Accounting
Let's review something important
The past six months have started to see the property/casualty insurers place an increasing emphasis on attempting to get a better handle on the validity of the insured values that owners are insisting on using, when negotiating renewals. One major carrier, in particular, has even on occasion gone so far as refusing to renew an insurance account unless the client agrees to higher values.
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Choosing the right mortgage
With an infinite amount of information found on the internet these days, borrowers have a wealth of information at their fingertips. There are various mortgage product types: closed term, variable rate, conventional or CMHC insured mortgages just to name a few. Borrowers also have many choices to consider when choosing the type of lending institution to borrow from such as chartered banks, credit unions, life insurance companies or non-bank financial lending institutions. Sometimes having too much information can make a decision overwhelming and the process can become extremely frustrating.
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What borrowers need to know about anti-money laundering legislation
Money laundering and terrorist financing is a common problem that no country, politician or law enforcement in the world has been able to escape, because it ranges from small individual operations to organized crime.
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Financing Your Greening Initiatives
Over the last decade, the real-estate market has been adapting to a progressively “green” global attitude. Some of the biggest players in the industry are opting for energy efficiency, sustainability, and eco-friendly alternatives. Unfortunately, many apartment owners are still associating these words with complexity, confusion and extra costs. They’re not sure how to get started, what retrofits would best benefit their buildings and how quickly will they see a return on their investment? With assistance of a qualified energy consultant and the recent improvements to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s (CMHC) energy efficiency program, going “green” might actually be easier than it seems. So, you ask, is it really worth the effort and investment? Absolutely!
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Are insurance costs flat or rising?
One of the fascinating aspects of being a “middle” person, whose professional responsibilities are wedged somewhere between the cost crazed customer and the greedy underwriter, is that you see a vast amount of information from a very different perspective. The cost of transferring the risks associated with sudden and unexpected physical building damage, and the related rental income loss, is pretty cheap for the apartment building owner. Add to that the covering off of any liability claims, not to mention related defence costs, and the result is that the building owner has off loaded a huge burden of surprising and unpredictable financial losses. Take the cost of doing this, as a percentage of gross building revenue taken in, and one cannot help but think of the old term “chump change.” Try operating a trucking fleet and learn what insurance costing can really look like…not a pretty picture.
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Lending value versus market value continued
In this issue, the focus will be on capitalization rates, how they are determined and what makes them vary. There is often a difference between the market cap rate buyers are paying to purchase the property and the cap rate lenders and CMHC are using to determine the value for lending purposes.
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How property and casualty insurance works
Insurance can be a dull topic and most of our clients know the fundamental issues that drive the cost of their insurance. Or do they? Let’s find out right here how this business really works, as it is not always what it seems to be.
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The good and the bad about cell antennas
A city cell site can generate millions annually for Rogers, Bell and Telus. Typically, the apartment owner only gets paid one per cent of that if the site is not managed properly.
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