Learn about 4 Emotional Mistakes Costing Money In Real Estate!!
4 Emotional Mistakes Costing Money In Real Estate
General Angela Calla 25 Mar
General Angela Calla 25 Mar
Learn about 4 Emotional Mistakes Costing Money In Real Estate!!
General Angela Calla 9 Mar
If you are planning on buying a new home over the next two years, then you need to know about the 2% BC Transition Tax.
It is a new tax that comes into effect on April 1, 2013. It will apply to the sale of new residential homes that are 10% or more complete as of April 1, 2013. The 2% BC Transition Tax will end on March 31, 2015.
The 2% BC Transition Tax applies to the full price of a new home, which is 10% or more complete, where ownership or possession is on or after April 1, 2013, but before April 1, 2015. The 5% GST also applies to the full price of a new home, where ownership or possession is on or after April 1, 2013.
With the end of the HST and the return to the PST/GST system, the BC government chose to introduce the 2% BC Transition Tax as a way, in their words, “to ensure the equitable application of tax for purchasers of new residential homes currently under the HST system” and after April 1, 2013 when the province returns to GST on new residential homes. The government also wishes to replace some of the revenue lost through the return to the PST.
BC’s portion of the HST will no longer apply to newly built homes where construction begins on or after April 1, 2013. Builders will once again pay 7% PST on their building materials (construction inputs). The provincial government asserts that on average, about 2% of the home’s final price is embedded PST that builders pay on their building materials.
For newly built homes where construction begins before April 1, 2013, but ownership and possession transfer after, purchasers will not pay the 7% provincial portion of the HST. Instead, purchasers will pay 5% GST and the 2% Transition Tax on the full house price. The Transition Tax rebate for builders (sellers) recognizes that the builder will not be able to claim input tax credits on the PST paid on building materials acquired after March 31, 2013. The rebate is available where both of the following conditions are met:
. The 2% BC Transition Tax applies to the sale of new housing; and
. Construction or substantial renovation is at least 10%, but not more than 90%, complete before April 1, 2013.
THE TRANSITION TAX REBATE FOR SELLERS OF NEW HOUSING WILL BE CALCULATED ON THE DEGREE OF COMPLETION OF THE HOUSING AS OF APRIL 1, 2013:
DEGREE OF CONSTRUCTION COMPLETE AS OF APRIL 1, 2013
Less than 10 %
10% ? and < 25%
25% ? and < 50%
50% ? and < 75%
75% ? and < 90%
90% or greater
TRANSITION TAX REBATE AS A % OF CONSIDERATION OR FAIR MARKET VALUE
Not applicable
1.5%
1.0%
0.5%
0.2%
0.0%
THE 2% BC TRANSITION TAX DOES NOT APPLY TO:
. the sale of vacant land, whether the GST would apply or not;
. the sale of new commercial units; or
. REALTOR® commissions.
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/transition+homes+coming+april+2013/8049624/story.html#ixzz2N55CU829
General Angela Calla 28 Feb
Wonder what the sellers agents job is, and what their contractual obligations are? Don’t make the mistake of not knowing that could cost you thousands
Listen to this to learn
1. Why it’s important to have a buyers agent that is working on our behalf
2. How a buyers agents gets paid
3. How do they negociate price on my behalf.
This has been brought to you by:
Robert Boies Royal LePage Coronation West cell: 604 341 3009 t: @willingtwo E-mail: robboies@royallepage.ca www.willingsellerwillingbuyer.com
Rob Boies can be reached directly at robboies@royallepage.ca will keep you abreast of all of these types of oppertunities meeting your speciafications
Thanks for visiting
Angela Calla, AMP
General Angela Calla 14 Feb
The Mortgage Show is joined by Maureen McGrath our resident RN at CKNW & Sexpert discuss these 3 topics
1. How when finances are tight, the silence in the bedroom isn’t always a good thing.
2. Sexual drive and worth and its connection to money
3. The freedom when you feel accomplished in you financial life
Listen to the interview here! – maureen_interview_-_february_14.mp3
All this stress can be easily eliminated when you contact us to take the feat out of your financing
Want to review your mortgage? The Angela Calla Mortgage Team is here to help you
Contact us today at 604-802-3983 or callateam@dominionlending.ca
Join us Saturday’s at 7pm on CKNW AM980
General Angela Calla 14 Feb
Courtesy of The Globe and Mail
Banks operate under the scrutiny of government watchdogs. But when it comes to mortgages, those watchdogs don’t watch everything they could.
“Individual (bank) mortgage reps operate outside of regulatory boundaries which commonly govern licensed professionals,” says Samantha Gale, a former mortgage regulator with B.C.’s Financial Institutions Commission and chief executive officer of the Mortgage Brokers Association of British Columbia. Rules pertaining to mortgage rep competency, the suitability of mortgage recommendations and compensation disclosure are largely left to the banks themselves.
That raises certain questions, like the procedure banks use when sending a mortgage applicant to another lender.
At Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), for example, mortgage reps route applicants that don’t meet normal guidelines to their Alternate Mortgage Solutions (AMS) team. RBC’s AMS employees then farm those customers out to other lenders and the bank’s mortgage rep gets paid when the mortgages close.
Some might easily mistake this practice for “dealing in mortgages,” an activity that normally requires a brokering license. But, because bank employees are the ones recommending the alternative lenders, and because banks are federally regulated, they aren’t bound by tough provincial rules that make it an offence to broker without a licence.
Consumer protections differ in bank and broker circles. In Ontario, for example, provincial penalties apply whenever a broker:
Policing these things falls in the lap of provincial regulators. Provinces draft specific broker conduct rules, pro-actively monitor and audit brokers and sanction individual brokers publicly when they’re caught violating regulations.
With bank mortgage reps, there is no independent government watchdog that directly sets specific suitability and compensation disclosure rules, audits and monitors individual reps, and publicizes it when a bank rep breaks the rules. The banks themselves are responsible for “developing the policies and procedures to be followed” by their mortgage reps, says Rachel Swiednicki of the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA).
Many assume the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), the primary bank regulator, supervises bank rep conduct. In fact, OSFI’s main role is to “monitor and examine institutions for solvency, liquidity, safety and soundness,” says a spokesperson. “OSFI does not have the authority to intervene in the day-to-day operations of the institutions it regulates for individual consumer-protection purposes.”
That’s actually the job of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC). It is tasked with ensuring that bankers comply with federal consumer protection rules.
FCAC is a fantastic mortgage educator and regulator when it comes to high-profile problems like mortgage penalty disclosure or failure to provide cost of credit disclosure. But “FCAC appears to regulate systemic institutional compliance problems only,” says Ms. Gale.
Julie Hauser, FCAC’s spokesperson, explains that “FCAC supervises federally regulated financial institutions, not individual employees.” Unlike provincial broker regulators, FCAC generally does not:
· Have its own set of rules, prohibitions and competency requirements to promote suitable mortgage recommendations (e.g., federal rules don’t deal with specifics about what constitutes a suitable alternative lender for a declined borrower, or when a secured line of credit, 1-year term or fully-closed mortgage are appropriate for a borrower)
· Impose specific educational standards and licensing for bank reps
· Pro-actively audit or monitor individual bank mortgage rep conduct
· Post online when a bank rep wrongs a mortgage customer (like this.)
That means it’s up to a bank to set and enforce its own specific competency, suitability and market conduct policies within general federal guidelines. In many ways, this makes banks their own overseer.
So, why aren’t the feds watching mortgage rep activity more closely? Apparently it’s a low priority issue for Ottawa. “We need the political will of regulators to get together and sort this problem out,” Ms. Gale adds. “There is real risk here for consumers.”
Ms. Gale says that mortgage brokers have a fiduciary-like relationship with customers – to recommend a suitable lender with suitable terms. But with banks, a similar fiduciary relationship doesn’t exist because they primarily push their own brand.
“Banks are kind of like a mortgage shop,” she says. “And when they pass you off to another lender, and you don’t know who you’re dealing with and why, that’s a consumer risk.” (Banks always get a customer’s consent to work with another lender, but a bank’s true reasons for choosing another lender are not always disclosed.)
Some banks refer customers that they can’t service to lenders or brokerages that the bank has a monetary interest with. “They’re not necessarily working for you to get you the best deal,” Ms. Gale says.
Rodney Mendes, a broker and former TD Canada Trust mortgage specialist of 15 years, says banks’ internal guidelines are “just as stringent” as provincial broker regulators.’ RBC, for example, states it has a “strict code of conduct,” “comprehensive training” and “pro-active monitoring and auditing practices for its entire mortgage business.”
That’s all good, but bank mortgage reps “don’t report to any governmental authority unless there is a complaint,” Mr. Mendes says. “Bank mortgage specialists report to their own internal compliance department” so it’s often up to management to discipline a mortgage rep. And, in a small number of cases, it’s possible that management “may not want to lose volume on their books” by coming down too hard on a big producer.
Banks have a “strong culture of compliance,” counters the CBA’s Maura Drew-Lytle. Banks make mortgage specialists attest to their compliance obligations and subject them to annual training and testing. Mortgage reps can also be fired, which is less of a threat for mortgage brokers. Ms. Drew-Lytle also notes that banks address most consumer complaints internally, using well-established complaint processes with a third-party ombudsman as an arbiter.
All of that is true. But when it comes specifically to suitability and compensation conflicts, the goal should be to fully disclose and avoid them, not address them when there’s a complaint.
As a side note, not all mortgage brokers have clean hands just because they’re monitored more directly by provincial regulators. Like the large majority of bankers, most brokers are honourable professionals who care about their clients. Yet, as a broker, I regularly witness biases, conflicts and competency issues in our industry.
That said, the takeaway here is that Canadians are forced to rely heavily on banks to police their own mortgage sales forces. There is no impartial government watchdog pro-actively targeting bank reps who make unsuitable mortgage recommendations or fail to disclose compensation-related conflicts. With more direction and better funding, the FCAC could assume that role.
General Angela Calla 14 Feb
As heard on The Mortgage Show on CKNW with Angela Calla. To get pre approved for this property or any other purchase email us at callateam@dominionlending.ca or call 604-802-3983
This weeks deal of the week has been brought to you by:
Robert Boies Royal LePage Coronation West cell: 604 341 3009 t: @willingtwo E-mail: robboies@royallepage.ca www.willingsellerwillingbuyer.com
rob_bois_interview_-_february_14.mp3 – Listen to the interview here!
http://rboies.mlslink.mlxchange.com/?r=242572471&id=363434333136.312
Please note that properties like this move quickly and getting set up with Rob Boies directly robboies@royallepage.ca will keep you abreast of all of these types of oppertunities meeting your speciafications
Thanks for visiting
Angela Calla, AMP
General Angela Calla 7 Feb
According to the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals, over the past 20 years mortgage repayment periods have shrunk to two-thirds of the actual contracted period. Furthermore, during the past year – a time when household debt has soared to a record high – 32 per cent of borrowers have managed to dramatically accelerate their mortgage payment schedules. Yes you read that right!
Want to have a plan to pay our mortgage off faster as a first time buyer, moving up the property ladder, mortgage refinance, mortgage renewal contact our team directly at 604-802-3983 or callateam@dominionlending.ca it comes courtesy with every mortgage we do.
Thanks for visiting
Angela Calla, AMP
Dominion Lending Centres
Host of The Mortgage Show Saturdays at 7pm on CKNW AM980
General Angela Calla 30 Jan
The Provincial Government First-Time New Home Buyers’ Bonus Expires on March 31, 2013.
If you are currently in the market for a brand new home and qualify as a first-time new home buyer, you may be eligible to receive a significant bonus of up to $10,000 from the BC government. The First-Time New Home Buyers’ Bonus is a non-taxable one-time payment to the purchaser and we’ve seen many happy homeowners benefit from this limited time government offer. With interest rates at historic lows, and a great selection of brand new homes on the market, this truly is a great opportunity to own your first home.
To access more information about the First-Time New Home Buyers’ Bonus, go to: http://www.sbr.gov.bc.ca/documents_library/notices/FTHB_Bonus.pdf
For your pre approval and to review your options contact
Angela Calla Mortgage Team at 604-802-3983 acalla@dominionlending.ca www.angelacalla.ca
Tune into The Mortgage Show Saturdays at 7pm on CKNW AM980
General Angela Calla 17 Jan
As heard on The Mortgage Show on CKNW with Angela Calla. To get pre approved for this property or any other purchase email us at callateam@dominionlending.ca or call 604-802-3983
This weeks deal of the week has been brought to you by:
Robert Boies Royal LePage Coronation West cell: 604 341 3009 t: willingtwo E-mail: robboies@royallepage.ca www.willingsellerwillingbuyer.com
http://rboies.mlslink.mlxchange.com/?r=1649939610&id=363434333136.312
Here is the Rob interview for the week.
Please note that properties like this move quickly and getting set up with Rob Boies directly robboies@royallepage.ca will keep you abreast of all of these types of opportunities meeting your specifications
Thanks for visiting
Angela Calla, AMP
General Angela Calla 11 Jan
TD Canada Trust’s Ed Clark says Canada isn’t heading for a US-style housing bust.
TD has just come off one of its most profitable years ever. Its shares have nearly regained the ground they lost in the financial crisis and the country’s second-biggest bank is riding high on the Canadian consumer’s apparently insatiable appetite for debt.
But how much longer can it go on? TD Chief Executive Ed Clark recently sat down with the Financial Post to talk about the shaky state of household finances, the frothy housing market and what it all means for the banking sector.
Click here to see the full Financial Post interview.
Questions on buying a home?
Contact us today
Angela Calla
Dominion Lending Centres
604-802-3983 acalla@dominionlending.ca