Adnan Hashmi at MNA Group Program 2013,2014

Interest Free Investment in Down Town Toronto By Adnan Hashmi Broker of Record Wolf Realty Inc.

Adnan Hashmi Broker of Record Wolf Realty Inc.Brokerage

Canada's Economy is Growing Faster than Expectation!!

Canada's economy is growing faster than expected thanks in part to some bigger housing Markets that continue to Boom!! Adnan Hashmi Real Estate Broker of Record. Wolf Realty inc.,Brokerage

Are basement apartments legal in Brampton?

Basement Apartments

History of basement apartments in Brampton

In 1994, the Government of Ontario proclaimed Bill 120, which permitted second units in houses. The bill permitted the units, despite Brampton’s municipal zoning bylaws, if the units met health and fire safety standards.

On November 16, 1995, the Government of Ontario introduced Bill 20, restoring to municipalities the right to outlaw basement apartments. Bill 20 became effective on May 22, 1996.

Bill 20 prohibited new apartments in houses after May 22, 1996. The bill allowed homeowners to keep apartments in houses that tenants or other residents occupied on or before November 16, 1995 – if they conform to the requirements of the original Bill 20. It also allowed apartments that homeowners built between November 16, 1995 and May 22, 1996 if the City issued a building permit.

Bill 140 and Changes to the Planning Act

In 2010, the Province of Ontario introduced Bill 140: Strong Communities through Affordable Housing Act, 201. Bill 140 amended various sections of the Planning Act requiring municipalities to implement official plan policies and zoning by-law provisions that allow basement apartments (second units) in detached, semi-detached and townhouses, or as accessory units. The changes to the Planning Act came into effect on January 1, 2012; however, the Province has not specified a deadline by which municipalities are required to bring their respective planning documents into conformity with Bill 140. 

The City of Brampton has initiated a policy review to implement policies in the Official Plan and performance standards in the Zoning By-law. For further information, please visit the Second Unit Policy Review  page.  

What is a basement apartment (or “secondary suite”)?

A basement apartment is a self-contained apartment consisting of a room or rooms in a single or semidetached house. A basement apartment may be in any part of the house, not necessarily in the basement. Some people call these apartments granny flats, nanny suites, accessory apartments and second suites. The City’s bylaw refers to them as "residential units."

A self-contained apartment must have a separate means of entry (which may be through another unit), a kitchen (or cooking area) and bathroom facilities. A self-contained apartment may be as small as a single room that contains all of these features.

However, if you rent a room in a house or a flat with a shared entrance, kitchen and bathroom facilities, this bylaw does not apply to you.

Are basement apartments legal in Brampton?

About 3,000 homes in Brampton have legal basement apartments that homeowners built after the Government proclaimed Bill 120. For these units to be legal, the owners had to have built them before November 16, 1995 and the owners had to have registered them with the City of Brampton before January 31, 2006 or they had to have legal non-conforming status.

Any basement apartments that owners have built since November 16, 1995 are illegal in the City of Brampton.

  

A single or semidetached registered home can only have one basement apartment. The City strictly prohibits homes that owners have subdivided into more than two units, unless the City has specifically zoned the property to permit multiple units. The City has zoned very few properties as triplexes.

Basement apartments will continue to require a rezoning application until policies and zoning by-law provisions to permit them are in place.   

How safe are legally registered basement apartments in Brampton?

All legal registered basement apartments in Brampton had to comply with the Building Code and Fire Code when the City approved them. If the owner afterwards modified the home or added more units, the owner would have had to get a building permit and arrange for City staff to inspect the property before construction could begin.

What should I know before buying a home with a basement apartment?

Your real estate agent or lawyer must confirm with the City that a home for sale has a legally registered basement apartment or is legally non-conforming and complies with the Building and Fire Codes.

A code of conduct requires real estate agents to fully and fairly disclose all information about a property for sale. Typically, real estate agents use the caution “Vendor does not warrant retrofit status” when listing homes with doubtful legal status. Consumers should seek further legal advice before offering to buy these homes.

Benefits of a legal basement apartment:

Peace of mind – By having the City authorize a second suite, you will know you did all that you could to make a safe healthy home for you and your tenant.

Reduced liability – You can get adequate insurance coverage.

Improved relationships – A legal and safe second suite is likely to improve relationships with your tenants, your neighbours and with the City.

Risks of an illegal or unsafe basement apartment:

Increased liability – You, as a homeowner, are responsible for meeting established standards for a second suite. If anything, such as a fire, happens, you would be liable, because you failed to meet requirements.

Loss of insurance coverage – Building a rental unit in your home is a major change to your home. If you don’t let your insurance provider know that you have changed how you are using your home, you could, in fact, make your coverage “null and void”. (This means that you would no longer have any insurance coverage.)

Limited damage recovery – An insurance policy does not cover the costs for rebuilding your home to meet current standards. Your insurance company is only required to cover the costs of restoring your home to the state that it was in when you bought your policy, before any damage.

Prosecution -- If you do not meet City codes, you are breaking the law. You run the risk of being charged and can face fines of as much as $50,000 -- or even a year in prison — for each charge.

Financing – Banks and other lenders don’t generally consider income from an unauthorized basement apartment when you try to qualify for a mortgage loan.

Tenants – You are a landlord. You must maintain your basement apartment in good operating order and you must follow all fire safety laws. Tenants may apply to reduce their rent if the unit fails to meet municipal health, safety, maintenance and property standards.

Tenant insurance – Your homeowner’s policy will not cover property that a tenant of an unauthorized apartment owns.

Can I legally convert vacant space in my home into a basement apartment?

No. The City’s zoning bylaw does not permit new basement apartments. If you did not have a basement apartment in your home before November 16, 1995, you cannot add one. A home built after 1995 can never have a legal basement apartment.

You have to ask the City to change the zoning bylaw before it can permit a new basement apartment. Asking the City to change the zoning bylaw requires you to submit a zoning bylaw amendment application and a fee of $7,759 to the City’s Planning, Design and Development Department. The staff of the department will process your application and recommend whether City Council should approve your application to change the zoning bylaw.

The rezoning process includes:

1.City staff holding a public meeting to allow anyone living within 800 meters of your property -- or any other person interested in your application -- to comment.
2.You post a sign on the property, detailing the nature of your application.
3.City Council decides whether to approve or refuse to change the zoning.

You or anyone who attended the public meeting, expressed a view or made a written submission can appeal City Council’s decision on your zoning application to the Ontario Municipal Board. The zoning amendment process can take about six months to a year to complete.

For further information on how to apply for a zoning amendment, contact the Planning, Design and Development Department at 905-874-2090.

Can I still register an older home that had a basement apartment before November 16, 1995?

A home with a basement apartment that a previous owner had not registered with the City of Brampton may still have legal non-conforming status. Contact Enforcement and By-Law Services to determine whether the home has this status.

If City staff investigate the situation and discover enough evidence to prove that the home had a basement apartment before November 16, 1995, the staff can add your unit to the City’s Registration List -- if you have complied with the requirements under the Building Code and Fire Code and you have clearance from the Electrical Safety Authority. Converting and upgrading the apartment to meet standards may cost you more than $15,000. However, you may also qualify for a grants for converting your property through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

If staff do not find enough evidence that the home had a basement apartment before November 16, 1995, the City will require the homeowner to dismantle the unit or face prosecution.

Adnan Hashmi is a realtor. Adnan Hashmi Real Estate Broker

Buy a house today if you can.....But

Buy a house today if you can, but don't sell one if you don't have to, says George W. Johnson, a 97-year-old real-estate agent who has been working the Seattle market since 1936.
 Cities dependent on a single company or industry are more vulnerable to jarring downturns if the economy goes south...

Posted by Adnan Hashmi Real Estate Broker

TREB Continues Fight for Personal Privacy and Contractual Safeguards

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that it will not grant the Toronto Real Estate Board leave to appeal the February 3, 2014 decision by the Federal Court of Appeal in the case “The Commissioner of Competition and Toronto Real Estate Board”.

The issue is once again before the Competition Tribunal.

The Commissioner of Competition is persisting in its efforts to erode the personal privacy and contractual safeguards afforded by the MLS® System. TREB will continue to work to protect the personal information entrusted to it and its members by the general public, while it strives always to do what it can to ensure a highly competitive environment for real estate professionals in the GTA.

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10 Characteristics of a Successful Real Estate Agent - Adnan Hashmi Realtor

10 characteristics of a successful real estate agent. Most home sellers have very little experience with real estate agents. For that reason they may not know a good real estate agent from a less than perfect agent, at least not until it is too late. An excellent real estate agent is like a conductor, guiding a group of resources towards a final goal: the sale of the house. Here are the top the characteristics of the real estate agents who do the best job.

Local knowledge 
It is incredibly important for the person selling a home to have recent sales experience and success at selling homes in the area. Someone new in town or who has never sold a home in a particular part of town is, in many ways, a beginner. Sellers have a right to pick a winner so start things out right by making sure you’re the best man, or woman, for the job.

Organized with attention to detail
A real estate agent that is organized and likes to work with attention to detail is the one that is most likely to sell a home. This is especially true in a hard-to-sell market. Great agents know the tiniest changes sellers can make to improve the sale-ability of their home. They are creative with their MLS listings and they take the best photographs of each home. They return client calls promptly and make every appointment on time.

Connections and representation
The top agents come to a home with a prospective buyers list. They also are working with a well known realty agency. They know other realtors in the area, too, and are willing to work with others if that sells the home faster.

Tenacity
Sellers want an agent that is tenacious. They follow up quickly after every time the home is shown. They appear to work hard and they rarely give up.

The best realtor is not afraid to speak up. He or she should be just as promotional about the seller’s home as if it was their own. By being aggressive, the realtor is working hard to put the home in the forefront of the local market.

Flair and good grooming
Sellers have worked hard to prepare their homes for showing. They want, and need, a realtor that puts their best foot forward. An agent with flair exudes confidence and makes prospective buyers feel at ease. This way, prospective buyers get the impression that his agent would not even list a home that was not an excellent buy.

Knowledge of technology
An agent that can use technology with ease is going to be more up-to-date on the market in the area. They will also be more likely to be an organized person who has their act together. This is the type of person sellers want helping to sell their homes.

Honesty
Sellers need an honest agent, one that will tell them like it is, even if they’re not the easiest to hear. This type of person will lay out exactly what the seller can expect, from sale price to timing and more. In the end, honesty will save sellers lots of worry.

Real Estate Market is HOT like weather

Toronto Real Estate Board President Dianne Usher announced that both the number of home sales through the TorontoMLS system and the average selling price were up strongly in May compared to a year ago.

Total TorontoMLS sales for May 2014 amounted to 11,079 – a new high for the month of May. This result was up by 11.4 per cent compared to 9,946 sales reported in May 2013. The average selling price for these sales was $585,204, representing an 8.3 per cent year-over-year increase compared to the average price of $540,544 in May 2013.

“We are now at the peak of the spring market when we generally see the greatest number of sales and the highest average selling prices. Based on the May statistics, buyers have been more active this spring compared to last year. Despite strong price growth so far in 2014, many households remain comfortable with the monthly mortgage payments associated with the purchase of a home, as borrowing costs have remained at or near record lows over the past few months,” said Ms. Usher.

Average selling prices varied across the Greater Toronto Area, depending on geography and home type. A detached home in the City of Toronto sold, on average, for $943,055. In the surrounding GTA regions, the average detached price was $648,439. The average price for condominium apartments was $401,809 in the City of Toronto and $307,307 in the surrounding regions.

“The listings situation in the GTA did not improve this past May. With listings down and sales up compared to last year, competition between buyers increased. The result was price growth wellabove the rate of inflation, especially for singles, semis and townhomes,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

“It is also important to point out that even though the condo apartment market segment remains comparatively well-supplied, as new project completions have generally led to an uptick in listings, we have seen enough buyer interest to prompt strong condo price growth as well,” continued Mercer.

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