Hard Money Loans

Toronto, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday he disagrees with a proposal by Washington to collect a $5.50 levy on all Canadians entering the U.S. by air and sea.

Harper said the plan, contained in the 2012 budget proposal of President Barack Obama, is an indicator of how far Washington is willing to go to raise revenues. The prime minister acknowledged that its neighbor is facing a budget deficit of more than $1 trillion, but stressed travel taxes, expected to raise $100 million yearly, would hinder economic recovery efforts of both nations.

The proposal came just weeks before Obama and Harper sit down to tackle a border security agreement that seeks to ease movement of people and goods between the two nations.

Harper said the border agreement talk aims to ensure trade and travel between Washington and Ottawa is facilitated and not hampered. He said imposing extra taxes on those activities would not help in the economic recovery.

The levy, already collected by the U.S. on other travelers, removes the exemption enjoyed by visitors from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean since 1997.

View full post on Economy, Business And Finance Stories

Vaughn, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – Finance Minister Jim Flaherty assured Canadians that the federal government will have a balanced budget by 2015. He based his bold forecast on Ottawa’s two-year $60-billion stimulus program.

Flaherty said that the removal of the deficit within the next four years will happen as a result of the Economic Action Plan that will create 222,000 jobs brought about by tax reduction, unemployment benefits, infrastructure spending and industry support.

He said the new employment prospects will be spread in utilities with 5,000 jobs, construction 53,000, manufacturing 37,000 and service sector 127,000.

Flaherty stressed that the optimism for a balanced budget is not the result of just a bright outlook and hope, but supported by prudent policies made in the past and fiscal discipline.

The finance minister was, however, questioned by former Finance officials Scott Clark and Peter DeVries, who maintained Flaherty’s goal is difficult to attain because of Ottawa’s permanent structural deficit. Their basis is an International Monetary Fund report that Canada will have a small structural deficit equivalent to 0.2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product in 2015.

Canada’s eyes are on the budget as the minority-led Conservative government tries to convince MPs to support the federal budget. Opposition groups are hinting of a March election if the Tories fail to have Parliament pass the budget.

However, despite the budget deficit problems and the opposition’s portrayal of the current administration as inept, polls show the majority of Canadians would still prefer a Tory minority government than a coalition government. The survey said 55 percent of voters want a Conservative majority over 45 percent who prefer a coalition between the Liberals and the New Democratic Party.

The pollsters attributed the survey results to Canadians’ bad experience with coalitions.

View full post on Economy, Business And Finance Stories

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – The New Democratic Party of Canada has vowed to block the Tory budget when Parliament resumes session Monday. The NDP is particularly against the planned decrease in the corporate tax rate to 15 percent from the current 16.5 percent.

Unless the minority-led government secures the support of one major political party for the budget, a general election call looms in March. Earlier, the Bloc Quebecois offered the Conservative Party to back up the federal budget if Ottawa would provide $5 billion for Quebec. However, observers said the excessive demand by the Bloc would likely be ignored by the Tories.

The Tories are pushing for corporate tax rate cuts to help sustain economic recovery as Ottawa withdraws stimulus spending. The party reduced the rate by 0.5 percent from 17 percent earlier this month and wants to cut it further to 15 percent in 2012.

The Liberals are against the tax cut because it would reduce federal coffers amid efforts by the government to cut the national budget deficit expected to reach $45 billion this year.

However, the Tories have refused to budge from their position and said they are not willing to compromise with the opposition on the corporate tax cuts. Surveys have indicated that only 10 percent of Canadians are in favor of lower corporate taxes, while 40 percent even insist on corporate taxes going up.

View full post on Economy, Business And Finance Stories

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – To curb the alarming rise in Canadian household debt, federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty urged Canadian banks Thursday to adopt prudent lending policies. He issued the proposal after Statistics Canada found that household debt reached a record-high level in the third quarter of 2010, outpacing even the debts of American households.

The International Monetary Fund has forecast a muted growth for Canada next year largely on account of the growing household debt.

Among the measures that banks could take are to cut the maximum amortization period for mortgages to 25 from the current 35 years, or to institute tougher criteria for lenders to be eligible for government-backed mortgage insurance. The insurance is usually a requirement to secure a bank housing loan.

Two large Canadian banks had earlier asked Ottawa to initiate measures to curb consumer access to bank loans. Flaherty reminded Canadian financial institutions that prudent lending is one of their hallmarks, which is the reason why no Canadian banks collapsed or required government bailout during the recent global financial crisis.

Flaherty also disclosed that the 2011 federal budget will not have any major new spending or new cuts. He said the restraint measures, worth $17.6 billion over five years, placed by the Tory-led government are sufficient to reduce Ottawa’s budget deficit according to timetable.

By not introducing major cuts and spending, the Conservatives would give the political opposition little room to push for a no-confidence vote after Ottawa submits its 2011 budget to the Parliament for approval. A no-confidence vote could trigger a spring election.

View full post on Economy, Business And Finance Stories

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – Ottawa rejected Tuesday a request by Edmonton to help finance the city’s bid to host the 2016 World Fair to celebrate Canada’s 150th founding day.

Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty explained Ottawa is going through a tough time with a record-high budget deficit, so the government could not afford to fund the project. Flaherty added it is not only Edmonton’s request that Ottawa had turned down, but also hinted the government would also say no to Quebec City’s request for assistance to build a hockey arena.

Flaherty added that the rejection is part of Ottawa’s policy not to commit to spending that would lead to larger deficits and higher taxes.

Aside from the huge budget deficit, Edmonton MP and cabinet minister Rona Ambrose pointed out the possible skyrocketing of security costs was a main reason why Ottawa said no.

The decision disheartened and angered Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel who lobbied hard for Ottawa’s financial support. Mandel said the decision appears that fiscal responsibility of Ottawa applies only to western Canada.

Edmonton sought a $706 million federal share for the expo, which is expected to cost $2.3 billion. Federal Heritage Minister James Moore said Ottawa is not prepared at this point to take such a huge financial risk in anticipation of federal share eventually ballooning to more than $1 billion.

View full post on Economy, Business And Finance Stories

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan is unlikely to soothe disgruntled Cosatu when he unveils the medium-term budget policy statement on Wednesday.

View full post on Finance Stories

A split in the education department has led to high vacancies, inadequate equipment and bigger budget needs.

View full post on Finance Stories

Toronto, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – Toronto’s candidates for mayor are focusing on tax cuts and other economic issues to the detriment of social issues in the city.

With city elections upcoming, the candidates’ speeches center on reduction of vehicle registration fees and land transfer taxes, freezing property taxes, cutting councilors’ office budgets and reducing the city’s payroll.

Leading candidate Councilor Rob Ford promised voters on Friday to have a $1.67 billion surplus during his first four years in office, without reducing city services. To achieve the promise, Ford plans to cut the cost of government by 2.5 percent or $230 million in 2011. Ford also vowed to save $67.6 million by replacing only 50 percent of employees who retire or resign.

Other measures that Ford plans to impose if he wins and replaces outgoing Mayor David Miller are to save $66.7 million by using a more competitive bidding process and another $80 million by doing away with the fair-wage policy. The latter mandates Toronto to pay wages equivalent to union rates of private sector contract workers.

The overemphasis on economic issues has led some voters to ask in town hall meetings for the candidates’ stand on social issues such as hunger, delayed child care subsidies and homelessness. Because of the economic crisis and poverty in Ontario’s capital city, Toronto food banks handed out 1.1 million baskets of groceries in 2009, which is a 14 percent rise compared to 2008.

About 75,000 Toronto households are waiting for affordable shelter, while the child care subsidies of 17,000 Toronto children have been delayed.

Toronto projects a $503 million budget deficit for 2011. With Ford’s planned spending cuts of $525.6 million next year, the city would have a surplus of $22.6 million, which the councilor estimated would go up to $1.67 billion by the end of 2014.

However, several groups such as the Toronto Board of Trade, former budget chiefs and rival candidates dismissed Ford’s budget surplus prediction as too optimistic, but lacking in specifics on how the next mayor would achieve such large targets.

View full post on Economy, Business And Finance Stories

Many people complain bitterly about estate agents. Some of the complaints are valid, some really aren’t fair. If you want to successfully buy through an estate agent it’s essential that you understand what information you give them, how to ensure they want to sell a property to YOU and that you know when an agent is telling the truth – and when they might be telling some porky pies!

Is the Property you want Available at a Price you can Afford?
When we start looking for a home, we often have our ‘ideal’ property in mind. It might be a classic country cottage in the country or a penthouse apartment in the city. And we tend to give this ‘specific’ description to estate agents, expecting them just to hand over the property we have been dreaming of at the exact price we want to pay.

If the agent doesn’t give it to us, then we tend to think they are ‘holding it back’ for someone else, or that they are doing their job. However, it’s really not the agent’s fault if no-one is selling the property you want at the time you are buying, nor is it their fault if it’s out of your price range. That I’m afraid is down to the market and sellers!

Lesson One: How to Work with Estate Agents

Be realistic and fair! Don’t ask agents for properties at prices that don’t exist! Do your research first, even if that’s asking them the following questions:-

1.     This is what we’d like

2.     This is where we would like to buy

3.     Here is our budget

4.     Can we afford what we are looking for?

5.     If not, can we afford the home we want somewhere else, or what could we afford in the area we are looking in?

What information to give to agents
When we give information to agents, we often complain that they don’t ‘listen’ as they send us to view properties that are not suitable. For example, we asked for a three bedroomed home, but they showed us a home which had two doubles and one single when we wanted all doubles. If you don’t tell them exactly what you need – how do they know? So make sure you give a brief that explains the minimum property requirements you need, eg you’d like a garage, but it’s not essential versus you need three double bedrooms and a garden is essential as you have a dog.

Lesson Two: Give the agent a decent property brief

You’ve seen it on Channel 4’s Location, Location, Location, the buyer gives Phil and Kirstie a list of 35 things that they want in a home. Would you feel motivated to find it (especially if you earned your money from the seller)? However if someone gave you a list of ‘this is the minimum’ we need ie our must haves and our nice to haves. This is especially the case if you’ve also researched what properties are for sale at what price and know that you have the budget required.

Do Agents ‘hold back properties’?
Most of the time they don’t do this as it’s not in the interest of the seller as it can restrict the price they receive and therefore their own commission. However, there are, as in any industry, some unscrupulous agents that will risk doing this.

The best way to avoid this happening to you is to ensure that you keep weekly contact (not harass) the agent, just ask ‘have you anything that’s coming up’ etc. If they don’t show you a property you would have been interested in, it’s worth then taking it up with the agent and indeed approaching the owner of the property.

All agents’ now have to belong to an Estate Agent Redress Scheme. If you think that an agent has sold a property to someone that you would have been interested in, then it’s essential to report it to the scheme they belong to. If they don’t, then you need to report them anyway as they are operating illegally!

Lesson Three: Make sure you keep your eye on the market

If it’s possible, keep an eye on internet sites, local newspapers and even drive up and down roads you are keen on, or put leaflets through doors of properties you are interested in. Don’t 100% rely on agents to always think of you when they have a property available, they make mistakes like everyone else.

Why do agents accept Offers when you’ve made one already?
It’s odd that, because the seller accepts a higher offer than the one you made, the agent is often the one to blame. However, it’s the seller who is the one to have a go at – the agent has a legal duty to the seller to pass on offers, even if you have made one and it’s been accepted.

Lesson Four: Understand how to ensure your offer is the last one made!

You can make your offer ‘subject to the property being taken off the market’ so that no-one else is shown around. It won’t stop previous viewers making an offer. Also keep in touch with the seller directly at this stage so that if the agent does accidentally (or on purpose) introduce another offer, hopefully the buyer will call you.

Make sure agents WANT to sell a property to YOU!
It might seem a daft statement, but think about how you work. If you had two neighbours both who wanted to buy your property, which one would you tell first the property was available? The nice one who is always willing to help out and a pleasure to have as a neighbour or the other one that is often argumentative, fussy and not too nice to deal with. Despite media reports, agents are definitely human (!) and it’s essential to get on with them.

1.     Be realistic about what you want, don’t make demands that are impossible to fulfil.

2.     Always feed back to agents post a viewing. What you liked, what you didn’t like.

3.     Thank them for organising viewings for you.

4.     If the seller cancels a viewing – don’t have a go at the agent, it’s not their fault!

5.     Always turn up on time for viewings and only cancel if essential – give them a good reason as the agent is the one that has to ‘let down’ the excited seller that was looking forward to your visit.

Lesson Five: Be honest with your agent!

Many people don’t tell agents the truth about what they want; change their mind half way through the process; take a property from another agent or pull out of a deal at the last minute. All this ‘buyer’ activity frustrates agents as they don’t get paid a penny by the buyer, nor anything from the seller if they don’t actually sell the property.

The more open and honest you are with an agent and the easier you are to work with (ie form a relationship with) the more likely they are to think of you first and want to sell a property to you versus other people that have messed them around.

Not all agents will reciprocate, but most will and they will be the best ones that are most likely to find you the property you want. And don’t forget, if you find an agent doing something dodgy, report them to the Estate Agent Redress Scheme they belong to.

Kate is one of the top property experts in the UK and regularly quoted in the press including the Telegraph, Independent, Times, Daily Mail and Express, and has appeared on BBC2, as well as featured on BBC Radio 4 and a number of local BBC Radio stations.

Kate has also been a consultant to the property sector for a number of years and is the author of a number of books, including four for Which? – Buy, Sell, Move House, Renting and Letting, Develop your Property and the Property Investment Handbook.

Contact Kate Faulkner at http://www.designsonproperty.co.uk/

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/how-to-buy-via-an-estate-agent-1520931.html