Government Incentives for First-time Home Buyers in Canada

updated: July 30, 2010

1. 
   Government incentives for first-time home buyers are available in Canada.
   The Canada Revenue Agency provides tax incentives and programs to Canadian first-time home buyers to help finance the purchase of their first home. These incentives include an income tax credit, a tax sheltered savings plan, and a federal tax rebate on new home costs. New home owners can minimize their overall home costs by taking advantage of these programs within the required time limits.

First-Time Home Buyers' Tax Credit

2. First-time Canadian home buyers who bought a home after January 27, 2009 are eligible for the First-Time Home Buyers' Tax credit. This income tax credit is non-refundable, and is claimed during the tax year the home is purchased. Homes that qualify for the tax credit include existing or newly constructed single-detached houses, semi-detached houses, condominiums, multiplexes, apartment buildings and mobile homes. The homeowner must occupy the home in order to receive the tax credit. The tax credit amount is calculated by multiplying $5000 by the lowest personal tax rate, and is claimed by homeowners within their personal income tax returns.

Home Buyers' Plan

3. The Canada Revenue Agency provides a tax incentive to first-time home buyers who use their retirement savings to buy or build a home. Under the Home Buyer's Plan, first-time home buyers can withdraw up to $25,000 from their Registered Retirement Savings Plans with no tax penalty. Home buyers must enter into a written agreement to buy or build a home before they can withdraw funds within the Home Buyer's Plan. In addition, first-time buyers must occupy the home as their primary residence in order to be eligible. Home buyers are required to pay back the amount withdrawn from the plan in yearly installments, over a maximum of 15 years.

GST/HST New Housing Rebate

4. Although not restricted to first-time home buyers, the GST/HST New Housing Rebate is a tax rebate from the Canadian federal government that new home buyers can take advantage of. This rebate applies to newly built or substantially renovated homes that are owner constructed, or purchased from a builder. Owners have up to two years from the date of their home occupancy to submit a claim to receive the GST, or the federal portion of the HST, on costs such as land and construction materials. To qualify for this rebate, homes must be worth less than fair market value of $450,000. Additional tax rebates for new home construction are also available in some Canadian provinces.
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For More information please contact me at White House Mortgages, Dominion Lending Centre

1.250.826.5679 as a Mortgage Broker in Kelowna I am able to walk you through this process

Brad Adams a Mortgage Broker specialist will get you the best and lowest mortgage rates for real estate and refinance in kelowna and all of B.C.

By Carrie Forbes, eHow Contributor

Brad Adams White House Mortgages Dominion Lending Centres Phone: 250-868-2209 Email: adams.mortgage@shaw.ca http://www.bradadams.ca

This edition of the Weekly Rate Minder has the latest, best rates for Canadian mortgages. At Dominion Lending Centres, we work on your behalf to find the mortgage that suits your needs. Best of all — our service is "free".* It's the selected lender that pays us and YOU get the best rate. *(O.A.C., E.&O.E.)• Our Best Rates
• Explore Mortgage Scenarios with Helpful Calculators on http://www.bradadams.ca

Terms	Bank Rates	Our Rates
6 Month	4.45%	3.95%
1 YEAR	3.50%	2.44%
2 YEARS	3.90%	2.84%
3 YEARS	4.45%	2.90%
4 YEARS	5.04%	3.59%
5 YEARS	5.39%	3.59%
7 YEARS	6.19%	4.85%
10 YEARS	6.50%	5.19%
Rates are subject to change without notice. *OAC E&OE

Prime Rate is 3.00%

Variable rate mortgages from as low as Prime - .65%

Still Renting? Know the numbers.

We all need to pay for the roof over our heads, but who do we want to be paying??  The land or yourself? Of coarse not many of us can buy a house out right and we figure our mortgage payment would be more than we can afford but in the long run what is the verdict??

Many of us know that starving today to feast tomorrow is an equation for success but how many of us take it to heart and put it to work??

As a Mortgage Broker in Kelowna I can help you find the right price point for you and your realtor to find the right real estate for you.

Buying versus Renting

There are many advantages to buying a home versus renting one. View these advantages in the Buy vs. Rent Comparison Chart, or view a financial comparison of buying versus renting in the Buy vs. Rent Calculator.

Your income, savings, and monthly expenses play an important role in determining how large a mortgage you can afford. To figure out the amount you can afford, please click Affordability.

Savings: Buying

In many cases, the amount of money a renter spends on rent can be about the same as or less than the amount a homeowner spends on a mortgage. With the tax benefit for homeowners, the savings can be significant.
Buy vs. Rent Comparison
The chart below shows a cost comparison for a renter and a homeowner over a seven year period.

• The renter starts out paying $800 per month with annual increases of 5%
• The homeowner purchases a home for $110,000 and pays a monthly mortgage of $1,000
• After 6 years, the homeowner's payment is lower than the renter's monthly payment
• With the tax savings of homeownership, the homeowner's payment is less than the rental payment after3 years

Years	Rent Payment	Mortgage Payment	Monthly Difference	After Tax Savings	Yearly Difference	After Tax Savings
1	800	1000	-200	-50	-2400	-600
2	840	1000	-160	-10	-1920	-120
3	882	1000	-118	+32	-1416	+384
4	926	1000	-74	+76	-888	+912
5	972	1000	-28	+122	-336	+1464
6	1021	1000	+21	+171	+252	+2052
7	1072	1000	+72	+222	+864	+2664
8-30			Savings increase every year

Monthly Expenses: Buying

Your rental company takes part of your rent payment to cover certain housing expenses. When you decide to purchase a home, you accept responsibility for paying for these expenses (listed below). They are additional costs to your monthly mortgage payment and should be included in your budget estimates:

• Property Taxes and Special Assessments
• Home/Hazard Insurance
• Utilities
• Maintenance
• Home Owner Association (HOA) Fee: Doesn't apply to all purchases. It pays for trash and snow removal and maintenance of common grounds if applicable.
• Membership Fee: It may pay for recreational facilities and other services (cable TV).

If you have any further questions please feel free to contact me at White House Mortgages or click any of my links at the side and top of this blog.

(information was compiled and written by www.ginniemae.gov)

The new world of Rental Scams

It's hard to imagine a time when looking for a new apartment didn't involve Craigslist,Viewit.ca, or some other online rental database. These online applications allow renters to narrow down apartments by location, price and amenities. But just as these databases have made it easier to post and find rentals, they have also made it easier for scammers to operate.

"This newfound convenience has opened new ways for scammers to trick you out of your money," says Dave Dugdale, owner of two Colorado-based rental sites and developer of an online rental scam screening tool.

The genesis of this story came about through my own search for an apartment in Toronto. Naive when it came to rental scams, I was shocked to find that nearly half of the potential landlords I contacted through free online classified sites ended up fitting the profile of scammers.

"The Internet is a fertile breeding ground for fraudsters of all stripes," says Garry J. Wise, a Toronto-based lawyer. "Increasingly, fraud artists are developing sophisticated scams aimed directly at specific populations and sectors... It is no surprise that the tenancy market is also being affected."

That being said, here are some ways to help you spot a scam.

Blueprint of an online rental scam
Most rental scams follow a similar and very predictable pattern.

To start, "the scammers go to other websites and grab photos and a description. These could be from a real estate listing or from other rental sites," says Dugdale, adding that he's been surprised by the laziness of some scammers. He recalls an ad he came across that had been duplicated and reposted in several different cities: the ad mentioned ski lift views for a Miami-based apartment!

Rent for scams are typically well below market value. So, "instead of the rent being, say, $1,300 a month they'll make it for, say, $800 a month. A scream," says Dugdale. "This is so they'll get lots of leads."

In most cases the potential landlord is a doctor, priest, humanitarian worker, businessman or member of the Canadian Forces who claims to have been transferred to another country for work. Thus all communication is done via e-mail or, more rarely, by telephone and the landlord is unable to meet the tenant in person or show the actual rental unit.

Through e-mails the landlord will stress their integrity and trustworthiness and will offer the place after requesting minimal details from the tenant. Finally, the landlord will request the tenant send a deposit by mail, after which the landlord promises to mail a set of keys to the tenant.

"And of course the keys never come because (the landlord) never owned the house in the first place," says Dugdale.

How to protect yourself
When using free posting sites like Craigslist, be extra cautious about potential scams. Craigslist posts safety tips for users (www.craigslist.org/about/scams) while stressing the following simple rule: deal locally with folks you can meet in person. "Follow this one simple rule and you will avoid 99 per cent of the scam attempts on Craigslist," says Susan MacTavish, a spokesperson for craigslist.

If you are searching for a place on a paid posting rental site, contact the site developer to see what mechanisms they have in place to filter out scammers. For example, Dugdale keeps and makes public a database of e-mail addresses of scammers.

Be wary of landlords who ask inappropriate questions, says Wise. At various times I was asked about my marital status, my weight and if I work late at night. When I asked one landlord to justify the personal questions they were asking, their response simply said that they had a good feeling about me and had decided to offer me the apartment. "It is best to just walk away if a prospective landlord's actions don't seem businesslike or appropriate," says Wise.

The number one tip-off for a scam is probably the listed rent, so pay attention to prices. "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is -- stay away," says Wise.

Also, it's important to "make sure that the person you're talking to is the actual owner," says Dugdale. To ensure that you are dealing with the owner of the unit, go to the local assessor's website and type in the address or parcel number of the property. For example, to verify the ownership of a property in Toronto you can check the assessment rolls through the city's Clerk's Office. If the name that comes up doesn't match the name of the person you are dealing with, be concerned.

"When in doubt, a lawyer can assist by ensuring that the prospective landlord actually owns the unit to be rented. A lawyer can also verify the validity of any Ontario corporation that purports to offer units for rent," says Wise.

I've been had: Now what?
If you suspect you've come across a scam, there are several ways to proceed. One option is to contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Call Centre or the Competition Bureau Canada. Both organizations offer resources and support for those looking to report or prevent scams.

If you have come across a suspected scam on a rental site, such as Craigslist, contact the moderator. Craigslist users are asked to e-mail the details of potential rental scams to abuse@craigslist.org so that postings can be flagged or removed.

Finally, if you have become victim to a rental scam, "contact your local police force at once," says Wise, adding, "It may not be possible to trace a fraudster who has truly 'disappeared,' but if you have been defrauded and are able to locate the culprit, you may claim reimbursement and damages of up to $25,000.00 in Ontario's Small Claims Courts."

After sifting through thousands of postings and hundreds of likely scams, I found a fantastic apartment through a landlord who was willing to meet with me in person and provide documentation. My biggest problem now is unpacking....

Feel free to read any of my other posts or come by to see me at White House Mortgages on Cooper Road.

adams.mortgage@shaw.ca or 1 (250) 826-5679 I am a mortgage broker in Kelowna and always wanting to help.

(By Amy Brown-Bowers • Bankrate.com)

Why are we paying so much??

Unless you're filthy rich, you've probably noticed that movie theatre popcorn costs an arm and a leg. Still, for some unknown reason, countless consumers shell out the big bucks for this greasy flick-food.

Of course, movie theater snacks aren't the only budget busters. Just think about the exorbitant cost of greeting cards, printer ink and bottled water. The sky-high price tags on those products are enough to send today's cash-strapped consumers spiraling into debt. Yet, we continue to cough up the cash for these absurdly expensive items.

Here are six outrageously overpriced products that consumers can't seem to live without.

Movie theatre popcorn

At the grocery store, microwave popcorn runs about $3 per box, and each box includes three 3.5 ounce bags. So why on earth would consumers even consider paying a whopping $6 for a single medium-sized bag of popcorn in the movie theatre? No one knows exactly why - but for some bizarre reason, movie-goers continue to drain their wallets to crunch on a bag full of those greasy little nuggets during their favorite film. 
After considering that movie theatres purchase popcorn in bulk, the average markup of movie theater popcorn is a whopping 1,275 per cent! At that steep price, you'd think those buttery bags were laced with gold.

Greeting cards

Since when does a folded up piece of paper cost $2.99? Since someone slaps a precious kitty picture and a cleverly written message on it and then stamps the back of it with a well-known logo. That's right - we're talking about those pricey greeting cards. Many consumers spend hours poring over the neatly arranged stacks in the greeting card aisle, searching for the perfect message for their sister's birthday, their parent's anniversary or "Just Because." 
The average greeting card costs between $2 and $4, and we consumers don't seem to think twice about paying that precipitous price. The markup is between 100 and 200 per cent - which is not quite as shocking as movie theatre popcorn, but it adds up quickly. When you consider how many of those paper jewels you buy each year, it's enough to send you running for the construction paper and markers. After all, it only costs a few cents to create a home-made card. 

College textbooks

As if college kids (and their parents) aren't financially drained enough, there's yet another inflated price they face: college textbooks. College students pay an average of $900 a year on textbooks and other supplies. 
College textbook prices have skyrocketed by 186 per cent since 1986, and these expensive volumes of knowledge now account for 26 per cent of the overall cost of college. Unfortunately, broke college students are required to purchase these costly books for their classes. At least they can try to sell their books back to local book store at the end of the semester - for a few measly bucks. 

Bottled water

You've probably heard that "Evian" is simply "naive" spelled backwards. OK, so the well-known company probably did not choose their name for that reason - but many people believe that consumers who buy bottled water are certainly naive. After all, water is one of the most abundant resources in the world and is available for free from countless water fountains and sinks across the nation. Yet, many consumers are still willing to pay $3 a bottle for it. 
In 2009, the U.S. Congress revealed that about 45 per cent of bottled water comes from municipal taps - and then the bottled water company may or may not do some additional filtering before pouring it in their logo-stamped bottles. Still, Americans continue to buy more than 500 million bottles every week, making it the second most popular purchased drink.

Printer ink

You may be able to buy a surprisingly affordable printer at your local office supply store, but don't start celebrating just yet. The printer companies make their biggest bucks on ink. 
Over the life of your printer, you'll probably pay more than 500 per cent of the total price of the printer itself on ink refill cartridges. At $30, a 42ml cartridge of black printer ink comes out to 71 cents per ml. On the other hand, the Red Cross charges $200 for 500 ml of blood, which comes out to about 40 cents per ml.

Brand-name fashions

How much did you pay for those True Religion jeans, that Burberry scarf and those towering Louboutin stilettos? Probably a small fortune. But it was worth every penny, right? Not so much. When it comes to designer clothes, it's pretty obvious that you are paying for the label. 
As a matter of fact, brand-name clothes are often marked up by 500 to 1,000 per cent.  Yet, fashion-conscious consumers continue to drain their bank accounts and pile up massive amounts of debt to stay on the cutting edge of couture.

Broke consumers are saying no

The recession has hit many households hard, and thousands of broke consumers are passing on these and other overpriced products. So, does that mean the inflated prices of these items will eventually fall? Only time will tell. In the meantime, you may want to check your bank account before you hit the movie theatre snack bar.

(facts written and researched by yahoo finance)