I know if you saw these imprisoned dogs and cats, you would reach
out to help.

Thousands of dogs rounded up from the streets are caged in these
huge warehouses with little or no chance of ever being adopted.

Little beagles … beautiful shepherds … loving sheep dogs
weeks-old puppies and kittens … all waiting for someone like you to
help.

You helped so many animals in the past … that is why I believe
these desperate dogs and cats in Moscow compounds will touch your heart
as they have touched mine.

If only you could see what we have seen …

… giant shelters around the city, each one holding 500-1,000
dogs … all sitting helplessly in dark, dank plywood boxes, in
cell-like cages … just a tin roof protecting them from the elements.

It is like being in a prison, but these animals have done nothing….

Thanks to you, we are moving ever closer to new treatments – and a cure – which will change the lives of 67,000 Canadians battling blood cancers.

That’s because gifts like your’s help fund grants and fellowships to some of Canada’s most promising scientists … and allow us to bring support and services to families affected by blood cancers.

We’re making real progress against leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma. And with your continued support, we will see the day when blood cancers no longer threaten our fellow Canadians.

Thanks again for your generosity. It truly makes a life-saving difference.

Gratefully,

Bob Rollwagen
President

I would like to thank you very much for your donation to the
Circle of Care Foundation.

Circle of Care is the link between people facing significant health
changes and the supports they need to maximize independence.
Donations to Circle of Care contribute to enhancing a better quality
of life.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, the staff and most importantly
our clients who will directly benefit from your continued support,
thank you.

End. Income Tax Receipt

Working Ventures, sponsored by the Canadian Federation of Labor, is the first national, labor-sponsored investment fund in the world. Its goal is long-term capital appreciation for shareholders, providing risk capital (between $250,000 and $10 million) to high-growth and medium-sized Canadian businesses. All Canadians who invest in Working Fund receive tax credits.

Therefore, in Canada, alternative funding is easier to obtain. From customers and suppliers to corporate lenders and government programs, customer financing has minimal paperwork.

Human Resources Development Canada offers self-employment assistance to employment insurance recipients who want to start their own businesses. There are even Community Loan Associations in each province.

Canadian Alternative Investment Co-operative in Toronto, Ontario, was formed in the early 1980’s by a number of religious communities pooling resources to make investments towards positive social change. CAIC offers loans, mortgages, and equity investments for community-based projects.

BRIDGE LOANS

Bridge loans are loans that are generally very short term, easier to acquire and with quick approval times. Their main advantage is speed and the ability to quickly close, save property from foreclosure or other situations which generally come on short notice and require fast money. Bridge loans are extremely convenient and useful when you absolutely can’t wait for a standard loan. Other names for bridge loans include “interim financing,” “gap financing,” and “swing loans.”

“If you owe the bank $100 that’s your problem. If you owe the bank $100 million, that’s the bank’s problem.”

—Paul Getty

As the terms “interim financing” and “gap financing” imply, bridge loans are also used to fill in the gaps during cash-flow shortages or to finance businesses or business operations in the interim between larger loans. They also come in handy between business startup financing and more permanent financing. Bridge loans are often used on short notice for real estate purposes. The range can stretch from two weeks to three years, and the amount of the loan and interest rates are only really limited by the customer’s credit. However, the amount of the loan generally won’t be as high as long-term loans would be, and interest rates generally run several percentage points higher.

Ilya Bodner
Small Business Owner

http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/ilya-bodner/true-business-credit-card/canadian-alternative-financing

reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC Canadian Funding Corp CEO

NOTICE TO VISITORS
A fire in the Toronto data centre hosting our servers knocked out network connectivity and disabled this site, from 2:25 am to 9:15 am EDT Sunday morning. If your comment was lost, please repost. My apologies. — Garth

GF special? Listed: $799K. Sold: $825K. Lot 25 x 122.

Historians may rue that, in the early 21st Century, as the planet reeled under three times its sustainable population, the climate tipped towards the irreversible, a fossil fuel-driven economy ran out of reserves and a billion faced hunger as foodstocks were diverted to run cars, young couples would sacrifice all for a mortgage.

That is, I guess, if there’ll be historians.

Anyway, here’s an interesting juxtaposition for you between the young who have wants, and no resources, and the mature who have funds, and smarts:

From this week’s Georgia Straight (which used to tell it straight):

For a week after they signed the papers on their Douglas Park townhome, John Morettie and Jessica Wilson felt nauseated with anxiety. Like about 40 percent of first-time home buyers, according to Statistics Canada, the couple waited until their 30s to dive in. On the one hand, they now have enough money flowing in to afford a Vancouver-sized mortgage. On the other, they need more space than a typical box-in-the-sky condo provides, due to a work-at-home situation and the imminent possibility of kids. So thanks to a once-in-a-lifetime low interest rate, they snagged a home.

The facts: John and Jessica lived in an apartment for which they paid $1,800 in rent. When mortgage rates temporarily dipped to 2.75%, they figured they could afford to ‘buy’ – which actually meant they could afford to rent a steaming pile debt.

“But we don’t have a lot of [wiggle] room,” he said. “We can go up to four percent, but then we’re done.” Oh crap.

Actually, it appears the two moist children borrowed $600,000, with monthly payments of $2,221. Plus property taxes, house insurance, mortgage insurance, amortized closing costs and maintenance, they will likely see a monthly carrying cost of at least $3,000, or 65% more than they paid to rent a home. The best part: they’d been offered $850,000 in financing.

But not to wory. The executive director of the Mortgage Brokers Association of B.C. (Tamera Olsen) said, “I don’t think anyone wants to see what happened in 1981. The lenders are aware; they don’t want to see anyone lose their homes.…What I’m hearing is that any increase in rates will be gradual. Very gradual.”

Maybe someone should tell Tamera that lenders do not set mortgage rates. But perhaps that’s a little technical for her. And where did she ‘hear’ what interest rates will do? Ben Bernanke on Twitter?

Meanwhile John and Jessica might want to know payments on the $600,000 mega-loan, amortized over 35 years (meaning virtually no equity is being built up) can double to more than $4,200 if rates return to 8% – which is still a tad below the historic norm for the last two decades. It’s also twice the point at which they’d be financially screwed.

Now, this:

Mr. Turner: I have read your Real Estate book and followed your financial advice for several years.

My question is simple… I am 45 years old with about one million dollars in cash.  I have been waiting for the real estate market to collapse but each time it starts heading south the Government steps in to change the rules…whether it be extending the legal duration of a mortgage, or reducing the amount required for a downpayment, or most recently slashing interest rates and thereby making mortgages cheaper.

So it would seem that now we have just about EVERYONE who has thought of getting into the market in…speculators, 1st time home buys…everyone.  and many of these people are the greater fools because the prices have not retracted much compared with other countries around the world.

My question is this…does our government make their policies to protect the dumbest Canadians out there?  Is there a chance that real estate will ever be allowed to fall?  Will the government resist raising interest rates to keep inflation in check now because it would cause havoc in the real estate market (prices dropping, foreclosures everywhere)?

What would you suggest I do?  I don’t want to rent for the rest of my life. — Dave

Well, Davey the millionaire, you did not get all that money by being naïve. So, you know the answers: Absolutely, the government will do everything in its power to distort the marketplace, tilt the playing field in favour of the John & Jessicas of this world, encourage a rapid plunge into debt and aggressively discourage people like you from saving money.

Since our economy is essentially unsustainable, it can only maintain the semblance of status quo through growth. That growth gives ever-larger tax revenues, allowing the government to augment, and citizens and corporations to maintain debt payments with marginally increased incomes. When growth falls to zero or (as today) into slightly negative numbers, it is called a ‘recession.’ If it drops to 90% of former growth levels, it is called a ‘depression.’

Governments in Canada, the US, Europe and most of the rest of the world are currently doing everything they can to encourage borrowing and spending, in order to create demand and growth. The techniques include dropping interest rates to almost zero, deficit spending, printing new money, massive bailout loans to corporations, tax cuts to individuals, grants to new homebuyers and the propping up of unstable and failing companies and sectors in order to maintain jobs which will not last.

But, Dave, you know this. You have no debts, and a million dollars. You are a deity.

Wait.

http://www.greaterfool.ca/2009/07/04/juxta/

reviewed by Moishe Alexander,  CFC Canadian Funding Corp CEO ]]> http://canadian-funding-corporation-design.com/2009/07/09/juxta/feed/ 0 http://canadian-funding-corporation-design.com/2009/07/08/june-home-sales-soar-27-per-cent/ http://canadian-funding-corporation-design.com/2009/07/08/june-home-sales-soar-27-per-cent/#comments Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:34:45 +0000 admin http://canadian-funding-corporation-design.com/?p=295 Multiple offers. Frenzied buyers. Higher prices.

In the middle of a recession, Toronto real estate has gone from a buyer’s market to what looks like a seller’s market. But can it last?

Some analysts say the spring fling will be exactly that – a quick bump up in numbers with a much more sombre fall to come.

“You had pent-up demand from the winter where nobody bought anything, and then these really low interest rates that brought everyone back into the market,” said Shaun Hildebrand, senior market analyst for Canada Housing and Mortgage Corp.

The Toronto Real Estate Board reported that 10,955 existing homes were sold in June – up 27 per cent from June of last year. The average home price was $403,972, up 2 per cent from 12 months earlier.

Analysts such as Hildebrand say the rebound appears remarkable, but don’t expect it to last. At least not until job numbers pick up substantially.

“I don’t think the housing market is on a solid enough footing to register the kind of growth we’ve been seeing going forward,” said Hildebrand. While the market is much more resilient than many analysts previously thought, it still isn’t firing on all cylinders and won’t be for some time, he cautioned.

“Shifting mortgage rates and a great unfreezing of confidence have resulted in a very strong wave of home buying in the GTA,” housing analyst Will Dunning said in a report. “But what really matters over longer periods is job creation, and the signals from the market are discouraging.”

The jobless rate in Ontario is forecast to climb sharply to 9.3 per cent this year, according to the Royal Bank of Canada. Last year it was 6.5 per cent.

Much of the weakness in jobs growth is focused on the manufacturing sector, and Ontario is particularly vulnerable, Dunning said.

“I expect the short-term impacts of changing rates and postponed buying will soon pass and the GTA housing market will be weaker in the second half of the year,” he said.

One reason for the uptick in real estate is that remedies to fight the recession, such as low interest rates, have helped turn around the market.

Another reason is that active listings are down by 30 per cent from last year, meaning there are fewer properties to choose from. That causes prices to rise.

“The main reason to list is so you can buy something else,” Dunning said.

“Listings remain weak, which is another reason I think that this wave of buying won’t last much longer.”

Nevertheless, real estate agents such as Royal LePage’s Helena O’Connor did not expect to see multiple offers – where competing buyers bid up the price of a home – in the middle of a recession.

“It was a little surprising,” O’Connor said. “Buyers are really responding to the low mortgage rates.”

Sutton Group realtor Alicia Pang, who quit a comfortable job in banking to become a full-time realtor last year, had some doubts about her career choice over the winter. But she is very busy now.

“I got my licence just when there was a slowdown, so my timing could have been better,” Pang said. “But it worked out okay. I knew things would improve in the spring, but I never imagined the market would be this crazy.”

Pang said about 80 per cent of her clients are first-time buyers driven by record-low mortgage rates.

A one-year closed mortgage can be had for as little as 2.75 per cent, while a five-year closed rate can be found at 4.39 per cent, according to website Canadamortage.com.

“Because the listings are down, it’s hard out there for buyers,” Pang said.

“For choice properties, if you’re not out there on the first day, they’re gone.”

Toronto Star

http://yorkregionmortgages.blogspot.com/2009/07/june-home-sales-soar-27-per-cent.html

brought by Moishe Alexander , Canadian Funding Corp CEO

A recent reader saw the article and wrote to me over the weekend:

Thank-you for the article. It made for an interesting read. My area of interest is the “after Olympic” effects on house prices of host cities. Is there a pronounced “hangover” effect on house prices due to the debt level most, if not all, host cities are left to grapple with? Do most international investors simply cash-out and move on to the next host city in search of high %, short term gains in the run-up to the next games? If you have any numbers on Sydney, Athens, Barca, Atlanta (China is a bit tough to gauge given its political influences) on for example: house prices 12-24 months after the closing ceremonies, I would be very interested to see them.  Thank-you.

Being a lifelong Chicagoan, and 20 year veteran of the Real Estate industry, I can comment from experience on a whole bunch of stuff.  But I have not lived through an economic cycle driven by the boom and bust of hosting the Olympics.  So I will try to do my best for you.

Here is a consensus of opinions:

From The Daily Reckoning:

Smaller, underdeveloped cities like Athens and Barcelona have seen huge property gains triggered by the Olympics. But in developed host cities, such as Sydney and Atlanta, the effect on property prices has been virtually nil. Sydney house prices increased by 50% between 1996 and 2000 – but research has shown that this was due to general market influences, rather than the games.

A report from Jones, Lang, Lasalle entitled ‘Reaching Beyond the Gold: The Impact of the Olympic Games on Real Estate Markets’ examines the impact of staging the Olympics on recent host cities and looks ahead to 2012.  An important effect of staging the games, argues the paper, is the improvement of urban infrastructure in developing cities. This can have a major impact on property values – for instance, Athens is building a new airport to the east of the city which has sent land and property prices in the Messogia area soaring.

It seems that in major cities, the effect on real estate prices is not dramatic.  But in smaller host cities, the effect is dramatic.

The writer of the article also notes that the money spent on infrastructure improves quality of life, and adds value to the community that lives long after the departure of the Olympics.  Here in Chicago, we can anticipate HUGE improvements to our ancient CTA TRAIN system, new roads, new buses, and the establishment of an entirely new neighborhood south of McCormick Place.

From my Colleague at @properties, Brian Guzman:

The regeneration effects from hosting an Olympic games has generally had a positive impact on house prices. Barcelona was the best performing host city with prices rising by 131% versus an 83% increase in Spanish house prices in the five years leading up to the 1992 Olympics.

Hosting an Olympics is usually associated not only with an increase in sporting facilities but also an upgrade of transport and cultural/leisure facilities. Barcelona, Athens and Sydney all saw a significant upgrading of their urban infrastructure and this city rejuvenation is likely to encourage higher house prices.

Areas close to the Olympic complex usually see the largest increase in house prices as they benefit from improved facilities and better transport links. This was clearly evident in the main area of development for the Sydney Olympics, Homebush Bay, a former industrial site 20 minutes from the centre of Sydney. House prices in the adjacent suburb, Homebush, rose 70% in the five years in the run-up to the Olympics, compared to a 50% increase in Sydney house prices.

The Manchester Commonwealth Games prompted redevelopment and rejuvenation of central Manchester and provided a spur to house prices in the area. In the five years leading up to the 2002 Commonwealth Games, house prices in central Manchester rose by 102% versus a 52% rise in prices in the North West and an 83% increase in prices across the UK.

Again, real estate prices near the Olympic Host City outperform prices in other cities.  And the improvements to infrastructure add long-term value to the city.

Both articles above reference a detailed study by Phillips, Hager and North, Investment Management LTD., in Vancouver, Canada.  The detailed study can be found here.

Conclusion: Sorry, No Lasting Olympic Effect

The hosting of the Olympic Games may have some impact on residential real estate prices, but our analysis of four North American experiences suggests that the impact, if any, is likely to be experienced over a fairly long time frame during the lead up to the Games and does not persist after the Games are done and gone. The impact may depend on the size of the local property market – presumably the smaller the market, the more noticeable the impact – but, neither Calgary (population 657,000 in 1988) nor Salt Lake City (population 182,000 in 2002) experienced a material Olympic effect.

Oh yeah?  Just when you thought you were right, check out the conclusions from this study by Jones Lang LaSalle, LaSalle Investment Management.

History clearly demonstrates that the 2008 Olympic host city will enjoy significant long-term benefits,” said Melinda McKay, Senior Vice President, Jones Lang LaSalle, and co-author of the study. “While the Games generate short-term economic gains, such as more jobs and increased revenue, other indirect effects — such as changes in the host city’s urban form and governance — are farther reaching and longer lasting.

And a deeper discussion into these important factors:

• • Urbran Regeneration
  • Olympic Villages
  • Infrastructure Improvements
  • Greening of the Games
  • Tourism Promotion and the Convention Sector

And a great conclusion:

The degree to which cities are able to achieve this will depend on a number of factors. These include:

• Competitiveness of the business environment affects the ability to attract corporate occupiers
• Quality of the tourism attractions determines the degree of long-term tourism benefits
• Ability to sell Olympic experience to attract other major world events extends to the re-use of facilities and the leveraging of organizational experience
• Level of tourism infrastructure built for the Olympics — has major long-term implications
• Presence of an ongoing promotional campaign is critical in translating the short-term interest into long-term benefits

To delve deeper into your question, here are a couple of my opinions.

None of the articles indicated a massive influx of foreign investment, or investors flocking to the host city and buying up property to cash in on an anticipated run-up of real estate prices.

Here in Chicago, it is already apparent that only the most politically connected are going to really rake in the tall cash on the Olympics.  The City of Chicago has already gone under contract to purchase the site of the old Michael Reese Hospital, is working on contracts with politically connected trucking firms to haul away the demolished buildings, and hire politically connected developers to construct the new Olympic Village.  (Article at the Chicago Reader here and Chicago Tribune’s political coverage here.)

The real money to be made on the Olympics here in Chicago will be from the big projects to improve infrastructure.  Followers of Chicago politics can already fill in the names of the connected companies that are going to be awarded contract for:

• Trucking
• Concrete
• Roadbuilding
• Construction
• Demolition
• CTA Improvement
• Asphalt
• Garbage Hauling

For the slimmer margins in the run-up of real estate prices, a 20% to 30% possible increase in property values over normal property appreciation does not seem to be a worthwhile pursuit for aggressive investors, so I cannot imagine a speculative boom in that regard.

Last year’s slide in prices, current low interest rates contribute to uptick in sales

Lower Mainland real estate markets saw big gains in June sales with the Metro Vancouver real estate board posting its second busiest and the Fraser Valley its fourth most active June on record.It was a factor of the slide in real estate prices last year and current low interest rates that were enough to offset the negative influences of higher unemployment and a contracting economy, regional economist Carol Frketich of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said in an interview.

The Metro Vancouver area covered by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver recorded 4,259 sales through the Multiple Listing Service in June, a 76-per-cent increase from the same month a year ago.

Read the whole article here…

The big question is “can the market be sustained?”

Based on past few years sales activities, sales volume diminished after spring, and bottomed out in January the following year. If the second half 2009 follows preceding years, sales may dropped the next few months. Home prices are likely to maintained at present level due to lack of sufficient new listings to replenish homes that were sold.

The months of inventory for the Richmond market as reported for May 2009 at around 3.68 months favoured home sellers. The strong June sale as reported above further confirmed pricing pressure moving home prices higher.Until we see the months of inventory return to 6 months or more, home prices can be sustained or may move higher if buying interest remains strong.

It will be interesting to see how the real estate market will fare the next few months. If there is no substantive recovery in the economy, the prospect for recovery in the housing market is questionable.

http://richmondbcrealestates.com/?p=480

reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

At the present, governments around the globe are printing money as if there were no tomorrow in order to try and prevent debt-laden banks from going under and trying to stimulate the fractional reserve banking system. The past 20 years of economic growth has been based on a “Pay it Forward” basis…someone gets a new couch or car and ends up paying for it over a defined period of time. The expansion of credit in turn allowed for false consumption because most people never really had the money in hand.

In the past, whenever any purchases were made, most people either saved up until they had money in hand or used “Lay Away” programs for purchase (an individual would make biweekly payments until an item was paid for in full and then taken home). As the global economy continues to shrink and get worse, the first knee-jerk reaction is to start saving, which is evident in the US as reached 6.9% year over year. When prices decline, it makes sense to save money as it does not make any sense to buy things when there is economic uncertainty.

During periods of economic contractions, the absolutely worst sectors to be in are retail or any consumer-related businesses that people do not absolutely require, such as getting manicures and pedicures, furniture, cars, etc. Areas that tend to maintain somewhat of a stable environment are Pharmaceutical (especially those that provide life-saving drugs), food and energy sectors. One of the hardest sectors that will get hit in Canada in the coming years will be the government sector. There is so much money being pumped into government up here at present that it is serving as an artificial inflator of the economy.

When the S&P eventually bottoms in late 2009/early 2010, the economic bottom should follow history and be in place 12-18 months afterwards. This suggests that mid to late 2011 should mark the bottom of the global economic recession from a bottom in residential real estate…note: commercial real estate has recently succumbed to the global recession, so it is likely the consumer will bottom before businesses do. In other words, the bottom of the economy could be flat for a subsequent 1-2 years until consumers retrench from their bunkers and again begin spending.

Analysis today will focus on the 10 Year US Treasury Index and how it should behave over the course of the next 6-12 months.

The Rest…MarketOracleUk

http://revolutionradio.org/2009/07/02/in-the-future-interest-rates-will-soar-and-consumers-will-be-sore-also/

reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

The think thank, in collboration with the IMF, noted that the housing market remains strong, and continues to flourish. The IMF predicts that of all the G7 countries, Canada wil be the fastest growing in 2009, and has one of the soundest economies in the world. Canada’a extraordinary robustness is all the more impressive when compared to the U.S’s recent financial troubles.

Although Canada is sometimes considered the poorer relation to the U.S., or not considered as one of the leading economies of the world, Canada is in fact one of the few countries that continues to thrive in these tough economic times.

Thriving Real Estate Market

Canada’s quality of life continues to rank among the top 10 in the world. With a thriving property market and quality real estate, Canada continues to be an attractive offer to overseas buyers, looking to buy investment property, or holiday homes.

There are a number of reasons why Canada’s property market (and economy) continues is ascent:

Firstly, Canada has built it’s economy on the strength of its oil and gas resources – the 2nd largest oil reserves in the world and the 3rd largest natural gas producer. In the Alberta oil region where much of the gas is produced has a 5% employment growth per annum.

Billlion Dollar Sales

In 2007, when the U.S was recording record number of repossessions, (to get worse in 2008) the Canadian Real Estate Association was celebrating its’ first year of billion dollar sales. Another lesson the U.S: how much of the Canadian real estate lending was sub-prime? About 5%.

With inflation well under control, and the Bank of Canada recently reducing its rates on martgage lending, Canada increasingly looks like a great place to invest your real estate money. Government spending is under control, and house prices continue to rise.

http://www.sell-my-house-quick.com/articles/canadian-property-market-continued-growth-160.html

brought by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO