In the wake of new mortgage rules being announced March 18, 2011, many home buyers are struggling to keep up with not only the changes but the HST implementation.  Already British Columbia has seen a decline in construction and purchase of new homes as a result of the HST rules, but there may be a continued decline due to the new mortgage rules.
The new rules are said to help stabilize high ratio mortgages as well as the market by decreasing the amount of household debt in Canada.  While these new …

As of May 1, 2010, the Ontario Harmonized Sales Tax will generally apply to prepayments, but only to the extent that goods and services are provided on or after July 1, 2010.
Ontario HST won’t apply to apply goods and services as of May 1, 2010. It only applies to goods and services that straddle or are used after the July 1st implementation date.
Here are some handy HST transition examples:

If someone purchases landscaping services for May 1, 2010 – September 30, 2010, GST is charged for May and June and HST …

The Ontario Real Estate Asssociation (OREA), lead by their President Pauline Aunger, present their perspectives regarding the Ontario Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs.
Pauline explains how the Ontario HST will affect not only the direct purchase of a home, but also the various services associated with purchasing a home, including appraisals, insurance and professional mortgage services. She points out that a $600,000 home will cost an additional $12,000 in taxes. But the HST doesn’t just affect home buyers, it affects current homeowners as …