Anna Kuzmenko
36 Distillery Lane M5A3C4 Toronto, ON, Canada

Massive Rebranding of the Thompson Hotel - coming Summer 2020 https://www.newswire.ca//1-hotel-toronto-to-open-summer-20

This is just beyond cute and brilliant! Love the light color scheme, black metal accents, wallpaper and especially a long horizontal window in the kitchen! https://www.dwell.com//little-house-big-city-office-of-arc

Love it! Sustainability with respect to our environment! Building net-zero carbon emissions wood structures is the future. https://www.canadianrealestatemagazine.ca//canada-invests-

NEW FEDERAL BUDGET ANNOUNCEMENT everyone was waiting for! Amongst other incentives, one of the major is the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive, which will allow buyerswho have the minimum down payment for a mortgageto finance 10% on a new home or 5% on an existing home through a shared equity mortgage with the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation. It will, basically, be an interest-free loan that is repayable once the main mortgage is paid off or the home is sold. Doing... so will lower buyers monthly mortgage payments! Great!! But, there is a huge BUT - only households with combined incomes lower than $120,000 annually will qualify. The budget also increases the $25,000 limit on the Home Buyers Plan, which allows first time homebuyers to borrow from their RRSPs to purchase a new home. The new limit will be $35,000, or $70,000 for a couple. More details to come...

Check these numbers out - January 2019 - Off to a great start!

Did you know that CMHC has a Green Home program in which they offer up to a 25% rebate on the CMHC premiums paid for qualified homes? If anyone has recently purchased or is planning to purchase a new construction home AND you are putting less than 20% as a down payment resulting in CMHC loan insurance - You can qualify for a REBATE. More here:... https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca//energy-efficient-housing-made

https://www.cp24.com//more-than-8-000-airbnb-properties-ar

ADVICE & TIPS TO REACH YOUR REAL ESTATE GOALS IN 2019 1) Know WHY youre buying or selling. Think 5-10 years down the road, and try to fully understand your current & future needs + have a contingency plan drafted. ... 2) Closely follow Bank interest rates and the Economic Environment in Canada & the World. Bank of Canada held the key interest rate at 1.75% in December, however potential interest rate hikes are projected in 2019. 3) Keep an eye on the market. It is never too early or too late - keep an eye on the market from now until the time you become an active buyer. Know list vs. sold price, as it is likely won't be the same. This will allow you to have a much more realistic view of the market. 4) For Buyers: Know your budget. Mortgage pre-approval is a must. Not only you should know what bank approves you for, but also your affordability. Best time to buy is during the seasonal slowdowns - there is less to choose from, but the competition is less intense which will save you money and energy. 5) For Sellers: try to beat the market. No doubt, spring 2019 will once again see many sellers coming out from the hibernation, but try to get your property on the market before everyone else does. Dont wait until spring to sell - there will always be a buyer for the right unit. Properly prepare your property for sale - take care of pre-listing inspection, repairs, and perform decluttering & staging.

Wishing everyone safe & happy holiday season! Much love, joy & warmth!

https://www.dwell.com/arti/ikea-furniture-upgrades-29b2bbc4

https://www.blogto.com//national-geographic-names-toronto/

Negotiated under asking a beautiful 1 bedroom condo at Islington & Bloor St W - new HOT area in Toronto West End.

Pool Goals - MUSÉE condos - 525 Adelaide St West. Built by PLAZA in 2017, this Toronto condo sits near the intersection of Bathurst St. & Adelaide St. W. Musée is a high-rise condo located in the King West neighbourhood. Musée is a 17 storey condo and has around 440 units. The condo offers it's residents amenities such as a Gym / Exercise Room, Pool, Party Room and Parking Garage.

November 2018 Condos Stats

Purchased under the asking price! Fantastic loft house in South Etobicoke! Congratulations to my client!

What are the 3 Canadian housing markets to watch heading into 2019? 1) Montreal: Heading into the new year, the citys strong job market and low inventory levels should push prices higher. 2) Ottawa: Low inventory, a new LRT in the works, and a strong job market are pushing prices up. 3) Hamilton: a City within commuting distance of Toronto jobs - Say No More!

https://www.ratio.city//development-application-tracking-a

64% of Canadians think smoking weed at home could lower property values, according to Zoocasa. Up to 64 % of respondents felt smoking indoors would be bad for home values, while another 52 % said they would be less likely to buy a specific home if they knew weed had been grown inside. Theres also a there goes the neighbourhood sentiment around dispensaries 42 % of respondents said they felt having one in their area would harm the value of nearby homes. Another 48 % said... that a dispensary would make them think twice about buying in a certain area. Of course, its always possible that now that weed is legalized, the stigma surrounding it will start to fade. Respondents who already live by a dispensary are more comfortable with the presence of one, according to the data. The key takeaway here is that homeowners should do their homework on how growing weed could affect their property value: Insurers and lenders may consider homes where it has been grown to be stigmatized, and may not want to offer full coverage or financing; and it may turn away some buyers as well.

Canadians can't afford NOT to buy. In a comparison of expected costs by those intending to rent and those who chose to own, Mortgage Professionals Canadas chief economist concludes that ownership costs less than renting today and is even more cost effective over time. "The report demonstrates that the money Canadians are spending on monthly rent, if used instead to finance a home, would be a very beneficial investment over time." ... Rents continue to rise over time whereas the largest cost of homeownership the mortgage payment typically maintains a fixed amount over a set period of time usually for the first five years. The result is that the cost of renting will increase more rapidly than the cost of homeownership. Handy tools to see if Buying a Home is right for you: - Budget calculator - Mortgage calculator - Rent Vs Own Calculator - First Time Home Owners Rebate Calculator - Speak to a mortgage broker/adviser and get pre-approved - Speak to your realtor and get the most up-to-date market information, insights, and real estate gossip. :)

https://www.designbuild-network.com/fe/torontos-tree-tower/

Laneway Housing New By-Laws Are Officially In Effect In Toronto Back in June, the Toronto and East York Community Council finally approved regulations that would allow homeowners with properties that backed onto laneways to build a small house at the back of their lot. Those small homes could be used as rentals or granny suites. While it may seem as though Toronto is running out of space, as the population grows and grows. Laneway housing could partially solve this problem.... Laneway housing is becoming more and more popular especially on the West Coast, where youll find homes built into pre-existing lots, often backyards that open onto the back lane. About 100,000 new residents move to the GTA each year. So, Toronto is in desperate need of intensification solutions. These laneways, amount to 300 kilometres of under-utilized space and thus 300 kilometres of possibilities. Back in 2006, Toronto could have been an early-adopter of laneway housing. But a laneway housing proposal was rejected by our city council as unsupportable. Cities like Vancouver and Ottawa, ended up leading the way on laneway homes, where they have already adopted policies for backyard housing. Success in those cities, helped paved the way for laneway housing in Toronto. The laneway suites are non-severable and ancillary to the dwelling" - meaning that the proposed suites would be considered part of the principal structures property, much like a basement apartment. That said, they could not be sold separately from the house. The suites would also need to be built smaller than the principal dwelling.

Innovative new condo could make being a landlord/owner or tenant easier >>>>> TECH Corner >>>>>>>>>> The tower at 10 York St. is a smart condo, meaning it is equipped with everything from home connectivity that will allow residents to adjust their units temperature and security alarm from a smartphone app or in-suite wall pad. Also through the wall pad, residents can see and speak with guests before granting entry. A digital door lock, which uses access codesup to four ca...n be used per unit for different family members or service providers, like dog walkersis also rendering keys obsolete. License place recognition also automates resident access to the buildings parking garage. All of this is part of Tridel Connect, the builders new smart residential protocol that will become omnipresent in all future builds. Tridel Connect also has advanced Wi-fi, meaning residents wont need their own internet provider. They can simply tap into the buildings unlimited Wi-fi, which operates at 500 megabits per second. The Wi-fi is part of the buildings utilities and is factored into maintenance fees. The question ultimately becomes how much more rent landlords can extract from tenants at 10 York. :) People renting or owning at 10 York will get higher rents for a number of reasons, because its stunning, but its also unique because it has all these smart features. SALE average in the building - $1,335 per sq ft. RENT average in the building - $3.85 per sq ft.

More on a pet topic: https://www.cbc.ca/n/canada/toronto/condo-pet-ban-1.3733506

Poop & Scoop https://www.680news.com//condo-spends-2500-on-dna-kits-to/

This is great- it will bring more transparency and more educated buyers & sellers. https://www.thestar.com//supreme-court-dismisses-real-esta

SELF-EMPLOYED and looking for a mortgage? Self-employed Canadians will be happy to hear that CMHC is willing to make some changes that will make it easier to qualify for a mortgage. Traditionally self-employed borrowers will write as many expenses as they can to minimize the income tax they pay each year. While this is a good tax-saving technique, it means that often a realistic annual income cannot be established high enough to meet mortgage qualification guidelines.... Plain speak, self-employed people dont look good on paper. Normally CMHC wants to see 2 years established business history to be able to determine an average income. But the agency said it will now make allowances for people who acquire existing businesses, can demonstrate sufficient cash reserves, who will be expecting predictable earnings and have previous training and education. The other change that CMHC has made is to allow for more flexible documentation of income and the ability to recognize that many write-offs are simply for tax-saving purposes and are not a reduction of actual income. This could mean a significant increase in income and buying power. These are huge steps forward and these new measures will help self-employed borrowers to qualify for a desired mortgage amount much easier.

Mortgage Broker vs a local Branch Advisor/Mortgage Specialist? According to a recent report from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, nearly 2-in-5 homeowners in Canada used a broker for their mortgage in 2017. The 39% figure was an increase from 33% the previous year. The percentage is even higher among first-time home buyers. Heres WHY we have seen an increase:... Brokers work with dozens of different lenders and can almost always beat the rate from a bank, because the bank mortgage specialist has only one product to choose from. Commissions for brokers are often much larger. The reason why a bank mortgage specialist never gives you their best rate is that it affect their commissions. A mortgage broker has the affordability to buy the rate down to outperform the best rate a bank can offer. A mortgage broker isnt here to upsell. Brokers just do mortgages and the best brokers have years of experience in the industry. A bank mortgage specialist will try to sell you on other bank products like opening a new account, a credit card, or RRSP, which is not a bad thing after all :) A mortgage broker offers more flexibility and is available evenings and weekends. However, it is always a good idea to shop around, check references/reviews and to try a few places before committing to one.

Attention: Second Time Homebuyers! Recent data shows that many first time homebuyers that bought from 2013 onwards were not transitioning to second time homebuyers. They were hesitant or unable to take the next step, largely due to price point requirements for this next phase in their lives. Can you blame them? :) However, many of those buyers are now more established financially , more experienced and ready to make the next move. Although the stress test has impacted many po...tential homebuyers across Canada, it has had a lesser effect on second time homebuyers. WHY? Because many of them have already established a good net worth through years of price growth and developed into their careers translating to greater incomes/steady revenue streams and higher net worth/equity. Ask me how your current home equity can help you upsize into your next home:)

https://m.canadianrealestatemagazine.ca//condos-remain-dom

10 THINGS THAT WILL HELP YOU BECOME A FIRST-TIME BUYER... SOONER!!! #1 Set Up Automatic Savings Go to your bank and have 10% of every paycheck automatically go into a TFSA or a regular savings account. If you never see the money you wont miss it. Pro Tip: Set the account up so it cant be accessed by your debit card. Less temptation to spend the money. ...Continue reading

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