29 Aug

ASK AN AGENT

Posted by homeswithharvey in Real Estate, Toronto, Uncategorized.

“Have you ever noticed that the “press” is usually a month or more behind what is happening in the real estate market? Not many a day goes by when something isn’t written about the bottom falling out of the market, with the usual slanted stats to support the written words. 

Sure our market has changed, and thankfully for the better. No longer are multiple offers the norm – buyers most often do not have to bid and re bid on homes only to be frustrated. In most cases buyers now have more choice and more time to make their decisions. Realtors now can really do what they are best at – guiding, helping, advising and negotiating for their clients for their long term decisions. 

Sellers will have to change their way of thinking as well. They will require the services of a professional realtor more and more as the months go on. Listing their property simply on MLS won’t be enough of a marketing edge – the experience of a realtor will be needed and valued.

Want to know what to expect in the next few months. Don’t read the press, ask a realtor how much “pent-up” business he or she has coming. Buyers and sellers who are just waiting for after labour day to get in the house buying or selling mode. Most realtors have a great deal of business just waiting to happen, and that is the true forecast of the market – not what some press guy will write.

I’m looking forward to our Fall Market and all it has to bring. This market change is good. A more balanced market was and is needed to maintain the health of the real estate industry. For buyers, sellers and realtors alike.”

4 Aug

Malinsky Rally Musings 2

Posted by homeswithharvey in Uncategorized.

In this 2nd musing, I know that I could probably write volumes about the week but I will try to give you the Reader’s Digest version and provide some of the highlights. 

 

Day 2 was our longest day.  125 km to Adolphustown.  For me and many others, the last 20 km was the most difficult.  That is when, again, as I did last year, I started to wonder what I was doing on a bike pedalling my butt to Montreal.  I knew it was the physical and emotional challenges and a cause I believed in, so I continued on pedaling, still complaining, and dreading the fact that upon arrival in Adolpustown, Mark will have found a camping area on the other side of the camp ground.  To our surprise, (thank you Steve Bulloch) our bins had been placed in a shaded area within an easy "stumbling" distance to the trucks.  There was only one thing on my mind.  Bathing suit and a plunge into the lake where my body cried out "thank you, thank you, thank you".  There was no way that I was going to attempt pitching tent without cooling down and then consuming a very strong libation.  With that behind me and my body rejuvenated, I pitched my palace for the 2nd night.  

 

The highlight of the day was a planned meeting at the Glenora Ferry, with a friend who I had not seen for many years.  My greeting at the Ferry was Frances Lekes, her husband and son perched on the wall with a sign "Harvey M".   A hug and a kiss, a few pictures and a quick 15 minute catch up provided enough stimulation to finish the last 20 kms. 

 

After dinner, our team sat around our imaginary fire pit blowing up 600 red ballons for our ride to Kingston on the following day…..Red Dress Day.   It was interesting to watch the creative juices flow as we added ballon after balloon to what can only be described as a plethora to be seen on the road on Tuesday. 

 

Day 3 was our shortest day….51 km to Kingston….and a day that we were all looking forward to.  Dressed in as much red as we could muster up, complimented by the red balloons, we wondered if Kingston, and the towns enroute were ready for us.  Dawn Smith, one of our team leaders was outstanding in a long classic Victorian style red dress and knee high leather boots with 3" heels.  Now talk about a challenging ride, but she did it…..and her feet reminded her of her accomplishment the next day.

 

No camp site.  No tents.  We had accomodation in the residences at Queen’s University.  The thoughts of showers and a mattress for the night was more than inviting (hate to admit it, but I enjoy the limited camping).  I was fortunate enough to have Chris, Kathryn, Noah and a few close friends join us in Kingston to celebrate our grandson Noah’s 5th birthday and to see my one and only, Miss Conception, perform at Stages Night Club…..another fundraiser for the rally.  

 

After an afternoon around the pool at the Confederation Hotel, we shuffled off to Grizzly Grill for dinner.  10% of the food costs were being donated back to the rally.  The turnout was great and Noah was really excited because he thought that we were all there to honour his day…..after all, why would a restaurant full of people sing happy birthday to him.   With Noah back in his hotel room with his Momma, we moved across the street to Stages nightclub. 

 

The venue was typical of a vaudeville club that supposedly had a capacity for 800 people.   A large stage with a second stage behind it provided a space that Kevin Levesque, our Miss Conception took full advantage of to entertain the estimated crowd of just over 300.  He performed as Liza, Bette, Lion King, Lady Gaga and a host of others……..sang live…..cart wheeled across the stage….danced up and down the aisles and on the bars……and consumed a copious amount of shooters provided by the audience……..and as always, gave it his very best………a stellar performance that delighted everyone there.  With 4 sets and dancing in between, the spirits were high as we headed back to Queen’s for a night’s sleep.  Everyone agreed that the evening was well timed and well needed midway through the ride…….and one that should become a tradition.  The combined proceeds from Grizzly and the tips donated by Miss Conception raised just over $1700. 

 

Day 4 110 km from Kingston to Johnstown, not to be mistaken with Jonestown  LOL.  The day started with recognition of riders who achieved gold shirt status…..raising over $6000.  We were now into an easier ride…..fewer hills……with amazing views of the Thousand Islands.   We had some rain during the lunch break but it certainly did not dampen the spirits.  Tonight was the night of the talent show where teams were invited to perform.  Well what can I say?  Produced and directed by Mark & Dre, we delighted the audience with yet another award winning performance……..and yes, we awarded ourselves the gold statue. 

 

Day 5 Another 108 km from Johnstown to Lancaster.  The highlights included the stunning Long Sault Parkway, the Dairy Queen and the LCBO in Lancaster, camping amongst the tall trees in the Glengarry Campground and then the Beach Candle Ceremony which provided us with an opportunity to reflect on our week, remembering those who are no longer with us and those who are living with and affected by HIV and AIDS and other illnesses……keeping the flame of hope alive to one day see a world that is free of HIV and AIDS and all other illnesses. 

 

Riders were invited to share their life experiences with everyone…..and many did.   Gay and non-gay…..those with HIV/AIDS and those affected by HIV/AIDS.  A number of riders wore white T-shirts with the red ribbon in support of someone they knew or to identify themselves as being positive.   The ceremony and the sharing of personal experiences in this safe environment, allowed other riders to also share their feelings on a more personal basis during the rest of the ride. 

 

The confirmation that the stigma of HIV/AIDS is still very much present and highly destructive to those who are living with and or affected by HIV/AIDS was extremely disturbing.   Heightened understanding and awareness is a must if the stigma is to be eliminated, which is why events like the bike rally are so important.  The fundraising activities of all riders goes a long way to heighening the awareness.

 

Day 6.  102 km from Lancaster to Montreal.   With some strong head winds, this was not an easy ride.  We gathered in Lachine and waited our final 13 km into downtown Montreal.  As with the ceremony of the night before, the emotions were building.  In single file, many rode quietly while others cheered with excitement, each wearing our purple jerseys and our pins with red ribbons.   In Old Montreal, we grouped in 4′s, for our final leg to Emille Gamelin Park.  With a police escort, we were greeted by a cheering and applauding crowd of friends, family and onlookers.  The physical challenges of the ride had been met………and the financial goal, beating the record of the 10th anniversary of $1,208,000 was also achieved. 

 

I am so proud of my two girls…..Shana and Nicole.  They volunteered for Road Safety and gave it their most.  With daily costume changes…….constant cheering (Shana was almost without voice by the end) and encouragement to every rider that passed them, their support and the support of the rest of the Road Safety team was immeasureable.  Their love & personal support ot my efforts over the past 2 years have been phenomenal and very much appreciated.

 

Our fearless team leaders, Dawn Smith and Mike Smith…..no not sister and brother or husband and wife…..thank you for leading the Buttcycles to the end.  Buttcycles….thank you for making this another memorable week.  I also want to thank everyone for the encouragement and support provided over the past 2 years of my participation in the Friends For Life Bike Rally.  In 2009, we, together raised $28,750, and to date for 2010, we together have raised $30,030……a total of $58,780.    It is only with your support that the services of the Toronto PWA will be provided to those in need.

 

Warmest regards,

 

Harvey

 

P. S.  I still have preferred tickets to the 2nd night performance of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, The Muscial…..Wednesday, October 13th.  Click on the following link or copy and paste it into your browser for tickets  http://www.homeswithus.com/4a_form.php?record_id=16454  Tickets are $125 of which $35 is donated to the 2010 Friends For Life Bike Rally with a tax receipt issued to you.   Similar priced tickets through Ticket King are $115, which includes the service charges.

 

In preparation for next year’s rally, I have set aside 500 preferred tickets to Billy Elliot for Thursday, March 31st.   Tickets do not go on sale to the general public until late September but you can reserve your seats now.  Pricing is also $125 (Ticket King is $115) with a $35 donation to the 2011 Bike Rally and a tax receipt issued accordingly.

Click on the following link or copy and paste it into your browser  http://www.homeswithus.com/4a_form.php?record_id=17576   Plan now for upcoming birthday and Christmas gifts. 

4 Aug

Malinsky Rally Musings 1

Posted by homeswithharvey in Uncategorized.

It’s over.  We are ensconced safely  in the Omni Hotel in Montreal feeling exhilarated and exhausted all at the same time.  I should be back in Toronto on Monday or Tuesday.          

23 Jul

MONTREAL – HERE WE COME!

Posted by homeswithharvey in Toronto.

23 Jul

MALINSKY RALLY MUSINGS – MONTREAL HERE WE COME

Posted by homeswithharvey in Uncategorized.

I want to thank those who were able to show not only their financial support, but also their moral support over the last 6 months.  Understandably, not everyone was able to respond financially to my persistent plees for pledges…..and boy was I persistent.  Unfortuantely, there are so many worthwhile causes needy of our support, and understandably, as individuals, we can only do so much.  The important thing is that we all give what we can to the causes that touch us individually.  So, whether you were or were not able to support me financially, I know that your well wishes are with all of us as we pedal our butts to Montreal. 

AsI did last year, I would like to share my Rally adventure with everyone who I contacted, nudged, co-oerced, convinced and did not convince, batter, and some felt bludgeoned for support.  I guess maybe I should apologize for some of it, but I know you all forgive me knowing that this was all for a good cause.

It is Friday morning and the 2 Rubbermaid Bins are mostlly packed.  The bike is tuned, cleaned and adorned with new parts to ensure that the ride will be as smooth as possible.  Attempted to pitch my tent the other night to ensure it was ready, and I have to admit, after 1/2 hour of unfolding, spreading material, propping parts up, scratching my head, swearing and sweating in this humidity factory that we have been living in, I had to give it up.  I had no idea as to what the heck I was doing.  I even texted my rally mentor, Mark Fisher to come help me.  He replied that he would help when we arrive in Port Hope, but I insisted that I was not going to look like the town idiot in front of the 400 other riders and crew. 

Shana, my daughter, came to my rescue.  After 5 minutes of surveying the situation, she asked “Dad, where is the floor to the tent?”  With a very puzzled look on my face, I did remember that I had a floor last year, but it seemed to disappear this year.  Looking & acting as confused as I was, Shana made her way to the bin and NOT with just a little giggle but a belly laugh, she realized that I had spent the last 1/2 hour trying to put up the fly and not the tent.  Within 5 minutes, the tent was up and I was feeling very foolish.  Even though it was not in Port Hope, I still feel like the town idiot.  This could be start of many interesting, embarrassing funny and not so funny moments to be shared during the ride to Montreal…..and I will keep you advised.  Anyways, enough about me and more about what this is all about.

My commitment was to raise $28,750 in pledges for the 12th Annual Friends For Life Bike Rally in support of the Toronto People With AIDS (PWA) Foundation.  With the unconditional support of so many friends, family & business associates and establishments who all gave what they could to support PWA, WE DID IT. 

As of today, I am $457 short of my goal of $28,750, but I am confident that over the next few days, the goal will be met and surpassed.  If you would like to help me surpass that goal, here is the  link  http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=758798&LangPref=en-CA

In Toronto, thousands of people are living with the virus that causes AIDS – approximately one-quarter of Canada’s HIV positive population live and access care here. The Toronto People With AIDS Foundation (PWA) is the largest direct support service agency of its kind for men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS in Canada. The challenges facing people living with HIV are numerous and complex: episodes of illness, various transitions, discrimination, financial difficulties, social isolation, side effects from medications and long term effects from the virus – to name but a few. PWA provides services geared to help all people living with HIV/AIDS in Canada’s largest city. Our response is inspired by the voices and experiences of people living with HIV/AIDS. Providing services is what we do best.  

I would like to believe that our fundraising success this year will not be required next year, but unfortunately that will not be case.  My little brain is working and due to the success of one of my fundraisers this year, I would greatly appreciate it if you would complete the survey below to give me an indication as to whether or not I should try a similar fundraiser on a larger scale.  Please take a few seconds to respond to the survey.  It will definitely give me some direction as to next year’s fund raising direction.T

To complete the survey, simply click here on the following link or copy and paste it into your web browser:  http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22AVKLHUV37Stay tuned for more Malinsky Rally Musings.

 

 

 

 

4 Jun

My First Blog Post

Posted by homeswithharvey in Uncategorized.

Sheer entertainment.  Don’t miss it.  A Jew Grows In Brooklyn is at the Panasonic and is along the same lines as Billy Crystal’s 1 man show – 700 Sundays.  It is an absolute must.

13 May

Home Sellers! Are they entitled?

Posted by homeswithharvey in Uncategorized.

Some sellers simply expect to get multiple offers on their properties.  So what happens when they plan for the best, and don’t get it?

Do home Sellers have a growing sense of entitlement?  Why?

As a home buyer, if you know that a property is listed at a price level (below market value) established to create multiple offers, should you be prepared to and would you pay more than the asking price, if you are the only offer being presented?

29 Apr

WHAT IS THE STOCK MARKET ANYWAY?? SIMPLFIED EXPLANATION

Posted by homeswithharvey in Financial Markets, Real Estate, Toronto, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .

When you want to buy something, you go to a store — a bookstore if you want something to read, the supermarket if you want a box of cereal. If you want to buy a piece of a company, there’s a market for that, too. It’s called the stock market.

You’ve probably heard of the stock market in news reports about whether stocks went up or down on a particular day, and you probably didn’t know what that meant. Here’s what the stock market is, and why it matters to you.

A small business, such as your favorite neighborhood restaurant, is usually owned by only one person or a few people together. But giant businesses — Disney, for example — are owned by thousands and thousands of people, each of whom owns only a small portion of the entire company. Each tiny portion of a company is called a “share” of its stock.

People buy and sell those parts of a company in the stock market. Yesterday, you could buy a share of Disney for $36.32. If you bought one share of Disney, you would get a tiny piece of whatever profits that Disney makes in the future from its movies and theme parks. You would be paid about 35 cents a year now, but that might rise in the future if the company is successful. Buying shares in a company is called investing.

So what determines the price for each share of stock? Investors all over the world are constantly buying and selling shares of Disney and other companies. If investors think that a company’s stock is going to do better on any given day than it did the day before, they will be willing to pay more for the stock, and the price rises. If they think it will do worse, the price falls.

When you hear that the stock market rose or fell on a given day, what that means is the price of all stocks put together — not just Disney, but also Apple Computer, Google, McDonald’s and thousands of other companies — rose or fell.

People measure the performance of the market as a whole through indexes such as the Standard & Poor’s 500, which tracks the shares of 500 giant companies. Yesterday, the value of those 500 stocks fell about 2 percent.

So why would someone buy a stock? Because you want to make money. You buy shares of stock in a company because you think it will make money in the future, making your shares more valuable.

In general, you can make more money over time by investing in stocks than you can by putting money in the bank. Money in the bank won’t make you lots of money in the future, but you are guaranteed that you won’t lose your money. Investing in stocks is more risky. The company you invest in might start doing worse, or even go out of business entirely, in which case you could lose all your money! So you shouldn’t invest money that you might need soon or if you would have a big financial problem if the value of your stocks goes down.

Do you have some money saved up that you don’t need soon and might want to invest? Ask your parents if you can use it to buy shares of companies whose products you like. It might be a good way to save for college!

The Washington Post – Neil Irwin – April 28, 2010

29 Apr

HOUSE PRICES GOING UP WORLDWIDE

Posted by homeswithharvey in Real Estate, Toronto, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , .

THINGS ARE CERTAINLY DIFFERENT HERE IN TORONTO – FALLING PRICES???? After a year of falling prices for housing, The Economist said housing prices are higher than they were a year ago in half of the 20 countries it monitors. In addition, the speed of the price decreases has slowed in every country except Ireland. The Economist reports that in Singapore and Hong Kong pricing may be up 25% over one year ago, and some governments may need to act to slow the acceleration of home prices.

19 Apr

THE EFFECTS OF THE HST ON THE TORONTO CONDO MARKET

Posted by homeswithharvey in Real Estate, Toronto. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Looking ahead to July, condo buyers in the greater Toronto area need to begin considering the effects of the upcoming 13% Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), scheduled to go into effect in July, 2010. This new tax represents a combination of the 5% national Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the 8% Provincial Sales Tax (PST) and is intended to simplify taxation in general. The actual impact of the HST, however, will be an additional tax being levied on different aspects of the real estate market.

Effects of the HST on new condo purchases

Although nobody knows yet what the full effect of the HST will be on real estate in the greater Toronto area, what we do know is that real estate transactions will be subject to taxation via the HST in ways they haven’t been previously. For instance, new condos will be subject to the 13% HST, with the tax being assessed on the selling price of the property.

Under this new system, new condos valued at less than $400,000 will be eligible for a tax rebate of 6%, but new condos that sell for $500,000 or higher will have to pay the HST. In theory, then, buyers can avoid the HST by purchasing condos valued at less than $400,000, but the reality of the real estate market in Toronto is quite a bit different.

Real estate prices are substantially higher in Toronto than in other areas, making it difficult (if not impossible) to find a reasonably nice new condo for less than $400,000. A quick look at the listings on the market today will show very clearly that new condo prices are much more likely to be at least $500,000 and in most cases go even higher. So for all practical purposes, buyers in the market for a new condo will have to take the HST into account when it comes time to determine how much they can afford to buy financially.

Buyers who are set on purchasing a condo but are concerned about the new HST have two options to consider:

1. Make their new condo purchase before July, 2010, when the HST goes into effect.

2. If purchasing after July, 2010, choose to purchase an existing condo property rather than a new condo property.

If a condo purchase is something you are considering, we strongly recommend you talk with a qualified realtor sooner rather than later so you can plan your purchase accordingly.

Effects of the HST on the broader real estate market

The HST is not just applicable to new homes and condos, however; it is also set to be applied to the closing costs of all real estate transactions. This means everything from closing lawyer costs to home inspection costs to real estate commissions and the like will all be subject to the HST. For most buyers this can quickly add up to an amount of $2,000 or more, making it even tougher to afford the purchase of a real estate property.

Real estate professionals in the greater Toronto area are concerned about the impact of the HST in these cases, especially when it comes to first time buyers and middle income buyers looking to move up in the value of their property. In some cases the impact of the HST on closing costs could have a significant effect on whether or not someone is in a financial position to afford to purchase a real estate property.

While the HST will definitely have an impact on the real estate market in the greater Toronto area, most local realtors believe it will not be disastrous. With proper planning and the prospect of negotiating these costs as part of sales agreements, most realtors believe the market will continue to grow and prosper throughout 2010.

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