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    <description>AA Elite Home on Homes Inspection</description>
    <item>
      <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>2010-09-10T08:50:25.6863531Z</pubDateParsed>
      <title>Housing needs for the 'sandwich' generation </title>
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    <item>
      <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;
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&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>2010-09-10T08:50:25.6863531Z</pubDateParsed>
      <title>The Millionaire Real Estate Investor Workshop on 14 November 2009</title>
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    <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;$312,585&lt;/p&gt;
            &lt;/td&gt;
            &lt;td width="114" valign="bottom"&gt;
            &lt;p align="right"&gt;366.4%&lt;/p&gt;
            &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;/tr&gt;
        &lt;tr style=""&gt;
            &lt;td width="531" valign="bottom" colspan="4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), RE/MAX&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;/tr&gt;
    &lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;</description>
      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Real-Estate-News.page?ArticleID=33851</link>
      <pubDateParsed>2010-09-10T08:50:25.6863531Z</pubDateParsed>
      <title>Canadian housing markets buck recession and trend upwards, says RE/MAX</title>
    </item>
    <item>
      <description>This links from CMHC &lt;font size="2" face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font size="2" face="Times New Roman"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;has great information about termites &lt;a href="http://www.forintek.ca/public/pdf/Public_Information/fact%20sheets/termite_eng3oct02.pdf"&gt;http://www.forintek.ca/public/pdf/Public_Information/fact%20sheets/termite_eng3oct02.pdf&lt;/a&gt;</description>
      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Interesting-Articles.page?ArticleID=31961</link>
      <pubDateParsed>2010-09-10T08:50:25.6863531Z</pubDateParsed>
      <title>Termites</title>
    </item>
    <item>
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                                    Sales Representative&lt;br /&gt;
                                    Coldwell Banker Home &amp;amp; Family Ltd.&lt;br /&gt;
                                    1515 Rebecca Street, Unit 20&lt;br /&gt;
                                    Oakville, Ontario L6L 5G8&lt;br /&gt;
                                    905-825-7777&lt;br /&gt;
                                    &lt;a title="marilyn-mcculloch@coldwellbanker.ca" onclick="$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;
                    &lt;/tr&gt;
                    &lt;tr&gt;
                        &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;
                    &lt;/tr&gt;
                    &lt;tr&gt;
                        &lt;td align="center" width="510"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 11px; color: #5b5043; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans-sarif"&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;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;
                            &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;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;
                        &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
                    &lt;/tr&gt;
                &lt;/tbody&gt;
            &lt;/table&gt;
            &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;/tr&gt;
        &lt;tr&gt;
            &lt;td&gt;&lt;img height="69" alt="" width="598" border="0" src="http://cbworks.coldwellbanker.com/app/File?action=loadFile&amp;amp;fileId=1375967&amp;amp;forceDownload=y" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;/tr&gt;
    &lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;</description>
      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Real-Estate-News.page?ArticleID=29619</link>
      <pubDateParsed>2010-09-10T08:50:25.6863531Z</pubDateParsed>
      <title>Men vs. Women &amp; Timing is Everything! </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;
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    &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;
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            &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>2010-09-10T08:50:25.7019536Z</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>2010-09-10T08:50:25.7019536Z</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>2010-09-10T08:50:25.7019536Z</pubDateParsed>
      <title>City of Toronto Phone Numbers Guide For Your Home and Community </title>
    </item>
    <item>
      <description>&lt;table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="614" bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0"&gt;
    &lt;tbody&gt;
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            &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;
            &lt;/td&gt;
            &lt;td width="10"&gt;&lt;img height="1" src="http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/images/spacer.gif" width="10" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
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                        &lt;div id="cs_control_1819"&gt;
                        &lt;div class="CS_Element_Schedule" id="CS_Sched_194368_1819" title=""&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
                        &lt;/div&gt;
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      <link>http://www.gtahomeinspector.ca/Important-News.page?ArticleID=11807</link>
      <pubDateParsed>2010-09-10T08:50:25.7019536Z</pubDateParsed>
      <title>CMHC Launches Campaign to Help Homeowners</title>
    </item>
    <item>
      <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>2010-09-10T08:50:25.7019536Z</pubDateParsed>
      <title>Why Now is an Ideal Time to Purchase Revenue Property</title>
    </item>
    <lastBuildDate>9/10/2010 4:50:25 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>9/10/2010 4:50:25 AM</pubDate>
    <webMaster>john@gtahomeinspector.ca</webMaster>
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