The Real Estate Professional

There are a lot of great reasons for Canadians to buy right now. Low home prices and interest rates are the most obvious ones, but did you know about the First Time Home Buyers tax credit and the increase in the withdrawal ceiling on the RRSP Home Buyers Plan? The 2009 federal budget is making home ownership easier than ever.

Home prices and interest rates are dropping in most Canadian cities, making it a great time to buy from a basic financial standpoint – if you can own instead of rent for a comparable amount of money, why not? Lower home prices mean that you have more options and more buying power.

Interest rates have dropped along with home prices. Interest rates are what really determine what your home payment will be. Right now, you can get an interest rate for below 5%. This can bring your mortgage payment down hundreds of dollars a month.

The 2009 federal budget allows you to make more money tax-free. The tax free amount used to be $9,600; now it’s $10,320. The ceiling on the first two tax brackets has also risen. An income of up to $40,726 is only taxed 15%. The next bracket of 22% income taxation applies to incomes of up to $81,452.

Right now, the government is offering tax credit towards home renovation from $1000-10000, which ends up being around 15% cash back when you tally up your savings. Buy that fixer-upper and put some work into it, knowing that a good chunk will come back to you in tax read more

Finding the right apartment in a place like Brazil is not easy unless you know the tricks of the trade! With the value of the properties increasing every day and new real estate projects coming up right one after the other, there is no reason why one should not be eager to buying an apartment in this beautiful place. If you are hoping to buying apartments in Brazil then here are some tips on how to get exactly what you want. To make up your mind on what exactly you want, do your own research work first. This will help you go a long way. Find out what the real estate prices are and what are the best places to invest in and why. Talk to people and search the internet. Do your own preliminary reach so that you can decide what kind of an apartment you would like to buy. Look out for the fastest developing areas, especially if you are buying the apartment for investment reasons. This preliminary research goes a long way in ensuring that nobody manages to really swindle you into buying such apartments in Brazil that you will regret buying later. Get in touch with the experts now and chalk out a plan with them. Talk to your agent and find out what they have to show you and say about your ideas. It is equally important to sort out the financial issues too. In case you are taking a loan for buying the apartment, check through the terms and conditions and ask your tax planner to plan out your budget accordingly. Ensure that you have learnt all about the documents to be read more

Avoid 12 Common Mistakes Made by Novice Investors and Ensure High Rates of Return!

Real estate investment has provided many investors with positive cash flow, tax benefits and satisfaction of making an impact in others lives. Like any investment however, real estate has intricate nuances and market trends that when ignored can cause an investor tremendous heartache.

Unbelievably many first time investors are willing to part with their hard earned cash without taking the time to study their investment. They rely on traditional trends and gut feelings. Before you risk your investment take the time to learn all you can about your market. By aligning yourself with the right Professional you can avoid these 12 common mistakes, and you’ll ensure an excellent return on your investment.

1. Failure to Determine Your Time Need – Cash flow, capital appreciation, tax benefits, loss of management, equity pay down and pride of ownership are just some of the thing s that need to be  addressed before you make that investment. A service -minded real estate professional can be a tremendous asset by taking the time to evaluate your needs and making sure you’ve got all your bases covered.

2. Not Checking out the Seller or Sellers Agents Numbers – Claims of extremely high rates of return run rampant in real estate investment. Don’t get caught up in the excitement – check everything: rents, payment history, read more