...so put the bike on the train (or bus, or ferry, or subway,) and ride the thing when you get off! This advice comes from "the Torontoist" site. Click here for the original article, which also links you to places like the Bike+Transit website which has a few suggested trips.
And you thought this was going to be about real estate !
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Thou shalt be efficient.
Thoughts on the proposed mandatory energy audits.
Legislation in the works in Ontario that would require a homeowner to conduct an energy audit before selling their house. “Thou shalt be efficient”. The idea is that the owner does the audit, then does all or most of the suggested improvements to make the home market-attractive. Alternatively, a “poor” audit could lead to a reduced selling price, leaving the buyer with more money to make the improvements.
The vision and intent are admirable. We know the climate change issue is real and that houses are often leaky energy-wasters. We are actually certified NAGAB “Green” agents so we should probably be behind this. But …
• Who’s going to do the audits? There is even now a shortage of good qualified auditors. A sudden demand for a whole whack more audits every year would strain the resource and lead to any number of scams and misuse.
• The timing will be problematic. There is a lot to do to get a home ready for market. The homeowner has repairs, decorating, clutter purging, staging and whatever to do. All sorts of other logistics must be dealt with in the owner’s probably-non-existent “spare time”. All this, plus paperwork, photos, measuring, maybe floorplans and videotours, advertising on a deadline, etc. are being done, usually with a tight target date for “hitting the market”. It’s hard enough already without scheduling an energy audit and then trying to schedule (and pay for) whatever “fixes” seem appropriate to have the audit help, rather than hinder, the sale.
• What about a weak audit? If the seller reduces the price rather than doing the suggested work, will the buyer actually use that money to improve the home’s efficiency?
• What about the overall home inspection? If an energy audit is mandatory, why wouldn’t a whole systems and structural inspection also be required? Not saying I agree with either being legislated, but I have trouble seeing why an owner should be legislated into pointing out that the attic is a little light on insulation when he/she is not required to point out a substandard electrical system, or a weight bearing wall removed in a recent renovation. Which would you be more interested in knowing?
At home-buying time, energy efficiency, I think, is a little like taxes and utility costs are now. It’s good information to know. But they can become distractions from critical “deciding factors” in which home that person decides to buy. Similarly, I think an energy audit would be, for some, a distraction in an already stressful process.
Existing programs allow us to get good rebates and credits on home efficiency improvements. Current owners have access to these grants. New owners have access. It’s good stuff to do. But on balance I don’t think mandating these audits makes sense at this time.
How about an extra incentive or rebate for doing an energy audit and/or improvements, if done within a year of buying? My guess is this would get more done and take away a distraction and largely ineffective requirement from the actual buying/selling process. What do you think?
Legislation in the works in Ontario that would require a homeowner to conduct an energy audit before selling their house. “Thou shalt be efficient”. The idea is that the owner does the audit, then does all or most of the suggested improvements to make the home market-attractive. Alternatively, a “poor” audit could lead to a reduced selling price, leaving the buyer with more money to make the improvements.
The vision and intent are admirable. We know the climate change issue is real and that houses are often leaky energy-wasters. We are actually certified NAGAB “Green” agents so we should probably be behind this. But …
• Who’s going to do the audits? There is even now a shortage of good qualified auditors. A sudden demand for a whole whack more audits every year would strain the resource and lead to any number of scams and misuse.
• The timing will be problematic. There is a lot to do to get a home ready for market. The homeowner has repairs, decorating, clutter purging, staging and whatever to do. All sorts of other logistics must be dealt with in the owner’s probably-non-existent “spare time”. All this, plus paperwork, photos, measuring, maybe floorplans and videotours, advertising on a deadline, etc. are being done, usually with a tight target date for “hitting the market”. It’s hard enough already without scheduling an energy audit and then trying to schedule (and pay for) whatever “fixes” seem appropriate to have the audit help, rather than hinder, the sale.
• What about a weak audit? If the seller reduces the price rather than doing the suggested work, will the buyer actually use that money to improve the home’s efficiency?
• What about the overall home inspection? If an energy audit is mandatory, why wouldn’t a whole systems and structural inspection also be required? Not saying I agree with either being legislated, but I have trouble seeing why an owner should be legislated into pointing out that the attic is a little light on insulation when he/she is not required to point out a substandard electrical system, or a weight bearing wall removed in a recent renovation. Which would you be more interested in knowing?
At home-buying time, energy efficiency, I think, is a little like taxes and utility costs are now. It’s good information to know. But they can become distractions from critical “deciding factors” in which home that person decides to buy. Similarly, I think an energy audit would be, for some, a distraction in an already stressful process.
Existing programs allow us to get good rebates and credits on home efficiency improvements. Current owners have access to these grants. New owners have access. It’s good stuff to do. But on balance I don’t think mandating these audits makes sense at this time.
How about an extra incentive or rebate for doing an energy audit and/or improvements, if done within a year of buying? My guess is this would get more done and take away a distraction and largely ineffective requirement from the actual buying/selling process. What do you think?
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Get Outta Town !
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We have co-listed this property to help the sellers get some Toronto area profile. The home itself is a little east of Cobourg. It is a lovely big lot sitting on 84 feet of Lake Ontario beachfront! Anybody thinking retirement or just getting out of town? The listing is mls #X1584926 on realtor.ca
New Listing
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We have a lovely new listing in East York. It's renovated and has a wonderful oasis-in-the-city feel with its deep decked and landscaped garden and proximity to Taylor Creek, among many other amenities. It's priced at $429,900 and all the info can be found HERE
Spring is here ... at least market-wise.
There have been a couple of nice days (Gord even launched the golf season on Thursday, April 2 !). But now the forecast has more of a March look than April. Oh well.
In real estate, the "Spring" market is, by a big margin, the most active time of the year. Some think Realtors tend to exaggerations: like "the Beach" is anything south of the 401! But seriously, the "Spring" market can start as early as January and continue into the early summer.
January activity was happening in the peak market years. In any year the beginning of the Spring market is a little weather dependent ... when do people feel like coming out of hibernation? A few years ago, I swear people were still digesting their New Year turkey dinner and they were out looking for something to buy. For whatever reasons, the sellers were a little slower off the mark. Bizarre multiple-offer situations ensued.
Then came 2008. The economy to the south began its slide. Toronto put in a land transfer tax with a Dec 31 (2007) kick-in. And it snowed non-stop for about two months nonstop. The 2008 Spring Market happened, but not until March.
Our own and the world's economic troubles caught up to the Toronto area real estate market toward the end of 2008 (starting about September), so the odds on an unnaturally quiet 2009 Spring market were pretty good. Especially after a pretty quiet January and February.
However, things have begun to pop in March. Don't get me wrong ... this is definitely NOT 2007. Prices have slipped, homes are sitting longer, and so on. But there are signs of life throughout.
The move-up buyers may not have fully bought in that lower prices and cheap financing are offering great opportunities. [The opportunities are real, but it takes some confidence in one's own future stability to go for it]
First time and mid-range buyers, though, are on the move. The $400,000 home is again a hot ticket. There have been numerous multi-offer sales and pretty decent volume.
I will end the post before doing something foolish like predicting the rest of the spring market.
In real estate, the "Spring" market is, by a big margin, the most active time of the year. Some think Realtors tend to exaggerations: like "the Beach" is anything south of the 401! But seriously, the "Spring" market can start as early as January and continue into the early summer.
January activity was happening in the peak market years. In any year the beginning of the Spring market is a little weather dependent ... when do people feel like coming out of hibernation? A few years ago, I swear people were still digesting their New Year turkey dinner and they were out looking for something to buy. For whatever reasons, the sellers were a little slower off the mark. Bizarre multiple-offer situations ensued.
Then came 2008. The economy to the south began its slide. Toronto put in a land transfer tax with a Dec 31 (2007) kick-in. And it snowed non-stop for about two months nonstop. The 2008 Spring Market happened, but not until March.
Our own and the world's economic troubles caught up to the Toronto area real estate market toward the end of 2008 (starting about September), so the odds on an unnaturally quiet 2009 Spring market were pretty good. Especially after a pretty quiet January and February.
However, things have begun to pop in March. Don't get me wrong ... this is definitely NOT 2007. Prices have slipped, homes are sitting longer, and so on. But there are signs of life throughout.
The move-up buyers may not have fully bought in that lower prices and cheap financing are offering great opportunities. [The opportunities are real, but it takes some confidence in one's own future stability to go for it]
First time and mid-range buyers, though, are on the move. The $400,000 home is again a hot ticket. There have been numerous multi-offer sales and pretty decent volume.
I will end the post before doing something foolish like predicting the rest of the spring market.
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