BARBARA GRUMME’S BLOG!

Canadian banks are typically leveraged at 18 - 1- compared with U.S. banks at 26 to 1

Guess which country, alone in the industrialized world, has not faced a single bank failure, calls for bailouts or government intervention in the financial or mortgage sectors. Yup, it’s Canada. In 2008, the World Economic Forum ranked Canada’s banking system the healthiest in the World. America’s ranked 40th,Britain’s 44th.

Canadian banks are well capitalized and poised to take advantage of opportunities that American and European banks cannot seize. The Toronto Dominion Bank, for example, was the 15th largest Bank in North America one year ago. Now it is the fifth-largest. It hasn’t grown in size;the others have all shrunk.

So what accounts for the genius of the Canadians? Common sense. Partly this reflects Canada more risk-averse business culture, but it is also a product of old fashioned rules on banking.

Canada has also been shielded from the worst aspects of this crisis because its housing prices have not fluctuated as wildly prices in the U.S. The Canadian tax code does not provide the massive incentive for over consumption that U.S. code does: interest on your mortgage isn’t deductible up north. In addition, home loans in the United States are “non-recourse”, which basically means that if you go belly up on a bad mortgage, its mostly the bank’s problem. In Canada, It’s yours.

In Recognition of the growing proportion of self employed people in today’s workforce, CMHC recently added a new initiative called Self-Employed Simplified. CMHC has developed tools that help assess the risk associated with borrowers who have difficulty obtaining third-party validation of their income using traditional forms of documentation. This new offering will help self-employed borrowers and commissioned salesperson’s to obtain a CMHC-insured mortgage, much like borrowers who receive a salary or hourly wage from an employer.

CMHC Self-Employed Simplified is designed for borrowers who have a minimum of two years in the same type of work and a proven track of responsibly managing their debt. The product will insure mortgages on one or two unit homeowner properties and will also be available for refinance transactions, for mortgages up to 90 per cent of a home’s value.

www.heartlandforest.org/

 http://www.niagaraparks.com/

 www.danceniagara.com - Ballroom and Latin dance lesson and events

 www.whitemeadowsfarms.com - Maple sugarbush, and pancake experience

www.celebrateolddowntown.com- see what’s new in downtown Niagara

www.riverroadmanor.com- cottage rental- enjoy comfort of character home while on vacation in Niagara

www.bnkoi.com- local breeders of ornamental Koi

- Niagara Falls refers to three waterfalls on the Niagara River between Canada and the United States-the American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and the Canadian or Horseshoe Falls.

- The Canadain fall sstretches 2,600 feet wide and 167 feet tall

- 600,000 gallons of water flow over the Niagara Falls every second

- It’s estimated 16 daredevils have gone over the falls and five have died

White Meadow Farms are having pancake weekends. Try their new 7 Grain Pancakes

Now open Saturday and Sunday 8:30am - 4:30 pm (kitchen closes at 3:30)

2519 Effingham Street, St. Catharines (Pelham)- 905-682-0642

www.whitemeadowsfarms.com

January 21, 2009 by styledstagedsold · 134 Comments
Filed under: Home Trends 

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey

 – Some home features don’t stay popular forever. More homes are inching away from incorporating the following home features, according to recent consumer preference surveys.

1. Fireplaces: The fireplace skyrocketed in importance in homes in 1991 with 62 percent of new homes having one or more. But the number has steadily been decreasing ever since. In 2007, the number dropped to 51 percent.

2. Carpet: While 54 percent of homes still have carpet floors, the number is decreasing and hardwood floors are taking the place. Vinyl and ceramic tile flooring also are being bypassed more by buyers. Seventeen percent of new homes contain hardwood floors throughout the entire house.

3. Living room: These once-decorative centerpieces of homes are slowly vanishing from newer homes. Thirty-four percent of consumers say they’re willing to buy a home without a living room.

4. Desks in the kitchen: These desks were once looked at as great storage areas but they’re often too small and quickly become clutter spaces in a home, said Gayle Butler, editor in chief of Better Homes and Gardens. Instead, more consumers say they prefer larger desks in or near the family room—equipped with a messaging center—where they can keep an eye on their kids as they work on the computer.

5. Skylights: The little windows that allow natural light to seep into a home from above are falling out of style. Only 10 percent of new homes will include them this year, a continuing downward spiral for skylights.

6. Upscale kitchen finishes: Granite countertops are slowly becoming less desirable among buyers who are now moving toward affordable, low-maintenance laminate countertops—which tend to last longer and now come in various styles.