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      <description>More than 100 community members joined the Foundation as we hosted the Oakville Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours event on Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at the Holiday Inn&amp;ndash;Oakville Centre. Attending and representing the Oakville Hospital Foundation (OHF) and Halton Healthcare Services (HHS) were: Mags Shorey, OHF Board Chair; Bill Cooper, New Oakville Hospital Campaign Co-Chair; John Piper, OHF Board Member; Pam Bishop, OHF Board Member; Don Pangman, New Oakville Hospital Campaign Advisory Council Member; Mary Davies, HHS Board Chair; John Fleming, HHS Board Member; Bill Bailey, Vice-President Redevelopment for HHS, Allen Wightman, OHF CEO, along with Foundation staff.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Bill Cooper, a Chamber member for ten years, addressed the membership and spoke about the vital need for a new hospital in Oakville, how OTMH has served the healthcare needs of our community for almost 60 years and role of the Foundation by embarking on a $60 million Capital Campaign in the near future.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&amp;nbsp;&amp;ldquo;This is not just another Capital Campaign,&amp;rdquo; said Bill Cooper, &amp;ldquo;But an investment in our future as a community, the future of our children, our grandchildren and future generations. As such, it is our responsibility as business leaders to maximize this investment, so that our hospital has vital medical equipment when it&amp;rsquo;s needed.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

To date, community members have pledged more than $2 million toward the Campaign, funding medical equipment for the New Oakville Hospital, which will be located on a 50-acre site at Third Line and Dundas Street.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

The Foundation extends its sincere thanks to Aby Alameddine, Board Chair, and John Sawyer, President of the Oakville Chamber of Commerce for their support and providing the opportunity for the Foundation to communicate the needs of the Oakville Hospital to the Chamber membership.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

If you would like to become involved with the Campaign or require more information please contact Sheilaah Guthrie, Campaign Director at sguthrie@haltonhealthcare.on.ca or via phone at 905-845-2571 ext 6382.&lt;br /&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Community.page?ArticleID=46042</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.7574Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Oakville Hospital Foundation Hosts Chamber of Commerce Event - A Great Success!</title>

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    <item>

      <description>We donated to the Oakville Hospital Foundation to help out with the development and purchasing of new and advanced equipment. This new Hospital is planned to be completed in Oakville, at Dundas and Third Line by 2014. We continue to contribute to our local communities in order to make them a better place.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;img width="248" height="165" alt="" src="http://www.oakvillechamber.com/images/sce/news2/DSC_0682.JPG" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;Presenting our donation&amp;nbsp;to Mr. William P.Cooper who is constructing this project.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Community.page?ArticleID=46041</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.7574Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Oakville Hospital Foundation</title>

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" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

    &lt;table class="btmbgPark" height="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="920" align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0"&gt;

        &lt;tbody&gt;

            &lt;tr&gt;

                &lt;td&gt;

                &lt;div id="Header1_divHeader"&gt;

                &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"&gt;

                    &lt;tbody&gt;

                        &lt;tr&gt;

                            &lt;td class="header" align="right" colspan="3"&gt;&lt;a id="top" name="top"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a class="headerLink" href="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/"&gt;Home&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a class="headerLink" href="http://www.haltonhealthcare.com/about_otmh_home.php" target="_blank"&gt;OTMH&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;/tr&gt;

                        &lt;tr&gt;

                            &lt;td valign="top" width="209" height="226"&gt;

                            &lt;div id="imcontainer10" style="width: 0px; height: 0px" align="left"&gt;

                            &lt;div id="imcontainer20"&gt;

                            &lt;div id="imouter0" style="display: block; width: 209px"&gt;

                            &lt;ul id="imenus0" style="width: 209px; height: 226px"&gt;

                                &lt;li id="ulitem0_0" sid="0" x4="0_" dto="0" level="1" style="width: 100%; height: 1px"&gt;&lt;a class="ihover" id="ulaitem0_0" href="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/"&gt;&lt;img height="70" alt="Oakville Hospital Foundation" src="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Images/Common/im_ohf_logo.gif" width="209" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                                &lt;li id="ulitem0_1" sid="1" x4="0_" dto="0" level="1" style="width: 100%; height: 1px"&gt;&lt;a id="ulaitem0_1" onmouseover="MM_swapImage('nv_about','','../../Images/Navigations/nv_about_us_1.gif',1)" onmouseout="MM_swapImgRestore()" href="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Pages/About/"&gt;&lt;img height="26" alt="About Us" src="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Images/Navigations/nv_about_us.gif" width="209" border="0" name="nv_about" osrc="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Images/Navigations/nv_about_us.gif" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;

                                &lt;div style="z-index: 1" align="left"&gt;

                                &lt;div class="imsubc" onmouseover="MM_swapImage('nv_about','','../../Images/Navigations/nv_about_us_1.gif',1)" onmouseout="MM_swapImgRestore()" style="left: 209px; width: 180px; top: -27px"&gt;&lt;iframe src="javascript:false;" frameborder="0" x31="1" style="filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(Opacity=0); width: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-left-style: none; position: absolute; height: 0px; border-bottom-style: none"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;

                                &lt;ul id="x1ub0_1"&gt;

                                    &lt;li id="ulitem0_1_0" sid="0" x4="0_1_" dto="0" level="2" style="height: 1px"&gt;&lt;a id="ulaitem0_1_0" href="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Pages/About/"&gt;Overview&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                                    &lt;li id="ulitem0_1_1" sid="1" x4="0_1_" dto="0" level="2" style="height: 1px"&gt;&lt;a id="ulaitem0_1_1" href="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Pages/About/Quality_Care_Close_to_Home.aspx"&gt;Quality Care Close to Home&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                                    &lt;li id="ulitem0_1_2" sid="2" x4="0_1_" dto="0" level="2" style="height: 1px"&gt;&lt;a id="ulaitem0_1_2" href="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Pages/About/Your_Money_at_Work.aspx"&gt;Your $ at Work&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                                    &lt;li id="ulitem0_1_3" sid="3" x4="0_1_" dto="0" level="2" style="height: 1px"&gt;&lt;a id="ulaitem0_1_3" href="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Pages/About/Donor_Bill_of_Rights.aspx"&gt;Donor Bill of Rights&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                                    &lt;li id="ulitem0_1_4" sid="4" x4="0_1_" dto="0" level="2" style="height: 1px"&gt;&lt;a id="ulaitem0_1_4" href="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Pages/About/Ethical_Fundraising.aspx"&gt;Ethical Fundraising&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                                    &lt;li id="ulitem0_1_5" sid="5" x4="0_1_" dto="0" level="2" style="height: 1px"&gt;&lt;a id="ulaitem0_1_5" href="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Pages/About/Board_of_Directors.aspx"&gt;Board of Directors&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                                    &lt;li id="ulitem0_1_6" sid="6" x4="0_1_" dto="0" level="2" style="height: 1px"&gt;&lt;a id="ulaitem0_1_6" href="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Pages/About/Facts.aspx"&gt;OHF Facts&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                                    &lt;li id="ulitem0_1_7" sid="7" x4="0_1_" dto="0" level="2" style="height: 1px"&gt;&lt;a id="ulaitem0_1_7" href="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Pages/About/FAQs.aspx"&gt;FAQ&amp;rsquo;s&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                                &lt;/ul&gt;

                                &lt;/div&gt;

                                &lt;/div&gt;

                                &lt;/li&gt;

                                &lt;li id="ulitem0_2" sid="2" x4="0_" dto="0" level="1" style="width: 100%; height: 1px"&gt;&lt;a id="ulaitem0_2" onmouseover="MM_swapImage('nv_itspersonal','','../../Images/Navigations/nv_its_personal_1.gif',1)" onmouseout="MM_swapImgRestore()" href="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Pages/ItsPersonal/"&gt;&lt;img height="26" alt="It's Personal" src="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Images/Navigations/nv_its_personal.gif" width="209" border="0" name="nv_itspersonal" osrc="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Images/Navigations/nv_its_personal.gif" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;

                                &lt;div style="z-index: 1" align="left"&gt;

                                &lt;div class="imsubc" onmouseover="MM_swapImage('nv_itspersonal','','../../Images/Navigations/nv_its_personal_1.gif',1)" onmouseout="MM_swapImgRestore()" style="left: 209px; width: 180px; top: -27px"&gt;&lt;iframe src="javascript:false;" frameborder="0" x31="1" style="filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(Opacity=0); width: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-left-style: none; position: absolute; height: 0px; border-bottom-style: none"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;

                                &lt;ul id="x1ub0_2"&gt;

                                    &lt;li id="ulitem0_2_0" sid="0" x4="0_2_" dto="0" level="2" style="height: 1px"&gt;&lt;a id="ulaitem0_2_0" href="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Pages/ItsPersonal/"&gt;Featured Stories&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                                    &lt;li id="ulitem0_2_1" sid="1" x4="0_2_" dto="0" level="2" style="height: 1px"&gt;&lt;a id="ulaitem0_2_1" href="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Pages/ItsPersonal/Patient.Stories.aspx"&gt;Patient Stories&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                                    &lt;li id="ulitem0_2_2" sid="2" x4="0_2_" dto="0" level="2" style="height: 1px"&gt;&lt;a id="ulaitem0_2_2" href="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Pages/ItsPersonal/Donor.Stories.aspx"&gt;Donor Stories&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                                    &lt;li id="ulitem0_2_3" sid="3" x4="0_2_" dto="0" level="2" style="height: 1px"&gt;&lt;a id="ulaitem0_2_3" href="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Pages/ItsPersonal/Hospital.Stories.aspx"&gt;Hospital Stories&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                                    &lt;li id="ulitem0_2_4" sid="4" x4="0_2_" dto="0" level="2" style="height: 1px"&gt;&lt;a id="ulaitem0_2_4" href="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Pages/ItsPersonal/Submit_Your_Story.aspx"&gt;Submit Your Story&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                                &lt;/ul&gt;

                                &lt;/div&gt;

                                &lt;/div&gt;

                                &lt;/li&gt;

                                &lt;li id="ulitem0_3" sid="3" x4="0_" dto="0" level="1" style="width: 100%; height: 1px"&gt;&lt;a id="ulaitem0_3" onmouseover="MM_swapImage('nv_waystogive','','../../Images/Navigations/nv_ways_to_give_1.gif',1)" onmouseout="MM_swapImgRestore()" href="https://ohf-donate.akaraisin.com/"&gt;&lt;img height="26" alt="Ways to Give" src="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Images/Navigations/nv_ways_to_give.gif" width="209" border="0" name="nv_waystogive" osrc="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Images/Navigations/nv_ways_to_give.gif" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;

                                &lt;div style="z-index: 1" align="left"&gt;

                                &lt;div class="imsubc" onmouseover="MM_swapImage('nv_waystogive','','../../Images/Navigations/nv_ways_to_give_1.gif',1)" onmouseout="MM_swapImgRestore()" style="left: 209px; width: 180px; top: -27px"&gt;&lt;iframe src="javascript:false;" frameborder="0" x31="1" style="filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(Opacity=0); width: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-left-style: none; position: absolute; height: 0px; border-bottom-style: none"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;

                                &lt;ul id="x1ub0_3"&gt;

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                                        &lt;td&gt;&lt;span class="subHeading" id="uiNewsStoryView_lblNewsStoryTitle"&gt;Oakville Hospital Foundation Hosts Chamber of Commerce Event - A Great Success!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                                        &lt;i&gt;(Posted: &lt;span id="uiNewsStoryView_lblDate"&gt;January 22, 2009&lt;/span&gt;)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                                        &lt;div&gt;&lt;img height="8" alt="" src="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/images/common/spacer.gif" width="10" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                                        &lt;p&gt;More than 100 community members joined the Foundation as we hosted the Oakville Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours event on Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at the Holiday Inn&amp;ndash;Oakville Centre. Attending and representing the Oakville Hospital Foundation (OHF) and Halton Healthcare Services (HHS) were: &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Mags Shorey&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;, OHF Board Chair; &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Bill Cooper&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;, New Oakville Hospital Campaign Co-Chair; &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;John Piper&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;, OHF Board Member; &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Pam Bishop&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;, OHF Board Member; &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Don Pangman&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;, New Oakville Hospital Campaign Advisory Council Member; &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Mary Davies&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;, HHS Board Chair; &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;John Fleming&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;, HHS Board Member; &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Bill Bailey&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;, Vice-President Redevelopment for HHS, &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Allen Wightman&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;, OHF CEO, along with Foundation staff.&lt;/p&gt;

                                        &lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

                                        &lt;p&gt;Bill Cooper, a Chamber member for ten years, addressed the membership and spoke about the vital need for a new hospital in Oakville, how OTMH has served the healthcare needs of our community for almost 60 years and role of the Foundation by embarking on a $60 million Capital Campaign in the near future.&lt;/p&gt;

                                        &lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

                                        &lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;&amp;ldquo;This is not just another Capital Campaign,&amp;rdquo; &lt;/i&gt;said Bill Cooper, &lt;i&gt;&amp;ldquo;But an investment in our future as a community, the future of our children, our grandchildren and future generations. As such, it is our responsibility as business leaders to maximize this investment, so that our hospital has vital medical equipment when it&amp;rsquo;s needed.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                        &lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

                                        &lt;p&gt;To date, community members have pledged more than $2 million toward the Campaign, funding medical equipment for the New Oakville Hospital, which will be located on a 50-acre site at Third Line and Dundas Street.&lt;/p&gt;

                                        &lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

                                        &lt;p&gt;The Foundation extends its sincere thanks to Aby Alameddine, Board Chair, and John Sawyer, President of the Oakville Chamber of Commerce for their support and providing the opportunity for the Foundation to communicate the needs of the Oakville Hospital to the Chamber membership.&lt;/p&gt;

                                        &lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

                                        &lt;p&gt;If you would like to become involved with the Campaign or require more information please contact Sheilaah Guthrie, Campaign Director at &lt;a href="mailto:sguthrie@haltonhealthcare.on.ca"&gt;sguthrie@haltonhealthcare.on.ca&lt;/a&gt; or via phone at 905-845-2571 ext 6382.&lt;br /&gt;

                                        &lt;br /&gt;

                                        &lt;img alt="" src="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/WebImages/LatestNews/images/organization_7/COC_1_web_1.jpg" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                                        (l-r) Trevor Nash, Community Giving Coordinator for OHF; John Piper, OHF Board Member; Pam Bishop, OHF Board Member; Bill Bailey, VP of Redevelopment for HHS; Allen Wightman, CEO for OHF; and Mike Bartlett, Managing Director for OHF.&lt;br /&gt;

                                        &lt;br /&gt;

                                        &lt;img alt="" src="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/WebImages/LatestNews/images/organization_7/COC_2_web_1.jpg" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                                        (l-r) John Sawyer, President of the Oakville Chamber of Commerce; Aby Alameddine, Oakville Chamber of Commerce Board Chair; Sheilaah Guthrie, Campaign Director for OHF; Brendan Stewart, Events, Marketing and Committee Coordinator for the Oakville Chamber of Commerce.&lt;br /&gt;

                                        &lt;br /&gt;

                                        &lt;img alt="" src="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/WebImages/LatestNews/images/organization_7/COC_3_web_1.jpg" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                                        (l-r) Sheilaah Guthrie, Campaign Director for OHF; Aby Alameddine, Oakville Chamber of Commerce Board Chair; Gerry Popp, Immediate Past Chair of the Oakville Chamber of Commerce; Bill Cooper, OHF Campaign Co-Chair. Gerry Popp was the winner of the evening&amp;rsquo;s door prize consisting of a foursome at the OTMH Charity Golf Tournament in August 2009 and OHF golf apparel.&lt;br /&gt;

                                        &lt;br /&gt;

                                        &lt;img alt="" src="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/WebImages/LatestNews/images/organization_7/COC_4_web_1.jpg" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                                        (l-r) Aby Alameddine, Oakville Chamber of Commerce Board Chair; Bill Cooper, OHF Campaign Co-Chair; John Genereaux, Lead Inspector for Elite Home on Homes Inspection and winner of the evenings 50/50 draw, which John donated to the Oakville Hospital Foundation.&lt;br /&gt;

                                        &lt;br /&gt;

                                        &lt;img alt="" src="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/WebImages/LatestNews/images/organization_7/COC_5_web_1.jpg" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                                        (l-r) Mags Shorey, OHF Board Chair; Bill Cooper, OHF Campaign Co-Chair; John Fleming, HHS Board Member; Mary Davies, HHS Board Chair.&lt;br /&gt;

                                        &lt;br /&gt;

                                        &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

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                                        &lt;td&gt;&lt;a onmouseover="MM_swapImage('tout_donate','','../../Images/Touts/im_touts_col_donate_1.gif',1)" onmouseout="MM_swapImgRestore()" href="https://ohf-donate.akaraisin.com/"&gt;&lt;img height="81" alt="Donate Now - For Quality Care Close to Home" src="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Images/Touts/im_touts_col_donate.gif" width="190" border="0" name="tout_donate" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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                                        &lt;td&gt;&lt;a onmouseover="MM_swapImage('CloseHome','','../../Images/Touts/im_touts_close_to_home_1.gif',1)" onmouseout="MM_swapImgRestore()" href="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Images/CLOSE_TO_HOME.wmv"&gt;&lt;img height="81" alt="Close To Home" src="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Images/Touts/im_touts_close_to_home.gif" width="190" border="0" name="CloseHome" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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                                        &lt;td&gt;&lt;a onmouseover="MM_swapImage('nv_appeal','','../../Images/Touts/im_touts_col_current_1.gif',1)" onmouseout="MM_swapImgRestore()" href="http://ohf.akaraisin.com/DirectMail/Event/DMHomePage.aspx?seid=2097&amp;amp;mid=47" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img height="81" alt="Current Appeal - Help Us Purchase Vital Equipment" src="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Images/Touts/im_touts_col_current.gif" width="190" border="0" name="nv_appeal" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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                                        &lt;td&gt;&lt;a onmouseover="MM_swapImage('eNews','','../../Images/Touts/im_touts_newsletter_1.png',1)" onmouseout="MM_swapImgRestore()" href="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Pages/News/eNewsletter.aspx"&gt;&lt;img height="39" alt="eNewsletter Signup" src="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Images/Touts/im_touts_newsletter.png" width="190" border="0" name="eNews" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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                                                    &lt;td&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Images/Touts/im_touts_facts_top.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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                                                    &lt;td background="../../Images/Touts/im_touts_facts_middle.png" style="background-repeat: repeat-y"&gt;

                                                    &lt;div class="didyouknowText"&gt;&lt;img hspace="5" src="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Images/Touts/im_touts_facts_arrow.png" align="left" vspace="5" valign="bottom" alt="" /&gt;&lt;span&gt;In 2005, the Foundation was awarded Imagine Canada&amp;rsquo;s Ethical Fundraising License as an organization that meets the highest fundraising standards for accountability and openness. &lt;span class="raquo"&gt;&amp;raquo;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Pages/About/Facts.aspx"&gt;More Facts...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

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                                        &lt;td&gt;&lt;img id="Footer1_FooterHeightSpacer" src="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Images/Common/spacer.gif" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; width: 15px; height: 165px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                                        &lt;td class="footer"&gt;Copyright &amp;copy; 2009 Oakville Hospital Foundation. All Rights Reserved.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;|&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a onclick="return LaunchPopup('privacypolicy', 'privacypolicy', featuresSignup, this);" href="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Pages/Popups/PrivacyPolicy.html" target="privacypolicy"&gt;Privacy Policy&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;|&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a onclick="return LaunchPopup('disclaimer', 'disclaimer', featuresSignup, this);" href="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Pages/Popups/Disclaimer.html" target="disclaimer"&gt;Disclaimer&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

                                        &lt;td class="footer" align="right"&gt;Charitable Registration Number: 13145-3490 RR0001&lt;/td&gt;

                                        &lt;td&gt;&lt;img height="20" src="http://www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com/Images/Common/spacer.gif" width="15" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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&lt;/form&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Giving-Back-to-the-Community.page?ArticleID=5633</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.7574Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Oakville Hospital Foundation</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>We donated to the Oakville Hospital Foundation to help out with the development and purchasing of new and advanced equipment. This new Hospital is planned to be completed in Oakville, at Dundas and Third Line by 2014. We continue to contribute to our local communities in order to make them a better place.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;img width="248" height="165" src="http://www.oakvillechamber.com/images/sce/news2/DSC_0682.JPG" alt="" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;Presenting our donation&amp;nbsp;to Mr. William P.Cooper who is constructing this project.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Giving-Back-to-the-Community.page?ArticleID=5550</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.7574Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Oakville Hospital Foundation Donation</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&lt;table width="418" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"&gt;

    &lt;tbody&gt;

        &lt;tr&gt;

            &lt;td width="9" valign="top" bgcolor="#cccccc" align="left"&gt;&lt;img width="9" height="1" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td valign="top" bgcolor="#cccccc" align="left"&gt;&lt;font size="3" face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"&gt;&lt;b&gt;Toronto's WaterSaver programs&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="13" valign="top" bgcolor="#cccccc" align="left"&gt;&lt;img width="13" height="1" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

    &lt;/tbody&gt;

&lt;/table&gt;

&lt;table width="418" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"&gt;

    &lt;tbody&gt;

        &lt;tr&gt;

            &lt;td valign="top" align="left" colspan="4"&gt;&lt;img width="1" height="1" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

    &lt;/tbody&gt;

&lt;/table&gt;

&lt;table width="418" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"&gt;

    &lt;tbody&gt;

        &lt;tr&gt;

            &lt;td width="5" valign="top" align="left"&gt;&lt;img width="5" height="5" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="9" valign="top" height="1" align="left"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="123" valign="top" height="5" align="left"&gt;&lt;img width="123" height="5" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="11" valign="top" height="5" align="left"&gt;&lt;img width="11" height="5" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="257" valign="top" height="5" align="left"&gt;&lt;img width="257" height="5" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="13" valign="top" height="5" align="left"&gt;&lt;img width="13" height="5" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr&gt;

            &lt;td width="5" valign="top" align="left"&gt;&lt;img width="5" height="1" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="9" valign="top" align="left"&gt;&lt;img width="5" height="1" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="123" valign="top" align="right"&gt;&lt;img width="123" height="123" border="0" src="http://www.toronto.ca/watereff/images/mother_and_child_123.jpg" alt="mother and child" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="11" valign="top" align="left"&gt;&lt;img width="11" height="1" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="257" valign="top" align="left"&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;Provides solutions and rebates to reduce water use and save money. Toronto's goal is 15% reduction of water use by 2011. Reducing current residential and commercial water use will ensure that Toronto's water system can meet the needs of a growing city.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="13" valign="top" align="left"&gt;&lt;img width="13" height="1" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

    &lt;/tbody&gt;

&lt;/table&gt;

&lt;!-- END OF LEAD STORY CONTENT --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;table width="418" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"&gt;

    &lt;tbody&gt;

        &lt;tr&gt;

            &lt;td width="5" valign="top" align="left"&gt;&lt;img width="5" height="1" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="9" valign="top" bgcolor="#cccccc" align="left"&gt;&lt;img width="9" height="1" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td valign="middle" bgcolor="#cccccc" align="left" colspan="3"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font size="3" face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"&gt;What's new&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="13" valign="top" bgcolor="#cccccc" align="left"&gt;&lt;img width="13" height="1" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr&gt;

            &lt;td width="5" valign="top" align="left"&gt;&lt;img width="5" height="5" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="9" valign="top" height="5" align="left"&gt;&lt;img width="5" height="5" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="123" valign="top" height="5" align="right"&gt;&lt;img width="123" height="5" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="11" valign="top" height="5" align="left"&gt;&lt;img width="11" height="5" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="257" valign="top" height="5" align="left"&gt;&lt;img width="257" height="5" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="13" valign="top" height="5" align="left"&gt;&lt;img width="13" height="5" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr&gt;

            &lt;td width="5" valign="top" align="left"&gt;&lt;img width="5" height="1" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="9" valign="top" align="left"&gt;&lt;img width="9" height="1" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;!-- NEWS ITEM CONTENT STARTS HERE --&gt;

            &lt;td valign="top" align="left" colspan="3"&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Water Efficiency Green Toronto Award: Winner Announced! &lt;br /&gt;

            &lt;/strong&gt;The winner in the Water Efficiency category was Campbell Company of Canada. Their Water Recovery Program has resulted in nearly 100% recovery of the water used for cooling cans in its hydrostatic cookers. The heat from these cans is now captured and used in other areas of the plant that require hot water, saving 25 to 40-million litres a month. The project inspired staff to form a Sustainability Committee, which actively works on new environmental initiatives.&lt;br /&gt;

            &lt;br /&gt;

            Honourable mentions in the Water Efficiency category were SMART Watering Systems at Yorkdale Mall and St. Michael's Hospital.&lt;br /&gt;

            &lt;br /&gt;

            For additional information, we invite you to visit &lt;a href="http://www.toronto.ca/greentorontoawards/2009/index.htm"&gt;2009 Green Toronto Awards&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;hr /&gt;

            &lt;font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Free lawn and garden visits, reserve now! &lt;br /&gt;

            &lt;/strong&gt;Toronto Water is now reserving spaces for the 2009 Summer WaterSaver Visits. To date we have helped over 7,000 homeowners save water by creating water-efficient landscapes. When you sign up for a visit, a trained landscape advisor will come to your home and answer your gardening questions absolutely free of charge - offering a wide range of advice from dealing with weeds to planting a water efficient garden. You will also receive a WaterSaver gardening kit and much more! Space is limited! Sign up now by calling the Water Efficiency Office at 416-392-7000, or email your name, address and contact phone number to &lt;a href="mailto:savewater@toronto.ca"&gt;savewater@toronto.ca&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;a href="http://www.toronto.ca/watereff/index.htm#top"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

            &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="13" valign="top" height="1" align="left"&gt;&lt;img width="13" height="1" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

    &lt;/tbody&gt;

&lt;/table&gt;

&lt;!-- NEWS ITEM ENDS HERE --&gt;&lt;!-- LEFT SIDE LINE GRADIENT --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&amp;nbsp;             &lt;img width="3" height="1" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/white.gif" alt="" /&gt;             &amp;nbsp;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Home-Maintenance-Tips.page?ArticleID=28610</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.7574Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Toronto's WaterSaver programs</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&lt;table width="632" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"&gt;

    &lt;tbody&gt;

        &lt;tr&gt;

            &lt;td width="9" valign="top" bgcolor="#cccccc" align="left"&gt;&lt;img width="9" height="1" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="407" valign="top" bgcolor="#cccccc" align="left"&gt;&lt;font size="3" face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"&gt;&lt;b&gt;Basement flooding&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr&gt;

            &lt;td width="9" valign="top" align="left"&gt;&lt;img width="9" height="1" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/clear.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="407" valign="top" align="left"&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

            &lt;font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;&lt;b&gt;City programs help reduce basement flooding&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

            The City has a number of programs to help you lower your risk of basement flooding:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

            &lt;font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;You will need &lt;a href="http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html" target="_blank"&gt;Adobe Acrobat Reader&lt;/a&gt; to view PDF files. &lt;a href="http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;&lt;img width="55" height="14" border="0" src="http://www.toronto.ca/images/getacro.gif" alt="Get the Free Acrobat Reader" /&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;blockquote&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;&lt;b&gt;Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

            Homeowners who have experienced basement flooding or wish to undertake flood protection activities are eligible for subsidies. The &lt;a href="http://www.toronto.ca/water/sewers/pdf/brochure.pdf"&gt;Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program brochure&lt;/a&gt;&lt;font size="1"&gt; (PDF)&lt;/font&gt; lists the steps to apply. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;Please note, there is no longer a subsidy available to property owners for the &lt;a href="http://www.toronto.ca/water/protecting_quality/downspout.htm"&gt;disconnection of downspouts&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;&lt;b&gt;Basement Flooding Fact Sheet&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

            Tips on how to prevent basement flooding and health and safety issues are included in the &lt;a href="http://www.toronto.ca/water/sewers/basement_flooding_factsheet.htm"&gt;Basement Flooding Fact Sheet&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;&lt;b&gt;2006 Engineering Work Plan&lt;br /&gt;

            &lt;/b&gt;The work plan, approved by Toronto City Council, reports on the measures that will be taken to address basement flooding city-wide as a result of the August 19, 2005 storm. &lt;a href="http://www.toronto.ca/water/sewers/pdf/engineering-review-addressing-basement-flooding_council-decision.pdf"&gt;Engineering Work Plan&lt;/a&gt; &lt;font size="1"&gt;(PDF).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Blocked Sewer Connections &amp;ndash; Grant Application &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

            Grant assistance is available if the roots of a City-owned tree are blocking the sewer connection pipe between a home's exterior foundation wall and the property line. To apply, download and review the Blocked Sewer Service Lines Inspection and Repair Program Policy and complete the new, two-page &lt;a href="http://www.toronto.ca/water/sewers/pdf/block_sewers.pdf"&gt;Drain Grant Application Form&lt;/a&gt; &amp;ndash; effective October 1, 2007.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/blockquote&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;&lt;b&gt;Be careful! A flooded basement poses a risk of electrical shock and flood water may contain bacteria harmful to health.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;Here are the four steps to follow in the event of a flooded basement:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;ul&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;Call immediately 416-338-8888, 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;Call your insurance company as soon as possible and report property damage caused by the flooding. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;Be mindful of health and safety when cleaning up your flooded basement. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;Consider getting help with flooding clean up. Look in the Yellow Pages under &amp;lsquo;Water Damage Restoration&amp;rsquo;. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

            &lt;/ul&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;For more information call 416-338-8888&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

    &lt;/tbody&gt;

&lt;/table&gt;

&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;font color="#0033ff"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(51, 153, 102);"&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Home-Maintenance-Tips.page?ArticleID=28608</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.7574Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Basement Flooding</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&lt;font size="2"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Whose job is it to fix?&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;/strong&gt;When something is broken or damaged in the city, whom can you call to get it fixed? Here&amp;rsquo;s a handy guide to getting key services fixed in your &lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.toronto.ca/services/pdf/whose_job_is_it.pdf"&gt;&lt;font size="2"&gt;community&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;font size="2"&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;font size="1"&gt;(PDF)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font size="2"&gt; and &lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.toronto.ca/services/pdf/residential_colour.pdf"&gt;&lt;font size="2"&gt;home&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;font size="2"&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;font size="1"&gt;(PDF)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font size="2"&gt;.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Home-Maintenance-Tips.page?ArticleID=28607</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.7574Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>City of Toronto Phone Numbers Guide For Your Home and Community </title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>Most people are now aware that indoor air pollution is an issue of growing concern and increased visibility. Many companies are marketing products and services intended to improve the quality of your indoor air. You have probably seen an advertisement, received a coupon in the mail, or been approached directly by a company offering to clean your air ducts as a means of improving your home's indoor air quality. These services typically -- but not always -- range in cost from $450 to $1,000 per heating and cooling system, depending on the services offered, the size of the system to be cleaned, system accessibility, climatic region, and level of contamination.

&lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;Duct cleaning generally refers to the cleaning of various heating and cooling system components of forced air systems, including the supply and return air ducts and registers, grilles and diffusers, heat exchangers heating and cooling coils, condensate drain pans (drip pans), fan motor and fan housing, and the air handling unit housing.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;If not properly installed, maintained, and operated, these components may become contaminated with particles of dust, pollen or other debris. If moisture is present, the potential for microbiological growth (e.g., mold) is increased and spores from such growth may be released into the home's living space. Some of these contaminants may cause allergic reactions or other symptoms in people if they are exposed to them. If you decide to have your heating and cooling system cleaned, it is important to make sure the service provider agrees to clean all components of the system and is qualified to do so. Failure to clean a component of a contaminated system can result in re-contamination of the entire system, thus negating any potential benefits. Methods of duct cleaning vary, although standards have been established by industry associations concerned with air duct cleaning. Typically, a service provider will use specialized tools to dislodge dirt and other debris in ducts, then vacuum them out with a high powered vacuum cleaner. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;In addition, the service provider may propose applying chemical biocides, designed to kill microbiological contaminants, to the inside of the duct work and to other system components. Some service providers may also suggest applying chemical treatments (sealants or other encapsulants) to seal or cover the inside surfaces of the air ducts and equipment housings because they believe the sealant will control mold growth or prevent the release of dirt particles or fibers from ducts. These practices have yet to be fully researched and you should be fully informed before deciding to permit the use of biocides or sealants in your air ducts. They should only be applied, if at all, after the system has been properly cleaned of all visible dust or debris.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h4 class="h4s16"&gt;Deciding Whether or Not to Have Your Air Ducts Cleaned&lt;/h4&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;Knowledge about the potential benefits and possible problems of air duct cleaning is limited. Since conditions in every home are different, it is impossible to generalize about whether or not air duct cleaning in your home would be beneficial.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;You may consider having your air ducts cleaned simply because it seems logical that air ducts will get dirty over time and should occasionally be cleaned. While the debate about the value of periodic duct cleaning continues, no evidence suggests that such cleaning would be detrimental, provided that it is done properly. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;On the other hand, if a service provider fails to follow proper duct cleaning procedures, duct cleaning can cause indoor air problems. For example, an inadequate vacuum collection system can release more dust, dirt, and other contaminants than if you had left the ducts alone. A careless or inadequately trained service provider can damage your ducts or heating and cooling system, possibly increasing your heating and air conditioning costs or forcing you to undertake difficult and costly repairs or replacements.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;You should consider having the air ducts in your home cleaned if:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ol class="txtArial13"&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;There is substantial visible mold growth inside hard surface (e.g., sheet metal) ducts or on other components of your heating and cooling system. There are several important points to understand concerning mold detection in heating and cooling systems:

    &lt;ul type="square" class="txtArial13"&gt;

        &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;Many sections of your heating and cooling system may not be accessible for a visible inspection, so ask the service provider to show you any mold they say exists. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

        &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;You should be aware that although a substance may look like mold, a positive determination of whether it is mold or not can be made only by an expert and may require laboratory analysis for final confirmation. For about $50, some microbiology laboratories can tell you whether a sample sent to them on a clear strip of sticky household tape is mold or simply a substance that resembles it. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

        &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;If you have insulated air ducts and the insulation gets wet or moldy, it cannot be effectively cleaned and should be removed and replaced. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

        &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;If the conditions causing the mold growth in the first place are not corrected, mold growth will recur.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;/ul&gt;

    &lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;Ducts are infested with vermin, e.g. (rodents or insects); or &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;Ducts are clogged with excessive amounts of dust and debris and/or particles are actually released into the home from your supply registers. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ol&gt;

&lt;h4 class="h4s16"&gt;Other Important Considerations...&lt;/h4&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;Duct cleaning has never been shown to actually prevent health problems. Neither do studies conclusively demonstrate that particle (e.g., dust) levels in homes increase because of dirty air ducts or go down after cleaning. This is because much of the dirt that may accumulate inside air ducts adheres to duct surfaces and does not necessarily enter the living space. It is important to keep in mind that dirty air ducts are only one of many possible sources of particles that are present in homes. Pollutants that enter the home both from outdoors and indoor activities such as cooking, cleaning, smoking, or just moving around can cause greater exposure to contaminants than dirty air ducts. Moreover, there is no evidence that a light amount of household dust or other particulate matter in air ducts poses any risk to health.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;If you think duct cleaning might be a good idea for your home, but you are not sure, talk to a professional. The company that services your heating and cooling system may be a good source of advice. You may also want to contact professional duct cleaning service providers and ask them about the services they provide. Remember, they are trying to sell you a service, so ask questions and insist on complete and knowledgeable answers.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h4 class="h4s16"&gt;Suggestions for Choosing a Duct Cleaning Service Provider&lt;/h4&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;To find companies that provide duct cleaning services, check your Yellow Pages under &amp;quot;duct cleaning&amp;quot;. Talk to at least three different service providers and get written estimates before deciding whether to have your ducts cleaned. When the service providers come to your home, ask them to show you the contamination that would justify having your ducts cleaned. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;Do not hire duct cleaners who make sweeping claims about the health benefits of duct cleaning -- such claims are unsubstantiated. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Do not hire duct cleaners who recommend duct cleaning as a routine part of your heating and cooling system maintenance.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;Do not allow the use of chemical biocides or sealants unless you fully understand the pros and the cons. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;Check references to be sure other customers were satisfied and did not experience any problems with their heating and cooling system after cleaning. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;Contact your local consumer affairs or local Better Business Bureau to determine if complaints have been lodged against any of the companies you are considering. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;Interview potential service providers to ensure:     &lt;/font&gt;

    &lt;ul type="square"&gt; &lt;font class="f13"&gt;         &lt;/font&gt;

        &lt;ul&gt; &lt;font class="f13"&gt;             &lt;/font&gt;

            &lt;ul&gt; &lt;font class="f13"&gt;

                &lt;ul&gt;

                    &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;they are experienced in duct cleaning and have worked on systems like yours; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                    &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;they will use procedures to protect you, your pets, and your home from contamination; and &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                    &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;they comply with air duct cleaning standards and, if your ducts are constructed of fiber glass duct board or insulated internally with fiber glass duct liner, with the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association's (NAIMA) recommendations. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;/ul&gt;

                &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;

                &lt;font class="f13"&gt;            &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;

                &lt;font class="f13"&gt;        &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;

                &lt;font class="f13"&gt;    &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;If the service provider charges by the hour, request an estimate of the number of hours or days the job will take, and find out whether there will be interruptions in the work. Make sure the duct cleaner you choose will provide a written agreement outlining the total cost and scope of the job before work begins. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

            &lt;/ul&gt;

            &lt;h4 class="h4s16"&gt;What to Expect From an Air Duct Cleaning Service Provider&lt;/h4&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;If you choose to have your ducts cleaned, the service provider should:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;ul&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;Open access ports or doors to allow the entire system to be cleaned and inspected. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;Inspect the system before cleaning to be sure that there are no asbestos-containing materials (e.g., insulation, register boots, etc.) in the heating and cooling system. Asbestos containing materials require specialized procedures and should not be disturbed or removed except by specially trained and equipped contractors. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;Use vacuum equipment that exhausts particles outside of the home or use only high efficiency particle air (HEPA) vacuuming equipment if the vacuum exhausts inside the home. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;Protect carpet and household furnishings during cleaning. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;Use well controlled brushing of duct surfaces in conjunction with contact vacuum cleaning to dislodge dust and other particles. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;Use only soft bristled brushes for fiberglass duct board and sheet metal ducts internally lined with fiberglass. (Although flex duct can also be cleaned using soft bristled brushes, it can be more economical to simply replace accessible flex duct.) &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;Take care to protect the duct work, including sealing and re-insulating any access holes the service provider may have made or used so they are airtight. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;Follow standards for air duct cleaning and NAIMA's recommended practice for ducts containing fiber glass lining or constructed of fiber glass duct board. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

            &lt;/ul&gt;

            &lt;h4 class="h4s16"&gt;How to Determine if the Duct Cleaner Did A Thorough Job&lt;/h4&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;A thorough visual inspection is the best way to verify the cleanliness of your heating and cooling system. Some service providers use remote photography to document conditions inside ducts. All portions of the system should be visibly clean; you should not be able to detect any debris with the naked eye. After completing the job, ask the service provider to show you each component of your system to verify that the job was performed satisfactorily.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;h4 class="h4s16"&gt;How to Prevent Duct Contamination&lt;/h4&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;Whether or not you decide to have the air ducts in your home cleaned, committing to a good preventive maintenance program is essential to minimize duct contamination.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;To prevent dirt from entering the system:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;ul&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;Use the highest efficiency air filter recommended by the manufacturer of your heating and cooling system. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;Change filters regularly. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;If your filters become clogged, change them more frequently. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;Be sure you do not have any missing filters and that air cannot bypass filters through gaps around the filter holder. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;When having your heating and cooling system maintained or checked for other reasons, be sure to ask the service provider to clean cooling coils and drain pans. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;During construction or renovation work that produces dust in your home, seal off supply and return registers and do not operate the heating and cooling system until after cleaning up the dust. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;Remove dust and vacuum your home regularly. (Use a high efficiency vacuum (HEPA) cleaner or the highest efficiency filter bags your vacuum cleaner can take. Vacuuming can increase the amount of dust in the air during and after vacuuming as well as in your ducts). &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;If your heating system includes in-duct humidification equipment, be sure to operate and maintain the humidifier strictly as recommended by the manufacturer. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

            &lt;/ul&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;To prevent ducts from becoming wet:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;Moisture should not be present in ducts. Controlling moisture is the most effective way to prevent biological growth in air ducts.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;Moisture can enter the duct system through leaks or if the system has been improperly installed or serviced. Research suggests that condensation (which occurs when a surface temperature is lower than the dew point temperature of the surrounding air) on or near cooling coils of air conditioning units is a major factor in moisture contamination of the system. The presence of condensation or high relative humidity is an important indicator of the potential for mold growth on any type of duct. Controlling moisture can often be difficult, but here are some steps you can take:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;ul&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;Promptly and properly repair any leaks or water damage. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;Pay particular attention to cooling coils, which are designed to remove water from the air and can be a major source of moisture contamination of the system that can lead to mold growth. Make sure the condensate pan drains properly. The presence of substantial standing water and/or debris indicates a problem requiring immediate attention. Check any insulation near cooling coils for wet spots. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font class="f13"&gt;Make sure ducts are properly sealed and insulated in all non-airconditioned spaces (e.g., attics and crawl spaces). This will help to prevent moisture due to condensation from entering the system and is important to make the system work as intended. To prevent water condensation, the heating and cooling system must be properly insulated. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

            &lt;/ul&gt;

            &lt;h4 class="h4s16"&gt;Should chemical biocides be applied to the inside of air ducts?&lt;/h4&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;Air duct cleaning service providers may tell you that they need to apply a chemical biocide to the inside of your ducts to kill bacteria (germs), and fungi (mold) and prevent future biological growth. Some duct cleaning service providers may propose to introduce ozone to kill biological contaminants. Ozone is a highly reactive gas that is regulated in the outside air as a lung irritant. However, there remains considerable controversy over the necessity and wisdom of introducing chemical biocides or ozone into the duct work.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;Little research has been conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of most biocides and ozone when used inside ducts. Simply spraying or otherwise introducing these materials into the operating duct system may cause much of the material to be transported through the system and released into other areas of your home.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;In the meantime...&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;Before allowing a service provider to use a chemical biocide in your duct work, the service provider should:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;1. Demonstrate visible evidence of microbial growth in your duct work. Some service providers may attempt to convince you that your air ducts are contaminated by demonstrating that the microorganisms found in your home grow on a settling plate (i.e., petri dish). This is inappropriate. Some microorganisms are always present in the air, and some growth on a settling plate is normal. As noted earlier, only an expert can positively identify a substance as biological growth and lab analysis may be required for final confirmation. Other testing methods are not reliable.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;2. Explain why biological growth cannot be removed by physical means, such as brushing, and further growth prevented by controlling moisture.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;If you decide to permit the use of a biocide, the service provider should:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;1. Show you the biocide label, which will describe its range of approved uses.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;2. Apply the biocide only to uninsulated areas of the duct system after proper cleaning, if necessary to reduce the chances for regrowth of mold.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;3. Always use the product strictly according to its label instructions.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;While some low toxicity products may be legally applied while occupants of the home are present, you may wish to consider leaving the premises while the biocide is being applied as an added precaution.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;h4 class="h4s16"&gt;Do sealants prevent the release of dust and dirt particles into the air?&lt;/h4&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;Manufacturers of products marketed to coat and seal duct surfaces claim that these sealants prevent dust and dirt particles inside air ducts from being released into the air. As with biocides, a sealant is often applied by spraying it into the operating duct system. Laboratory tests indicate that materials introduced in this manner tend not to completely coat the duct surface. Application of sealants may also affect the acoustical (noise) and fire retarding characteristics of fiber glass lined or constructed ducts and may invalidate the manufacturer's warranty.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;Questions about the safety, effectiveness and overall desirability of sealants remain. For example, little is known about the potential toxicity of these products under typical use conditions or in the event they catch fire.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;In addition, sealants have yet to be evaluated for their resistance to deterioration over time which could add particles to the duct air.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font class="txtArial13"&gt;Most organizations concerned with duct cleaning, do not currently recommend the routine use of sealants in any type of duct. Instances when the use of sealants may be appropriate include the repair of damaged fiber glass insulation or when combating fire damage within ducts. Sealants should never be used on wet duct liner, to cover actively growing mold, or to cover debris in the ducts, and should only be applied after cleaning according to appropriate guidelines or standards.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;Elite home on homes inspection is not responsible for the content and accuracy of the web links or articles.&lt;br /&gt;

            &lt;br /&gt;

            &lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

            &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Home-Maintenance-Tips.page?ArticleID=6105</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.7574Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Should You Have Your Air Ducts Cleaned?</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&lt;span class="contprofile-small"&gt;Ice dams are those berms of frozen stuff that form along the eaves of a house during extended periods of cold weather, and this past winter was especially bad for ice dam formation all across Canada. When rooftop ice berms get large enough, they stop the free flow of rain water and melting snow off the roof. The resulting back-up of water then forms a small rooftop lake, above the dam,&amp;nbsp; that seeps underneath any&amp;nbsp; kind of shingles -- asphalt, cedar or concrete tiles. Wrestling with an on-going ice dam problem is frustrating and costly. The solution depends on an accurate understanding of the problem and successful implementation of one of three possible solutions.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;span&gt;                         &lt;br /&gt;

&lt;strong&gt;Ice Dams Signify Heat Loss &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

Strange as it seems, an ice dam proves that too much heat is escaping through your roof, not too little, as you might think. Ice dams form when a too-warm roof surface causes snow to melt as it falls on the roof, even when the surrounding air temperature is slightly below freezing. Since the source of heat comes from inside the house, the eaves of the roof are invariably colder, since they don&amp;rsquo;t have a warm room underneath.&amp;nbsp; When the warmed flow of melt-water hits the cold eaves it freezes and forms a small ice ridge. This ridge -- the seed of the ice dam -- continues to trap and freeze roof water on its journey downwards toward the ground. And as the dam builds, water is trapped above it on the warm part of the roof, where it&amp;rsquo;s free to seep underneath your shingles. &lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;strong&gt;Solution#1: Impervious Eaves&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

One way to solve the ice dam problem is to fasten a continuous, waterproof layer of rubber, metal or asphalt roofing over the lowest 8 or 10 courses of shingles along the eaves. This waterproof layer must tuck underneath the uppermost course of shingles above it to shed water properly. This fix won&amp;rsquo;t stop the ice dam from forming, but it will stop standing melt water from seeping between courses of shingles. This solution is most suitable for use with asphalt shingles because it&amp;rsquo;s easiest&amp;nbsp; to visually match a waterproof membrane with the surrounding roof. But even still, there&amp;rsquo;s no hiding this added waterproof layer. Aesthetic considerations are the biggest strike against this solution.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;strong&gt;Solution#2: Heated Eaves&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

Every building supply outlet stocks high-resistance electrical heating cable made especially for melting eaves-based ice dams. This cable is designed to zig-zag along the eaves, up as far as ice typically develops during a severe winter. The cables are held in place with screwed-down clips over top of waterproof grommets. The cables tap into your home&amp;rsquo;s electrical system and can be switched on and off by thermostat or manually. Eaves-heating cables are easier to install than an eaves membrane, and they don&amp;rsquo;t look as obtrusive, especially against a cedar or tile roof. The downside is that roof-heating cables consume valuable, and increasingly&amp;nbsp; expensive, electricity.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;strong&gt;Solution#3: The Cold Roof&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

The ultimate solution to the ice dam problem is also the most difficult to achieve: keeping the roof&amp;rsquo;s surface uniformly cold. A combination of adding more attic insulation and increasing attic ventilation is often the basis of a good solution that will also reduce your heating costs and lengthen shingle life. Wind-powered whirligig vents do a great job increasing attic air movement, with minimal construction hassle.The installation of sheet metal roofing can also solve ice damming as a side benefit. The typical practice of installing horizontal wooden strips across an old roof before installing metal roofing sheets creates an added layer of insulating air between the roof&amp;rsquo;s upper surface and the heat inside your house. &lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Although ice is probably the last thing on your mind right now, winter will be here soon enough. And if you had ice dam problems last year, don&amp;rsquo;t fool yourself into believing you&amp;rsquo;ll be safe this time. The only assurance comes from making the necessary changes to your roof and attic, and the cool days of autumn are an excellent time to do that.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Home-Maintenance-Tips.page?ArticleID=3469</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.7574Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Understanding and Eliminating Ice Dam Roof Leaks</title>

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    <item>

      <description>Winter brings cleansing rains, billowing snow, crystal clear star-filled evening skies and energy bills that can choke a horse.

&lt;p&gt;So, as beautiful as the season might be, it's a good idea to spend the rest of the summer and fall getting ready for it.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;HEATING&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Changing your furnace filter isn't difficult or expensive, and it makes good sense. However, there are furnace service and maintenance issues that, if left unchecked, can prove far more costly. Yes, change the filter, but be aware that the biggest single energy culprit in a central heating system could be something as simple as a duct leak. Leaky ducts can spew hundreds of dollars worth of heat (or air conditioning) into your attic or crawl space. Is your basement overheating? It could be a leaking duct. You can hire a heating contractor to test your system, but first search out leaks yourself. If ducting is insulated, and it should be, then pull back the insulation at locations that appear to be junctions, or where ducting is bent or dented. Once you have done all you can to insure that you have no leaks, have a heating contractor come in and perform a pressure test.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;INSULATING HEAT DUCTS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Duct insulation is actually a pretty recent code requirement. You may well have ducting that is well sealed, but if it isn't properly insulated you will pay more for your heating than your neighbour who has taken the time to insulate. Duct insulation that's 2.5 centimetres thick is sold in 30-centimetre-wide rolls, and is easy to install. All you need to do is wrap and overlap: While wrapping the insulation around your ducting, just make sure it overlaps a few centimetres. When you get to the end, lace a nail through the last overlap to hold the insulation in place. Any medium-size nail will work. While insulating duct work in itself is easy, a lack of working space &amp;ndash; say, a crowded attic or crawl space &amp;ndash; can make the chore difficult. Still, it beats struggling to pay your utility bill.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;PRUNING TREES&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;A deciduous tree is the most energy-efficient type. In the winter, it loses its leaves and lets the sun's warmth help heat your home. During the summer, its leaves shade and cool your home. All you have to do to ensure years of protection is keep your trees fed, watered and pruned. Feeding and watering is pretty easy, but pruning can be a back breaker and, if improperly performed, can damage or even kill a tree. Pruning in the winter is a &amp;quot;no-no.&amp;quot; Pruning creates &amp;quot;open wounds.&amp;quot; Don't expose your tree to frost damage by cutting and hacking when chilly weather is expected. Also, pruning cuts should be made at a 90-degree angle to the branch. Cutting at other than 90 degrees exposes more of the &amp;quot;wound&amp;quot; than necessary. It doesn't matter which pruning tool you use as long as cuts are clean and square. A ladder is needed, and a safety rope is even more important.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;LEAKS OF ALL KINDS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Home maintenance websites abound with tips on sealing and caulking, the use of expandable foam, and how to check and replace weather stripping at doors and windows. Unfortunately, the list of items is so long that most of us don't take the time to get half of it done. Also, some people think caulking and sealing lasts for years (&amp;quot;Hey, the caulking is guaranteed for 50 years!&amp;quot;). Not! The caulking may be guaranteed, but your home isn't. Homes shift as the ground expands and contracts from changes in moisture season to season. So, here's the list one more time, and just for this season:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;ndash; Caulk all exterior doors and windows where the exterior siding meets the trim and where the trim meets the window frame.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;ndash; Caulk all joints and gaps in exterior siding and trim, and where the siding meets the foundation.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;ndash; Weather strip all windows and doors. For windows, be sure to remove the moving section first, so that the weather stripping is fully accessible. For doors be sure to check the bottom. Hold a flashlight at the bottom of the door at night. If you can see the light from the inside the weather stripping needs adjustment or replacement.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;ndash; Seal plug and switch covers at all walls, both exterior and interior. For 25 cents a piece, you can radically reduce air infiltration.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;ndash; If you have an older home, remove interior door and window trim and fill the gap between the window or door frame and the house frame with expanding foam sealant. Caulking alone on the outside will not do the trick.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;ndash; Use expanding foam sealant to fill penetrations in:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;ndash; Exterior Siding&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;ndash; The Crawl Space&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;ndash; The Basement&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;ndash; The Attic&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;ndash; Inside Kitchen and Bath Cabinets&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Sealing the outside of your home will not only reduce energy costs, it will protect the siding and trim from water damage.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Elite home on homes inspection is not responsible for the content and accuracy of the web links or articles.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Home-Maintenance-Tips.page?ArticleID=170</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.773Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title> Now's the time to ready your home for winter</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>Produced by Natural Resources Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency

&lt;h2&gt;Contents&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/keep_heat_in/one-tonne.cfm?text=N&amp;amp;printview=N" tabindex="110"&gt;One-Tonne Challenge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a href="http://www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/keep_heat_in/introduction.cfm"&gt;INTRODUCTION&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a href="http://www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/keep_heat_in/chapter_1/chapter_1.cfm"&gt;CHAPTER 1 How Your House Works &lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a href="http://www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/keep_heat_in/chapter_2/chapter_2.cfm"&gt;CHAPTER 2 Materials &lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a href="http://www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/keep_heat_in/chapter_3/chapter_3.cfm"&gt;CHAPTER 3 Comprehensive Air-Leakage Control &lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a href="http://www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/keep_heat_in/chapter_4/chapter_4.cfm"&gt;CHAPTER 4 Roofs and Attics &lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a href="http://www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/keep_heat_in/chapter_5/chapter_5.cfm"&gt;CHAPTER 5 Basement Insulation &lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a href="http://www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/keep_heat_in/chapter_6/chapter_6.cfm"&gt;CHAPTER 6 Insulating Walls&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a href="http://www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/keep_heat_in/chapter_7/chapter_7.cfm"&gt;CHAPTER 7 Upgrading Windows and Doors&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt;

&amp;nbsp;                                     &lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a href="http://www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/keep_heat_in/chapter_8/chapter_8.cfm"&gt;CHAPTER 8 Operating Your House &lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a href="http://www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/keep_heat_in/chapter_9/chapter_9.cfm"&gt;CHAPTER 9 Dollars and Sense &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/keep_heat_in/more_info.cfm"&gt;Need More Information? &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/keep_heat_in/copyright_publication.cfm"&gt;Copyright and Publication Data &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

This article is from the &lt;font face="Arial"&gt;Natural Resources Canada&lt;/font&gt; Natural Date modified: 2004-11-19&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Elite home on homes inspection is not responsible for the content and accuracy of the web links or articles.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Home-Maintenance-Tips.page?ArticleID=151</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.773Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Keeping the Heat In</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&lt;table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"&gt;

    &lt;tbody&gt;

        &lt;tr&gt;

            &lt;td&gt;&lt;img width="12" height="1" border="0" src="http://www.managemyhome.ca/images/home/1x1_space.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="100%" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;

            &lt;table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"&gt;

                &lt;tbody&gt;

                    &lt;tr&gt;

                        &lt;td width="100%" valign="top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font size="+1" face="tahoma, arial, sans serif" color="#333399"&gt;CHECK YOUR RETAINING WALLS&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;

                        &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size="-1" face="ms sans serif, arial, sans serif"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Did you know you're not the only one fighting the battle of the bulge? And like you, your retaining wall may need some help with all that water it's retaining. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                        &lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

                &lt;/tbody&gt;

            &lt;/table&gt;

            &lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;hr size="1" /&gt;

            &lt;table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" border="0"&gt;

                &lt;tbody&gt;

                    &lt;tr&gt;

                        &lt;td width="90" valign="top" nowrap="nowrap"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font size="+1" face="tahoma, arial, sans serif" color="#333399"&gt;WHAT&amp;nbsp;? &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td width="100%"&gt;&lt;font size="-1" face="ms sans serif, arial, sans serif"&gt;Check your retaining walls. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

                &lt;/tbody&gt;

            &lt;/table&gt;

            &lt;hr size="1" /&gt;

            &lt;table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" border="0"&gt;

                &lt;tbody&gt;

                    &lt;tr&gt;

                        &lt;td width="90" valign="top" nowrap="nowrap"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font size="+1" face="tahoma, arial, sans serif" color="#333399"&gt;WHEN&amp;nbsp;? &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td width="100%"&gt;&lt;font size="-1" face="ms sans serif, arial, sans serif"&gt;In the summer. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

                &lt;/tbody&gt;

            &lt;/table&gt;

            &lt;hr size="1" /&gt;

            &lt;table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" border="0"&gt;

                &lt;tbody&gt;

                    &lt;tr&gt;

                        &lt;td width="90" valign="top" nowrap="nowrap"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font size="+1" face="tahoma, arial, sans serif" color="#333399"&gt;WHY&amp;nbsp;? &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td width="100%"&gt;&lt;font size="-1" face="ms sans serif, arial, sans serif"&gt;Because a failed retaining wall is very expensive to replace. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

                &lt;/tbody&gt;

            &lt;/table&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td&gt;&lt;img width="12" height="1" border="0" src="http://www.managemyhome.ca/images/home/1x1_space.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

    &lt;/tbody&gt;

&lt;/table&gt;

&lt;table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"&gt;

    &lt;tbody&gt;

        &lt;tr&gt;

            &lt;td&gt;&lt;img width="12" height="1" border="0" src="http://www.managemyhome.ca/images/home/1x1_space.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="100%" valign="top"&gt;&lt;hr size="1" /&gt;

            &lt;table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" border="0"&gt;

                &lt;tbody&gt;

                    &lt;tr&gt;

                        &lt;td width="90" valign="top" nowrap="nowrap"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font size="+1" face="tahoma, arial, sans serif" color="#333399"&gt;HOW&amp;nbsp;? &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td width="100%"&gt;&lt;font size="-1" face="ms sans serif, arial, sans serif"&gt;Retaining walls should lean back slightly into the hill. A retaining wall that is vertical has probably moved. A wall that is leaning away from the hill or is bowing or cracking has definitely moved. &lt;/font&gt;

                        &lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.managemyhome.ca/Images/HSS/600/1938.gif" target="_blank" style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 8pt; color: blue; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-decoration: none;"&gt;[ Larger Image ]&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;img width="400" hspace="10" border="0" src="http://www.managemyhome.ca/images/HSS/400/1938.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                        &lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

                    &lt;tr&gt;

                        &lt;td valign="top"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td&gt;&lt;font size="-1" face="ms sans serif, arial, sans serif"&gt;Retaining walls move because of soil pressure, which depends largely on the amount of water in the soil. In colder climates, the water freezes, expands and increases the pressure even more. It is sometimes possible to add drainage holes (weepholes) to an existing wall to allow moisture behind the wall, to escape. &lt;/font&gt;

                        &lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.managemyhome.ca/Images/HSS/600/1939.gif" target="_blank" style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 8pt; color: blue; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-decoration: none;"&gt;[ Larger Image ]&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;img width="400" hspace="10" border="0" src="http://www.managemyhome.ca/images/HSS/400/1939.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                        &lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

                    &lt;tr&gt;

                        &lt;td valign="top"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td&gt;&lt;font size="-1" face="ms sans serif, arial, sans serif"&gt;All wood retaining walls will eventually fail because wood (even pressure treated wood) in contact with damp soil will eventually rot or be attacked by insects. &lt;/font&gt;

                        &lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.managemyhome.ca/Images/HSS/600/1934.gif" target="_blank" style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 8pt; color: blue; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-decoration: none;"&gt;[ Larger Image ]&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;img width="400" hspace="10" border="0" src="http://www.managemyhome.ca/images/HSS/400/1934.gif" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                        &lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

                &lt;/tbody&gt;

            &lt;/table&gt;

            &lt;hr size="1" /&gt;

            &lt;table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" border="0"&gt;

                &lt;tbody&gt;

                    &lt;tr&gt;

                        &lt;td width="90" valign="top" nowrap="nowrap"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font size="+1" face="tahoma, arial, sans serif" color="#333399"&gt;TIPS &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td width="100%"&gt;

                        &lt;table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"&gt;

                            &lt;tbody&gt;

                                &lt;tr&gt;

                                    &lt;td valign="top"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

                                    &lt;td&gt;&lt;font size="-1" face="ms sans serif, arial, sans serif"&gt;If you are rebuilding a retaining wall, make sure there's lots of gravel behind the wall for good drainage. Ideally, you want to use a geotextile fabric, which acts like filter paper between the free-draining backfill and native soil to prevent clogging. There should be drainage holes in the face of the wall.&lt;br /&gt;

                                    &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                &lt;tr&gt;

                                    &lt;td colspan="2"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                &lt;tr&gt;

                                    &lt;td valign="top"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

                                    &lt;td&gt;&lt;font size="-1" face="ms sans serif, arial, sans serif"&gt;If you are rebuilding in a cold climate, consider placing extruded foam insulation board along the back of the wall. The insulation will reduce the amount of freezing that occurs in the soil and will provide material that can be crushed by expanding soil. This is a whole lot better than pushing the wall over.&lt;br /&gt;

                                    &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                            &lt;/tbody&gt;

                        &lt;/table&gt;

                        &lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

                &lt;/tbody&gt;

            &lt;/table&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

    &lt;/tbody&gt;

&lt;/table&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

This article was brought to you by Sears ManagemyHomes&lt;br /&gt;

Sears Holdings Corporation 3333 Beverly Road Hoffman Estates, IL 60179&lt;br /&gt;

Sears Customer Relations 120 Carlton Street, Suite 414 Toronto ON M5A 4K2 Canada&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Elite home on homes inspection is not responsible for the content and accuracy of the web links or articles.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Home-Maintenance-Tips.page?ArticleID=131</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.773Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>  CHECK YOUR RETAINING WALLS</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/residential/personal/window-efficiency.cfm?attr=4#fig3"&gt;Improving Window Energy Efficiency&lt;/a&gt;. Great tips on how to caulk your windows properly and improve the seals of your windows. Windows can account for up to 25 percent of the total heat loss in your house.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Link from the Natural Resources Canada.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Elite home on homes inspection is not responsible for the content and accuracy of the web links or articles.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;strong&gt;Specializing in &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.town.oakville.on.ca/"&gt;Oakville&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.milton.ca/"&gt;Milton&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.ci.burlington.nc.us/"&gt;Burlington&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/home"&gt;Mississauga&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.city.brampton.on.ca/home.taf"&gt;Brampton&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.town.caledon.on.ca/"&gt;Caledon,&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.toronto.ca/"&gt;Toronto &lt;/a&gt;and the GTA (Greater Toronto Areas)&lt;/strong&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Home-Maintenance-Tips.page?ArticleID=128</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.773Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Improving Window Energy Efficiency</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>Great information about &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://oee.rncan.gc.ca/residential/personal/moisture-problems.cfm?attr=4"&gt;Moisture Problems&lt;/a&gt; which is brought to you by the Natural Resources of Canada.&lt;br /&gt;

Article:&lt;br /&gt;

Aussi disponible en fran&amp;ccedil;ais sous le titre&amp;nbsp;: &lt;em&gt;Les probl&amp;egrave;mes d'humidit&amp;eacute;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&amp;copy; Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada,&amp;nbsp;2007&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://eho.mnet.ca/_mnweb/DataSources/Ask-our-professionals-for-advice.page"&gt;We would like to hear from you!!&lt;br /&gt;

Send us your comments about this Article.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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&lt;strong&gt;Specializing in &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.town.oakville.on.ca/"&gt;Oakville&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.milton.ca/"&gt;Milton&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.ci.burlington.nc.us/"&gt;Burlington&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/home"&gt;Mississauga&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.city.brampton.on.ca/home.taf"&gt;Brampton&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.town.caledon.on.ca/"&gt;Caledon,&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.toronto.ca/"&gt;Toronto &lt;/a&gt;and the GTA (Greater Toronto Areas)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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We hope you enjoy this important information.</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Home-Maintenance-Tips.page?ArticleID=125</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.773Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Moisture Problems</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.managemyhome.com/mmh/maintenance_plan/tip?id=/www/avm_webapps/mmh/maintenance-tips/content/Check_Attic.xml&amp;amp;sid=IEMMHxstaticx20070419x00005"&gt;Inspect your attic to stop heat loss and moisture problems.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Thank you again for the great tips.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

brought to you by Managemyhome Sears &amp;copy; Sears Brands, LLC. July Article.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Great tips and maintenance ideas!!&lt;br style="mso-special-character: line-break" /&gt;

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&lt;strong&gt;Specializing in &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.town.oakville.on.ca/"&gt;Oakville&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.milton.ca/"&gt;Milton&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.ci.burlington.nc.us/"&gt;Burlington&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/home"&gt;Mississauga&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.city.brampton.on.ca/home.taf"&gt;Brampton&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.town.caledon.on.ca/"&gt;Caledon,&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.toronto.ca/"&gt;Toronto &lt;/a&gt;and the GTA (Greater Toronto Areas)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Home-Maintenance-Tips.page?ArticleID=114</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.773Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Check Your Attic</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.managemyhome.com/mmh/maintenance_plan/tip?id=/www/avm_webapps/mmh/maintenance-tips/content/Test_Smoke_Alarm.xml&amp;amp;sid=IEMMHxstaticx20070419x00005"&gt;Test and Clean Your Smoke Alarms&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; brought to you by Managemyhome Sears &amp;copy; Sears Brands, LLC. July Article.&lt;br /&gt;

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Great tips and maintenance ideas!!&lt;br style="mso-special-character: line-break" /&gt;

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Servicing in Oakville,Milton,Burlington,Mississauga,Brampton,Caledon,Toronto and the GTA (Greater Toronto Areas)&lt;br /&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Home-Maintenance-Tips.page?ArticleID=113</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.773Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Test and Clean Your Smoke Alarms</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; COLOR: #4e883b; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.managemyhome.ca/template/instr.asp?t=1"&gt;Check The Outdoor Unit Of Your Air Conditioner.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

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            &lt;td&gt;&lt;img height="1" alt="" width="12" border="0" src="http://www.managemyhome.ca/images/home/1x1_space.gif" /&gt; &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td valign="top" width="100%"&gt;

            &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"&gt;

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                        &lt;td valign="top" width="100%"&gt;

                        &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font face="tahoma, arial, sans serif" color="#333399" size="+1"&gt;CHECK THE OUTDOOR UNIT OF YOUR AIR CONDITIONER&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                        &lt;p&gt;&lt;font face="ms sans serif, arial, sans serif" size="-1"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Just because you're no air conditioning technician doesn't mean you can't check some things yourself. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                        &lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

                &lt;/tbody&gt;

            &lt;/table&gt;

            &lt;hr size="1" /&gt;

            &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" width="100%" border="0"&gt;

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                        &lt;td valign="top" nowrap="nowrap" width="90"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font face="tahoma, arial, sans serif" color="#333399" size="+1"&gt;WHAT&amp;nbsp;? &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td width="100%"&gt;&lt;font face="ms sans serif, arial, sans serif" size="-1"&gt;Inspect the condenser (outdoor unit). &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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            &lt;hr size="1" /&gt;

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                        &lt;td valign="top" nowrap="nowrap" width="90"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font face="tahoma, arial, sans serif" color="#333399" size="+1"&gt;WHEN&amp;nbsp;? &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td width="100%"&gt;&lt;font face="ms sans serif, arial, sans serif" size="-1"&gt;Spring and summer. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

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            &lt;hr size="1" /&gt;

            &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" width="100%" border="0"&gt;

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                        &lt;td valign="top" nowrap="nowrap" width="90"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font face="tahoma, arial, sans serif" color="#333399" size="+1"&gt;WHY&amp;nbsp;? &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td width="100%"&gt;&lt;font face="ms sans serif, arial, sans serif" size="-1"&gt;A few things you can do can dramatically improve the performance of your air-conditioning system. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td&gt;&lt;img height="1" alt="" width="12" border="0" src="http://www.managemyhome.ca/images/home/1x1_space.gif" /&gt; &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

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            &lt;td&gt;&lt;img height="1" alt="" width="12" border="0" src="http://www.managemyhome.ca/images/home/1x1_space.gif" /&gt; &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td valign="top" width="100%"&gt;&lt;hr size="1" /&gt;

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                        &lt;td valign="top" nowrap="nowrap" width="90"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font face="tahoma, arial, sans serif" color="#333399" size="+1"&gt;HOW&amp;nbsp;? &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td width="100%"&gt;&lt;font face="ms sans serif, arial, sans serif" size="-1"&gt;When the air conditioner is running, check the refrigerant lines. The larger tube should be cool or cold and the smaller tube should be warm. The larger tube should be insulated and the insulation should be in good condition. Check it along its entire length. Also, make sure the refrigerant lines are not crimped. They are most susceptible to crimping where they leave the condensing unit and where they go through your exterior wall. &lt;/font&gt;

                        &lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; TEXT-DECORATION: none" target="_blank" href="http://www.managemyhome.ca/Images/HSS/600/1247.gif"&gt;[ Larger Image ]&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;img alt="" hspace="10" width="400" border="0" src="http://www.managemyhome.ca/images/HSS/400/1247.gif" /&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

                        &lt;font face="ms sans serif, arial, sans serif" size="-1"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                        Make sure the condensing unit is level. If not, call a technician. &lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        Make sure the condensing unit is not starved for air. Cut back vegetation. Make sure walls, decks, fences, etc. don't restrict air flow. &lt;/font&gt;

                        &lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; TEXT-DECORATION: none" target="_blank" href="http://www.managemyhome.ca/Images/HSS/600/1249.gif"&gt;[ Larger Image ]&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;img alt="" hspace="10" width="400" border="0" src="http://www.managemyhome.ca/images/HSS/400/1249.gif" /&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

                        &lt;font face="ms sans serif, arial, sans serif" size="-1"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                        Look for things like dryer vents and wall vents from water heaters that discharge heat. The condenser is looking for the coolest air it can find -- not hot air, let alone air full of lint that will plug up the coils! &lt;/font&gt;

                        &lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; TEXT-DECORATION: none" target="_blank" href="http://www.managemyhome.ca/Images/HSS/600/1228.gif"&gt;[ Larger Image ]&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;img alt="" hspace="10" width="400" border="0" src="http://www.managemyhome.ca/images/HSS/400/1228.gif" /&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

                        &lt;/td&gt;

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                        &lt;td valign="top" nowrap="nowrap" width="90"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font face="tahoma, arial, sans serif" color="#333399" size="+1"&gt;TIPS &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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                                    &lt;td valign="top"&gt;&lt;img height="27" alt="" hspace="10" width="29" border="0" src="http://www.managemyhome.ca/images/check.gif" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                    &lt;td&gt;&lt;font face="ms sans serif, arial, sans serif" size="-1"&gt;Shut off your air conditioner while you are cutting the grass around the outdoor unit to prevent clippings from getting sucked into the condenser. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                &lt;tr&gt;

                                    &lt;td colspan="2"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                &lt;tr&gt;

                                    &lt;td valign="top"&gt;&lt;img height="27" alt="" hspace="10" width="29" border="0" src="http://www.managemyhome.ca/images/check.gif" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                    &lt;td&gt;&lt;font face="ms sans serif, arial, sans serif" size="-1"&gt;The most common cause of damage to the fine aluminum fins of the condensing unit are solid objects thrown by the lawnmower. Always point the lawnmower in the other direction when you're near the air conditioning unit. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                            &lt;/tbody&gt;

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&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 10.5pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

Brought to you be Sears Manage My Homes.&lt;br /&gt;

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Great tips and maintenance ideas!!&lt;br style="mso-special-character: line-break" /&gt;

&lt;br style="mso-special-character: line-break" /&gt;

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Servicing in Oakville,Milton,Burlington,Mississauga,Brampton,Caledon,Toronto and the GTA (Greater Toronto Areas)&lt;/span&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Home-Maintenance-Tips.page?ArticleID=111</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.773Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Check The Outdoor Unit Of Your Air Conditioner </title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face="Arial"&gt;This Link is brought to you by&amp;nbsp;the Natural Resources Canada 2007&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

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Servicing in Oakville,Milton,Burlington,Mississauga,Brampton,Caledon,Toronto and the GTA (Greater Toronto Areas)&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://oee.rncan.gc.ca/publications/infosource/pub/ecoenergy-retrofit-homes/grants-residential2007.pdf"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Home-Maintenance-Tips.page?ArticleID=65</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.773Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Grants for Residential Property Owners</title>

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      <description>This Link below is brought to you by the Natural Resources Canada Date modified 2006-06-28.&lt;br /&gt;

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&lt;font face="Arial"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial"&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://oee.rncan.gc.ca/residential/personal/news-release.cfm?attr=12"&gt;EnerGuide for Houses News&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.773Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>EnerGuide for Houses News</title>

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This LINK is

&lt;p&gt;Brought to you by Sears &amp;copy; Sears Brands, LLC.&lt;br /&gt;

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&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.managemyhome.com/mmh/maintenance-plan/viewMaintenanceTipEcm.action?uid=c0c901bd-e922-11db-842a-159a4e80ca24&amp;amp;sid=IEMMHxstaticx20070419x00005"&gt;Check Your Roof and Eaves&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.773Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Check Your Roof and Eaves</title>

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      <description>This links from CMHC &lt;font size="2" face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font size="2" face="Times New Roman"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;has great information about termites &lt;a href="http://www.forintek.ca/public/pdf/Public_Information/fact%20sheets/termite_eng3oct02.pdf"&gt;http://www.forintek.ca/public/pdf/Public_Information/fact%20sheets/termite_eng3oct02.pdf&lt;/a&gt;</description>

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      <title>Termites</title>

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      <description>&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;SELLING YOUR HOME IN A DECLINING MARKET&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;Selling a home in a declining market starts with a proper attitude and finding the right Realtor who knows the right techniques to succeed in this tough market- t&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;his is where I come in.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;In most markets across the GTA, less than 20% of homes are selling in any given month.&amp;nbsp; In other words, for every 5 real estate listings, there is one sale per month.&amp;nbsp; Over the last few years, that number was much closer to 60-70% (some neighbourhoods were as high as 80%).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;Even though most people and economists are down on the housing market (feel it is depressed, that the economic recovery isn't going to happen in the next few months, and consumer confidence is down), it doesn't mean that you can't sell your home.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;In fact, this is an ideal time given that there is a wave of new buyers or families downsizing that might make your home all the more appealing. &amp;nbsp;Everything is an opportunity to seize &amp;ndash; this is &lt;i&gt;your &lt;/i&gt;time to take advantage of these trends, whether you are selling or buying.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;How do you become the winner?&amp;nbsp; The one in five that is successful?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;While many sellers and real estate agents take a reactive approach to market conditions, those sellers who take a more proactive and realistic approach to the market will be the ones who sell their homes.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;First, be honest about appraising the condition of your home. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;The key to successful selling in a 'declining market' is pricing your home at today's market value&amp;nbsp;(or even tomorrow's, which&amp;nbsp;we call&amp;nbsp;pricing ahead of the market), having your home in tip-top condition and being able to work with a prospective buyer on financing needs and terms. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;Don't let your ego or pride get in the way when determining a price for your home. Put yourself in the buyer's shoes and visit other homes and compare honestly. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;Secondly, take a leisurely walk through your home jotting down the little things you might do to spruce it up. &amp;nbsp;New carpeting, a fresh coat of paint, new light fixtures, mirrors, etc., are items that will give your home more emotional appeal and they don't cost&amp;nbsp;very much. &amp;nbsp;Put away the clutter throughout the home. &amp;nbsp;Rooms free of clutter will appear bigger and the new buyer can visually 'move into' your home much easier. &amp;nbsp;Remember, new buyers are not buying your furniture. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;Finally, be patient. &amp;nbsp;The real estate market has changed considerably since the last run-up where homes sold in hours or days. &amp;nbsp;We are now experiencing a more &amp;quot;normal market&amp;quot; where homes take 90-120 days to sell. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;It's a lot like driving 150 km/h on the highway and then slowing down to 110 km/h.&amp;nbsp; You're still driving at a brisk pace, but it's not the crazy speed you experienced before.&amp;nbsp; That's our market now -- much more balanced, and still quite healthy. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;Also remember, inventories are at an all-time high right now. &amp;nbsp;Many buyers will have difficulty qualifying for a new loan and lenders also have very strict guidelines now and consumer confidence is very low. &amp;nbsp;Allowing for a normal marketing period will do a lot to alleviate your impatience when you have few showings of your home or a lack of offers to review. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;A good Realtor will keep you abreast of market changes, activity on your home and others in the neighbourhood, while maintaining a &amp;quot;teamwork&amp;quot; concept that is paramount for a successful sale.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;This is the fundamental approach for the Abbott Advantage!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;Properties now&amp;nbsp;need time to be exposed to the public and finding the right buyer requires a good understanding of the market as well as sales values. &amp;nbsp;In all honesty, there are no easy answers... but one thing is for certain;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;Even in the worst markets, there are people selling homes!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;Warm Regards,&lt;br /&gt;

Chris&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;PS&gt; If you have any questions for related services whether it be a financial portfolio review, insurance, legal services, mortgage consulting, contracting services, etc... I would be happy to connect you with a member of my extended team of professionals to set-up a meeting at your convenience.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;MARKET STATISTICS&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;Click on the Link Below;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;&lt;a title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" href="http://www.omdreb.on.ca/Docs2/dec%20with%20w's.pdf"&gt;&lt;font color="#000b97"&gt;Oakville Market Statistics&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12pt; color: red"&gt;*&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;for a more comprehensive, detailed Market Report for Oakville / Milton broken down by neighbourhood, let me know and I will email a PDF report to you.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;THANK YOU!&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;i&gt;A special &amp;lsquo;thank you&amp;rsquo; to Stuart and Lisa Briggs for their referral of their close friends, Becky and Michael Roberts! &amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;FEATURE HOME OF THE MONTH&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;i&gt;Click on the Link Below;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;a title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" href="http://www.abbotthomes.ca/listings_detail.php?recordID=333"&gt;&lt;font color="#000b97"&gt;3054 Jenn Avenue, &amp;lsquo;Alton Village&amp;rsquo; Burlinton&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;YOUTUBE VIDEO FOR WESTOAK TRAILS&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;i&gt;Click on the Link Below;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;a title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0H0hO8__h7s"&gt;&lt;font color="#000b97"&gt;West Oak Trails Video&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt"&gt;CHRIS ABBOTT&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt"&gt;B.Comm&amp;nbsp; | Real Estate Broker&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt"&gt;Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd.,&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt"&gt;105-231 Oak Park Boulevard,&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt"&gt;Oakville, ON&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; L6H 7J6&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;a title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" href="http://mail.gtahomeinspector.ca/mail6a/www.abbotthomes.ca%20"&gt;&lt;span style="color: blue"&gt;www.abbotthomes.ca&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;a onclick="$Loader.getAppWindow().composeMailTo('chris@abbotthomes.ca','','','','');" href="javascript:void(0);"&gt;&lt;span style="color: blue"&gt;chris@abbotthomes.ca&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

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&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_injection" id="softomate_highlight_1" title="Call this phone number in Canada with Skype: +19052573550" durex="0" context="905.257.3550" onclick="javascript:doRunCMD('call','1',null,0);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" iamrtl="0" onmouseout="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,0,'1',true,16,'');" onmouseover="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'1',true,16,'');" onmousedown="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,2,'1',true,16,'');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseup="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'1',true,16,'');return skype_tb_stopEvents();"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgA" id="skype_tb_droppart_1" title="Skype actions" onclick="javascript:skype_tb_SwitchDrop(this,'1','sms=0');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseout="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'1',0,1,16);" onmouseover="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'1',1,1,16);" onmousedown="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'1',2,1,16);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseup="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'1',1,1,16);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" style="background-image: url(c:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache\e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506\static\inactive_a.compat.flex.w16.gif)"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgFlag" id="skype_tb_img_f1" style="background-image: url(c:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache\e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506\static\famfamfam/CA.gif)"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgS" id="skype_tb_img_s1" style="background-image: url(c:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache\e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506\static\inactive_s.compat.gif)"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_injectionIn" id="skype_tb_text1" style="background-image: url(c:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache\e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506\static\inactive_m.compat.gif)"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_innerText" id="skype_tb_innerText1"&gt;905.257.3550&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgR" id="skype_tb_img_r1" style="background-image: url(c:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache\e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506\static\inactive_r.compat.gif)"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt; (Fax)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_injection" id="softomate_highlight_2" title="Call this phone number in Canada with Skype: +19055105311" durex="0" context="905.510.5311" onclick="javascript:doRunCMD('call','2',null,0);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" iamrtl="0" onmouseout="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,0,'2',true,16,'');" onmouseover="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'2',true,16,'');" onmousedown="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,2,'2',true,16,'');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseup="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'2',true,16,'');return skype_tb_stopEvents();"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgA" id="skype_tb_droppart_2" title="Skype actions" onclick="javascript:skype_tb_SwitchDrop(this,'2','sms=0');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseout="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'2',0,1,16);" onmouseover="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'2',1,1,16);" onmousedown="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'2',2,1,16);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseup="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'2',1,1,16);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" style="background-image: url(c:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache\e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506\static\inactive_a.compat.flex.w16.gif)"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgFlag" id="skype_tb_img_f2" style="background-image: url(c:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache\e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506\static\famfamfam/CA.gif)"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgS" id="skype_tb_img_s2" style="background-image: url(c:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache\e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506\static\inactive_s.compat.gif)"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_injectionIn" id="skype_tb_text2" style="background-image: url(c:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache\e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506\static\inactive_m.compat.gif)"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_innerText" id="skype_tb_innerText2"&gt;905.510.5311&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgR" id="skype_tb_img_r2" style="background-image: url(c:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache\e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506\static\inactive_r.compat.gif)"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt; (Mobile)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

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&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #541c00"&gt;RANKED TOP 5% in CANADA&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #541c00"&gt;Referrals are an important part of my business. Anyone you refer will receive special care and attention. &lt;u&gt;Thank You!&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="color: #231f20"&gt;Thinking of Moving but don&amp;rsquo;t know where to begin?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="color: #231f20"&gt;Take the first step by &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;calling me today&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="color: #231f20"&gt;for a complimentary home evaluation.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="color: #231f20"&gt;It would be my pleasure to work with you in the preparation,&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="color: #231f20"&gt;marketing and sale of your property. Thank You for your business.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Interesting-Articles.page?ArticleID=5552</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.773Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>SELLING YOUR HOME IN A DECLINING MARKET</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&lt;div id="headline"&gt;

&lt;p id="subtitle"&gt;APARTMENTS&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;A rental crunch on the horizon&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;h3 id="deck"&gt;The downturn in the condo market may have a huge impact on renters&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;/div&gt;

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&lt;div id="author"&gt;

&lt;p class="byline"&gt;TERRENCE BELFORD&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="source"&gt;From Friday's Globe and Mail&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul class="columnistInfo"&gt;

    &lt;li class="email"&gt;&lt;a title="Send an message directly to this writer" _counted="undefined" href="mailto:tbelford@globeandmail.com"&gt;&lt;font color="#001f5e"&gt;E-mail &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

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&lt;p class="article-date"&gt;December 11, 2008 at 5:53 PM EST&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div id="article" style="font-size: 100%"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Here is a question that might take the edge off the holiday season: Is Toronto about to face another rental housing crisis?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Are we indeed heading back 25 years to the mid-1980s when apartment vacancy rates fell to just one or two available units in every thousand?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Gerry DiLeo, a partner in Rental Lifestyle Group Inc., which manages rental apartment buildings and condo suites for investors, says he is concerned. He can see signs of a future shortage.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;On the other hand, Jim Ritchie, senior vice-president of sales and marketing at Tridel Corp., which through its Del Condominium Rentals Inc. manages 1,400 suites for investors, says it is too soon to tell. Much will depend on what happens to the condo market this spring and summer.&lt;/p&gt;

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&lt;p&gt;From the archives&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul id="archived_articles"&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;&lt;a title="Posted: Friday, Nov 28 2008" _counted="undefined" href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081128.reHighLife1128/REStory/RealEstate"&gt;&lt;font color="#001f5e"&gt;Market change is good news for buyers&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;!--no_match--&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;&lt;a title="Posted: Thursday, Nov 20 2008" _counted="undefined" href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081120.reBelford1121/REStory/RealEstate"&gt;&lt;font color="#001f5e"&gt;Condo buyers should prepare for 'phantom' rent&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;!--no_match--&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;&lt;a title="Posted: Friday, Nov 14 2008" _counted="undefined" href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081114.reBelford1114/REStory/RealEstate"&gt;&lt;font color="#001f5e"&gt;Power back in the buyers' hands&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;!--no_match--&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;&lt;a title="Posted: Friday, Nov 7 2008" _counted="undefined" href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081107.reBelford1107/REStory/RealEstate"&gt;&lt;font color="#001f5e"&gt;Sheppard corridor booms on affordability&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;!--no_match--&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;&lt;a title="Posted: Thursday, Oct 30 2008" _counted="undefined" href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081030.reBelford1031/REStory/RealEstate"&gt;&lt;font color="#001f5e"&gt;What condo purchasers need to watch for&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;!--no_match--&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;&lt;a title="Posted: Friday, Oct 24 2008" _counted="undefined" href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081024.reBelford1024/REStory/RealEstate"&gt;&lt;font color="#001f5e"&gt;A condo rare as diamonds&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;!--no_match--&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;&lt;a title="Posted: Friday, Oct 17 2008" _counted="undefined" href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081017.reBelford1017/REStory/RealEstate"&gt;&lt;font color="#001f5e"&gt;Mississauga enters new phase of city-building&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;!--no_match--&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;&lt;a title="Posted: Friday, Oct 10 2008" _counted="undefined" href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081010.reBelford1010/REStory/RealEstate"&gt;&lt;font color="#001f5e"&gt;The math behind the price tag&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;!--no_match--&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;&lt;a title="Posted: Friday, Dec 5 2008" _counted="undefined" href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081205.reBelford1205/REStory/RealEstate"&gt;&lt;font color="#001f5e"&gt;North Yonge corridor continues its boom&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;!--no_match--&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;img height="39" alt="The Globe and Mail" width="30" src="http://images.theglobeandmail.com/v5/images/icon/icon-digital-leaf-small-red.png" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The last time Toronto faced a shortage of near-epic proportions, it was because of rent controls.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Developers simply stopped building rental buildings because they could not get rents high enough to justify their costs.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;What turned the situation around was the surge in new condo construction. Investors &amp;mdash; mainly small investors plunking hard-earned savings into one or two units &amp;mdash; found they could buy suites then rent them for enough cash to both pay the mortgage and cover monthly maintenance costs.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;At the same time a flood tide of new condo buyers took a large chunk of the rental population out of the market and vacancy rates started to climb. Developers that did create new rental projects took the precaution of registering them as condominiums as an exit strategy.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If worst came to worst in the rental market they could always sell their units as condos and get out of the rental business entirely.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;That free-market approach to dealing with a social issue worked well for two decades. Unfortunately, it now seems headed straight for a collision with the brick wall of economics.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Rising condo prices have made it near impossible in many parts of the Greater Toronto Area for investors to cover costs through rents.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;They are edging out of the market. Since those same investors were the ones who ensured a steady supply of rental units to meet a GTA growth rate of 100,000 new immigrants a year, the inevitable conclusion is we face a shortage somewhere down the line.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It is all in the math, Mr. DiLeo says. A 750-square-foot, one-bedroom-plus-den condo can bring anywhere from $1,750 to $1,900 on the rental market.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;But the cost of that condo based on the $545 a square foot being charged for new projects in areas such as the North Yonge corridor weighs in at $408,750.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;That means an investor has to fork over almost $82,000 in cash as a 20-per-cent down payment and take out a mortgage for about $327,000. The problem is, $1,750 a month in rent covers only payments on about $280,000 worth of mortgages. Now add in monthly maintenance costs of perhaps 45 cents a square foot, or about $338 a month.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The shortfall is significant.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;quot;The result is that anyone investing today needs a series of very big rent increases to get into the black,&amp;quot; Mr. DiLeo says. &amp;quot;The numbers just don't make sense any more for most small investors.&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The signs were already visible last spring when Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. issued its rental market survey. CMHC reported that the vacancy rate for rental suites in structures with three or more units fell to 2.8 per cent in April from 4 per cent in the same month of 2007.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Especially hard hit is downtown Toronto, says Mr. DiLeo. Rental Lifestyle Group's portfolio includes 600 rental condo suites and vacancy rates in that area are running at about 0.5 per cent, he says, adding that that rate is about 1 per cent if you take in the entire city.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;quot;We get more than 400 calls a week from people looking for an apartment,&amp;quot; he says. &amp;quot;That is 400 people all vying for maybe 40 that we have available for rent at any one time.&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The same holds true among Del's 1,400 suites, which are spread right across the GTA.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;quot;We have virtually no vacancies,&amp;quot; Mr. Ritchie says.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Most affected are one-bedroom and one-plus-den units. The latter have been investors' preferred buys because they can handle two tenants willing to split the rent. In a pinch, one can sleep in the den.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;By comparison, Mr. DiLeo says, a 645-square-foot one-bedroom suite now goes for between $1,450 and $1,650 a month on the rental market and there is no shortage of takers.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The only area where the condo rental market still offers a reasonable supply of suites is larger units. But, at the same time, an 880-square-foot, two-bedroom suite can run anywhere from $2,000 to $3,000 a month.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Now, as for timing: Supply is already starting to shrink, and as vacancy rates fall, rent increases are certain to follow. The real crunch will not likely happen until the end of this decade.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;quot;Right now we have under way all those suites sold to investors in 2006 and the boom year of 2007,&amp;quot; Mr. Ritchie says. &amp;quot;They will start coming onto the rental market towards 2009 or 2010.&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;But with condo sales down now and with more modest sales expected in 2009, and with investors no longer snapping up about 30 per cent of the suites in most downtown projects because of rising prices, what comes next?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;quot;[It's] really too soon to tell,&amp;quot; Mr. Ritchie says. &amp;quot;Right now investors seem to be taking a wait-and-see attitude. What counts is what happens next year.&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;quot;I think the situation poses grave concern for the future of this city,&amp;quot; Mr. DiLeo says. &amp;quot;Right now, nobody knows what might happen.&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;/div&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Interesting-Articles.page?ArticleID=5264</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.773Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>A rental crunch on the horizon</title>

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      <description>&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/prod/insulation-isolant-eng.php"&gt;Vermiculite Insulation Containing Amphibole Asbestos&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;

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      <description>&lt;div class="labelKicker" style="PADDING-TOP: 5px"&gt;&lt;span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder_article_NavWebPart_Article_ctl00___LabelKicker__"&gt;EXPERT ADVICE&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/div&gt;

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&lt;div class="imgCaption"&gt;&lt;span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder_article_NavWebPart_Article_ctl00___imgCaption__"&gt;The white, fluffy stuff on this wall is efflorescence, a fibrous mineral deposit that indicates small amounts of moisture migration. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

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&lt;div style="MARGIN: 20px 0px"&gt;&lt;span style="TEXT-TRANSFORM: capitalize"&gt;Jul 05, 2008 04:30 AM&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/div&gt;

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&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Q: How should water damage be repaired in our brand new home? Lack of caulking in the shower led to a leak, causing a couple of five-centimetre by five-centimetre stains on the ceiling below. Our builder says that repainting will solve the problem. Should I go to Tarion about this? &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A: &lt;/strong&gt;Sorry to hear about your trouble, though I think it can be fixed simply. Small flaws of the sort you're experiencing are not unusual in new homes. And as long as the builder repairs them promptly and properly, there's no need for any formal complaints.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;From your description, I'd agree with the builder about the possibilities for repair. It sounds like you've noticed the troubles in plenty of time to avoid major problems. Once the shower leak is repaired, I expect new paint will fix the ceiling. If any mildew is discovered, spray it with a unique product called Concrobium. This is a non-toxic liquid that kills mould and mildew spores mechanically. As the liquid dries it shrinks, and crushes these organisms. Concrobium is effective both initially and offers residual protection, too. It's not always easy to find, even in stores that have the product in their system. I know for certain that Concrobium is carried by Home Hardware (product No. 4511070).&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Q: What's the white, fluffy substance forming on the inside face of my block garage? Will it damage the blocks? How can I stop it? The outside face of the wall is parged.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A: &lt;/strong&gt;What you've got is probably efflorescence &amp;ndash; a mineral buildup that develops as small but steady amounts of moisture move through masonry and dry. As this migration continues, it leaves behind the visible minerals you see on your wall. These minerals probably aren't coming from the block wall itself, but rather from soil outside.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Dry, fluffy efflorescence can often be vacuumed off using a workshop vac. You might have to resort to a scrub brush and water if this doesn't work. Occasionally, a vinegar and water solution might be necessary to remove particularly stubborn efflorescence.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Stop the moisture migration into your garage and efflorescence will cease to develop, too. Applying a masonry waterproofing product to the parging on the outside will almost certainly work, and it'll also extend the life of the parging by preventing water from soaking in, freezing and flaking off the masonry.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Q: What can we do to repair our house? The basement wall has slid in. It desperately needs new windows, doors, roof, paint, insulation, plumbing &amp;ndash; almost everything. We've moved into a rental place and had the house on the market for six months, but no buyers. Raising our kids has left us deeply in debt and we're in no position to hire a contractor to renovate or tear down and rebuild. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A: &lt;/strong&gt;A while back I sat down and figured out how much it actually costs to feed and clothe my kids, save a basic amount for university and retirement, pay for home repairs and vehicle replacement and new appliances every decade or two. I was shocked to discover how big the figure is &amp;ndash; substantially higher than the average Canadian household income, and my numbers didn't include money for vacations or restaurant meals or any other luxuries. I suspect your root problem is one that's sneaking up on many folks these days. Few people take the time to add up all the costs associated with their lifestyle (actual costs and not just monthly payments), then set out to earn the required money or cut back spending accordingly. This leads to the slow and steady accumulation of personal debt and, eventually, some pretty nasty situations like yours. But ultimately, the piper will always be paid.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Probably your best strategy is to move back into the old house (whatever its condition), then work like crazy (and I mean like crazy) fixing it up with scrounged materials, a lot of ingenuity and even more sweat. It won't be easy, but if you're in reasonable health, it is possible to make something good happen with your own hands and a tiny bit of money. I know because I've done something similar. In the 1980s, I lived in a 200-square-foot shed with my wife for the first three years of our marriage while we built our house with stone collected free from surrounding fields and rough lumber I bought cheap. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Out-of-pocket cash costs totalled about $35 per square foot for the finished structure. Looking back now, I consider this an excellent time in my life and wouldn't trade it for anything. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Sign up for Steve Maxwell's free homeowner newsletter at &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.stevemaxwell.ca/"&gt;www.stevemaxwell.ca&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;em&gt;Steve Maxwell is technical editor of &lt;em&gt;Canadian Home Workshop&lt;/em&gt; and appears Saturdays in New in Homes.&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="articleAuthor" id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder_article_NavWebPart_Article_ctl00___Author1__"&gt;Steve Maxwell&lt;br /&gt;

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This article is from the Toronto Star.&lt;br /&gt;

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      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.773Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Water damage from shower a simple fix</title>

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      <description>&lt;div style="MARGIN: 20px 0px"&gt;&lt;span style="TEXT-TRANSFORM: capitalize"&gt;Jul 05, 2008 04:30 AM&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class="CommentsOnStory"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thestar.com/article/453184#Comments"&gt;Be the first to comment on this article...&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;

&lt;span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder_article_NavWebPart_Article_ctl00___RelatedAuthorLink__"&gt;&lt;a name="94630" var="94630" href="http://www.thestar.com/opinion/columnists/94630"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;!-- ARTICLE CONTENT --&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;di3&gt;&lt;/di3&gt;On July 1, Tarion Warranty Corp. introduced a completely new set of rules and procedures for delayed closings of freehold homes and condominiums purchased from builders.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;According to Howard Bogach, Tarion's recently appointed president and CEO, the updated warranty is intended to protect new-home buyers from the impact of delays in the closing of their purchases.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In my view, it also provides more disclosure and transparency to the process, while acknowledging industry realities that construction completion dates are often a moving target. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;A new addendum must be attached to all freehold house purchase agreements signed on or after July 1, 2008. In it, builders have to set out a specific closing date and whether that date is firm or tentative &amp;ndash; the builder has a choice. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If the builder chooses the firm option, the agreement must provide a specific calendar date for a &amp;quot;firm closing date,&amp;quot; as well as an &amp;quot;outside closing date&amp;quot; which is 365 days after the first date. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If the house is not complete by the outside date, the purchasers have 30 days to terminate the agreement. They will then receive a full refund of all money paid, plus delayed closing compensation of up to $150 a day after the firm closing date, up to a total of $7,500. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The same compensation is available if the purchaser completes the deal but closing takes place after the builder has used up all of its permitted extensions. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If the builder chooses the tentative closing date option in the initial purchase agreement, the buyer will know right up front that the date may be changed. In that case, the agreement must show calendar dates for each of the following:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;First tentative closing &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;date: &lt;/strong&gt;The date of the builder's original closing estimate.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Second tentative closing date: &lt;/strong&gt;A date up to 120 days after the first date. The builder can unilaterally extend closing to this date without penalty. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Firm closing date: &lt;/strong&gt;A date 120 days after the second date. This is the maximum limitation on the builder's ability to extend without setting a &amp;quot;delayed closing date&amp;quot; and paying compensation.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Outside closing date:&lt;/strong&gt; This is 365 days after the second tentative date or the firm closing date, whichever is earlier. If the house is still not finished and final closing does not take place by this outside date, the purchaser can terminate, receive a full refund, and claim delayed closing compensation. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If this all sounds terribly complicated, that's because it is. To that end, Tarion has provided a web-based calculator on its website so that consumers can do their own calculations or verify those of the builder. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Using this calculator, I entered a sample home purchase with a first tentative closing date of Jan. 7, 2009. Using that date yields a second tentative closing date of May 7, 2009, a firm closing date of Sept. 4, 2009, and an outside closing date of May 7, 2010. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In a real purchase situation, those exact dates would be clearly set out in the builder agreement, so there would be no confusion in the mind of the purchaser. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The new addendum also limits the builder's ability to terminate the agreement unilaterally if, for example, it does not get financing or achieve a sales target.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;However, it can still be permitted to terminate unilaterally if it is unable to obtain a building permit, register the subdivision plan, or complete utility services to the site. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Purchase agreements must now clearly disclose the status of development approvals and construction so that purchasers can better assess the risk that a delay or termination may occur. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;One of the best aspects of the new delayed closing regime &amp;ndash; which I enthusiastically applaud &amp;ndash; is a requirement for a builder to deliver a signed municipal occupancy permit to the purchaser on or before the date of closing.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This marks a significant change in the Tarion warranty program from the old days, when the occasional municipal occupancy approval would not be granted until long after the purchaser moved in. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Full details of the new delayed warranty are available at tarion.com. Enter Bulletin 46 in the search box. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Separate rules apply to condominium closings. Watch this space for details. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Bob Aaron is a Toronto real estate lawyer whose column appears Saturdays. He can be reached at &lt;a href="mailto:bob@aaron.ca"&gt;bob@aaron.ca&lt;/a&gt;. Visit his website at &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.aaron.ca/"&gt;www.aaron.ca&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="articleAuthor" id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder_article_NavWebPart_Article_ctl00___Author1__"&gt;Bob Aaron&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

This article if from the Toronto Star &lt;span style="TEXT-TRANSFORM: capitalize"&gt;Jul 05, 2008 04:30 AM&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;

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      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Interesting-Articles.page?ArticleID=117</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.773Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Closing dates you can take to the bank</title>

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      <description>&lt;font face="Arial"&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.cbc.ca/national/news/deadly_dust/"&gt;Information about vermiculite from CBC News.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;

&lt;table align="right"&gt;

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            &lt;td&gt;&lt;img height="120" alt="" width="160" align="right" border="1" src="http://www.cbc.ca/national/news/deadly_dust/gfx/bingcrosby.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr&gt;

            &lt;td&gt;&lt;font face="verdana,arial" size="1"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Zonolite Advertisement&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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&lt;/table&gt;

&lt;font size="4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Deadly Dust&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;font size="1"&gt;Reporter: Fr&amp;eacute;d&amp;eacute;ric Zalac&lt;br /&gt;

February 7, 2003 | Updated March 2005&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

Sources: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Pinchin Environmental, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Radio-Canada&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

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&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;/font&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Interesting-Articles.page?ArticleID=89</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.773Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Information about vermiculite from CBC News</title>

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      <description>Appraisal Institute of Canada recommends the following guidelines (ONLY) as &lt;br /&gt;

regards kitchen renovations:&lt;br /&gt;

if you are just 'face-lifting' prior to selling, you should spend no more &lt;br /&gt;

than 10-15% of cost of home.&lt;br /&gt;

if you are planning to stay for at least 5 years, recommend 25% or more as &lt;br /&gt;

you will (a) have the enjoyment and (b) likely recoup the cost.&lt;br /&gt;

The best 'bang for your buck' is certainly kitchens, bathrooms and family &lt;br /&gt;

room reno's - they add and/or maintain value in a home.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

This article was brought to you by:&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

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                        &lt;td valign="bottom" align="right" bgcolor="#0066cc"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #ffffff; FONT-FAMILY: verdana"&gt;Marilyn McCulloch&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: #ffffff; FONT-FAMILY: verdana"&gt;Sales Representative&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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            &lt;a href="http://mail.gtahomeinspector.ca:8383/src/compose.php?send_to=marilyn-mcculloch%40coldwellbanker.ca"&gt;marilyn-mcculloch@coldwellbanker.ca&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td valign="top" width="69"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

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&lt;br /&gt;

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&lt;/p&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Interesting-Articles.page?ArticleID=84</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.7886Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Appraisal Institute of Canada </title>

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      <description>&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Bold" color="#ff0000" size="4"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.esasafe.com/pdf/Flash_Notices/97-04-01-FL.pdf"&gt;Aluminum Wiring in Residential Installations&lt;/a&gt; . Rule 12-118&lt;br /&gt;

provided by the Electrical Safety Authority article 97-04-01-FL.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Bold" color="#ff0000" size="4"&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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Send us your comments about this Article.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Interesting-Articles.page?ArticleID=82</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.7886Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Aluminum Wiring in Residential Installations – Rule 12-118</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font face="Arial" size="4"&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.esasafe.com/pdf/Flash_Notices/03-02-FL.pdf"&gt;Knob and Tube Wiring in Residential Installations&lt;/a&gt; link is provided by the Electrical Safety Authority article number 03-02-FL.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font face="Arial" size="3"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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&lt;br /&gt;

Servicing in Oakville,Milton,Burlington,Mississauga,Brampton,Caledon,Toronto and the GTA (Greater Toronto Areas)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Interesting-Articles.page?ArticleID=81</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.7886Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Knob and Tube Wiring in Residential Installations</title>

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    <item>

      <description>&lt;p&gt;This Link to &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.rd.com/19216/article19216.html"&gt;Readers Digest&lt;/a&gt; about joist hangers is really interesting.&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;

Learn&amp;nbsp;the best way&amp;nbsp;to install joist hangers. You&amp;nbsp;can also check with the manufacturer of the joist hanger and inquire about what type of nails you should use.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

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&lt;br /&gt;

Servicing in Oakville,Milton,Burlington,Mississauga,Brampton,Caledon,Toronto and the GTA (Greater Toronto Areas)&lt;/p&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Interesting-Articles.page?ArticleID=71</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.7886Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Installing Joist Hangers Important Facts</title>

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    <item>

      <description>&lt;p&gt;Visit &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.decks.com/"&gt;Deck.com&lt;/a&gt; for more information on how to build your deck and calculate&amp;nbsp;the materials you may need.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

You should use this information as a guideline. When building your deck please check with your local building codes within your Municipality before you start.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://eho.mnet.ca/_mnweb/FCKeditorV2/editor/Send-a-Comment.page"&gt;We would like to hear from you!!&lt;br /&gt;

Send us your comments about this Article.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Servicing in Oakville,Milton,Burlington,Mississauga,Brampton,Caledon,Toronto and the GTA (Greater Toronto Areas)&lt;/p&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Interesting-Articles.page?ArticleID=70</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.7886Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Building a Deck? </title>

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    <item>

      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face="Arial"&gt;This article is brought to you by the Natural Resources Canada 2007-12-06&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://oee.rncan.gc.ca/residential/personal/tools/calculators/heatingcalc/index.cfm?attr=4"&gt;Home Heating System Cost Calculator&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

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&lt;br /&gt;

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      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Interesting-Articles.page?ArticleID=66</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.7886Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Home Heating System Cost Calculator</title>

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    <item>

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                        &lt;td valign="bottom" align="right" bgcolor="#0066cc"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #ffffff; FONT-FAMILY: verdana"&gt;Marilyn McCulloch&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;

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                        &lt;td colspan="3" height="96"&gt;&lt;img height="25" alt="" width="347" src="http://members.coldwellbanker.ca/library/virtualassistant/newsletters/images/title.gif" /&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#333333" size="2"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Welcome to my electronic newsletter called @Home with Coldwell Banker.&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        In this issue: &lt;/strong&gt;Don't miss out on this year's market, Three ingredients drive Canada's housing market, Visiting Open Houses - The ultimate reality check, Current Mortgage Rates&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;img height="12" alt="" width="650" src="http://members.coldwellbanker.ca/library/virtualassistant/newsletters/images/dots.gif" /&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

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                        &lt;td width="475"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font size="5"&gt;Don't miss out on this year's market&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        As a real estate professional, I know that Canadians have an almost insatiable curiosity about the market. No matter where I go or what I'm doing, as soon as anyone hears that I'm in real estate, the next question is usually, &amp;quot;What's the market going to do this year?&amp;quot; Well, whether you're thinking of buying or selling, let me put your mind at ease. There's a lot of good news in the 2008 market.&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;img height="103" alt="" width="131" align="right" src="http://members.coldwellbanker.ca/Images/MarketingCentre/FreeImages/newimages/IEX0026H_np.jpg" /&gt;You've probably heard that the Canadian housing market set a number of MLS ? sales records by the end of last year, and the re-sale housing market is expected to remain at near record sales levels in 2008. At least, so says The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) when reporting on the national picture. Annual residential MLS ? sales activity totaled 520,747 units in 2007, the first time ever that MLS ? transactions in Canada surpassed 500,000 homes sold in one year.&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        So what does that mean to you? Well, for one thing, it means that there's still strong buyer demand, and that demand means prices are expected to climb to new heights in 2008. While that will certainly make sellers happy, it won't come as good news if you're thinking of buying. However, even for buyers, there's still a silver lining. The high demand for homes means that buyers are still finding the current prices to be manageable, thanks to the very affordable interest rates that are in place right now. According to CREA, Canadian mortgage lenders see that home prices will continue rising, so there's still strong competition for mortgage business in Canada. More good news is that The Bank of Canada cut its trend-setting interest rates on January 22 and again on March 4th. These lower interest rates help to offset any increase in housing affordability due to rising prices. The bottom line is, even though the sale price may go up (good for sellers!), the carrying cost for the buyer changes very little due to the lower interest (so that's good for buyers!). And while you're carrying a home for much the same cost as if you'd bought when prices were lower, the best news for buyers is your equity could be growing as prices continue to rise. Industry forecasts call for more gains in average price - both this year &lt;em&gt;and &lt;/em&gt;in 2009.&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;img height="95" alt="" width="119" align="left" src="http://members.coldwellbanker.ca/Library/MarketingCentre/LogosImages/Free/history_inset_04web.jpg" /&gt;And just how high will prices go? Well, average prices for MLS? home sales are expected to keep setting records in 2008, although prices will increase more slowly as the market becomes more balanced across the country. According to CREA's Chief Economist, a larger supply of listings will be one of the balancing influences, so there'll be more for buyers to choose from in 2008. Nationwide, the average resale price is forecast to increase another 5.5% this year, to $322,700.&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        Of course, that's just an overview of market conditions in general. As your local &lt;strong&gt;Coldwell Banker&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;? &lt;/strong&gt;real estate professional, I can tell you that prices can vary dramatically within regions, communities, or even on the same street. If you'd like some 'insider information' on today's market, I hope you'll give me a call. &lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        This is not intended to solicit property already listed for sale.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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                        &lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#ffffff" size="2"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Selected Canadian Mortgage Rates&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#cccccc" size="2"&gt;(Posted 5-year fixed rates as of April 11th, 2008):&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#cccccc" size="2"&gt;BMO: 7.19%&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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                        &lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#cccccc" size="2"&gt;TD/Canada Trust: 7.19%&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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                        &lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#cccccc" size="2"&gt;CIBC: 7.19%&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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                        &lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#cccccc" size="2"&gt;ING Direct: 5.59%&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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                        &lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#cccccc" size="2"&gt;Manulife Bank: 5.7%&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#cccccc" size="2"&gt;President's Choice Financial: 5.74%&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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                        &lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#cccccc" size="2"&gt;Royal Bank: 7.19%&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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                        &lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#cccccc" size="2"&gt;Scotiabank: 7.19%&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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                        &lt;font size="5"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Three ingredients drive Canada's housing market&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        There's been a lot of media attention about the real estate market in the U.S. lately. So much so, in fact, that some of my customers are either getting confused about the recent reporting, or wondering if some of the problems south of the border could possibly affect us here. First and foremost, let me clarify that the influences you're seeing at play in the United States when you turn on your TV every night are definitely &lt;em&gt;not &lt;/em&gt;at work here. In fact, industry sources and economic forecasters say that all the positive economic drivers are in place for a continued strong market, so we're looking in pretty good shape.&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        According to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), there are three key economic ingredients that will keep Canada's housing market on a different track from the U.S. One is consumer confidence, the second is employment, and third is affordable interest rates. Right now, the news in these three critical areas is good on all fronts. CREA's Chief Economist forecasts that the Canadian housing market in 2008 will pull back from last year's breakneck pace, but it will still be the second-busiest year on record in almost all provinces, with residential unit sales reaching an estimated 512,705 units.&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;img height="150" alt="" width="214" align="right" src="http://members.coldwellbanker.ca/library/virtualassistant/newsletters/images/sold.jpg" /&gt;The real challenge for the Canadian housing market will be the extent to which our employment situation and consumer confidence may be affected by a slowdown in the U.S. economy. According to CREA, an economic downturn in the States is expected to result in slower job growth here, but there should still be &lt;em&gt;growth &lt;/em&gt;all the same. Despite all the media hype, the reality is that a positive employment picture, not massive layoffs are being forecast in Canada for 2008. Consumer confidence may be side-swiped by stock market volatility and reports that chances of a U.S. recession will put the brakes on the Canadian economy. However, the good news is that with continuing job growth, a low unemployment rate and the absence of widespread layoffs, consumer confidence will bounce back. The domestic economy and the housing market will weather the sub-prime fallout with the help of lower interest rates.&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        Whether you're thinking of buying or selling a home - or both -- you'll be glad to know that the three ingredients for a robust real estate market are all in place and market conditions are expected to stay strong throughout 2008. If you bought a home now, forecasts call for its value to appreciate this year and next -- and financing continues to be available at very attractive interest rates. If you're thinking of selling, you can look forward to the average home price in Canada rising to record heights this year. Either way, there's good news ahead. So why not turn those three ingredients into your own recipe for success? Make this your year to capitalize on the opportunities that are present in today's market. As your &lt;strong&gt;Coldwell Banker&lt;/strong&gt;? real estate professional, I'll be there to help you every step of the way. Why not give me a call, and let's talk about your options.&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#333333" size="2"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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                        &lt;img height="12" alt="" width="650" src="http://members.coldwellbanker.ca/library/virtualassistant/newsletters/images/dots.gif" /&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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                        &lt;strong&gt;Visiting Open Houses -- The ultimate reality check&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        If you're a prospective home buyer, there are many good reasons to visit an Open House. While online listings give you a very limited view of the home and perhaps some of the property, a personal inspection is the ultimate reality check.&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;img height="152" alt="" width="199" align="left" src="http://members.coldwellbanker.ca/library/virtualassistant/newsletters/images/ranch.jpeg" /&gt;Visiting different Open Houses within a short period of time offers you a unique opportunity to compare and evaluate one property against another. It also gives you the freedom to check out several properties informally without any pressure, so many buyers find that it's a very good first step in the home buying process. Once you've toured a few Open Houses, you're in a much better position to start refining your search. If you're not sure exactly what you want at the start of the process, visiting Open Houses lets you examine different styles of home in the real world, not just from written descriptions or floor plans. Let's face it - how many buyers can be absolutely sure they want a split level, open concept, or raised ranch style home without ever having seen one in person? It may look like a good idea on paper, but you may find that in reality, it just isn't right for you. If you're unfamiliar with some home styles, then visiting Open Houses will help you to determine what you like and, equally important, what you don't like about certain styles. When it's time to start working with a sales professional and scheduling appointments for private viewings, the experience you've gained from your Open House tours will help you weed out prospective homes simply based on their design and layout. &lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;img height="131" alt="" width="221" align="right" src="http://members.coldwellbanker.ca/library/virtualassistant/newsletters/images/houseinterior.jpg" /&gt;Open Houses also give you 'real world' decorating ideas that will be invaluable when its time to set up your own home. Visiting a variety of different homes can show you what works and what doesn't for everything from interior design to room layout. Then you can apply that knowledge when you find the home that's right for you. Even something as simple as the use of colour in different areas and how furniture is positioned can all add to the enjoyment of your own home. &lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        Another advantage of coming out to Open Houses is getting to meet different sales representatives. If you aren't already working with a real estate professional, Open Houses give you an opportunity to meet several of them informally and see if you have any rapport with them. After all, you should feel comfortable with the person who's advising you in what's probably the most important financial decision of your life. And if you're also planning on selling your existing home, it's a great way to see how well the sales representative presents the home you're visiting.&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#333333" size="2"&gt;&lt;img height="12" alt="" width="650" src="http://members.coldwellbanker.ca/library/virtualassistant/newsletters/images/dots.gif" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#666666" size="2"&gt;Should you happen to know of any family, friends or situations in which I may offer my real estate knowledge and service, please don't hesitate to refer me.&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;font size="1"&gt;&lt;em&gt;This newsletter is not intended to solicit properties currently listed for sale.&lt;br /&gt;

                        An Independently Owned and Operated Member Broker of Coldwell Banker Affiliates of Canada.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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Elite home on homes inspection is not responsible for the content and accuracy of the web links or articles.&lt;br /&gt;

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Servicing in Oakville,Milton,Burlington,Mississauga,Brampton,Caledon,Toronto and the GTA (Greater Toronto Areas)</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Interesting-Articles.page?ArticleID=60</link>

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This article&amp;nbsp;below is brought to you by The&amp;nbsp;Toronto Star, &lt;span style="TEXT-TRANSFORM: capitalize"&gt;Mar 31, 2008 04:30 AM&lt;/span&gt; .&lt;br /&gt;

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&lt;font face="Arial"&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.thestar.com/article/407487"&gt;Taxes hit you were you live&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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Servicing in Oakville,Milton,Burlington,Mississauga,Brampton,Caledon,Toronto and the GTA (Greater Toronto Areas)&lt;/font&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Interesting-Articles.page?ArticleID=58</link>

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      <description>&lt;font face="Arial"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

This&amp;nbsp;article below is brought to you by The&amp;nbsp;Toronto Star .&lt;span class="date"&gt;April 9, 2008&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://yourhome.ca/homes/article/412683"&gt;40-year mortgage comes with hidden hazards&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Interesting-Articles.page?ArticleID=57</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.7886Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>40-year mortgage-hidden hazards</title>

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      <description>&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;u&gt;Why Now is an Ideal Time to Purchase Revenue Property&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;If you&amp;rsquo;ve been thinking about buying a revenue property, given the current lending environment and the slower real estate market &amp;ndash; which has shifted to a buyers&amp;rsquo; market &amp;ndash; there are several reasons why now may be an ideal time.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;Interest rates have also been dropping to near historic lows as of late, which should help you more easily obtain financing for your revenue property.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;And although the real estate market slowdown has seen prices drop and interest rates dip, rental income has not wavered &amp;ndash; making now an optimal time to start building your revenue property portfolio or continue adding to your existing list of properties.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;During a buyers&amp;rsquo; market in the real estate cycle, sellers are far more flexible and willing to work with you because they are most likely not receiving much traffic through their doors, let alone being bogged down with multiple offers. And in cases where property has been on the market for quite some time, negotiating a sales price should offer you even more added flexibility.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;And when it comes to choosing a revenue property that meets your needs, now is also a great time because the inventory of available properties is plentiful&lt;em&gt;. &lt;/em&gt;You will have multiple properties to look at and not be rushed into making a hasty decision with a long list of other buyers ready to make a purchase.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;Another bonus is that, should you wish to make changes to your revenue property, tradesmen who do renovations aren&amp;rsquo;t as busy as they used to be. As a result, these tradesmen are now answering their phones on the first ring, showing up when they say they will and offering much more competitive pricing.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;In order to take advantage of this opportunity, the key is to work with a mortgage professional who is an expert in this niche and can provide you with a wealth of knowledge and ongoing information that will help you make informed investment decisions and feel at ease throughout each purchase.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;Mortgage professionals offer an invaluable service to real estate investors because, if the mortgages on your investment properties are not set up properly from the on-set of each venture, you will not be able to get future financing &amp;ndash; a necessity for continuing to build your portfolio of revenue properties.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;Mortgage professionals who are experts in dealing with real estate investors know that a portfolio approach must be taken to ensure future financing for those looking to purchase revenue properties. An experienced mortgage professional will ask you in detail about your specific property investment goals and develop a game plan for the next five or 10 years based on these goals.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;Your mortgage professional can work with you in order to determine where you currently stand in terms of your real estate goals, where you need to be to meet those goals and the steps involved to get you there.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;Keep in mind, however, that your plan should be revisited with your mortgage professional at least annually to ensure you&amp;rsquo;re still on track.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;A team of experts&lt;br /&gt;

A mortgage professional who specializes in helping clients acquire revenue property is also likely to partner with other investment property experts, including real estate agents, lawyers, accountants, insurance agents and contractors, to name a few, which enables your mortgage professional to provide valuable information to you through this knowledge network they have created.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;By forming ties with other trusted experts, your mortgage professional is able to provide you with a one-stop shop for meeting all of your real estate investment needs.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;Your mortgage professional can also help direct you to other organizations that will offer you further insight into your real estate investment needs. If you join groups such as the Real Estate Investment Network (REIN) or even a local Rental Owners and Managers Society (ROMS), for instance, you can receive a wealth of added knowledge catered to your revenue property needs.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;While REIN can provide market insight and investing tips through years of experience, ROMS helps with credit checks for potential tenants, keeps you abreast of changes to the Residential Tenancy Act and other topics/concerns often faced by landlords.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;As always, if you want to talk about revenue property purchases, I&amp;rsquo;m here to help&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12pt"&gt;Claire Drage, AMP&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;Mortgage Agent (FSCO License No.: M08007610)&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;Dominion Lending Centres Home Capital Solutions Inc. (FSCO No.: 10844)&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;Tel: 905.847.6611&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;Cell: 905.330.9488&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;Fax: 1.866.755.3750&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;Email: claire.drage@sympatico.ca&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;www.yourmortgageoptions.ca&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12pt"&gt;With all the mortgage options out there, is looking at just one.. Your Best Choice?&amp;nbsp; Call me for ALL your Mortgage Options. &amp;nbsp;I help people feel the freedom of planning their own Mortgage Burning Party!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Mortgage-News.page?ArticleID=7706</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.7886Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Why Now is an Ideal Time to Purchase Revenue Property</title>

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                                                            &lt;td valign="middle" align="center" width="410"&gt;&lt;font face="arial" color="#ffffff" size="4"&gt;&lt;font color="#f1bb5b"&gt;Canada's Top Mortgage Brokers!&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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                                                            &lt;font face="arial" color="#ffffff" size="2"&gt;November 2008 News &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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                                                                        &lt;td valign="top" align="center"&gt;&lt;font face="arial" color="#f1bb5b" size="4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Claire Drage&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                                                                        &lt;font face="arial" color="#ffffff" size="1"&gt;M08007610&lt;/font&gt; &lt;br /&gt;

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                                                                        &lt;font face="arial" color="#ffffff" size="2"&gt;301- 8555 Jane St.&lt;br /&gt;

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                                                                        &lt;p class="style6"&gt;Welcome to the November edition of my monthly newsletter!&lt;br /&gt;

                                                                        &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                        In this month's publication is an article that will help you understand whether putting extra cash towards your RRSP or putting it to your Mortgage is a better investment. Also included is an article to help you prepare your home for the fast approaching winter. Please let me know if you have any questions or feedback regarding anything outlined below.&lt;/p&gt;

                                                                        &lt;p class="style6"&gt;Thanks again for your continued support &amp;amp; referrals!&lt;/p&gt;

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                                                                                    &lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#ffffff" size="3"&gt;In This Issue&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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                                                                                    &lt;ul&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li&gt;&lt;a class="style7" title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" href="http://mail.gtahomeinspector.ca:8383/src/read_body.php?passed_id=30903833&amp;amp;ent_id=1&amp;amp;mailbox=INBOX&amp;amp;sort=0&amp;amp;startMessage=1&amp;amp;show_more=0&amp;amp;passed_ent_id=0&amp;amp;view_unsafe_images=1#1"&gt;Debate: Should Extra Cash Go To My RRSP Or To My Mortgage?&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &amp;nbsp;&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li&gt;&lt;a class="style7" title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" href="http://mail.gtahomeinspector.ca:8383/src/read_body.php?passed_id=30903833&amp;amp;ent_id=1&amp;amp;mailbox=INBOX&amp;amp;sort=0&amp;amp;startMessage=1&amp;amp;show_more=0&amp;amp;passed_ent_id=0&amp;amp;view_unsafe_images=1#2"&gt;Winterizing Your Home&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &amp;nbsp;&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li&gt;&lt;a class="style7" title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" href="http://mail.gtahomeinspector.ca:8383/src/read_body.php?passed_id=30903833&amp;amp;ent_id=1&amp;amp;mailbox=INBOX&amp;amp;sort=0&amp;amp;startMessage=1&amp;amp;show_more=0&amp;amp;passed_ent_id=0&amp;amp;view_unsafe_images=1#3"&gt;About Dominion Lending Centres &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

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                                                            &lt;td valign="top" align="left" bgcolor="#bb7904"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#ffffff" size="4"&gt;&lt;span class="MiddleContent"&gt;&lt;font size="4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;&lt;a id="1" title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" href="http://www2.mambonetcom.com//cgi-bin/public/redir.pl?cid=1334&amp;amp;rid=7300&amp;amp;id=89" name="1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#ffffff" size="3"&gt;Debate: Should Extra Cash Go To My RRSP Or To My Mortgage?&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;&lt;img height="188" alt="" hspace="5" width="277" align="left" src="http://imambo.com/clnt/dominion/_news/0811/rrsp_mortage.jpg" /&gt; One of the biggest debates around the Canadian personal finance world is the battle between contributing to your RRSP or using the money to pay down your mortgage? The answer depends very much on the individual. Here are the options at hand:&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1. Pay down your mortgage first and then start contributing to your RRSP.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;There is no doubt that paying off your mortgage will give a guaranteed tax free return.&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;The problem with this option is that you'll miss out on years of tax free compounding within your RRSP. Simply put, RRSP returns will most likely beat your mortgage rate interest payments based on today's low rates.&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;Typically, this option is best for people who are in lower income tax brackets.&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2. Keep making the regular mortgage payments, but maximize your RRSP.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;Providing that you are in a high tax bracket, I don't think that you can go wrong with this option.&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;This option may not be desirable for someone who has more years left on their mortgage than they do have left until retirement. The ultimate goal should be to retire debt free.&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3. Do BOTH. Maximize your RRSP and use the tax refund to pay down your mortgage.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;This is the optimal solution. Contribute as much as you can to your RRSP and use your tax return to pay down the mortgage. That way, you get the best of both worlds, a tax free fixed income return (on the mortgage), along with growth (in your RRSP).&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;Many people know about the following trick already, but make sure that you are paying your mortgage off BI-WEEKLY instead of monthly. Paying bi-weekly will seem like you&amp;rsquo;re making the same payments as monthly, except, you'll end up making an extra payment in a year.&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;This simple tweak of paying your mortgage bi-weekly will reduce your amortization from 25 years to 21 years.&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;Here are three direct links to calculators that will help you determine if you should be spending your extra money on an RRSP contribution or if you'd come out ahead paying down your mortgage:&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;ol type="1"&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;&lt;a title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" href="http://www2.mambonetcom.com//cgi-bin/public/redir.pl?cid=1334&amp;amp;rid=7300&amp;amp;id=90"&gt;http://www.insurecan.com/mortgage-vs-rrsp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;&lt;a title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" href="http://www2.mambonetcom.com//cgi-bin/public/redir.pl?cid=1334&amp;amp;rid=7300&amp;amp;id=91"&gt;https://www.onlinebrokerage.cibc.com/publishing/investorsedge/en/calculators/applets/RMortApplet.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;&lt;a title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" href="http://www2.mambonetcom.com//cgi-bin/public/redir.pl?cid=1334&amp;amp;rid=7300&amp;amp;id=92"&gt;http://www.taxtips.ca/calculators/RRSPvsMtgCalc.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                                                            &lt;/ol&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;As always, please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions.&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;span class="style4"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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                                                            &lt;td valign="top" bordercolor="#ffffff" align="left" bgcolor="#bb7904"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#ffffff" size="4"&gt;&lt;a id="2" title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" href="http://www2.mambonetcom.com//cgi-bin/public/redir.pl?cid=1334&amp;amp;rid=7300&amp;amp;id=93" name="2"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#ffffff" size="3"&gt;Winterizing Your Home&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;&lt;img height="286" alt="" hspace="5" width="223" align="right" src="http://imambo.com/clnt/dominion/_news/0811/winterizing.jpg" /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Preparing Your Home for Winter&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;Now is a good time to prepare your home for winter, with the temperatures beginning to dip, your home will require maintenance to keep it in tip-top shape throughout the winter.&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;Here are ten tips to help you prepare your home for the upcoming months:&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1) Furnace Inspection&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;ul type="disc"&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Call an HVAC professional to inspect your furnace and clean ducts&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Stock up on furnace filters and change them monthly.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Consider switching out your thermostat for a programmable thermostat.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;If your home is heated by a hot-water radiator, bleed the valves by opening them slightly and when water appears, close them.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Remove all flammable material from the area surrounding your furnace.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                            &lt;/ul&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2) Get the Fireplace Ready&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;ul type="disc"&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Cap or screen the top of the chimney to keep out rodents and birds.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;If the chimney hasn't been cleaned for a while, call a chimney sweep to remove soot and creosote.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Buy firewood or chop wood. Store it in a dry place away from the exterior of your home.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Inspect the fireplace damper for proper opening and closing.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Check the mortar between bricks.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                            &lt;/ul&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3) Check the Exterior, Doors and Windows&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;ul type="disc"&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Inspect exterior for crevice cracks and exposed entry points around pipes; seal them.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Use weatherstripping around doors to prevent cold air from entering the home and caulk windows.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Replace cracked glass in windows and, if you end up replacing the entire window, prime and paint exposed wood.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;If your home has a basement, consider protecting its window wells by covering them with plastic shields.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Switch out summer screens with glass replacements from storage. If you have storm windows, install them.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                            &lt;/ul&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4) Inspect Roof, Gutters &amp;amp; Downspouts&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;ul type="disc"&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Adding extra insulation to the attic will prevent warm air from creeping to your roof and causing ice dams.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Check flashing to ensure water cannot enter the home.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Replace worn roof shingles or tiles.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Clean out the gutters and use a hose to spray water down the downspouts to clear away debris.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Consider installing leaf guards on the gutters or extensions on the downspouts to direct water away from the home.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                            &lt;/ul&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;5) Service Weather-Specific Equipment&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;ul type="disc"&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Drain gas from lawnmowers.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Service or tune-up snow blowers.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Replace worn snow shovels.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Clean, dry and store summer gardening equipment.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Sharpen ice choppers and buy bags of ice-melt / sand.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                            &lt;/ul&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;6) Check Foundations&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;ul type="disc"&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Rake away all debris and edible vegetation from the foundation.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Seal up entry points to keep small animals from crawling under the house.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Seal foundation cracks. Mice can slip through space as thin as a dime.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Inspect sill plates for dry rot or pest infestation.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Secure crawlspace entrances.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                            &lt;/ul&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;7) Install Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;ul type="disc"&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Some cities require a smoke detector in every room.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Install a carbon monoxide detector near your furnace and / or water heater.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to make sure they work.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Buy a fire extinguisher or replace an extinguisher older than 10 years.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                            &lt;/ul&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;8) Prevent Plumbing Freezes&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;ul type="disc"&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Locate your water main in the event you need to shut it off in an emergency.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Drain all garden hoses.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Insulate exposed plumbing pipes.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Drain air conditioner pipes and, if your AC has a water shut-off valve, turn it off.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;If you go on vacation, leave the heat on, set to at least 55 degrees.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                            &lt;/ul&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;9) Prepare Landscaping &amp;amp; Outdoor Surfaces&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;ul type="disc"&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Trim trees if branches hang too close to the house or electrical wires.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Ask a gardener when your trees should be pruned to prevent winter injury.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Plant spring flower bulbs and lift bulbs that cannot winter over such as dahlias in areas where the ground freezes.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Seal driveways, brick patios and wood decks.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Don't automatically remove dead vegetation from gardens as some provide attractive scenery in an otherwise dreary, snow-drenched yard.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Move sensitive potted plants indoors or to a sheltered area.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                            &lt;/ul&gt;

                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;10) Prepare an Emergency Kit&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                                            &lt;ul type="disc"&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Buy indoor candles and matches / lighter for use during a power shortage.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Find the phone numbers for your utility companies and tape them near your phone or inside the phone book.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Buy a battery back-up to protect your computer and sensitive electronic equipment.&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li&gt;&lt;span class="style4"&gt;Store extra bottled water and non-perishable food supplies (including pet food, if you have a pet), blankets and a first-aid kit in a dry and easy-to-access location. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                                                            &lt;/ul&gt;

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                                                            &lt;td valign="top" align="left" bgcolor="#bb7904"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#ffffff" size="3"&gt;&lt;a id="3" title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" href="http://www2.mambonetcom.com//cgi-bin/public/redir.pl?cid=1334&amp;amp;rid=7300&amp;amp;id=94" name="3"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;About Dominion Lending Centres Inc.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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                                                                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"&gt;We are Canada's premier online mortgage lender, and one of the fastest growing mortgage companies nationwide!&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"&gt;Our Brokers are Experts in their field and many are ranked amongst the best nationally.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"&gt;We close loans in all 10 provinces and 3 territories.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"&gt;We can process your mortgage in as few as 7 days.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"&gt;We have more than 100 mortgage programs making it easy to choose the best fit for your situation.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"&gt;We are the preferred mortgage lender for several of Canada's top companies.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

                                                                &lt;li&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Dominion Lending Centres'&lt;/strong&gt; Mortgage Experts are available anytime, anywhere, evenings and weekends &amp;mdash; we'll even come to you!&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

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      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Mortgage-News.page?ArticleID=2166</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.7886Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Monthly News &amp; Articles</title>

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            &lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color: white;"&gt;Debate: Should Extra Cash Go To My RRSP Or To My Mortgage?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

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            &lt;td valign="top" style="padding: 3pt;"&gt;

            &lt;div&gt;One of the biggest debates around the Canadian personal finance world is the battle between contributing to your RRSP or using the money to pay down your mortgage? The answer depends very much on the individual. Here are the options at hand:&lt;/div&gt;

            &lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1. Pay down your mortgage first and then start contributing to your RRSP.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

            &lt;div&gt;There is no doubt that paying off your mortgage will give a guaranteed tax free return.&lt;/div&gt;

            &lt;div&gt;The problem with this option is that you'll miss out on years of tax free compounding within your RRSP. Simply put, RRSP returns will most likely beat your mortgage rate interest payments based on today's low rates.&lt;/div&gt;

            &lt;div&gt;Typically, this option is best for people who are in lower income tax brackets.&lt;/div&gt;

            &lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2. Keep making the regular mortgage payments, but maximize your RRSP.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

            &lt;div&gt;Providing that you are in a high tax bracket, I don't think that you can go wrong with this option.&lt;/div&gt;

            &lt;div&gt;This option may not be desirable for someone who has more years left on their mortgage than they do have left until retirement. The ultimate goal should be to retire debt free.&lt;/div&gt;

            &lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3. Do BOTH. Maximize your RRSP and use the tax refund to pay down your mortgage.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

            &lt;div&gt;This is the optimal solution. Contribute as much as you can to your RRSP and use your tax return to pay down the mortgage. That way, you get the best of both worlds, a tax free fixed income return (on the mortgage), along with growth (in your RRSP).&lt;/div&gt;

            &lt;div&gt;Many people know about the following trick already, but make sure that you are paying your mortgage off BI-WEEKLY instead of monthly. Paying bi-weekly will seem like you&amp;rsquo;re making the same payments as monthly, except, you'll end up making an extra payment in a year.&lt;/div&gt;

            &lt;div&gt;This simple tweak of paying your mortgage bi-weekly will reduce your amortization from 25 years to 21 years.&lt;/div&gt;

            &lt;div&gt;Here are three direct links to calculators that will help you determine if you should be spending your extra money on an RRSP contribution or if you'd come out ahead paying down your mortgage:&lt;/div&gt;

            &lt;div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt; line-height: 13.5pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 9pt; color: black;"&gt;1.&lt;span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 9pt; color: black;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www2.mambonetcom.com/cgi-bin/public/redir.pl?cid=314&amp;amp;rid=10316&amp;amp;id=769" target="_blank" title="This external link will open in a new window"&gt;http://www.insurecan.com/mortgage-vs-rrsp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

            &lt;div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt; line-height: 13.5pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 9pt; color: black;"&gt;2.&lt;span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 9pt; color: black;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www2.mambonetcom.com/cgi-bin/public/redir.pl?cid=314&amp;amp;rid=10316&amp;amp;id=770" target="_blank" title="This external link will open in a new window"&gt;https://www.onlinebrokerage.cibc.com/publishing/investorsedge/en/calculators/applets/RMortApplet.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

            &lt;div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt; line-height: 13.5pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 9pt; color: black;"&gt;3.&lt;span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 9pt; color: black;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www2.mambonetcom.com/cgi-bin/public/redir.pl?cid=314&amp;amp;rid=10316&amp;amp;id=771" target="_blank" title="This external link will open in a new window"&gt;http://www.taxtips.ca/calculators/RRSPvsMtgCalc.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

            &lt;div&gt;As always, please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions.&lt;/div&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

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&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12pt;"&gt;Claire Drage, AMP&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;Mortgage Agent (FSCO License No.: M08007610)&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;Dominion Lending Centres&amp;nbsp; Select Mortgages Inc.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;Tel: &lt;skype:span onmouseup="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'0',true,16,'');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmousedown="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,2,'0',true,16,'');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseover="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'0',true,16,'');" onclick="javascript:doRunCMD('call','0',null,0);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseout="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,0,'0',true,16,'');" iamrtl="0" durex="943" context="905.330.9488" title="Call this phone number in Canada with Skype: +19053309488" id="softomate_highlight_0" class="skype_tb_injection"&gt;&lt;skype:span style="background-image: url(c:UsersJohn

ppDataLocalTemp__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache?847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506staticinactive_a.compat.flex.w16.gif);" onmouseup="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'0',1,1,16);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmousedown="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'0',2,1,16);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseover="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'0',1,1,16);" onclick="javascript:skype_tb_SwitchDrop(this,'0','sms=0');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseout="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'0',0,1,16);" title="Skype actions" id="skype_tb_droppart_0" class="skype_tb_imgA"&gt;&lt;skype:span style="background-image: url(c:UsersJohn

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&lt;div&gt;Fax: 1.866.755.3750&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;Email: claire.drage@sympatico.ca&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;www.yourmortgageoptions.ca&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12pt;"&gt;With all the mortgage options out there, is looking at just one.. Your Best Choice?&amp;nbsp; Call me for your Mortgage Options.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Mortgage-News.page?ArticleID=2075</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.7886Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Debate: Should Extra Cash Go To My RRSP Or To My Mortgage?</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&amp;nbsp; &lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"&gt;Variable Rate Still a Great Option Despite No Change to Prime&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"&gt;As you might know, a variable rate mortgage is based on the prime rate.&amp;nbsp; At 9:00 am EST, June 10th, 2008 the Bank of Canada decided to maintain its current overnight lending rate and not make the expected drop. As a result the Prime Rate remains at 4.75%.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Although it is not the drop we expected this morning, it is still not bad news and rates continue to be at record lows.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"&gt;Here is an exert of the announcement from the Bank of Canada and what they had to say about their decision:&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"&gt;&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;..economic developments have been broadly in line with expectations. However, the balance of risks to the Bank's April projection for inflation in Canada has shifted slightly to the upside. Although the composition of U.S. growth has not been favourable for demand for Canadian goods and services, overall, global growth has been stronger and commodity prices have been sharply higher than expected. At the same time, many of the downside risks to inflation identified in April have eased, while the evolution of credit conditions has been in line with expectations... &amp;quot;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"&gt;Against this backdrop, the Bank now judges that the current stance of monetary policy is appropriately accommodative to bring aggregate demand and supply into balance and to achieve the 2 per cent inflation target. There continue to be important downside and upside risks to inflation in Canada, which the Bank will monitor closely. &amp;nbsp;Depending on the back-lash to this announcement today, amidst speculation they were expected to drop the rate today, we might well still see another drop this year &amp;ndash; its again a matter of watch this space!&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"&gt;The prime rate has dropped significantly in recent months and we must remember this despite the announcement today.&amp;nbsp; We have now seen some of the fixed term rates drop as well, with fixed term rates around the 5.19% to 5.49% for a five year fixed term or even a quick close at 4.99%.&amp;nbsp; &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"&gt;Based on this recent announcement, and the anticipation that the prime rate will either remain the same or indeed drop again by the end of the year, , unless you feel otherwise, I`d recommend that you remain with your current variable rate product as the interest is still lower than a fixed term rate right now.&amp;nbsp; However, remember if you would like to convert your current variable rate mortgage to a fixed term, feel free to call either myself or your lender for their opinion as well.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"&gt;The next announcement on any change to the prime rate is July 15th, 2008.&amp;nbsp; Feel free to call for a FREE Mortgage Check-up or Mortgage Quote or visit my website for current rates and information &amp;ndash; &lt;a href="http://www.yourmortgageoptions.ca/"&gt;www.yourmortgageoptions.ca&lt;/a&gt; . &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"&gt;Yours truly,&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Lucida Handwriting'"&gt;Claire Drage, AMP&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Mortgage Agent&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Dominion Lending Centres&amp;nbsp; Select Mortgages Inc.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Tel: 905.330.9488&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Fax: 1.866.755.3750&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Email: &lt;a href="mailto:claire.drage@sympatico.ca"&gt;claire.drage@sympatico.ca&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.yourmortgageoptions.ca/"&gt;www.yourmortgageoptions.ca&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"&gt;With all the mortgage options out there, is looking at just one.. Your Best Choice?&amp;nbsp; Call me for your Mortgage Options.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Mortgage-News.page?ArticleID=98</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.7886Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Variable Rate Still a Great Option Despite No Change to Prime</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&lt;p&gt;

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                                                                        &lt;font color="#f1bb5b"&gt;Canada's Top Mortgage Brokers!&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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                                                                                    &lt;td valign="top" align="center"&gt;&lt;font face="arial" color="#f1bb5b" size="4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Claire Drage&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                    &lt;br /&gt;

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                                                                                    &lt;a title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" href="mailto:cdrage@dominionlending.ca"&gt;&lt;font face="arial" color="#f1bb5b" size="3"&gt;cdrage@dominionlending.ca&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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                                                                                    &lt;font face="arial" color="#ffffff" size="2"&gt;Dominion Lending Centres&lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                    301- 8555 Jane St.&lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                    Vaughan ON L4K 5N9&lt;br /&gt;

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                                                                                                            &lt;p class="style4"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Welcome to the June edition of my monthly newsletter! &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                                                                                            &lt;p class="style6"&gt;In this month's publication I have included an article that outlines 8-great ways to boost your homes resale value cheaply and effectively. Also included is a summary on Canadian Credit Bureaus and some tips on how to help you keep your credit score high. Please let me know if you have any questions or feedback regarding any of the ideas outlined below.&lt;/p&gt;

                                                                                                            &lt;p class="style6"&gt;Thanks again for your continued support!&lt;/p&gt;

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                                                                                                &lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#ffffff" size="3"&gt;In This Issue&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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                                                                                                &lt;ul&gt;

                                                                                                    &lt;li&gt;&lt;a title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" href="http://mail.gtahomeinspector.ca:8383/src/read_body.php?passed_id=16099245&amp;amp;ent_id=1&amp;amp;mailbox=INBOX&amp;amp;sort=0&amp;amp;startMessage=1&amp;amp;show_more=0&amp;amp;passed_ent_id=0&amp;amp;view_unsafe_images=1#1"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000" size="2"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;8 Ways To Boost Your Home's Resale Value&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;

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                                                                                                &lt;ul&gt;

                                                                                                    &lt;li&gt;&lt;font size="2"&gt;&lt;a title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" href="http://mail.gtahomeinspector.ca:8383/src/read_body.php?passed_id=16099245&amp;amp;ent_id=1&amp;amp;mailbox=INBOX&amp;amp;sort=0&amp;amp;startMessage=1&amp;amp;show_more=0&amp;amp;passed_ent_id=0&amp;amp;view_unsafe_images=1#2"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Canadian Credit Bureau Story&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt; &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                                &lt;/ul&gt;

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                                                                                                &lt;ul&gt;

                                                                                                    &lt;li&gt;&lt;font size="2"&gt;&lt;a title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" href="http://mail.gtahomeinspector.ca:8383/src/read_body.php?passed_id=16099245&amp;amp;ent_id=1&amp;amp;mailbox=INBOX&amp;amp;sort=0&amp;amp;startMessage=1&amp;amp;show_more=0&amp;amp;passed_ent_id=0&amp;amp;view_unsafe_images=1#3"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;About Dominion Lending Centres &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

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                                                                                    &lt;td valign="top" bgcolor="#bb7904"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#ffffff" size="4"&gt;&lt;span class="MiddleContent"&gt;&lt;font size="4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;&lt;a title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" name="1" href="http://www2.mambonetcom.com//cgi-bin/public/redir.pl?cid=1334&amp;amp;rid=2565&amp;amp;id=58"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#ffffff" size="3"&gt;8 Ways To Boost Your Home's Resale Value&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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                                                                                    &lt;td valign="top"&gt;

                                                                                    &lt;p&gt;&lt;img height="186" alt="" hspace="3" width="210" align="right" src="http://imambo.com/clnt/dominion/_news/0806/home.jpg" /&gt;&lt;span class="style4"&gt;The actual cost and payback for each project can vary, depending on both your home&amp;rsquo;s condition and overall real estate market values in your region of the country. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                                                                    &lt;ol&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Make your kitchen really cook. The kitchen is still considered the heart of the home. Potential homebuyers make a beeline for this room when they first view a home for sale, so make sure your kitchen looks clean and reasonably updated. For a few hundred dollars, you can replace the kitchen faucet set, add new cabinet door handles and update old lighting fixtures with brighter, more energy-efficient ones. &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        If you've got a slightly larger budget, you can give the cabinets themselves a makeover. Rather than spring for a completely new cabinet system, which can be expensive, look into hiring a refacing company? Many companies can remove cabinet doors and drawers, refinish the cabinet boxes, and then add brand new doors and drawers. With a fresh coat of paint over the whole set, your cabinets will look like new. &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Give appliances a facelift. If your kitchen appliances don't match, order new doors or face panels for them. Many dishwasher panels are white on one side and black on the other. All you may need to do is unscrew two screws, slide out the panel and flip it around. &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        A more cohesive looking kitchen makes a big difference in the buyer's mind -- and in the home&amp;rsquo;s resale price. &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Buff up the bath. Next to the kitchen, bathrooms are often the most important rooms to update. They too, can be improved with very little cash. Even simple things like a new toilet seat and a pedestal sink are pretty easy for homeowners to install and they make a big difference in the look of the bath. &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        Replacing an old, discolored bathroom floor with easy-to-apply vinyl tiles or a small piece of sheet vinyl is also recommended. You may not even need to take up the old floor.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        If your tub and shower are looking dingy, consider re-grouting the tile and replacing any chipped tiles. A more complete cover-up is a prefabricated tub and shower surround. These one-piece units may require professional installation but can still be cheaper than paying to re-tile walls and refinish a worn tub. &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Step up your storage. Old houses, particularly, are notorious for their lack of closet space. If you have cramped storage areas, a good idea is to add wire and laminate closet systems to bedrooms, pantries and entry closets.&lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        You can also get design details and parts for these systems at many large home improvement stores. Most closets can be updated in a weekend or less. &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        In the end, your closets will be more functional while you're living in the house and will make your home look more customized to potential buyers when you're ready to sell. &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Look underfoot. Carpeting is another detail that can quickly update a home and make it look cleaner. A professional carpet cleaning is an inexpensive investment, especially if your rugs are in good shape and are neutral colors. &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        If your carpet is showing serious wear, cover it with inexpensive, strategically placed area rugs. Unless it is truly hideous, most Realtors don't suggest replacing wall-to-wall carpeting right before you sell your house. The new homeowners may want to choose their own carpeting after they move in.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Let there be light. If you have boring recessed lights in your dining and living rooms consider replacing one of the room's lights with an eye-catching chandelier. Home stores offer a wide range of inexpensive, but nice-looking, ceiling fixtures these days. If you have a ceiling fan and light, you can buy replacement fan blades (leaving the fan body in place) to update the fixture&amp;rsquo;s look. &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Reframe your entry. Do you have a flimsy little knob on your main entry door? If so, spring for a substantial-looking handle-and-lock set. A nice, big piece of hardware on the front door signals to newcomers that this is a solid home.&lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        Also, if you're stuck with a basic steel front door, consider painting or faux-finishing it for more eye appeal. Remember to use a good metal primer approved for use over metal. For a cherry wood look use a burgundy base paint. After it dries, brush over the base-coat with a cherry wood stain. It can look amazing, and it only takes a few hours. &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li class="style4"&gt;&lt;span class="style4"&gt;Consider curb appeal. Although it sounds obvious, a nicely mowed lawn, a few well-placed shrubs and a swept walkway makes a great first impression. What buyers see when they first drive by your home is tremendously important. &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        If you don't have a green thumb, consider hiring a landscaper to install some new sod, plant a few evergreen shrubs and give your front yard a good cleanup. These kinds of changes can instantly change people's perception of your home and therefore, increase its value. &amp;nbsp;And hey, your neighbours will love you for it, too.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;/li&gt;

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                                                                                    &lt;td valign="top" bgcolor="#bb7904"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#ffffff" size="4"&gt;&lt;a title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" name="2" href="http://www2.mambonetcom.com//cgi-bin/public/redir.pl?cid=1334&amp;amp;rid=2565&amp;amp;id=59"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#ffffff" size="3"&gt;The Canadian Credit Bureau Story&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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                                                                                    &lt;td valign="top"&gt;&lt;img height="92" alt="" hspace="5" width="129" align="left" src="http://imambo.com/clnt/dominion/_news/0806/credit_report.jpg" /&gt;&lt;span class="style4"&gt;If you have ever taken out a loan, used a credit card or participated in a &amp;ldquo;buy now, pay later&amp;rdquo; offer, you will have a credit history.&amp;nbsp; Your credit report contains personal information, credit information, banking information, public records (bankruptcies or credit related judgments against you), collection information, consumer statements and credit report inquiries.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;

                                                                                    &lt;p class="style4"&gt;Before 1970 there were about 150 regional credit bureaus that divided up the country, today there are really just 3 major bureaus:&lt;/p&gt;

                                                                                    &lt;p class="style4"&gt;Equifax Canada Inc. &lt;a title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" href="http://www2.mambonetcom.com//cgi-bin/public/redir.pl?cid=1334&amp;amp;rid=2565&amp;amp;id=60"&gt;www.equifax.ca&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                    Transunion of Canada Inc. &lt;a title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" href="http://www2.mambonetcom.com//cgi-bin/public/redir.pl?cid=1334&amp;amp;rid=2565&amp;amp;id=61"&gt;www.tuc.ca&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                                                                                    Northern Credit Bureaus &lt;a title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" href="http://www2.mambonetcom.com//cgi-bin/public/redir.pl?cid=1334&amp;amp;rid=2565&amp;amp;id=62"&gt;www.creditbureau.ca&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                                                                    &lt;p class="style4"&gt;Credit bureaus make money by selling your information to potential lenders and have been known to make mistakes as is inevitable when dealing with millions of consumers.&amp;nbsp; It is important to know what your credit report says about you and to make sure that your credit report is actually accurate and reflects your history.&amp;nbsp; Mistaken identity has been known to occur in instances where individuals have similar names or birthdays.&lt;/p&gt;

                                                                                    &lt;p class="style4"&gt;You can receive your credit report in the mail for free, or online for a small fee.&amp;nbsp; It is a good idea to review your reports annually even if you&amp;rsquo;re not looking for financing, just to ensure everything is in check.&amp;nbsp; If you do find discrepancies, make changes promptly but be warned it can sometimes take a month for the changes to be made and to show up on your reports.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

                                                                                    &lt;p class="style4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The top factors that make your score lower:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                                                                    &lt;ol type="1"&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li class="style4"&gt;There are too many consumer finance company accounts on your credit report.&amp;nbsp; Having too much available credit can hurt your score. If you have several consumer accounts try to consolidate those balances and close the accounts. &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Your account balances are too high. As a rule of thumb keep your credit card balances below 35% of the available limit. High balances ongoing will negatively affect your credit score. &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li class="style4"&gt;There is not enough recent revolving account information on your credit report. Using your credit cards regularly is an important part of building healthy credit. &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li class="style4"&gt;There have been multiple lending institutions pulling credit reports on you.&amp;nbsp; This is part of the advantage of using a Mortgage Broker; we pull one credit report and then go to several lenders vs. having several lenders each pulling your credit bureau. &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                    &lt;/ol&gt;

                                                                                    &lt;p class="style4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tips to improve your credit rating:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                                                                    &lt;ol type="1"&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Always pay your bills on time.&amp;nbsp; (The payment of utility bills such as phone, cable and electricity are not recoded in your credit report, however some cell phone companies may report late payments.) &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Pay Debts as quickly as possible. &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Don&amp;rsquo;t go over the credit limit on your credit cards. &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Don&amp;rsquo;t make too many credit applications (use a Mortgage broker!).&amp;nbsp; Your score doesn&amp;rsquo;t change if you personally make credit inquiries. &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Contact creditors if you&amp;rsquo;re having trouble making payments and work out solutions. &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li class="style4"&gt;Read the statements you receive from your credit card company carefully.&amp;nbsp; Keep yourself up-to-date with any changes or fee increases. &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                    &lt;/ol&gt;

                                                                                    &lt;span class="style4"&gt;Get a copy of your credit report from all three credit-reporting agencies at least once a year and make sure they&amp;rsquo;re in order.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                                                                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                                                                &lt;tr&gt;

                                                                                    &lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

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                                                                                    &lt;td valign="top" bgcolor="#bb7904"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#ffffff" size="3"&gt;&lt;a id="3" title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" name="3" href="http://www2.mambonetcom.com//cgi-bin/public/redir.pl?cid=1334&amp;amp;rid=2565&amp;amp;id=63"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;About Dominion Lending Centres Inc.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                                                                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                                                                &lt;tr&gt;

                                                                                    &lt;td valign="top"&gt;

                                                                                    &lt;ul&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"&gt;We are Canada's premier online mortgage lender, and one of the fastest growing mortgage companies nationwide!&lt;/font&gt; &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"&gt;Our Brokers are Experts in their field and many are ranked amongst the best nationally.&lt;/font&gt; &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"&gt;We close loans in all 10 provinces and 3 territories.&lt;/font&gt; &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"&gt;We can process your mortgage in as few as 7 days.&lt;/font&gt; &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"&gt;We have more than 100 mortgage programs making it easy to choose the best fit for your situation.&lt;/font&gt; &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"&gt;We are the preferred mortgage lender for several of Canada's top companies.&lt;/font&gt; &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                        &lt;li&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Dominion Lending Centres'&lt;/strong&gt; Mortgage Experts are available anytime, anywhere, evenings and weekends &amp;mdash; we'll even come to you!&lt;/font&gt; &lt;/li&gt;

                                                                                    &lt;/ul&gt;

                                                                                    &lt;/td&gt;

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                                                            &lt;td width="15" background="http://imambo.com/clnt/dominion/_script/newsletter_07.gif"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

                                                        &lt;/tr&gt;

                                                        &lt;tr&gt;

                                                            &lt;td colspan="3"&gt;&lt;img height="41" alt="" width="749" src="http://imambo.com/clnt/dominion/_script/newsletter_08.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                                                        &lt;/tr&gt;

                                                    &lt;/tbody&gt;

                                                &lt;/table&gt;

                                                &lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="http://www2.mambonetcom.com//cgi-bin/public/opener.pl?email=john@gtahomeinspector.ca&amp;amp;id=21&amp;amp;cid=1334" /&gt; &lt;/div&gt;

                                                &lt;/div&gt;

                                                &lt;/td&gt;

                                            &lt;/tr&gt;

                                        &lt;/tbody&gt;

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                                    &lt;/td&gt;

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                &lt;/tbody&gt;

            &lt;/table&gt;

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        &lt;/tr&gt;

    &lt;/tbody&gt;

&lt;/table&gt;

&lt;/p&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Mortgage-News.page?ArticleID=97</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.7886Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Canada's Top Mortgage Brokers!</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&amp;nbsp;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt"&gt;AVOIDING REAL ESTATE FRAUD&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt"&gt;According to statistics compiled by PhoneBusters, a national anti-fraud call centre jointly operated by the Ontario Provincial Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Competition Bureau, over 4,600 Canadians were victims of Identity Theft in 2007, and suffered combined losses of over 6 million dollars. Identity thieves can take your valuable information and use it to conduct different types of real estate fraud. The Canadian Bankers Association points out two types of real estate fraud that consumers should be especially aware of: mortgage fraud and title fraud.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"&gt;&lt;strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt"&gt;Mortgage Fraud&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt"&gt; occurs when an individual intentionally provides inaccurate, fraudulent or incomplete information to a lender in order to secure a mortgage that they might not be granted otherwise. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"&gt;&lt;strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt"&gt;Title Fraud&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt"&gt; occurs when a fraudster assumes the identity of an individual homeowner and then uses that false identity to pose as the homeowner. They can then assume the title on the home, sell the property or obtain a mortgage on that property or other properties in the homeowner&amp;rsquo;s name.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt"&gt;So what should you do to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft? A good start is to follow these &amp;ldquo;SCAM&amp;rdquo; rules: &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN-US" style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #af0f59; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN-US" style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #af0f59; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US"&gt;S&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN-US" style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #333333; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Be &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN-US" style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #c80f04; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US"&gt;stingy &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN-US" style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #333333; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US"&gt;about giving out your personal information to others unless you have a reason to trust them.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN-US" style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #af0f59; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US"&gt;C&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Check&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN-US" style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #333333; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US"&gt; your financial information regularly, and look for what should be there and what shouldn't.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN-US" style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #af0f59; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US"&gt;A&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Ask&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN-US" style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #333333; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US"&gt; for a copy of your credit report periodically.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN-US" style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #af0f59; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US"&gt;M&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Maintain&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN-US" style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #333333; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US"&gt; careful records of your banking and financial accounts.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoBodyText" style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"&gt;Identity theft can take its toll on your credit rating, drain your bank accounts and even allow your house to be stolen or new mortgages to be registered without your consent or knowledge. As your mortgage representative, I can help protect you against these very real risks. Please call me for more tips on how to protect your personal information and investments.&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Lucida Handwriting'"&gt;Claire Drage, AMP&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'"&gt;Mortgage Agent&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'"&gt;Dominion Lending Centres&amp;nbsp; Select Mortgages Inc.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'"&gt;Tel: &lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_injection" id="softomate_highlight_0" title="Call this phone number in Canada with Skype: +19053309488" iamrtl="0" durex="0" context="905.330.9488" onmouseup="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'0',true,16,'');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmousedown="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,2,'0',true,16,'');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseover="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'0',true,16,'');" onclick="javascript:doRunCMD('call','0',null,0);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseout="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,0,'0',true,16,'');"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgA" id="skype_tb_droppart_0" title="Skype actions" style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(C:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache\e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506\static\inactive_a.compat.flex.w16.gif)" onmouseup="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'0',1,1,16);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmousedown="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'0',2,1,16);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseover="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'0',1,1,16);" onclick="javascript:skype_tb_SwitchDrop(this,'0','sms=0');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseout="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'0',0,1,16);"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgFlag" id="skype_tb_img_f0" style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(C:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache\e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506\static\famfamfam/CA.gif)"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgS" id="skype_tb_img_s0" style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(C:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache\e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506\static\inactive_s.compat.gif)"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_injectionIn" id="skype_tb_text0" style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(C:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache\e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506\static\inactive_m.compat.gif)"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_innerText" id="skype_tb_innerText0"&gt;905.330.9488&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgR" id="skype_tb_img_r0" style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(C:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache\e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506\static\inactive_r.compat.gif)"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'"&gt;Fax: 1.866.755.3750&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'"&gt;Email: claire.drage@sympatico.ca&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'"&gt;www.yourmortgageoptions.ca&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Servicing in Oakville,Milton,Burlington,Mississauga,Brampton,Caledon,Toronto and the GTA (Greater Toronto Areas)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Mortgage-News.page?ArticleID=79</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.7886Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>AVOIDING REAL ESTATE FRAUD</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="614" bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0"&gt;

    &lt;tbody&gt;

        &lt;tr valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;td width="458"&gt;

            &lt;div class="cs_control CS_Element_Textblock" id="cs_control_1752"&gt;

            &lt;div class="CS_Textblock_Text"&gt;

            &lt;h1&gt;CMHC Launches Campaign to Help Homeowners&lt;/h1&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;OTTAWA, March 26, 2009 &amp;mdash;&lt;/strong&gt; Today, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) launched a consumer outreach campaign to help borrowers understand the importance of working with lenders to find manageable solutions if they are facing financial difficulties in repaying their mortgage loans.&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;CMHC has a long tradition of offering mortgage default management tools to lenders to help them assist homeowners whose financial circumstances have changed. We want to remind people that the best course of action is to speak to their lenders at the first sign of financial difficulty. With early intervention, cooperation and a well executed plan, you can work together with your lender to find a solution.&amp;rdquo; stated Mark McInnis, CMHC Vice-President of Insurance Underwriting, Servicing and Policy.&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;The campaign includes consumer information on the options available to homeowners who may be having difficulty meeting their mortgage payments. This information is also being provided to government partners and credit counseling organizations.&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;CMHC advises homeowners to:&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;ol&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;Talk to your lender at the first sign of financial difficulty&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;Clarify your financial picture, both for yourself and your lender&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;Stay informed about what options and resources might be available to you&lt;/li&gt;

            &lt;/ol&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;For Approved Lenders with CMHC-insured mortgages, we provide tools and the flexibility to make timely decisions when working with homeowners to find a solution to an individual&amp;rsquo;s unique financial situation. These tools include:&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;ul&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;Offering a temporary short-term payment deferral. Lenders may be prepared to offer greater payment flexibilities especially if previous lump sum prepayments have been made, or if an accelerated payment schedule has been previously chosen.&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;Extending the original repayment period (amortization) in order to lower the monthly mortgage payments.&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;Adding any missed payments (arrears) to the mortgage balance and spreading them over the remaining mortgage repayment period.&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li&gt;Offering a special payment arrangement unique to an individual&amp;rsquo;s particular financial situation.&lt;/li&gt;

            &lt;/ul&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;More information and resources are available at CMHC&amp;rsquo;s website at &lt;a href="http://www.cmhc.ca/"&gt;www.cmhc.ca&lt;/a&gt; search keywords &amp;ldquo;mortgage payment difficulties&amp;rdquo;, or at 1-800-668-2642.&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;CMHC is Canada&amp;rsquo;s national housing agency. For more than 60&amp;nbsp;years CMHC has shared a wealth of knowledge and housing expertise to help create an informed and reassured homeownership experience for Canadians.&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;For more information:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;Kristen Scheel&lt;br /&gt;

            CMHC Media Relations&lt;br /&gt;

            613-748-2799&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/div&gt;

            &lt;/div&gt;

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      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Important-News.page?ArticleID=11807</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.8042Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>CMHC Launches Campaign to Help Homeowners</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&lt;!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="content" --&gt;&amp;nbsp;

&lt;h1&gt;Health Canada Advises Consumers &lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

That RetroFoam Insulation Was &lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Illegally Sold in Canada&lt;/h1&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Advisory&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

2009-11&lt;br /&gt;

February 3, 2009&lt;br /&gt;

For immediate release&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;OTTAWA&lt;/strong&gt; - Health Canada is informing consumers that RetroFoam of Canada Incorporated imported and illegally sold RetroFoam insulation in Canada. RetroFoam is a urea formaldehyde-based thermal insulation (&lt;acronym&gt;UFFI&lt;/acronym&gt;). This type of insulation was prohibited in Canada in December 1980 under the &lt;em&gt;Hazardous Products Act&lt;/em&gt;. Health Canada was recently advised that RetroFoam has been installed in a limited number of homes in Ontario.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Once Health Canada became aware the &lt;em&gt;Hazardous Products Act&lt;/em&gt; had been contravened, the department took prompt compliance and enforcement action. Health Canada issued a &amp;quot;cease and desist&amp;quot; letter to RetroFoam of Canada Incorporated, the Canadian importer of the insulation, to stop all importation and sale of RetroFoam in Canada. Health Canada also instructed Enerliv, the Canadian distributor of RetroFoam, to stop all sale, advertisement and further installations of the product and to call back any unused product. RetroFoam, RetroFoam of Canada Inc., and Enerliv were placed on Canada Border Service Agency's automated system target list to prevent any future importation of this product. As a result of Health Canada's actions, RetroFoam is no longer available for sale or installation in Canada.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;RetroFoam of Canada Inc. is responsible for ensuring that the products they import, sell or advertise meet the requirements of the &lt;em&gt;Hazardous Products Act&lt;/em&gt; and its regulations. Health Canada is currently reviewing its legal options.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Urea formaldehyde insulation is prohibited in Canada because it may release formaldehyde gas into indoor air. Health Canada is taking further regulatory action to protect the health and safety of homeowners who have had RetroFoam installed in their homes by supporting them in having their indoor air quality tested.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Health Canada will be communicating directly with homeowners to provide further details on how they can obtain Government support for having their indoor air quality tested. Additional information will be available shortly on the Department&amp;rsquo;s Website and is available via a toll-free number: 1-800-443-0395.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="alignCenter"&gt;- 30 -&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;hr /&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Media Enquiries:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

Darren Eke &lt;br /&gt;

Press Secretary&lt;br /&gt;

Office of the Minister of Justice &lt;br /&gt;

613-992-4621&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;!-- CONTENT ENDS | FIN DU CONTENU --&gt;&lt;!-- InstanceEndEditable --&gt;&lt;!-- CONTENT ENDS | FIN DU CONTENU --&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Important-News.page?ArticleID=7705</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.8042Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>RetroFoam Insulation Was Illegally Sold in Canada</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&lt;b&gt;&lt;font size="2"&gt;

&lt;p align="left"&gt;Office of the Fire Marshal &amp;copy; 2004&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;/font&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face="CKIKOJ+AgencyFB,Agency FB" size="7"&gt;

&lt;p align="left"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium"&gt;Develop a Home Fire Escape Plan Today... It Could Save Your Life Tonight!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;/font&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;font face="CKILDL+ArialNarrow,Arial Narrow" size="4"&gt;

&lt;p align="left"&gt;If a fire occurred in your home tonight, would your family get out safely? Everyone must know what to do and where to go when the smoke alarm sounds. Take a few minutes with everyone in your household to make a home fire escape plan please open the link below.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a href="http://www.firesafetycouncil.com/english/home_escape_plan.pdf"&gt;http://www.firesafetycouncil.com/english/home_escape_plan.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Please keep you and your family safe!!!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Important-News.page?ArticleID=5163</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.8042Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Develop a home fire escape plan today.</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>We are finding more homes which have the plastic roof vents are being damaged by animals. This is allowing them to gain access to your home as they eat away the plastic.&lt;br /&gt;

Also, you may have water damage&amp;nbsp;as the water&amp;nbsp;enters the home through the damaged roof vent.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

The cost of a metal roof vent compared to plastic is less than $10.00. Is it really worth the savings?&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

These plastic&amp;nbsp;vents can end up costing you thousands of dollars in repair and renovation work!!&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

I have had first hand experiences!!&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

We strive to help home owners arm themselves with knowledge to prevent costly repairs down the road.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a href="Book-On-Line.page"&gt;&lt;span style="color: #0000ff"&gt;Book your home inspection ON LINE Today&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="color: #339966"&gt;&lt;a href="Book-On-Line.page"&gt;&amp;quot;Knowledge is Power Inspect This Hour&amp;quot;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;John Genereaux CHI,CWI,CRI&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a href="Ask-our-professionals-for-advice.page"&gt;&lt;font color="#ff0000"&gt;We would like to hear from you!!&lt;br /&gt;

Send us your comments about this Article.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Important-News.page?ArticleID=169</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.8042Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Beware of Plastic Roof Vents</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&lt;span style="font-size: large;"&gt;Understanding mold&lt;/span&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Mold can be harmful or helpful &amp;mdash;  depending on where it grows.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Mold needs moisture to grow.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Mold does not grow on dry materials.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Mold growing inside a home can affect  the occupants.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Occupants can learn to recognize mold.&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Molds are microscopic fungi, a group of  organisms which also includes mushrooms and yeasts. Fungi are highly  adapted to grow and reproduce rapidly, producing spores and mycelia in  the process.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You encounter mold every day. Foods spoil  because of mold. Leaves decay and pieces of wood lying on the ground rot  due to mold. That fuzzy black growth on wet window sills is mold. Paper  or fabrics stored in a damp place get a musty smell that is due to the  action of molds.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Molds can be useful to people. The drug  penicillin is obtained from a specific type of mold. Some foods and  beverages are made by the actions of molds. The good kinds of molds are  selected and grown in a controlled fashion.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Molds are undesirable when they grow where we  don&amp;rsquo;t want them, such as in homes. Over 270 species of mold have been  identified as living in Canadian homes. Molds that grow inside may be  different from the ones found outdoors.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;What makes molds grow?&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Molds will grow if we provide them with  moisture and nutrients. If we keep things dry, molds do not grow.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;High moisture levels can be the result of  water coming in from the outside, through the floor, walls or roof; or  from plumbing leaks; or moisture produced by the people living in the  home, through daily activities like bathing, washing clothes or cooking.  Water enters the building when there is a weakness or failure in the  structure. Moisture accumulates within the home when there is not enough  ventilation to expel that moisture.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Different kinds of molds grow on different  materials. Certain kinds of molds like an extremely wet environment.  Other kinds of molds may be growing even if no water can be seen.  Dampness inside the material can be enough to allow them to grow.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Why are molds a concern?&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Damage to materials is one concern. Materials  get stained or discoloured, and over time they are ruined. Moldy paper  and cardboard disintegrate over time. Fabrics are damaged. Continued  mold growth can be indicative of moisture conditions favourable for  growth of fungi that cause wood rot and structural damage.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;When molds are growing inside the home, there  may be health concerns. Molds release chemicals and spores.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Health experts indicate that, depending on  the type of mold present in a home, the amount and degree of exposure,  and the health condition of the occupant, the health effects of mold can  range from being insignificant to causing allergic reactions and  illness.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Pregnant women, infants, the elderly and  those with health problems, such as respiratory disease or a weakened  immune system, are more at risk when exposed to mold. Consult your  family physician if you believe there is someone who may be at risk.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Is there a mold problem?&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Molds are always found in the air outside and  in all buildings. They come into the home in many ways &amp;mdash; through open  windows or doors, on clothing, pets, food or furniture. The problem  starts when mold grows inside the home.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Some mold growing, for example on the window  sill but not elsewhere, is not a cause of concern. You can clean the  mold yourself. The presence of mold is a sign that there is too much  moisture in your home &amp;mdash; a situation which must be corrected.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Inspect the home to find the extent of the  mold.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;How can you tell if it is mold?&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Discoloration&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Discoloration is a sign of mold. However, all  discoloration is not due to mold. Carpeting near baseboards, for  example, can be stained by outdoor pollution entering the home. Stains  or soot may also be caused by the smoke from burning candles or  cigarettes.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Mold may be any colour: black, white, red,  orange, yellow, blue or violet. Dab a drop of household bleach onto a  suspected spot. If the stain loses its colour or disappears, it may be  mold. If there is no change, it probably isn't mold.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Smell/Odour&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Sometimes molds are hidden and cannot be  seen. A musty or earthy smell often indicates the presence of molds. But  a smell may not be present for all molds. Even when you don't notice a  smell, wet spots, dampness or evidence of a water leak are indications  of moisture problems and mold may follow.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;How much mold is growing?&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;One way to know is to estimate the area of  the mold.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Mold is considered to cover a &lt;strong&gt;&amp;ldquo;small  area&amp;rdquo;&lt;/strong&gt; if the patch is no larger than a square meter. There  should be no more than three patches, each patch smaller than a square  meter. Clean up small areas yourself using a detergent solution,  household rubber gloves and a dust mask for protection. Refer to &lt;a href="http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/yohoyohe/momo/momo_005.cfm#smallclean"&gt;How  to clean-up small problems&lt;/a&gt; for the procedure.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Small moldy areas in homes may become larger  over time, if ignored, so it&amp;rsquo;s important to clean up and remove even  small patches of mold.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The mold area is considered &lt;strong&gt;&amp;ldquo;moderate&amp;rdquo;&lt;/strong&gt;  if there are more than three patches, each patch smaller than a square  meter, or there is one or more isolated patches larger than a square  meter but smaller than 3 square metres (size of a 4 x 8 foot sheet of  plywood). Assessment by a professional is recommended. You can clean up  moderate amounts of mold but you must follow the proper procedures and  use the proper protective equipment. Refer to &lt;a href="http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/yohoyohe/momo/momo_005.cfm#moderateclean"&gt;Moderate  area&lt;/a&gt; clean-up for the procedure.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;A mold area is considered &lt;strong&gt;&amp;ldquo;extensive&amp;rdquo;&lt;/strong&gt;  if a single patch of mold is larger in area than a sheet of plywood.  Being exposed to this much mold is not a good idea. Do not attempt to  clean up large areas of mold yourself. You need professional help to  determine why the mold is there in the first place and how to clean it  up.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;When should you seek professional help?&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You may need professional help when:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;There is a lot of mold&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;The home is very damp and moist&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Mold comes back after repeated cleaning&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;A family member suffers from asthma or  respiratory problems or other health problems that appear to be  aggravated inside the home&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;How do you get professional help?&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Contact your local CMHC office for a list of  individuals who have completed the CMHC Residential Indoor Air Quality  Investigator program. A trained IAQ investigator, who operates a private  business and sells his/her services, examines the indoor air quality of  your home and documents your concerns. He/she identifies the problems,  finds their sources and suggests solutions in a written report.  Recommendations are provided to you in an action plan that consists of  various options to improve the indoor air quality in your home.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;&lt;a name="smallclean" id="smallclean"&gt;How to  clean up&amp;nbsp;mold problems&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;ldquo;Small areas&amp;rdquo;&lt;/strong&gt; of mold  can be cleaned with a detergent solution.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Wear a mask, safety goggles and rubber  gloves.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Seek professional help if there is a lot  of mold or if mold comes back after cleaning.&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Bleach is&amp;nbsp;NOT&amp;nbsp;recommended&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The presence of organic (humic) materials,  the pH (acidity/alkalinity) of the water, the surface material and  contact time affect the effectiveness of bleach for disinfection. Since  these factors are not generally controlled, bleach cannot be relied upon  for disinfection. The most compelling reason for advising against  bleach is that fumes are harmful but in addition, overuse of bleach will  result in increased releases of chlorinated effluents which can be  harmful to the environment.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;ldquo;Small area&amp;rdquo; clean-up&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You can clean up &lt;strong&gt;&amp;ldquo;small areas&amp;rdquo;&lt;/strong&gt;  of mold (fewer than three patches, each smaller than a square meter)  yourself. The minimum protective wear needed are:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;safety glasses or goggles;&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;a disposable dust mask (3M&amp;nbsp;8210 or  equivalent); and&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;household rubber gloves.&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Infants and other family members with asthma,  allergies or other health problems should not be in the work area or  adjacent room during the cleaning.&lt;br /&gt;

&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Washable surfaces:&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Scrub with an unscented detergent solution;  then sponge with a clean, wet rag and dry quickly.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Using an unscented detergent will make it  easier for you to detect residual moldy odours.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Moldy drywall:&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Clean the surface with a damp rag using  baking soda or a bit of detergent. Do not allow the drywall to get too  wet.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Mold that comes back after cleaning is  usually an indication that a source of moisture has not been removed.  Seek professional help from a trained IAQ investigator.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;&lt;a id="moderateclean" name="moderateclean"&gt;&amp;quot;Moderate  area&amp;quot; clean-up&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;ul class="noindent"&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Clean &lt;strong&gt;&amp;ldquo;moderate areas&amp;rdquo;&lt;/strong&gt;  of mold, but wear proper protective equipment and follow precautions.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Seek professional help if there is a lot  of mold or if mold comes back after cleaning.&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If you follow the proper procedures and use  the proper protective equipment, you can clean up &lt;strong&gt;&amp;ldquo;moderate  areas&amp;rdquo;&lt;/strong&gt; of mold. &lt;strong&gt;&amp;ldquo;Moderate&amp;rdquo;&lt;/strong&gt; means more than 3  patches of mold, each smaller than one square meter, or one or more  isolated patches larger than one square meter but smaller than 3 square  meters (size of a 4 x 8 foot sheet of plywood).&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Safety precautions&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;ul class="noindent"&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Wear a disposable dust mask (for  example, 3M&amp;nbsp;8210 or equivalent), glasses or safety goggles and household  rubber gloves.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Isolate the area to be cleaned with  plastic sheeting, taped to walls and ceiling.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Infants and other family members  suffering from asthma, allergies or other health problems should not be  in the work area or adjacent room during the cleaning.&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;A small clean up should take minutes (not  hours) to finish. When the clean up takes hours to a day to finish, it  is suggested that you upgrade to a better filter, such as a half-face  respirator with charcoal cartridges. An exhaust fan installed in a  window in the room being cleaned would prevent contamination of other  areas of the house as well as provide ventilation.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;&lt;a id="generalclean" name="generalclean"&gt;General  cleaning&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Vacuum surfaces with a vacuum cleaner which  has a &lt;strong&gt;H&lt;/strong&gt;igh &lt;strong&gt;E&lt;/strong&gt;fficiency &lt;strong&gt;P&lt;/strong&gt;articulate  &lt;strong&gt;A&lt;/strong&gt;ir (HEPA) filter or is externally exhausted. Scrub or  brush the moldy area with a mild unscented detergent solution. Rinse by  sponging with a clean, wet rag. Repeat. Dry quickly. HEPA vacuum the  surfaces that were cleaned as well as surrounding areas.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Cleaning wood surfaces&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Vacuum loose mold from wood surfaces using a  HEPA or externally exhausted vacuum. Try cleaning the surface of the  wood with detergent and water. Rinse with a clean, damp rag and dry  quickly. If the staining does not come off, sand and vacuum the surface  of the wood with a vacuum/sander combination. It is important to vacuum  at the same time to prevent mold spores from being dispersed into the  air. Note that wood affected by rot may need to be replaced.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Cleaning concrete surfaces&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Vacuum the concrete surfaces to be cleaned  with a HEPA or externally exhausted vacuum cleaner. Clean up surfaces  with detergent and water. If the surfaces are still visibly moldy, use  TSP (trisodium phosphate). Dissolve one cup of TSP in two gallons of  warm water. Stir for two minutes. Note: &lt;strong&gt;TSP must not be allowed  to come in contact with skin or eyes&lt;/strong&gt;. Saturate the moldy  concrete surface with the TSP solution using a sponge or rag. Keep the  surface wetted for at least 15 minutes. Rinse the concrete surface twice  with clean water. Dry thoroughly, as quickly as possible.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Moldy drywall&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The paper facings of gypsum wallboard  (drywall) grow mold when they get wet or repeatedly wet and don&amp;rsquo;t dry  quickly. Cleaning with water containing detergent not only add moisture  to the paper but also can eventually damage the facing. If the mold is  located only on top of the painted surface, remove it by general  cleaning (&lt;a href="http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/yohoyohe/momo/momo_005.cfm#generalclean"&gt;see  above&lt;/a&gt;). If the mold is underneath the paint, the moldy patch and  other moldy material behind it are best cut out and the surrounding  areas also cleaned. This should be done by a mold clean-up contractor.  New materials may become moldy if the moisture entry has not been  stopped. If this is the case, replacement of the materials should be  deferred until the source of the moisture is corrected. The affected  areas should be temporarily covered with plastic sheeting and sealed at  the edges.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Any areas that show new patches of mold  should be cleaned promptly.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;Dealing with an ongoing problem&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Repair to the building envelope is required  if moisture is entering the home from the outside. At the same time,  steps should be taken inside the home to reduce the occupants&amp;rsquo; exposure  to mold.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Step 1 &amp;mdash; Discard moldy or damaged materials&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Wear a dust mask and gloves. Furnishings,  such as mattresses, carpets, or sofas that got wet or have been stored  in damp conditions should be discarded. Discard items that are no longer  needed. Use this opportunity to reduce the amount of furnishings &amp;mdash; this  means fewer materials to absorb moisture and grow mold. Clothes and  other items that have been cleaned should be stored in sealed plastic  bags to prevent re-contamination.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Step 2 &amp;mdash; Vacuum&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Proper vacuuming reduces the amount of mold  spores. All surfaces in the home (floors, walls, ceilings, shelves) and  non-washable furnishings (such as sofas, chairs, etc.) must be vacuumed  thoroughly.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Step 3 &amp;mdash; Prevent&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Keep moisture generated within the home to a  minimum by conscientiously following the prevention steps presented in  the next section.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Step 4 &amp;mdash; Clear wet areas&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Pull carpets and furnishings away from walls  that get wet. Carpets and underpads that are moldy should be cut out and  discarded.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Step 5 &amp;mdash; Dry&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Take steps to dry up areas that get wet.  Monitor the relative humidity of the air. Use a portable dehumidifier,  if necessary. Ensure that the condensate drain pan of the dehumidifier  is emptied regularly.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Step 6 &amp;mdash; Isolate&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If the mold is limited to one area, isolate  the area if possible. Cover the affected surfaces with plastic sheeting  secured at the edges with duct tape. Note that this is only a temporary  measure to minimize your exposure.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Step 7 &amp;mdash; Clean&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Healthy individuals can regularly clean &lt;strong&gt;&amp;ldquo;small&amp;rdquo;&lt;/strong&gt;  and &lt;strong&gt;&amp;ldquo;moderate&amp;rdquo;&lt;/strong&gt; areas of mold, thus preventing these  from getting out of hand, by following the safety precautions and  cleaning guidelines.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Step 8 &amp;mdash; Seek professional help&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Consider seeking professional help from  trained IAQ investigators to identify appropriate remediation steps  inside the home. Removing large amounts of mold will require the  services of mold clean-up contractors.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;Preventing mold&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Keep the home dry.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Find and fix water leaks.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Discard clutter and excess stored  materials.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Clean and maintain the home regularly.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Encourage lifestyle practices that  reduce moisture.&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Basic steps to prevent and reduce mold  growth&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Mold needs moisture to grow. Controlling the  moisture and keeping the home dry prevents the growth of mold.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Check your home for signs of moisture  and molds.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Find out if water is coming in from the  outside and if substantial moisture is produced inside the home.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Fix any water leaks promptly.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Think of the different ways moisture is  produced inside the home (for example, cooking, bathing, plant jungle).  Remove the moisture as it is produced by using exhaust fans. In the  absence of fans, open windows for a short time, but note that the wind  can push the moisture to other parts of the home.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Measure how much moisture is in the air.  To find the relative humidity in your home, you&amp;rsquo;ll need a hygrometer.  You can buy one at a hardware store or electronics store. A hygrometer  costs from $10 to $60. Relative humidity in the home should be under 45  per cent in the winter (or lower to avoid condensation on windows). If  necessary, use a dehumidifier to lower the relative humidity.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Reduce the amount of stored materials,  especially items that are no longer used. Molds grow on fabrics, paper,  wood and practically anything that collects dust and holds moisture.&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Mold-proofing your home, room by room&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Basement or crawl space&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Reduce the amount of clothes, paper and   furnishings stored in the basement. Discard badly damaged materials.   Eliminate clutter to improve air circulation. Only washable items should   be stored.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Dehumidify the basement during the warm  months.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Avoid carpets on slab-on-grade or below  grade  floors.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Periodically clean the drain in your  basement  floor. Use half a cup of bleach, let it stand for a few  minutes, then  flush with plenty of water. Keep the drain trap filled  with water.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Avoid standing water. Keep sump pits  covered  (you can use plywood wrapped with plastic).&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Regularly clean and replace furnace  filters.  Use a pleated one-inch filter, not a coarse filter.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;If you have a heat recovery ventilator  (HRV),  clean the filter inside the HRV often.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;If you notice molds or signs of  dampness, such  as water on your windows or wet spots elsewhere, do not  humidify.  Disconnect furnace humidifiers that are no longer used.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;If you have electric baseboards, vacuum  the  units, or have a professional clean them for you.&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Laundry areas&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Check that your clothes dryer exhausts  to the  outside.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Remove lint every time you use the  dryer.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Don&amp;rsquo;t hang-dry laundry indoors.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Dry your laundry tub and washing machine  after  you use them.&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Bathrooms&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Check the bathroom fan to make sure it  exhausts  to the outside.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Turn the bathroom fan on when you  shower. Keep  it running for a few minutes after you finish your shower.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Take short showers.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Keep surfaces that get wet, such as the  walls  around the bathtub and shower, clean and dry.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;If there is a carpet in your bathroom,  remove  it.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Check for water leaks.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Keep drains in good shape by removing  debris  from them.&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;To clean a drain:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Pour a handful of baking soda into it.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Add a cup of vinegar.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Put the plug in the drain.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Let the vinegar and baking soda work for  about  20 minutes.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Run fresh water into the drain.&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If the drain is still clogged, use a small  plumbing  snake.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Kitchen&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;If the fan over your stove exhausts  outside,  use it when you cook.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Minimize open boiling.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Keep your drains in good shape. Follow  the  steps in the Bathrooms section above.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;There&amp;rsquo;s a drip pan at the back of the   refrigerator. Pull the refrigerator out to clean the drip pan. At the   same time, vacuum dust from the coils at the back of the refrigerator.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Check under the kitchen sink to make  sure there  are no leaks.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Take out the garbage daily to prevent  odours  and spoiling.&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Closets and bedrooms&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Get rid of clothes and other stored  items that  you don&amp;rsquo;t use. Keeping your closets and bedrooms tidy makes  it easier  for air to circulate &amp;mdash; and harder for mold to grow.&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Other parts of the home&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;A dehumidifier helps to reduce moisture  in the  home during the warmer months. Close the windows when the  dehumidifier  is running.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;When family and friends come into the  home,  have them take off their shoes.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Vacuum often. If you are buying a vacuum   cleaner, try to get one with a HEPA filter. (&lt;a href="http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/yohoyohe/momo/momo_005.cfm#hepa"&gt;See   below&lt;/a&gt;).&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Clean hard floors with a damp mop.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Do not bring in furniture, clothing,  books etc.  that have been stored in a moldy place into your home.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Cut down the number of potted plants in  the  house&amp;mdash;soil is a good place for mold.&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Exterior&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Regularly check the condition of the  roof and  exterior finish for any places where water might enter.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Make sure that eavestroughs and  downspouts are  connected and working properly and that they are free of  debris.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Install downspout extensions to lead  water away  from the building.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Deal promptly with any problems that you  find.&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;Frequently asked questions about mold&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Should I have my house air tested for mold?&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This is the question most frequently asked by   homeowners who think their home may have a mold problem. Testing is   generally not recommended for homeowners. Testing of moldy materials or   an air sample identifies the types of molds that may be present but  does  not identify the cause/source of moisture. The type of mold does  not  change the procedures for cleaning up areas of mold less than 3  square  meters. You have to clean up the mold and correct the problem   irrespective of the type of mold. The cost of testing may be better   spent hiring a professional investigator or fixing the problem.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Testing of a moldy material involves sending a  swab,  an imprint on a Scotch tape or a piece of the material to a  competent  laboratory. Air sampling requires specialized equipment. An  air sample  typically captures mold spores in a period of minutes. Since  replicate  samples must be taken due to variations in the airborne molds  over time  (even hours) and compared with outdoor samples, air testing is  both  expensive and time-consuming. Interpretation of test results may  not be  very useful, since there are no advocated &amp;quot;safe levels&amp;quot; of indoor   molds and the results will not tell the health risks from the molds.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;The air feels dry &amp;mdash; can I humidify?&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Before you add moisture to the air, measure  the  relative humidity. Air that feels dry may not be really dry. It may  be  moldy. High relative humidity (over 45 per cent) promotes the growth  of  molds and dust mites. The moisture in the air may condense on colder   exterior walls where molds start to grow.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If your physician has advised you to use a   humidifier in your child&amp;rsquo;s bedroom at night, monitor the relative   humidity. Turn the humidifier on and off as necessary. In the morning,   take steps to make sure the room gets dry. Clean and empty the   humidifier after each use.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;&lt;a id="#hepa" name="#hepa"&gt;What advantages  do HEPA  vacuums provide?&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Ordinary vacuums capture large particles only  &amp;mdash;  small mold spores pass through the vacuum into the air. HEPA vacuums   have special filters that capture small particles. A central vacuum   cleaner which is exhausted to the outside also removes mold spores. A   regular portable vacuum is useful only if its exhaust goes outside the   home. Vacuuming removes settled dust that contains an accumulation of   mold spores over time. Reducing the settled dust reduces molds.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Vacuuming with any vacuum cleaner (ordinary,  central  or HEPA) stirs dust and mold during the process. Wear a dust  mask so  you will not be breathing more mold.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Is vacuuming with a HEPA or externally  exhausted  vacuum cleaner recommended for serious mold problems only?&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Vacuum regularly with a HEPA or externally  exhausted  vacuum cleaner to prevent the ongoing accumulation of dust and  molds.  The need for HEPA or external exhaust vacuuming increases with  the  severity of the mold problem.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If a furnishing has been wet at some time in  the  past or has been exposed to dampness over a prolonged period of  time,  vacuuming with HEPA or externally exhausted vacuum is unlikely to   remove the mold growing beneath the surface. It is better to discard the   item.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Where do you find a HEPA vacuum cleaner?&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Vacuum cleaner dealers carry HEPA vacuums.  Consider  purchasing one as an upgrade to what you may be using. A HEPA  vacuum is  a good investment in the long term whether you have mold or  not. A  generic canister HEPA vacuum cleaner costs approximately $300.  Brand  name products of the same type may cost more. You may inquire if  the  dealer has a HEPA vacuum cleaner to rent. Contractors who clean up  or  renovate houses for mold should also have this equipment.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Does painting over a moldy surface take care  of the  mold?&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Painting over mold only masks the problem.  Paint  does not kill the mold nor stop it from growing. Surfaces that are   washable should be cleaned with a detergent solution, following the   procedure suggested &lt;a href="http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/yohoyohe/momo/momo_005.cfm#generalclean"&gt;above&lt;/a&gt;,   then allowed to dry. If you are going to paint, remove mold first.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Does cleaning stop the mold growth?&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Mold will reappear until its source of  moisture is  removed. High moisture levels that are not corrected can  make the molds  grow back quickly. Cleaning is only a temporary but  essential measure.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You can help by making a conscious effort to  keep  the home dry. Obviously, water must be prevented from entering the   home. But you can help by controlling moisture that you produce.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;How does one clean clothes that are moldy?&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Non-washable clothing can be dry cleaned.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Wash clothes with a detergent solution to  which a  cup of bleach is added. Make sure the detergent you use does not   contain ammonia. Repeat as necessary until the moldy odour is gone.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Clothes and other items that have been  cleaned  should be stored in sealed plastic bags to prevent  re-contamination.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;For more information&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Health Canada (April 2008)&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a onmouseout=" return self.status=''; " onmouseover=" return self.status='http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/index_e.html'; " href="javascript:HandleLink('cpe_27607_0','CPNEWWIN:NewWindow^top=10,left=10,width=500,height=400,toolbar=1,location=1,directories=0,status=1,menubar=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1@http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/index_e.html');"&gt;http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/index_e.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

Enter &amp;quot;mold&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;mould&amp;quot; in the search box.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

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&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;strong&gt;This article is from the CMHC Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation&lt;br /&gt;

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      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Important-News.page?ArticleID=150</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.8042Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Fighting Mold - The Homeowners' Guide</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&lt;div class="CS_Element_Textblock"&gt;

&lt;div class="CS_Textblock_Text"&gt;

&lt;h1 class="index"&gt;Indoor Air Quality&lt;/h1&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The need for clean air in our homes should not be  underestimated. Canadians spend an average of 90% of their time inside;  and our homes contain many substances that may be hazardous to our  health. Indoor air pollutants range from minor irritants such as dust  and animal dander, to major irritants such as molds and chemical vapours  that may be emitted from building materials and furnishings. It is  important to be aware of how air contaminants can affect our health and  to adopt corrective measures that will improve indoor air quality in our  homes.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class="CS_Element_Textblock"&gt;

&lt;div class="CS_Textblock_Text"&gt;

&lt;h2 class="index"&gt;In This Section:&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"&gt;

    &lt;tbody&gt;

        &lt;tr&gt;

            &lt;td width="50%" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;ul&gt;

                &lt;li class="index_bullet_list"&gt;&lt;a class="CP___PAGEID_41541" href="http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/yohoyohe/inaiqu/inaiqu_001.cfm"&gt;Asbestos&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                What is asbestos? What problems can asbestos cause and what options does the homeowner have in dealing with them? Some vermiculite insulation has been identified by Health Canada to contain asbestos. Contact &lt;a onmouseout=" return self.status=''; " onmouseover=" return self.status='http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/iyh/products/insulation.html '; " href="javascript:HandleLink('cpe_1959_0','CPNEWWIN:NewWindow^top=10,left=10,width=500,height=400,toolbar=1,location=1,directories=0,status=1,menubar=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1@http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/iyh/products/insulation.html ');"&gt;Health Canada&lt;/a&gt; for further information.&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li class="index_bullet_list"&gt;&lt;a class="CP___PAGEID_42566" href="http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/yohoyohe/inaiqu/inaiqu_002.cfm"&gt;Carbon Monoxide&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                A list of questions and answers dealing with keeping Carbon Monoxide out of your home and to help you choose the right CO detector.&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li class="index_bullet_list"&gt;&lt;a class="CP___PAGEID_42631" href="http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/yohoyohe/inaiqu/inaiqu_003.cfm"&gt;CMHC Garbage Bag Airflow Test&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                This simple test uses an ordinary garbage bag to help you estimate airflow from your furnace registers, bathroom exhaust fan or clothes dryer exhaust.&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li class="index_bullet_list"&gt;&lt;a class="CP___PAGEID_41492" href="http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/yohoyohe/inaiqu/inaiqu_004.cfm"&gt;Combustion Gases in Your Home&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                This simple test uses an ordinary garbage bag to help you estimate airflow from your furnace registers, bathroom exhaust fan or clothes dryer exhaust.&lt;/li&gt;

            &lt;/ul&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="50%" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;ul&gt;

                &lt;li class="index_bullet_list"&gt;&lt;a class="CP___PAGEID_43179" href="http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/yohoyohe/inaiqu/inaiqu_005.cfm"&gt;Fighting Asthma in Your House&lt;br /&gt;

                &lt;/a&gt;Practical tips to help people with asthma improve the indoor air quality of their home.&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li class="index_bullet_list"&gt;&lt;a class="CP___PAGEID_43319" href="http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/yohoyohe/inaiqu/inaiqu_006.cfm"&gt;How to Reduce Chemical Contaminants in Your Home&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                This guide focuses on reducing exposure to chemical contaminants in the home, and will help you identify and avoid household products and materials which are sources of chemical contaminants.&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li class="index_bullet_list"&gt;&lt;a class="CP___PAGEID_43419" href="http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/yohoyohe/inaiqu/inaiqu_007.cfm"&gt;Lead in Older Homes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                This About Your House describes where lead is found in older homes and who is at risk to lead exposure. It also describes procedures for testing lead in soil, water, paint, and dust.&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li class="index_bullet_list"&gt;&lt;a class="CP___PAGEID_41579" href="http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/yohoyohe/inaiqu/inaiqu_008.cfm"&gt;Urea-Formaldehyde Foam Insulation (UFFI)&lt;br /&gt;

                &lt;/a&gt;What is UFFI? Why was it banned? Should you be concerned about UFFI? How do you know if your home has UFFI?&lt;/li&gt;

                &lt;li class="index_bullet_list"&gt;&lt;a onmouseout=" return self.status=''; " onmouseover=" return self.status='http://www.iaq-qai.com/english/'; " href="javascript:HandleLink('cpe_1959_0','CPNEWWIN:NewWindow^top=10,left=10,width=500,height=400,toolbar=1,location=1,directories=0,status=1,menubar=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1@http://www.iaq-qai.com/english/');"&gt;Training and Workshops&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                CMHC hosts a number of Indoor Air Quality workshops namely, Build and Renovate to Avoid Mold; Residential Indoor Air Quality Investigator Program; Let's Clear The Air; a Two-Day Mold Remediation Workshop and a Field Training Introduction.&lt;/li&gt;

            &lt;/ul&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

    &lt;/tbody&gt;

&lt;/table&gt;

&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class="CS_Element_Layout"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;p class="related_links_head_box"&gt;Related CMHC Information&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div class="CS_Element_Textblock"&gt;

&lt;div&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;

    &lt;li class="text_bullet_video"&gt;&lt;a class="CP___PAGEID_79564" href="http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/maho_002.cfm"&gt;Maintenance Videos&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li class="text_bullet_OD_free"&gt;&lt;a onmouseout=" return self.status=''; " onmouseover=" return self.status='http://www.cmhc.ca/od/?pid=61941'; " href="javascript:HandleLink('cpe_1993_0','CPNEWWIN:NewWindow^top=10,left=10,width=500,height=400,toolbar=1,location=1,directories=0,status=1,menubar=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1@http://www.cmhc.ca/od/?pid=61941');"&gt;Lead in Your Home&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li class="text_bullet_OD_free"&gt;&lt;a onmouseout=" return self.status=''; " onmouseover=" return self.status='http://www.cmhc.ca/od/?pid=61945'; " href="javascript:HandleLink('cpe_1993_0','CPNEWWIN:NewWindow^top=10,left=10,width=500,height=400,toolbar=1,location=1,directories=0,status=1,menubar=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1@http://www.cmhc.ca/od/?pid=61945');"&gt;Radon: A Guide for Canadian Homeowners&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li class="text_bullet_OD_priced"&gt;&lt;a onmouseout=" return self.status=''; " onmouseover=" return self.status='http://www.cmhc.ca/od/?pid=61082'; " href="javascript:HandleLink('cpe_1993_0','CPNEWWIN:NewWindow^top=10,left=10,width=500,height=400,toolbar=1,location=1,directories=0,status=1,menubar=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1@http://www.cmhc.ca/od/?pid=61082');"&gt;The Clean Air Guide: How to Identify and Correct Indoor Air Problems in Your Home&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;p class="text_bullet_OD_priced"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;This article is from the CMHC Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://eho.mnet.ca/_mnweb/FCKeditorV2/editor/Send-a-Comment.page"&gt;We would like to hear from you!!&lt;br /&gt;

Send us your comments about this Article.&lt;br /&gt;

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Elite home on homes inspection is not responsible for the content and accuracy of the web links or articles.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Specializing in &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.town.oakville.on.ca/"&gt;Oakville&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.milton.ca/"&gt;Milton&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.ci.burlington.nc.us/"&gt;Burlington&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/home"&gt;Mississauga&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.city.brampton.on.ca/home.taf"&gt;Brampton&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.town.caledon.on.ca/"&gt;Caledon,&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.toronto.ca/"&gt;Toronto &lt;/a&gt;and the GTA (Greater Toronto Areas)&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Important-News.page?ArticleID=149</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.8042Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Indoor Air Quality</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&lt;span style="font-size: large;"&gt;What is asbestos? &lt;/span&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Asbestos is a natural mineral with unusual qualities. It is strong enough to resist high temperatures, chemical attack and wear. A poor conductor, it insulates well against heat and electricity.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Asbestos crystals become long, flexible, silky fibres, so it can be made into a wide variety of forms. It can be spun into yarn, woven into cloth or braided into rope. Asbestos can also be added to materials as diverse as cotton and cement.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This combination of properties gives asbestos performance capabilities that are difficult to match.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;What has asbestos been used for?&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Asbestos has been used in hundreds of applications and products over the past 4,500 years. The ancient Greeks wove it into oil lamp wicks, funeral shrouds and ceremonial tablecloths. During the 1800s, it insulated the hot engines, boilers and piping that powered the Industrial Revolution.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;For half a century, until the 1980s, asbestos was used in office buildings, public buildings and schools. It insulated hot water heating systems, and was put into walls and ceilings as insulation against fire and sound.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Asbestos has also been widely used in transportation and electrical appliances, frequently mixed with, and encased in, other materials.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Asbestos has also been found in many products around the house. It has been used in clapboard; shingles and felt for roofing; exterior siding; pipe and boiler covering; compounds and cement, such as caulk, putty, roof patching, furnace cement and driveway coating; wallboard; textured and latex paints; acoustical ceiling tiles and plaster; vinyl floor tiles; appliance wiring; hair dryers; irons and ironing board pads; flame-resistant aprons and electric blankets; and clay pottery. Loose-fill vermiculite insulation may contain traces of &amp;ldquo;amphibole&amp;rdquo; asbestos.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;How has the use of asbestos changed?&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;When it became evident that regular exposure to asbestos on the job involved health risks, the public became more concerned about exposure to asbestos in offices and schools, and, eventually, about all asbestos products.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This concern has led to a dramatic decline in asbestos use since the early 1980s. The use of asbestos insulation in buildings and heating systems has virtually disappeared. Residential use, for roofing, flooring and appliances, continues to decrease.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;While alternative products are being developed to replace asbestos, products sold today containing asbestos are regulated under the Hazardous Products Act. Asbestos can be used safely, and public concern has led to improved product design and manufacture. Asbestos is now better encapsulated and sealed to reduce the escape of fibres.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Asbestos is valuable in many applications because it has been difficult to find comparable substitute materials. For example, it is still an important component of brake lining and clutch facings.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;What health problems are associated with exposure to asbestos?&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Health Canada states that the asbestos content of a product does not indicate its health risk.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Asbestos poses health risks only when fibres are in the air that people breathe. Asbestos fibres lodge in the lungs, causing scarring that can ultimately lead to severely impaired lung function (asbestosis) and cancers of the lungs or lung cavity.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Concern for the health of asbestos workers was expressed as long ago as the late 1800s. The risks became more evident in the late 1960s, when workers who had been heavily exposed 20 to 30 years earlier showed increased incidence of lung disease. Occupational exposure is now strictly regulated by provincial governments.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;When can asbestos be a problem in the home?&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Today, far fewer products in the home contain asbestos. Current products that do contain the material are better made to withstand wear and use.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;However, frequent or prolonged exposure to asbestos fibres may still bring health risks. This can happen with the release of fibres into the air when asbestos-containing products break down, either through deterioration as they age or when they are cut. People can put themselves at risk &amp;mdash; often without realizing it &amp;mdash; if they do not take proper precautions when repairs or renovations disturb asbestoscontaining materials. This can occur in a number of situations:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Disturbing loose-fill vermiculite insulation which may contain asbestos&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Removing deteriorating roofing shingles and siding containing asbestos, or tampering with roofing felt that contains asbestos&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Ripping away old asbestos insulation from around a hot water tank&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Sanding or scraping vinyl asbestos floor tiles&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Breaking apart acoustical ceilings tiles containing asbestos&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Sanding plaster containing asbestos, or sanding or disturbing acoustical plaster that gives ceilings and walls a soft, textured look&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Sanding or scraping older water-based asbestos coatings such as roofing compounds, spackling, sealants, paint, putty, caulking or drywall&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Sawing, drilling or smoothing rough edges of new or old asbestos materials&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;How to minimize the asbestos risks in the home?&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If you do not know if products in your home contain asbestos, have an experienced contractor inspect them. If there is asbestos, the best interim measure (unless the product is peeling or deteriorating) is to seal the surface temporarily so that fibres will not be released into indoor air. If the product is already protected or isolated, simply leave it alone.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It is a complex and expensive matter to remove asbestos, and should be done by an experienced contractor. When disturbing an asbestos product, maximum precautions must be taken to safeguard the workers and anybody else who may be nearby. Asbestos dust must remain within the work area so that it cannot be breathed in by unprotected persons.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It is essential to take adequate precautions. Everybody who works with asbestos should always wear an approved face mask and gloves, along with protective clothing. Be sure to tape sleeve and trouser cuffs, and wash clothes separately after use. Keep the work area moist to keep dust and fibre particles from floating into the air. Isolate the work space.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Reduce the air pressure to prevent asbestos fibres from escaping from the work area, and filter the exhaust air. Dispose of all waste appropriately, according to the guidelines of your provincial department of the environment. Other removal methods may be warranted for special conditions &amp;mdash; consult an expert.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;Vermiculite Insulation&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Some vermiculite may contain asbestos.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Do not disturb loose-fill vermiculite insulation.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Do not store items near vermiculite insulation, if the insulation can be disturbed.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;Do not allow children near loose fill vermiculite insulation.&lt;/li&gt;

    &lt;li&gt;If activities are planned that will disturb vermiculite, consult a certified asbestos removal company.&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;br align="center" /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;p class="caption_cmhc"&gt;&lt;img width="344" height="215" border="0" alt="Asbestos" src="http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/images/vermiculite.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;Where can you get more information on asbestos?&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;For information on how to minimize exposure to asbestos refer to:&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;strong&gt;It's Your Health &amp;mdash; Vermiculite Insulation Containing Asbestos&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a onmouseout=" return self.status=''; " onmouseover=" return self.status='http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca'; " href="javascript:HandleLink('cpe_27607_0','CPNEWWIN:NewWindow^top=10,left=10,width=500,height=400,toolbar=1,location=1,directories=0,status=1,menubar=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1@http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca');"&gt;Health Canada&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;For information on occupational exposure to asbestos, contact the:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)&lt;br /&gt;

135 Hunter Street East&lt;br /&gt;

Hamilton, ON&lt;br /&gt;

L8N 1M5&lt;br /&gt;

Phone: &lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_injection" id="softomate_highlight_0" title="Call this phone number in Canada with Skype: +19055708094" context="1-905-570-8094" durex="458" iamrtl="0" onmouseout="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,0,'0',true,16,'');" onmouseover="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'0',true,16,'');" onclick="javascript:doRunCMD('call','0',null,0);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmousedown="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,2,'0',true,16,'');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseup="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'0',true,16,'');return skype_tb_stopEvents();"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgA" id="skype_tb_droppart_0" title="Skype actions" style="background-image: url(&amp;quot;C:UsersJohn\A ppDataLocalTemp__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache?847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506staticinactive_a.compat.flex.w16.gif&amp;quot;);" onmouseout="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'0',0,1,16);" onmouseover="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'0',1,1,16);" onclick="javascript:skype_tb_SwitchDrop(this,'0','sms=0');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmousedown="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'0',2,1,16);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseup="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'0',1,1,16);return skype_tb_stopEvents();"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgFlag" id="skype_tb_img_f0" style="background-image: url(&amp;quot;C:UsersJohn\A ppDataLocalTemp__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache?847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506static&amp;uacute;mfamfam/CA.gif&amp;quot;);"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgS" id="skype_tb_img_s0"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_injectionIn" id="skype_tb_text0"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_innerText" id="skype_tb_innerText0"&gt;1-905-570-8094&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgR" id="skype_tb_img_r0"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

Toll-Free: &lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_injection" id="softomate_highlight_1" title="Call this phone number in Canada with Skype: +18006684284" context="1-800-668-4284" durex="458" iamrtl="0" onmouseout="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,0,'1',true,16,'');" onmouseover="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'1',true,16,'');" onclick="javascript:doRunCMD('call','1',null,0);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmousedown="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,2,'1',true,16,'');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseup="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'1',true,16,'');return skype_tb_stopEvents();"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgA" id="skype_tb_droppart_1" title="Skype actions" style="background-image: url(&amp;quot;C:UsersJohn\A ppDataLocalTemp__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache?847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506staticinactive_a.compat.flex.w16.gif&amp;quot;);" onmouseout="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'1',0,1,16);" onmouseover="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'1',1,1,16);" onclick="javascript:skype_tb_SwitchDrop(this,'1','sms=0');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmousedown="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'1',2,1,16);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseup="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'1',1,1,16);return skype_tb_stopEvents();"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgFlag" id="skype_tb_img_f1" style="background-image: url(&amp;quot;C:UsersJohn\A ppDataLocalTemp__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache?847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506static&amp;uacute;mfamfam/CA.gif&amp;quot;);"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgS" id="skype_tb_img_s1"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_injectionIn" id="skype_tb_text1"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_innerText" id="skype_tb_innerText1"&gt;1-800-668-4284&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgR" id="skype_tb_img_r1"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

Fax: 1-905-572-2206&lt;br /&gt;

Web Site: &lt;a onmouseout=" return self.status=''; " onmouseover=" return self.status='http://www.ccohs.ca'; " href="javascript:HandleLink('cpe_27607_0','CPNEWWIN:NewWindow^top=10,left=10,width=500,height=400,toolbar=1,location=1,directories=0,status=1,menubar=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1@http://www.ccohs.ca');"&gt;www.ccohs.ca&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;For contractors who specialize in asbestos abatement and removal, look in the Yellow Pages&amp;trade; under &amp;quot;Asbestos&amp;quot;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a onmouseout=" return self.status=''; " onmouseover=" return self.status='http://www.epa.gov/oppt/asbestos/index.html'; " href="javascript:HandleLink('cpe_27607_0','CPNEWWIN:NewWindow^top=10,left=10,width=500,height=400,toolbar=1,location=1,directories=0,status=1,menubar=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1@http://www.epa.gov/oppt/asbestos/index.html');"&gt;US EPA's Asbestos Home Page&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="small_text"&gt;Although this information product reflects housing experts' current knowledge, it is provided for general information purposes only. Any reliance or action taken based on the information, materials and techniques described are the responsibility of the user. Readers are advised to consult appropriate professional resources to determine what is safe and suitable in their particular case. CMHC assumes no responsibility for any consequence arising from use of the information, materials and techniques described.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

This article is from the CMHC Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://eho.mnet.ca/_mnweb/FCKeditorV2/editor/Send-a-Comment.page"&gt;We would like to hear from you!!&lt;br /&gt;

Send us your comments about this Article.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

Elite home on homes inspection is not responsible for the content and accuracy of the web links or articles.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Servicing&amp;nbsp;in Oakville,Milton,Burlington,Mississauga,Brampton,Caledon,Toronto and the GTA (Greater Toronto Areas)&lt;/p&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Important-News.page?ArticleID=148</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.8042Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Asbestos</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>(May 28, 2008)&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

The Office of the Fire Marshal, Ministry of  Community Safety and Correctional Services and the Building and  Development Branch of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing are  asking Ontario residents to check their Firex carbon monoxide and  combination carbon monoxide/smoke alarms after the Maple Chase Company  issued a voluntary recall.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Sold under the Firex brand, a malfunctioning  component in certain carbon monoxide alarms and combination carbon  monoxide/smoke alarm devices can cause the alarms to go into a &amp;ldquo;double  chirp&amp;rdquo; fault mode in the presence of carbon monoxide prior to the unit  going into full alarm mode. According to the Owner&amp;rsquo;s Manual, the device  must be taken out of service when this fault is present and cannot be  reset. Although no incidents have been reported relating to the hazard,  it puts consumers at risk of injury or death.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Owners of the alarms identified below should  contact Maple Chase immediately at &lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_injection" id="softomate_highlight_0" title="Call this phone number in Canada with Skype: +18888793906" onclick="javascript:doRunCMD('call','0',null,0);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" iamrtl="0" durex="578" context="1-888-879-3906" onmouseup="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'0',true,16,'');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmousedown="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,2,'0',true,16,'');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseover="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'0',true,16,'');" onmouseout="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,0,'0',true,16,'');"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgA" id="skype_tb_droppart_0" title="Skype actions" style="" onclick="javascript:skype_tb_SwitchDrop(this,'0','sms=0');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseup="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'0',1,1,16);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmousedown="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'0',2,1,16);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseover="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'0',1,1,16);" onmouseout="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'0',0,1,16);"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgFlag" id="skype_tb_img_f0" style=""&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgS" id="skype_tb_img_s0"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_injectionIn" id="skype_tb_text0"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_innerText" id="skype_tb_innerText0"&gt;1-888-879-3906&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgR" id="skype_tb_img_r0"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;  to receive a free comparable replacement alarm and make arrangements to  return their affected alarm(s).&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Affected Models:&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

This recall involves Firex branded 10000 and  12000 series alarms with item numbers: &lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

10000&lt;br /&gt;

12000&lt;br /&gt;

12000C&lt;br /&gt;

12000-6 &lt;br /&gt;

12200&lt;br /&gt;

12220&lt;br /&gt;

12400&lt;br /&gt;

12400C&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

The alarms were manufactured between June 1,  2007 and February 1, 2008. 16,000 were sold in Ontario.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Customers affected by this notice or with  questions are strongly encouraged to contact Maple Chase by phone at &lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_injection" id="softomate_highlight_1" title="Call this phone number in Canada with Skype: +18888793906" onclick="javascript:doRunCMD('call','1',null,0);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" iamrtl="0" durex="578" context="1-888-879-3906" onmouseup="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'1',true,16,'');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmousedown="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,2,'1',true,16,'');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseover="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'1',true,16,'');" onmouseout="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,0,'1',true,16,'');"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgA" id="skype_tb_droppart_1" title="Skype actions" style="" onclick="javascript:skype_tb_SwitchDrop(this,'1','sms=0');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseup="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'1',1,1,16);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmousedown="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'1',2,1,16);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseover="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'1',1,1,16);" onmouseout="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'1',0,1,16);"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgFlag" id="skype_tb_img_f1" style=""&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgS" id="skype_tb_img_s1" style=""&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_injectionIn" id="skype_tb_text1" style=""&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_innerText" id="skype_tb_innerText1"&gt;1-888-879-3906&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgR" id="skype_tb_img_r1" style=""&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;   or visit their website, &lt;a href="http://www.oafc.on.ca/www.firexsafety.com/stepone.aspx"&gt;www.firexsafety.com/stepone.aspx&lt;/a&gt;  for more information.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

The public is reminded that it is the law to  have a working smoke alarm on every storey of their home and outside all  sleeping areas. Working smoke alarms provide early detection of fire  and can give people the precious seconds needed to escape.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Article from the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs May 28, 2008&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Please test your smoke detectors and Carbon Monoxide detectors at least once a month!!&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://eho.mnet.ca/_mnweb/FCKeditorV2/editor/Send-a-Comment.page"&gt;We would like to hear from you!!&lt;br /&gt;

Send us your comments about this Article.&lt;br /&gt;

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Elite home on homes inspection is not responsible for the content and accuracy of the web links or articles.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Servicing&amp;nbsp;in Oakville,Milton,Burlington,Mississauga,Brampton,Caledon,Toronto and the GTA (Greater Toronto Areas)</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Important-News.page?ArticleID=88</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.8042Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Public Warned of a Recall of FireX Carbon Monoxide Alarms And Combination Smoke Alarm/Carbon Monoxide Alarms </title>

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      <description>&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/health/radon.html"&gt;Radon: Invisible menace&lt;/a&gt; is why it is very important to have our inspectors test your home. Why not have peace of mind and &lt;strong&gt;have your house tested for Radon Today.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://eho.mnet.ca/_mnweb/FCKeditorV2/editor/Send-a-Comment.page"&gt;We would like to hear from you!!&lt;br /&gt;

Send us your comments about this Article.&lt;br /&gt;

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Elite home on homes inspection is not responsible for the content and accuracy of the web links or articles.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Servicing in Oakville,Milton,Burlington,Mississauga,Brampton,Caledon,Toronto and the GTA (Greater Toronto Areas)</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Important-News.page?ArticleID=83</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.8042Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Radon: Invisible menace</title>

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    <item>

      <description>&lt;font face="Arial"&gt;This Link is a Blog from&amp;nbsp; Consumer Specialist Jee-Yun Lee from City TV.&lt;br /&gt;

Part 4 of her Real Estate Series 2008. April 18, 2008.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

This is why it is so important to hire our inspectors for a PDI. Many people think that a new home should not have any problems right. Please read the LINK below and send us your thoughts.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a href="http://www.citynews.ca/blogs/jeelicious.aspx"&gt;http://www.citynews.ca/blogs/jeelicious.aspx&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://eho.mnet.ca/_mnweb/FCKeditorV2/editor/Send-a-Comment.page"&gt;We would like to hear from you!!&lt;br /&gt;

Send us your comments about this Article.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

Elite home on homes inspection is not responsible for the content and accuracy of the web links or articles.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Servicing in Oakville,Milton,Burlington,Mississauga,Brampton,Caledon,Toronto and the GTA (Greater Toronto Areas)&lt;/font&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Important-News.page?ArticleID=62</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.8042Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Why You Should Hire Our Inspectors for a PDI Pre Delivery Inspection.</title>

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      <description>&lt;div&gt;&lt;span class="headlineArticle" id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder_article_NavWebPart_Article_ctl00___Title__"&gt;Beware if you're purchasing new to flip&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

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&lt;div class="articleToolsItem"&gt;&lt;img class="picIcon" alt="Email the author" src="http://www.thestar.com/App_Themes/TheStar/images/icons/iconEmailAuthor.gif" /&gt; &lt;span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder_article_NavWebPart_Article_ctl00___realatedAuthorEmail___ctl00___columnistEmailSource__"&gt;&lt;a name="bob@aaron.ca" href="mailto:bob@aaron.ca"&gt;Email the author&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/div&gt;

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&lt;div style="MARGIN: 20px 0px"&gt;&lt;span style="TEXT-TRANSFORM: capitalize"&gt;Apr 12, 2008 04:30 AM&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/div&gt;

&lt;!-- AUTHOR 1 --&gt;&lt;span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder_article_NavWebPart_Article_ctl00___RelatedAuthorLink__"&gt;&lt;a name="94630" var="94630" href="http://www.thestar.com/opinion/columnists/94630"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;di3&gt;&lt;/di3&gt;A recently discovered policy of the Tarion Warranty Corp. could have an enormous impact on the thousands of buyers of new homes and condominiums who resell the properties without moving in. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The policy was brought to my attention by Vidas Augaitis, a colleague who practises real estate law in Collingwood. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In April 2005, two of his clients, whom I will call Deb and Chris, bought a new house in Wasaga Beach from Pinevalley Developments Corp. On closing, the buyers received a Certificate of Completion and Inspection and a warranty certificate from Tarion confirming that the house was enrolled under the warranty program.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;When they closed the transaction with the builder, Deb and Chris intended to sell their existing home and move into the new one. For various reasons, they changed their minds and eventually decided to sell the new house. The resale closed on July 24, 2007.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In January of this year, Deb and Chris received a visit from a senior investigator with Tarion's enforcement department. He told them that they should have registered the house with Tarion when they resold the property, since he believed it had not been occupied during the period of their ownership. The Tarion representative pointed out that anyone who sells a new home in Ontario without registering it with Tarion is liable to a fine of up to $25,000 or a term of imprisonment of up to one year, or both. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Deb and Chris were told that they would not be charged under the warranty legislation if they registered the house with Tarion at a cost of $600. In addition, they might have to post a $10,000 performance bond. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It makes no difference to Tarion that the house had already been registered by Pinevalley and that the original warranty remains in place for seven years, even if the house changes owners. If a new house is not occupied between the first sale and the second, it remains a new house, and the seller must register &amp;ndash; or re-register it. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Since this sounded rather bizarre, I checked with Tarion spokesperson Robert Mitchell, who confirmed that Tarion requires the house to be registered twice.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;When the first buyer resells the home without moving in, Mitchell emailed me, &amp;quot;the home is still a new home &amp;ndash; it has never been occupied. The moment (the first buyer) sells a previously unoccupied home they fall within the definition of &amp;quot;vendor&amp;quot; under the Act and they must be registered. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;quot;The two registrations are helpful from a consumer protection perspective because the home has the benefits of all the warranties, including the delayed closing and deposit protection. Since it is (the original buyer) who will now be the one selling the home, taking deposits ... and setting up a closing date, it makes sense that they should have responsibility for those warranty obligations.&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In other words, even though the one-, two- and seven-year Tarion defect warranties carry over from Pinevalley's enrolment of the house to all owners within the warranty periods, Tarion requires the second owners to be protected by a second warranty enrolment. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In response to Tarion's position, Augaitis, who represents the original buyers, told me that both parties to the second transaction were clear that this was a resale, with no expectation of, or need for, deposit or delayed closing protection.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The house has still not been registered a second time with Tarion. The warranty police are currently examining the gas bills to try to verify that the house had been occupied by a tradesman who lived in the house rent-free from November 2005 through April 2006 while he built a recreation room in the basement. If occupancy can be verified independently, then presumably the house is exempt from double registration. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The ramifications of this case extend far beyond one house in Wasaga Beach. In recent years, thousands of Toronto-area homes and condominiums have been &amp;quot;flipped&amp;quot; by buyers without being occupied. Is Tarion on a campaign to extract a double set of registration fees and performance bonds (or fines) from investors who buy and sell without moving in? &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The logic of the warranty corporation's position in this matter completely escapes me.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Bob Aaron is a Toronto real estate lawyer whose Title Page column appears Saturdays. He can be reached at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:bob@aaron.ca"&gt;bob@aaron.ca&lt;/a&gt;. Website: aaron.ca.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;Article from the Toronto Star April 12, 2008.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="articleAuthor" id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder_article_NavWebPart_Article_ctl00___Author1__"&gt;Bob Aaron&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://eho.mnet.ca/_mnweb/FCKeditorV2/editor/Send-a-Comment.page"&gt;We would like to hear from you!!&lt;br /&gt;

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Servicing in Oakville,Milton,Burlington,Mississauga,Brampton,Caledon,Toronto and the GTA (Greater Toronto Areas)&lt;/span&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Important-News.page?ArticleID=61</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.8042Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Beware if You"re Purchasing New to Flip</title>

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                        &lt;table id="Table29" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"&gt;

                            &lt;tbody&gt;

                                &lt;tr&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="111"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;

                                    &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0" nof="TE"&gt;

                                        &lt;tbody&gt;

                                            &lt;tr&gt;

                                                &lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;img id="Picture232" height="3" alt="" width="111" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/en/assets/images/thinline.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                                            &lt;/tr&gt;

                                        &lt;/tbody&gt;

                                    &lt;/table&gt;

                                    &lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                &lt;tr align="right"&gt;

                                    &lt;td class="under" width="111" height="16"&gt;

                                    &lt;p align="right"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;&lt;a style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt" href="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/www/en/html/product.htm"&gt;Product Index&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                &lt;tr align="right"&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="111" height="2"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;

                                    &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0" nof="TE"&gt;

                                        &lt;tbody&gt;

                                            &lt;tr&gt;

                                                &lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;img id="Picture233" height="3" alt="" width="111" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/en/assets/images/thinline.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                                            &lt;/tr&gt;

                                        &lt;/tbody&gt;

                                    &lt;/table&gt;

                                    &lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                &lt;tr align="right"&gt;

                                    &lt;td class="under" width="111" height="16"&gt;

                                    &lt;p align="right"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;&lt;a style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #006699" href="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/www/en/html/industry.htm"&gt;Industrial&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                &lt;tr align="right"&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="111"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;

                                    &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0" nof="TE"&gt;

                                        &lt;tbody&gt;

                                            &lt;tr&gt;

                                                &lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;img id="Picture234" height="3" alt="" width="111" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/en/assets/images/thinline.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                                            &lt;/tr&gt;

                                        &lt;/tbody&gt;

                                    &lt;/table&gt;

                                    &lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                &lt;tr&gt;

                                    &lt;td class="under" width="111" height="16"&gt;

                                    &lt;p align="right"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;&lt;a style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #006699" href="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/www/en/html/commercial.htm"&gt;Commercial&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                &lt;tr align="right"&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="111"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;

                                    &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0" nof="TE"&gt;

                                        &lt;tbody&gt;

                                            &lt;tr&gt;

                                                &lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;img id="Picture235" height="3" alt="" width="111" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/en/assets/images/thinline.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                                            &lt;/tr&gt;

                                        &lt;/tbody&gt;

                                    &lt;/table&gt;

                                    &lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                &lt;tr align="right"&gt;

                                    &lt;td class="under" width="111" height="16"&gt;

                                    &lt;p align="right"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;&lt;a style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #006699" href="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/www/en/html/residential.htm"&gt;Residential&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                &lt;tr align="right"&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="111"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;

                                    &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0" nof="TE"&gt;

                                        &lt;tbody&gt;

                                            &lt;tr&gt;

                                                &lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;img id="Picture236" height="3" alt="" width="111" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/en/assets/images/thinline.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                                            &lt;/tr&gt;

                                        &lt;/tbody&gt;

                                    &lt;/table&gt;

                                    &lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                &lt;tr align="right"&gt;

                                    &lt;td class="under" width="111" height="16"&gt;

                                    &lt;p align="right"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;&lt;a style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #006699" href="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/www/en/html/oem.htm"&gt;OEM&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                &lt;tr align="right"&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="111"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;

                                    &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0" nof="TE"&gt;

                                        &lt;tbody&gt;

                                            &lt;tr&gt;

                                                &lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;img id="Picture237" height="3" alt="" width="111" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/en/assets/images/thinline.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                                            &lt;/tr&gt;

                                        &lt;/tbody&gt;

                                    &lt;/table&gt;

                                    &lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                &lt;tr align="right"&gt;

                                    &lt;td class="under" width="111" height="16"&gt;

                                    &lt;p align="right"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;&lt;a style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #006699" href="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/www/en/html/services.htm"&gt;Services&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                &lt;tr align="right"&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="111" height="4"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;

                                    &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0" nof="TE"&gt;

                                        &lt;tbody&gt;

                                            &lt;tr&gt;

                                                &lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;img id="Picture238" height="3" alt="" width="111" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/en/assets/images/thinline.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                                            &lt;/tr&gt;

                                        &lt;/tbody&gt;

                                    &lt;/table&gt;

                                    &lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                &lt;tr valign="middle" align="right"&gt;

                                    &lt;td class="under" width="111" height="8"&gt;

                                    &lt;p align="right"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;&lt;a style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #006699" href="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/www/en/html/catalogues.htm"&gt;Catalogues&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                &lt;tr&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="111"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;

                                    &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0" nof="TE"&gt;

                                        &lt;tbody&gt;

                                            &lt;tr&gt;

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                                            &lt;/tr&gt;

                                        &lt;/tbody&gt;

                                    &lt;/table&gt;

                                    &lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                            &lt;/tbody&gt;

                        &lt;/table&gt;

                        &lt;/td&gt;

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            &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="113" border="0" nof="LY"&gt;

                &lt;tbody&gt;

                    &lt;tr valign="top" align="left"&gt;

                        &lt;td width="61" height="22"&gt;&lt;img height="1" alt="" width="61" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/en/assets/images/clearpixel.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

                    &lt;tr valign="top" align="left"&gt;

                        &lt;td height="45"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td valign="middle" align="center" width="52"&gt;&lt;img id="Picture240" height="45" alt="" width="52" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/recovery/assets/images/phone.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

                &lt;/tbody&gt;

            &lt;/table&gt;

            &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="113" border="0" nof="LY"&gt;

                &lt;tbody&gt;

                    &lt;tr valign="top" align="left"&gt;

                        &lt;td width="1" height="2"&gt;&lt;img height="1" alt="" width="1" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/en/assets/images/clearpixel.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td width="112"&gt;&lt;img height="1" alt="" width="112" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/en/assets/images/clearpixel.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

                    &lt;tr valign="top" align="left"&gt;

                        &lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td width="112"&gt;

                        &lt;p align="right"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt" face="Arial"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

                        &lt;/td&gt;

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                &lt;/tbody&gt;

            &lt;/table&gt;

            &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" nof="LY"&gt;

                &lt;tbody&gt;

                    &lt;tr valign="top" align="left"&gt;

                        &lt;td width="3" height="2"&gt;&lt;img height="1" alt="" width="3" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/en/assets/images/clearpixel.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

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                        &lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td width="110"&gt;

                        &lt;table id="Table25" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"&gt;

                            &lt;tbody&gt;

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                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                            &lt;/tbody&gt;

                        &lt;/table&gt;

                        &lt;/td&gt;

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            &lt;/table&gt;

            &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="113" border="0" nof="LY"&gt;

                &lt;tbody&gt;

                    &lt;tr valign="top" align="left"&gt;

                        &lt;td width="1" height="1"&gt;&lt;img height="1" alt="" width="1" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/en/assets/images/clearpixel.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td width="112"&gt;&lt;img height="1" alt="" width="112" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/en/assets/images/clearpixel.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

                    &lt;tr valign="top" align="left"&gt;

                        &lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td width="112"&gt;

                        &lt;p align="right"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-SIZE: 8pt" face="Arial" color="#008000"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Your Complete Customer Service Connection&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                        &lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

                &lt;/tbody&gt;

            &lt;/table&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td height="700"&gt;

            &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="3" border="0" nof="LY"&gt;

                &lt;tbody&gt;

                    &lt;tr valign="top" align="left"&gt;

                        &lt;td width="1" height="33"&gt;&lt;img height="1" alt="" width="1" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/en/assets/images/clearpixel.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

                    &lt;tr valign="top" align="left"&gt;

                        &lt;td height="470"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td valign="middle" align="center" width="2"&gt;&lt;img id="Picture88" height="470" alt="" width="2" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/en/assets/images/a_vert_line_1.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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                &lt;/tbody&gt;

            &lt;/table&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td height="700"&gt;

            &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" nof="LY"&gt;

                &lt;tbody&gt;

                    &lt;tr valign="top" align="left"&gt;

                        &lt;td width="6" height="33"&gt;&lt;img height="1" alt="" width="6" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/en/assets/images/clearpixel.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif"&gt;&lt;img alt="" width="140" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/recovery/assets/images/arcdtectpair.jpeg" /&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

                    &lt;tr valign="top" align="left"&gt;

                        &lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td width="158"&gt;

                        &lt;table id="Table30" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1" width="100%" border="0"&gt;

                            &lt;tbody&gt;

                                &lt;tr&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="6" bgcolor="#004284"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

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                            &lt;/tbody&gt;

                        &lt;/table&gt;

                        &lt;/td&gt;

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                &lt;/tbody&gt;

            &lt;/table&gt;

            &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" nof="LY"&gt;

                &lt;tbody&gt;

                    &lt;tr valign="top" align="left"&gt;

                        &lt;td width="6"&gt;&lt;img height="1" alt="" width="6" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/en/assets/images/clearpixel.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td width="155"&gt;

                        &lt;table id="Table18" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1" width="100%" border="0"&gt;

                            &lt;tbody&gt;

                                &lt;tr&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="10" height="10"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;

                                    &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0" nof="TE"&gt;

                                        &lt;tbody&gt;

                                            &lt;tr&gt;

                                                &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;img id="Picture166" height="9" alt="" width="10" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/recovery/assets/images/b-bullet-blue.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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                                    &lt;/table&gt;

                                    &lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="181"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/recovery/en/index.htm"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;&lt;u&gt;AFI Recovery Home &lt;/u&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                &lt;tr&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="10" height="10"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;

                                    &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0" nof="TE"&gt;

                                        &lt;tbody&gt;

                                            &lt;tr&gt;

                                                &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;img id="Picture166" height="9" alt="" width="10" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/recovery/assets/images/b-bullet-blue.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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                                        &lt;/tbody&gt;

                                    &lt;/table&gt;

                                    &lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="181"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/recovery/en/builder.htm"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;&lt;u&gt;Builder Information&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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                                &lt;tr&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="10" height="10"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;

                                    &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0" nof="TE"&gt;

                                        &lt;tbody&gt;

                                            &lt;tr&gt;

                                                &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;img id="Picture166" height="9" alt="" width="10" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/recovery/assets/images/b-bullet-blue.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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                                        &lt;/tbody&gt;

                                    &lt;/table&gt;

                                    &lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="181"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/recovery/en/consumer.htm"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;&lt;u&gt;Consumer Information&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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                                &lt;tr&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="10" height="10"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;

                                    &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0" nof="TE"&gt;

                                        &lt;tbody&gt;

                                            &lt;tr&gt;

                                                &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;img id="Picture166" height="9" alt="" width="10" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/recovery/assets/images/b-bullet-blue.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="181"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/recovery/en/contractor.htm"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;&lt;u&gt;Contractor Information&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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                                &lt;tr&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="10"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="181"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

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                                &lt;tr&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="10" height="10"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;

                                    &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0" nof="TE"&gt;

                                        &lt;tbody&gt;

                                            &lt;tr&gt;

                                                &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;img id="Picture168" height="9" alt="" width="10" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/recovery/assets/images/b-bullet-blue.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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                                    &lt;/table&gt;

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                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="181"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/recovery/inspector/index.htm"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;&lt;u&gt;Inspectors/Regulatory Agencies&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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                                &lt;tr&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="10" height="10"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;

                                    &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0" nof="TE"&gt;

                                        &lt;tbody&gt;

                                            &lt;tr&gt;

                                                &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;img id="Picture168" height="9" alt="" width="10" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/recovery/assets/images/b-bullet-blue.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                                            &lt;/tr&gt;

                                        &lt;/tbody&gt;

                                    &lt;/table&gt;

                                    &lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="181"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/recovery/en/productsafety.htm"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;&lt;u&gt;Product Safety Notice&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                &lt;tr&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="10"&gt;&lt;img id="Picture169" height="9" alt="" width="10" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/recovery/assets/images/b-bullet-blue.gif" /&gt; &lt;/td&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="181"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/recovery/en/notice_ph.htm"&gt;&lt;u&gt;Notice of Product Hold&lt;/u&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                &lt;tr&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="10"&gt;&lt;img id="Picture169" height="9" alt="" width="10" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/recovery/assets/images/b-bullet-blue.gif" /&gt; &lt;/td&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="181"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/www/en/press/html/csaannounce.htm"&gt;&lt;u&gt;Schneider Electric Press Release&lt;/u&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                &lt;tr&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="10"&gt;&lt;img height="9" alt="" width="10" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/recovery/assets/images/b-bullet-blue.gif" /&gt; &lt;/td&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="181"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.csa-international.org/product_recalls/search/default.asp?articleID=8282"&gt;&lt;u&gt;CSA Press Release&lt;/u&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                &lt;tr&gt;

                                    &lt;td colspan="2"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;AFI Identification sheet&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                &lt;/tr&gt;

                                &lt;tr&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="10" height="10"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;

                                    &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0" nof="TE"&gt;

                                        &lt;tbody&gt;

                                            &lt;tr&gt;

                                                &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;img id="Picture166" height="9" alt="" width="10" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/recovery/assets/images/b-bullet-blue.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                                            &lt;/tr&gt;

                                        &lt;/tbody&gt;

                                    &lt;/table&gt;

                                    &lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="181"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/recovery/inspector/SQD%20QO%20AFIs%20ID%20Flyer.pdf"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;&lt;u&gt;Square D QO&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1"&gt; (PDF)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

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                                    &lt;td width="10" height="10"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;

                                    &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0" nof="TE"&gt;

                                        &lt;tbody&gt;

                                            &lt;tr&gt;

                                                &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;img id="Picture166" height="9" alt="" width="10" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/recovery/assets/images/b-bullet-blue.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                                            &lt;/tr&gt;

                                        &lt;/tbody&gt;

                                    &lt;/table&gt;

                                    &lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;/td&gt;

                                    &lt;td width="181"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/recovery/inspector/StabLok%20AFIs%20ID%20Flyer.pdf"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;&lt;u&gt;Federal Pioneer&lt;br /&gt;

                                    Stab-lok&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1"&gt; (PDF)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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                                    &lt;td colspan="2" height="16"&gt;

                                    &lt;p&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                                    &lt;hr id="HRRule7" align="center" width="100%" size="1" /&gt;

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            &lt;td height="700"&gt;

            &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="500" border="0" nof="LY"&gt;

                &lt;tbody&gt;

                    &lt;tr valign="top" align="left"&gt;

                        &lt;td width="32" height="8"&gt;&lt;img height="8" alt="" width="31" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/recovery/assets/images/clearpixel.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

                    &lt;tr valign="top" align="left"&gt;

                        &lt;td width="32"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td width="468"&gt;

                        &lt;p&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Square D and Federal Pioneer Arc Fault Circuit Breaker Product Recall &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                        &lt;hr id="HRRule8" align="center" width="100%" size="1" /&gt;

                        &lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

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            &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="473" border="0" nof="LY"&gt;

                &lt;tbody&gt;

                    &lt;tr valign="top" align="left"&gt;

                        &lt;td width="31" height="6"&gt;&lt;img height="1" alt="" width="31" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/en/assets/images/clearpixel.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td width="442"&gt;&lt;img height="1" alt="" width="442" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/en/assets/images/clearpixel.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

                    &lt;tr valign="top" align="left"&gt;

                        &lt;td height="314"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td width="442" height="314"&gt;

                        &lt;p&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;Our number one priority is the safety of our people, our customers and our products. Because of this, we are working in conjunction with the Canadian Standard Association on a voluntary recall of our Square D and Federal Pioneer arc fault interrupter (AFI) circuit breakers manufactured between March 1, 2004 and September 23, 2004.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                        &lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;

                        &lt;p&gt;Our tests indicate that the arc detection capability may become inoperable in these breakers due to the failure of an internal component in the electronic detection circuit. We have found that the circuit breaker will not properly detect or interrupt a high resistance low current arcing fault.&lt;/p&gt;

                        &lt;p&gt;The short circuit and overload interruption capability of these breakers continues to function properly. This means that the circuit breakers will continue to provide the same level of protection offered by a standard circuit breaker, but will not provide the additional arcing fault protection required by local building codes in many municipalities.&lt;/p&gt;

                        &lt;/font&gt;

                        &lt;p&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;You have associated the Square D and Federal Pioneer brand with industry leadership, safety, quality, reliability and innovation for over 50 years now. You can be assured we will act quickly and appropriately to ensure you receive the quality products and services you have come to expect from us. Call toll-free with questions or for more information.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

                        &lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-1"&gt;

                        &lt;p&gt;Please bookmark this site and watch for further postings.&lt;/p&gt;

                        &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

                &lt;/tbody&gt;

            &lt;/table&gt;

            &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="474" border="0" nof="LY"&gt;

                &lt;tbody&gt;

                    &lt;tr valign="top" align="left"&gt;

                        &lt;td width="31" height="9"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td rowspan="2"&gt;

                        &lt;p align="right"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;/p&gt;

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                    &lt;tr valign="top" align="left"&gt;

                        &lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

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                &lt;/tbody&gt;

            &lt;/table&gt;

            &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="472" border="0" nof="LY"&gt;

                &lt;tbody&gt;

                    &lt;tr valign="top" align="left"&gt;

                        &lt;td width="31" height="10"&gt;&lt;img height="8" alt="" width="31" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/recovery/assets/images/clearpixel.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td width="441"&gt;&lt;img height="1" alt="" width="441" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/en/assets/images/clearpixel.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

                    &lt;tr valign="top" align="left"&gt;

                        &lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

                        &lt;td width="441"&gt;

                        &lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

                        &lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

                &lt;/tbody&gt;

            &lt;/table&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

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        &lt;tr valign="top" align="left"&gt;

            &lt;td width="313" height="26"&gt;&lt;img height="1" alt="" width="313" border="0" src="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/en/assets/images/clearpixel.gif" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="467" height="26"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

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            &lt;td width="467"&gt;

            &lt;p&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" size="-2"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.schneider-electric.ca/www/en/html/copyright.htm"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT,sans-serif" color="#009130" size="-2"&gt;Copyright&amp;copy; Schneider Canada 2004 All Rights Reserved&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;hr id="HRRule11" align="center" width="100%" noshade="noshade" size="1" /&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

    &lt;/tbody&gt;

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&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://eho.mnet.ca/_mnweb/FCKeditorV2/editor/Send-a-Comment.page"&gt;We would like to hear from you!!&lt;br /&gt;

Send us your comments about this Article.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

Elite home on homes inspection is not responsible for the content and accuracy of the web links or articles.&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

Servicing in Oakville,Milton,Burlington,Mississauga,Brampton,Caledon,Toronto and the GTA (Greater Toronto Areas)</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Important-News.page?ArticleID=54</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.8198Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Product Recall on Arc fault Circuit Breakers</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;center&gt;

&lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="90%" border="0"&gt;

    &lt;tbody&gt;

        &lt;tr&gt;

            &lt;td valign="top" width="600"&gt;

            &lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"&gt;

                &lt;tbody&gt;

                    &lt;tr&gt;

                        &lt;td class="pbody1" valign="top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Over 51,000 Ontario homes face potential fire - Norfolk County Fire and Rescue&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

                    &lt;tr&gt;

                        &lt;td class="tinytext" valign="top"&gt;(Jan 07, 2008)&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

                    &lt;tr&gt;

                        &lt;td class="pbody1" valign="top"&gt;

                        &lt;p&gt;Over 51,000 homes across Ontario are at risk of fire due to the potential overheating of their heat recovery ventilation (HRV) systems. The thermal protector in the motors of these HRV systems, part of many newer homes&amp;rsquo; heating, cooling and ventilating systems, can fail and pose a potential fire hazard to homeowners.&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        Certain HRV models produced and installed between 1991 and 2001, and between October 2006 and August 2007, are affected. While Venmar manufactured these models, to date, the affected units were identified with the following brand names: &lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;/p&gt;

                        &lt;ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                            &lt;li&gt;Venmar Brand&lt;br /&gt;

                            &lt;/li&gt;

                            &lt;li&gt;NuTone Brand&lt;br /&gt;

                            &lt;/li&gt;

                            &lt;li&gt;Venmar AVS Brand&lt;br /&gt;

                            &lt;/li&gt;

                            &lt;li&gt;Heil Brand&lt;br /&gt;

                            &lt;/li&gt;

                            &lt;li&gt;Flair Brand&lt;br /&gt;

                            &lt;/li&gt;

                            &lt;li&gt;York Brand&lt;br /&gt;

                            &lt;/li&gt;

                            &lt;li&gt;v&amp;auml;nEE Brand&lt;br /&gt;

                            &lt;/li&gt;

                            &lt;li&gt;Sears Brand&lt;br /&gt;

                            &lt;/li&gt;

                            &lt;li&gt;Conformax Brand&lt;br /&gt;

                            &lt;/li&gt;

                            &lt;li&gt;Guardian by Broan Brand&lt;br /&gt;

                            &lt;/li&gt;

                            &lt;li&gt;Carrier, Bryant Brands&lt;br /&gt;

                            &lt;/li&gt;

                            &lt;li&gt;Payne&lt;br /&gt;

                            &lt;/li&gt;

                            &lt;li&gt;Day &amp;amp; Night&lt;br /&gt;

                            &lt;/li&gt;

                            &lt;li&gt;Rheem Brands &lt;br /&gt;

                            &lt;/li&gt;

                            &lt;li&gt;Ruud-Protech-Weatherking&lt;br /&gt;

                            &lt;/li&gt;

                            &lt;li&gt;Bryant, Carrier Brands (standard model)&lt;br /&gt;

                            &lt;/li&gt;

                        &lt;/ul&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        Homeowners with HRV systems manufactured by Venmar Ventilation Inc. during these periods should immediately turn off and unplug their unit. Homeowners should then contact Venmar at , or at www.venmar.ca, to determine if their unit is affected. &lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        Concern about the HRVs arose following investigations of two home fires in Burlington in 2006. As a result of these investigations, Venmar initiated an upgrade program for affected HRVs installed between 1991 and 2001. Recently, the manufacturer initiated a second upgrade program for the HRV systems produced between October 2006 and August 2007.&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        The manufacturer has confirmed that about 10% of the homes with the affected HRV units have been contacted and retrofitted under the upgrade program. This leaves over 51,000 Ontario homes at risk of potential fire.&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        If homeowners experience any strange odours, smoke or the smell of burning in your home, call 9-1-1 immediately and have the fire department respond to determine the cause.&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        Article from the Ontario Fire Chiefs Association.&lt;/td&gt;

                    &lt;/tr&gt;

                &lt;/tbody&gt;

            &lt;/table&gt;

            &lt;br /&gt;

            &lt;br /&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

    &lt;/tbody&gt;

&lt;/table&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://eho.mnet.ca/_mnweb/FCKeditorV2/editor/Send-a-Comment.page"&gt;We would like to hear from you!!&lt;br /&gt;

Send us your comments about this Article.&lt;br /&gt;

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Elite home on homes inspection is not responsible for the content and accuracy of the web links or articles.&lt;br /&gt;

Servicing in Oakville,Milton,Burlington,Mississauga,Brampton,Caledon,Toronto and the GTA (Greater Toronto Areas)&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;/center&gt;&lt;/center&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Important-News.page?ArticleID=53</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.8198Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Potential Fire Hazard with HRV Systems</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.hilsoft.com/"&gt;&lt;img style="BORDER-LEFT-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); BORDER-BOTTOM-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); BORDER-TOP-STYLE: solid; BORDER-TOP-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: solid; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: solid; BORDER-RIGHT-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: solid" height="79" alt="Hilsoft Notifications: Class Action Notice" width="559" src="http://www.furnaceclaims.ca/ban-comb2.jpg" /&gt; &lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;/center&gt;&lt;hr /&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoHeader" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;span style="COLOR: gray; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"&gt;&lt;font size="1"&gt;Ontario Superior Court of Justice and Superior Court of Qu&amp;eacute;bec&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h4 align="center"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial"&gt;If you own or owned a high efficiency gas furnace, you could get benefits from a class action settlement.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;

&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 100%" align="justify"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial" size="2"&gt;This is the official Court website for the &lt;em&gt;Donnelly v. Carrier Corporation&lt;/em&gt; and &lt;em&gt;Wener v. Carrier Corporation &lt;/em&gt;class action settlement.&amp;nbsp; The Ontario Court will hold a hearing on &lt;strong&gt;June 16, 2008&lt;/strong&gt; to decide whether to approve the settlement.&amp;nbsp; The Qu&amp;eacute;bec Court will also hold a hearing on &lt;strong&gt;June 16, 2008&lt;/strong&gt; to decide whether to approve the settlement.&amp;nbsp; Those included in the class action, together called a &amp;quot;Class,&amp;quot; have legal rights and options, such as submitting a claim form to ask for a payment, excluding themselves from the settlement, objecting to it, or asking to speak at the hearing.&amp;nbsp; The deadline for exclusions and objections is &lt;strong&gt;June 9, 2008&lt;/strong&gt;.&amp;nbsp; The deadline to file a claim form is &lt;strong&gt;September 8, 2008&lt;/strong&gt;.&amp;nbsp; Click &lt;a href="http://www.furnaceclaims.ca/models.pdf"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt; to see a list of models that are included in the settlement.&lt;/font&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 100%" align="justify"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial" size="2"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Important:&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; If you currently have a high efficiency furnace lawsuit going on in the Province of &lt;/font&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Qu&amp;eacute;bec&lt;/strong&gt; you must stop that lawsuit by June 9, 2008, or else you will be automatically removed from this settlement and you won't get any benefits from it.&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 100%" align="justify"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial" size="2"&gt;Click the links below to obtain or submit a Claim Form, or read the Court-ordered Notices, and other materials including a list of the furnace models that are included in the settlement, the Settlement Agreement, and the Preliminary Approval Orders. Certain documents are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. If your computer is not already configured with the free Acrobat software to view and print these documents, you may get Acrobat by clicking the logo below.&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0px; WORD-SPACING: 0px" align="center"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;img height="13" alt="" width="13" src="http://www.furnaceclaims.ca/not-butt.gif" /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.furnaceclaims.ca/summary_notice.pdf"&gt;Summary Notice&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;img height="13" alt="" width="13" src="http://www.furnaceclaims.ca/not-butt.gif" /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.furnaceclaims.ca/detailed_notice.pdf"&gt;Detailed Notice&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;img height="13" alt="" width="13" src="http://www.furnaceclaims.ca/not-butt.gif" /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.informationconsultinggroup.com/ce-carrier/"&gt;Claim Form&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;img height="13" alt="" width="13" src="http://www.furnaceclaims.ca/not-butt.gif" /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.furnaceclaims.ca/models.pdf"&gt;Furnace Models&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;img height="13" alt="" width="13" src="http://www.furnaceclaims.ca/not-butt.gif" /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.furnaceclaims.ca/other_rights.pdf"&gt;Other Rights&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0px; WORD-SPACING: 0px" align="center"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;img height="13" alt="" width="13" src="http://www.furnaceclaims.ca/not-butt.gif" /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.furnaceclaims.ca/settlement_agreement.pdf"&gt;Settlement Agreement&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;img height="13" alt="" width="13" src="http://www.furnaceclaims.ca/not-butt.gif" /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.furnaceclaims.ca/ontario_certification_order.pdf"&gt;Ontario Preliminary Approval Order&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;img height="13" alt="" width="13" src="http://www.furnaceclaims.ca/not-butt.gif" /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.furnaceclaims.ca/quebec_order.pdf"&gt;Qu&amp;eacute;bec Preliminary Approval Order&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0px; WORD-SPACING: 0px" align="center"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;img height="13" alt="" width="13" src="http://www.furnaceclaims.ca/not-butt.gif" /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.furnaceclaims.ca/ontario_amended_order.pdf"&gt;Ontario Amended Preliminary Approval Order&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;img height="13" alt="" width="13" src="http://www.furnaceclaims.ca/not-butt.gif" /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.furnaceclaims.ca/quebec_amended_order.pdf"&gt;Qu&amp;eacute;bec Amended Preliminary Approval Order&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0px; WORD-SPACING: 0px" align="center"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;font face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;em&gt;If you have any questions, please call .&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/font&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html"&gt;&lt;img height="31" alt="Get Acrobat" width="88" align="left" border="0" src="http://www.furnaceclaims.ca/getacro.gif" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;font face="Arial" size="1"&gt;Certain documents are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.&amp;nbsp; If your computer is not already configured with the free Acrobat software to view these documents, you may get Acrobat by clicking the logo.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;

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&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.hilsoft.com/"&gt;&lt;img style="BORDER-LEFT-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); BORDER-BOTTOM-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); BORDER-TOP-STYLE: solid; BORDER-TOP-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: solid; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: solid; BORDER-RIGHT-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: solid" height="60" alt="Class action notice and official Court website by Hilsoft Notifications." width="123" align="right" border="0" src="http://www.furnaceclaims.ca/prepared_by_hilsoft.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;hr /&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Important-News.page?ArticleID=52</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.8198Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Class Action Notice on High efficiency Gas furnaces</title>

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    <item>

      <description>&lt;div class="et_pt_blogentry clearfix"&gt;

&lt;h2 class="et_pt_title"&gt;&lt;a href="http://realestateinbronte.ca/2011/03/crea-and-the-competition-bureau/"&gt;&lt;font color="#111111"&gt;CREA and the Competition Bureau&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p class="et_pt_blogmeta"&gt;Posted by &lt;a title="Posts by Realbronte" href="http://realestateinbronte.ca/author/realbronte/"&gt;&lt;font color="#646464"&gt;Realbronte&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt; on Mar 16, 2011 in &lt;a title="View all posts in Economy" href="http://realestateinbronte.ca/category/economy/" rel="category tag"&gt;&lt;font color="#646464"&gt;Economy&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a title="View all posts in Real Estate" href="http://realestateinbronte.ca/category/real-estate/" rel="category tag"&gt;&lt;font color="#646464"&gt;Real Estate&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a title="Comment on CREA and the Competition Bureau" href="http://realestateinbronte.ca/2011/03/crea-and-the-competition-bureau/#comments"&gt;&lt;font color="#646464"&gt;3 comments&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div class="two_third"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

It has now been some time since the announcement was made regarding the Canadian Real Estate Association&amp;rsquo;s (MLS) settlement with the Canadian Competition Bureau and the initial frenzy of news has begun to die down.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It is time for some analysis on how this change will affect the Canadian real estate landscape both in the short term (24 months) and long term. Whenever there is a regulatory change there are both intended consequences of the change as well as the unintended and often negative consequences.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;What Does This Settlement Really Mean? The Good&amp;hellip;&amp;hellip;&amp;hellip;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;1. KEEPS INTEGRITY OF MLS.CA DATA: The settlement does deal with the information integrity issue of MLS. Any situation that would have allowed any unlicensed person to post any property on MLS would have had the potential of lowering the integrity and accuracy of the information on the site, a big concern for Canadians as we have come to rely upon certain standards. The agreement states that the listing must still flow through a licensed real estate agent and because they are licensed they must live up to the standards or risk their livelihood.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;2. NEW BUSINESS MODELS: The settlement will now allow the many real estate entrepreneurs sitting on the sidelines to build a business model based on this new reality. This should work in the Canadian consumer&amp;rsquo;s favour as new models are developed that will allow differing levels of costs and services to be provided. As with any major market game-changer, we will witness many models being touted over the coming 18 to 24 months with only a few surviving to become permanent models.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;3. PROS WILL PROSPER: Professional, full-service realtors who run their business like a true business and have built that business on the qualities of their added service, strategic marketing and overall market and negotiations knowledge will continue to do very well under this model. Realtors who haven&amp;rsquo;t taken the industry as seriously or whose main business model has been to list as many properties as possible, and wait for another realtor to call, will feel the pinch unless they change their business model. These changes will end up lowering the number of licensed realtors over the coming years.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The Unintended Consequences:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;1. INCREASE IN SELLER&amp;rsquo;S REMORSE: Today&amp;rsquo;s market conditions have shifted to favour the buyer. That means it takes a lot more knowledge and marketing strategies to sell a property than it did during the boom, when the Competition Bureau initially brought this matter up. That means now, more than ever, is the time where you need the support of a professional to move your property but due to these changes more people will opt to &amp;lsquo;go it alone&amp;rsquo; than in the past. During a boom it is simple to sell a property; during regular or slow market conditions the transaction becomes more complex and costly.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;2. PROLONGING MARKET SOFTNESS: The option of low &amp;lsquo;barrier to entry&amp;rsquo; for potential sellers will bring an increase number of active listings by unmotivated sellers. These will be sellers not really inclined to sell, but will if they get a high enough price. This will lead to an increased number of listings, which will make the sales-to-listing ratios look worse than they actually are when they are compared to historic numbers. This increase in listings, and some sellers selling for less than market value due to perceived commission savings, will also keep average sale prices down for longer than would be expected under normal conditions.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;3. SELLER UP FRONT FINANCIAL RISKS: Under the old system, sellers had no up-front financial risk when putting their property on the market (no marketing costs, no listing fees, etc.) Now, when they choose the a la carte selling option, the seller will have to pay the fees (listing fees, lock-box fees, signage fees, advertising, etc) whether their property sells or not. So, if the property doesn&amp;rsquo;t sell, the seller will be out these expenses. Under the old model, the realtor took this financial risk in most cases.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;4. BUYER&amp;rsquo;S COMMISSIONS STILL PAYABLE: Sellers will still have to offer a buyer&amp;rsquo;s realtor commission if a buyer is brought to them by a real estate professional. If the seller is saving commissions by not using a realtor on their side, that doesn&amp;rsquo;t mean that they can get away with not paying a potential buyer&amp;rsquo;s realtor commission. The seller will dramatically reduce their number of potential buyers, if the seller is not offering a payment to a realtor who brings a buyer to the table.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;5. INCREASE IN PREDATORY BUYERS: Unfortunately some unscrupulous predatory buyers will be flooding the a la carte type sellers with low- ball offers hoping to capture one unsophisticated seller with fancy negotiations tactics. In fact, the initial offer may be at close to asking price but as it gets closer to condition removal time some of these unethical buyers will start to put additional pressure on an unsophisticated seller to lower the price using many different excuses. Which will lead to&amp;hellip;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;9. &amp;ldquo;HOMEOWNER TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF&amp;rdquo; HEADLINES: The unfortunate result of some unsophisticated sellers not understanding the full and legal selling process and contract commitments will be sellers signing documents they don&amp;rsquo;t truly understand or believe to mean something else. This, combined with a few predatory buyers, will lead to an increase in the number of stories detailing how sellers are being taken advantage of. Stories of manipulation, losing the family home and fraudulent transactions will be trending and will unfortunately paint buyers with a bad brush. This will then lead to putting sellers on too much of an alert, thus slowing down the number of legitimate transactions, which over the following years will lead to more Canadians choosing the full service route again, as we go back full circle.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Overall, the changes will lead to a more &amp;lsquo;competitive market&amp;rsquo; which will help provide choice to Canadians; however, the cheapest option in many cases in life is not the best choice.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;All sellers need to ensure that they have weighed all of the hidden costs (both financial and emotional) of a real estate transaction before they choose their option. It will be up to the full-service realtors and other real estate entrepreneurs to clearly describe the benefits of their model so that Canadians can make a clear choice.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;*I would like to thank Don Campell and the Real Estate Investment Network for much of the info above*&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;/div&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Real-Estate-News.page?ArticleID=60636</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.8198Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>CREA and the Competition Bureau</title>

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      <description>&lt;div class="et_pt_blogentry clearfix"&gt;

&lt;h2 class="et_pt_title"&gt;&lt;a href="http://realestateinbronte.ca/2011/03/buying-a-home-determine-your-needs-vs-wants/"&gt;&lt;font color="#111111"&gt;Buying a home? Determine your &amp;ldquo;needs vs wants&amp;rdquo;.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p class="et_pt_blogmeta"&gt;Posted by &lt;a title="Posts by Realbronte" href="http://realestateinbronte.ca/author/realbronte/"&gt;&lt;font color="#646464"&gt;Realbronte&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt; on Mar 17, 2011 in &lt;a title="View all posts in Real Estate" href="http://realestateinbronte.ca/category/real-estate/" rel="category tag"&gt;&lt;font color="#646464"&gt;Real Estate&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a title="Comment on Buying a home? Determine your &amp;ldquo;needs vs wants&amp;rdquo;." href="http://realestateinbronte.ca/2011/03/buying-a-home-determine-your-needs-vs-wants/#comments"&gt;&lt;font color="#646464"&gt;1 comment&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This will be a quick little article, I hope you find it helpful.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There is a problem a lot of people seem to have, a problem I see all too often.&amp;nbsp; That problem is&amp;nbsp;determining your &amp;ldquo;wants&amp;rdquo; vs. your &amp;ldquo;needs&amp;rdquo;. It may seem obvious, but unfortunately it is far from the norm. The first step for most people is to figure out how much they can afford to spend on their new home. Once that # is determined, most home hunters usually&amp;nbsp;jump on&amp;nbsp;&lt;a title="MLS" href="http://www.mls.ca/splash.aspx" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;font color="#00b7f3"&gt;mls.ca&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;to see what is on the market in their price&amp;nbsp;range.&amp;nbsp; Unfortunetly&amp;nbsp;without a list of&amp;nbsp;what would be nice and what is an absolute must you can end up spinning your wheels fairly quickly.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Sitting down with a pen and paper for 20 mins at the beginning of your home search will save you&amp;nbsp;hours of potentially wasted time.&amp;nbsp; Time spent driving to and from showings and&amp;nbsp;open houses, staring at your computer monitor, dealing with a very frustrated real estate agent, etc, etc, etc.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Do you want 4 bedrooms or 3? 2 full baths or can you manage with 1.5? Close to work or close to parents? Near elementary school or middle school? Double garage or large lot?&amp;nbsp; Public transit or highways?&amp;nbsp; New construction or established neighbourhood?&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;These are all things that you have to consider BEFORE going out to look at homes.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;So, do yourself and your real estate agent a favour, take a piece of paper and fold it in half.&amp;nbsp; On one side, make a list of your&amp;nbsp;must haves, things that are an absolute can&amp;rsquo;t live without.&amp;nbsp; On the other side make a list of your wants, things that you would like but aren&amp;rsquo;t deal breakers.&amp;nbsp; Being armed with as much information as you can possibly put together will save you and your agent a ton of time.&amp;nbsp; And time is too essential to waste looking at house after house that have no chance of being &amp;ldquo;the one&amp;rdquo;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Happy home hunting!!&amp;nbsp; If I can be of any assistance please let me know.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Brad Hamilton&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.realestateinbronte.ca/"&gt;&lt;font color="#00b7f3"&gt;www.realestateinbronte.ca&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Sales Representative&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Prudential Town Centre Realty&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;905-338-6550 (Office)&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;905-302-6986 (Cell)&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;/div&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Real-Estate-News.page?ArticleID=60635</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.8198Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Buying a home? Determine your "needs vs wants".</title>

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      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

Marilyn McCulloch, 'The Personal Touch'&lt;br /&gt;

Sales Representative&lt;br /&gt;

Coldwell Banker Home &amp;amp; Family Ltd.&lt;br /&gt;

1515 Rebecca Street, Unit 20&lt;br /&gt;

Oakville, Ontario L6L 5G8&lt;br /&gt;

905-825-7777&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;a href="mailto:marilyn-mcculloch@coldwellbanker.ca"&gt;marilyn-mcculloch@coldwellbanker.ca&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

Housing Needs for the Sandwich Generation &lt;br /&gt;

Home Improvements Don't Always Raise Resale Value&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;

&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;

Housing needs for the &amp;lsquo;sandwich&amp;rsquo; generation&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;

&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;

Many of my clients are now finding themselves in that growing demographic group called &amp;lsquo;the sandwich generation&amp;rsquo;. This name applies to those thirty-something individuals who are stressed out from providing care for both children and aging parents. There are several million people across North America who are either currently in or approaching this demographic group.&amp;nbsp; Maybe you&amp;rsquo;re one of them. If so, then you&amp;rsquo;re probably finding that it&amp;rsquo;s tough finding enough hours in the day to meet all the responsibilities you&amp;rsquo;re faced with. Some people in &amp;lsquo;the sandwich generation&amp;rsquo; are responding to this situation by arranging for live-in help -- either from another family member or a paid employee -- to assist with childcare and household chores. If you&amp;rsquo;re one of the many who are going this route, then it may mean that you&amp;rsquo;re thinking about housing with a nanny suite, &amp;ldquo;granny flat&amp;rdquo;, or even an in-law apartment.&lt;br /&gt;

&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;

Sometimes, the needs for live-in help are most easily accommodated by moving to a new, more suitable home. But a great many homeowners try to manage with some modest renovations. If you&amp;rsquo;re in this situation, here are a few things to keep in mind as you make your decision. &lt;br /&gt;

&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;

An effective &amp;lsquo;nanny suite&amp;rsquo; will be appealing to its resident, while at the same time giving you some privacy. The key is to accomplish this without putting too much strain on your budget.&amp;nbsp; A good benchmark to help you determine what improvements are worth doing, is to measure the cost against the expected lifespan of the expense. For example, putting in a new 4-pc bathroom can be relatively expensive. Its cost may not be warranted if you only see a nanny suite&amp;nbsp; being needed for three or four years until all the kids are in school full-time. In a case like that, you might consider a compromise, such as adding a sink and counter to a bed-sitting room, that could later evolve into a den with a wet bar.&amp;nbsp; On the other hand, if you can see the nanny suite being used later as an in-law suite or a more private space for one of your children as they get older, then you may feel the cost is well worth it. &lt;br /&gt;

&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;

You should also consider that the number and location of both bedrooms and bathrooms are important factors when determining the resale value and buyer appeal of a home. If your renovations are professional looking, you have a good chance of recouping at least a portion of their expense when its time to sell. As your local Coldwell Banker&amp;reg; real estate professional, I&amp;rsquo;ll be glad to advise you on how such improvements may impact the value of your home. I can also help you &amp;lsquo;crunch the numbers&amp;rsquo; to see how much home you can afford, and show you examples of what other homes are available in your price range that can accommodate your needs. You may find that, instead of renovating your existing home, it&amp;rsquo;s in your best interests &amp;ndash; both functionally, and financially &amp;ndash; to choose a new home that&amp;rsquo;s more suited to your current lifestyle. Why not call and let me help you weigh your options as you decide what&amp;rsquo;s right for you and your family.&lt;br /&gt;

Home improvements don&amp;rsquo;t always raise resale value &lt;br /&gt;

&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;

Home improvements are very popular with homeowners today who want to add to their enjoyment of their home. If this is your only goal -- and you have the time, inclination and budget to do it -- then why not? However, a great many homeowners also want the improvements to increase their home&amp;rsquo;s resale value. If this sounds like you, I&amp;rsquo;d like to offer a word of caution. You may be planning renovations that will look great, but will not result in a good return on your investment. Remember, just because an improvement may appeal to buyers doesn&amp;rsquo;t necessarily mean that its cost will raise the value of your property. In fact, I can think of a few examples where the opposite is true. Some very costly improvements such as swimming pools, refitting a home to accommodate special needs, or converting residential space to business purposes can actually limit the number of prospective buyers who might consider your property.&amp;nbsp; And reduced buyer interest can translate into a lower resale value, especially in a highly competitive market. &lt;br /&gt;

&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;

When thinking about your home&amp;rsquo;s resale value, you should keep in mind the old saying about the three most important factors in real estate &amp;ndash; location, location, location. If homes have comparable features, lot size and square footage, where a home is located is generally the most important factor in arriving at its value. In other words, your home&amp;rsquo;s value will tend to be determined more by the street, than about its wall coverings, flooring or appliances. &lt;br /&gt;

&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;

Some homeowners make the mistake of over-improving their property. They invest far more money into upgrades and renovations than they could ever hope to get back when the property sells. As your local Coldwell Banker&amp;reg; real estate professional, I can help you avoid the danger of over-improving. How? By providing you with current information about what similar homes are selling for in your community.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; I can also provide you with an estimate of what your home&lt;br /&gt;

might be worth in today&amp;rsquo;s market, and give you an opinion of how a planned improvement may influence its resale value.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;

&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;

Depending on your market area, some improvements may turn out to be too much of a good thing &amp;ndash; at least when it comes to your home&amp;rsquo;s resale value. Call me to find out more. You may even be surprised to learn that a better strategy in terms of a good return on your investment would be to put the additional funds towards upgrading to a better property. Make sure you consider all your options before you decide. Let&amp;rsquo;s talk. I&amp;rsquo;m here to help!&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;

&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Real-Estate-News.page?ArticleID=51602</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.8198Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Housing needs for the 'sandwich' generation </title>

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      <description>&lt;div&gt;You Are Invited&amp;nbsp;to&amp;nbsp;The Millionaire Real Estate Investor Workshop on &lt;strong&gt;14 November 2009&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;This Workshop&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;is based on the book The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, written by Gary Keller,&amp;nbsp; which collects the wisdom and experience of more than 100 individuals who built financial wealth through real estate investing.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;A New York Times best seller, the book reveals the investor&amp;rsquo;s proven strategies and summarizes their actions into straightforward and easy-to-follow models.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;Please Click on Link To Register:&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href="http://investorworkshop.eventbrite.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" title="This external link will open in a new window"&gt;http://investorworkshop.eventbrite.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;/div&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Real-Estate-News.page?ArticleID=37825</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.8198Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>The Millionaire Real Estate Investor Workshop on 14 November 2009</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&lt;span style="font-size: large;"&gt;Canadian housing markets buck recession and trend upwards, says RE/MAX&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

[September 24, 2009]

&lt;p&gt;With the worst of the recession over, residential real estate markets in major Canadian centres are poised for growth in the final quarter of 2009, according to a report released today by RE/MAX.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The RE/MAX Bricks and Mortar Report found the bounce back that began in early Spring has made this recession one of the shortest on record.&amp;nbsp; Low interest rates, pent-up demand, and improved affordability levels have all played a role in the recovery now well-underway.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Percentage increases in unit sales from January to August 2009 were led by Vancouver, (up a substantial 14 per cent to 23,158), Victoria (up 7.4 per cent to 5,266), Edmonton (up 6.2 per cent to 13,691), Regina (up five per cent to 2,597), Ottawa (up 2.4 per cent to 10,830) and Toronto (up 1.8 per cent to 58,421).&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Housing values are already ahead of record-breaking 2008 levels in seven of the 11 markets surveyed, including Newfoundland-Labrador (18.1 per cent year to $203,584), Regina (6.4 per cent to $244,088), Halifax-Dartmouth (3.5 per cent to $239,633), Winnipeg (3.5 per cent to $207,006), Ottawa (3.3 per cent to $301,684), and Toronto (up 0.3 per cent to $385,978).&amp;nbsp; Nationally, average price hovers at $312,585, up 0.5 per cent over one year ago.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Markets are heating up across the country as purchasers take advantage of affordable prices and rock bottom interest rates.&amp;nbsp; Those who missed the boat in years past have found that sitting on the sidelines can be a costly move.&amp;nbsp; Prices are on the upswing and inventory levels are tightening, so the push toward homeownership is expected to continue throughout the Fall and possibly into early 2010.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The recovery of Canada&amp;rsquo;s resale housing markets speaks to the tremendous value Canadians place on the importance of owning a home.&amp;nbsp; The number of Canadians overall who own a home has increased since 1981 from 62.1 per cent to 68.4 per cent, with some markets posting even higher homeownership rates &amp;mdash; Calgary (74.1), St. John&amp;rsquo;s (71.5), and Regina (70.1).&amp;nbsp; Significant gains have also been made over the same period in markets such as Ottawa, where levels rose from 51.4 per cent to 66.7 per cent, and Toronto, where levels rose from 57.3 to 67.6 per cent.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Public sentiment can perhaps best be illustrated by a recent Angus Reid Omnibus Survey* that asked the question &amp;ldquo;In which do you feel more comfortable investing your money?&amp;nbsp; The stock market or real estate.&amp;rdquo;&amp;nbsp; Out of 1,000 respondents from coast-to-coast, 77 per cent chose real estate. The results of the RE/MAX Bricks and Mortar Report are clearly representative of this national dynamic at work.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The strength of the residential housing sector cross-country has taken many economists and housing analysts by surprise once again.&amp;nbsp; In terms of its impact on the resale market, by historical standards, this recession was one of the mildest.&amp;nbsp; The resilience of bricks and mortar has been demonstrated time and again.&amp;nbsp; While there may still be some challenges down the road, the worst is definitely behind us in the housing industry.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Over the past thirty years, the Canadian residential real estate market has experienced three major downturns &amp;ndash; 1981, 1989, and 2008.&amp;nbsp; While there have also been regional fluctuations throughout the years, return on investment over this period has been substantial, with Vancouver, Victoria, Toronto, Regina and Ottawa leading the country in terms of price appreciation.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The overall stability of real estate as an investment has also played a role. Markets like Halifax-Dartmouth, Regina, Ottawa, Winnipeg and London have provided steady returns (especially in recent years), with minimal fluctuation.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;* The Angus Reid Omnibus Survey was conducted on September 15, 2009 and yields a margin of error of +3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"&gt;

    &lt;tbody&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="308" valign="top" colspan="3"&gt;

            &lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Homeownership Rates&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Canada and Major Centres&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="150" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1981&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2006&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="150" valign="top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Canada&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;62.1&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;68.4&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="150" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="center"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="center"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="center"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="150" valign="top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Metropolitan Areas*&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="150" valign="top"&gt;St. John&amp;rsquo;s&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;69.5&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;71.5&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="150" valign="top"&gt;Halifax&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;55.6&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;64.0&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="150" valign="top"&gt;Ottawa&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;51.4&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;66.7&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="150" valign="top"&gt;Toronto&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;57.3&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;67.6&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="150" valign="top"&gt;London&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;58.0&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;65.9&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="150" valign="top"&gt;Winnipeg&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;59.1&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;67.2&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="150" valign="top"&gt;Regina&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;65.4&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;70.1&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="150" valign="top"&gt;Calgary&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;58.4&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;74.1&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="150" valign="top"&gt;Edmonton&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;57.9&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;69.2&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="150" valign="top"&gt;Vancouver&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;58.5&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;65.1&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="150" valign="top"&gt;Victoria&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;59.8&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;64.7&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="150" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="center"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="center"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="79" valign="top"&gt;

            &lt;p align="center"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="308" valign="top" colspan="3"&gt;Source: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation May 2008)&lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="308" valign="top" colspan="3"&gt;*Homeownership rates based on 1986 boundaries for the Census Metropolitan Area (CMA)&lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

    &lt;/tbody&gt;

&lt;/table&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;table width="531" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"&gt;

    &lt;tbody&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="531" valign="bottom" colspan="4"&gt;

            &lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Top Performing Markets by Price Appreciation&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="237" valign="bottom"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="87" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;1980&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="94" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;YTD 2009&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="114" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;% Increase&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="237" valign="bottom"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Market&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="87" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Avg. $&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="94" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Avg. $&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="114" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1980 &amp;ndash; 2009&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="237" valign="bottom"&gt;Greater Vancouver&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="87" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;$100,065&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="94" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;$574,061&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="114" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;473.7%&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="237" valign="bottom"&gt;Victoria&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="87" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;$85,066&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="94" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;$466,611&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="114" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;448.5%&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="237" valign="bottom"&gt;Greater&amp;nbsp; Toronto&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="87" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;$75,694&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="94" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;$385,978&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="114" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;409.9%&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="237" valign="bottom"&gt;Regina&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="87" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;$48,628&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="94" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;$244,088&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="114" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;402.0%&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="237" valign="bottom"&gt;Ottawa&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="87" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;$63,177&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="94" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;$301,684&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="114" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;377.5%&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="237" valign="bottom"&gt;Halifax-Dartmouth&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="87" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;$53,161&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="94" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;$239,633&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="114" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;350.8%&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="237" valign="bottom"&gt;Winnipeg&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="87" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;$50,491&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="94" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;$207,006&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="114" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;310.0%&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="237" valign="bottom"&gt;Calgary&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="87" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;$93,977&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="94" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;$380,489&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="114" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;304.9%&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="237" valign="bottom"&gt;London &amp;ndash; St. Thomas&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="87" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;$55,210&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="94" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;$213,683&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="114" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;287.0%&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="237" valign="bottom"&gt;Newfoundland &amp;amp; Labrador&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="87" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;$52,768&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="94" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;$203,584&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="114" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;285.8%&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="237" valign="bottom"&gt;Edmonton&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="87" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;$84,623&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="94" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;$319,939&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="114" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;278.1%&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="237" valign="bottom"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="87" valign="bottom"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="94" valign="bottom"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="114" valign="bottom"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="237" valign="bottom"&gt;Canada&lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="87" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;$67,024&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="94" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;$312,585&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

            &lt;td width="114" valign="bottom"&gt;

            &lt;p align="right"&gt;366.4%&lt;/p&gt;

            &lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

        &lt;tr style=""&gt;

            &lt;td width="531" valign="bottom" colspan="4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), RE/MAX&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

        &lt;/tr&gt;

    &lt;/tbody&gt;

&lt;/table&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Real-Estate-News.page?ArticleID=33851</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.8198Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Canadian housing markets buck recession and trend upwards, says RE/MAX</title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="border-right: #0066cc 1px solid; border-top: #0066cc 1px solid; margin: 10px 0px; border-left: #0066cc 1px solid; border-bottom: #0066cc 1px solid"&gt;

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                                    &lt;td valign="top" align="right" width="150" style="padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-top: 5px"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 11px; color: #002a76; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans-sarif"&gt;&lt;b&gt;Marilyn McCulloch, 'The Personal Touch'&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                                    Sales Representative&lt;br /&gt;

                                    Coldwell Banker Home &amp;amp; Family Ltd.&lt;br /&gt;

                                    1515 Rebecca Street, Unit 20&lt;br /&gt;

                                    Oakville, Ontario L6L 5G8&lt;br /&gt;

                                    905-825-7777&lt;br /&gt;

                                    &lt;a title="marilyn-mcculloch@coldwellbanker.ca" onclick="$Bootstrap.getAppWindow().composeMailTo('marilyn-mcculloch@coldwellbanker.ca','','','','');" href="javascript:void(0);"&gt;marilyn-mccullo&lt;br /&gt;

                                    ch@coldwellbank&lt;br /&gt;

                                    er.ca&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

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                        &lt;td align="center" width="510" style="padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-top: 0px"&gt;&lt;font style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 20px; color: #6699cc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans-sarif"&gt;Men vs. Women &amp;amp; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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                        &lt;td align="center" width="510" style="padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 20px; padding-top: 0px"&gt;&lt;font style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 16px; color: #999999; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans-sarif"&gt;Timing is Everything! &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;

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                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Men vs. Women: Who &amp;lsquo;wears the pants&amp;rsquo; in the home buying process?&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;In my career as a real estate professional, I&amp;rsquo;ve had the chance to observe the differences between men vs. women during the home buying process at first hand. So, when &lt;strong&gt;Coldwell Banker&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;reg; released the findings of their latest consumer survey on the home buying preferences of Men vs. Women, I was eager to see how the results compared to my own experience.&amp;nbsp;Sure enough, the survey findings closely parallel what I&amp;rsquo;ve seen right here in our local market.&amp;nbsp;I thought you might be interested in some highlights: &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Women may be inclined to make up their mind more quickly than men &amp;hellip;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;ul type="disc" style="margin-top: 0in"&gt;

                            &lt;li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"&gt;

                            &lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;When asked how long it took before they knew their home was &amp;ldquo;right&amp;rdquo; for them, almost 70 percent of women had made up their mind the day they walked into the house, vs. 62 percent of men. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                            &lt;/li&gt;

                            &lt;li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"&gt;

                            &lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Significantly more men needed two or more visits: (32 percent vs. 23 percent of women).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                            &lt;/li&gt;

                        &lt;/ul&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;Women would rather live closer to their extended family than to their job &amp;hellip;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;ul type="disc" style="margin-top: 0in"&gt;

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                            &lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;55 percent of women find it more important to be closer to their extended family (those that do not live in their household) than to their job, compared to only 37 percent of men.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                            &lt;/li&gt;

                        &lt;/ul&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A home&amp;rsquo;s security is a deal-breaker for both men and women &amp;hellip; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in" align="left"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;middot;&lt;span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;64 percent of women said if they found the home of their dreams but had concerns about its security, they&amp;rsquo;d no longer be interested. More than half of men agreed (51 percent).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Couples say that no one &amp;ldquo;wears the pants in the relationship&amp;rdquo; in terms of major financial decisions &amp;hellip;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in" align="left"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;middot;&lt;span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;When asked who wears the pants in the relationship (when it comes to major financial decisions, such as purchasing a home), almost 70 percent of respondents living with their significant other said it&amp;rsquo;s actually mutual. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Men and women tend to agree on how they would use a spare room &amp;hellip;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;When asked how they would use an extra 12 x 12 room if it could be anything they wanted, men and women agreed on the top three most popular, and very practical, responses:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 38.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in" align="left"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;middot;&lt;span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Bedroom: 25 percent&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 38.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in" align="left"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;middot;&lt;span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Office/Study: 15 percent&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 38.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in" align="left"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;middot;&lt;span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Family Room / Den: 11 percent&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;font size="3"&gt;Did any of these findings sound right for you?&amp;nbsp;Maybe so. &amp;nbsp;But whether or not you find yourself in the mainstream, or you&amp;rsquo;ve got your own distinct preferences, rest assured that I&amp;rsquo;m here to help with all your home buying needs.&amp;nbsp;Why not give me a call and let&amp;rsquo;s talk real estate! &lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;br /&gt;

                        &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;When it comes to real estate, timing is everything &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;In today&amp;rsquo;s changing market, many of my customers are wondering whether it&amp;rsquo;s still a good time to buy or sell a home.&amp;nbsp;The truth of the matter is, there&amp;rsquo;s no one right answer to that question.&amp;nbsp;The real question to ask is whether it&amp;rsquo;s the right time for &lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt;you. &lt;/u&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Don&amp;rsquo;t make the mistake of trying to time the market.&amp;nbsp;If you&amp;rsquo;re buying a home, you simply need to determine the costs and then decide if that situation will improve if you wait.&amp;nbsp;With today&amp;rsquo;s historically low interest rates, the cost of carrying a home is now very affordable. As your local &lt;strong&gt;Coldwell Banker&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;reg;&lt;/strong&gt; real estate professional, I can help you estimate what your expected mortgage, taxes, utilities and other carrying costs will be after your down payment.&amp;nbsp;First time buyers may even find that your carrying costs are comparable to rent.&amp;nbsp;And bear in mind that you can lock in your mortgage rate now to keep your costs low, even when interest rates inevitably start to move higher.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;In most cases, a simple calculation will tell you that you have a lot to lose by waiting.&amp;nbsp;The higher carrying costs if mortgage rates go up and the lost equity you could be building in a home could be significant if you decide to wait.&amp;nbsp;First time buyers waiting to save for a larger down payment could find this especially true when you consider that you still have to pay rent while you&amp;rsquo;re saving for a home. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;If you already own a home and want to sell it to buy another then you&amp;rsquo;ve got both ends of the transaction to consider.&amp;nbsp;Don&amp;rsquo;t lose sight of the fact that it&amp;rsquo;s the &lt;em&gt;difference&lt;/em&gt; between the prices of the two properties that&amp;rsquo;s your primary concern.&amp;nbsp;You need to focus on whether you can afford the additional expense of the new property over that of your present home.&amp;nbsp;Here&amp;rsquo;s where I can help -- estimating the proceeds of your sale, providing helpful advice on how to keep your carrying costs low for your next home, and helping you lock in a great mortgage rate before you buy.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;So, if you think the time may be right for you and your family to make a move, please contact me, and let&amp;rsquo;s talk.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

                        &lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

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      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Real-Estate-News.page?ArticleID=29619</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.8198Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Men vs. Women &amp; Timing is Everything! </title>

    </item>

    <item>

      <description>&lt;div&gt;Good afternoon, hope everyone is doing well- it&amp;rsquo;s hard to believe that we&amp;rsquo;re already fast approaching the end of February!&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;As always, the market is in a constant state of flux so to try and keep you as up-to-date as possible, I have sent out January&amp;rsquo;s Market Statistics (below) and would be happy to provide you with additional information regarding market activity and prices as it relates specifically to your neighbourhood.&amp;nbsp; Right now, we are seeing a large amount of inventory on the market but what is happening is a shift in pricing which, combined with lower borrowing costs (mortgage rates) translates into a fantastic time to upgrade to that neighbourhood you&amp;rsquo;ve been considering, the larger house that previously didn&amp;rsquo;t make sense or conversely, a downsize that will free up some capital.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;With all things being relative, if you are &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;selling at a lower price&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;, you are also &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;buying at a lower price&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; which depending on your price range can save you a tremendous amount of money on your purchase price.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;For example;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;Home prices in the G.T.A. have dropped approximately 5% therefore, if your home was previously selling for $420,000 and now sells for 5% less that is a drop of $21,000- now, if you are buying a home that would have previously sold for $650,000, that home may be selling now for approximately $32,500 less so you can see while on one hand you are losing, but you make it up and more on the purchase side.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

With all of this talk about buying and selling, one area that I wanted to touch on is Buyer Agency and Representation and how it works to protect you with your new home search and eliminates all of the stress from the process while saving you time and money!&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font size="4"&gt;Buyer Representation... Who's Really Looking After &lt;u&gt;YOU&lt;/u&gt;?&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;One of the most misunderstood concepts in real estate involves Buyer Representation.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;In fact, I know a lot of REALTORS who don't even get it.&amp;nbsp; I'll try to break it down as simple as I can...&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;Normally, when a home is listed, the seller agrees to &amp;quot;co-operate&amp;quot; with any real estate professional who brings a buyer, negotiates the sale, removes the conditions and closes the transaction.&amp;nbsp; The listing agent works for the seller - that makes sense.&amp;nbsp; But here's the part people have trouble with...&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;All the other 20,000 agents in the Toronto area?&amp;nbsp; They also work for the seller as &amp;quot;sub-agents&amp;quot;.&amp;nbsp; After all, the seller is paying them, so it makes sense that this is the default setting.&amp;nbsp; In other words, if you emailed me today (out of the blue) asking for information about a home, I would work for the seller.&amp;nbsp; My sole interest is to protect the seller and get him the highest price and best terms to his benefit.&amp;nbsp; Even if you're my best friend in the whole world.&amp;nbsp; Seriously.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;UNLESS we agree that I will be your &amp;quot;Buyer Representative&amp;quot;.&amp;nbsp; A Buyer Representation Agreement is something that's done in writing, because everything in real estate is in writing.&amp;nbsp; Our Code of Ethics says we need to disclose this as soon as possible.&amp;nbsp; Unfortunately most Realtors don't.&amp;nbsp; Simply put, this Buyer Representation Agreement says that even though the seller pays me as your Buyer Representative, my legal duty is to ensure &lt;i&gt;&lt;u&gt;YOUR&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/i&gt; interests are protected as a buyer.&amp;nbsp; It gives me permission to work for you, and not the seller.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;Wait, there's more -- under a Buyer Representation Agreement, it's the duty of your &amp;quot;Buyer Agent&amp;quot; to keep your information confidential, and to make sure that the best price and terms are negotiated for your benefit.&amp;nbsp; They will tell you the truth and educate you about market value, because they are under a contractual obligation to look after your interests and are working with and for you.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;On the other hand, if there is no Buyer Representation Agreement in place, your agent automatically works for the seller, and they would show you prices that would validate the seller's asking price.&amp;nbsp; Their job is to protect the seller instead of you.&amp;nbsp; As you can see, NOT signing a Buyer Agency Agreement could cost you thousands of dollars more than what you might pay with the help of your own Buyer Representative.&amp;nbsp; The purpose of this Agreement is so that there is understanding, consent and clear boundaries about who's really working for who.&amp;nbsp; It switches the default setting over to YOUR best interests, instead of the seller.&amp;nbsp; The agreement can last anywhere from one hour to several years.&amp;nbsp; Is it a commitment in writing?&amp;nbsp; Yes it is.&amp;nbsp; So be sure to ask your representative if they offer an &amp;quot;Easy-Exit Guarantee&amp;quot; if you're not happy.&amp;nbsp; All great businesses offer a satisfaction guarantee, and real estate should be no different.&amp;nbsp; Needless to say, I have an &amp;quot;Easy- Exit Guarantee&amp;quot; in place :-)&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;This isn't a sales pitch - it's something everyone needs to know who is trading in real estate, now or later.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;For a sample copy of a &amp;lsquo;typical&amp;rsquo; Buyer Agency Agreement and a sample &amp;lsquo;Agreement of Purchase and Sale&amp;rsquo; please contact me and I will forward a copy to you for your review.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;Warm Regards,&lt;br /&gt;

Chris&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;PS&gt; If you have any questions for related services whether it be a financial portfolio review, insurance, legal services, mortgage consulting, contracting services, etc... I would be happy to connect you with a member of my extended team of professionals to set-up a meeting at your convenience.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;MARKET STATISTICS FOR OAKVILLE AND MILTON REAL ESTATE BOARD &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt"&gt;*Taken from the Oakville/Milton Real Estate Board&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="color: #1f497d"&gt;Month of January 2009 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;$82,037,337 &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="color: #1f497d"&gt;Month of January 2008 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - $195,996,553&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;Click on the Link Below;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt"&gt;&lt;a title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" href="http://www.omdreb.on.ca/Docs2/January%202009%20STATS.pdf"&gt;&lt;font color="#000b97"&gt;Oakville Market Statistics&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12pt; color: red"&gt;*&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;for a more comprehensive, detailed Market Report for Oakville / Milton broken down by neighbourhood, let me know and I will email a PDF report to you.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;THANK YOU!&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;i&gt;A special &amp;lsquo;Thank You&amp;rsquo; to Clark and Laurie McLean for their referral of their close friends, Mark and Anissa Williams! &amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;FEATURE HOME OF THE MONTH&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;i&gt;Click on the Link Below;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;a title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" href="http://www.abbotthomes.ca/listings_detail.php?recordID=335"&gt;&lt;font color="#000b97"&gt;2124 Rochester Circle, Bronte Creek, Oakville&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;YOUTUBE VIDEO FOR WESTOAK TRAILS&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;i&gt;Click on the Link Below;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;a title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0H0hO8__h7s"&gt;&lt;font color="#000b97"&gt;West Oak Trails Video&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt"&gt;CHRIS ABBOTT&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt"&gt;B.Comm&amp;nbsp; | Real Estate Broker&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt"&gt;Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd.,&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt"&gt;105-231 Oak Park Boulevard,&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt"&gt;Oakville, ON&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; L6H 7J6&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;a title="This external link will open in a new window" target="_blank" href="http://mail.gtahomeinspector.ca/mail6a/www.abbotthomes.ca%20"&gt;&lt;font color="#000b97"&gt;www.abbotthomes.ca&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;a onclick="$Loader.getAppWindow().composeMailTo('chris@abbotthomes.ca','','','','');" href="javascript:void(0);"&gt;&lt;font color="#000b97"&gt;chris@abbotthomes.ca&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_injection" id="softomate_highlight_0" title="Call this phone number in Canada with Skype: +19052573633" onclick="javascript:doRunCMD('call','0',null,0);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" durex="0" context="905.257.3633" iamrtl="0" onmouseout="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,0,'0',true,16,'');" onmouseover="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'0',true,16,'');" onmousedown="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,2,'0',true,16,'');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseup="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'0',true,16,'');return skype_tb_stopEvents();"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgA" id="skype_tb_droppart_0" title="Skype actions" onclick="javascript:skype_tb_SwitchDrop(this,'0','sms=0');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseout="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'0',0,1,16);" onmouseover="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'0',1,1,16);" onmousedown="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'0',2,1,16);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseup="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'0',1,1,16);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" style="background-image: url(c:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache\e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506\static\inactive_a.compat.flex.w16.gif)"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgFlag" id="skype_tb_img_f0" style="background-image: url(c:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache\e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506\static\famfamfam/CA.gif)"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgS" id="skype_tb_img_s0"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_injectionIn" id="skype_tb_text0"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_innerText" id="skype_tb_innerText0"&gt;905.257.3633&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgR" id="skype_tb_img_r0"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt; (Office)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

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&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_injection" id="softomate_highlight_2" title="Call this phone number in Canada with Skype: +19055105311" onclick="javascript:doRunCMD('call','2',null,0);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" durex="0" context="905.510.5311" iamrtl="0" onmouseout="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,0,'2',true,16,'');" onmouseover="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'2',true,16,'');" onmousedown="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,2,'2',true,16,'');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseup="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'2',true,16,'');return skype_tb_stopEvents();"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgA" id="skype_tb_droppart_2" title="Skype actions" onclick="javascript:skype_tb_SwitchDrop(this,'2','sms=0');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseout="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'2',0,1,16);" onmouseover="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'2',1,1,16);" onmousedown="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'2',2,1,16);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseup="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'2',1,1,16);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" style="background-image: url(c:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache\e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506\static\inactive_a.compat.flex.w16.gif)"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgFlag" id="skype_tb_img_f2" style="background-image: url(c:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache\e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506\static\famfamfam/CA.gif)"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgS" id="skype_tb_img_s2"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_injectionIn" id="skype_tb_text2"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_innerText" id="skype_tb_innerText2"&gt;905.510.5311&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgR" id="skype_tb_img_r2"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt; (Mobile)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_injection" id="softomate_highlight_3" title="Call this phone number in Canada with Skype: +18005144094" onclick="javascript:doRunCMD('call','3',null,0);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" durex="0" context="800.514.4094" iamrtl="0" onmouseout="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,0,'3',true,16,'');" onmouseover="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'3',true,16,'');" onmousedown="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,2,'3',true,16,'');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseup="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'3',true,16,'');return skype_tb_stopEvents();"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgA" id="skype_tb_droppart_3" title="Skype actions" onclick="javascript:skype_tb_SwitchDrop(this,'3','sms=0');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseout="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'3',0,1,16);" onmouseover="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'3',1,1,16);" onmousedown="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'3',2,1,16);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseup="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'3',1,1,16);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" style="background-image: url(c:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache\e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506\static\inactive_a.compat.flex.w16.gif)"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgFlag" id="skype_tb_img_f3" style="background-image: url(c:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache\e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506\static\famfamfam/CA.gif)"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgS" id="skype_tb_img_s3"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_injectionIn" id="skype_tb_text3"&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_innerText" id="skype_tb_innerText3"&gt;800.514.4094&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;skype:span class="skype_tb_imgR" id="skype_tb_img_r3"&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt;&lt;/skype:span&gt; (Toll Free)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #541c00"&gt;RANKED TOP 5% in CANADA&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #541c00"&gt;Referrals are an important part of my business. Anyone you refer will receive special care and attention. &lt;u&gt;Thank You!&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="color: #231f20"&gt;Thinking of Moving but don&amp;rsquo;t know where to begin?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="color: #231f20"&gt;Take the first step by &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;calling me today&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="color: #231f20"&gt;for a complimentary home evaluation.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="color: #231f20"&gt;It would be my pleasure to work with you in the preparation,&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="color: #231f20"&gt;marketing and sale of your property. Thank You for your business.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>

      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Real-Estate-News.page?ArticleID=7164</link>

      <pubDateParsed>2012-02-05T16:31:50.8198Z</pubDateParsed>

      <title>Real Estate News</title>

    </item>

    <lastBuildDate>2/5/2012 11:31:50 AM</lastBuildDate>

    <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/</link>

    <title>AA Elite Home Inspection Inc. -  Home Inspection | Energy Consulting | Building Inspectors | House, Property, Home Improvement - Serving Toronto, GTA, Halton and Peel Region</title>

    <pubDate>2/5/2012 11:31:50 AM</pubDate>

    <webMaster>john@gtahomeinspector.ca</webMaster>

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