Barrie Real Estate Talk

Most people aren’t aware of this, but if you don’t pay your municipal property taxes, the city or town has the right to sell your house out from under you.

Keep in mind that just because they can, doesn’t mean they necessarily will. First, the municipality cannot start the process until the third year after the taxes are due (the second year in the case of vacant land). Second, after the process is started, you have a full year to repay the taxes owing, after which it is cleared and they cannot sell your home. The municipality can also extend that year, so you can effectively have a grace period before they start enforcement. However, if you don’t pay, they can put your house up in a tax sale, and accept an offer from the highest bidder. And this is final – all you are entitled to is any profit above what is owed on taxes, your mortgage or any other amount owing against the land, and the municipality is not required to accept the highest or best price or inquire into property values.

You can check out the Municipal Tax Sales Act here.

Cesia

Cesia is a real estate lawyer at Wall-Armstrong and Green, a boutique law firm in Barrie focusing on real estate and estates. When she's not online, she can usually be found in her garden.

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The OFSI (Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions – crazy-long name, eh?) is thinking about continuing to tighten the mortgage rules in this country. Last year the reduced the maximum amortization of insured mortgages from 30 to 25 years (which had previously been reduced from 40 to 35, then from 35 to 30). Now they’re considering lowering amortizations on uninsured (or “conventional”) mortgages (mortgage insurance is mandatory for mortgages with less than 20% down). Canada’s Finance Minster, Jim Flaherty, has been taking steps to curb the growth of consumer debt and inflated housing prices, and he’s using the mortgage-insurance rules as his tool of choice.

But should the OFSI really be intervening when it comes to conventional mortgages in which only the lenders (not the mortgage insurers) are taking the risk? There are many legitimate reasons for conventional mortgages to have extended amortizations (up to 35 years is common) – the oft-used reason being cash flow. With a longer amortization, payments are lower allowing those with more than 20% equity in their homes to spend or invest money elsewhere.

What do you think? Is the OFSI and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty being prudent, or have they already gone to far?  Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Tim

Tim is a mortgage agent in Barrie who specializes in helping first-time home buyers. He works with a variety of lenders and can help customize a mortgage with the best rates & options that fit the needs of each customer.

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I have had this situation a few times: a client calls not too long before closing, and they’ve gotten cold feet. What happens if you don’t want to close the deal?

Generally, if you refuse to close, you must have a legitimate reason. As a buyer, if you find something out that would severely affect your enjoyment or use of the house, or your title to it, and you had no way of discovering it any earlier, you may be justified in not closing. As a seller, you are somewhat limited in why you can legitimately refuse to close, beyond not receiving funds. If you believe you have a legitimate reason, and refuse to close, you still run the risk of ultimately being found not legitimate, and then you will have to pay all of the other side’s costs that result from not closing. This could be additional mortgage costs, moving costs, or even the extra cost of buying a different house.

Before putting in an offer, be certain that you want it.

Cesia

Cesia is a real estate lawyer at Wall-Armstrong and Green, a boutique law firm in Barrie focusing on real estate and estates. When she's not online, she can usually be found in her garden.

More Posts - Website

For those that are shopping for a new house, or looking to do a refinance (or even just a simple mortgage renewal), rates and numbers are an important part of the mortgage equation. When rates change even the slightest of percentage points, it could cost or save you thousands of dollars. Every once in a while, here on the Mortgage Monday posts, I’ll update you on what’s going on in the world of mortgage rates. As has been the case pretty much since we started these Mortgage Monday Rate Updates, there hasn’t been a tonne of movement in the world of mortgage rates.

• The Bank of Canada interest rate continues to be stuck at 1.00%.  The next meeting is at the end of May, but indications are it will continue to stay where it is for a while yet.
• The Bank of Canada prime lending rate is also holding steady at 3.00%. It has also been holding steady since Fall 2010 – if the bank rate goes up, the prime lending rate will follow.  We probably won’t see this start to move up well into 2013 or even 2014.
• The qualifying rate (the rate you would need to qualify at for a variable mortgage) for a 5-year mortgage is still 5.14% (recently down from 5.24%). That being said, there are still not too many folks  getting into a variable mortgage these days with fixed rates continuing to be so low.
• The current best variable rate (can change on a daily basis) is in the prime-0.40% (2.60%) ballpark, though many lenders are still currently offering ‘prime’ as their variable rate.
• The current best 5-year fixed mortgage rate (this can change daily) continues to hang out in the 2.79%-2.99% range, depending on qualifications and options.  Again, always contact your mortgage broker for current best rates for your situation (and as we’ve talked about previously, The Best Mortgage Rate is Not Always the Best Option).  Be careful when looking at some of the heavily discounted rates – many of them are considered “no-frills” mortgages and can come with restrictive options which could end up costing you thousands.
• While the “hot term” in Canada these days may be moving away from the 10-year and back toward the more common 5-year term, the full-featured, 10-year fixed mortgage continues to be popular with rates as low as 3.69% (check out my posts from last year on the 10-Year Mortgage Below 4% and Should You Consider a 10-Year Mortgage?).  Based on the history of lending rates, locking in for 10 years at well-below 4%, or 5 years for less than 3% is nothing short of fantastic.

While I’m happy to provide an update on what’s going on as rates, if you’re interested on getting personalized mortgage advice, speak to your favorite mortgage broker who can help you decide the best rates and options for you.

Tim

Tim is a mortgage agent in Barrie who specializes in helping first-time home buyers. He works with a variety of lenders and can help customize a mortgage with the best rates & options that fit the needs of each customer.

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What happens when you own a property jointly with someone, and don’t want to share any more?

Your kindergarten teacher probably wouldn’t be happy, but technically, you can sever a joint tenancy without any notice to the other parties. Basically, you do a transfer from yourself to yourself, with a statement that it is being done to sever the joint tenancy. The other person won’t find out unless they decide to look. Possibly not the best surprise to leave someone, but sometimes it is important to make sure that your share goes where you want it to go.

Cesia

Cesia is a real estate lawyer at Wall-Armstrong and Green, a boutique law firm in Barrie focusing on real estate and estates. When she's not online, she can usually be found in her garden.

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