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Showing posts from July, 2014

Home delivery: Instant house

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A new home arrived in four parts on the backs of trucks Thursday last week. The sections were then hoisted into the air by a crane and gently lowered into position. The sight of large bits of house dangling in mid-air caused a stir on Maple Avenue, Mississauga, a usually quiet residential street. The home is a prefabricated, or modular, design. It was put up by Royal Homes, a company based an hour north of Kitchener, which assembled the modules in its factory before installing them in Port Credit . When it made touchdown, the 1,950 sq.-ft. "bungaloft" home already had the kitchen cabinetry, bathroom amenities, tiles and flooring in place. Even the light bulbs were in their fixtures. Once the utilities are hooked up and inspections completed, in about eight weeks, it will be ready to move in. In the past, home buyers have been wary of prefabricated houses but a new breed of homes that are virtually indistinguishable from their traditionally built counterparts are

Flipping Houses On Television

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Yesterday a new T.V. show called "Flipping the Block" aired on HGTV. The premise of the show is that four teams are given four identical condo's and they must renovate them in order to sell them for a profit. The winning team is the team that sells their unit for the highest sum of money. The way the show works is that all of the teams are given a small budget and they must use it to make all of the necessary improvements to their units and to make their units as aesthetically pleasing as possible. There is a catch however; contestants have to stay in their condos while they do the renovating. This means that they must live among all the dust and debris they create. When their work is complete they auction off their units to see whose unit fetches the most money. The winners receive $50,000 and they get to keep their return on investment. Josh Temple is the shows host and he is joined every week by judges who are experts in real estate and renovations and who will asses

Uninvited Guests At Mississauga Home

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So imagine a quiet Friday night, you, your loved ones and your teenage son, all of a sudden you hear a knock on the door, and who else but 200 teenagers looking for a party. Sounds a bit off, but this was one family's reality in Mississauga this past weekend. The teenage son was looking to have a small get together at his house with some friends, which he spread the word through social media, However it quickly got out of hand. Initially it was thought to be a prank, but the hashtag #ProjectXHouseParty quickly caught their eye and the teens quickly flocked to the home in Lorne Park. From 9pm to 1am Police were called in to help notify the teens that there was no party taking place and that the only flashing lights teens would see is that of a police car. This isn't the first time in the GTA area that social media has drawn an massive crowd to a home. Back in  May a home under construction was massacred as a teenage son hosted a party which saw roughly 2000 guests in a sho

IS THE HOUSE YOUR BUYING A MURDER HOUSE?

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Canadian home buyers beware because in Canada, with the exception of Quebec, there is no law in place that forces sellers to disclose information that stigmatizes a property. This means that someone can sell you a home in which a suicide, mass murder or even torture ensued and they have no obligation to let you know about it. A 2001 study revealed that houses known to have some sort of dark history attached to them sell for 3% less than they would otherwise, and even more alarming is the fact that they stayed on the market 45% longer as well. This may be the reason why many sellers aren't motivated to disclose this type of information to potential buyers.  One may argue that not disclosing this type of information is misleading as it could cause someone to purchase a home they otherwise would not have, or that it may potentially result in a home buyer paying more than they would have for a home had they known. Canadian courts don't see it that way because they follow the

Potentially Another New Bylaw In Mississauga

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          Mississauga recently passed a bylaw restricting the use of clotheslines, in order to prevent residents from misusing them, and now the city is considering passing another bylaw.  This bylaw deals with preserving trees. Due to the ice storm that took place this previous winter as well as raids from bugs many trees are in bad condition.          The city already has rules in place to protect trees including the rule that limits the number of trees property owners can cut down each year to two. However they can cut down any two trees no matter how old, how big or how beautiful they may be. The proposed bylaw would make it necessary for property owners to seek a permit in order to cut down any tree that is 50 centimeters or more in diameter. This may sound extreme but will only impact two percent of the trees in Mississauga.  This image was taken from the link at the bottom          Although the intention behind this bylaw is to protect Mississauga's trees it may po

Revisiting The Mississauga Flood

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In what was one of the major weather stories of 2013, the GTA rainfall that cast itself upon us on July 8th 2013 was perhaps the worst Mississauga has seen. Over at Pearson airport there was 126 mm of rain fall that caused massive flooding the likes the city has never seen before. The rain began in the late afternoon roughly 4pm and lasted through until late in the night. Not only was the flooding a huge concern, but also was a major blackout that occurred across the entire city. As I was driving along the 403 from Mavis in substantial rainfall, I could see the north side of Mississauga with lights and brightness, but i could also see the south side of Mississauga in complete darkness as if the city was empty. In terms of costs, the entire GTA incurred recovery costs of over $850 million. In one instance a child was swept away in the rains rapid current near Dundas and Dixie road. As if things couldn't worst it was only 5 months later that we witnessed one of our coldest and

TD Bank Forescast Home Prices on the Rise

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As if things couldn't get any more expensive, home prices will be on the rise again due to lower interest rates and high demand for homes in Canada. An average of 5% to 6% will be gained for homes by the end of the year. These low interest rates have helped condo buyers with the affordability, but these lower rates sees the returns of previously interested buyers who further drive up the demand. Still as the average prices is increasing, TD economist Diana Petramala believes that we will enter a buyer based market. Bargaining power will grow and price pressure will ease giving buyers more control in the market. Condo prices are also predicted to take a hit as the prices are expected to fall by 2% in the following year, and more construction is already underway to help satisfy the demand of buyers. This price fall will make condos become less appealing as an investment property. Single family homes have already shot up 8% this year with an additional 2% expected by the end o

Mississauga Second Unit Bylaw Under Scrutiny

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Last January Mississauga's new licencing procedures for basement apartments and other forms of second units came into effect. Mississauga has banned second units for almost 20 years and the city had no choice but to change this procedure due to affordable housing legislation.  The city is facing scrutiny over this because even though they changed their procedures in the last six months only one license was issued. Some believe that the city hasn't put in enough of an effort to promote the new bylaw and that they wish to hide it from citizens.  Under the new bylaw landlords have to go through a series of things in order to be granted a license. Landlords must pay an administration fee of up to $1000 on top of paying for any work that needs to be done, following mandatory safety inspections, to bring the property up to code. Mississauga has thousands of illegal second unit homes which is a problem for tenants of such places because they have no real protection in disputes

Mississauga's New Dirty Laundry Bylaw

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This image is from the article in the link below A new bylaw was passed on Wednesday  limiting the use of clotheslines for Mississauga residents. The law forbids anyone from putting clotheslines in their front yard. Also clotheslines must be at least 1.5 metres away from the fence line and a maximum height of 3 metres high. Why pass such an extreme law?  The culprits are are a couple living on Indiana Grove Dr. The couple had over 15 clotheslines with some over 20 feet high. The worst part however is the fact that the couple had dirty laundry displayed 24 hours a day 365 days a year. Whether snow, rain, thunder or sunshine the couple refused to take down their laundry.  Neighbor  Steve DeVoe, having a direct view of the couple's yard, had suffered with the eye sore for over 5 years. He even has pictures showing the couples underwear and stockings hanging outside in full view of his home. He says that it started off with just 4 clotheslines and that the number kept incre

Mortgage Doesn't Mean Debt

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Canadians today that have a mortgage feel much more calm about owing money as opposed to their elders or parents. In a recent survey conducted by Manulife, it was found that close to 70% of young Canadians feel good about having an outstanding mortgage and still be debt free. This same survey also showed 40% of homeowners are more comfortable with debt as compared to their parents. Perhaps their is a difference between the generations. In looking at the optimistic views young Canadians have, Jason Daly, vice president of products and marketing at Manulife says that lower interest rates have made Canadians a little more at ease with their ability to manage debt. An essential understanding and balancing of debt is necessary as well. Young Canadians are more optimistic about debt, because they learned from their elders the tricks and the trade towards managing their debt while holding a mortgage. While the household is one place, schools also are slowly offering more business course

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