Water Heater 101 Many homeowners will admit they don't know a whole lot about the water heater down in their basement. Dave Walton, Direct Energy's director of home ideas, offers up some information to help homeowners become a little more familiar with their water heaters, along with a few suggestions for those thinking of switching to tankless water heaters. Longevity - Homeowners can expect their conventional water heater to supply hot water for approximately sixteen years, depending upon a number of factors including, without limitation, the use of the water heater, the water temperature and the type of water in the premises. A tankless unit can last in the neighbourhood of twenty years, depending on water quality and usage requirements. Capacity - For both conventional and tankless ...
Affordability Guide How much can you afford? This depends on a number of factors. The most important are your gross household income, your down payment and the mortgage interest rate. The first affordability rule is that your monthly housing costs shouldn't be more than 32 percent of your gross monthly income. Housing costs include monthly principal, interest, taxes and heating expenses (p.i.t.h.). If applicable, it also includes half of monthly condominium fees. Lenders add up these housing costs to determine what percentage they are of your gross monthly income. This figure is your GROSS DEBT SERVICE RATIO (GDSR).The second affordability rule is that your entire monthly debt load should not be more than 40 percent of your gross household monthly income. This includes housing costs and...
Online Education Available for New Home Buyers (NC)-Tarion Warranty Corporation is now offering New Home Buyer Education Seminars online to help consumers understand the warranty that comes with newly built homes in Ontario. Tarion regulates Ontario's home building industry and ensures purchasers receive the statutory warranty coverage that builders are required to provide. 'Understanding Warranty Coverage' is the first in what will be a series of online topics designed to help purchasers better understand the warranty process and coverages. It provides a broad range of information on topics such as deposit and delayed closing protection, what is and is not covered under the work and materials warranties and how homeowners can go about making a warranty claim to their builder. Originall...
(NC)Renovations like a new roof, upgrading electrical wiring and bathroom remodels are eligible expenditures and qualify for the Home Renovation Tax Credit. The Home Renovation Tax Credit (HRTC) is available for the 2009 tax year. It is a temporary, non-refundable tax credit. Here are a few things you should know about the HRTC as well as information about what renovations qualify and how much you can claim: • The tax credit is 15% of eligible expenditures over $1,000 and up to $10,000 on home renovations made in respect of eligible buildings.• The maximum tax credit amount is $1,350 per family ($9,000 x 15%).• The tax credit will apply for costs incurred after January 27, 2009 and before February 1, 2010.• Costs related to an agreement entered into before January 28, 2009 are not elig...
Thousands of people rushed to register their numbers on the Do-Not-Call List caused the website servers to crash. The CRTC has since announced that they are increasing capacity/bandwidth to their website. The CRTC has also said that by 1:30pm on Tuesday, 223,000 people has registered for the service. More than one million people tried to access their telephone hotline to register. Their site and hotline were activated at 12:01am on Tuesday. Though the service was launched Tuesday, it won't take effect until 31 days after a person has registered.
Buying a Home For the First Time? Take Note!First-Time Home Buyers-Take Advantage of The New "Land Transfer Tax" Available To You By The Ontario Goverment.The McGuinty government is giving all First-Time HomeBuyers a break on land transfer tax by proposing to expand the Land Transfer Tax Refund Program to include purchases of resale homes, Finance Minister Dwight Duncan announced today. "Expanding this Land Transfer Tax refund is an important part of our government's commitment to helping Ontarians buying their first home," Duncan said. Effective midnight tonight, first-time buyers of resale homes, as well as newly constructed homes, would be eligible for a refund from the provincial government of up to $2,000 of the Land Transfer Tax paid. Read More **DID YOU KNOW when you purchase a H...
First-Time Home Buyers- Now Is The Time To Take Advantage of The Newest Tax Refund Program.The McGuinty government is giving all First-Time HomeBuyers a break on land transfer tax by proposing to expand the Land Transfer Tax Refund Program to include purchases of resale homes, Finance Minister Dwight Duncan announced today. "Expanding this Land Transfer Tax refund is an important part of our government's commitment to helping Ontarians buying their first home," Duncan said. Effective midnight tonight, first-time buyers of resale homes, as well as newly constructed homes, would be eligible for a refund from the provincial government of up to $2,000 of the Land Transfer Tax paid. Read More For More Information Call:Lisa Tollis Sales Representative SRES.Royal LePage State Realty, Brokerage...
