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Buying a Heritage Home

February 13, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Getting an Electrical Inspection to facilitate insurance access.

I went to the big Vancouver Real Estate Conference at Canada Place last month. Following the breakfast meeting we had the choice of lots of work shops that seem to have two perspectives – one to make me richer and one to tell us how to service our clients better. I know I missed out on wealth years ago when I spent 30 years as an artist, but it is never too late for service to your customers.

Most interesting to me was a workshop on buying an old house with outdated electrical systems. They covered knob and tube wiring among other problem systems. The speaker stated that the problem Ken and Morgan’s Housewith old wiring is most often not that it is dangerous, but that you cannot get insurance on your house. (A major biggie.)

Most insurance companies refuse to insure an older house that has aluminum or knob and tube wiring. Up until recently, the only option available was to have the outdated wiring removed (at considerable expense), even though the wiring might in fact be perfectly safe.

To solve this problem, Brian Cook (the presenter), formed a new company called “PowerCheck Home Electrical Safety Inspections”. He approachedLinda’s house BCAA and proposed that they support an inspection that assesses any risk posed by the knob and tube (and other old wiring) to get them to accept the assessment for insurance purposes. BCAA agreed to insure heritage property with this inspection.

According to PowerCheck, (providing there has been no tampering), about 95 per cent of all knob and tube wiring is fine. In such cases, PowerCheck prepares a list of “Corrective Actions”. Once the corrective actions have been remidied, the home is automatically re-rated at a respective lower risk rating.

The insurance companies will automatically give you insurance (at a premium rate) when you buy using PowerCheck with an agreement that once you bring the risk down you will have your insurance lowered.

For more information check out http://www.powercheck.ca or call (604) 684-3630Red house in snow

Filed Under: Commercial Drive, Community, East Vancouver, Listings, Mortgage, Neighbourhood, Real Estate, Sellers, Vancouver, Vancouver Real Estate Tagged With: , , , , ,

Vegetables Here I Come

February 5, 2008 by Leave a Comment

carrots

 

My life has been transformed. I have been reading about plant protein verses animal protein. The book is called The China Study by Colin Campbell. I wont go into the details, but he says that by eating a whole food, plant protein diet most of the diseases of affluence can be avoided and/or cured. This includes heart disease, cancer, diabetes etc. Over the past few weeks I have gotten my blood suger to be normal and have reduced my medications. Give me a call if you are interested in the details. I have become a Vegan.

 

 

Here are a couple of recipe for Indian food without milk or meat.

Aloo Gobi (potato’s and cauliflower)

Cauliflower
Potatoes
Onion
Ginger, Garlic
Turmeric 1/2 Tsp.
Cumin Powder 2 Tsp.
Coriander Powder 2 Tsp.
Red Chili Powder 2 tsp.
Garam Masala 1 Tsp.
Cilantro Few sprigs for Garnishing.
Oil 1 Tbsp.

Wash & drain cauliflower florets. Dice potatoes.Heat Oil,
add Onions & fry till translucent. Add ginger, garlic, stir,
Mix in Potatoes , cover to cook.When the Potatoes are half
done , add the florets, turmeric. Cover to Cook. Open
after a few minutes, add all the dry powders & mix.
Garnish with Cilantro leaves and salt to taste.

Sag Paneer

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
pinch of cumin seed
2 cardamom seeds
1 stick of cinnamon
2 or 3 bay leaves
2 whole cloves
1 teaspoon each fresh ginger and garlic
1 small fresh tomato, sliced
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 pound fresh spinach, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
fresh cilantro leaves
Diced firm tofu.

Heat oil in saucepan and saute chopped onion until light
brown. Add cumin seed, cardamom, cinnamon stick, bay
leaves, cloves, ginger, garlic, sliced tomato and black
pepper and saute about 30 seconds. Add chopped spinach
stirring until it begins to change color. When it goes dark
green add salt, cumin, turmeric, coriander powder and
garam masala. Mix well with spinach. cilantro and tofu
cubes. Cook it well, stirring so it doesn’t scorch.

Serve above with rice mixed with peas.

Filed Under: Community, East Vancouver, Jeannie's diary, Neighbourhood, Recipes, Vancouver Tagged With: , , , , , ,

First Meeting to Co-Buy

January 21, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Congratulations

Congratulations! When you buy together it is time for Champagne!

I have been talking about buying together with other people for a long time. Things have not worked too well as various people have tried to get this happening. People wanted to live in different places, had different amounts to put down etc. I now have a client who is quite serious about finding a place that satisfies her needs, but to make it happen she will have to move out of town or buy with other people – thanks to the expenses of the city.

We have decided that the best way to move ahead would be to meet with people who have shown interest in co-buying in the past and see what their needs might be. If it would work for several people to buy together and the needs of several people could dovetail then we could go ahead and find a multiple unit building.

Needless to say, this form of buying does have other problems, but the benefits might override the handicaps. After all, buying together might be no more problematic than dealing with a strata council. In any case, all will be discussed at our meeting.

Our first meeting will be on Wednesday, January 23rd at my house, 741 East 28th Ave. and you are invited to come and see if this option can work for you. Feel free to bring anyone else you might find whom you think will be interested. I am also sending this out to others who might know someone who might like to buy with others. You might not like the original plan, but may find someone whom you could enjoy sharing a property with for the future. Take a chance. Join us at 7:30. You have nothing to lose.

Jeannie

  • January 23, 7:30
  • 741 East 28th Ave
  • Vancouver, V5V 2N6
  • 604-760-7342
Filed Under: Buyers, Buying With Others (Co-buying), Community, FORMS OF OWNERSHIP: Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Reverse Mortgages

December 27, 2007 by Leave a Comment

The end of the rainbow

The Reverse Mortgage – why not?

I am totally against the Reverse Mortgage. It is a con game organized by the bankers to steal your house and your inheritance.

You know the hype about Reverse Mortgages, “If you are age 62 or older and are “house-rich but cash-poor,” a reverse mortgage may be an option to help increase your income.” They go on to say, “It allows you to access money which is not required to be paid back until you leave the house or it’s sold. However, because your home is such a valuable asset, you may want to consult with your family attorney, or financial advisor before applying for an RM.”

GOOD ADVICE! DO CHECK IT OUT WITH AN ATTORNEY AND A FINANCIAL ADVISER BEFORE YOU APPLY.

Here are a few of the down sides to the reverse mortgage that you should consider before you jump in.

1. Interest is added to the balance starting with the first month and each month thereafter. This means that the total amount of interest you owe increases significantly because interest is compounding and you are paying interest on the interest.

2. Insured plans charge insurance premiums and some have mortgage servicing charges. Even though you can put these costs on the loan, this reduces what you can borrow.

3. RMs use up a portion of the equity in your home, leaving fewer assets for you and your heirs in the future.

4. Interest on RMs is not deductible for income tax purposes until you pay off all or part of your debt.

5. Because you retain title to your home with an RM, you also remain responsible for taxes, repairs, and maintenance.

The most damning information I have received related to the RM came from a friend whose parents had gotten one and who lost thousands of dollars. Here is her letter!

“I would like to tell you about the experience my parents, both 82, had with the reverse mortgage company, Canadian Home Income Plan (CHIP). I’m sure that you have seen their very seductive television ads; even Gordon Pape is speaking for CHIP suggesting that it is a “good investment”. I believe that the business practice of this company should be exposed. They are preying on the elderly, low-income people in Canada.

Five years ago, my parents signed an agreement with CHIP for a reverse mortgage of $43,000, over a 10 year term. At that time they owned their home outright. Five years later, halfway through the term, they were encumbered with $88,000.00 worth of debt on their home. In exchange for this, they had been receiving an annuity payment of $360.00 per month. So essentially, they had paid $88,000.00 for $21,600.00. Had they let the term run the ten years, they would have been encumbered with $125,000.00 worth of debt on the home, so paying $125,000.00 for $43,200.00. And they would have absolutely nothing to fall back on if either one of them had to go into long-term care.

The implied idea in selling reverse mortgages is that the value of your home will increase, so you are not really “losing” anything. Their home is presently worth about $145,000.00, and is located in a rural area of southern Vancouver Island. Home prices in this area have stayed steady for the last 7 years, and they are not likely to rise much in the future, as it is a fairly depressed area economically.

In order to stop the erosion of the equity in the home they decided to take out a mortgage. Luckily, rates are now low, and their monthly payments are also fairly low and manageable. When I was searching out lawyers for them to draw up the mortgage papers, each one of them agreed with me that the CHIP reverse mortgage was something to be very wary of.”

So, what are your choices?

Had they taken out a standard interest only mortgage of $50,000 at 5.5% for five years – amortized over 20 years, and put the $50,000 in the bank their yearly interest payment would have been 2,750/year. That plus $350/mon ( $4,200/year), would have given them over 7 years before they used up the$50,000 (not counting the interest they would have gotten from the $50,000). It would have dropped their property value down only the 50,000 rather than 125000, and they still would have had a nest egg for emergencies.

Again I urge you to see a lawyer before you get into a reverse mortgage.

Perhaps a more suitable way for you to deal with a need for monthly income would be to downsize your living situation and investing the difference in an RRSP or a retirement fund. Give me a call and let’s work out a solution together, and remember, there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Filed Under: East Vancouver, Mortgage, Neighbourhood, Real Estate, Vancouver, Vancouver Real Estate

Christmas in the world of abundance

December 27, 2007 by 1 Comment

Ah, the Christmas season – too much to eat and too many presents to give to people who don’t want anything. The eating I have under control now that I am a vegan. It isn’t a big deal, but if you don’t eat deserts or candy and stick to vegetables you are bound to keep your weight down.

The presents are another story. Everyone expects a present but nobody in our society of affluence needs anything – so everyone wants money. To avoid the crassness of cash, the push is to give gift cards.

I was thinking it was a good idea until I heard this review on the CBC. The person there talked about the billions of dollars tied up in gift cards and how people could loose the cards, needed to get them verified, etc. The National Retail Federation estimates that gift card sales this year will be nearly $80 billion. About 10 percent of that amount — $8 billion — will stay right in retailers’ pockets, thanks to fees, loopholes and consumer forgetfulness. The man on the CBC suggested we go back to the Government of Canada Gift Card… MONEY. It made sense to me so my family was delighted with their presents.

But now I am trying to figure out a way to eliminate personalized gifts all together (except for the kids of course).

My great grandson says “say cheese, truck.”

My great grandson says “say cheese, truck.”

I think if we need nothing we should get nothing – after all, I have been spending weeks trying to cut down on my stuff.

Some people should use a shovel to clear out their stuff

Some people should use a shovel to clear out their stuff

We could give to those who do need it. I have my charities as I assume you do too, so let us consider these. Or if you know someone or some third world organization or one of the many organizations that are having trouble due to government cut backs, consider giving to them in your overweight, over stuffed family members name. I know they want the bucks, but it is time for us to cut through the consumer madness created by the ad men in our throw away society.

Henri and I gave each other just what we wanted. We wanted nothing so we got nothing. (We did have a romantic afternoon when the family went to the movies though!)

Filed Under: Jeannie's diary Tagged With: , , , ,

Buying with Others

November 2, 2007 by 2 Comments

Joint Ownership

in the context of residential property joint ownership is where more than one person owns a property together. There are forms of joint ownership that have specific legal grounding. There are two main types, joint tenants and tenants in common.

* Joint tenants: neither party can sell without the other’s agreement. If one party dies, the other automatically inherits the other’s share. This is ideally suited to married couples or partners buying together who are in a long-term relationship.
* Tenants-in-common: each party can dispose of his or her share, either whilst alive or through a will. This is more appropriate for friends buying a property together, where they do not intend to live together as a couple.

(I recommend that you hold the property as ‘tenants in common’ so that if one of the owners were to die, their share in the property passes to their estate.)
Kitchen
If the joint ownership of the property involves a mortgage, then the mortgage will be on the basis of ‘joint and several liability’. This means that each buyer is liable to repay the whole of the mortgage if the others are unable or unwilling to do so.

A lender will make the offer of mortgage on the basis of the joint incomes of all applicants but ultimately it is up to the borrowers as a group to determine how they divide the monthly repayments on their joint mortgage. For example, if one applicant earns more than another, they might have a bigger share of the mortgage (and potentially, the property itself).

In fact, as long as all applicants are comfortable with the repayments, even if they have varying incomes they can agree to split repayments equally giving each of them a straightforward equal share in the mortgage.

Of course, the situation can be complicated where applicants have different deposit amounts. Even with different deposit amounts, it is possible to have equal ownership overall once the mortgage is taken into account. This is because the mortgage can be divided according to how the borrowers choose, and they can choose to divide the monthly mortgage payment so as to ‘even out’ the differences in deposit.

Because buying with others is a complicated process a proper legal agreement between the buyers is of great importance. It sets out the responsibilities one owes to the others and is there for the protection of all the owners.

Key points of a legal agreement for buying together.

1. The share each owner has in the property.
2. The percentage of the mortgage for which each owner is responsible.
3. In the event of one or more owners wishing to sell it specifies that they must first offer their share to the remaining owners, at the current market valuation:
* If the other owner/s wish to buy, they apply to the lender to take over the share of the departing person and if they are successful, the person selling their share is removed from the mortgage.
* If the remaining owners do not wish to purchase, either singly or together, or the lender will not increase the lending to enable them to do so, then the share may be offered on the open market.
* If no purchaser for the share can be found within a period of four months then the seller can require that the whole property is sold, each owner receiving their share of the remaining equity.
4. In the event that an owner wishes to vacate the property but retain their stake in it, he or she may rent out their part.
5. All owners agree to put in place and maintain life and critical illness insurance to the value of their share of the mortgage. Where an owner is unable to obtain cover due to medical reasons, he/she must advise the other co-owners. They may proceed at their discretion.
6. All owners undertake to put in place and maintain Accident, Sickness and Unemployment protection cover, sufficient to cover their share of the mortgage payments..
7. In the event of the death of one of the owners, his/her estate will be required to meet the cost of the deceased’s share of the monthly mortgage payment until redeemed (policy will be payable to the estate/beneficiaries). Their estate must offer their interest in the property, firstly to the other owners at the current market rate and, if they are not willing/able to purchase, then the estate may seek another purchaser – or indeed rent until a purchaser can be found.
8. In the event of a successful claim for critical illness being paid, the policy holder agrees to use the funds received to repay their share of the mortgage.
9. If one of the owners deliberately goes into default by absenting themselves without making arrangements to maintain their share of the mortgage – subject to a time-limit of two months, then the remaining owners can rent the absent party’s space (paying his/her share of the mortgage and retaining any profit for the aggravation) or purchase or sell his/her share of the property at the current market rate. Any residual monies, after deduction of reasonable expenses, will be placed, where possible, in the bank account of the absconder.
10. If one of the owners is in breach of the Agreement by failing to make their share of either the mortgage repayments or insurance premiums, then the other owner/s either singly or together can require that person to remedy the situation and should they fail to comply within a period of two months from the onset of the default, force the sale of the share of the defaulting owner as if they had absented themselves.
11. The owners will open a joint bank account or designate an account for the purpose of the payment of mortgage repayments and any insurance premiums. Each owner is responsible for making a timely payment into the account to cover his/her share of the above payments. Please note that it is not compulsory to open a joint account and a designated account of one of the applicants may be used until one is open.

Filed Under: Buyers, Buying With Others (Co-buying), Community, Neighbourhood, Real Estate, Vancouver, Vancouver Real Estate Tagged With: , , , ,
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