TorontoIAM Daily Blog Report: Realtors Concerned About Land Transfer Tax, Carjacking Reported in Markham

This is a selection of recent popular blog articles from TorontoIAM where you will find the best blogs from Toronto, Ontario as well as video uploads, social networking, rumors, and blog authoring.

Land Transfer Tax to Spark Madness: Realtors

According to a post by Real Estate Intelligence, city council’s move last Monday to ratify a new Land Transfer Tax, has seen Toronto’s real estate market go from bullish to mad scramble. The new tax "kicks in on Feb 1." Adam Huras and Will Tremain of the National Post report that, with the exception of first time buyers, transactions closing after December 31, 2007 will be taxed between 0.5% and 2% depending on the sale price of their home. This means that a house selling for $400,000, in December, will be taxed an extra $3,725 in 2008.

The post reports that this current scenario could put a damper on“Toronto’s bullish real estate market, which has set a series of sales records this year.” Real Estate Intelligence reports that everybody from realtors to buyers and sellers “has grown suddenly more frantic.”

Jordan Grosman of Team Wagman Forest Hill Real Estate Inc. notes that buyers and sellers are doing whatever they can to avoid this tax. “We’re having people buy a place [in December] and not move in, and have [the sellers] still live there rent-free, pay their own bills, but take the money from the sale and buy a place [before December] in order for both parties to avoid the higher land-transfer tax,” he said. “These people are actually going to their own lawyer to write up a clause because I don’t have anything that says anything like that. But it will definitely be in my database after this offer.”

Brian Burke to the Maple Leafs’ rescue?

A post on HockyBuzz.com written by Howard Berger says he wouldn’t bet against it. Berger is careful to point out that there is no word of a vacancy in the front office of the Maple Leafs as yet, despite a general feeling among Leafs fans that their current GM may not survive the season. Equally, in the Ducks’ end, Burke is still contractually tied to the Stanley Cup holders until the end of the 2008-09 season. That being said, however, “Burkie loves the spotlight and there is no brighter light than the one that shines on the Leafs. IT is something to keep an eye on”, a very credible source tells Berger.

Berger points out the obvious fact Leafs haven’t made it to the Stanley Cup finals in forty years, adding that a corporate environment which allows Ferguson little autonomy can’t expect great things - even if Ferguson were capable of it. The post is insistent the structure of the Leafs corporate culture is starting to affect on-ice efforts. Burger even reports that the chairman of the MLSE, Larry Tanenbaum, remains “patient” with the “doddering leafs”. The question remains, however, whether things would be any different with Brian Burke at the helm.

Carjacking in Markham

A recent post from the CHEV Local News blog is reporting that York Regional Police have revealed details surrounding a violent carjacking that occurred over the weekend in the Markham area. “Police are looking for five men after a 61-year-old woman was violently carjacked.” The incident occurred late Saturday evening outside the woman's home in the Brimley Road and Steeles avenue area. The woman was confronted by five men, at least one of them; reportedly was armed.

The post noted that subsequently, “the men demanded her keys and then forced her back into the (Toyota) Corolla at gunpoint.” The post does not discuss, however, how they managed to fit six people into a Toyota Corolla. Luckily, despite being thrown to the ground and forced into a car at gunpoint, the victim was simply left alone in her car as the carjackers fled on foot. “The men left the woman in her car in the Don Mills Road and Sheppard Avenue area and she called police... Police are working with limited descriptions of the suspects.”

TTC to Install 12,000 Cameras

Popular blog the Torontoist has shined a light on new information pertaining to the TTC's 18 million dollar security plan. According to the post, “the commission will install up to 12,000 cameras throughout the system—in key station areas and on streetcars, buses, and subways. The intention is to provide police with evidence if a crime is committed.” In what is described as a seriously high tech operation, the TTC control center will be able to view live images from subway stations and a continuous audio stream of all streetcars and buses. The post insists that “by next June, every one of the TTC's 1.5 million daily riders will be photographed multiple times over their journey.”

Opposition to the plan has already begun to appear. Torontoist reveals that “privacy advocates, such as the Toronto Public Space Committee are opposed to the plan and fear that the recorded images are ineffective and could have a potential for abuse.” However, the post does note that Councilor and TTC Chair Adam Giambrone has reaffirmed that the TTC will only be using the images to help solve crimes or assist during an emergency. “The images captured will not be used for any other purpose, nor do anyone other than the Toronto Police allegedly have access to them.”

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