The Paperless Condo Certificate Request! Yes You Can

Obama is not the only one who can say ‘Yes You Can!’ Wait, did he trademark that? Ok well, even so, if you have requested a Condo Status Certificate in the past then you know it is a behemoth of a document! More than 100 pages in many cases. Why? Because it covers absolutely everything you need to know about a condo and the condo corporation that manages it.

Never mind being huge, the Condo Status Certificate has always been seen as a huge pain in the butt. In the past, you would have to write and render payment to the condo corporation, which in itself could take a few days, but you also would have to wait 10 days and then arrange to have the monster Status Certificate picked up.

Well, the alliance between Teranet and DTech has changed all that.

GeoWarehouse customers can simply run a search on a property and if a Condo Status Certificate is available, you can simply render payment online and receive the condo status certificate digitally!

If you would like to learn more about how you can request Condo Status Certificates online from within GeoWarehouse please visit www.geowarehouse.ca or call us today at 1-866-237-5937.   

Teranet Announcement – GeoWarehouse

Teranet is pleased to announced that 34 (out of 35) Ontario Real Estate Boards have agreed to extend their contract with GeoWarehouse for three more years! 

We are grateful for their support, and look forward to investing in new features to ensure that GeoWarehouse remains the most popular due diligence solution for Ontario real estate agents. 

Teranet would also like to acknowledge that we have received an overwhelming number of questions from members of the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) concerning their interest in continued access to GeoWarehouse as an essential service.  In response, Teranet would like to advise all members that we have  presented a standing offer to your association, specifically the TREB executive, to renew GeoWarehouse at the same per-member fee that is presently paid by TREB, on behalf of all members.  This offer remains in effect for their consideration until our current agreement with TREB expires on January 31, 2014. 

Based on the feedback and consent we have received directly from over 5,000 TREB members in the past 2 weeks, we are currently reaching out to various brokerages across the GTA to discuss opportunities for continued access to GeoWarehouse for you and your fellow members.

GeoWarehouse Training at Your Fingertips – GeoWarehouseTV on YouTube

If there is one thing that the GeoWarehouse team at Teranet has maintained, it’s a constant commitment towards training and a positive user experience. Providing access to information and resources to make using GeoWarehouse effortless continues to be a top priority.

As you are aware, this year GeoWarehouse went social. This included the launch of a brand new YouTube channel, GeoWarehouseTV. The channel can be accessed by visiting www.youtube.com/user/geowarehouse or by typing GeoWarehouse into the search field on YouTube. Don’t forget to bookmark it in your favourites.

GeoWarehouseTV was created to put access to training resources and other information at your fingertips.

What’s there now?

o   Demo video – product overview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFBG9PW3GqE

o   How to view an Insurance Claims History Report on a property http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8TMZ7Dw2sg

o   How to access the “Year Built” of a subject property through an MPAC Assessment Report http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5ExV3Jwux4

o   Getting started on GeoWarehouse http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3WTOpoeU3Y

o   Performing a Property Search and finding property information http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozrhYlreg5s

o   The Property Details Report http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVR3xKREm6M

o   Neighbourhood Sales and Demographics Reports http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QawAF5W2oho

o   Enhanced Sales Report http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-bQ3ZsG7js

o   The GeoWarehouse Store http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK2ZVCpF__c

o   How to obtain land titles data through a Parcel Register http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCnO80_bRvM

o   How to request surveys, plans and MPAC assessments in the GeoWarehouse Store http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCnO80_bRvM

o   Google Maps Street View http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdyH9VCGChM and more…

When using GeoWarehouse and any time you have a question or would like a tip about how to do something, quickly access the above video tutorials (which are available both at geowarehouse.ca and on GeoWarehouseTV) to quickly find an answer.

Checking into GeoWarehouseTV regularly is a good idea for both newcomers to the industry and seasoned real estate veterans. GeoWarehouseTV will also be a place where you can learn about new products and promotions. Newcomers can learn about how to use the program, different searches, reports, imagery, other products and their benefits.

Expert Real Estate Sales Professionals stay in the know about new products and updates from the GeoWarehouse team. They can also learn about searches, reports that are available in the GeoWarehouse Store, and new products.

A great example of this is the recent launch of the Insurance Claims History Report:, you now have the ability to access an Insurance Claims History Report on a property on GeoWarehouse (information supplied by HomeVerified) and you can find out more information at GeoWarehouseTV http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8TMZ7Dw2sg.

For more information about GeoWarehouse or GeoWarehouseTV please visit www.geowarehouse.ca or www.youtube.com/user/geowarehouse.

Key Take-Aways of Seminar for REALTORs and Mortgage Industry Professionals

Genworth Canada 2013 Homeownership Education Week Seminar 
Author Credit: Kiki Sauriol-Roode, VP, Strategic Alliances, Genworth Canada

On April 9, 2013, Genworth Canada hosted a half-day seminar for REALTORs and mortgage industry professionals. Craig Alexander, Chief Economist at TD Group, delivered the keynote speech about the current state of Canada’s economy and real estate market. His presentation was followed by a review of Genworth Canada’s annual Homeownership Study.

The results of the survey were discussed in a panel discussion featuring Phil Soper of Royal LePage, Stuart Levings of Genworth Canada, Henrietta Ross of the Canadian Association of Credit Counselling Services, and David McDonald of Environics Research Group. Following this discussion, Paul Belanger of Blakes LLP, and Mark Tamburro of Get A Better Mortgage Inc., deliberated over a number of probing regulatory issues. 

Here are some key take-aways from the seminar:

• Canada has out-performed the U.S. during the economic recovery
• The Canadian economy is expected to deliver moderate economic growth in 2013 and 2014
• A soft-landing is expected in Canadian real estate.  Home sales have fallen in response to the tightening of mortgage insurance rules and slower economic growth, but there has not been a price correction (outside of Vancouver). This reflects the fact that listings have declined in tandem with sales.  The result is balanced market conditions in most Canadian cities
• The effects of the recent tightening of mortgage insurance rules will abate with time. There is no catalyst for a major correction in real estate, as Canada’s labour market will remain healthy and interest rates will remain low
• Consumers have reduced their willingness to take on additional debt. This will constrain household spending, but it is a healthy outcome and spending will likely continue to advance at roughly the pace of income growth
• TD Bank does not expect interest rates to rise until late 2014 to early 2015
• The exception would be if the housing market rebounds and it leads to acceleration in debt growth, in which case the Bank of Canada could be forced to raise interest rates sooner or the government could tighten mortgage lending rules further.  An option that does not get attention, but could be prudent, is a change in the qualifying interest rate
• People are putting more money down, but people are also buying smaller homes – both indications that people are opting for more affordable mortgages
• There is still a need for increased financial literacy among Canadians (27% do not know what their credit rating is)
• The Canadian government was concerned with a rising debt-to-income ratio and changes to mortgage regulations were a quick way to address the issue
• This is likely not the end of changes in the mortgage industry; much depends on how changes made to date continue to affect the industry

To find out more about Homeownership Education Week visit www.genworth.ca.