The Green Mortgage Team Monthly Issue 005 September 2019

DR. SHERRY COOPER / 7

P OWE RED BY

Dr. Sherry Cooper discusses recent data showing that the housing market has turned the corner

ROBINSON SMITH / 12

The Smith Manoeuvre — Annual tax relief, less spent on mortgage payments, and hundreds of thousands in incremental wealth

GREEN MORTGAGE TEAM MONTHLY Issue 005 - September 2019

IN THIS ISSUE: INDUSTRY UPDATE Kyle Green: Is now the time to jump back into the real estate industry?

FIRST TIME HOME BUYER We explain the new First Time Home Buyer Incentive Program in detail

THIS MONTH’S RATE UPDATES Get the latest updates on fixed and variable rates in Canada

SEPTEMBER 2019

IN THIS ISSUE

Upcoming Events / Catch the Green Mortgage Team at these fall events!

03

Industry Update /

Is now the time to jump back into the real estate market?

04

2019 Green Mortgage Team Client Appreciation Event / Thank you to our clients!

06

August Data Confirm that Housing Has Turned Corner /

by Dr. Sherry Cooper

07

First Time Home Buyer Incentive Program Explained /

by Kyle Green

10

The Smith Manoeuvre /

by Robinson Smith

12

This Month’s Rate Updates /

by Kyle Green

15

Scott's Canucks Corner /

by Scott Brennan

17

There is Nothing So Certain as Death and Taxes /

by Chris Lubell 2 / GreenMortgageTeam.ca

18

Kyle Green Owner

Keaton Kirkwood

Business Development

Scott Brennan

Underwriter / Broker

Jason Cattermole Underwriter

Ali Young Underwriter

Ami Arandi

Commercial Underwriter

Max Jurock

Office Manager

Kevin Daniel Sales

Sherry Dhaliwal Sales

Wesley Mackay

Documents Manager

GREEN MORTGAGE TEAM MONTHLY

UPCOMING EVENTS

Catch the Green Mortgage Team at these upcoming events: REAL ESTATE OUTLOOK 2020

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SEPT 21

REIN ACRE EDMONTON

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SEPT 27

REIN VANCOUVER

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OCT 2

WESTERN CANADIAN PROPERTIES GROUP SUMMIT

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OCT 5

REAL ESTATE ACTION GROUP

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OCT 7

KEYSPIRE SUMMIT NIAGARA FALLS

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OCT 30

REIN ACRE VANCOUVER

/

NOV 1

POWERED BY

CONTACT US TODAY Contact us for all your financing needs: Info@GreenMortgageTeam.ca / 604-229-5515

GreenMortgageTeam.ca / 3

SEPTEMBER 2019

INDUSTRY UPDATE Is now the time to jump back into the real estate market?

It has been a long time since the days of multiple offers over the asking price with no subjects. Contracts were being handed out on nearly every property on the market.

Today, we see the market much more balanced, edging a bit toward buyers. However, recent sales data seems to be pointing to a potential bottoming out and a slow recovery of the real estate market at last. Make sure to read Sherry Coopers’ article on page 7 to get the stats on what’s going on locally and across Canada.

Kyle Green is the Owner of the Green Mortgage Team and is one of Canada’s top Mortgage Brokers. In 2017 and 2018, Kyle was ranked the No. 18 Mortgage Broker in Canada by CMP Magazine.

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It is also important to note that interest rates have fallen over 1% from their highs in January 2019. This drop in cost saves thousands in interest over the course of the mortgage, making it more affordable to own real estate not just because of price drops, but rate drops as well.

The million dollar question: "When do you jump back in?” I think the time is now.

I feel that the time to start looking at properties again is now, and here is why: 1.

Prices have dropped, making real estate more affordable.

2.

Sales data is showing that we may have bumped up against the bottom, so there is a smaller incentive to wait for that bottom.

3.

Mortgage rates are getting closer to all time lows again, making payments more affordable.

4.

There is a downward pressure on rates, which means there is a lower inclination to invest cash into liquid investments like bonds, etc., and more incentive to borrow it to invest in real estate and obtaining a mortgage.

Buying real estate now before others transition their investment plans into real estate will allow you the time to buy at the bottom of the current (new) cycle.

5.

At this point today, you can still negotiate with sellers and get a deal. When the market picks up and buyers flood the market again, this will change. As soon as there are a few months of solid sales data, the average homeowner will jump back into the market again and the pent-up demand is likely to pit you against multiple bidders again.

6.

Do you really want to buy stocks with the worldwide uncertainty regarding the tariff war, global growth decreasing, and the S&P at all time highs?

GREEN MORTGAGE TEAM MONTHLY

If you were to purchase a rental property where the tenant just covered your mortgage payments and nothing else (i.e., no positive cashflow), and even if there was no appreciation, real estate would be an excellent investment. Why is that? It is because your returns from having the tenant paying down your mortgage represents a 7.5% to 9% return on your money. There are very few that consistently get 7.5% to 9% returns with their money invested in the stock market. Remember that this assumes no appreciation. Once you assume a reasonable annual appreciation of 3% per year and a 20% down payment, your return on investment shoots up another 15% to 24%.

P OW ER ED BY

Get in touch with your realtor today and start the search for your next investment property! If you do not have a realtor you trust, feel free to reach out to us for a recommendation.

We invite you to join our next webinar in which we will talk about why investing in real estate makes sense. On page 3, you can also view the events we will be attending and speaking at this fall. We are always happy to answer your questions. Â

Info@GreenMortgageTeam.ca / 604-229-5515 GreenMortgageTeam.ca / 5

SEPTEMBER 2019

2019 GREEN MORTGAGE TEAM CLIENT APPRECIATION

Earlier this month we hosted the Green Mortgage Team Annual Client Appreciation Event at the Hastings Racecourse. We loved seeing all of your creative hats and fascinators.

Thank you to all our amazing clients for another fun and memorable event!

Until next year!

— The Green Mortgage Team

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GREEN MORTGAGE TEAM MONTHLY

AUGUST DATA CONFIRM THAT HOUSING HAS TURNED CORNER

BY DR. SHERRY COOPER Statistics released [earlier this month] by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show that national h o m e s a l e s ro s e f o r t h e s i x t h consecutive month. Transactions are now running almost 17% above the six-year low reached in February 2019, but remain about 10% below highs reached in 2016 and 2017.

Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver all saw sales and prices rise.

CREA updated its 2019 sales forecast, now predicting a 5% gain this year.

Gains were led by a record-setting August in Winnipeg and a further improvement in the Fraser Valley.

These confirm signs that the country's housing market is returning to health.

Actual (not seasonally adjusted) sales activity was up 5% from where it stood in August 2018. The number of homes that traded hands was up from year-

ago levels in most of Canada's largest urban markets, including the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Calgary, Winnipeg, the Greater Toronto (GTA), Ottawa and Montreal.

New Listings The number of newly listed homes rose 1.1% in August. With sales and new supply up by similar magnitudes, the national sales-to-new listings ratio was 60.1% – little changed from July's reading of 60.0%. The measure has risen above its long-term average (of 53.6%) in recent months, which indicates a tighter balance between supply and demand and a growing potential for price gains.

Dr. Sherry Cooper is Dominion Lending’s in-house economist. For over 30 years, Sherry has been bringing economic insights and clarity to Canadians.

SherryCooper.com

Based on a comparison of the salesto-new listings ratio with the longterm average, about three-quarters of all local markets were in balanced market territory in August 2019. Of the remainder, the ratio was above the long-term average in all markets save for some in the Prairie region.

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SEPTEMBER 2019

growth has begun to rebound among markets in the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH) region amid ongoing price gains in housing markets east of it.

A comparison of home prices to year-ago levels yields considerable variations across the country, with declines in western Canada and price gains in eastern Canada.

The actual (not seasonally adjusted) Aggregate Composite MLS® (HPI) was up 0.9% year-over-year (y/y) in August 2019. This marks the second consecutive month in which prices climbed above year-ago levels and the most substantial y/y increase since the end of last year.

There were 4.6 months of inventory on a national basis at the end of August 2019 – the lowest level since December 2017. This measure of market balance has been increasingly retreating below its long-term average (of 5.3 months).

There is considerable regional variation in the tightness of housing markets. The number of months of inventory has swollen far beyond long-term averages in Prairie provinces and Newfoundland & Labrador, giving homebuyers an ample choice in these regions. By contrast, the measure is running well below long-term averages in Ontario, Quebec and Maritime provinces, resulting in increased competition among buyers for listings and fertile ground for price gains.

Meanwhile, the measure is well centred in balanced-market territory in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, making it likely that prices there will stabilize.

Home Prices Canadian home prices saw their biggest one-month gain in two years. The Aggregate Composite MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) rose 0.8% m-o-m in August 2019.

Seasonally adjusted MLS® HPI readings in August were up from the previous month in 14 of the 18 markets tracked by the index, marking the biggest dispersion of monthly price gains since last March.

In recent months, home prices have generally been stabilizing in British Columbia and the Prairies, a measure which had been falling until recently. Meanwhile, price 8 / GreenMortgageTeam.ca

Home prices in Greater Vancouver (GVA) and the Fraser Valley remain furthest below year-ago levels, (-8.3% and -5.5%, respectively). Vancouver Island and the Okanagan Valley logged y/y increases of 3.7% and 1.5% respectively.

Prairie markets posted modest price declines, while y-o-y price growth has re-accelerated ahead of overall consumer price inflation across most of the GGH. Meanwhile, price growth has continued uninterrupted for the last few years in Ottawa, Montreal and Moncton.

All benchmark home categories tracked by the index returned to positive y/y territory in August. Two-storey single-family home prices were up most, rising 1.2% y/y.

This category of homes had been hardest hit during the slump. One-storey single-family home prices rose 0.7% y/y, while townhouse/row and condo apartment units edged up 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively.

Stress Test Canada’s introduction of stricter mortgage-lending rules last year inhibited some potential home buyers. Until recently, declining interest rates and lower home prices may have allowed some of those buyers to return to the market, according to the CREA report.

“The recent marginal decline in the benchmark five-year interest rate used to assess homebuyers’ mortgage eligibility — from 5.34% to 5.19% — together with lower home prices in some markets, means that some previously sidelined homebuyers have returned,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s chief economist. “Even so, the mortgage stress-test will continue to limit homebuyers’ access to

GREEN MORTGAGE TEAM MONTHLY

mortgage financing, with the degree to which it further weighs on home sales activity continuing to vary by region.�

CREA also updated its forecasts. National home sales are now projected to recover to 482,000 units in 2019, representing a 5% increase from the five-year low recorded in 2018. The upward revision of 19,000 transactions brings the overall level back to the 10-year average, but remains well below the annual record set in 2016, when almost 540,000 homes traded hands, CREA said.

mortgage rates and 5-year government bonds is at a very tight 77 basis points, which is likely not sustainable. A more normal spread between the two is 120-ish (or more) for the best rates and 150-plus-ish (for regular rates). Some lenders are already hiking mortgage rates.

The situation has been compounded with even more considerable uncertainty with the [recent] bombing of the Saudi Aramco oil fields, taking an estimated half of all Saudi oil out of production. Stay tuned.

Bottom Line: This report is in line with other recent indicators that suggest housing has recovered from a slump earlier, helped by falling mortgage rates. The run of robust housing data gives the Bank of Canada another reason — along with robust job gains, higher wage rates and stronger than expected output growth in Q2 — to hold interest rates steady, even as more than 30 central banks around the world have cut interest rates further.

[Following the last Federal Open Market Committee meeting], it is widely expected that they will cut rates by 25 basis points as the White House is calling for "emergency easing moves." The Trump administration has just in the past few days succumbed to political pressure to reduce trade tensions. Trade uncertainty is the only thing right now that would derail the Canadian recovery.

As a result of this recent easing in trade tensions and [the recent] cut in overnight rates further into negative territory by the European Central Bank, the flight to US Treasury bond safety diminished, raising the US and Canadian government bond yields by roughly 25 basis points from extremely low levels. Canadian 5year bond yields at 1.48% are at their highest level in two months. In consequence, the spread between the best 5-year fixed GreenMortgageTeam.ca / 9

SEPTEMBER 2019

FIRST TIME HOME BUYER THE POWER OF COMMUNICATION INCENTIVE PROGRAM EXPLAINED DO YOU QUALIFY? If you wish to learn more or if you have any questions regarding this new program, call 604-229-5515 or send us an email at: Info@GreenMortgageTeam.ca

PO W ERED BY

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Effective September 2, 2019, the Government of Canada introduced the First Time Home Buyer Incentive (FTHBI) to help qualified First Time Home Buyers (FTHB) purchase a home, making homeownership more affordable by reducing their monthly mortgage payment without increasing their down payment.

The FTHBI is considered a Shared Equity Mortgage (SEM) where the Government of Canada has a shared interest in the borrower’s property value. This program is available through the default insurers; Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC), Genworth and Canada Guaranty. Borrowers will receive an incentive in the form of an interest-free loan towards their down payment: ‣ 5% for the purchase of a resale property OR ‣ 5% or 10% for the new purchase of a new construction home.

Does it make sense for you?

1. The main benefit of this program is that there are no payments on the amount borrowed. In many cases this will shave approximately $100 per month off your mortgage payment.

2. Another cost savings comes from the CMHC insurance premium. The premium is calculated on the loan amount you get from the bank, which is the purchase price minus your down payment, as well as the incentive amount. This means you save on the CMHC premiums, which drop for every 5% in total down payment.

GREEN MORTGAGE TEAM MONTHLY

3. In return for a free loan towards the purchase of your home, you will need to repay the government for the amount borrowed plus the same percentage of the increase in value to the home as the amount borrowed.

For instance, if you borrowed 10% of the purchase price under the program, you would have to repay 10% of the appreciation when the home is sold, or at the end of the 25 years. Based on our math, the home would have to appreciate at a rate of approximately 3% per year or more for the cost of repaying the government for this to exceed the interest savings of borrowing the down payment at a rate of around 3% interest.

For example, if you purchased a $400,000 property and borrowed 10% of the price ($40,000) under the program, this would save you approximately $1,200 in interest per year. If you sold in 5 years, and the value of the home went up 3% each year, the future value would be $463,000, and you would owe the government $6,300 while you saved $6,000 in interest over 5 years.

If you expect home values to appreciate at a rate over 3% per year (historically, Vancouver has been around 6% and Canada has been around 3% — 3.5% per year for the past 25 years), then it may not make sense financially for you. If you expect appreciation to be less than 3% annually, then it definitely makes sense.

Program Eligibility ‣ Applications must be submitted on or after September 2, 2019, and the closing date must be on or after November 1, 2019.

‣ Only High Ratio mortgages (greater than 80% Loan-to-Value) are eligible and the borrower’s annual qualifying household income does not exceed $120,000. ‣ The combined mortgage loan amount and incentive cannot exceed four times the total annual qualifying income. To verify this, use the Government of Canada’s online calculator. ‣ The loan has no monthly payment. Repayment amount will be based on fair market value to be determined at the time of repayment. ‣ Repayment will be required when the property is sold or at the end of the 25-year term, whichever happens earlier. ‣ Voluntary repayment of the full incentive can be made without any prepayment penalties. ‣ The borrower must be a Canadian Citizen, Permanent Resident or Non-Permanent Resident who is legally authorized to work in Canada. ‣ At least one borrower must be considered an FTHB based on the qualifying criteria. ‣ Property must be owner occupied and located in Canada. ‣ Borrowers must contribute the minimum required down payment from traditional sources. ‣ Default insurance premiums will be calculated based on the purchase price less the borrower’s own down payment and the FTHBI amounts.

USE OUR ELIGIBILITY CALCULATOR, APPLICATION PROCESS DIAGRAM & MORE! For more great references and tools, visit: GreenMortgageTeam.ca GreenMortgageTeam.ca / 11

SEPTEMBER 2019

THE SMITH MANOEUVRE

BY ROBINSON SMITH Robinson Smith is the president of Smith Consulting Group Ltd., the company behind The Smith Manoeuvre.

Smithman.net

The Smith Manoeuvre Annual Tax Relief, Less Spent on Mortgage Payments, and Hundreds of Thousands in Incremental Wealth Tax-time was several months ago, but I am sure you can still feel the pain if you close your eyes. If you can’t, don’t worry — tax-time is coming around again soon, real soon. And why does tax time hurt? Because as Canadians, we are some of the highest tax-paying citizenry on the planet. Now, while we shouldn’t mind paying taxes — we need bridges, hospitals and schools — we do mind when our tax dollars are spent so frivolously by the various levels of government.

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LIFE IS EXPENSIVE! On top of the fact that as Canadians, we spend more of our income on taxes than we do on food, clothing and shelter combined, we now have to make a monthly payment on our big, expensive mortgage. That mortgage — that loan which enabled us to buy our house where we are able to raise our family in peace, security and serenity — is also the very thing that threatens our peace, security and serenity. We lay awake at night wondering how we are going to be able to save enough money for our future when we have this huge payment fleeing our bank account each month.

Contributing to our lack of solid slumber is the fact that we have two very important financial goals in life — paying off our mortgage and saving for our retirement.

GREEN MORTGAGE TEAM MONTHLY

THE POWER OF COMMUNICATION Income Required to Pay Off Mortgage Without The Smith Manoeuvre $1,213,589 Principal in after-tax dollars

$500,000

Interest in after-tax dollars

$248,906

Total before-tax income you will need to earn

$1,213,589

With life being so expensive, we don’t think we have enough money to tackle both of these goals at the same time. Therefore, we focus on the mortgage because if we don’t, the bank gets our house. We resign ourselves to the fact that we need to wait until that mortgage is paid off; only then can we use that freed-up mortgage payment to start saving for retirement. Guess what — that is too late!

We have missed out on 20, 25, 30 years of compound growth potential and, further, now that the mortgage is gone, we still find ourselves unable to save for our retirement because by then, we are retired.

TROUBLE AHEAD FOR THIS FAMILY… Let’s take a family with $100,000 in annual income, a $500,000 mortgage at 3.5%, amortized over 25 years and, because life is expensive, no surplus cash to put away for retirement. Unfortunately, this is common scenario. By paying off this mortgage the way most Canadians do, over the course of 25 years: ‣

They will have generated precisely zero dollars in tax deductions.

‣

They will have made expensive mortgage payments for precisely 25 years.

‣

They will have an investment portfolio of precisely zero dollars.

Reverse mortgage, here we come! This family may actually have to effectively start selling house back to the bank after they have been working for the bank for 25 years and

having to have earned the over $1.2 million required to pay out that $500,000 mortgage — not fun.

THERE IS A BETTER WAY! We do not have to approach these two important financial goals in sequence, we can attack them simultaneously.

The key is to start now, when we are as young as we are ever going to be and have the magic of compound growth on our side. It doesn’t cost us any cash from our pockets to do so. With no more than what is already coming out of your pockets each month, you can generate increasing annual tax refunds giving you more cash in pocket, you can pay out that non-deductible mortgage faster than you ever thought possible, and you can start investing significant sums on a monthly basis whereas otherwise there were none. The Smith Manoeuvre is a debt conversion strategy — the amount of mortgage debt you have when you begin the process will not change, but you will start to see very large benefits.

Taxation Improvement $266,474 Total tax deductions over amortization period Total tax deductions via current mortgage Total sax savings using The Smith Manoeuvre

$266,474 $0 $102,033

Amortization Improvement 3 Years Saved Net Worth Improvement $281,621 Value of investment portfolio at the end of the amortization

$781,621

Offset by deductible investment loan of

$500,000

Net improvement in family net worth

$281,621

GreenMortgageTeam.ca / 13

SEPTEMBER 2019

THE POWER OF COMMUNICATION NOW THIS IS MORE LIKE IT! Let’s take a look at the exact same family as above to see their results if they did implement The Smith Manoeuvre and earned an average 6% growth rate on their investment portfolio and were at a 38% marginal tax rate and enjoyed current secured interest rates: ‣

They will have generated over $266,000 in tax deductions, equating to over $102,000 in tax refunds.

‣

They will be out of their expensive, non-deductible mortgage in 22 years instead of 25 years.

‣

They will have an investment portfolio valued at over $780,000 for a net improvement of over $280,000 in family wealth.

That’s more like it. Remember, these results took no new cash from them on a monthly basis.

ACCELERATE THE PROCESS There are many Accelerators which can greatly speed up the entire process therefore vastly improving the benefits. For example, let’s assume this family owns a rental property and that this rental runs slightly cash flow positive — $30,000 in annual revenues and $27,600 in expenses. If they employed the Cash Flow Dam Accelerator, here are their improved results:

Taxation Improvement $443,415 Total tax deductions over amortization period Total tax deductions via current mortgage Total tax savings using The Smith Manoeuvre

Net Worth Improvement $480,588 Value of investment

‣

The non-deductible mortgage has disappeared in 9.4 years — over 15.5 years ahead of schedule.

the amortization

‣

Their investment portfolio is worth $980,000 for a net improvement in family wealth of $480,000.

Offset by deductible

All this family did to achieve these benefits was talk to their mortgage broker, the Green Mortgage Team, to help restructure their financial affairs, using no additional cash.

Net improvement in

Robinson’s new book, Master Your Mortgage for Financial Freedom — How to Use the Smith Maneouvre in Canada to Make Your Mortgage Tax-Deductible and Create Wealth, will be released in late fall 2019.

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$169,783

15.59 Years Saved

$443,000 in tax deductions equating to almost $170,000 in tax refunds.

BY ROBINSON SMITH

$0

Amortization Improvement

‣

YOU CAN ACHIEVE THESE RESULTS The Smith Manoeuvre mortgage conversion strategy can be implemented in around a month. It requires no new cash from the homeowner on a monthly basis, significantly improves your cash flow, greatly reduces the amount of earnings required to pay out your mortgage and generates a healthy retirement portfolio.

$443,415

portfolio at the end of

investment loan of

family net worth

$980,588

$500,000

$480,588

GREEN MORTGAGE TEAM MONTHLY

THIS MONTH’S RATE UPDATES

Lock-In Meter

Fixed Rates

Fixed rates may have hit their short-term low, however we still think that medium-term there is room to dip. Most economists are predicting over a 50% chance of a decrease to the prime rate in Q4, however, our advice for most consumers is to wait and either ride out some decreases this year and next year and/or wait for a bit to see what happens with fixed rates.

Fixed rates are highly correlated with bond yields, so we will be referencing bonds a lot in this section.

Bond rates seem to have finally hit their bottom point in the near term, hitting around 1.15% before very recently jumping back to 1.45%. The question of where the rates are heading really should be separated into short-term and medium-term.

Short-term, we actually have a few lenders who had cut-throat rates increasing by .1% - .2%. If bonds stay around 1.45% for a few more days, we will see more lenders creep up slightly. It seems that on a daily basis the bonds jump up or down depending on the latest developments with the US-China tariff situation and on what Trump has tweeted most recently.

Medium-term, however, is a completely different story. There is a lot of talk of interest rates falling even further, with a much more pessimistic view on the markets. Bonds around 1%, with fixed rates between 2.5% - 2.8% sometime in Q4 or Q1 2020 would not be out of the question with all of the current uncertainty across the globe.

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SEPTEMBER 2019

(and should) drop to 0% in the US, which would have large ripple effects around the world. It does seem interesting that the slowdown in US growth has been largely caused by the tariff situation, which Trump himself decided to quarterback, and is now calling for backup from the Federal Reserve to lower rates to counter his actions.

Variable Rates Variable rates are affected by both the Prime Rate, which is set by the banks and typically moves with the Bank of Canada’s movement of the overnight lending rate, as well as, the discount or premium off of the prime rate.

On September 4, 2019, the Bank of Canada decided to sit still, holding the overnight lending rate steady. However, as I said in our last issue (004 - August 2019), it seems more apparent that countries and consumers alike are preparing for a weaker 2020 as studies and reports are now showing weaker forecasts. The US Federal Reserve is being prompted by tweets from Donald Trump that rates could

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Circling up north, Canada still appears reasonably strong in job numbers and inflation, however concerns about a slowing China and US will leave Canada with few trading partners looking to purchase Canadian commodities. If the US Federal Reserve drops rates and Canada does not, the Canadian dollar will increase relative to other currencies. This is not good news for a net exporter of commodities looking to find buyers. If anything, Canada will likely look to keep pace by lowering rates to keep goods “on sale”.

If you are in a variable rate mortgage, there seems to be over a 50% chance of a rate drop at the Bank of Canada announcement. If you can get a good variable rate mortgage around or under 3%, it is definitely worth considering if you are willing to pay a slight premium now for the more flexible variable product, with the upside of this rate likely decreasing soon.

GREEN MORTGAGE TEAM MONTHLY

SCOTT’S CANUCKS CORNER against Calgary when some kid was giving Bieksa fits? Well, Micheal Ferland is a Canuck now. Now that he is donning the blue and green, all is forgiven. Ferland will add grit to this team that has been sorely needed the past few years. The guy can put the puck in the net too.

Well, who are we?

Another off-season in which the Canucks were left to lick their wounds from a season to forget. On the bright side, the team has made a lot of changes. Let’s go through them.

What Changed?

New personnel via free agency and trades We added JT Miller, Tyler Myers, Micheal Ferland, Jordie Benn and Oscar Fantenberg. We gave up a 1st for JT Miller, but we have added a scoring touch that will have an immediate impact. Where he may have been lost in the shuffle in Tampa Bay, he will get the minutes and the opportunity to shine in Vancouver.

Tyler Myers is a towering defenseman at 6’8” tall. He was put into a heavy minutes roll in Winnipeg after Big Buff got injured. Some say he is a bit of a yard sale in his end, but my insiders (read: my family from Winnipeg) said that they were upset to see him go.

He is a team player, great in the community and gives his all — something that I am sure Canucks fans will appreciate.

Remember during the play-offs

Jordie Benn is a local boy, well… rather an Island boy. His presence immediately makes the Canucks a better team defensively. He will chew up some minutes and be a fixture on the Kill.

We signed Oscar Fantenberg solely for depth. With the health woes of our “D” corps over the years, he will likely see a good chunk of minutes.

New Retro Jerseys In a Canucks survey, the old Skate logo won in a landslide. Expect to see the old black and yellow a lot more often in the stands. I can’t wait to grab a #40 at Game 1.

What Didn’t Change?

Vancouver was a missed opportunity.

Hopefully with some of our 50 th season festivities they correct this.

Louie Ericsson Still on the team. End transmission.

Benning remains the GM I am actually OK with this. Despite making the play-offs only once in his 5-year career with the Canucks, he remains the General Manager. I think that we are on the verge of something good here and would like him to have the chance to see it through. Don’t get me wrong, we are not contending for the Cup this season, but I think a lowtiered play-off spot is attainable.

Boeser Not Signed Fortunately, he was not eligible to get the dreaded Offer Sheet this offseason. That would have been ugly. The Canucks’ Twitter account would have erupted. They have said via media that they are aware that they have Cap issues and a piece or two will need to move to get him inked long-term. It will happen.

No Captain We haven’t had a “C” since Hank re t i re d . T h e re a s o n t h i s i s s o troublesome is that we have a shining example of what it takes to be a Captain in Bo Horvat. Having him introduced at the Draft held here in

BY SCOTT BRENNAN Scott is an Underwriter at the Green Mortgage Team. When Scott is not at the office, he can often be found watching the Canucks.

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THERE IS NOTHING SO CERTAIN AS THE POWER OF COMMUNICATION DEATH AND TAXES Or so the saying goes.

This certainly is true in Canada where there is a "deemed disposition" when a taxpayer dies.

What this means is that a taxpayer is deemed to dispose of all his or her assets at fair market value immediately preceding death.

How does this affect your assets? ‣ For certain assets (e.g., stock investments, company shares, revenue property, collectables), if the fair market value is greater than the adjusted cost base then capital gains will result. ‣ Fifty percent of capital gains are included in the deceased taxpayer's income. ‣ Revenue property could also attract additional tax in the form of recaptured depreciation.

There are some exceptions ‣ Assets which are left to a spouse will have the gain deferred until the spouse dies or disposes of the asset. ‣ A principal residence is not subject to capital gains. ‣ Shares that the deceased owned in a Qualifying Small Business Corporation may qualify for the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption where the first $800,000 of capital gain is exempt from taxation.

BY CHRIS LUBELL Chris is the President of Lions Peak Financial Group.

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Registered Funds receive different tax treatment RRSP, RRIF, TFSA and Pension Funds ‣ A spouse who is left registered funds by her husband or his wife may roll those funds into his or her Registered Savings Plan or

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‣

‣

Retirement Income Fund and avoid paying income tax.

a Qualifying Small Business Corporation distributed to other family members.

Registered funds left to anyone other than a spouse or qualifying disabled child are fully taxable as income. Some rules also apply to minor dependent children which involve spreading the tax by purchase of a qualifying annuity for 18 years less the age of the child at the time of acquiring the annuity.

‣ The use of joint accounts. This strategy should be used with careful consideration and professional guidance.

Amounts paid to a beneficiary of a Tax Free Savings Account are not subject to income tax.

Other fees and costs ‣ Funeral and other last expenses; ‣

Probate fees;

‣

Administrative costs and possibly legal fees.

Reduce or avoid the impact Estate planning and life insurance solutions Freezing the estate which has the effect of fixing the amount of tax payable on assets upon death and passing future growth to the next generation; ‣

In conjunction with the above, the use of a family trust with the objective of multiplying the number of Lifetime Capital Gains Exemptions on shares in

‣ Effective use of life insurance, both personally and corporately owned, which can provide sufficient liquidity at death to pay taxes with insurance proceeds rather than "hard dollars”. This can be especially true by using Joint Second-to-Die life insurance which will provide proceeds to pay the deferred tax upon the death of the surviving spouse.

While we often complain about the cost of living, the cost of dying can also be extremely high and could create significant problems for those we leave behind. With sound advice and planning the financial impact on your family and business partners can be softened and, sometimes, even eliminated.

BY CHRIS LUBELL Chris can be reached at 778-886-3410 or at chris@lionspeakfg.ca.

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