Choosing a Real Estate Agent

You see so many different For Sale, Sold and For Lease signs with so many different Realtor names. You browse the listings on MLS and see so many more. With so many agents out there, how do you choose? Do you go by their picture? Do you look at how many listings they have? What's a home buyer to do?

Here are a few recommendations when beginning your search:

1) Get referrals from family, friends and co-workers.  

2) Meet with a few agents to conduct mini interviews.

3) Check the online search of The Real Estate Council of Ontario to see if the agent is registered. RECO regulates the activity of trading in real estate in the public interest and has been put in place to protect your best interests.

4) If you are a seller, find out how much their commission is.

5) Normally, it is helpful if the agent is familiar with the area you are looking in. 

6) Choose someone who displays professionalism and a willingness to work for your needs.

7) Should you want, your agent should be able to assist you with other necessary real estate related services, for example, arranging a house inspection, arranging a mortgage and finding a real estate lawyer.

8) If you are selling your home, does the agent have a plan of attack for marketing your house. MLS, ads, open houses?

9) Not all agents work the same schedule. If you are only available to view properties on Sundays, make sure your agent works weekends. Communicate your availability during your interview with them.

10) This isn't a deal breaker, but if your sales representative has a website, that is a very good way of gathering even more information about them and seeing what affiliations they have.

Mastercard commercial

This is somewhat out of character, however this video caught our interest, because of the Spanish of course!


We sat mesmerized, not knowing what the commercial was for. We threw out a string of guesses, and were then surprised to see that it was for Mastercard!


For those who haven't seen this, check it out.

Guerrero Law in Mexico City / Guerrero Law en la Ciudad de México D.F.

Guerrero Law is very excited to announce the expansion of its office to Mexico City.


We are pleased to welcome Gabriela Guerrero to our team, and look forward to working with her.

Our office in Mexico City can be found at the following address:

División del Norte 1167
2o. Piso, Colonia del Valle
C.P. 03100, México D.F.

To reach us by phone from within Mexico, contact: 5350-6592
From outside Mexico, we can be reached at: +1 (416) 840-5807

Guerrero Law tiene el placer de anunciar la expansión de su oficina a la Ciudad de México D.F. 


Damos la bienvenida a Gabriela Guerrero a nuestro equipo quien será nuestra representante en México.


Nuestra oficina en México, D.F. se encuentra a la siguiente dirección:

División del Norte 1167
2o. Piso, Colonia del Valle
C.P. 03100, México D.F.

Para contactarnos por teléfono desde México: 5350-6592

De fuera de México, nos pueden contactar al: +1 (416) 840-5807

New Mortgage Rules

Changes to the rules for mortgage lending received a lot of press in the past week. However, these changes won't affect most borrowers significantly.
The March 18, 2011 changes are really phase three of a gradual return to what I would call normal mortgage lending rules. In the “old days” - like 10 years ago - home buyers needed a minimum 10% down payment, they needed to pay for CMHC mortgage insurance in order to protect their lender if they had a down payment smaller than 25%, and they had to pay off the mortgage within 25 years. Even after the most recent changes, a home can be purchased with 5% down and paid for over 30 years. No wise person would amortize over more than 30 years, but you can still do that if you have made more than 20% as a down payment. If you are refinancing an existing home, you can still borrow up to 85% of its value, although down from the previous 90%. The third change – effective April 18, 2011 - is going to make lenders more cautious, because it removes the government insurance protection on home equity-backed lines of credit. These have been a fabulous business building tool for banks and credit unions, as well as a convenience for homeowners. This change simply means that the bank or credit union will have to be more careful to make sure you can repay them, because CMHC is no longer guaranteeing it.


as reported in The Viewpoint of the Clearsight Investment Program

Have you considered mediation?

Services are provided on-site at some family courts, otherwise sessions take place at the mediator's office.


Family mediation services are available to you to help you resolve child custody and access, child and spousal support, and division of property issues. Some family mediators can also help with child protection disputes, although these mediators require additional qualifications.


Contact Guerrero Law if you would like to find out more about mediation.

This week's comic relief

¿Qué sabes de derecho familiar en Ontario?

  Lo que usted debe saber sobre derecho de familia en Ontario

Aquí encontrará mucha información para ayudarte con el tema de derecho de familia en nuestra provincia.

This week's comic relief

Don't procrastinate, making a will is very important

We've all thought about, but do we actually go out and do it?



Toronto Star article  

Happy New Year! ¡Prospero Año Nuevo!

Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad!

Warm holiday greetings to everyone!

How can we go back to work when there are so many sweets to eat?

Just a sample of some of the goodies we have been busy making and eating.

Hard at work...

Some of our "office supplies".

C is for cookies and Christmas!

This post is brought to you by the letter

The cookie making season is upon us and Guerrero Law is not one to fall behind. The office will soon be full of plates of cookies to share with those around us. Why hog all the calories?!

Take a look at what's happening so far...

Baby Guerrero eating the apron instead of just wearing it.

Can you guess what kind of cookies we're making?

The base of each one of our creations.

We'll start with these as they are the easiest.

Second will be these, but I think we'll have to make double the amount since they are gobbled up quickly!

For now we'll only make 3 kinds so this will be the last.

Cakes will follow another day. One can only handle so much baking (and sampling) in one day!

Who said lawyers are boring?

A Canadian Law Firm First!

 Click here to view the flash mob.

Yesterday afternoon at 1:30 p.m., a group made primarily of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP (Blakes) articling students, and a few partners, associates and staff, performed a Flash Mob dance at the Commerce Court food court to the song "I’ve Got a Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas!
A flash mob is defined by Wikipedia as "a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and pointless act for a brief time, then quickly disperse." And that’s exactly what happened on Wednesday, December 15, 2010 in downtown Toronto.
The 48 dancers have been practising for weeks! At first people didn’t know what to make of the sudden music and movement, but as more Blakes dancers put on their red baseball caps and joined in, people got into the spirit of the season and many onlookers started to dance too.
The Blakes articling students first performed their dance at the Firm’s office party in Toronto on December 2, 2010. It was such a success, they decided to spread the cheer and perform it for a second time in public.
"We just wanted to have some fun," said Kari Abrams, Director of Student Recruitment & Development at the law firm. "Everybody has been working so hard, it was really great to be part of something so creative and make people smile."


Click here to view the flash mob.

Families Will Benefit From Justice Improvements

December 9, 2010 9:30 AM

McGuinty Government Making Legal System More Affordable And Straightforward

Affordable, faster and less confrontational — that's the new direction for family law in Ontario.

By next summer, families across the province will have access to improved services through Ontario's courts.

Ontario is increasing access to justice by expanding valuable services to all court locations. Families will soon have access to:

• The Mandatory Information Program that offers more options for families experiencing breakdown and helps them learn about the effects of separation and divorce.
• The Family Mediation Service that helps families identify challenges and work out solutions outside the courtroom, which saves parents money.
• Information and Referral Coordinators who will refer families to community agencies that can help them resolve challenges earlier and at less cost.

The new approach to settling family disputes will help more Ontario families avoid the courtroom in favour of an early, affordable, out-of-court resolution.

This is part of the government's Open Ontario plan to make the family justice system more straightforward, focused and affordable, and to provide accessible and consistent family justice services for all Ontarians.

QUICK FACTS

• The Mandatory Information Program was piloted in Milton, Brampton and Toronto and will be available in 17 additional courts by April 2011 and the remainder of the courts by summer 2011.
• The Family Mediation Service and Information and Referral Coordinators are currently available in 17 Family Courts locations and will be made available in the remainder of Ontario's courts by summer 2011.
• Approximately 160,000 people use Ontario's family courts each year.

Link to Ministry of Attorney General website

Successful workshop

Thank you to Elizabeth Espinoza and the Catholic Cross Cultural Services in Mississauga for hosting an excellent workshop in support of local Hispanic women. Guerrero Law is proud to have been asked to present a session on Family Law and looks forward to working with this association again in the future to help the local community have a better understanding of their rights and what assistance is available to them.

We are very pleased with all of the questions the participants had; the workshop was interactive, informative (according to the participants!) and an overall success.

Guerrero Law visits Remax agent Vicky Chiappari at Pumpkin Day

Free pumpkins, colouring activities, face painting and munchies! What more could you want on a Saturday afternoon in October?
Thanks to Remax agent Vicky Chiappari for a wonderful afternoon.