Baby Boomers Investing in Real Estate. The entire generation born between 1946 and 1964 are at or nearing retirement age. Baby boomers retiring will have a great impact on the boomers themselves and on society as a whole. Concerns include the challenges of living on what may be considerably less income for many, the factor of age-related illness, and the potential of having to delay retirement due to changes in Social Security regulations.
A significant event is occurring for one of the most significant generations in American history. We are in the process of witnessing baby boomers retiring.
CBC News just released a new poll that stated, “A majority of baby boomers say they have taken a financial hit in the past three years and most now doubt that they will be financially secure after they retire, according to a new poll.”
Financial planners used to routinely create retirement plans that stopped at age 85, because the chances seemed pretty good their clients would be dead by then. (The average life expectancy at age 65 is 10.3 years for men, 12.4 years for women.) But averages don’t tell the tale. You may be in better health than the average Joe or Jane, take better care of yourself or have better genes. Even if you don’t, your spouse might; Fidelity Investments has found that the chances of one member of a couple living past 90 are about 50%.
Long-term care costs can be particularly devastating. A 65-year-old man faces a 27% chance of needing long-term care, said actuarial expert Christopher Raham, while the same age woman has a 32% chance. “Together, a couple has a 50% chance of having a long-term care ‘event’,” said Raham, a senior actuarial adviser for Ernst & Young in Atlanta and head of the company’s retirement income innovation team. “And the average cost is about $150,000.”
You’re a confirmed do-it-yourselfer who built a sizable retirement fund by the dint of your own sweat and investment savvy. Or you’ve been with the same adviser decades, and have been pretty happy with the results. Or you simply haven’t thought about planning for retirement income; your whole focus has been on investing. Whatever your situation, you could benefit from a thoughtful, independent review of your retirement plan. Today’s distribution rules and strategies for retirement accounts are mind-numbingly complex. It’s easy to make a mistake, but often tough to fix those errors. Do-it-yourselfers often “don’t know what they don’t know.”
Twenty-seven percent of people in their 50s say that having children got in the way of saving for retirement, compared to 15% who blamed buying a home and 19% who said that household bills were the obstacle, says a 2011 study by ING Direct. That’s not surprising, given the typical middle income family spends more than $220,000 to raise a child, up 22% since 1960, according to data from the U.S.D.A. When you add paying for college to the mix sometimes another $100,000 or more retirement savings can really take a hit. “A lot of parents prioritized saving for their kids’ college over saving for retirement.”
Your Homes Major Systems. A house is a system of interdependent parts which means that the operation of one part will affect the other. When one of the house parts is not functioning properly it will affect the other parts.
The law of heat flow dictates that heat will always flow towards a region of lower temperature. The greater the temperature difference the faster the movement. Heat travels by convection, conduction and radiation. Conduction is the most common and best known method of heat loss.
Forced convection occurs when the movement of liquid or gas is caused by outside forces. For example, a cold wind blowing across a warm outside wall will cause heat to transfer through the wall more quickly.
Approaching the house as a system of interactive parts, the savings mount and we avoid creating health and safety issues. Air sealing and insulating a home reduces the heating and cooling load. A replacement furnace in a sealed and insulated home can be smaller than the existing furnace. The initial price of the smaller unit is lower, and the long-term operating costs will be less. Air sealing and insulating reduce load on heating and cooling appliances, making it possible to downsize equipment. Smaller equipment costs less to purchase and operate.
One common problem with roof/ceiling systems is condensation and staining on the ceiling surface. This is due to moisture condensing on cold surfaces, which is often caused by recessed lights that leak air or are not well insulated. The solution is to make sure that all penetrations through the ceiling are sealed to prevent air flow and insulated to prevent temperature differentials.
Another installation problem is compressing the insulation, which reduces the insulation’s R-value. This often happens when insulation is stuffed behind electrical wiring or piping. The answer here is to cut it to fit the space properly, and to split the fiberglass batts so they maintain their original thickness – and their rated R-value.
Insulating sheathings are rigid insulation boards, typically to 2 inches thick, that have beneficial thermal properties. They provide a way to increase the overall R-value of the wall system, especially in colder climates.
Products that are available are typically made of expanded or extruded polystyrene or from polyisocyanurate foam insulation boards.
With a properly functioning ventilation system, moisture and other pollutants are kept from entering the home. Any pollutant – and moisture is considered a pollutant for the purposes of this discussion – created in the home is transported safely outside through exhaust ventilation and ductwork. However, in many homes, the fans or ducts are loud, leaky, non-existent or otherwise not up to the job. Moisture created within the home condenses on cool building surfaces, both in the living space and in the attic, and causes mould, mildew, poor IAQ, and structural damage.
Finding a Mortgage. While a mortgage is fundamentally a loan that is secured against your home, there are many variations to the type of mortgage that can be used for various needs. Based on your goals and risk characteristics there may be a number of different mortgage products that will meet your needs.
A home buyer or builder can obtain financing (a loan) either to purchase or secure against the property from a financial institution, such as a bank, either directly or indirectly through intermediaries. Features of mortgage loans such as the size of the loan, maturity of the loan, interest rate, method of paying off the loan, and other characteristics can vary considerably.
A Pre-Approved mortgage is a Free and No-Obligation deal that lets you know before you go looking for your home or signing an offer to purchase, how much you can afford to borrow based on your qualification and personal credit rating. Most mortgage companies will arrange for you the most competitive rates with longest rate guarantee period that goes up to 120 days – if rates go higher, your rate will not be affected, and if rates go lower, you get the lower rate. This protection is solely responsible for savings thousands of dollars for many people who obtained a pre-approval and the rates increase afterwards.
Upon making a mortgage loan for the purchase of a property, lenders usually require that the borrower make a down payment; that is, contribute a portion of the cost of the property. This down payment may be expressed as a portion of the value of the property (see below for a definition of this term). The loan to value ratio (or LTV) is the size of the loan against the value of the property. Therefore, a mortgage loan in which the purchaser has made a down payment of 20% has a loan to value ratio of 80%. For loans made against properties that the borrower already owns, the loan to value ratio will be imputed against the estimated value of the property.
An open mortgage allows you the flexibility to repay the mortgage at any time without penalty. Open mortgages are available in shorter terms, 6 months or 1 year only, and the interest rate is higher than closed mortgages as much as 1%, or more. They are normally chosen if you are thinking of selling your home, or if expecting to pay off the whole mortgage from the sale of a another property, or an inheritance.
Bridge financing refers to a special, short-term loan needed to cover the time gap when two properties, both firm sales, are involved and the closing dates don’t match. The property being purchased closes before the one that was sold. There is a small set-up fee charged by the lender to have the bridge loan arranged, plus the cost of the interest as now you are carrying both properties for a short time. The rate charged on the bridge loan is about 2-3% above the bank’s prime.
The Barrie Home Inspector, has been performing Professional Home Inspections for over eight years. To date he has conducted over 4,000 paid inspections. This experience will enable you to have Peace of Mind when purchasing your next home.
Roger Frost is a member of NACHI, whose inspectors have all successfully passed InterNACHI’s Inspector Examination, taken a Standards of Practice Quiz, completed a Code of Ethics Course, adhere to Standards of Practice, abide by a Code of Ethics, attend required continuing education courses, and are InterNACHI Certified.
The Barrie Home Inspector has taken courses in both Part 9 and Part 3 of the Ontario Building Code and has been recognized as a Certified Building Code Official by the Ontario Building Code Officials Association. This allows Roger to identify code deficiencies when inspecting your home.
When buying your new home you need someone with knowledge and experience to inspect and identify any visible or potential problems. Roger was a registered building with HUDAC, which has been replaced by Tarion, and also spent 7 years in charge of Project Reviews, which included Plan Review and Job Site inspections of all phases of construction.
In many provinces, home inspectors are required to be licensed, but in Ontario the profession is not regulated at all. Typical requirements for obtaining a license are the completion of an approved training course and/or a successful examination by the Provinces licensing board. Some provinces also require inspectors to periodically obtain continuing education credits in order to renew their licenses.
We offer all our clients a 100% Money Back Guarantee on all our home inspections. If for any reason a client is not completely satisfied with our home inspection we refund their money with no questions asked. We stand behind our service and product 100 percent.
The Barrie Home Inspector has Home Inspections starting at $299.00 for a single residential home or townhouse. Our prices are competitive and published so you will not have any hidden surprises at your inspection.
Buying and selling Real Estate can be extremely stressful. Choose the Barrie Home Inspector for Guaranteed Peace of Mind and save yourself some money at the same time. Knowledge and experience are the tools of our trade and we guarantee the results.
Anonymous – Fighting for the Under Dog. A new YouTube video by hacker group Anonymous warns Mexico’s Zetas drug cartel that if the cartel doesn’t free a kidnapped member of the group, the hackers will expose the Zetas’ allies in the local police and news media to the world. In the video, Anonymous says it is “tired of the criminal group the Zetas, which is dedicated to kidnapping, stealing and extortion,” and that it will fight back with information instead of weapons.
You’ve likely seen the visual symbol of Anonymous that’s made its way onto the streets: a Guy Fawkes mask borrowed by Anonymous from the V for Vendetta graphic novel and movie for use in real-world protests. So how did this chaotic, volunteer-driven, non-organization manage to create a visual identity stronger than many commercial brands?
Since June 2001, the Department of Homeland Security has issued three “bulletins” warning cyber-security professionals of hacking successes and future threats by Anonymous and related groups, including a call to physically occupy Manhattan’s Wall Street on Sept. 17 in protest of various U.S. government policies.
The hacking group Anonymous claimed via its Twitter feed to have breached servers belonging to NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization military alliance that has largely been responsible for the military defense of Europe since the end of World War II. There has been a lot made of the fact that the files were not really secure documents but “lame” as described by one writer, but then, when does the government or any big agency ever tell that truth.
Anonymous has also breached the Strafor site retrieving credit card information and emails. They have made donations to charities using information obtained from hacking Strafor. Wishing everyone a “Merry LulzXMas” – a nod to its spinoff hacking group Lulz Security – Anonymous also posted a link on Twitter to a site containing the email, phone number and credit number of a U.S. Homeland Security employee. The employee, Cody Sultenfuss, said he had no warning before his details were posted. “They took money I did not have,” he told The Associated Press in a series of emails, which did not specify the amount taken. “I think ‘Why me?’ I am not rich.”
Anonymous has adopted a cool logo, a headless-suit-guy and the Fawkes mask are both stark, simple, and vaguely ominous in a way that’s compelling. The suit-man depicted against the U.N. map is also a cleverly subversive, and ironic, appropriation and exploitation of paranoia about Big Brother-style faceless power. Particularly when paired with Anonymous’ over-the-top rhetoric, it suggests that the most powerful entity on earth isn’t a corporation or a totalitarian regime: It’s something so amorphous that the person next to you on the subway could be part of it. And the Fawkes mask, with its hard-to-read expression and mild air of menace, extends that idea into the public sphere especially now the record and media barons are trying to force censorship and control of the internet.
In Canada alone we have events that ended some of our freedoms, but at the time seemed innocent enough. Prior to the party affiliation being shown on election ballets, anybody could run based on their abilities and people being able to recognize them, but with the implementation of the Party Symbols being placed on the ballets, now the Prime Minister and parties have control of who will be visible on the ballot….this was not a good thing for Canadian people and instantly changed the face of Canadian politics.
Real Estate Investing. Warren Buffet one of the worlds smartest investors recently commented on Real Estate investment, saying “It’s a totally sound premise that houses will become worth more over time because the dollar becomes worth less,”
The recent housing bubble attests to the “real estate bubble” that was created when people with very little money were allowed to buy houses.
Although real estate has been a good sound investment over the years, investment mogul, Warren stated, “All things considered, the third-best investment I ever made was the purchase of my home, though I would have made far more money had I instead rented and used the purchase money to buy stocks,” this may give some investors food for thought.
Barrie and Orillia have again been identified as among the most promising places in Ontario to invest in real estate. The list appears in Top Ontario Investment Towns, a 102-page report prepared by Real Estate Investment Network (REIN), a Western-Canadian based research organization. The report analyzes the current and future prospects for real estate investment opportunities in Ontario.
Don Campbell from REIN recently gave this advice to investors who were looking to sell or rent properties. Other decorating and renovating tips include:
Inside your home, install white electrical switches and plug-ins (no unsightly yellow ones), and low-maintenance single-lever taps in the kitchen and bathrooms;
Outside your home (for maximum curb appeal), installing half-moon doors, new porch lights, and a new mailbox and house numbers.
Why bother fixing up your place when you can probably sell or rent it just the way it is? “Because the money you invest in these relatively low-cost upgrades will more than pay for themselves in what you can ask from buyers or renters,” Campbell says. “These little touches will set your home far apart from others that haven’t been improved in years.”
Before buying your investment property ensure you have it inspected by a qualified home inspector. In Barrie and Orillia many REIN members use Roger Frost at Barrie Home inspections to ensure they are fully aware of the condition of their home prior to make their purchase. When buying multiple residential properties it is even more important that you use a inspector who is trained in Part 3 of the Ontario Building Code and has the required qualifications.
Remember when buying a property the rule of thumb is Caveat Emptor – Buyer Beware
DND Military Real Estate Re-Location. The IRP aims to make relocation easy and efficient, centralizing the administration of a relocation with a single contractor, Brookfield GRS, with the exception of physical removal of Household Goods and Effects, administered under the Household Goods and Services Removal contract.
Your Professional Military Service Provider Realtor can ensure your property value is realistic. Your best guide is a record of what the buying public has been willing to pay in the past few months for property in your neighborhood. Your REALTOR can furnish data on sales figures for those comparable sales and analyze them to help you come up with a suggested listing price. The decision about how much to ask, though, is always yours.
Karen Knight is a REALTOR committed to providing transferring members with service beyond their expectation. Karen is familiar with the Borden area and fully understands the Real Estate values in the area. Karen Knight is an approved supplier to the DND and RCMP IRP program officially called the Brookfield Global Relocation Services (was called RLRS or Royal LePage Relocation Services).
www.irp-dnd.com connects relocated military and other government employed families with top performing REALTORS in each location. They will help you sell your home faster, and find you a home that meets your requirements, all from one point of contact. Always trust the registered service providers for Brookfield GRS to provide fast and courteous service to all DND and IRP personnel.
All DND and IRP personnel are typically entitled to a HHT ( house hunting trip ) which allows you to secure accommodation at the new place of duty with the intent of ensuring a door-to-door move, thereby: reducing the interim lodgings, meals, and miscellaneous expenses, and eliminating unnecessary storage in transit costs.
To ensure you are not rushed or are not able to secure professional services prior to travelling our Military and DND service personnel will also provide contacts with experts in mortgages and home inspections. As a client your needs are our primary concern and our team is ready and willing to assist you.
Buying or Selling in Trenton can be a nerve wracking experience even for seasoned Military Personnel. Team Champ is dedicated to providing personal service that is un-matched by the larger multi-personnel companies. Why be just a number when you can always be #1 at Team Champ. Visit Team Champ to see the difference yourself. No “gimmicks”, no “prizes” just honest hard work and the belief that, “Putting OUR Clients First”, will make a difference.
Real Estate in Alliston ON. Alliston traces its history to three brothers, William, John and Dickson Fletcher. Dissatisfied with life in England, the three left for Toronto, working farms in Toronto Gore northwest of the city. In 1821 William purchased Lot 15, Concession 3, Tecumseth Township. He married in 1828, and in 1847 went scouting locations for the construction of a mill with his son John. The chose a location at Lot 1, Concession 1, Essa Township, at the corner where four of the original townships of southern Simcoe County (Adjala, Tosorontio, Essa, and Tecumseth) meet. In early November they built a cabin on the property, and the rest of the family joined them in April the next year. A larger house, known as Fletcher House, was built in 1849, and still stands at 18 Fletcher Crescent.
Prior to shopping for a new Alliston property it is recommended that you get pre-approved to establish a baseline for the amount of money you can afford to invest. A home buyer or builder can obtain financing (a loan) either to purchase or secure against the property from a financial institution, such as a bank, either directly or indirectly through intermediaries. Features of mortgage loans such as the size of the loan, maturity of the loan, interest rate, method of paying off the loan, and other characteristics can vary considerably.
Some home shoppers are always looking for a bargain or a fixer upper which can sometimes be found in a Power of Sale property. buying a Power of Sale Canadian Banks will typically not assume responsibility for any part of the home. You will be buying it “as is” with no warranties or guarantees. This is where the Alliston Home Inspector is a valuable asset because having the experience of over 4,000 inspections and being a Certified Building Code Official makes choosing the best the right choice.
The listing Real Estate agent or broker anticipates receiving a commission for the services the agent has provided at the conclusion of selling the listed property. Usually, the payment of a commission to the agent or brokerage is contingent upon finding a successful buyer for the real estate listed, the successful negotiation of a purchase contract between a satisfactory buyer and seller, or the settlement of the transaction and the exchange of money between buyer and seller.
Listing – Although there can be other ways of doing business, a real estate brokerage usually earns its commission after the real estate broker and a seller enter into a listing contract and fulfill agreed-upon terms specified within that contract. The seller’s real estate is then listed for sale, frequently with property data entered into an MLS in addition to any other ways of advertising or promoting the sale of the property.
People who own property are typically 26% wealthier than non-home owners. When house values increase the home owner benefits even though they may only have a small equity position in the home. Just imagine if you owned a $150,000 house with 5% down ($7500) and house values increased by just 3%. In one year you would have had an increase in equity of over $5,000
Septic Tank Maintenance and Inspection. A septic system is the most common method of sewage treatment for homes that are not on a public sewer line. A septic system consists of a septic tank, where solids settle and decompose, and a drain field where liquid discharged from the tank is treated by bacteria living in the soil. The septic tank settles out and decomposes solid sewage. The resulting liquid discharge from the tank slowly seeps into the drain field where it receives final treatment from bacteria living in the soil. Properly functioning septic systems treat sewage to prevent ground and surface water pollution. A malfunctioning system is a health hazard to your family and your neighbors, and will harm natural resources.
The solid-liquid separation is usually accomplished in what is called a treatment tank. The treatment tank is a relatively large structure typically made of concrete. The approximate size for a residence is 1000 to 1500 gallons. The solid material and liquid material enter the treatment tank by means of the drain pipe from the house. In addition to separating the liquid material from the solid material, the treatment tank also provides partial treatment of the septic waste through biological action within the tank. The solid-liquid separation is accomplished by the use of baffles within the tank. The inlet pipe is usually located at one end of the treatment tank and the outlet pipe at the other end. The normal liquid level in the treatment tank is at the level of the outlet pipe. The solid material that is heavier than water sinks to the bottom of the tank where biological breakdown occurs. Any solid matter that floats is prevented from going out the outlet pipe by means of an outlet baffle which extends just below the surface of the water.
While the treatment tank provides some treatment of the septic waste, it does not get rid of harmful bacteria and viruses, so further treatment of the waste is necessary. If soil conditions are adequate, this further treatment of the septic waste can be accomplished in the absorption area by biological action which takes place in the presence of air. Such microorganisms are known as aerobic.
Some of the common signs your home’s septic system might be malfunctioning? A clogged or overflowing septic tank might result in soggy, wet soil near the site. Also keep an eye out for pooling “gray water” that might be visible in the yard or grass above or around the tank area or leach field. Homeowners often report a strong waste odor outside. You might also find clues inside, such as clogging or backed up drains, which might be the result of a clogged sewage line, a full septic tank, or similar issue.
You pump out your septic tank to get rid of the solid sludge that accumulates at the bottom of the tank and the grease that accumulates as scum floating near the top. Both sludge and grease can foul the leaching field. How often to pump out depends on your tank size, family size, and how much of your wastewater is solid waste. For example: suppose your tank is 1,500 gallons, you’ve got four people in the family, and your solid waste is the average amount. Then you should pump your tank every 4 years. The volume of solids in the wastewater varies with such things as garbage disposals, dirty clothes, where you live. A family with a garbage disposal (compared with one that scrapes the dishes into a trash can) dumps up to 50 % more solid wastes down the drain, and, therefore, needs to pump the septic tank twice as often. Additives don’t do any good-or, at least, no controlled scientific study has shown them to be effective. So, save your money.
A non-invasive inspection of a septic system is often a good starting point for helping to determine the condition of an existing septic system. The following procedure is used by some inspection companies. Not all inspection companies will follow this same procedure, and since there are many variations in septic system design and function, each inspection is likely to be unique in its own way. Non-invasive inspections leave the soil virtually undisturbed and do not alter the system in any appreciable way. Any available, readily accessible access caps are removed and the liquid level inside is observed. The water inside the home is run for a minimum of thirty minutes. During this time the liquid levels in the access pipes (if any) are observed and the absorption area is examined for seepage or lush growth. The technician relies on visual signs for detecting any defects in the system. Since the soil is undisturbed this kind of inspection can be performed without damaging the lawn or risking the damage caused by digging up parts of the system.
Energy audits a waste of energy. Forcing energy audits on sellers is both inefficient and problematic
By Vince Brescia
To many people, the Ontario government’s recent announcement that all homes must have an energy audit before being sold must sound like a good idea. In fact, the legislation states that an energy audit is required prior to all real property transactions, including leases. So much the better, some may say.
The legislation does not actually specify that an independent audit is required. That intention was announced by the government, and would have to be spelled out in regulations. The legislation actually specifies that sellers must provide “information, reports or ratings” on “energy consumption and efficiency.” The government says the audits should cost about $300. However, a province-wide audit infrastructure does not yet exist so the market price for audits once they are in demand is yet to be determined.
There are certainly positive aspects to mandatory audits. Everyone who buys a home will get some information on the energy efficiency of the home (property) they are buying. It will increase consumers’ awareness about this aspect of real estate. And it will incent some potential sellers to take steps to improve the energy efficiency of their properties.
However, forcing energy audits on sellers is both inefficient and problematic.
Firstly, not all purchasers will want or make us of this service, regardless of whether or not some think they should have it. The intent of the legislation is to provide value to purchasers. However, energy efficiency may not be a priority for the purchaser, because they are interested in the property for other reasons. Therefore, the expense will be wasted in many circumstances, making it inefficient.
A second problem is that the scheme will create a considerable amount of energy consumption. There are about 460,000 real estate transactions in Ontario every year. Most audits will require a return truck or van trip by auditors to each property, consuming energy. The infrastructure of a bourgeoning home audit industry will also generate significant energy consumption.
A third problem is that many homes (properties) do not really need an audit. If they are relatively new homes, they will have had to meet building code standards for energy efficiency, making the information provided of little use to the buyer. Another example is condominiums, where neither buyer nor seller has much control over the energy efficiency of the condominium unit. In condominiums, the main parts of the infrastructure that determine energy efficiency are controlled by the condominium corporation, not the unit owner.
Another problem is that information from a standardized system like this often does not provide customers with the information they are interested in, or in a format that meets their needs.
Adding to the last problem, the audit will be paid for by the seller, not the buyer, making the seller the client. This introduces moral hazard into the system, where sellers look for auditors who provide favourable audits, and find auditors willing to comply. The legislation does not indicate whether or not there will be standards for, or policing of energy auditors.
A final key problem is that the new cost associated with the energy audits must come at the expense of something else. In the language of economists this is the “opportunity cost.” The money spent on the audit may come out of capital expenditures on energy efficiency, which already have a high priority with Ontarians. Or it may come out of other important priorities, such as improving the building’s health and safety. The point is that it is not a free new benefit. It comes at the expense of something else. Given that it does so inefficiently, it is not a great idea.
In this age of growing consumer awareness and interest in energy conservation, a mandatory audit approach is not necessary. The most efficient option is to let those who value energy audits to pay to have them done. The consumer is the best one to judge when such audits will have value, what specific information they need, and in what format.
Given that so many purchasers these days already have independent inspections done before buying, it is clear that consumers are not shy about paying to get the information they value prior to making an important purchasing decision. In fact, purchasers can easily ask their home inspector to opine on energy efficiency, without necessitating a second inspection.
Financial Post
Vince Brescia is president & CEO of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario .
