Please note that the information provided herein is not legal advice and is provided for informational and educational purposes only. As always, my observations are based on current Ontario laws; you are cautioned not to rely on the information provided herein and that you should do your own due diligent on present and applicable Ontario laws.

Ever wonder about the legality and ethics of referral fees between Ontario realtors (note: I use the term “realtors” throughout this blog to mean real estate sales representatives) and lawyers? Say, for example, your realtor recommends a lawyer to close your deal. If you end up going with that lawyer, is it legal and ethical for the lawyer to pay a referral fee to the realtor?

Conclusion: The bottom line is that referral fees are prohibited as between a realtor and a lawyer. While the issue of whether a realtor can make a referral fee may be somewhat unclear, the Real Estate Council of Ontario has made a strong case that such fees are prohibited. A realtor is, however, capable of receiving a referral fee from a third party provided that such fees are first disclosed by the third party to the client and the client agrees (preferably in writing). In such a case, the third party would pay the referral fee to the realtor’s employer (i.e. the broker), who would in turn pay the realtor. Much like a realtor, however, a lawyer is not capable of making a referral fee to non-lawyers, but is capable of receiving such fees under the same conditions as would a realtor. Therefore, since neither a realtor nor a lawyer are capable of making referral fees (notwithstanding that they’re capable of receiving them) to one another, referral fees are prohibited as between them. Breach of this rule is both illegal and unethical.

The following analysis shows how I came to these conclusions.

Realtors and so-called “Bird-Dog” or Referral Fees The combined effects of ss. 30(b) and (c) of the Real Estate Business and Brokers Act, 2002 provide that a broker shall not “pay any commission or other remuneration” to “employ or engage an unregistered person to trade in real estate”.

Here, a number of terms require further clarification.

Section 1 defines a broker as “a person who, for another or others, for compensation, gain or reward or hope or promise thereof, either alone or through one or more officials or salespersons, trades in real estate, or a person who holds himself, herself or itself out as such”.

Moreover, s. 1 defines a salesperson as “a person employed, appointed or authorized by a broker to trade in real estate”. Here, the word “employ” means “to employ, appoint, authorize or otherwise arrange to have another person act on one’s behalf, including as an independent contractor”.

Finally, s. 1 defines a trade as including “a disposition or acquisition of or transaction in real estate by sale, purchase, agreement for sale, exchange, option, lease, rental or otherwise and any offer or attempt to list real estate for the purpose of such a disposition or transaction, and any act, advertisement, conduct or negotiation, directly or indirectly, in furtherance of any disposition, acquisition, transaction, offer or attempt, and the verb ‘trade’ has a corresponding meaning”.

Clearly, while no broker may pay any form of compensation to unregistered persons in furtherance of a trade in real estate, it is somewhat unclear whether salespersons (i.e. realtors) are also prohibited from doing so (because salespersons are not mentioned in s. 30). As Allan Johnson, Registrar of the Real Estate Council of Ontario, mentioned in a now expired Registrar’s Bulletin: “A question posed recently dealt with the salesperson and his or her right to pay some form of compensation in gratitude for leads provided. This issue may not be as clear.” Interestingly, RECO’s new Registrar’s Bulletin on Bird-Dog fees states that, “where a brokerage is aware of, or more obviously where the brokerage were to use an employee/salesperson as a conduit to pay some form of compensation, in an attempt to avoid the appropriate sanctions of the Act, this activity would be construed to be a violation”. So if a salesperson acted alone without the knowledge of the brokerage, would the latter be immune from liability? In the expired Registrar’s Bulletin, Mr. Johnson suggested two caveats which would seem to prohibit salespersons from providing referral fees: “1. In light of the fact that salespersons are registered and employed by a specific broker and in fact act with the expressed authority of their broker employer, it may be argued that a salesperson’s action in paying compensation with either before or after tax dollars, may in fact be tantamount to the broker breaching section [30(b)] and/or 2. Payment of this type of compensation to an unregistered person, for what could likely be defined as ‘in furtherance of a trade’, may very well put the salesperson in the position of ‘counseling to commit an offence’ wherein the person receiving the compensation is determined to be in contravention of the Act, by virtue of trading in real estate without benefit of registration.

Read my latest articles on “Homes For Sale In Ontario City and do check out my website for my other real estate Tips .

“Accountants can help business owners settle all their financial and legal obligations. These commitments are essential so that you can properly manage your business by knowing your financial growth without breaking any law. Those who are not familiar with these things will surely need the services of an accountant.

What is the role of an accountant in a company? And how can an accountant help a company? An accountant is a qualified individual who deals mostly with a company’s finances. His can be updating payrolls and making sure employees receive the right amount of salary each payout, making sure that the account payables record of the company is accurate, keeping track of the company’s accounts receivable so the manager is aware of how much money is expected for a certain business period, and checking on the company’s financial security.

Certainly, an accountant is someone who is a whiz at numbers. A good one is somebody who doesn’t only update business ledgers but also keeps them accurate down to the last centavo.

There are times, due to the cost of hiring an accountant, that companies ignore the need to hire and one and manage their finances by themselves.

Hiring an accountant is actually a great investment due to the returns that you can enjoy. If your business is growing constantly and you could no longer keep up with all the necessary documents, then you should hire an accountant.

Your records will be handled immediately and in a professional manner if you have an accountant. Plus, you can be sure that you won’t be behind with all your taxes.

Another advantage is their alertness in spotting errors in your records or your accounting. Because of their extensive exposure to financial transactions, they can, indeed, easily know when there is something wrong with your bookkeeping or if anything may have been overlooked. If you hire somebody to do your accounting for you, it also means that you can focus more on other important things in your business such as creating new products.

If you need to hire the services of a Tustin CPA firm, you can start asking your friends or relatives for referrals. Or check online if you’re looking for a Cost Mesa CPA or anywhere in the county. If you want to search conveniently, the Internet alone will be a good place where you can find very good leads.

Yeah, these myths have been spread very fast, and there are some trues you really need to know, one of the best examples is that you need a professional agency to do it for you, even though they can help you do it, you can do it for yourself. I did it so can you!, our next step will be to revel the truth from some of the most common myths about credit repair and debt consolidation issues.

Myth 1: I Can’t Do It Myself

We need help once in a while and why not, but credit repair and debt consolidation is not one of those areas, it is an area where you can do it by yourself. Back in the days when I saw my credit report for first time I saw some “bad marks” on it (you know some late payments and stuff) I start freaking out and I remember thinking “there is no way I can do this by myself I will need some professional help” nevertheless I did it myself, how? easy I got educated that is the key. And now you are going to get the best education possible on this subject, about how to consolidate your debt, repair your credit, maintain your credit score etc… While I was studying my credit report I realized some big mistakes by either the creditor, the credit bureau and even both!!. This were not mine at all. I found several mistakes in multiple accounts and by doing some research it turns out that anywhere from 75% to 90% of the credit reports contain errors.

Myth 2: Your bad credit can’t be fixed.

Not at all, having a bad credit rating does not mean you can’t fix it, it may take you some time to do it, but you can definitely do it. There are several avenues to repair your credit, build positive lines of credit and returning to the good credit path. One of my most embarrassing stories occured when I was applying for a Banana Republic card and I was denied in the middle of a very important Holiday. Improving your credit is just a matter of getting the right education on the right topics and with my videos you will get all the education you need.

Myth 3: One credit Score is all you have.

The reality is that you have 3 credit scores, they are from the major credit reporting agencies, all 3 show different scores, so when applying for credit one company may use a different report than others, it is always good to check your credit score through the 3 bureaus, because scores can vary a lot among them.

Myth 4: Your score will decrease if you check it.

There are two types of inquiries that will appear on your credit report: hard and soft inquiries. Hard inquiries are from companies you wish to get credit from. These will affect your credit score. Soft inquiries are usually when you check your credit report online or from companies obtaining your information for promotional purposes. Soft inquiries don’t affect your score.

Myth 5: Your score will be lower if you are shopping around for a Loan.

Another very common myth, if you are looking for credit (mortgage, car loan, home loan) from several vendors, these inquiries will appear on your credit report just once, nevertheless this only applies if the same kind of inquiries are made within 14 days of each other. Just remember that this does not apply for credit cards.

Myth 6: The Only Way To Improve My Score Is To Remove All Negative Items

This is a partial true, because “erasing” your bad marks is just one piece of the credit repair puzzle, remember that while removing “negative items” will help you in your credit score, just building “positive credit” will take your score further. Remember when you were denied from a credit card company because you did not have credit? the truth is that you did not have positive credit built up with credit card companies.

“How to reduce your credit card interest rate with one simple phone call” this is free advice

It is more simple than you think, here is what you have to do: Get your telephone, dial their number and ask them to reduce your interest rate!!! just like that, by the way, tell them that you have sitting in front of you a credit card with a lower interest than the one they are offering you. Maybe a zero percent rate for the first 6 months, which after that period will turn into an 8% rate. If you have a higher rate this technique will help you to lower it. Tell them that you are thinking of transferring your balance unless they decrease your interest rate, if you don’t get a deal with the operator ask to talk with the supervisor, in most cases the threat to leave them is the key.

Before hring a professional to help you with your finance go to Miguel Pancardo site and get his excelent free report on debt consolidation and credit debt consolidation in his website.

It seems as though record companies have developed a new game plan in order to collect royalties. As we all know, the music industry attempted to sue individual users who illegally downloaded songs. But because of this approach to recover from major fiscal loss has destroyed their public image.

In lieu of lowering the price of albums in order to go up against the free music circulating through the internet, the music industry has turned to collection agencies who are now taking legal action against cellphone companies over royalties from ring tones. They claimed that ring tones counted as public performances so cell phone companies should be obligated to pay performance fees. The courts quickly renounced this claim.

After this unsuccessful attempt to collect money, Broadcast Music Inc is now suing T-Mobile over ring back tones, contesting that the cell phone company is selling them without agreeing to licensing agreements. Instead of ring tones, which play out loud when someone calls a cellphone, ring back tones play expressly to the person calling. That is to say, instead of hearing a cellphone dialing tone, the caller will hear a song chosen by the cell owner.

Critics are quick to point out the apparent irony of this lawsuit. If ringtones, which can be heard by anyone around a cellphone, do not constitute public performance, it seems ludicrous to sue the mobile carriers over a ringback tone that can be heard only by the caller. With record companies suffering from huge financial losses, it seems as though they are grasping at straws in order to collect any money that they possibly can.

It does not seem that lowering the cost of CDs and DVDs is an idea that has occurred to the major companies. There are still a number of music fans out there that prefer to collect and own the media, however with prices constantly spiking, downloading music for free seems very tempting. CDs generally go on sale for about seventeen dollars.

A few bands have bypassed the issue of free music downloads through creative tactics. Radiohead, an alternative rock band, built a website where fans can obtain the mp3s for free, or for a donation. Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor made a similar site. The music industry’s unsuccessful lawsuits and declining public image leads one to believe that thinking outside of the box and lower pricing may be more effective than bullying money out of mobile carriers and individual users.

Mallory Megan works for a debt collection company. She also writes stories on business and finance, consumer spending and collection agencies.

Your house should always be available for show, although it might occasionally be inconvenient for you. Let your listing agent place a lock box in a very convenient place to make it easy for other agents to show your home to home buyers. Otherwise, agents have to schedule appointments, which is an inconvenience. Most will simply skip your home to show the house of someone else who is more cooperative. Most agents will call and give you at least a number of hours notice before showing your property. If you refuse to let them show it at that point, they will simply skip your house. Even if they come back another time, it will most likely be with different buyers and you may have simply lost a chance to sell your home.

Try Not to be Home

Home buyers will feel like intruders if you are home when they visit, and they may not be as receptive toward viewing your home. Visit the local coffee house, yogurt shop, or take the kids to the local park. If you absolutely cannot leave, try to remain in an out of the way area of the house and do not move from room to room. Don’t volunteer any information, but answer any queries the agent might ask.

Lighting

When you know someone is coming by to tour your home, turn on all the indoor and outdoor lights – even during the day. At night, a lit house provides a “homey” impression when viewed from the street. During daytime, turning on the lights prevents harsh shadows from daylight and it brightens up any dim areas. Your house looks more homey and cheerful with the lights on.

Pet Control

If you own pets, make sure your listing agent puts a notice together with your listing in the multiple listing service. The last thing you would like is to have your pet running out the front door and getting lost. If you know somebody is coming, it might be best to take the pets with you while the home buyers tour your home. If you cannot do that, it is best to keep dogs in a penned area in the back yard. Try to keep indoor cats in a specific room when you expect visitors, and place a sign on the door. Most of the time, an indoor cat will hide when buyers come to view your property, but they may panic and try to escape.

The Kitchen Trash

Particularly if your kitchen trash can does not have a lid, make sure you empty it every time someone comes to look at your home – whether or not your trash can is kept under the kitchen sink. Bear in mind that you wish to send a positive image about every aspect of your home. Kitchen trash will not send a positive message. You will consume more plastic bags than usual, but it will be worth it.

Keep the House Tidy

Not everyone makes his or her bed every day, however when selling a home it’s suggested that you just develop the habit. Pick up papers, don’t leave empty glasses in the family room, keep everything freshly dusted and vacuumed. Try your best to have it look like a model home – a home with furniture but no one really lives there.

Another great article by Millrise Calgary Homes