There is now one more level of government involved in a real estate transaction. So far, Realtors are regulated by and/or have to deal with and/or pay dues to: Canadian Real Estate Association, Ontario Real Estate Association, Real Estate Council of Ontario, the Toronto Real Estate Board and of course our own RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd.
Recently, the Fed's (Government of Canada) has joined the fray. Apparently, 61% of all illegally obtained money is laundered via real estate transactions.
Personally, it's my first choice when I have a few million I want to disappear. So, the Government of Canada has declared that all Realtors are now obligated to fill out a few forms, confirm that the clients we're working for are actually real people and report suspicious characters to the authorities. I'm not sure who the authorities are but I'm sure they are really important and above reproach. In fact, I'm sure the authorities have never laundered money in their life.
I'm now on the lookout for suspicious characters. Come to think of it, I know many seedy characters that must be reported. Many of them play the banjo.
There is a brochure (there's always a brochure) that explains all of this so if you're one of the bad guys reading this, make sure you read it to get the inside scoop. I know for a fact there are bad guys reading this all the time. They often email me and tell me how bad they are.
If you're a bad guy who prefers power point presentations, we have those we can send you as well. We're a fully equipped and highly sophisticated real estate operation.
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