Why Are Condo Fee So High? In this article we will look at why are condo fees so high. The amount to be paid for monthly condo fees can range anywhere from $200 for a studio unit in the brand new condominium building to many thousands of dollars for a large penthouse in older building with many amenities, in most cases the fees will be anywhere between $300 to $1,000 per month, sometimes they seem reasonable, in other cases quite excessive, they only go up, and we often ask ourselves... [read more]

Since in this blog we are discussing tax rules, I would strongly suggest you to get the advice from a qualified tax specialist. What prompted us to write a blog on the subject is frequent misinformation posted on various popular online forums stating that one must reside in the property for 1 year or more in order to qualify for the hst new construction rebate. Before we get to it let’s quickly recap what is the new construction hst rebate, and how it works in Ontario. A... [read more]

UPDATE: the filing deadline for 2023 VHT is February 29, 2024. The declaration portal is up and running. By now every homeowner of a residential property in Toronto should have received a letter notification from the City of Toronto about filling out the questionnaire regarding the status of their property for the purpose of the Vacant Home Tax reporting. If you have not received the notice, you will still need to file the declaration or face fines. The filing is mandatory for every... [read more]

February 2024 update. The 2 year foreign buyer ban originally introduced in 2022 has been extended until 2027. Original post. As we are nearing the end of 2022 we will be faced with new regulations coming to life as of January 1, 2023, one of them is a temporary 2 year foreign buyer ban. The temporary ban is introduced with the intent of making housing more affordable for Canadian residents. Any contractual obligations arising from the contracts signed prior to January 1, 2023 will... [read more]

First Home Savings Account (FHSA) was first announced in 2022 and is finally available as of April 1, 2023. In this article we will summarize the main aspects of this program and go into details further down, if you have a question that hasn’t been answered just drop us a line. As a general comment, the federal government has been recently introducing other programs such as The First-Time Home Buyer Incentive which flopped miserably and gained almost no traction, on the other hand... [read more]