We have been asked on many occasions about the RRSP Home buyers plan and thought it would be a good idea to explain the details from the beginning to the end of how it works, and what to do. What is Home Buyers Plan. A home buyers plan allows you to withdraw up to $60,000 per person (if you are a couple you can withdraw up to $60,000 each, for a total of up to $120,000) for the purchase of the qualifying home for yourself or for a related person with a disability. You can only withdraw... [read more]

Many people during their lifetime move from one property to another and if you are an owner quite often buying and selling around the same time is a necessity. The questions arise about what to do first, buy or sell as well as what everyone should know when planning on buying and selling at the same time. There are many factors that will influence this decision. Market condition. Typically, in real estate the markets are classified as sellers, balanced and buyers market. Sellers... [read more]

You may have heard of realtors offering a cash back, in this short blog we will explain what it is, and how it works. What is a cash back? Cash back for buyers is an incentive offered by the real estate agents for their buyers. In a typical real estate transaction the sellers signs a contract with the listing agent, in the contract one of the items outlined is a commission, part of the commission is received by the listing agent (agent representing the seller), and part of the commission... [read more]

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]

In our previous blogs we have explained step by step process of buying resale condominiums, and deeper into the most important document associated with the purchase, the status certificate, in this blog we would like to take it even further and explain one of the most important aspects of the status certificate, the reserve fund study, in more details. What is a reserve fund. In the nutshell the reserve fund are money put aside every month for future repairs and replacements, it is... [read more]