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Please visit our Open House at 331 Candle CRES in Saskatoon.
Open House on Sunday, January 28, 2018 1:00PM - 3:00PM First open House new listing!
Great 2 storey home in Lawson Heights with many extra's including a beautiful 16' x 32' in ground pool. Large bright kitchen with lots of windows overlooking gorgous back yard, eating nook and dining room, great home for large family and for entertaining. 3 Bedrooms, plus den, 3 bathrooms, large master walk in closet, large ensuite, large pantry, large office with lan jack for computors, 2 car attached garage with direct entry, central vac, newer furnace and water heater, many pool upgrades such as new pump, newer liner, newer heater and more. Walk out to large deck from 2nd level to sit and relax and overlook pool and yard. Many upgrades over the past few years, such as exterior, roof, doors and more. Family room features a fireplace, computor desk and coiffered ceiling. Underground sprinklers and timer zones for cedars, shrubs, perennials, and trees. Great location on Crescent in Lawson Heights, possession can be quick. See features attachment
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Helping children up the property ladder can harm your retirement

 

 

Should you help your children buy their first house?

It's a question many parents are considering, especially in cities such as Toronto or Vancouver where a teardown can sell for upward of a million dollars.

According to a 2017 national survey conducted by Leger on behalf of the Financial Planning Standards Council, 37 per cent of Canadian parents intend to assist their children with the purchase of their first home.

 

Trevor King, a sales representative with Keller Williams Neighbourhood Realty in the trendy Junction area of Toronto, often encounters boomer parents helping their offspring get a foot on the property ladder.

He works a lot with first-time buyers across the city, frequently with parents tagging along on the house hunt. Since most don't have all the money needed for a downpayment – typically 5 to 20 per cent of the sale price in cash to qualify for a mortgage – they need mom and dad to come up with the shortfall.

 

Sometimes parents dip into their savings or refinance their own home, so they're taking out equity to help the children with a downpayment, Mr. King says. It could also be that parents are withdrawing funds from their retirement plan.

Some parents look at it as an investment, with a plan to sell the house after the first five years of the mortgage term, he says. The parents get their money back when the children sell, and maybe the young people can afford to move up to their next house because then they will be better off financially.

"Parents may or may not expect to recoup their money," says Mr. King. "As an agent, you don't always know the arrangements people have, but you see it happen. Maybe the kids will pay it back over a certain period of time. But that parental urge kicks in and they want to help their kids. It's understandable because otherwise their kids wouldn't be able to get into the market."

The obvious danger is that if the child defaults, both households could take a hit. Mortgage payments are just part of the stress and expense of home ownership at a time when the children are building a career and possibly starting a family.

"A lot of Toronto's houses are old so that could translate into the kids going back to their parents and saying, 'Hey, is there anything more I can have because we need a new furnace,' " says Mr. King. "It's our role as realtors to help people see the big picture so we go over the potential costs. It's not just securing that money for the downpayment, because life happens after you buy the house."

 

Mr. King expects buying a home to get even harder now that the new Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) mortgage rules have come into effect this month. They will include a tougher requirement for buyers to be stress tested to see whether they can handle higher interest rates. Some may not qualify for the mortgage amount they want.

"What we're going to see in real estate is that people are just going to have less money to spend," Mr. King says. "So that will place more pressure on parents to help out."

The biggest question financial advisors would ask the parents in this situation is this: Can you afford it? Making a decision to help your children buy a house now could impact your own standard of living down the road.

Ian Black, a fee-only financial planner and portfolio manager at Macdonald, Shymko & Co. Ltd. in Vancouver, is seeing a lot of parents helping their children get a footing in the overheated Vancouver market.

But he warns that giving $50,000 or $100,000 to your children for a downpayment could push parents onto the negative side later if the markets turn and your net worth falls.

"It's most common for parents to give to the kids when they're trading down themselves to a condo or retirement home and have cash because they've just sold their house for $3-million," Mr. Black says.

 

"First, you need to do some analysis to see if you can really afford to give some away. You still want to have a cushion in case you need a higher level of care later and may have to move into a more expensive medical facility."

He also says it's pretty rare that a downpayment loan from parents ever gets paid back. He suggests that clients structure it as a loan, but that's more as a protection in case of divorce.

"If you register a mortgage on the property, and your son or daughter gets divorced and the house is sold, the money would come back to you because that mortgage has to be repaid at the time of the sale," Mr. Black explains. "It's a bit tricky because the kids likely aren't actually paying that second mortgage back. It's just to protect the parents in case the kids divorce."

While emotions and guilt often come into the decision, he says parents need to help their children put it into perspective and be realistic about how much they can buy. That may mean the children have to move further afield, say to Langley, B.C., southwest of Vancouver, or buy a townhouse instead of a single-family home.

"At some point, it has to be tough love," Mr. Black says. "Set the limits on what you can give and have that discussion, disclosing what you're comfortable with. Or say, we're not going to be able to help you out. We're just not in a position to do that."

Susan Stefura, principal at Bespoke Financial Consulting Inc. in Toronto, says sometimes people come to them specifically because they want to help their children buy a home, but aren't sure how much they can afford to give them without jeopardizing their own retirement.

The biggest danger is giving away too much, which may force you to do things that you don't necessarily want to do, such as selling your own home or the family cottage or having to reduce your lifestyle.

"When you're older – retired or about to retire – it's harder to recover financially," says Ms. Stefura. "The days when you could just go back to work and earn something may be long gone. So before gifting or loaning the kids money, parents should do their own retirement plan to show the long-term implications. Once you've done the number crunching, you can say, here's our limit, this is what we can afford."

She feels strongly that children should participate in coming up with the downpayment so that they have skin in the game. She suggests helping them by giving gradually every year rather than a massive lump sum all at once – and making a condition that for every dollar you put in, they contribute 50 cents too. Another thing she warns parents about is considering how they're going to make the gift.

"You want to be careful how you get that money from where it is now to your child because you could be triggering some unintended tax consequences," Ms. Stefura says.

"I wouldn't use registered money because if you pull out $50,000 from your RRSP, you'll have a big tax bill in the year you withdraw that because any withdrawals from an RRSP or RRIF are taxed as income in the year the withdrawal was made.

"If you use non-registered money, there could still be a tax implication, depending on how that money was invested. If it's just sitting as cash in the bank, that's fine. But if it's invested in equities, the minute you sell that equity, you're potentially triggering a taxable capital gains in the year that you sell that equity. So be careful!"

 

 

https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/helping-children-up-the-property-ladder-can-harm-your-retirement/article37092077/

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Please visit our Open House at 202 1005 9th ST E in Saskatoon.
Open House on Sunday, January 21, 2018 2:00PM - 4:00PM Beautiful bright well maintained 1160 sq.ft. corner unit. This unit is sure to please with 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, spacious living room and patio doors to the deck it also has a generous sized storage and laundry space, heated underground parking with a large storage unit. The building has an elevator with access from your heated garage it also is equipped with a Stairlift for access to the elevator from the front entrance. Some of the extra's in this building are a huge recreation room, security entrance, wash area for vehicles in the garage, 8 visitor parking stalls and it is a self managed 12 unit complex. Pride in the building from owners is evident. This location is ideal with access to amenities, University Hospital, Downtown area, 8th Street and on bus route.
Beautiful bright well maintained 1160 sq.ft. corner unit. This unit is sure to please with 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, spacious living room and patio doors to the deck it also has a generous sized storage and laundry space, heated underground parking with a large storage unit. The building has an elevator with access from your heated garage it also is equipped with a Stairlift for access to the elevator from the front entrance. Some of the extra's in this building are a huge recreation room, security entrance, wash area for vehicles in the garage, 8 visitor parking stalls and it is a self managed 12 unit complex. Pride in the building from owners is evident. This location is ideal with access to amenities, University Hospital, Downtown area, 8th Street and on bus route.
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Please visit our Open House at 402 135 Beaudry CRES in Martensville.
Open House on Sunday, January 21, 2018 1:00PM - 3:00PM Special Price New condo
Developer says SELL IT! great price on this excellent brand new condo in Aspen Parke Estates in the city of Martensville. This beautiful adult orientated condo building has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Bright open plan overlooking park, west facing, 2 storage units at each end of large balcony, rec room, workshop amenities room, elevator, mail delivery and more! One ground level heated parkade spot. Close to parks and recreation in the newly developed Lake Vista in north east Martensville. Buyer can have immediate possession.
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Please visit our Open House at 305 135 Beaudry CRES in Martensville.
Open House on Sunday, January 21, 2018 1:00PM - 3:00PM New Condo no taxes no condo fees i year
Aspen Parke Estates adult only NEW condo in Martensville. This concrete built building is a great place to call home, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, in unit laundry, large balcony with storage, bright and open floor plan, has amenities room, exercise room, workshop, mail delivery, comes with one ground level heated parkade parking spot. Close to parks and recreation and easy access to city centre. Other units also available. BONUS OFFER: NO CONDO FEES and NO TAXES for 1 year from date of possession !
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Please visit our Open House at 405 135 Beaudry CRES in Martensville.
Open House on Sunday, January 21, 2018 1:00PM - 3:00PM New Condo no taxes no condo fees for 1 year
Aspen Parke Estates adult only NEW condo in Martensville. This concrete built building is a great place to call home, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, in unit laundry, large balcony with storage, bright and open floor plan, has amenities room, exercise room, workshop, mail delivery, comes with one ground level heated parkade parking spot. Close to parks and recreation and easy access to city centre. Other units also available. BONUS OFFER: NO CONDO FEES and NO TAXES for 1 year from date of possession !
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Please visit our Open House at 406 135 Beaudry CRES in Martensville.
Open House on Sunday, January 21, 2018 1:00PM - 3:00PM New Condo no taxes no condo fees for 1 year
Aspen Parke Estates adult only NEW condo in Martensville. This concrete built building is a great place to call home, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, in unit laundry, large balcony with storage, bright and open floor plan, has amenities room, exercise room, workshop, mail delivery, comes with one ground level heated parkade parking spot. Close to parks and recreation and easy access to city centre. Other units also available. NO CONDO FEES and NO TAXES for 1 year from date of possession !
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I have listed a new property at 137 663 Beckett CRES in Saskatoon.
Fabulous location two storey townhouse in Aspen Grove on Beckett Crescent, tucked away in a quiet private corner of Arbor Creek with only residence traffic. This great corner unit has 3 bedrooms on the second level with a 4pc bath, the main floor has a large living room, a bright spacious kitchen, 2pc bath and patio doors to a private patio. The basement is partially developed needing only carpet to complete the family room and it has roughed in plumbing for a 4pc bath. Features include: White kitchen cabinets, central air, central vac and appliances. One designated parking stall in front of unit. Quick possession available.
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Please visit our Open House at 1129 Oxford ST in Saskatoon.
Open House on Sunday, January 14, 2018 1:30PM - 3:00PM Nicely renovated North Park one and a half storey 3 bedroom plus den, 2 bathrooms, central air, central vac, all new flooring, new bathrooms, new paint, and ready to move in. 16' x 24' Detached garage. 1/2 block from the River, 15 minutes to U of S, excellent location in much sought after North Park.
Location location in North Park, 1/2 block to the river. 3 bedrooms plus den, family/play room in basement, 2 bathrooms(redone) close to St.Paul's French Immersion school and 2 blocks North Park public school. All the flooring is new on all 3 levels, all interior is newly painted, nicely done back entry, central air, central vac, under ground sprinklers, 16' x 24' detached garage with alley access and room for 3 more vehicles or RV, nicely landscaped yard, close to U of S, bus and amenities. Large main floor windows allows lots of bright sunshine in. Great opportunity to make home North Park. NOTE: New Furnace and Water Heater will be installed Nov 14th Both stove and dryer hook up to either electrical or natural gas.
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Please visit our Open House at 410 227 Pinehouse DR in Saskatoon.
Open House on Saturday, January 13, 2018 1:00PM - 3:00PM Excellent 1244 sq ft top floor condo. Beautiful like new condition and recently painted, 2 bedrooms (large master) plus den, 2 bathrooms, central air conditioning, underground parking with storage, 9' ceilings and open floor plan. Kitchen has maple cabinets with granite counter tops, includes all appliances. Hardwoods and ceramic flooring throughout with in floor heat, all interior walls are insulated. Excellent location close to all amenities including river with walking paths. This is a must see at this great price.
Excellent 1244 sq ft top floor condo. Beautiful like new condition and recently painted, 2 bedrooms (large master) plus den, 2 bathrooms, central air conditioning, underground parking with storage, 9' ceilings and open floor plan. Kitchen has maple cabinets with granite counter tops, includes all appliances. Hardwoods and ceramic flooring throughout with in floor heat, all interior walls are insulated. Excellent location close to all amenities including river with walking paths. This is a must see at this great price.
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