When looking for financing, rates are not the only thing you want to look at. If you talk to a mortgage broker in Ajax, they can give you all the information to make the right choice. People are always interested in just getting the lowest rates but forgetting about important points such as flexibility and pre-payment abilities. A mortgage broker in Ajax can give you professional advice and help you avoid any problems in the future. Some lenders have penalties when paying off your home loan faster or charge you fees if you want to switch to another lender. So it's good to talk to a broker so they can help you decide which lender is best for you and your home loan.

Mortgage brokers in Ajax have access to a wide variety of lenders, usually about 50. Our company has access to well over 100 lenders. We have over 25 years of experience and we have access to a lot of private lenders which other brokers don't have, this increases your chances of getting financing where other lenders may turn you down. Any good mortgage broker should have a large variety of lenders so you can get a competitive rate with the best options. You should feel comfortable with your broker, we take the time to get to know you and find out your needs and wants. We will treat you like one of our own family and get you the best mortgage loan possible. We will assist you from start until finish, and if you have any questions throughout the term of the mortgage we are always there to help you out. We are with you as long as you need us. 

 

 

 

Ajax Information

 

 Ajax is commonly considered part of the Greater Toronto Area, in the eastern part of the Golden Horseshoe region.

As is true for most suburban areas in the Greater Toronto Area, Ajax has grown considerably since the 1980s. What was once a small town mostly surrounded by agricultural areas has increasingly become a bedroom community to Toronto and its environs. Many residents commute to work in Toronto or other municipalities in Durham Region.

The following is a summary of major changes in the past several decades:

• Recent rapid low density population growth. Only one greenfield area of the Town remains, located in the north western corner of the town. As the town becomes increasingly built-out, the town is attempting to increase intensity of development, particularly in the downtown area near Harwood Avenue north of Bayly. However, development in Ajax still principally consists of single-family detached houses on separate lots, and so the fundamental nature of the town seems fixed for the near future.
• The town's very auto dependent urban form, as well as that of its neighbour municipalities, has resulted in steady increases in traffic congestion with few realistic alternatives to automobile travel. There are long-term plans to widen regional roads and Highway 401, extend Highway 407, but this essentially represents status quo development. Increases in Durham Region Transit service, ongoing efforts to improve cycling and walking conditions, and the above noted intensification initiatives may alleviate this to some degree.
• Increasing multiculturalism, with many young ethnic professionals moving into the newer northern parts of Ajax.
• Increased crime, including personal property crimes and home invasions.

Local government

Ajax is governed by an elected town Council consisting of a Mayor, and local Councillors representing each of the town's four wards. In addition, two Regional Councillors each represent a pair of wards. The Mayor and the Regional councillors sit on both Ajax Town Council and Durham Region Council.

The current council was elected in November 2006. The members of the council are:

Mayor: Steve Parish

Members of Council:

• Scott Crawford - Regional Councillor (Wards 1 and 2)
• Colleen Jordan - Regional Councillor (Wards 3 and 4)
• Shaun Collier - Councillor, Ward 1
• Renrick Ashby - Councillor, Ward 2 (elected in March 2008 by-election)
• Joanne Dies - Councillor, Ward 3
• Pat Brown - Councillor, Ward 4

In the past, Council has sat for a three year term, but the Ontario Legislature has recently introduced legislation increasing the length of municipal council terms in Ontario to four years. The next municipal election will therefore be in November 2010. A by-election was held on March 1, 2008 to fill the Ward 2 council seat left vacant after councillor Joe Dickson was elected to the Legislature for Ajax-Pickering in the October 2007 provincial election.

[edit] Demographics

According to the 2006 Canadian Census, Ajax has a population of 90,167. Of those people, 36% are a visible minority. The largest visible minority groups are Blacks (13%), South Asians (11%), Filipinos (3%), and Chinese (2%).

Economy

In 1945 with the closing of D.I.L., there was no industry within the Town; but in 1949 Dowty Aerospace started operations in Ajax. By 1969 major employers included Volkswagen Canada, DuPont, Paintplas, Ajax Textile, AEG Bayly Engineering and many others.

Shopping was virtually non-existent in the mid 1940s, but by 1970 major shopping centres such as Ajax Plaza, Harwood Place Mall and Clover Ridge Plaza were constructed. The 1980s saw an expansion of retail shopping malls to include Discovery Bay Plaza, Transit Square, Baywood Plaza, Westney Heights Plaza and most recently the Durham Centre at Harwood Avenue and Kingston Road.

The 1970s saw the beginning of many physical changes to the face of Ajax. New subdivisions spread over vacant land in central Ajax. The early 1980s brought extensive development to the southern part of Ajax with large, upscale housing units constructed along Lake Driveway.

The recession of the early 1980s did not stop residential development in Ajax. Westney Heights started north of Highway 2 and offered home buyers low interest rate mortgages while interest rates were then at an all-time high of 18% to 20%. Development north of Highway 2 stretched from Church Street in Pickering Village to Harwood Avenue, with the Millers Creek development south of the highway down to the edge of Highway 401.

Health care

The Ajax and Pickering General Hospital first opened in 1954 with 38 adult and children's beds. It was expanded to 50 beds in 1958 and a major expansion to 127 beds took place in 1964. The emergency and outpatient services were expanded in 1975. The large growth of population in the Town has prompted a further expansion. Approval was granted in the fall of 1990 to further expand. In 1999 the Hospital merged with Centenary Health Centre in Scarborough to become part of the Rouge Valley Health System. Construction on a $60 million expansion began in 2007, although that has been marred by the highly controversial closure of the 3 West Mental Health ward in 2008, which was originally to be part of the expansion.

Emergency services

Ajax is policed by the Durham Regional Police from a station in Pickering. Ambulance/emergency medical services are provided by Durham Region. Ajax Fire & Emergency Services provides firefighting services from three fire stations.

Transportation

In 1973, the Town of Ajax conducted a survey of potential transit ridership in Ajax. This led to the creation of Ajax Transit with bus service beginning in 1973 under a contract with Charterways Transportation Limited, which operated service using a fleet of school buses, with heaviest ridership between the Pickering Beach area and downtown Ajax.

In the late 1970s, the Town brought the operations in house and began operations on the Elm, Duffins, and Beach routes, which exist to this day. In the early 1980s, the Harwood, Westney Heights, and Village routes began service. Service on the Puckrin route began in the late 1980s.

In 2001, Ajax Transit and the neighbouring Pickering Transit were amalgamated into the Ajax Pickering Transit Authority (APTA), which operated under the joint ownership and oversight of Ajax and Pickering.

In 2006, APTA was amalgamated into Durham Region Transit along with the other municipal transit services in Durham Region.

Road transportation in Ajax is dominated by Highway 401, which runs east-west through the town dividing it in half. Access to Highway 401 both east and west is available via Westney Road and Salem Road. Only four streets allow transportation from the north end of town to the south end of town by crossing over or under Highway 401. These streets are (from west to east) Church Street, Westney Road, Harwood Avenue and Salem Road. Lakeridge Road crosses the highway, but it is traditionally held to be the border between the towns of Ajax and Whitby. Notable streets that run parallel to the highway are (from north to south) Taunton Road, Rossland Road, Kingston Road (Highway 2) and Bayly Street.

Education

Ajax is served by the Durham District School Board and the Durham Catholic District School Board. There are five high schools and several elementary schools. Two of the high schools are Catholic schools, Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School and Archbishop Denis O'Connor Catholic High School, and the other three are the public secondary schools: Ajax High School, J. Clarke Richardson Collegiate and Pickering High School. Another education option in Ajax is Durham Secondary Academy and Middle School, a small inspected private high school and middle school for grades 5 to 12.

Sports

The town is the home of two minor leagues, the Ajax Spartans Minor Baseball Association and the Ajax Knights Minor Hockey Association.

Ajax is home to four soccer clubs: Ajax Soccer Club, Ajax United, Ajax Azzuri, and the Ajax-Pickering Doves. The Ajax ringette association is popular. Ajax has a football team, the Ajax-Pickering Dolphins.

Ajax Cricket Club is located in the community.