905-937-6000 (Office)
1-866-999-9497 (Office)
dollar@royallepage.ca
http://www.sallydollar.com/

Royal LePage Niagara R.E. Centre, Brokerage
Visit: www.SallyDollar.com
101 LAKEPORT RD
ST. CATHARINES, ON L2N7L7

Gordon Stewart 3+1 bedroom, open concept 1958 award winning "Idea home" . Featured in Better Homes & Gardens in the 1970's. Overlooking wooded ravine and the Niagara escarpment. A very unique home in a beautiful neighbourhood ... minutes to Brock University and 406 Highway. $299,900.00
View virtual tour at: http://www.sallydollar.com/Listing/VirtualTour.aspx?ListingID=1636008

Canadian Real Estate Association addresses recession fears:
The Canadian real estate market is not on the brink of collapse and is expected to have balanced conditions in 2008, and REALTORS® need to get that message out.

Analysts continue to suggest the Canadian real estate market will follow the same path as the United States. Recent events including use of the word "recession" in the U.S. and record swings on the stock market, have generated media speculation about a similar downturn in the Canadian market. In February, the Canadian Real Estate Association issued a news release to try to counteract the negative press with a dose of "economic reality," in the form of market numbers and facts.

In a letter to boards and associations, CREA President Ann Bosley said the statistics show the future of the residential real estate market in Canada is solid. "However, the problem is that the analysts views could become self-fulfilling and the greater the predictions of gloom, the greater the impact on the Canadian housing market." Bosley encouraged boards to get the message out to brokers in order that they may in turn share the information with clients.

In addition, the interest rate cut announced in March by the Bank of Canada will help Canadian home owners and buyers, though it is an acknowledgement that the U.S. economic slowdown was likely to be deeper and more prolonged than the Bank had projected six weeks earlier, said CREA President Ann Bosley.

"When the Bank decided to lower interest rates, the advertised five-year conventional mortgage rate stood at 7.29 per cent. This is less than one per cent above where it stood at the beginning of last year. Competition among mortgage lenders remains stiff, which continues to help many borrowers negotiate discounts from advertised rates."

Declining interest rates and a rebound in economic growth are factored into the CREA MLS® 2008 market forecast. "MLS® sales activity will stay strong and reach the second highest level on record this year. Residential MLS® prices are also expected to continue rising. Additional cuts to mortgage interest rates are good news for housing affordability and Canadian housing demand," CREA's chief economist Gregory Klump added.

Other key players in the real estate market are painting a positive picture for the economy in 2008 with Scotia Bank expecting "balanced conditions will prevail throughout 2008, which will mark a return to a more 'normal' environment than the highly skewed seller's market that we have experienced over the better part of this decade."

CREA's maintains "domestic economy and the housing market will weather the sub-prime fallout with the help of lower interest rates," Klump said.

Money laundering law New Procedures for REALTORS®
Changes to Canada's anti-money laundering legislation, the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PC(ML)TFA) come into effect on June 23, 2008, with requirements for REALTORS® to ask for ID from all real estate clients.

The forthcoming amendments will affect how real estate transactions are conducted in Canada, adding to existing requirements and building on obligations that have been in place since 2001.

The most significant changes require REALTORS® to identify clients, keep a client identification/receipt of funds record for every real estate transaction and report attempted suspicious transactions.

Canadian Real Estate Assocaition has met with FINTRAC to discuss the three key points for real estate: the requirement for a firm's self assessment of its potential risk or exposure to money laundering and terrorist financing; a definition of a suspicious attempted transaction, and; the requirement for identification of foreign or non face-to-face buyers.

Below, FINTRAC identifies the new requirements.

Keep records
REALTORS® must keep a client information record for every purchase or sale of real estate, setting out your client's name, address, date of birth and the nature of the client's principal business or occupation.

If the client is a corporation, they must also keep a copy of the part of the official corporate records showing the provisions relating to the power to bind the corporation regarding the transaction.

REALTORS® Have to Identify their clients
Currently, if REALTORS® have identified an individual before, they do not have to do so again if they recognize the individual. Once the changes come into effect, if they have doubts about the information collected concerning an individual's previous identification, you will have to identify that individual again.

If the parties in the transaction are each represented by a different real estate broker or sales representative, they will have to identify the individual or confirm the existence of the entity that they represent in the transaction.

The Freecycle Network^TM is made up of 4,326 groups with 4,814,000 members across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them's good people). Membership is free. To sign up, find your community by entering it into the search box or by clicking on "Browse Groups" above the search box. Have fun!

My favorite scenario about this group is they lady who was trying to get rid of old stained sheets and offered them up on the post. "who would want those, I thought.....eewww". Turns out that the local Humane Society was looking for sheets for puppies and kittens and gratefully accepted the offer! This was an "AH HA" moment for me. There are computer students looking for broken computers and pieces, there are single parents looking for household items, there are "Mr. and Mrs. Fix-its" looking to fix items for charity. There are kids looking for boots or bikes or beds.....It taught me the lesson that even if we could not imagine who would use something or why.....someone will appreciate your gift.

The idea and philosophy of the group is "Changing the world one gift at a time". It is your decision to give your "gift" to whomever you choose. Please consider it a gift.....broken items may have just the parts someone needs to complete something ..... extra things may help someone start out on their own or save them some money. The neat part is that they will come to your house and pick it up! It works the other way too - ever loose one of a pair of something ..... maybe one of the membership has too and it matches yours ..... ever break a coffee pot ..... maybe someone on-line broke their coffee maker and only has the good carafe left... Feel free to ask for what you need. FREE STUFF is FUN! Best of all, it keeps all of our old/used/broken or perfectly good things out of our landfill!

Visit the link: www.SallyDollar.com on the left sidebar click on Freecycle and feel good about it!

FREECYCLE^TM Disclaimer: FREECYCLE^TM NETWORK MEMBERS USE THE LIST AT THEIR OWN RISK. Please take reasonable measures to protect your safety/privacy when posting or participating in an exchange. By joining the list, you agree to not hold the list owners, moderators nor anyone affiliated with Freecycle.org responsible or liable for any circumstance resulting from a Freecycle^TM-related exchange or communication.