By Darrell Bellaart, The Daily NewsMay 9, 2012
The cruise ship's profile was something to behold in downtown Nanaimo on Saturday.
We first caught a glimpse of the Norwegian Pearl in the morning, as my wife drove south on Terminal Avenue toward the city centre.
The majestic ship was an impressive sight. She dwarfed older buildings and stood out against the highrises of Nanaimo's skyline, partially obscuring the outline of Protection Island on the horizon.
My wife and I reacted simultaneously: "Look at that!" Neither of us expected the ship to be so big. It looked like a floating city.
When we got downtown we saw all the people.
It made me realize just how much potential these ships can have for igniting a new excitement in our downtown.
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There are several government programs available to 1st Time Home Buyers in order to help them become homeowners. The Home Buyers Plan (HBP) is a program that allows the withdrawal of funds from your RRSP without tax implications in order to use as a down payment on your 1st home. Here are a few things you should know regarding this program.
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Love these rock Pillows for indoor and outdoor use. Nice Modern Lines and great for lounging out on a deck or inside for the kids
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Neither of Nanaimo's two MLAs is ready to immediately raise the threshold on a property sales tax that was only payable on the most posh of homes when introduced 25 years ago, but is now paid on almost every Nanaimo house sale.
Government Liaison Days is a two-day event in which B.C. Real Estate Association members meet MLAs to lobby for legislative changes favourable to the industry.
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There seem to be many questions regarding the BC First-Time New Home Buyers’ Bonus so here are a few more details to help clarify. This is a one-time bonus payment worth up to $10,000 for first-time buyers purchasing a new construction home in BC. The bonus is not claimed when filing an income tax return. Applicants can receive a cheque of up to $10,000 if they qualify. As an example, if a first-time home buyer purchases a home for the price of $200,000 before HST and the individual’s net income is $100,000 a year, the individual would qualify for $10, 000, assuming that all other eligibility criteria is met. The bonus will be issued by the BC Ministry of Finance, and the amount of the bonus is not taxable. The refund will be issued after the application has been processed and approved. The legislation has not yet been developed. Please check the website below regularly for updates. Please see the attached link to the Ministry of Finance website for additional information as well as the application f ...
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Regular maintenance around your home is essential to protecting what for most of us is our largest financial asset. The blooming of the flowers and the buds on the trees signal the time for Spring maintenance and here are a few tips to get you started.
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We are fortunate to live in a moderate climate where Heat Pumps are commonly used as heating and cooling systems in homes and office buildings. When you think about cooling a hot building, you probably don't think of heat pumps. In fact, the words "air conditioner" are likely the first things that come to your head unless you're tight with your pennies. Then you might go with "window fans." As it turns out, a heat pump can both heat and cool, and in some applications, it's preferred to separate heating and cooling systems. Simply put, a heat pump is a device that uses a small amount of energy to move heat from one location to another. Not too difficult, right? Heat pumps are typically used to pull heat out of the air or ground to heat a home or office building, but they can be reversed to cool a building. In a way, if you know how an air conditioner works, then you already know a lot about how a heat pump works. This is because heat pumps and air conditioners operate in a very similar ...
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IKEA and prefab housing?
I believe their is a market for prefab homes and who better to do it then Ikea. Prefab seems to have the perfect recipe for cost, environmental impact and sustainability. And the news seem to overload there website.
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Subject to approval by the legislature, the B.C. government intends to implement a temporary BC First-Time New
Home Buyers’ Bonus. Effective February 21, 2012, to March 31, 2013, the bonus is a one-time refundable personal
income tax credit worth up to $10,000. The corporation's predictions are mostly positive and point toward measured steady growth in the housing market with no huge swings through 2013.
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