In a recent transaction, I had buyers looking to purchase a home that had UFFI many years ago but it had been removed. For many agents and buyers, this used to be a cause for concern. If you are selling a home, you must disclose this information. Clause 23 of the Standard OREA (Ontario Real Estate Association) Offer form states the following.

23. UFFI: Seller represents and warrants to Buyer that during the time Seller has owned the property, Seller has not caused any building on the property to be insulated with insulation containing ureaformaldehyde, and that to the best of Seller’s knowledge no building on the property contains or has ever contained insulation that contains urea-formaldehyde. This warranty shall survive and not merge on the completion of this transaction, and if the building is part of a multiple unit building, this warranty shall only apply to that part of the building which is the subject of this transaction.

There has been a lot of research done on this subject and in fact it is no longer an issue. In an article posted by the CMHC (Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation), it clearly states that “UFFI should not be cause for concern”. But since clause 23 as shown above and if UFFI is or was present in a property for sale, disclosures must be made.

And if you are still concerned, then I would suggest performing an air quality test to confirm the safety of the house. Then take a deep breath and enjoy your new home.

Just listed in Leslieville!

Offered at $589,000.

For full details – go to this link.

http://budurl.com/mp5k

Sam Soukas

Sales Representative

REMAX Hallmark Realty Ltd

724 Pape Ave

Toronto, ON

M4K 3S7

A practical way to own real estate in Toronto is to consider buying a duplex or a property that provides some income for you while you live in it as well.

If you’re considering buying real estate in Toronto, a duplex in the Beach is a great option.

If you’re interested in making a move to a duplex, call me at 416-462-1888

Sam

Imagine having access to the Waterfront and the Boardwalk all year round — these are the benefits of living in the Beach in Toronto!

If you want to live here, contact me and let’s get your move started!

Coming to the market soon – awesome 2 level condo in Midtown Toronto – The Radius – 18 Merton St in Toronto

In an effort to ease the burden on Toronto’s aging sewage system, the City of Toronto has approved a by-law making it mandatory for property owners, city wide, to disconnect their downspouts from the sewer system. The by-law will take effect in three phases in different areas of Toronto, starting later this year (2011).

When rainwater runs off a roof, it may flow through your eaves troughs into downspouts and directly into the sewer system. However, during heavy rainfall, the  system often becomes overloaded and untreated sewage can flow directly into our waterways, polluting them and local beaches. This is the biggest reason Toronto beaches get shut down in the summer time!!

At one time, the City would come and disconnect downspouts and replace old eaves at the City’s expense. Back in the year 2000, I lived in a bungalow in East York. The house had not been well maintained by the previous owner and the eaves were barely attached to the house. I applied to the City for the downspout disconnect program and they came and installed all new eaves and disconnected the downspouts for free…………..no wonder the City is always raising taxes.

Well finally the City of Toronto figured out that they could not sustain this kind of subsidy to property owners and you must pay for the expense on your own. There are some exceptions of course.

If disconnecting the downspouts is not technically feasible or would create a hazard, property owners can apply for an exemption.

The City may also provide financial assistance to low-income property owners.

For more information, you can call the City of Toronto at 311 or visit toronto.ca/water

This weekend (April 26, 2011), I sold this property in 4 days; 4 days ahead of its scheduled offer date. A buyer who didn’t want to compete on the night of offers and was prepared to make a bully offer. Always an interesting situation for sellers. To wait or act now!

The sellers agreed to entertain this bully offer after the buyer’s agent disclosed what the offer price would be. However since REMAX Hallmark has a policy on bully offers, I had to call at least 60 agents who were expecting offers to be reviewed on a certain date and let them know that the sellers had decided to change the offer date and would entertain offers at anytime. Two other offers materialized and a bidding war developed!

In the end, the original bully offer was the best one – best closing date – NO conditions – and the best price — $625,000 – a whopping 69.4% increase in their investment!

The Toronto Real Estate Market continues to offer investors and home owners a safe place to invest their hard earned money and see consistant gains.

If you’re interested in investing in Toronto Real Estate – call me at 416-462-1888.

Sam Soukas of REMAX Hallmark Realty Ltd.

I was reminded about the great work that Habitat for Humanity does when I came across their booth for their reStore! I have shopped here in the past when I was doing some renovating to see if I could find something that might work for the various projects I have completed over the years. Sometimes you can find entire kitchens! And there was an entire on display at the reStore display at the Home Show!

Here is a quick video of the reStore display at the Home Show

1. The Power of Sale property sells for market value!

All power of sale properties will be sold through the local real estate board and anyone will be able to find them on the MLS. So every agent working with buyers will see this house. If it’s a good property and properly priced, then it will sell for what it’s worth – that’s market value! The myth is that a Power of Sale is going to sell for less than the market and that there is a great deal to be found! If a property that is a Power of Sale sells for less than the average price for an area, I can guarantee that this property will need a LOT of work. I have seen some of these homes – all the appliances have been removed; light fixtures removed; everything that is attached to walls – gone! And some brave soul will buy it and fix it up but they still pay market value for this home.

2. Banks are in the business of making profit

Don’t think for a minute that a bank is going to just give away a property that they now own. There are costs involved selling real estate. At the very worst, a bank is looking not to lose money, but if in the end, banks are in the business of making money and in the end, typically power of sale properties sell for what is typical for the neighbourhood.

3. The Foreclosure rate in Canada is very low.

While our neighbours to the south are still recovering from the debacle of sub prime mortgages, in Canada, we have a solid banking system and no one gets a mortgage typically unless they really can afford it. In fact, in Canada, less that 1% of all mortgages are in arrears. In the USA, the percentage of mortgages in arrears is over 10% and at its worst levels was 13%. That’s staggering.

So if you want a deal – go to Arizona – lots of short sales there but if you want to invest your money in an amazing real estate market, BUY TORONTO. Call me today and let’s start shopping.

Sam Soukas – 1-416-462-1888

In my situation, my business partner is a contractor. We both put up equal amounts to purchase this property located at 1209 Queen St East in Leslieville. We estimated that the cost to renovate would be $25,000 and we added 10% for unforseen expenses. This brought our renovation budget to $27,500.

The other costs involved in a flip are the costs to purchase, the costs to carry the property and finally, the costs to sell – namely real estate fees.

In our situation, we agreed to not get paid for the services that we brought to the table and get paid once the property was sold and closed. We would still have to pay real estate fees to the Cooperating Agent for bringing us an offer from a buyer.

Here is a summary of our expenses thus far:

Costs to purchase = $6,134 (includes land transfer taxes to the province and the City of Toronto, legal fees and taxes/maintenance fees paid by the seller adjusted on closing)

Renovation Costs = $28,000 (includes all new appliances)

Costs to Carry as of today’s date = $3,434 (includes interest on line of credit, maintenance fees, utility bills, estimated cost of property taxes)

Privaly legislation does not permit me to post what we paid for this unit but it is currently being offered at $335,000

Click to view slideshow.