RE/MAX Excellence
17718 64 AV
Edmonton, AB
T5T 4J5 CA
 
Brent Brnada
Office:780.481.2950
Direct:780.995.0188
Toll Free:866.481.2950
 
Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Federal Government Announces Changes To Mortgage Law

Effective March 18, 2011 the new rules for obtaining a mortgage will differ from current mortgage law.  There will be a limit to a maximum of 30 year amortization period rather than the current 35 years. The amortization period is the life of the mortgage and should not be confused with the term, which can range anywhere from a few months to more typically 5 years. That being said the new changes will remove qualified individuals from the market place or put a mark in the purchasing power of many buyers. As the chart below describes the increase in monthly payments, this in effect raises your debt service ratio, which banks analyze to determine your suitability for borrowing, then which that in turn decreases your maximum allowable mortgage amount.


Furthermore, changes are also being made to the maximum allowable re-finance amount. Borrowers can re-finance and increase the amount of their loan against their home. The changes announced on January 17th will limit the amount of re-finance available from 90 percent to 85 percent of the value of the home.

As an illustration, for a home appraised (your bank will send an appraiser out when you look to re-finance) at $200,000, re-financing at 90 percent would allow the home-owner to withdraw $180,000 worth of equity. With the new change being an 85 percent maximum re-finance, a home-owner may access $170,000 worth of equity in place.

Last of the changes the government made is that mortgage insurance to banks will no longer be provided for home equity line of credits - HELOC's. Tax payers will now be relieved of this duty and it is up to the financial institution carrying the HELOC to absorbed the financial loss incurred on home-owners who default on the HELOC. Previously mortgage insurance in Canada covered the default payment on these borrowing models, now the insurance is in place to only cover any losses incurred by the lack of equity in a homes principal mortgage amount. 

The adjustments for the maximum amortization and maximum re-finance amount will come in effect March 18, 2011. The withdrawal of government insurance backing HELOC's will come in effect April 18, 2011.
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Monday, September 20, 2010

Singapore - SkyPark at Marina Bay Sands

You love it for its casinos, its beaches and, most of all, its Slings. But you’re about to get another immensely compelling reason.


Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to go to that great swimming pool in the sky...


Introducing the SkyPark at Marina Bay Sands, home to a jaw-dropping rooftop pool 57 stories above Singapore, open now.





It’s a massive, watery park the size of a soccer field spread out across the tops of three skyscrapers—like a rooftop aircraft carrier entirely devoted to swimming. Gather your sun-baked Singapore cohorts, find your way to the daybeds on the private end of the SkyPark, and you’ll see it: an infinity pool floating far above downtown.

If you feel like a closer look, ditch the snow-white daybed for a snow-white pool float, or take an exploratory backstroke down the length of the pool—nearly 500 feet stretching along the edge of it all. (You’ve always lived life on the edge.)





If you fancy a dip in this pool, you'll need a head for heights - it's 55 storeys up.

But swimming to the edge won't be quite as risky as it looks. While the water in the infinity pool seems to end in a sheer drop, it actually spills into a catchment area where it is pumped back into the main pool. At three times the length of an Olympic pool and 650ft up, it is the largest outdoor pool in the world at that height.

It features in the impressive, boat-shaped 'SkyPark' perched atop the three towers that make up the world's most expensive hotel, the £4billion Marina Bay Sands development in Singapore.





I’d stay away from the observation deck in the name of tourist dodging, but when you’re ready for dry land, you’ll have a whole Vegas-style resort/casino waiting beneath you. That means a casino floor, two theaters and no fewer than 16 restaurants that don’t require changing out of your bathing suit.





The hotel, which has 2,560 rooms costing from £350 a night, was officially opened yesterday with a concert by Diana Ross.

The Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, estimated to have cost £2billion when it opened in 2004, was previously the world's most expensive hotel.

But with its indoor canal, opulent art, casino, outdoor plaza, convention centre, theatre, crystal pavilion and museum shaped like a lotus flower, the Marina Bay Sands has taken its crown.

The infinity pool on the roof is in the 'SkyPark' which spans the three towers of the hotel. The platform itself is longer than the Eiffel tower laid down and is one of the largest of its kind in the world.

Infinity pools give the effect that the water extends to the horizon. In reality, the water spills over the edge into a catchment below, and is then pumped back into the pool. The pools have two circulation systems. The first functions like that of a regular pool, filtering and heating the water in the main pool. The second filters the water in the catch basin and returns it to the upper pool.





The Marina Sands resort was designed by architect Moshe Safdie who based it on a deck of cards.

Inside shoppers can ride along an indoor canal in Sampan boats styled on traditional Chinese vessels from the 17th century.

The owners have also commissioned five well-known artists to create works of art to 'integrate' with the buildings. Among these is a 40m-long Antony Gormley sculpture made from 16,100 steel rods. The whole thing weighs 14.8 tons and it took 60 people to assemble it in the hotel.

Artist Chongbin Zheng created Rising Forest which is 83 three metre high pots with trees in them. The pots were so big the artist had to build a customised kiln the size of a small building to make them in.

The world's most expensive hotel was given a launch party befitting it. Singing legend Diana Ross performed for 2,500 VIPs in the resort's Grand Ballroom and pop singer Kelly Rowland headlined an outdoor concert.

The opening celebrations also featured a death-defying relay. Seven teams of three participants each scaled the three towers before sprinting across the 340-metre long Sands SkyPark, where the infinity pool is located, to the finish line.

The resort will employ 10,000 people directly and generate up to £48m each year. Entrance to the casino alone is nearly £50 a day - but an average of 25,000 people have visited the casino daily since its initial phased opening two months ago.

Thomas Arasi, president and chief executive officer of the resort, said he expects to attract an astonishing 70,000 visitors a day once it is fully open.

It was due to open in 2009, but was delayed thanks to labour and material shortages, and funding problems due to the global financial crisis. 


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Sunday, August 22, 2010

Mortgage Rates And How They Are Defined

Variable rate mortgages usually work better than to fix your mortgage in a declining interest rate market.
 
As we have seen benchmark interest rates increased in 2 out of 2 of the last Bank of Canada's meetings, the tide has now turned and it may be advantageous to now lock in your mortgage. 
 
A 5 year fixed rate mortgage can be had at a shade or two under 4 points.  Interestingly enough, fixed rate packages have been recently on the decline as variable rate mortgages have been on the incline this year.
 
The variable rate is set and calculated against the banks prime lending rate.  Bank prime lending rates are directly affected by the Bank of Canada's overnight lending rate. It is this "overnight" rate that is used as the interest rate that banks charge eachother to cover their short term daily transactions.  As the Bank of Canada raises its key interest rate, this in effect increases the banks cost of borrowing through short term daily transactions which in turn increases their prime lending rate (as it is these "short term daily transactions" that the banks borrow money for variable rate product). Then of course the cost of borrowing rises for consumers who take on variable rate products. 
 
Essentially fixed rate mortgages are affected by the yielding rate on bonds.  The banks rely on the bond market to raise money for these kinds of mortgage applications. So essentially because bond yields are at lower lows, the base rate for fixed rate mortgages are currently sitting at near all time lows.
 
Banks are in business to make profit. Their commodity is money. They purchase money at rates that are cheaper than they can loan the money out at. Essentially, they pay their depositors low rates of interest on their bank accounts, term deposits, and GIC's and lend out at higher interest rates through mortgages.
 
A government of Canada bond represents a risk free investment to the banks. When the banks decide to load money for a mortgage, they are taking on risk with their capital (our deposits) and covering expenses to set up and service the loan. As prudent business practice, they will set their mortgage rates high enough above the equivalent bond yield to supplement their business practices for their costs and provide them with a profit margin for the added risk they take on or services that they provide.
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Thursday, July 29, 2010

Laneway Housing Takes Form In Affluent Edmonton Neighbourhood

It was just recently that while viewing properties in Garneau very near the U of A where it's littered with income producing property, my client and I during a showing found ourselves looking back on to "laneway housing". Being that the street/neighborhood is zoned RF3 (RF3 allows for semi-detached housing with up to four units per building), this homeowner decided to take advantage by creating a residence above his/her garage. This infill (newly built home in an older neighborhood) is a prime example of the possibilities and/or potential uses of the current zoned RF3 application in the neighborhod. Although this residence is newly built, this picture keys in on expanding your horizons related to your current residence or acquiring a piece of real estate and creating value through its tangible land use zone application.
 
 

 
 
Vancouver housing market remains some of the most expensive real estate in Canada. With the lack of ability to build across far and wide, like what we have in Edmonton with our vast lands, Vancouver must build upwards rather than onwards. It is a bit of a problem as this inflates land values relating to minute purchasing power for homeowners (that is of course if you want to live the Vancouver lifestyle moreover than the suburbs like Burnaby, Coquitlam, Richmond, Surrey, etc.). The city has passed bylaw allowing for the creation and development of laneway housing.  In contrast to the condo lifestyle, it provides for a unique and affordable style of living in an area where you might not ought to have before been capable of residing within.
 
     
 
 
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Saturday, June 26, 2010

Mobile MLS Search For I Phone Available!

Want to check out MLS on your iPhone? Now you can! With GPS integration with Google Maps, this new tool will automatically locate the listings nearest your current location. From there, you can get full MLS info for each of the properities nearby. Want information on another area? Simply type in a location, and you will get all the listings that are close.
 
This is an amazing new service for all of us mobile junkies out there... check it out at www.Edmonton-HomesForSale.com/m and let me know if you have any questions!
 
Unfortunately, this service is not currently available for Blackberry users, but I will keep you posted...
 
 
Here is a quick list of what you can do in this application:
 
  • Automatically locate yourself via GPS and see all available listings for sale in up to 1km radius around you
  • Have the application "follow" you by updating your position and nearby listings as you walk or drive
  • Drag the map to pan around and see the nearby listings automatically searched for you
  • Manually override your current location by entering the address of your choice
  • Login into your Virtual Office Website (VOW) account to see and do more
  • See full details of each individual listing, including all photos
  • Email listings to family and friends
  • Inquire about the listing with the agent/team/broker
  • "Star" the listing for later review through the Virtual Office Website (VOW) account
  • Sign up for a Virtual Office Website (VOW) account
  • Make a phone call and/or send a SMS message directly from the contact forms
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