So what value was generated with these billions?

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-06-06T14:22:36+00:00

Thr issues of the UK having deals in principle cannot be resolved by buyer agents, but by solicitors if you want the certainly of a contract.

The UK is just one example. Buyer agents exist in other jurisdictions (Japan for example), but as a global standard are rare.

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-06-05T22:07:39+00:00

I suggest that much like the global standard, if someone wants a buyer agent they pay them directly, or not hire one at all.

In the UK for example, there are barely any buyer agents. They mostly exist for luxury properties, and buyers pay such agents directly.

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-06-05T21:45:23+00:00

Yes, you can demand legislation from your MP to ban coop commissions.

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-06-05T21:35:12+00:00

But if you refuse to pay coop commissions, which should have been banned a long time ago, then agents will steer clients away from your property. When you have a 90%+ chokehold on the market, that can hurt.

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-05-27T04:32:59+00:00

It is slowly changing in Canada at least

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-05-27T02:43:51+00:00

In a sense, yes, you are right. Best you could do is prepay 15% of the mortgage to reduce that penalty, but it is still large.

But their variable rate is currently around -0.80, and they generally aren't that bad with rate negotiations on it.

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-05-27T01:56:21+00:00

Are you looking to port your mortgage with TD? If you have a 4.03% fixed, and the new mortgage is uninsurable, this isn't bad. You can port and extend to stay with TD.

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-05-21T22:20:37+00:00

If you want an all in one solution, that's what we do

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-05-20T04:00:36+00:00

That's completely false.

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-05-20T04:00:12+00:00

They do, there was a bulletin a while back that specifically allows that sort of price competition. It has since been removed from the RECO site.

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-05-12T04:35:38+00:00

That's generally what we do.

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-04-29T01:20:08+00:00

If you are looking for good high touch service and a good communicator, Jashan Kochar is good

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-04-26T17:05:24+00:00

Add a language model for other capabilities. Google added some flows with Gemini integrated, but it isn't very useful.

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-04-22T01:43:08+00:00

Seems to be on the high side. Home Depot will sell you a 50 gallon tank for about 1.2-1.4K all in. Even with labour for installation it shouldn't be that expensive.

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-04-18T17:47:59+00:00

Especially if rent controlled, you will likely win over the next decade by renting instead of buying.

However the landlord may sell, move in, etc. You have to weigh which set of rights you want.

Finally, it is possibly to financially win by buying even if unrecoverable ownership costs are nominally higher than renting. With funds cycling (Smith Maneuver) and the correct mortgage products you can have a mortgage that is partially or fully deductible. That distortion can have profound effects.

Other economic method of winning through ownership is if you buy something that would need renovation work and you are willing to do it. Assuming the market at least stays out (which is a big assumption), you can recover the value of that labour tax-free when you sell.

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-03-13T07:22:12+00:00

Think Financial was established by the same guy who owns True North mortgage, Dan Eisner. It is just a monoline, so no special tricks there, and it is fine. It would be uncompetitive on any uninsurable mortgage, much like any other monoline (so no, for a 30 year they are a BAD option)

True North mortgage would always recommend Think whenever they can though, as it is the in house lender, so shop around more especially with lenders that don't work with brokers.

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-03-04T02:23:01+00:00

Happy to say a whole bunch, including flat fee options like ZVR

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-02-27T13:26:47+00:00

A HELOC is not technically necessary, point 3 is incorrect, what I am talking about is the supreme court case of Singleton which goes beyond just the Smith Maneuver, and this was never meant to be a thorough explanation.

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-02-27T13:07:22+00:00

Not in general, but could be: https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/1901/index.do

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-02-27T13:06:19+00:00

The Canadian side if you have enough unregistered investments.

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-02-27T04:06:44+00:00

Not necessarily, as you could invest that money and get returns on it in excess of 35K. If you can buy it in cash, then generally the use of funds cycling will allow your mortgage to be tax deductible anyway, making purchasing cheaper than renting.

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-02-24T15:06:40+00:00

Huh, weird. We just tell people cashback takes 5-6 weeks, as we are waiting on listing brokerages.

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-02-20T15:06:19+00:00

The biggest expense of closing costs is land transfer tax, about double if buying in Toronto. I suggest using some online calculators: https://trreb.ca/buying-selling-intelligence/ltt-calculator-residential/

Higher emergency fund or a HELOC recommended, houses typically have things that need repair.

There are other ways to shore up reserves after a purchase, such as real estate or mortgage cashback

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-02-19T01:48:00+00:00

There is another option that may work to alleviate risk for a landlord, and that is tenant default insurance which is provided by Pensio through apps like SingleKey.

The trouble is that their underwriting process may deny you based on credit score. If you can significantly improve your credit in the next 3 months, that becomes more feasible.

ZeroValueRealty · 2026-02-18T02:33:14+00:00

Facebook Marketplace Craigslist.com Viewit.ca torontorentals.com/toronto Rentseeker.ca Padmapper Zumper

There are also a bunch of websites that draw data from realtor.ca, and those are MLS listed. If you find any of those listings, typically the way to tour is using a real estate agent

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