend for your new home will be taxed at 13% - ouch!

My Name is Rob Thompson and I'd like to be your REALTOR.

Thanks for listening.

You know what amazes me?  Year after year, we shovel wheel-barrel loads of money into that, intangible monster we call the stock market.  Most of us do this with, what mutual fund propaganda, refers to as, "The Long-Term Thinking Approach". We take our hard earned cash that has been earmarked for retirement and we hand it over to a banker or other financial advisor who gives it to some dude in an ivory tower, whom you'll never meet, to invest in a volatile, risky market that is based purely on emotion.  Sounds risky to me.

Now let's take that "Long-Term" approach and apply it to Real Estate.  If I can be so bold as to say, "Real Estate is twice as good an investment than its intangable competition".

Allow me to explain:  Let's say you buy a duplex for $300k and you put $45K (15%)down.  That leaves you with a mortgage of $255k and a payment of $1675/month based on a 20yr amortization and a 5% interest rate.  Let's assume you rent your two units for $1100 each (plus utilities) which will give you enough to pay your mortgage and the taxes.

At the end of the 20 years your mortgage will be paid off and assuming the market has risen by a modest 100%, over the 20 years, you will have an asset worth $600k.

Here's the exciting part:  How much did we originally invest?  $45k right.  Now lets take our future value and subtract it from our investment ($600k-$45k=$555k) divide our total increase by the number of years of investment ($555k/20years = $27,750)  and divide our per year profit into our total investment ($27,750/$45,000 = 61.66%)  Remember that's 61.66% per year, return on investment (ROI).

Now, let's go back to our mutual fund propaganda; what is it they say, to hope for over the long haul?  That's right - an average of 10% ROI is considered good.  So let's use 10%, compounded annually as our prescription to a wealthy retirement, over the same 20 years.  Now, let's do the math - $45,000 at 10% compounded for 20 years is $303,000. For the sake of comparing apples to apples, we must subtract our original investment of $45,000, which leaves us, a total profit of $258,000.  Divide our profit by 20 years and that's gives us a $12,900 yearly profit on our original $45,000.  That's 28.67% per year ROI. 

Given our scenario, Real Estate provides twice the return of the Mutual Fund. This is not rocket science.

Now, in fairness I have not allowed for repairs and maintenance or vacancy on the Real Estate Investment.  Nor have I allowed for the tax advantages of a mutual fund's growth inside an RSP, but I also did not allow for potential changes to the official plans of Municipalities, that can cause dramatic increases in real estate values, above and beyond normal yearly increases.  All variables aside, when you consider Real Estate provided double the return; the numbers are hard to dispute.

You know what I really like about investing in Real Estate?  It's tangible;

I can stand on it,

I can build on it 

I can change it's use

I can subdivide it and unlike stocks, it can't vanish into thin air.

The key to what I'm saying is the word "I".  When "I" invest in Real Estate, "I" am in control and "I" can easily understand it.  Doesn't that make more sense than blindly giving your money to a company that, in turn, invests your hard earned cash, into something you know little about?  After all, the word "Investment" begins with "I".

This is Rob Thompson saying, "Good Luck and Good Investing".  

Garry Marr, Financial Post 

The latest rate cut means consumers buying a house can borrow for as little as 3% interest on their loan if they are willing to buy into the Bank of Canada's statement Tuesday that it won't be changing rates until June, 2010.

If you don't believe the bank will hold steady on its promise, you can lock into five-year, fixed-rate mortgages for as low as 3.85% on a discounted basis -- the lowest rate in Canadian history.

But all of that may amount to nothing when it comes to soothing a Canadian housing market in which new construction has fallen below 200,000 on an annualized basis for the first time in seven years. March existing-home sales were off 13.7% from a year ago.

"What is 25 basis points among friends? It's really nothing," said Benjamin Tal, senior economist with CIBC World Markets. "This is not something that is going to change the course of the market. It only helps at the margin."

Mr. Tal did say mortgage refinancings have risen dramatically in the past few months as Canadians who might have borrowed at 5.75% just over two years ago are ready to eat any interest rate penalty because a five-year rate mortgage is now so low.

The penalty to break an existing mortgage is the greater of three months interest or what is called the interest rate differential. The interest rate differential is the lost interest between your current rate and market rates.

Mr. Tal says while there is not much lower for variable-rate mortgages to go, the gap between short-term money and long-term money is still significant enough that the temptation is not to lock in.

"You might do better the first two years [of a five-year mortgage] but not the remaining three. I'm convinced long-term interest rates will rise. I can see [long-term] rising 200 basis points. These are emergency rates and at some point this emergency will end," says the economist.

John Turner, the director of mortgages at the Bank of Montreal says he's never seen anything like what is going on in today's market.

"There is a possibility of another drop," says Mr. Turner. "But does your tummy feel good about something that has a higher possibility of going up than going down any further."

He is convinced these lower rates will boost the housing market. The 13.7% decline in home sales in March was the smallest year over year decline in six months. "I think there is a segment of the market that couldn't afford a home before," said Mr. Turner.

Don Lawby, chief executive of Century 21 Canada, said while rates are declining, banks are getting tighter with how they hand out credit.

"If you are self-employed, the banks are demanding more documentation. Appraisals are getting harder too. It's not what you bought the house for but what it's appraised for," said Mr. Lawby, who also heads up a mortgage broker business. "There is not a lot of subprime out there for people with any credit problems in their history."

Quantitative easing Q&A with the BoC

FP Posted: April 21, 2009, 10:16 PM by Alia McMullen

With interest rates now at a record low 0.25%, the Bank of Canada has provided definitions of quantitative easing and credit easing on its website. 

What happens when the policy interest rate approaches zero?
"The traditional monetary policy instrument used by central banks to stabilize the economy and maintain price stability is the policy interest rate. When the policy rate moves towards zero, a central bank may consider using other tools to provide stimulus to the economy and achieve its inflation objective. This can include consideration of so-called 'unconventional' monetary measures such as quantitative easing and credit easing."

What is quantitative easing?
"Quantitative easing is the purchase by a central bank of financial assets through creation of central bank reserves. As a result, the price of the purchased assets (which can include government securities or private assets) rises and the yield on the assets falls. The expansion of reserves available to commercial banks also encourages them to increase the supply of credit to households and businesses.
In economic terminology, quantitative easing uses 'unsterilized' funding; in other words, the reserves of the central bank are increased to finance asset purchases."

What is credit easing?
"Credit easing is the targeted purchase by a central bank of private sector assets in certain credit markets which are important to the functioning of the financial system. The goal of credit easing is to reduce risk premiums and improve liquidity and trading activity in specific markets so that credit will flow and demand in the economy will expand.
Credit easing can be done on a 'sterilized' basis; in other words, there is no need to increase central bank reserves in order to undertake credit easing. If undertaken on an unsterilized basis, this amounts to combining credit easing with quantitative easing."

As part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the Home Renovation Tax Credit will provide a one-year, temporary 15% income tax credit on eligible home renovation expenditures for work performed, or goods acquired between January 27, 2009 and February 1, 2010. The credit may be claimed on eligible expenses exceeding $1,000, but no more than $10,000, for a total credit of up to $1,350.

Eligible renovation expenditures include: renovating your kitchen, bathroom or basement; installing new carpet or hardwood floors; building an addition, deck, fence or retaining wall; installing a new furnace, central air conditioner or water heater; painting the interior or exterior of your house; resurfacing a driveway and laying new sod.

Renovations which are not eligible for the credit include: purchase of furniture, appliances and tools, carpet cleaning, and maintenance contracts.

To obtain more information on the Home Renovation Tax Credit, call 1-800-O-Canada or visit the Canada Revenue Agency Web site.

Thanks For Listening

Rob

Home prices are one factor in determining your cost of ownership, but so are interest rates and financing availability. Even though interest rates have gone up in the last six months, they are still near historic lows. Since your monthly mortgage payment is a combination of paying down your principal and paying the interest owed, if home prices come down a little further but interest rates go up, it could cost you even more to service a mortgage on an identical home!

While a home is a major investment, it is also the center of your personal life. It's important to live in a home that reflects your taste and values, yet is within your financial "comfort zone." To that end, it may be more important to lock in today's relatively low interest rates and low home prices, rather than to hope for a further break in prices in the future.

Please give me a call if I can be of any assistance in determining how much home you can afford in today's market.