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

The Honourable Helena Guergis, Minister of State (Status of Women) and Member of Parliament for Simcoe – Grey, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC); and Aileen Carroll, Member of Provincial Parliament for Barrie, on behalf of the Honourable Jim Bradley, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing; along with Cal Patterson, Warden of the County of Simcoe, and David Guergis, Mayor of Essa Township, made the announcement.

“Our government is dedicated to helping low-income seniors in Angus through these tough economic times,” said Minister Helena Guergis. “Through projects like these, our government is providing quality, affordable housing to many residents in our community while creating jobs and stimulating our economy.”

“New housing initiatives add significant support to the McGuinty government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy,” said MPP Aileen Carroll. “We will continue to work with our municipal partners to ensure more units are built during the life of this program.”

“The County of Simcoe is committed to providing affordable housing for residents throughout Simcoe County,” stated County Warden Cal Patterson. “These new units will support seniors in Essa Township, allowing residents to remain in their communities. This project is an outstanding example of the great work that a strong partnership with other levels of government and with our municipalities leads to.”

“The Township of Essa is happy to be a partner in this project along with the Federal Government, Provincial Government and the County of Simcoe,” added Mayor David Guergis.

The Government of Canada wants to ensure that Canadians on fixed incomes can live with independence and dignity and remain in their communities, close to family and friends. Canada’s Economic Action Plan provides $400 million, over two years, to build new rental housing for low-income seniors. Overall, the Economic Action Plan includes $2 billion for new and existing social housing, plus up to $2 billion in loans to municipalities for housing-related infrastructure.

Canada’s Economic Action Plan builds on the Government of Canada’s commitment in 2008 of more than $1.9 billion, over the next five years, to improve and build new affordable housing and help the homeless. Today’s announcement celebrates the funding for 30 new affordable rental units at 40 Margaret Street in Angus, Ontario.

The Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario, the County of Simcoe and the Town of Collingwood today celebrated the opening of 18 new affordable rental units. This project, located at 145 High Street, is supported by more than $1.2 million in funding through the Canada – Ontario Affordable Housing Program.

The Honourable Helena Guergis, Minister of State (Status of Women) and Member of Parliament for Simcoe – Grey, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation; and Aileen Carroll, Member of Provincial Parliament for Barrie, on behalf of the Honourable Jim Bradley, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing; Cal Patterson, Warden of Simcoe County; Chris Carrier, Mayor of Collingwood, and John Fogolin, President of Mirten Collingwood Ltd attended the ceremony.

“This renovation project is a good way to get the local economy moving because it puts construction workers and trades people to work quickly,” said Minister Guergis. “The federal government is stimulating the economy and creating jobs to help Canadians recover from the economic downturn.”

“These 18 units will have an important impact on its residents’ lives and the community,” said MPP Carroll. “I would like to congratulate the developer and community groups for making this project a reality.”

Today’s announcement recognized the opening of a 30-unit housing facility that provides 18 affordable housing units for low to moderate income single people and families and individuals with special needs. The federal and provincial allocations to the project were complemented by over $620,000 in municipal grants.

“The County of Simcoe is proud to partner with other levels of government and with our member municipalities to provide affordable housing options for our residents,” stated County Warden Cal Patterson. “These 18 new units give those in need in Collingwood access to supportive units as well as affordable housing.”

“Collingwood is home to many families with a wide range of needs and one of the particular needs is for quality, affordable, housing stock. A good place to call home. This project is a great example of cooperation between the Province of Ontario, the County of Simcoe and the Town of Collingwood meeting the need to provide a choice that for the last many years has not been available in our community,” stated Mayor Chris Carrier, for the Town of Collingwood. “The private developer, President of Mirten Collingwood Ltd, Mr. John Fogolin, made this project an easy sell to our community due to the beautiful design of the building and affordable rent.”

“I must say that because of the extremely hard work, by all the various stakeholders, this unique project happened,” said the President of Mirten Collingwood Ltd., John Fogolin. “I am also very encouraged by how successful the project is and hope that it helps to address the need in this community for Affordable Housing.”

The Canada – Ontario Affordable Housing Program Agreement comprises a commitment of $301 million from each of the two senior levels of government. In total, the federal, provincial and municipal governments will invest at least $734 million in the program, which will provide affordable housing for up to 20,000 households in Ontario.

In 2008, the Government of Canada committed more than $1.9 billion over the next five years to improve and build new affordable housing and to help the homeless. Canada’s Economic Action Plan builds on this with an additional one-time investment of more than $2 billion over two years in new and existing social housing and lending of up to another $2 billion to municipalities for housing-related infrastructure. Combined for Ontario, this means a further $1.2-billion joint investment under the amended Canada – Ontario Affordable Housing Program Agreement. The federal and provincial governments are contributing equally to this overall investment.

“Our government is dedicated to meeting the increased demand for student housing across the country” said Ed Holder, Member of Parliament for London West. “We’re helping developers and borrowers access competitive interest rates for the life of the mortgage, benefit from greater financing choices and lower renewal risk. Our government is supporting students and creating jobs in university and college communities across the country.”

The Government of Canada will help finance loans of up to 85 per cent of the lending value for the construction, purchase or refinancing of housing purposely built for students on or off campus through CMHC’s Mortgage Loan Insurance for multi-unit student housing. This initiative supports the housing needs of Canadian publicly funded educational institutions, including universities and colleges.

The demand for student housing is anticipated to continue to increase for an extended period as a result of changing demographics, forecasted enrolment figures and continued growth in international students.

“Today’s announcement is good news and will help developers in Canada respond to the housing needs of students,” said Ray Stanton, President of London Property Corporation.

The Government of Canada has taken additional measures to help Canadian families. As of August 1, 2009, new federal student financial assistance measures — the Canada Student Grants Program and the Repayment Assistance Plan — are helping students and families access postsecondary education and better manage their student loan debt. To find out more about how the Government of Canada is helping students achieve their educational goals, visit CanLearn.ca.

As Canada’s national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 60 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable, and affordable homes — homes that will continue to create vibrant and healthy communities and cities across the country.

More than anything else, the difference is design.

Good design provides benefits at all stages of the development process. It is easy to see how a well designed, well built project that fits into its neighborhood will be good for its occupants, its community and its development team. If the end product is good, everyone wins.

Paying 10% more than a property is “worth” is back in high fashion, and this mentality was exemplified with the recent sale on Portland Street in the thriving King West area.

What a property is “worth” is anybody’s guess, but what if a comparable sale was staring you right in the face?

I consider a “buyer’s premium” to be anything paid above what the property should reasonably sell for.

If a property is under-priced by the seller and the seller’s agent and comes onto the market at $199,900 when it “should” sell for $225,000, then a $232,000 sale price would indicate a $7,000 “buyer’s premium.”

I also call this an emotional premium.

It’s hard to pin-point a value of any house or condo in the city, but we can sure come close!

So what do we make of a condo that is “worth” $340,000 selling for $385,000?

It’s pure insanity, in my opinion.

Before you judge, let me give you the backstory…

I detailed my experiences with this unit as part of another post last week, so forgive my redundancy.

Portland Street is located in “FreedVille” where Freed Developments has built half the area and has many more projects scheduled for construction in the not-too-distant future.

It is also in the heart of the thriving King West area between Spadina and Bathurst where all the chic restaurants and bars are located for the 24 – 30 year old crowds to pounce.

Brant House, West, Conviction, Brassai, Bier Market, The Spoke Club, Cheval, and even Blowfish if you feel like walking more than three minutes; are all at your doorstep.

I knew there would be action on this very dressed-up 1-bedroom unit in a 2-year-old building on Portland Street, but never did I think I’d see the complete insanity that plagued our market in 2007.

I mentioned last week how I stood outside the building with my clients one night waiting for another Realtor to come back with the key all while other groups of buyers showed up with their agents in tow.

We ended up seeing the unit with another group, and 2-3 more groups passed us by from the front door, to the elevator, to the lobby.

It was a complete mad-house, and the subsequent insanity should have come as no surprise.

But I’m naive, I suppose, and maybe a bit old fashioned.

I don’t get drawn in my the glitz and glamour of being able to pre-drink at my Portland Street condo before stumbling a block to Brant House with my buddies while my daddy’s Visa burns a hole in my pocket.

And when I see numbers and values staring me right in the face, I use them to make a rational, informed decision.

This unit on Portland Street was listed at $325,000 and immediately became the buzz of the industry.  All my colleagues had shown it; some of them to 2-3 different clients, and every young buyer in the city was sent this listing by their Realtors.

The unit was perhaps a touch over 600 square feet, but it was meticulously staged right down to the color and organization of the bowl of jelly-belly on the counter.

It was a fantastic unit, but my buyers didn’t like the fact that the second-storey balcony overlooked the alley-way below.  With the City of Toronto not picking up garbage and the hot summer heat, it was a pass for my clients.

We did our homework in advance, however, and found that the exact same model unit had sold for $345,000 only a month prior.  This unit was on a higher floor and was facing south, meaning it didn’t look at a garbage-alley from ten feet above.

We determined that since the two units were the same inside, but not the same outside, perhaps the unit currently listed for sale was worth a hair less than the $345,000 asking price.  I told my clients $338,000 but added that there may be a buyer willing to go right up to $345,000 just to ensure he or she gets the place.

My clients are both savvy people and said, “Why would we pay the same $345,000 price for this unit when the other one was substantially better?”

I told them “you wouldn’t, but somebody else might, and probably will.”

Emotion plays a huge part of the purchase process, but none of us were ready for the final selling price.

I ask YOU, the reader, to come up with an idea right now of the “insane” price you think I’m speaking of.

Do the math yourselves – the unit is “worth” slightly less than the exact same model that sold for $345,000 a month earlier because it happens to be on the second floor over looking an alley way behind a row of King Street restaurants.

The unit is “worth” $340,000, but somebody paid more, didn’t they?

Am I talking about $350,000?

How about $360,000?

Wouldn’t that be a gas?  Somebody paying $20,000 more than all rational thought would indicate they should?

Try again.

How about $370,000 then?

No.

This unit sold for a whopping $385,000.

If you’re the guy that just paid $345,000 for the same model one month ago, congratulations – your condo just went up in value to the tune of forty-large.

But if you’re the moron that just paid a $45,000 emotional premium for this condo, please tell me WHY!

This is one circumstance where the old adage, “It’s worth what somebody is willing to pay for it” is completely false.

It’s not worth $385,000, now way, no how.

It simply can’t be worth $385,000 when the same unit just sold for $345,000!

If you are this buyer’s agent – you should be ashamed!  But you won’t be, because you’re an a**hole who sold out his clients for a $9,625 commission…

This buyer got carried away, and simply said, “Screw it,” while throwing all caution to the wind.  Perhaps the buyer had been looking for six months and finally found the “perfect” place to call home, but the price he paid should haunt him for quite some time.

One of the first things I tell my new clients is, “If you have a mental stumbling block about being in competition, you need to get over it right now.”  Because for ever Dick or Jane looking at 1 Shaw Street, 1029 King Street, or 66 Portland Street, there is a Tom, Dick, or Harry looking at the same property with the same gleam in their eyes.

But when absolute INSANITY kicks in, I tell my buyers to walk away.

The price paid for this unit on Portland Street makes me sick to my stomach, and it has nothing to do with those awful ribs left over from Sunday night that I just microwaved and downed with a large glass of milk…

It has to do with the ridiculous price that somebody paid while tearing up the comparable sales and saying, “I’ll pay anything to get this place.”

That’s when you know the market is out of control.

I can’t predict the market – I can only comment on the current conditions.

But if this sort of thing starts to happen with increasing frequency, I’ll be very, very worried as we move ahead…

http://torontorealtyblog.com/2009/07/17/pure-insanity/

reviewed by Moishe Alexander,   CFC  Canadian Funding Corp CEO

‘Evaluating performance – or lack thereof – for commercial properties will continue to occupy a significant portion of lender effort as the decade wears on. Distinguishing among the hopeless dogs, the chronic underachievers, and the potential comeback kids will require the careful scrutiny and judgment of the property on a case-by-case basis, and nowhere will this judgment be more critical than the area of hotel loans. Fortunately, for both the diligent borrower and lender who find themselves in a down market, a workout can be a win / win relationship…’

Lenders have three choices when faced with a non-performing loan:

• Loan restructuring – the workout solution.

• Negotiate a ‘deed in lieu’ of foreclosure or other method of transferring title, or

• Instigate title contest through local courts or, potentially, the federal bankruptcy court.

‘If the lender believes that the borrower in place can optimize cash flow to the lender, he will be far more motivated to restructure the debt. On the other hand, if the lender perceives operational or managerial weaknesses on the part of the borrower, he will be induced to push for control of the asset…

…The weaker the lender’s position relative to collateral and the weaker the asset itself, the more costly will be the process of taking possession versus restructuring the debt.’

http://www.htrends.com/article39979.html

r e v i e w e d  b y  Moishe Alexander, CFC  Canadian Funding Corp CEO

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