Government Programs for First-Time Home Buyers

Buying a new home is by no means cheap, and moving into a large urban areas like the GTA or Vancouver makes that statement all the more true. But the Government of Canada wants people to invest in real estate, and contribute to the economy. To accomplish this, the government has provided many government programs to help first-time home buyers.





Home Buyers' Plan (HBP)
The Home Buyers' Plan (HBP) is a federal government  program that allows you to withdraw funds from your registered retirement savings plan (RRSPs) to buy or build a qualifying home for yourself or for a related person with a disability. You can withdraw up to $25,000 in a calendar year.

Your RRSP contributions must remain in the RRSP for at least 90 days before you can withdraw them under the HBP, or they may not be deductible for any year.

Generally, you have to repay all withdrawals to your RRSPs within a period of no more than 15 years. You will have to repay an amount to your RRSPs each year until your HBP balance is zero. If you do not repay the amount due for a year, it will have to be included in your income for that year.
Learn more about how the HBP works.

Land Transfer Tax (LTT) Refund
This program is for resident of Ontario. You may receive a refund from the Ontario government of up to $2,000 of the land transfer tax you paid on your first home. Other provinces have similar programs. Here's how it works:

• You must be at least 18 years old.
• You cannot have previously owned a home, or an interest in a home, anywhere in the world.
• Your spouse cannot have owned a home, or an interest in a home anywhere while they were your spouse.
• You may receive the refund at the time you register your home purchase. If not, you must apply for it no later than 18 months after the registration date.
Learn more about how the LTT Refund works.
First-time Home Buyers' Tax Credit (HBTC)
You or your spouse can claim this tax credit on your annual income tax return. The credit is based on an amount of $5,000. To calculate, multiply the lowest personal income tax rate for the year (15% in 2011 and 2012) by $5,000. For these years, the maximum credit is $750. Here's how it works:

• You or your spouse must have acquired a qualifying home acquired after January 27, 2009.
• You cannot have lived in another home owned by you or your spouse in the year you buy your first home – or in any of the 4 preceding years.

HST New Housing Rebate
The federal government provides an HST rebate of up to 36% to buyers who purchase either a newly built, or greatly renovated, home. The rebate is intended to encourage people to build upon and improve their properties.

Some provincial government provides an even more generous rebate. for example Ontario offers up to 75% off the provincial part of the HST.

You may be eligible to claim a rebate for a part of the HST you pay on the purchase
price of a newly constructed home or the cost of building your home, click here to learn more.

Waterloo Region Affordable Home-Ownership Plan

If you qualify, you can receive five per cent of the purchase price of a home. The home must be:

• Located in the Region of Waterloo
• A maximum purchase price of $386,000
• Approved by the Region of Waterloo

click here to learn more.

Contact me today for a Free Home Value Report or for answers to all your real estate questions at www.kimlouie.net!

Tips for Securing Your Basement Windows

Basement windows present a significant security vulnerability for many homes. Although the basement itself may not hold anything of value, often doors or windows leading to the basement are not as well protected as other entry points to the home, and therefore, burglars see it as easy access to the rest of your home.
Here are a few quick tips to guide you through improving the security of your basement windows.

Use good outside lighting
Make sure your basement windows are always well-lit during the evenings and at night. A dark place is always more likely to be broken into.

Keep basement windows visible from the outside
A basement window that is concealed by plants or shrubs is attractive to burglars because it provides them a cover under which they can easily operate.

Install security bars and good locks
Heavy security bars made of iron or steel offer sufficient protection against intruders. However, you must install these bars in such a way that firefighters can still use the window as an exit point, in case of an emergency. Most of these bars can be manipulated from the inside so that the window can provide an escape route.

Use a reliable set of locks and keys for the basement windows, if they do not have secure latches or other locking mechanisms. However, you must be able to open at least one window in the basement without the use of keys, in an emergency situation.

Advertise your home security system
A monitored home security system is one of the most effective ways of preventing break-ins. Make sure any passers-by can clearly see your home security stickers. Your basement windows must be secure and set up in alliance with the security system.

Use shatter-proof glass
To improve the security of your basement windows, it can also be beneficial to have shatter-proof glass installed as a replacement for regular glass. Since basement windows are usually fairly small in size, installing shatter-proof glass can be relatively affordable. Unless you have experience in glass installation, it’s highly recommended that you hire a professional to upgrade the glass in your basement windows. Research professional glass installation services in your area, and choose a highly rated service provider that has positive customer reviews.

Block the view into the basement
Use glass block for your windows, so that any outsider cannot peek in and see what is going on inside your basement. The intruder will not be able to tell if the basement is empty or occupied. Glass block is also extremely strong and difficult to shatter.

Plant tactical landscaping
To help limit access to your basement windows, you can also use tactical landscaping methods. Plant low, thorny bushes around your basement windows, making them difficult or nearly impossible for an intruder to access. If you are worried about the appearance of your home, you can use Hawthorne, Rosebushes or Barberry bushes to create a visually pleasing “barrier” around your basement window area. If you need to have access to your basement windows, you can also use thick, thorn-free shrubbery that still provides limited access.

The most effective home security strategies are those devised with your home's particular layout and weaknesses in mind. Always remember to protect every potential entry into your home, not just the ones you use every day.

Contact me today at www.kimlouie.net for a free Home Value Report or for more information on the current real estate market.

Why you're not a greenthumb - top 9 houseplant killers

No one sets out to kill a houseplant, yet most dead houseplants were killed by kindness. The best thing you can do for indoor plants is to learn something about their growing conditions and provide as close to those conditions as possible. If you see a problem developing, take action quickly.
Here are the top houseplants killers that you should be aware of:

1-Buying the plant at a wrong time.One of the best ways to kill a houseplant is to buy it at the wrong time. Most houseplants are native to the tropics. They're raised in a controlled environment under ideal conditions, usually in a greenhouse. So when you buy a houseplant when the temperature is close to or below freezing, even exposing it to the cold for a short period of time, could risk sending the plant into a state of shock from which it can never recover. You can also kill a houseplant by buying it during the heat of summer and leaving it in your car with the windows rolled up while you go shopping.

2. Over watering.The number one killer of houseplants is over-watering, which leads to root rot. Don't let your plants sit in water and don't automatically water all your houseplants on a schedule.

3. Salt build-up. Giving your potted plants just enough water so the soil gets wet but is never allowed to drain can lead to salt build-up, which can inhibit the growth of your houseplants. You may not notice it until you start to see a whitish crust on the soil or sides of the pot.

The best way is to water the plant when it needs it. Some plants, depending on the type, location, soil condition and pot size, may need water every three days, while others may need water only every three weeks. It's also a good idea to keep a few water jugs on hand that have been allowed to sit a day or so. That way the water will be room temperature, which plants prefer. And during the winter months, when plant growth slows a bit, you should cut back on watering, mist more often and withhold fertilizing until spring.

4. Low humidity.Many ferns and orchids need lots of humidity, and they should be misted at least daily—ideally with room-temperature water—to maintain high humidity levels or moved to the kitchen or bathroom where humidity levels tend to be a little higher than in the rest of the house.

5. Too much or too little light.Another way to kill houseplants is by giving them too much or too little light. Bright, direct sun, for example, from a south-facing window, is tough on a number of houseplants even some that need a lot of light. Likewise, winter sun from a north window may not provide enough light.
Plants that are not getting as much light as they need will look pale, rather than a healthy green and new growth will be spindly, as it reaches for the sun. You may also notice that the new leaves are smaller than usual.

6. Exposure to drafts.Placing an indoor plant, especially a tropical or blooming plant, near a frequently opened door to the outside or too close to a window with limited insulation will have the same effect as leaving the plant unprotected outside.

7. Exposure to direct heat. Placing your houseplant near a direct source of heat, like a radiator or duct, will not only burn your plant, but also speed up dehydration. You can also kill a houseplant by placing it too close to a window in the winter where temperatures can drop dramatically at nights.

8. Ignoring pest problems.Indoor pests multiply quickly. There are no natural predators to keep them in check, so you have to be very diligent about checking for symptoms. Spider mites, aphids, mealy bugs and scales can cover a plant in a day. If severe enough, the plant may never recover.

9. Allowing the plant to become pot bound.When a plant outgrows its pot, the roots circle around inside the pot and start to restrict themselves. Pot bound plants often seem to dry out more quickly than normal because the ratio of roots to soil is too large.

No matter what plants you pick, growing houseplants requires a certain amount of time and dedication. The more you know about growing houseplants, the easier and more fun it will be.

Contact me today at www.kimlouie.net for a free Home Value Report or for more information regarding today's real estate market.

Steady Home Sales in August for Waterloo Region

KITCHENER-WATERLOO, ON (September 7, 2017) ––A total of 483 residential sales occurred through the Multiple Listing System (MLS® System) of the Kitchener-Waterloo Association of REALTORS® (KWAR) in August. This was 19.2 per cent below August 2016’s record breaking 598 units sold but still ahead of the previous 5-year August average of 473 sales.


Residential sales last month brings a year-to-date total of 4,876 residential units, an increase of 3.7 per cent compared to 2016.

"I think we’re seeing some stability return to the market" says James Craig, President of KWAR. "Last summer’s record setting sales was unsustainable and created a market that no one enjoyed."

Residential sales in August included 286 detached homes (down 18.8 per cent), and 105 condominium units (down 30.9 per cent) which includes any property regardless of style (i.e. semis, townhomes, apartment, detached etc.). Sales also included 50 semi-detached homes (up 25 per cent) and 32 freehold townhouses (down 34.7 per cent).

The average sales price of all residential sales increased 10.1 per cent to $441,992 compared to August 2016. Detached homes sold for an average price of $519,910 for an increase of 5.9 per cent, while the average sale price for an apartment style condominium was $294,787 for an increase of 26.5 per cent. Townhomes and semis sold for an average of $338,191 (up 13.4 per cent) and $351,233 (up 17.3 per cent) respectively.

REALTORS® listed 589 residential properties in K-W and area last month, which is on par with August of 2016. Inventory levels continue to be low at just two months of inventory at the end of August. The number of months of inventory represents the time it would take to deplete current inventories at the current rate of sales. The long term average of months of inventory for KW and area is three and half months. Last month there were 800 active listings on the KWAR’s MLS® System, compared to 760 in August of last year.

The average days on market in August was 26, compared to 33 days a year ago. On a month to month basis, it took three additional days on average from list to sale date in August compared to July.

"While the tight supply in the market continues to favour sellers we are pleased to see more inventory coming online; the steady rate of sales continues to reinforce that Kitchener-Waterloo and area remains an attractive place to invest in homeownership." says Craig.

Contact me at www.kimlouie.net for a Free Home Value Report or to chat about the local real estate market!