Elegant Inc. Architects

The Canadian Commercial Council of Realtors ensure that members have specialized knowledge in one or more areas of commercial real estate, namely; appraisal, office leasing, industrial leasing/sales, multi-family/apartment buildings, property management, land/development sites, syndication, investment, retail leasing/business brokerage, consulting, farms/ranches, hotels/motels;

Qualifications to become a member include:

A commercial real estate course, which has been approved by the Council.

Knowledge of the following: • Leasing • Investment Analysis • Commercial Financial Calculator • Commercial Construction • Business Brokerage • Taxation/Financing • Planning and Zoning Examples of acceptable courses include: • CCIM courses •

Experience in: SALES/LEASING: Has within the last two years completed a minimum of three (3) commercial transactions or a volume of two million dollars ($2,000,000).

OR

Experience in PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: Must have five million dollars ($5,000,000) of real estate under management.

OR

Experience in APPRAISAL: Must have a minimum of six (6) appraisals of industrial, commercial and/or income producing properties within immediate past year, exceeding the value of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) each and having a minimum aggregate value of two million dollars ($2,000,000). OR A combination of the above

Cameron has been involved in over 75 million in Commercial Rela Estate Trensactions. Cameron also manages a large Commerical real estate portfolio, and has represented such larger clients as the City of Windsor, Ontario Realty Corp, Her Majesty the Queen, County of Essex, Enwin Utilities, Greater Essex County Public School Board, Greater Essex County Catholic School Board, Town of Lakeshore, RIO CAN, TD Bank, Royal Bank, Smart REIT, Canadian REIT, Amico and may others.

The City of Windsor’s residential and commercial mill rates have been the highest in Essex County, and one of the highest in Canada for several years. With high mill rates, I always recommend  paying  close attention to your assessment.   Checking the value of your property is something that should be done every few years to ensure you are not over paying in taxes.

Contrary to what many believe, a increase in your property assessment from MPAC, does not necessarily mean your property has increased in value.  While MPAC tries to ensure all assessments are fair, it is possible for a property to become over-assessed.

A high assessment not only means a property owner is paying to much in taxes each year, it can also mean a property will be harder to sell, as Buyers add the current taxes to their expenses when deciding to purchase a home.

MPAC reassesses all properties every few years, with the last base assessment year being 2012.  Each year a property owner is given the current years assessment from MPAC and given a deadline to accept or question the assessment. I you do not agree with your current assessment you can have someone file a request for reconsideration for you, or you can file a request for reconsideration yourself.

The deadline to submit a Request for Reconsideration for the 2014 tax year is March 31, 2014.

Appealing taxes can be a stressful process. Having a third party handle a notice of reconsideration, offers an arms length discussion with MPAC and eliminates much of the stress.  I have filed many notice of re-considerations for both residential and commercial  clients, and in most cases have been successful in reducing a properties assessment and a reduction in property taxes.

I have seen assessments reduced by as much as 30%  ($400,000) on commercial property, which resulted in a tax savings of over $19,000 per year.   Filing a notice of reconsideration should only be done when it is seems clear that the value is over assessed, as there is always a risk the assessment could go up if a property is under assessed.

If you feel your assessment is too high and would like assistance, please feel free to contact me.  A Third Party Authorization  is required when you want someone else to handle your notice of reconsideration for you.

If notice of reconsideration is unsuccessful, a property owner still has the right to appeal their taxes.

From Forbes:
Inspirational quotes and motivational quotes have the power to get us through a bad week, and can even give us the courage to pursue our life’s dreams. In my book, 4 Keys to Happiness and Fulfillment at Work, I share surprising research into the true triggers of workplace motivation. So in the spirit of self motivation, here are 100 inspirational quotes.

1 Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. –Napoleon Hill
2 Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. –Albert Einstein
3 Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. –Robert Frost
4 I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse. –Florence Nightingale
5 You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. –Wayne Gretzky
6 I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. –Michael Jordan
7 The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. –Emelia Earhart
8 Every strike brings me closer to the next home run. –Babe Ruth
9 Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement. –W. Clement Stone
10 The past is a ghost, the future a dream. All we ever have is now. –Bill Cosby
11 Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. –John Lennon
12 We become what we think about. –Earl Nightingale
13 Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover. –Mark Twain
14 Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. –Charles Swindoll
15 The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any. –Alice Walker
16 The mind is everything. What you think you become. –Buddha
17 The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. –Chinese Proverb
18 An unexamined life is not worth living. –Socrates
19 Eighty percent of success is showing up. –Woody Allen
20 Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. –Steve Jobs
21 Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is. –Vince Lombardi
22 I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions. –Stephen Covey
23 Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. –Pablo Picasso
24 You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. –Christopher Columbus
25 I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. –Maya Angelou
26 Either you run the day, or the day runs you. –Jim Rohn
27 Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right. –Henry Ford
28 The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why. –Mark Twain
29 Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. –Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
30 The best revenge is massive success. –Frank Sinatra
31 People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing. That’s why we recommend it daily. –Zig Ziglar
32 Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage. –Anais Nin
33 If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint,” then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced. –Vincent Van Gogh
34 There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing. –Aristotle
35 Ask and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. –Jesus
36 The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. –Ralph Waldo Emerson
37 Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. –Henry David Thoreau
38 When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, I used everything you gave me. –Erma Bombeck
39 Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him. –Booker T. Washington
40 Certain things catch your eye, but pursue only those that capture the heart. – Ancient Indian Proverb
41 Believe you can and you’re halfway there. –Theodore Roosevelt
42 Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear. –George Addair
43 We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. –Plato
44 Teach thy tongue to say, “I do not know,” and thous shalt progress. –Maimonides
45 Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. –Arthur Ashe
46 When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life. –John Lennon
47 Fall seven times and stand up eight. –Japanese Proverb
48 When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us. –Helen Keller
49 Everything has beauty, but not everyone can see. –Confucius
50 How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. –Anne Frank
51 When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. –Lao Tzu
52 Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. –Maya Angelou
53 Happiness is not something readymade. It comes from your own actions. –Dalai Lama
54 If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat! Just get on. –Sheryl Sandberg
55 First, have a definite, clear practical ideal; a goal, an objective. Second, have the necessary means to achieve your ends; wisdom, money, materials, and methods. Third, adjust all your means to that end. –Aristotle
56 If the wind will not serve, take to the oars. –Latin Proverb
57 You can’t fall if you don’t climb. But there’s no joy in living your whole life on the ground. –Unknown
58 We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained. –Marie Curie
59 Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears. –Les Brown
60 Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. –Joshua J. Marine
61 If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else. –Booker T. Washington
62 I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do. –Leonardo da Vinci
63 Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless. –Jamie Paolinetti
64 You take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing, no one to blame. –Erica Jong
65 What’s money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do. –Bob Dylan
66 I didn’t fail the test. I just found 100 ways to do it wrong. –Benjamin Franklin
67 In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure. –Bill Cosby
68 A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. – Albert Einstein
69 The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it. –Chinese Proverb
70 There are no traffic jams along the extra mile. –Roger Staubach
71 It is never too late to be what you might have been. –George Eliot
72 You become what you believe. –Oprah Winfrey
73 I would rather die of passion than of boredom. –Vincent van Gogh
74 A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty. –Unknown
75 It is not what you do for your children, but what you have taught them to do for themselves, that will make them successful human beings. –Ann Landers
76 If you want your children to turn out well, spend twice as much time with them, and half as much money. –Abigail Van Buren
77 Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs. –Farrah Gray
78 The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself–the invisible battles inside all of us–that’s where it’s at. –Jesse Owens
79 Education costs money. But then so does ignorance. –Sir Claus Moser
80 I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear. –Rosa Parks
81 It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. –Confucius
82 If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more. If you look at what you don’t have in life, you’ll never have enough. –Oprah Winfrey
83 Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck. –Dalai Lama
84 You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. –Maya Angelou
85 Dream big and dare to fail. –Norman Vaughan
86 Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. –Martin Luther King Jr.
87 Do what you can, where you are, with what you have. –Teddy Roosevelt
88 If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten. –Tony Robbins
89 Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning. –Gloria Steinem
90 It’s your place in the world; it’s your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live. –Mae Jemison
91 You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try. –Beverly Sills
92 Remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent. –Eleanor Roosevelt
93 Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be. –Grandma Moses
94 The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me. –Ayn Rand
95 When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. –Henry Ford
96 It’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years. –Abraham Lincoln
97 Change your thoughts and you change your world. –Norman Vincent Peale
98 Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. –Benjamin Franklin
99 Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, “I’m possible!” –Audrey Hepburn
100 The only way to do great work is to love what you do. –Steve Jobs
101 If you can dream it, you can achieve it. –Zig Ziglar

I recently attended a presentation on Ontario’s Certified Site Program at the Windsor Essex Development Commission.  The Presentation was made by Ms. Carrie Manchuk, Project Manager for Investment Ready: Certified Site Program a Ontario Government Project.

Ms. Manchuck presented a new Ontario Government program designed to promote investment in Ontario.  Site Certification has become common place in North America and is designed to reduce uncertainties for investors and speed up the site selection process.

The Government is providing funding to assist qualifying industrial zoned sites in becoming Certified.  Owners must apply to see if they qualify to become Site Certified, and there is deadlines for application.  The Ontario Site Certified Program only applies to industrial sites that are 10 Acres or more.  This eliminates the majority of available sites in Windsor and Essex County.  However the structure and requirements of becoming site certified are examples all property owners and developers should take note of.

With the intent of luring Companies from around the world to Ontario. The Ontario Government has produced a database of approximately  1600 site prospectors / investment brokers from around the world.  The Ontario Government  intends to market the Site Certified Sites to these site prospectors.  By having sites pre-qualified or certified, it is hoped investors and companies will not overlook Ontario as a place to invest.  As investors look at many sites and locations, it is very helpful if a site prospector / broker has as much preliminary information as possible when including or excluding  a site as a potential place to invest. The idea is to get all the information in one place that can be accessed in just a couple of minutes.

The Ontario Government is offering financial assistance to qualifying sites that wish to become site certified.

As a commercial realtor, I prepare much of this information for a listing, and can assist clients in applying for Site Certification.  Buckingham Realty is now producing custom websites which will feature much of this information, at a quick glance ie. www.4000rhodes.com

The Windsor Essex Development Commission can also assist in providing available skilled employment, demographics and other area specific reports.

Some of the Basic information needed to apply include:

Minimum 10 Acre Site

Aerial Photo

Site Location / Context Map

Title Search

Existing Property Survey/Registered Site Plan

Tax Assessment Map

Current Zoning

Environmental Report including weather property is in a flood zone, or has potential to be contaminated

Availability of Services Water, Gas, Electricity, Communication (including capacities)

Access to Transportation: Road, Highway, Rail, Air, Water

Proximity to Border

Potential Development Constraints including any Heritage designations

Other Additional Information that may be required includes:

Title Opinion or Insurance

Planning Report

Phase 1 Environmental

Phase 2 Environmental

Archaeological Assessment

Natural Heritage Assessment / Environmental Investigation

Species at risk Assessment

Functional Servicing Report

Technical Heritage Studies

Appraisal

For More Information Visit:

https://www.ontario.ca/business-and-economy/investment-ready-certified-site

Benefits

You can receive up to 50% of your eligible expenses back per site. The maximum reimbursement is $25,000 per site.

Investment ready sites also benefit from:

• an international marketing campaign aimed at the site selection community
• a profile on www.InvestinOntario.com
• promotion at key global real estate, site selection and investment attraction events

Overview of Program PDF

Pre-Screening Application

Instruction Page

Application to Certify

The number of residential sales in Windsor and Essex County remains fairly flat year to date as of July 31, 2013, with an increase of only 1%, compared to YTD July  31, 2013.  The average price increased 4% to $181,210  from $174,144 during the same period.  Active Listings as of July 31, 2013 was 2,738 compared to 2808 in 2012, this is a decrease of 2.6%.  The market remains fairly balanced with a listing sales ratio of 54% year to date 2013 compared to 53% in 2012.

We are anticipating prices to continue to rise this year, as inventory levels remain low and demand remains steady.  Many Windsor home owners have struggled with low home values.   As property values continue to improve each year,  we anticipate more home owners in future years will be looking to buy and sell, as they will have more equity available to them.

CONDO MARKET

The number of condo sales in Windsor and Essex County has increased 4.3% year to date as of July 31, 2013.  The average price year to date increased substantially to $137,498 as of July 31, 2013  from $128,794 in 2012, representing an increase of 6.8%.

Active  Condo Listings as of July 31, 2013 was 225 compared to 259 in 2012, this is a decrease of 13.1%.   . The Listing Sales Ratio increased to 54% year to date  as of July 31, 2013 compared to 50% in 2012.

The substantial drop in condo inventory is putting upward pressure on condo prices.  With rising prices and steady demand, we expect the construction on new condominiums will begin to resume within the next 1 – 2 years after coming to a halt in 2009.

Other News:  The City of Detroits declaration of Bankruptcy.  Detroit tax base has fallen dramatically, as the city struggles with a declining population, declining property values, and hi vacancy. However Michigan as whole is now in recovery with prices recovering rapidly from their substantial drop in 2009.

Windsor is still struggling with unemployment, Windsor’s jobless rate moved up to third in Canada in June despite the fact it fell marginally from 9.5 per cent in May to 9.4 per cent last month.

The CMHC housing outlook report shows housing starts continue to be low in 2013.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/gncy/bdgt/2009/fqhbtc-eng.html

1. What is the home buyers’ tax credit (HBTC)?

For 2009 and subsequent years, the HBTC is a new non-refundable tax credit, based on an amount of $5,000, for certain home buyers that acquire a qualifying home after January 27, 2009 (i.e., generally means that the closing is after this date).

2. How is the new HBTC calculated?

The HBTC is calculated by multiplying the lowest personal income tax rate for the year (15% in 2009) by $5,000. For 2009, the credit will be $750.

3. Am I eligible for the HBTC?

You will qualify for the HBTC if:

• you or your spouse or common-law partner acquired a qualifying home; and
• you did not live in another home owned by you or your spouse or common-law partner in the year of acquisition or in any of the four preceding years.

If you are a person with a disability or are buying a house for a related person with a disability, you do not have to be a first-time home buyer. However, the home must be acquired to enable the person with the disability to live in a more accessible dwelling or in an environment better suited to the personal needs and care of that person.

4. What is a qualifying home?

A qualifying home is a housing unit located in Canada acquired after January 27, 2009. This includes existing homes and those being constructed. Single-family homes, semi‑detached homes, townhouses, mobile homes, condominium units, and apartments in duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, or apartment buildings all qualify. A share in a co‑operative housing corporation that entitles you to possess, and gives you an equity interest in, a housing unit located in Canada also qualifies. However, a share that only provides you with a right to tenancy in the housing unit does not qualify.

Also, you must intend to occupy the home or you must intend that the related person with a disability occupy the home as a principal place of residence no later than one year after it is acquired.

5. Who is considered a person with a disability for purposes of the HBTC?

For the purposes of the HBTC, a person with a disability is an individual who is eligible to claim a disability amount for the year in which the home is acquired, or would be eligible to claim a disability amount, if we ignore that costs for attendant care or care in a nursing home were claimed for the Medical Expense Tax Credit.

6. If I buy a house, can my spouse or common-law partner claim the HBTC?

Either one of you can claim the credit or you can share the credit. However, the total of your combined claims cannot exceed $750.

7. My friend and I intend to jointly purchase a home, and we both meet the conditions for the HBTC. Can we both claim the credit?

Either one of you can claim the credit or you can share the credit. However, the total of your combined claims cannot exceed $750.

8. Do I have to register the acquisition of the home under the applicable land registration system?

Yes. Your interest in the home must be registered in accordance with the land registration system applicable to where it is located.

9. How will I claim the HBTC?

Beginning with the 2009 personal income tax return, line 369 is incorporated into the Schedule 1, Federal Tax to allow you to claim the credit in the year in which you acquired the qualifying home.

10. Do I have to submit any supporting documents with my income tax return?

No. However, you must ensure that this information is available, should it be requested by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

11. Is the HBTC connected to the existing Home Buyers’ Plan?

No. Although some of the eligibility conditions for the HBTC and the Home Buyers’ Plan are similar, the two are not connected. Your eligibility for the HBTC will not change whether or not you also participate in the Home Buyers’ Plan.

12. Where can I get more information about the new HBTC?

The CRA encourages taxpayers to check its Web site often—all new forms, policies, and guidelines are posted there as soon as they become available.

13. In which taxation year can I claim the HBTC?

You can claim the HBTC in the taxation year in which the qualifying home is acquired.

14. If I purchase a condominium as my qualifying home in which occupancy takes place in one taxation year but the legal transfer of ownership only takes place in the subsequent taxation year, in which taxation year can I claim the HBTC?

You can claim the HBTC in the subsequent year in which your interest in the condominium (or a right in Quebec) will be registered in accordance with the land registration system or other similar system applicable where it is located.

The number of residential sales in Windsor and Essex County decreased 15.08% in March 2013, compared to March 2012. Despite the decrease in sales, the average price increased to $179,271 from $173,002 in March 2012. The number of new listings that came on the market decreased 8.57% in March 2013, compared to March 2012. The March 2013 sales to listings ratio (listings sold expressed as a percent of listings received) was 50% which is down from 54% in  March 2012 this is reflective of the drop in sales that occurred in March 2013.  Despite a significant drop  in sales for the month, prices continued to increase, which we feel is do to the low levels of inventory.   Properly priced homes continue to see more instances of multiple offers. Average days on the market has fallen to 65 days in February  2013 to 73 days in February 2013.  We are anticipating prices to continue to rise this year.

CONDO MARKET

The number of condo sales in Windsor and Essex in March 2013 was 23. This compares to 33 condo sales in the same period of 2012.  The average condo selling price was $123,994 in March 2013 a decrease of 2.97% from 2012. As of March 31, 2013 there were 55 new condo listings received compared to 73 new condo listings in March 2012. The sales to list ratio (Listings sold expressed as a percent of Listings received) for March  2013 period was 42% compared to 45% in March 2012.

The inventory of active condo listings as of  March 31, 2013 was 224 units. This compares to 250 units in 2012 and is a decrease of  10.4%.  While sales did drop in March 2013, we expect that demand will remain steady in Condos, and prices will rise do to the low levels of inventory.

Local News:  The biggest recent news by far is the Presidential signing of the building permit for the new Detroit –Windsor International bridge.

While Windsor is still struggling with unemployment, the current strong auto sector as well as massive infrastructure projects are helping employment stability, unemployment dropped to 9.2% in February 2013.

Over the past 12 months, StatsCan reports that Windsor’s population has increased by 1,300, employment is up by 2,300. This is an excellent sign that the market is improving.