Alec Baldwin Stars in Real Estate Video for Hamptons Mansion as He Relists It with Major Price Cut

Hamptons Mansion 

Alec Baldwin has re-listed his elegant Hamptons home for the fourth time — with a personal touch to the marketing.

See the Full article at:

https://people.com/alec-baldwin-relists-usd19m-hamptons-home-with-new-video-8430952

Toronto Real Estate Sales Rise As Prices Roll Back To 2021-Levels

 JANUARY 4, 2024

Greater Toronto real estate attracted some more buyer’s, but not enough to change its trend. TRREB data shows composite home sales made an uptick in December. Despite a small increase in sales, lingering inventory remains higher than usual, pushing prices lower. Having shed a fifth of value since hitting the all-time high, prices are still falling and have rolled back two years of gains. 

Greater Toronto Real Estate Prices Are Still Plunging 

Greater Toronto real estate prices spent another month dropping even further. The TRREB composite benchmark price fell 1.3% (-$14.1k) to $1.067 million in December. In the City, a similar trend saw the cost of a typical home fall 1.1% (-$11.2k) lower to $1.053 million over the same period. Both measures are within spitting distance of prices last year, varying less than a point. 

Greater Toronto Real Estate Prices Are Back To 2021-Levels

The composite benchmark price of a home across Greater Toronto.

https://betterdwelling.com/toronto-real-estate-sales-rise-as-prices-roll-back-to-2021-levels/

Condo builder plans to build rental-only detached houses in Ontario

After being vilified for its plans to buy $1-billion worth of houses in Ontario to rent them out, Core Development Group Ltd. says it now also wants to build new rental houses from scratch, writes Younglai. Two years ago, Core’s founder and chief executive officer, Corey Hawtin, told The Globe and Mail that the company would buy hundreds of detached houses in mid-sized Southern Ontario cities, which was met with a wave of criticism and accusations of taking homes away from Canadians. Hawtin says he now sees a chance to build single-family homes that are purpose-built for rental. The company is under contract on two sites, one in Kingston and one in London, which Hawtin says each have the necessary permits for up to 250 single-family homes.

Confusion on HST and Resale Homes

Even though consumers have been dealing with the HST since July 1, 2010, it appears there is still confusion about its applicability to the purchase price of resale homes.

GTA REALTORS® have been working to help dispel HST misconceptions. Consumers buying a resale home do not pay HST on the purchase price of the home. On the other hand, if you are buying a newly constructed home, HST will apply.

Although the costs of purchasing or renting a commercial property are subject to HST, businesses are allowed to claim tax credits to offset these costs.

HOME PURCHASES

	GST-taxable before July 1, 2010	PST-taxable before July 1,2010	Is there a change to the amount of tax payable under the HST?
New Homes up to $400,000	5%	No PST	No change[6]
New Homes over $400,000	5%	No PST	Yes[6A]
Resale Homes	No GST	No PST	No HST
Real Estate Commissions	5%	No PST	Yes (changes to 13%)

[6] The new housing rebate will be 75 per cent of the Ontario component of the HST, up to a maximum of $24,000. The rebate will ensure that buyers of homes priced up to $400,000 will, on average, pay no more tax than under the PST system. However, applicable PST on building supplies is embedded in the price of the home.


[6A] New homes purchased as primary residences, valued at $400,000 or more will be eligible for the maximum new housing rebate of $24,000.

What's Taxable Under the HST and What's Not?

Interest Free Mortgage - Ijara

IJARA / IJARAH - LEASE TO OWN

The term Ijara lterally means acquisition or rent to own. The process is  known Ijara-Wa-Iqtinah.

It can be applied to equipment as well as property.  The process is very simple; a single Assets Trust is created, the Trust purchases the property, and then leases the property to the customer.  With each monthly payment, a portion of that payment goes towards ownership, until customer owns 100%.

The difference between a Sharia Ijara-Waq-Iqtinah process and a conventional lease is that, the Ijara process obligates the Trust (seller) to owner of the property (you) under a Promise to Purchase,while the same continuation entitles the customer to purchase the property.

HOW THE PURCHASE PRICE OF AN IJARA TRANSACTION IS DETERMINED

The purchase price that is agreed to in the promise to purchase is equal to the original purchase price less the down payment made by the customer, plus the profit.  For example, if the value of the property is $200,000.00 and the customer makes a down payment $40,000.00, then the initial amount the customer has to pay the investor for 100% ownership is $160,000.00.  As the customer ownership increases, this amount reduces, until the final ownership payment of $1.00

HOW THE MONTHLY IJARA PAYMENTS ARE CALCULATED

The intial Ijara amount is financed by the lender and earns profit through monthly payments. Traditional amortization calculations are utilized to determine the exact monthly payments. The mathematical calculations are acceptable as there are no sharia issues with mathematical calculations. The major difference between a traditional mortgage and Ijara transaction is that Ijara transaction is based upon a reverse amortization calculation and the regular mortgage is not.

THE BASIS OF USING A PERCENTAGE

While it may appear contrary to the Sharia, it is in fact acceptable to describe the profit on an Islamic transaction as percentage.  The following example should clear up any confusion regarding the acceptability of quoting the profit as a percentage in Ijara transaction:

1.  Suppose you have $100,000.00 in cash.

2.  You purchase a home and pay cash for the home.

3.  You rent the home to tenant for $500.00 per month.

4.  At the end of year you have collected $500.00 multiplied by 12 months or $6000.00 in rent.

5.  That $6000.00 in rent isthe  return on your $100,000.00 investment.

Is that 6% Rent or Riba?  It is clearly rent, as it based upon a purchase transaction.

Now look at a traditional  mortgage interest transaction.

1.  Sarting with the same $100,000.00 cash.

2.  You gave someone the money.

3.  They proceeded to purchase the same home with those funds.

4.  They pay you the same $500.00 per month, or 6% a year for the use of money.

5.  This is basically rent on money.

In this case is this 6% Riba?  Yes, it is a rent on money. The first example was rent on property. So it  should be clear from the Sharia perspective it is acceptable to describe the profit on an Ijara Islamic transaction as percentage.  Furthermore, it is also a requirement of the Truth in Lending Act.  A Protection Act, that any profit earned on a residential real estate finance transaction should be described as a percentage so that a customer can clearly understand what the overall cost of the finance transaction is.

TENANT OR HOME OWNER

In a Ijara transaction, you are technically a tenant. You sign a lease that obligates you to make rent payments.  Over a period of time however, unlike a typical rental property lease, you are responsible for maintenance of the property, also you have all the rights and obligations of an Homeowner. You can sell the property any time you wish, you can remodel, decorate, landscape, sublet or basically utilize the property for any legal purpose that it is zoned for. The only exception is if you engage any activities that may adversely effect the value of the property you are prohibited.  For all practical purposes your role is the same as an homeowner, once you fulfil your obligations under the lease or promise to purchase, you become the owner of the property.

SHARING OF GAIN OR LOSS

One of the basic Sharia compliance principles is that there should be sharing of either the gain or loss of a finance transaction. The Ijara transaction is structured in such a way that 100% of the gain is  rightfully the customers.

Under the Sharia, the gain or loss is shared by the parties in a transaction according their percentage of ownership. Tha Ijara transactions abide by this principle that at the time of realization of the gain or loss, as there is only one owner of the property, that is the customer, from a procedural prospective, at the time of resale:

1.  Trust will transfer the title of the property to the customer.

2.  The customer will then transfer the title to the new buyer.

3.  The new buyer will then settle the transaction according to the agreement with the customer.

4.  And the customer will settle with the Trust according to the agreement between the customer and the Trust (the Ijara documents).

These procedural steps create a situation where the customer holds the title, albeit a short time, but by doing so entitles the customer to be the beneficiary of the difference between the two agreements.  That is the sale to the new buyer, and the original promise to purchase agreement with the Trust. Therefore the profit goes to the customer, you.

Business Card

Please send your friends and family who are looking to buy or sell my way as well.  I would be happy to assist them.  Thank you!

This is not intended as solicitation if you are in contract with another real estate agent.

The agent did NOTHING at the Closing Table!

by John & Kasey Boles

A few years ago I was reading an article in our local paper.  I don't remember what the exact context of the article was, but I kept a quote from it which I thought was quite interesting...

“I recall the last time I went to a real estate closing, the Realtor was about as useful as the aquarium at the title company,” Darrel Richards wrote at www.idahobusiness.net. “The title company’s closing agent did everything and the Realtor tried to look knowledgeable/interested in what was going on.” Monday, February 26, 2007 by By Lora Volkert

I felt a little defensive when I read this, because sometimes I do feel like that agent who is about as useful as the aquarium.  HOWEVER, If the real estate agent has nothing to do at the closing table but sit and drink coffee and chit chat this is a good thing.

This actually means that the agent did their job (behind the scenes much of the time) to get the transaction to closing smoothly so that nothing surprising happens at closing that needs to be dealt with. There are a lot of players in a Real Estate transaction and in Boise, Idaho the Title Company and Escrow Officer are part of that team. One of the many jobs of the Escrow Officer in the process is to be a neutral third party and to do everything at closing from explaining the loan documents to notarizing signatures. 

The Real Estate agent in all actuality really doesn't even need to be there, as they don't have anything directly to do with the loan & closing papers. But, a good real estate agent will be there and is available if any questions from the contract or house come up. But again, if nothing comes up in closing and the agent doesn't have to do anything but sit there and "look knowledgeable/interested in what is going on," then that means there aren't problems to contend with. And that is a good thing, because the few days surrounding closing are often when the biggest and most detrimental problems in a transaction tend to rise to the surface.