BARBARA GRUMME’S BLOG!

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has lowered it’s forecast for homes sales via the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) Systems of Canadian real state Boars and Associations. The revision reflects a weaker than expected start to the year in recent developments that pulled forward the timing as to when sales are expected to ease in other provinces.

Additionally, changes to mortgage regulations announced in February are expected to marginally impact activity. The changes prompted some homebuyers to finance their home purchase before the new regulations took effect in April, which pulled forward a number of sales that would have otherwise take place at a later date.

“Interest rates are expected to rise slowly and at a measured pace during a new era of government spending restraint, so home financing will remain within reach for many homebuyers,” said CREA President Georges Pahud.

CREA had previously forecasted sales would remain at elevated levels through the first half of 2010 before easing in the second half of the year and over 2011. While forecasted trend for activity has not changed in CREA’s revised forecast, it as been pulled forward, with the fourth quarter of 2009 marking the peak of national activity. This has had the effect of lowering the forecast for national activity over the rest of the year.

MLS Statistic Report

Residential (Single family) Activity by Area

[MARCH 2010]

Sales/listings                 Average Sale Price      %’age

Area                       YTD                           MONTH                     Change

Nothing makes more of an impact to your space than flooring. Flooring is a key ingredient to your overall decorating mix. Here are some fresh ideas for your floor selection:

Resilient Flooring: Vinyl, Linoleum sheet, tile and cork comes in a wide array of colours and patterns, is highly durable, fairly economical and comfortable. This flooring is thin and shows irregularities over time.

Carpeting: Comes in a wide array of colours and textures. A very comfortable types of flooring, easy to install, fairly economical and absorbs sound. This flooring, easy to install, fairly economical and absorbs sound. This flooring should not be installed in moisture-laden areas.

Laminate Flooring: Very easy to install and maintain. This flooring cannot be refinished and is not recommended for wet or moisture-laden areas.

Wood Flooring – More costly but adds to your home’s value. 

Information was by Kickstarters.ca

Sellers seeking divine intervention

Can faith really move homes as well as mountains? By Toby Welch

It’s not surprising that home sellers look for help anywhere they can find it. The Catholic tradition of planting a statue of St. Joseph in the front yard of the home you are trying to sell isn’t just for religion zealots. Sales of the St. Joseph home selling kit skyrocket every time the housing market hits a slump. Can faith really move homes as well as mountains?

Where does this belief come from? Rumor has it that St. Teresa of Avila (A.D. 1515 – 1582) had an expanding order that required the building of a new, larger nunnery. The nun’s coffers weren’t full enough to buy the land on which to build the convent so St. Teresa buried medals with St. Joseph’s likeness on the desired property.

Having been born 450 Years too late, I have no personal confirmation of the matter but allegedly the pleas to St. Joseph worked. As centuries flew by, the custom evolved into burying a St. Joseph statue to hasten the sale of a home.

St. Joseph is the patron saint of employment and the home. Joseph was the husband of the Virgin Mary in the Bible, the earthly father of Jesus. He has a history in the real estate world.

Catholic author and Biblical scholar Stephen J. Binz, has written a book on the topic. St. Joseph, My Real Estate Agent: The Patron Saint of Home Life and Home Selling. Binz says “I believe God an work in people’s lives in all sorts of ways without our really understanding them.” The book details the life of the saint and explains that burying a statue is a way of asking St. Joseph to look after one’s own family the way that Joseph provided for his own family, Mary and Jesus.

When burying the statue, you can’t just dig a hole and toss the statue inside, there is a protocol to follow. TE most prevalent practice is to bury the statue upside down with his feet facing the heavens, close to the For Sale sign in the front yard. The hole should be three inches deeper than the statue itself. When you insert the statue, it should be facing the direction of the street. The statue should be placed in a burial bag (Usually included in the kit) before being placed in the ground. Apartment and condo dwellers with no outside space should bury the statue in a potted plant on the patio. Before covering the statue with dirt, a prayer should be said to St. Joseph. Most kits come with a card with suggestions on what to say. Once the house sells the statue should be dug up, cleaned off, and placed in a spot of honour in the new home.

Does the St. Joseph statue really work or is it a bunch of babble? Some proclaim it is nonsense yet others are true believers in the statue’s power. Considering that millions of St. Joseph statue home-selling kits are sold every year through websites, religious goods stores, eBay and hardware stores, this custom shows that people are willing to try almost anything when it comes to selling their homes.

REM June 2010 by Toby Welch

Saturday, May 15,2010
Club LaSalle
111 Arthur Street, St.Catharine’s, ON
3:00pm - 7:00pm Free Admission
8:00pm - ?? $5.00 Admission

3:00pm - 7:00pm come out and enjoy cultural entertainment, and traditional foods, with a free admission. Then starting at 8:00pm there will be an African/Caribbean Dance Music Night. Admission is $5.00/person, free under the age of 12. This is a cultural event of diversity representing the African/Caribbean communities, it will be done in both English and french. This family event will include a variety of ethnic foods. Entertainment including live music, drumming and dancing to represent the various cultures.

Information by:
Niagara Folk Arts Festival
www.folk-arts.ca
905-685-6589

Next seminar that is coming up for the “Love your life seminar series” is First Impressions by Nyla Hasan.

In this interactive workshop you will learn to:

*Dress to make the best first impression
*Becoe a compelling communicator
*Get your point across using effective body language
*Command respect and get attention without saying a word
*Feel balanced and relaxed in any situation

Sonsored in part by:
Accelerated Health and Wellness Centre
&
White Oaks Conference Resort & Spa

Primary Sponsor is Barbara Grumme

Please contact Barbara at 905-356-9100 or at barbara.grumme@century21.ca if you wish to attend this free seminar!!!

Seminar is being held at White Oaks Conference Resort - Ballroom A
Wednesday May 12, 2010
Doors open at 6:30 Seminar starts at 7:00pm and will end at 9:00pm

The best way to select a colour that is right for you is to draw from your own personality. Colours say alot about you and can instantly transform your space. Here are some basic colour tips:

* Reds and Oranges: Raises blood pressure, stimulates appetites and is very engaging

*Yellows emulate the warm sun’s rays

*  Grens are restful to the eyes

*Blues contrast reds and are more calming

*Purples and eggplant colours are sophisticated and rich in detail

Neutral colours such as grey, beige, brown, taupe and white are flexible and made to compliment your full colour palette

So, if you want to spice things up then add some colour and if you want to tone things down subtract and go with neutrals.

1. Pitting your family first
2. Making and keeping friends
3. Investing in your Health
4. Caring for Kids
5. Knowing your Neighbors
6. Appreciating what you do have
7. Minding your Reputation
8. Continuing your Education
9. Having Fun
10. Solving social problems

Information by Eric Tyson

All new MOney Manager digest for you! (Fall/winter)

Coping with Climate change

Which views we subscribe to concerning climate chance, there is no denying tht our summers are becoming hotter and drier. Gardeners must adjust to this. Growers are increasingly recognizing this and are producing plants better able to cope and thrive in these conditions. Unless you wish to consume, and pay for, copious amounts of water daily, some of the once-popular plants no longer make sense. To help make wise choices, look for labels such as “Drought-resistant” or “Will take tolerate drier conditions”. Some popular plants in this category are the multitude of varieties of: Sedum

Hosta

Geranium

Portulaca…

… And many perennials like coral bells. An important work of caution, however, is to remember that such plants are drought- resistant once established. All plants require regular watering when first transplanted to establish their root system. 

Information was by Kickstarters.ca

Factbox – Canada changes mortgage rules to cool market

Feb 16 – Canada said on Tuesday it will bring in new mortgage rules to cool the country’s red-hot housing sector, citing the need to prevent a property price bubble even as it gave assurances the market is stable.

Here are the main changes, to take effect on April 19, followed by some background on the Canadian Mortgage insurance industry.

New Rules

• Borrowers must qualify for a five-year fixed-rate mortgage, even if hey opt for a lower variable rate. Banks and insurers typically assess the borrower’s gross debt service ratio – the cost of financing their home relative to their income 0 and their total debt service, which includes total debt payments relative to income. Currently, they use either the fixed-rate, or the greater of the variable rate and the prevailing three-year fixed rate.
• Lower the maximum amount a homeowner can withdraw when refinancing a mortgage to 90% from 95% of the value of the property. The government wants to encourage home ownership as a savings tool so is limiting this type of financing which allows borrowers to lower their equity in their home.
• Increase the required down payment to 20% from 5% for insured mortgages obtained for purchasing speculative housing investments not occupied by the owner. Borrowers buying a property they intent to live in that also includes rental units will not be subject to the 20% rule.
• The rules that did not change, despite some speculation they might, were the maximum 35-year amortization period and minimum down payment of 5% for regular home buyers who plan to live on their properties.

Information by: Thomson Reuters 2010.

Let’s talk about Love Money

Ponder that for a moment: If you want to stay happily coupled, you need to talk about your finances. Since you and your partner have chosen to be together, you probably already see eye to eye al all of life’s moral, material, recreational and economical issues.

If only.

Few, if any, twosomes agree on all life’s joint decisions. At the extreme, well, you’ve heard how it goes. The more you talk (Rationally, please!) about finances, the richer you’ll be.

Resolve to do things differently. à just because you and your partner have had difficulty with money discussions before doesn’t mean you can’t make progress now. Bring a does of optimism along with your resolutions. What will you discuss?

Consider the following

• Your big financial goals
• Creating a budget both of you can live with
• Where you can cut back on spending
• What may tempt you to break the budget

Set a date à Pick the settings for your Money Talk. Then decide on a reward that you would like to share when you’re done with your first Big Money talk.

Make an emergency relationship repair kit à Take a box and place inside it items that will help you get over a spat with your spouse. You may want to include coupons for eating out, a pair of movie tickets, some old love letters, a poem, a book of jokes, or your wedding photos.

Set your ground rules:

• Agree to try
• Accept equal responsibility for changing your lives.
• Don’t play the blame game.
• Be honest
• Take a break if the conversation turns heated and unproductive.

Use the “Getting in the mood (For a Money Talk)” worksheet to pt down on paper your commitment to a productive money conversation. If the conversation becomes heated, cool down. Review the ground rules, them set a follow-up date to talk. And don’t use this rule as an excuse to avoid tough topics.

 Have you and your spouse fill out the following then compair together at the end!

Getting in the Mood (For a Money Talk)

Date:

Setting:

Refreshments:

Reward:

Emergency Relationship Repair Kit Contents:

Group Rules

(As a first step towards compromise, take turns proposing rules.)

1. ____
2. ____
3. ____
4. ____
5. ____

1. Who is responsible for balancing the checkbook?
2. Who is the long-term planner?
3. when was the last time you make financial whoopee? Or at least talked about your finances?
4. On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 is “Not very” and 5 is “very”) How important is it that you and your partner:

________Cut coupons

________ Go to the gas station with the lowest prices

________ Rent videos instead of going to the movies

________ Comparison shop

1. How much is too much to spend:

________ On going out to dinner?

________ without talking to your partner first?

________ On gifts (for each other, for children, for relatives and friends)?

________ On vacation?

1. If you inherited $10,000, it would be most important to:

1. Pay off debt
2. Buy a new car
3. Invest the money
4. Take a vacation
5. Thro an awesome party for your relatives so that they can see what a great niece, granddaughter, and 19^th cousin you are?

1. If your spouse’s money personality were a superhero, which superhero would it be?
2. when do you expect to buy your next car? Will it be used or new? What kind?
3. What are your top three long-term financial goals?
4. Harry Patter vs. Spider –man. Discuss.

Results:

Now it’s time to take your financial temperature. As you compare answers, note where you agreed and disagreed.

• Were you able to get through the first 5 questions without having an argument? Congratulations! You two could put the “gold” in golden years.
• Did you laugh some, cry some, yell a little bit? You’re communication, all right. The “Getting in the Mood” worksheet can help you and your partner to find less volatile ways to get fiscally fit.
• Was your financial whoopee less satisfying than you’d hoped? Don’t give up. Stick with it.

Information by:

Dayana Yochim

Money Manager Digest for you!