Merry Christmas! ¡Feliz Navidad!

In honour of all those who have served and protected

We thank you

Happy Hallowe'en!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Summer continues

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Happy Canada Day!

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Did you know that...

- the Canadian motto A Mari Usque ad Mare, means "From sea to sea."?

- our capital city, Ottawa, was originally named Bytown after Colonel John By, who headquartered there while building the Rideau Canal to connect the Ottawa River with Lake Ontario?

- a black bear cub from Canada named Winnipeg ( “Winnie,” for short) was one of the most popular attractions at the London Zoo after it was donated to the zoo in 1915. Winnie became a favorite of Christopher Robin Milne and inspired the stories written by his father, A.A. Milne, about Winnie-the-Pooh?

Moving to U.S. and Amassing a Fortune, No English Needed

 

 

On November 8, 2011, Kirk Semple of the New York Times wrote:

More than 40 years after arriving in New York from Mexico uneducated and broke, Felix Sanchez de la Vega Guzman still can barely speak English. Ask him a question, and he will respond with a few halting phrases and an apologetic smile before shifting back to the comfort of Spanish.
Yet Mr. Sanchez has lived the great American success story. He turned a business selling tortillas on the street into a $19 million food manufacturing empire that threaded together the Mexican diaspora from coast to coast and reached back into Mexico itself.
Mr. Sanchez is part of a small class of immigrants who arrived in the United States with nothing and, despite speaking little or no English, became remarkably prosperous. And while generations of immigrants have thrived despite language barriers, technology, these days, has made it easier for such entrepreneurs to attain considerable affluence.
Many have rooted their businesses in big cities with immigrant populations large enough to insulate them from everyday situations that demand English. After gaining traction in their own communities, they have used the tools of modern communication, transportation and commerce to tap far-flung resources and exploit markets in similar enclaves around the country and the world.
“The entire market is Hispanic,” Mr. Sanchez said of his business. “You don’t need English.” A deal, he said, is only a cheap long-distance phone call or a few key strokes on the computer away. “All in Spanish,” he added.
Mr. Sanchez, 66, said he always wanted to learn English but had not had time for lessons.
“I couldn’t concentrate,” he said in a recent interview, in Spanish. “In addition, all the people around me were speaking in Spanish, too.”
In New York City, successful non-English-speaking entrepreneurs like Mr. Sanchez have emerged from the largest immigrant populations, including those from China, South Korea and Spanish-speaking countries.
Among them is Zhang Yulong, 39, who emigrated from China in 1994 and now presides over a
$30-million-a-year cellphone accessories empire in New York with 45 employees.
Kim Ki Chol, 59, who arrived in the United States from South Korea in 1981, opened a clothing accessories store in Brooklyn and went on to become a successful retailer, real estate investor and civic leader in the region’s Korean diaspora.
In the United States in 2010, 4.5 million income-earning adults who were heads of households spoke English “not well” or “not at all,” according to the Census Bureau; of those, about 35,500 had household incomes of more than $200,000 a year.
Nancy Foner, a sociology professor at the City University of New York who has written widely on immigration, said it was clear that modern technology had made a big difference in the ability of immigrant entrepreneurs with poor or no English skills to expand their companies nationally and globally.
“It wasn’t impossible — but much, much harder — for immigrants to operate businesses around the globe a hundred years ago, when there were no jet planes, to say nothing of cellphones and computers,” Ms. Foner said.
Advocates for the movement sometimes known as Official English have long pressed for legislation mandating English as the official language of government, arguing that a common language is essential for the country’s cohesion and for immigrant assimilation and success.
But stories like Mr. Sanchez’s, though certainly unusual, seem to suggest that an entrepreneur can do just fine without English — especially with the aid of modern technology, not to mention determination and ingenuity.
For Mr. Sanchez, who became an American citizen in 1985, one anxious moment came when he had to pass his naturalization test. The law requires that applicants be able to read, write and speak basic English.
But Mr. Sanchez and other entrepreneurs said that the test, at least at the time they took it, had been rudimentary and that they had muddled through it.
Mr. Sanchez immigrated to the United States in 1970 from the Mexican state of Puebla with only a fifth-grade education. He held a series of low-paying jobs in New York, including washing dishes in a Midtown restaurant. The Mexican population in the New York region was small back then, but it soon began growing, as did the demand for authentic Mexican products.
In 1978, Mr. Sanchez and his wife, Carmen, took $12,000 in savings, bought a tortilla press and an industrial dough mixer in Los Angeles, hauled the machinery back to the East Coast and installed it in a warehouse in Passaic, N.J. Mr. Sanchez spent his days driving a forklift at an electrical-equipment factory and spent his evenings and nights making tortillas and selling them door-to-door in Latino neighborhoods around New York City.
His company, Puebla Foods, grew with the Mexican population, and he was soon distributing his tortillas and other Mexican products, like dried chilies, to bodegas and restaurants throughout the Northeast. At its peak, his enterprise had factories in cities all across North America, including Los Angeles, Miami, Pittsburgh, Toronto and Washington. It has since been buffeted by competition and by the economy, and he has scaled back.
He has relied heavily on a bilingual staff, which at times has included his three children, born and raised in New Jersey.
Mr. Zhang, the cellphone accessories entrepreneur, said his lack of English had not been a handicap. “The only obstacle I have is if I get too tired,” said Mr. Zhang, who also owns a property development company and an online retail firm.
In 2001, Mr. Zhang set up a wholesale business in cellphone accessories in Manhattan. He then raised money from relatives and investors in China to open a manufacturing plant there to make leather cellphone cases for export to the United States, Canada and Latin America.
His business boomed, and he opened warehouses in Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, controlling his international manufacturing, supply and retail chain from his base in New York.
Mr. Zhang now lives in a big house in Little Neck, Queens, with his wife, three daughters and parents, and drives a Lexus S.U.V. He has not applied for citizenship, preferring to remain a legal permanent resident and maintain his Chinese citizenship, which spares him the bother of securing a Chinese visa when he goes to China for business.
While he can speak rudimentary English — he rates his comprehension at 30 percent — he conducts nearly his entire life in Chinese. His employees speak the languages of trading partners: English, Spanish, Creole, Korean and French, not to mention multiple Chinese dialects.
Over the course of a lengthy interview, he gamely tried on several occasions to converse in English, but each time he ran into roadblocks and, with a shrug of resignation, resumed speaking through a translator in Mandarin.
Mr. Kim, the Korean retailer, recalled that when he opened his first store in Brooklyn, nearly his entire clientele was Afro-Caribbean and African-American, and his customers spoke no Korean.
“You don’t have to have a big conversation,” he recalled. “You can make gestures.”
While his holdings have grown, he has also formed or led associations and organizations that focus on empowering the Korean population in the United States. As in business, modern communication has made it much easier for him to raise his profile throughout the Korean diaspora well beyond New York.
“The success of my life is not only that I make a lot of money,” he said, “but that I make a lot of Korean people’s lives better.”
Yet he admitted that he was embarrassed by his inability to speak English. He has gone so far as to buy some English-tutorial computer programs, but for years, they have gone mostly unused.

Jeffrey E. Singer contributed reporting.

New Mortgage Rules in Effect

Ottawa is changing mortgage rules again to make it more difficult for Canadians with limited savings to buy homes, or obtain loans.

As of June 21, 2012, these are the new changes to mortgage rules:

#1)  The amortization period on a mortgage will be dropped from the current 30 years to 25 years.
The amortization period is the estimated number of years it will take to pay off your mortgage entirely. The longer your amortization is, the lower your mortgage payments will be, but the higher the total amount of interest you'll pay over the life of the mortgage

#2) The government is limiting refinancing loans to 80 per cent of the value of a home, from the current 85 per cent.

#3) You will need to have a 20% down payment to purchase a home worth more than $1 million or have to seek private insurance.

View the CBC News report on the new mortgage changes.

Prepare your home for summertime

Are you already wearing flip flops after work and on weekends? 

Have you purchased the much needed sunblock, yet?

If you answered 'yes' to either of these questions, it probably means that you are getting ready for summer.

With that in mind, the staff here at Guerrero Law has chosen its top 5 suggestions as to what you can do to get your home summer-ready:

1. Make room for popsicles and freezies 

(perhaps the most important summer rule!)

This is the perfect opportunity to go through your freezer and throw out anything that is about a year old (we all know that we easily stock up and forget what we have in the dark depths of the freezer!).

Empty the contents of the freezer and let it defrost completely. You may have to chip away at the bigger chunks to help them melt faster. Then clean it.

While you're at it, you don't want to neglect your refrigerator. Give it a little love by vacuuming the back where the grill and coils are. If you still have your manual, we suggest double checking the company's suggestions as to how to clean it properly.

Now you have hopefully made more room for all those popsicles, freezies, ice cream, and if there is still space burger patties.

2.  Revive your outdoor space

First and foremost, ensure that all barbecuing related equipment is in order. Clean the BBQ, check that your propane tank is full, or alternatively, that you have enough charcoal and lighter fluid. Take inventory of your grilling tools. Do you have enough steel skewers, spatulas, tongs and of course, that contraption which allows you to cook the chicken upright soaked in beer?

While out there, check that your outdoor entertaining area has not been damaged throughout the winter. You will have to give your deck a very thorough scrubbing and it may even require resealing. Wash the outdoor furniture and pillows, as well as the umbrellas. Often ignored, are the light fixtures outside. Do not forget to wash those too.

Now you are ready to stock up on food in your newly spacious freezer so that friends and family can use your newly washed furniture and barbecue.

3. Freshen your airflow

If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen- in fact, instead, you can turn on your air conditioner, but make sure to change the filter first. 

On days where you can manage without the AC, why not open the windows and let fresh air flow through the house?

Did you know that a great way to improve the air quality in your home is to add air-cleaning plants like snake plants, spider plants, English ivy and small-leafed rubber plants?

Spider plant

English Ivy

4. Go from dark to light

Take the time to replace "winter items" with lighter, brighter and airier items.

For example, change your cool-weather bedding for lighter, warm-weather bedding. You could also spend some time packing away winter clothes and storing them to make room for your summer clothes. This is the perfect opportunity to discard pieces that you thought you would use and didn't, give them to charity, because you will probably never wear it!

5. Reduce your utility bills

Yes, we suggested using your AC, however, whenever possible, we try not to. Blocking out the sunlight with curtains or blinds is a great way to reduce the amount of heat entering your home.

Check that your hose(s) are not leaking. You pay for all that extra water lost in a leak and that is a shame.

Dry your clothes outside. Hang a clothes line or take a rack out after doing the laundry and let the sun work its magic. (However, it is recommended that you check the by-laws of your city as we have been told that Mississauga does not allow you to hang your clothes on a line, even in your own backyard!)

El "Chicharito" Hernández jugará por niñez mexicana como embajador de Unicef

El Nacional, 26 de mayo, 2012 

Designado como Embajador de Buena Voluntad de UNICEF en México, por Susana Sottoli de UNICEF

Javier 'Chicharito' Hernández, jugador del Manchester United inglés y seleccionado mexicano, se comprometió hoy a "remontar el marcador" a favor de la niñez al ser nombrado Embajador de Buena Voluntad de la Unicef México.

"Mi primera acción como Embajador de Buena Voluntad de Unicef México es adherirme al planteamiento 10 por la infancia para remontar el marcador en favor de los niños y adolescentes de todo nuestro México", dijo 'Chicharito'.

El futbolista aseguró que el nombramiento, que le ha sido entregado en una ceremonia ante unas 150 personas, tiene un significado especial porque está relacionado con los niños y la juventud de México.

"Lo que más me importa es mi país, lo que más me importa es ayudar a muchísimos niños, a toda nuestra infancia de nuestro méxico, que puedan sacar adelante al país. Estoy aquí encantado, agradecido", expresó el jugador.

"Este documento es uno de los más bonitos de mi vida y este partido lo voy a jugar con todo mi corazón y toda mi vida", señaló el futbolista, quien cumple en México su agenda social antes de integrarse a la selección que está en Estados Uidos.

El 'Chicharito' dijo que aceptó ser embajador de Buena Voluntad de la Unicef porque implica "llevar mensajes que ayuden a mejorar la vida" de los niños y adolescentes y apoyarlos para que todos puedan tener las mismas metas.

México tiene una población de 21 millones de niños entre 10 y 19 años. El país tiene 110 millones de habitantes.

El 'Chicharito' se convirtió en el primer deportista de su país en recibir la designación honoraria de la Unicef y el tercer mexicano, después de los nombramientos de los cantantes César Costa en el 2004 y Julieta Venegas en el 2009.

A nivel Mundial, la Unicef tiene como Embajadores de Buena Voluntad a futbolistas como Lionel Messi, David Beckham, Francesco Totti, Iván Zamorano y Luis Figo.

Footballer “Chicharito” named UNICEF National Ambassador for Mexico

From the UNICEF website

MÉXICO CITY, 26 May 2012 - Mr. Javier Hernández, also known as “Chicharito” or “Little Pea”, was named a UNICEF National Ambassador for Mexico today.  Mr. Hernández is a football player in Mexico’s national team and also plays for the British team Manchester United.

Named UNICEF National Ambassador for Mexico by Susana Sottoli from UNICEF

“Mr. Hernández is a young man who, through his own life, has demonstrated a clear ability to set and achieve his goals”, said Susana Sottoli, UNICEF’s Representative in the Latin American country.  “He has been faithful to his principles, and keenly focused on his objectives.  I trust that he will be able to pass his approach to the children and adolescents of Mexico.  It is therefore a great pleasure for me to name him as our National Ambassador, and welcome him as he joins our efforts for Mexico’s children”.
Mr. Hernández’s talent has enabled him to play in one of the United Kingdom’s best-known football teams, and to become one of his own country’s most important footballers.  But beyond his sports achievements, he has displayed keen interest and determination to contribute to the present and future of Mexico’s youths, especially those most in need – which led to his designation as National Ambassador.
“When I heard that UNICEF wished to invite me to become a National Ambassador, immediately I thought: if it’s about doing something for the kids of my country, I am in”, said Mr. Hernández during the designation ceremony.  “And now that this day has come, I want to express my excitement and my commitment.  We have a lot of work ahead of us, so that all the children and adolescents of Mexico may fully exercise their rights and enjoy all that they are entitled to”.
“Being a UNICEF National Ambassador is a significant responsibility.  I am now a spokesperson for this great organization, and must call people to action in order to help millions of children and adolescents have access to the same opportunities and to a better life”, he added.
Mr. Hernández asked his compatriots to “make a comeback” to overcome the deep inequalities that affect children and adolescents in Mexico.  “Let’s unite for children, let’s keep up our score in achieving a better present for Mexico’s children and adolescents”, he said.
Before the designation ceremony, the new National Ambassador had a conversation with a group of children and adolescents, to exchange opinions about the issues that concern them and affect their development.  Children and adolescents were able to express their concerns, in the hope that Mr. Hernández will be able to play a key role in supporting UNICEF address them.
Under the slogan of “let’s make a comeback”, UNICEF Mexico intends to capitalize on Mr. Hernández’s designation in order to create increased awareness around the need to give a better present and future to hundreds of thousands of children who live in poverty, who leave school and are obliged to work – thereby infringing children’s rights while also inhibiting Mexico’s development prospects.  Although Mexico is a prosperous and modern middle-upper-income country, disparities are astounding.
For more than half a century, UNICEF National Ambassadors have helped improve the lives of children worldwide, by mobilizing public opinion around their situation and appealing for resources to support UNICEF’s programmes.  Mr. Hernández is hence joining a long list of UNICEF celebrity spokespersons, who use their talent and fame for the cause of children’s rights.  In Mexico, Mr. Hernández joins two existing National Ambassador: singer and actor César Costa (since 2004) and singer Julieta Venegas (since 2009).

Note to media: Photos of the event may be downloaded at http://www.flickr.com/photos/unicefmexico

About UNICEFUNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. For more information about UNICEF and its work visit: www.unicef.org
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook

For more information, please contact:UNICEF Mexico
Tel  +5255 52849530

Once again, a proud supporter of the Ontario Secondary Schools Spanish Contest

Guerrero Law is proud to support the 2012 Ontario Secondary Schools Spanish Contest.

Its group of dedicated teacher volunteers take the time every year to put together this amazing cultural and academic event, which allows students studying Spanish from across the province, to gather for one day to test their skills, learn a new dance and engage in fun games in the Spanish language.

Kudos to all of those teachers who have given their time and effort to bring together all of these students and teachers. We have no doubt that it takes many hours of hard work to put on an event of this caliber and we thank you for your commitment to fostering the desire to learn the Spanish language and for encouraging those who need it to explore the world that is opened up to you when learning Spanish.

¡Felices Pascuas! Happy Easter!

La Guía Entrevista- feberero 2012

En febrero 2012, Antonio Guerrero fue destacado prominentemente en la revista La Guía en Toronto. Aquí se encuentra la entrevista donde habla de como llego a abrir su propio bufete jurídico.

Pulse en los imágenes o visita La Guía para poder leer la entrevista.

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In February 2012, Antonio Guerrero was prominently featured in the La Guía magazine in Toronto. Here is the interview (in Spanish) where he talks about how he came about opening his own legal firm.

Click on an image or visit La Guía to read the interview.

Beware of elder abuse

On Friday, March 9th, Dale Brazao and Moira Welsh of the Toronto Star reported:

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She was old, alone and afraid of ending her life in a nursing home.
Then Stella Wasiuk, 83, thought she was saved when a personal support worker promised to care for her until her dying days.
Instead, she says she was isolated, verbally abused and fed substandard meals. Wasiuk lost control of a $477,000 home and her life savings. Now she is fighting to get them back.
The Toronto Star investigated and found that caregiver Pauline Reid used a real estate agent, two lawyers and her family members and friends to gain control of Wasiuk’s assets. Police are looking into the case and a new lawyer is trying to assist her. In one of the story’s bizarre twists, Reid’s son, an accused criminal now convicted of a gun charge, was at one point the executor of Wasiuk’s will.
The hero of the story is neighbour Emile Timmermans. One day he spotted Wasiuk on the porch outside her Ajax home, looking distressed, waving for help.

“I’m in trouble,” Wasiuk said, getting Timmermans’ attention. “Please help me.”
It’s a cautionary tale for seniors, advocates say. Be careful who befriends you.
The Star made numerous attempts to interview Reid, 52, who currently works at a Scarborough nursing home. Her boyfriend, Joseph Comas, who describes himself as a Haitian prince, called instead and told the Star to stop “harassing” Reid.
“She does not want to talk to you,” Comas said.
The real estate agent involved in the scheme ran off when the Star tried to interview him. The two lawyers involved said they could not talk because they believe a legal action may be filed against them by Wasiuk.
The information in this story is based on interviews and a review of documents, including three wills Wasiuk signed, real estate agreements and a timeline created by Timmermans, the man who rescued Wasiuk.
With her late husband, Wasiuk had a long and lucrative career as a real estate developer. Growing up in Poland during World War II, she knew the value of a dollar and lived simply, especially after her husband died in 1987. The couple had no children.
For nearly 20 years after her husband’s death she stayed healthy and busy, volunteering as a driver with a local charity. Then her legs gave out and she had knee replacement surgery in December 2008.
In and out of hospitals and rehabilitation centres, she met Pauline Reid (also known as Pauline Brefo), who was working at one of them. Reid was a personal support worker, a twice bankrupt mother of three, who for years lived in low-rent apartments in North York.
“I’ll take care of you. Come and live with me,” Reid told Wasiuk, according to the elderly woman’s recollection. At the time, Wasiuk owned a luxurious condominium in Markham, which she left to move into a semi-detached home that Reid was renting in Ajax.
Shortly after, caregiver Reid announced she hated the home and wanted to move. It was time for Wasiuk to buy a house.
Enter real estate agent Sunny (Sukhjinder) Gandhi.
Based out of Brampton, far to the west, the agent listed Wasiuk’s Markham condo for $549,900. It sold for $410,000.
Gandhi then drove Wasiuk and Reid on a real estate tour and helped them settle on a big brick home on a corner lot in Ajax, near Taunton Rd. and Westney Rd. The new house was far from Markham and Wasiuk’s friends.
A review of real estate documents shows Wasiuk paid $477,000 for the Ajax home, writing a $430,000 personal cheque and borrowing $61,466 from Gandhi through a mortgage advanced by a recently created numbered company that lists Gandhi as the sole director. The mortgage interest rate was 9.79 per cent. Three months later, Wasiuk wrote a cheque for $69,000 to Gandhi’s numbered company to pay off the mortgage.
Wasiuk’s recollection of the events of May 2010 include a blur of document signing at the Mississauga office of lawyer Marvin Talsky. Talsky was acting for both Reid and Wasiuk.
The documents reveal that the home was registered in Reid’s name, with Wasiuk given a “life interest” in the property and allowed to live there until she died. The documents stipulate the house cannot be sold without Wasiuk’s permission.
“Pauline (Reid) will look after Stella for the balance of her natural life in the property being purchased,” according to an agreement between Reid and Wasiuk dated May 19, 2010.
The $430,000 Wasiuk paid for her new home is described as an interest-free loan to Reid, with Reid paying it back by providing $800 in monthly caregiving work. At Wasiuk’s death, the house would belong to Reid.
Wasiuk said she believed she was the sole owner of the house. “I knew that I was signing the purchase, but I didn’t think she was in it, because I paid for the whole thing.”
That same day, Wasiuk also signed a document called the Power of Attorney for Personal Care, giving Reid the power to make all decisions related to her health.
People are often advised to get independent legal counsel. The documents indicate Wasiuk had independent legal advice from another Mississauga lawyer, Hugh Galbraith, and she understood what she was doing.
Both Talsky and Galbraith, the two lawyers involved in the blur of signing that day, refused comment when contacted by the Star, saying a legal action may be launched against them.
Galbraith’s lawyer, Ernest Gutstein, said neither he nor his client can talk because the matter is being dealt with between lawyers.
“You would be doing a disservice if this matter is dealt with in the media,” Gutstein said.
The house deal closed May 2010 and Wasiuk moved in with Reid, Comas and Reid’s family members.
Three months later, Wasiuk was taken back to a lawyer’s office, this one in Ajax, to sign a will leaving all of her property to Reid, who was also made executor of Wasiuk’s estate. The lawyer on that file was Colin Oldman. He is away on vacation and has not responded to the Star’s interview requests.
The conditions Wasiuk said she endured in the new Ajax home were dreadful.
The rambling 2,800-square-foot, four-bedroom home was spacious, but Wasiuk said she was forced to live in a tiny second-floor bedroom above the garage. She was not allowed to use the washroom on the main floor, which was kept locked she said, forcing her to leave her walker on the main floor, pull herself up the banister, then use another walker to make it to the bathroom.
According to one of the agreements Wasiuk signed, she was allowed to “enjoy the house and property in its entirety” except for rooms set aside by Reid as her private living quarters. Reid had the large master bedroom with ensuite bath, while her adult children occupied the other two.
The food was cheap, Wasiuk said. Reid constantly yelled at her. Her chequebook disappeared, as did her contact list of friends and her Polish-English dictionary. She was not given a key to the home.
“She constantly threatened me that she is going to leave me in that house, that she is moving out,” Wasiuk said. “She wanted to drain me, get the money from me and abuse me.”
Cash withdrawals on her account between June 2009 and Oct. 3, 2011, totalled at least $51,000, amounts an accountant who has done Wasiuk’s taxes for years told the Star represented unusual activity for his longtime client.
People came in and out of the home, including Reid’s son Justin Brefo and Comas, the self-described prince, an imposing man who dressed in traditional robes and once removed his headgear to reveal a small crown.
In a brief interview with the Star, Comas said that he was supposed to end up with ownership of Wasiuk’s home. “It was my name that should have been on the house at first,” Comas said, but he refused to elaborate. “There’s a lot of things behind that story.”
At times, Reid left Wasiuk alone for several days, telling her she was travelling to visit Comas, who Reid said had a place in Montreal.
As Wasiuk’s relationship with Reid worsened, she went to visit lawyer Colin Oldman again to rewrite her will. This time, Reid was dropped as executor and benefactor, and everything was left to her son, Justin Brefo and his two sisters. Brefo was also made executor.
Wasiuk did not know it but at the time, Brefo, 24, was facing numerous gun and drug trafficking charges after Peel Regional Police raided three homes in 2010 and seized crack cocaine, powder cocaine, ecstasy tablets and heroin.
Brefo was convicted later that year of possession of a restricted weapon, a 9-mm Glock pistol, sentenced to 18 months in jail and banned for life from possessing any weapons. The other charges were withdrawn.
In an interview, Wasiuk said she appointed Brefo as her executor because he was kind to her.
Eventually, Wasiuk had had enough.
On Oct. 8, 2011, left alone in the house, she stood on her front porch and frantically waved at Timmermans, working in his garage next door.
Timmermans listened to her story. He called Durham Regional Police. He called the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly. He called in social workers.
The more support she received, the stronger Wasiuk became. She demanded a telephone in her room. Reid was furious when she found out Wasiuk had reached out to Timmermans.
“Pauline found out I went to see you and she threatened me that she is leaving at the end of this month. I have no place to go. I’m scared,” Wasiuk wrote in a note to her neighbour. “Please help me somehow. I can’t afford to see you. She doesn’t want me to talk to anyone. I’m her prisoner.”
A month later, Wasiuk asked Timmermans to drive her to lawyer Oldman’s office again, this time revoking the will that benefitted Reid’s three children and leaving all her money to charity. She also gave power of attorney to Timmermans and his wife Marie to look after her health care.
Durham Regional Police Sgt. John Keating, a liaison officer charged with looking after issues involving the elderly, began probing the case last fall. Timmermans said Wasiuk wrote several notes, which Timmermans passed to police.
In one note to Keating on Dec. 18, Wasiuk wrote: “I appeal to you for the last time. Do something about the forged papers that Pauline has, why a crook [she wrote “kruk”] like her should win by getting my house after I’m gone. . . . John please do something. I’m helpless.”
Reid and her family left the house in late January, shortly after a new lawyer working for Wasiuk, Alexander Jozefacki, sent letters to Reid and to the lawyers and the agent involved in helping Reid take control of Wasiuk’s house.
Jozefacki says Wasiuk is going to court to get her house back.
“There will be a statement of claim,” Jozefacki told the Star. “We’ve put a lien on the house and registered a caution on title. Nobody can touch the property until it’s dealt with by the courts.”
Someone attempted to sell the house a month ago. A ‘for sale’ sign went up on the lawn and an open house was held before Timmermans went next door and told the agent to stop. The sign has since come down.
Neighbours have reported seeing people remove belongings from the home in the middle of the night.
Approached to explain his involvement in the earlier transaction and in the 9.79 per cent mortgage, agent Gandhi bolted from his office and scurried into the parking lot, holding his cellphone and saying he was calling police.
Reid’s boyfriend Comas said neighbour Timmermans will not be satisfied until Reid is “begging on the street for bread.”
As for Wasiuk, who so feared living out her days in a nursing home, she is now in a retirement home, “for her own safety” on the advice of police, social workers and an advocacy group for the elderly.
The Durham police officer on the case is away this week and could not be reached for comment.
The hero of the story, Timmermans, said he thought calling the police would be all he had to do.
“We thought that once we called police that society would take care of her,” Timmermans said. “Not quite the way it works. There’s no way we were going to leave her alone after that.”

Dear Me, Don't Go to Law School

Paying off your mortgage early can cost you- The Toronto Star

The Toronto Star's Peggy Mackenzie writes:

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You can get a cheaper mortgage by shopping around.

SHUTTERSTOCK PHOTO

Paying off your mortgage early seems like great financial planning since you’re freeing up money that can be put towards savings.
But discharging a mortgage early can mean a prepayment penalty because the bank loses money. If you had a two-year term and paid the mortgage in full after 16 months, the bank is out eight months of interest. They charge the difference so they don't lose out. The closer you are to the end of the mortgage, the smaller the penalty but it's money out of your pocket.
For those lucky enough to be near the end of their mortgages and ready to hold a mortgage burning party, they need to keep an eye on the mortgage statement that shows the principal/interest mix if they want to avoid penalties. This is particularly true for those with a variable rate.
People with variable mortgages pay fixed amounts, but the amount going towards principal and interest fluctuates depending on prime. If the prime rate decreases, more of the payment goes to the principal and less to interest. While decreasing principal is great, you’ll be hit with a penalty if the mortgage ends before the term does because the bank loses interest payments.
There's not as much worry for those paying fixed rates; just skip double-up-payments unless the bank agrees that you can retire the mortgage early.
If you’re close to the end of your mortgage, but don’t have enough cash on hand to retire it outright at the end of the mortgage term, you’ll need to renew for a short period. Here are a several options that will not incur prepayment penalties:

-  Take out a short-term variable-rate-mortgage and keep monthly payments the same. Pay any leftover amount at the end to retire the mortgage. You’ll need modest extra savings for this plan but make sure that if prime drops, you aren't in jeopardy of paying it off early.

- Take out a short-term fixed-rate-mortgage and increase monthly payments so that the principal will be paid in full at the conclusion of the term.

- Increase the mortgage term and decrease payments. This will add to the length of time that you pay off your mortgage, but will help if finances are tight. Again, for those paying a variable rate, religiously check your balance in the last three months to ensure you don’t inadvertently pay the mortgage in full ahead of time.

Contact Peggy Mackenzie at pmackenzie@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter:@PeggyMackenzie

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Is this a good time to refinance your mortgage?- The Toronto Star

The Toronto Star's Robb Engen writes:

 

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The Bank of Montreal made headlines last week, announcing a special 5-year fixed rate of 2.99 per cent.  Other banks  followed with their own special offers, as the competition for mortgages heats-up across the country.

This might be a good time to consider refinancing your mortgage.  Here’s why: 

When interest rates are low, many people refinance in order to save thousands of dollars over the life of their mortgage.  However, it’s important to determine what the pre-payment charge will be before refinancing your mortgage.

A pre-payment charge is the amount you will need to pay for breaking the terms initially negotiated on your mortgage.  This can be a large amount, meaning you won’t actually be saving money in the long run.

It doesn’t always make sense to break your mortgage, but a good rule of thumb is if interest rates are at least 0.5 per cent lower than your current mortgage rate, it’s worth looking at refinancing.

Consider a scenario where you locked-in at a discounted 5-year fixed mortgage rate of 3.99 percent in January, 2010.  The balance on your mortgage is $250,000.

Even though variable rates are lower, you’re still concerned about rising interest rates in the future.  Your bank is now offering a 5-year fixed rate of 3.49 per cent.  

In order to break your current mortgage after two years of payments, and with three years remaining on your term, you will be charged an interest rate differential (IRD) penalty of $3,750*.

The penalty sounds pretty stiff, and that’s what scares people and prevents them from taking action.  By refinancing with the new interest rate of 3.49 per cent for the remaining 36 months, you will save $128 per month in mortgage payments, and save more than $6,775 in interest.

As consumers, we spend a lot of time shopping around for the best grocery prices, or looking for the cheapest gas station, yet we can’t be bothered to review our mortgage at least once a year for the opportunity to save thousands of dollars.
Before refinancing, consider how long you plan to stay in your home, how you plan to use any extra cash flow, and how refinancing can support your overall financial goals.

* contact your lender directly for an exact penalty quote

Toronto house prices dip slightly in December- The Toronto Star

An article by The Toronto Star's Susan Pigg:

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House sales — and doom-defying price increases — are slowing, easing concerns that the lowest interest rates in history could cause the Canadian housing market to overheat.

Buyers are becoming “increasingly cautious,” but house sales are expected to continue making a “significant contribution to Canadian economic activity” this year, says the Canadian Real Estate Association.
A total of 456,749 houses changed hands via Canada’s MLS system in 2011, up 2.2 per cent from 2010, CREA reported in its monthly assessment of the market released Monday.
While Toronto house prices were actually down in December over November when adjusted for seasonal fluctuations — they dipped about 2.4 per cent putting the average house at $466,540 — prices were up overall some four per cent from Dec. 0f 2010.
The average Canadian house price was $358,480 when adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, up less than one per cent from a year ago.