How to add value to your home and protect your investment

At first glance, everything is still rosy for the UK’s homeowners. 

Asking prices for property in England and Wales hit a record high this month, with sellers marketing their homes for an average £313,000, according to property listings portal Rightmove. 

What’s more, buyer demand is high, with more sales achieved so far this year than at any time since 2007. Yet, while the market is buoyant, there have also been signs that the sales prices actually being achieved are beginning to cool. Nationwide’s data showed the average selling price of a home fell 0.3 per cent last month.

• Read more

House prices hit record high ahead of General Election

There’s no shortage of experts calling that a temporary blip, but homeowners across the country are already trying to work out the best ways to ride out any possible dip without falling into negative equity. Suddenly, the property game is all about adding value.

Grand designs, small spaces

We all love home improvements; we’re a nation obsessed with property. We watch TV shows in which plucky couples build epic homes and where designers rip out every wall to create attractive, modern living spaces that command a serious premium.

Yet individually we often seem to have far less design scope. The average UK home has shrunk significantly over the last 100 years; research from the NAEA (the National Association of Estate Agents) shows that in the 1920s the average dwelling was 153m squared.

Almost 100 years later the average home is approximately half the size at 83m squared, meaning homes have shrunk by 46 per cent in the last century.

Some buyers may feel this limits their scope to add value to their homes. After all, if there is no wasted space in a new build or other modern property then there’s very little chance the owner can knock through a few walls or add an extension to increase their home’s worth.

However, with the right ambitions, experts insist it’s still possible to have big ideas in a tiny space.

Improving not moving

Research from Co-op Insurance shows that 91 per cent of homeowners believe their property has increased in worth since they bought it and by an average of £33,125. 

And that’s not all down to house prices, which have been trending upwards despite the slight dip last month. In fact, growing numbers of homeowners are making their own mark on their properties and adding value through renovations and improvements.

Design expert Kevin McCloud, speaking to The Independent ahead of his appearance at the Grand Designs Live event in London later this month, says that displaying existing space to best effect is a key improvement and one that can be done with minimal outlay.

“There are design solutions and storage options that make our lives a lot easier and show a home to best advantage.

“It isn’t always about the size of what we have, it’s about the design and the way we work with it and the sense of space. I mean, even cleaning your windows introduces more light into a room and makes it feel lighter and brighter.

“When filming House of the Year I’ve seen how small spaces can be really cleverly designed. For example, fitted storage, like a large bench running the full length of a room or alcove. Actually, that’s what quite a lot of good design is. Once you start to declutter then the room feels bigger; a lot of what architects do is ensure a space isn’t cluttered.”

Ellie Rees, owner of the ethical estate agency Brickworks, suggests that homeowners can maximise the value of their property simply by dressing it for market.

“We are continually surprised by how dressing a property with our own stock of furniture, painting, putting new flooring down and so on, can at worst add value and at best sell a property that has been sitting there for an age,” she explains. “Very basic adding to the fabric of a building with new lighting fixtures and fittings, for example, is obvious but effective.”

Boosting value

The Co-op Insurance study found that 60 per cent of homeowners said their renovation work has led to an increase in value. Typically they had spent £18,224 and seen a £14,900 profit as a result of the work they carried out.

Modern home owners may find it hard to dream up developments that work within their homes. Yet there are a number of ways they can make physical adaptations that could still add value.

• Read more

London shifts from buy-to-let to buy-to-live after house prices dip

Neil Simpson, sales director at Bewley Homes, says: “Sometimes it is subject to planning but, if a development has [a garden], the owner of a new home can usually extend up to 70 cubic metres, enabling them to add value with the addition of an outside room or sun lounge.”

“Another way to add value to a smaller or new-build property would be to buy a smart garden room,” suggests Bruce King, director of estate agent Cheffins. “These are becoming more and more popular as they can provide an office, or even have plumbing to create an en-suite guest space. 

“This can add around £30,000-£50,000 to the final value of the house. As working from home becomes more common, often buyers are looking for a workspace which is separate to the main house. The majority of decent examples will cost from around £5,000-£10,000 and the really best in class also include a woodburner and smart furnishings.”

Looking for credit card or current account deals? Search here

Read More

Current accounts: How fintech is revolutionising personal banking

Technology and __money are no strangers.

Fintech companies and other pioneering start-ups have been behind a huge surge of innovation among financial products that have changed the way we manage our money. The personal and business loans markets have been transformed with peer-to-peer lending products so popular the Government has created a special innovative finance ISA to help consumers invest in them.

Tech has powered the sharing economy, with people now able to connect and rent out everything from their driveways to their cooking. It has enabled consumers to bypass the mainstream banks and do everything from exchanging __money to making cardless payments.

However, for a long time current accounts did not receive the same attention. They are complicated products, requiring licences and intense regulation. Some challenger banks declared their intentions of launching current accounts, operating entirely online and via apps.

It’s taken a long time for those challengers to be ready to offer such accounts but now several have come to market within a short period of time. Of course, getting people to change their current account is notoriously tricky; even with the seven-day switching service many customers are nervous about the hassle and potential for frustrating mistakes.

Yet the numbers suggest more people are making the switch, often chasing better rates, perks and introductory bonuses. Data collated by the payments body Bacs shows that almost 96,000 switches were made last month and 90,000 in February, compared with less than 62,000 in January.

Many current account customers won’t look beyond the big high street banks, if they are prepared to switch at all. And that is why the newly launched challenger current accounts feel they need to offer something different.

Triodos – the ethical current account

For the first time this week, would-be customers can register for a current account with one of Europe’s leading sustainable banks, with actual accounts being offered via a phased roll-out starting in June.

The bank lends money only to organisations and projects that can demonstrate they are making a positive difference to society, and has lent to charities, community schemes, organic farmers and renewable energy projects.

Bevis Watts, managing director of Triodos UK, says that consumers can align their values with the food they buy, the energy they use and even their transport choices, but that daily finance options have lagged behind.

He argues that the current account market in the UK is “dysfunctional” partly because of the domination of a small number of banks. “We want people to really think about what their bank is doing with their money. Money doesn’t have to be invested in the arms trade, fossil fuels and tobacco; it can be used to do good things that help build the society we want to live in.”

Customers who open an account will be charged £3 a month across the board, rather than a “free” service that’s being funded through overdraft charges and penalties. The debit card offered with the account is made from natural plastic – a gimmick, some might argue, but one that could easily resonate with environmentally concerned consumers.

Coconut – the freelancer’s current account

The gig economy continues to grow, with about 5 million people in the UK working as independents. It makes sense that a bank account provider would want to cash in on that and that is why Coconut has sprung up – to provide tailored banking for freelance and self-employed workers.

It’s currently accepting early access requests and will launch fully later this year. The current account allows freelancers to track the tax they owe in real time and helps them manage client payments and expenses.

Customers can manage and track their income and outgoings via an app, and it even gives reminders of tax deadlines and the end of the financial year.

Robin Foale, a former managing director of business banking at Santander who recently joined Coconut, explains: “The big banks are ignoring a huge number of British workers. There are now more than 5 million freelancers, sole traders and independent contractors in the UK, making up over 17 per cent of the workforce. Some 55 per cent the people signed up to Coconut’s waiting list don’t have a business bank account despite freelancing for more than a year.”

Monzo – the techie one

Increasing numbers of customers are relying on their phones for their daily banking, with data from the British Banking Association revealing that customers used their phones to check their bank balances 895 million times in 2015 alone, a number that is no doubt rocketing upwards.

A number of fintech start-ups are trying to capitalise on this trend and Monzo is one. It received its full UK banking licence just this month and intends to launch a full free current account later this year, although customers can currently sign up to the Monzo Beta service.

The app gives customers a real-time insight into what they are spending and how they are spending it, helping to budget and stay in the black. Users can access their account via an app that gives data on their daily and monthly spending, as well as the overall health of their account.

It can currently be used via a prepaid card.

Atom – the first one

The first bank to gain a licence while being centred entirely around an app, Atom is racing ahead in the fintech current account stakes. It offers some far-sighted technological developments, including the opportunity to do away with passwords and even debit cards, instead relying on voice and face recognition.

Although it has had some success with a market-leading fixed-term savings account – signing up almost 5,000 customers in one day alone last month – the current account has not yet been launched. Expect it later this year, with a beta version being offered sooner to selected customers.

The musician Will.i.am, who is somewhat inexplicably a strategic board adviser for the bank, says: “Our lives are faster than ever before, but the banking industry hasn’t kept up. The scale of Atom’s ambition to help people understand and manage their money better, and its clever use of technology to give people an entire bank on their phones is awesome.”

The other ones

Those are just the banks that are likely to launch current accounts in the near future, but there is a tsunami of tech-led options on the horizon. Keep an eye out for Starling, which is currently in testing but will operate via an app and deliver updates on spending to help customers manage their money more efficiently.

And DiPocket is a new financial app that isn’t a bank but offers customers mobile banking facilities via a prepaid Mastercard.

There’s also Tandem, which pledges to eventually offer current accounts, credit cards, savings and loans. The start-up had to give up its deposit-taking licence last year after it lost some anticipated funding, however, it still intends to bring new banking products to customers later this year.

Looking for credit card or current account deals? Search here

Read More

They want to kill the euro: Why many Europeans want their money back

The rise and fall of the euro

Sergi Cutillas was thrilled when Spain joined the euro. Now he wants out.

"The eurozone has failed. It was a bad experiment," he said. "It was wishful thinking."

The 34-year-old economist wants Spain to abandon the euro. He's far from alone: 25% of the people who use the common currency want to ditch it, according to the latest European Union poll.

The threat to the euro is most acute in France, where people will vote Sunday in the final round of a presidential election that features Marine Le Pen. The far right politician wants France to abandon the currency union.

The euro, the currency of 19 EU countries, is the most visible symbol of the region's long experiment with economic integration since the end of World War II.

But it's now under threat from politicians on both the left and right who want to bring the lira, drachma, peseta and French franc out of retirement.

Here's why some Europeans want to kill the euro:

'Europe is not a nation'

For Alberto Bagnai, the case against the currency boils down to this: European countries are not the same, and so they shouldn't use the same currency.

"The basic point is that you cannot have a federal state among citizens from countries with such a different cultural past," said the Italian academic. "Without a European state, you cannot have European money."

Some European countries are richer, some are poorer, like American states. But unlike the U.S., the eurozone does not have a central government to decide on spending, tax and budget policies.

"The U.S. is a nation, there is a sense of common identity," he said.

That's not true in Europe, where there's little prospect of political unity because wealthier nations such as Germany would end up transferring money permanently to the less fortunate.

"Germany does not want this," said Bagnai. "We should stop telling fairy tales."

'Optical illusion'

Such deep divisions were not always so apparent.

The interest rates that Spain, Greece and Italy needed to pay creditors plummeted after they joined the euro -- putting them on a par with Germany.

"Investors looked at nominal interest rates and thought the Greeks have become German," said Bagnai. "It was kind of an optical illusion."

Then the financial crisis hit, and cracks in the monetary union began to show.

In Spain, policymakers weren't able to make the euro cheaper to counter the collapse of a property bubble and debt crisis.

Instead, Madrid was forced to reduce spending and implement an austerity program -- and that hit living standards.

"The 20% unemployment we now have in Spain is a direct result of the euro," said the economist Cutillas.

Cutillas said that many people in Spain, which endured decades of violent dictatorship under Francisco Franco, support the euro because it's associated with progress, modernity and peace. That isn't enough for the economist.

"It's nice to be able to travel around easily and have easy means of payment, but these advantages shouldn't cover what's happening with the euro," he said.

A Greek tragedy

Greece is a prime example of the division between wealthy northern European countries and weaker economies on the continent's periphery.

Facing a debt crisis of its own, Athens agreed to drastic austerity programs in exchange for repeated bailouts. Salaries, pensions and government spending have all been cut dramatically.

Fotis Panagiotopoulos, a dock worker at the Athens Port Authority, experienced the consequences first hand.

His salary has dropped 50% since the beginning of the Greek crisis in 2010. His wife can't find a stable job.

"What we are experiencing in Greece is slow death," he said. "There is no way out unless we break free from this debt cycle."

Panagiotopoulos wants Greece to ditch the euro and start over.

"We just want to make sure that we, and our children, can have a decent future," he said. "With the euro, I don't see how this is possible."

Ireland's 'euro-bubble'

Remember the Celtic Tiger? Ireland boomed in the euro's early years, growing on average 6.5% a year between 1999 and 2007.

Keith Redmond, a dentist and local politician in Dublin, looks back on those days with fear.

"It wasn't a boom. It was a bubble ... a euro-currency bubble," he said.

Redmond argues that without control over its interest rates, Ireland wasn't able to cool the bubble.

When it burst, it brought the Irish banking system to the brink of collapse. Ireland was forced to slash spending.

Ireland has turned the corner and its economy is growing again. But for Redmond, the euro remains a problem.

"The fundamental flaw is still there ... this can all happen again. We have no flexibility in our monetary system to deal with a shock," he said.

French nationalism

Vincent Brousseau is a French economist. But for him, the trouble with the euro is not about the economics.

Instead, he sees the common currency as a threat to France's national sovereignty.

"It's not French," he said of the currency. "It doesn't matter whether it's overvalued or undervalued... this is about making our own decisions."

He's had a major change of heart. Brousseau worked for the European Central Bank until a few years ago.

"When I started at the ECB, I believed there could be one Europe, I was a convinced European," he said.

But he gradually changed his opinion over the 15 years he spent at the central bank that sets a common interest rate for all 19 eurozone countries.

"I realized that transferring sovereignty from France to the European superstate is not good for the country," said Brousseau, who now oversees economic and monetary policy at French political party UPR.

What's next

Opponents of the euro disagree on what should happen next.

Redmond would like to see the currency split into two. The current euro would be used by Germany, Netherlands and other economically stronger countries. A second, weaker euro, would be introduced for Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain.

Brousseau wants France to completely drop the euro and bring back the franc. He's not a fan of the the compromises proposed by Le Pen, who has suggested that a new pan-European currency could be used in parallel to the franc.

In Italy, Bagnai thinks the end of the euro is an inevitability.

"We know that the project could last for a decade, perhaps, but it's going to end. And the sooner it ends the better."

-- Elinda Labropoulou and Maud Le Rest contributed reporting.

CNNMoney (London) First published April 19, 2017: 5:32 AM ET

Read More

Oil prices have plunged 14% in 3 weeks

The price of Nigeria's oil addiction

The oil market's OPEC bounce has completely evaporated.

Renewed fears about the oil supply glut have sent crude prices plunging 14.5% from their peak in mid-April to below $46 a barrel on Thursday.

It's the weakest level for oil since November 30, the day OPEC finalized a deal to slash production in a bid to end the epic oil glut.

The landmark OPEC agreement, the cartel's first cut since 2008, initially sent oil bulls into a frenzy. Crude prices spiked and many predicted a speedy return to $60-plus prices as excess supply would finally be drained.

Flash forward five months and the epic supply glut continues to cast a shadow. A combination of resilient US shale output and surprisingly sluggish demand for gasoline from American drivers has led US stockpiles of oil to remain at historically-high levels.

Oil prices plunged another 4% on Thursday, dragging energy stocks like ExxonMobil (XOM) even further into the red this year.

"Today is a real scary day for the billions of dollars invested in higher oil prices," said Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at Oil Price Information Service. "We continue waiting for this slow-motion, almost glacial rebalancing of crude."

The explosion in US shale oil output over the past decade has reshaped the global energy landscape, catapulting America to the upper echelon of the list of global producers.

The glut in oil sent oil prices crashing in late 2015 and early 2016 and US shale production, especially in areas like the Bakken fields of North Dakota, took a hit.

But shale is on the comeback trail now, aided by technological advances and leaner business models that have allowed companies to pump profitably at far lower prices than before. Just look at how the tally of US oil rigs has more than doubled from last year.

"A lot of global players didn't expect US production to be able to ramp up this quickly, at this price level," said Jenna Delaney, senior oil analyst at Platts Analytics.

The Permian Basin, a shale hotbed in Texas and New Mexico, has been the particularly strong. Permian output has been so great that some forecasters now believe US output could soar to a new record by 2018.

Resurgent US oil production has overshadowed efforts by OPEC and non-OPEC members like Russia to support the oil market.

Silencing critics who predicted OPEC would cheat its own quotas, the cartel has shown considerable restraint this time around by overwhelmingly complying with its supply cut agreement.

But that has been offset by more pumping from Libya and Nigeria, two nations exempt from the OPEC deal. Production there has been stronger than expected.

Another driver for the weakness in the oil markets has been disappointing appetite from the US for gasoline.

Recent US gasoline demand, a closely-watched metric, is down by nearly one-quarter of a __million barrels per day from last year.

Drivers could be reacting to the fact that while prices at the pump remain low, they are higher than last year. A gallon of gas goes for an average of $2.37 today, compared with below $2 in March 2016, according to AAA.

"Last year, it was so cheap, under $2 per gallon for a period, and that probably goosed demand a bit. Perhaps that was a one-off," said Kloza.

He also pointed to how more fuel-efficient cars coming off the lot continue to guzzle less gas than the old ones they're replacing. "That adds up," Kloza said.

All of this adds to the pressure on OPEC, which is meeting on May 25 in Vienna. Support is building within OPEC to extend its oil production cuts by an additional three or six months, senior Gulf officials previously told CNNMoney.

"Now it seems as though that extension will have to move into 2018 as well," said Vincent Piazza, a senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

CNNMoney (New York) First published May 4, 2017: 12:47 PM ET

Read More

What you need to know about credit card limits

5 stunning stats about credit cards

Countless Americans rely on credit cards to pay for their expenses, so much so that many purposely seek out credit cards with high limits.

But searching for high-limit credit cards will only do you so much good if your FICO score is less than stellar.

Here, we'll review how credit card companies set spending limits for consumers, and what steps you can take to increase your credit card limit.

How credit card limits are determined

Credit card limits aren't just thrown out at random. Rather, your limit is generally a function of your creditworthiness, as determined by your income level, credit history, and FICO score.

Of course, some lenders do offer credit cards with across-the-board predetermined limits. In such a scenario, a company will issue a card with a preset limit -- say, $2,000 -- and that limit will apply to anyone who's approved for the card. Whether or not you get approved, however, will depend on your credit score as well as your income.

Other credit card issuers, meanwhile, don't set prearranged limits, but rather do a more in-depth analysis of each customer's finances to arrive at individual numbers. For example, a credit card company might offer one customer a $5,000 limit on a certain card, while another customer gets access to a $15,000 limit for the same card. And the better your credit, the greater your chances of snagging a card with a higher limit.

Here's what the average U.S. credit card limit looks like by credit score, based on Experian's analysis of 2015 data.

Credit Score	Credit Card Limit
781-850	$9,543
661-780	$5,209
601-660	$2,277
500-600	$966
300-499	$509

Data Source: Experian

It stands to reason, then, that if you're unhappy with your current credit card limit, improving your credit score is a crucial step toward getting it raised. This can be accomplished in a number of ways, such as paying your bills on time and limiting the number of credit cards you open.

Another thing to keep in mind about credit card limits is that they aren't set in stone. Lenders have a tendency to check up on their customers and adjust their credit card limits upward or downward depending on their spending and payment habits, so just because you start out with a certain limit doesn't mean it's guaranteed forever.

Want a higher credit card limit? Just ask.

Having a higher credit card limit gives you more flexibility to cover your expenses. Of course, ideally, you should make a habit of not charging more on your credit card than you can afford to pay off by the time your bill comes due. But if you're looking to increase your credit card limit, speaking up can pay off in a very big way.

In a recent CreditCards.com study, 89% of customers who actively asked for credit limit increases had their requests granted. If you've held the same credit card for more than six months and haven't seen your limit go up, it pays to inquire about an increase, provided your credit score hasn't dropped in the interim. Similarly, if you get a new job with a higher salary, you can use it as an argument in your favor.

Maxing out your credit card limit can hurt you

One thing to keep in mind about credit card limits is that having a higher one isn't necessarily better. A generous credit card limit might serve as temptation to charge more than you can reasonably afford, and when that happens, you lose and your credit card company wins. Remember, credit card companies make money by collecting interest on unpaid balances, so if you max out your card's limit and spend months paying it off, you'll end up shelling out more money than necessary for whatever you used your card to buy.

Another reason not to max out your credit card limit is that it can actually hurt your credit score. Your score is based on a number of components, including your credit utilization ratio, or the extent to which you use your available credit. A credit utilization ratio that exceeds 30% can raise a red flag, so if you have a credit card with a $10,000 limit, you should make a point to never charge more than $3,000 during a single billing cycle. If you are going to exceed that 30% threshold, make sure you have adequate cash flow to pay off your balance as soon as your bill comes due. Otherwise, your credit could take a beating.

On the other hand, getting a credit card limit increase could help you if you're applying for, say, a mortgage, and you make certain to keep your spending at its previous level. That's because a higher credit card limit can send an otherwise shaky credit utilization ratio back down below that 30% target.

Imagine you have a $10,000 credit card limit with a $3,500 balance. If your limit goes up to $12,500, you'll fall just under that 30% mark.

• Motley Fool Issues Rare Triple-Buy Alert

• This Stock Could Be Like Buying Amazon in 1997

• 7 of 8 People Are Clueless About This Trillion-Dollar Market

Remember, your credit card limit isn't just an arbitrary number. In many ways, it's designed to protect you as well as your lender, so if you're going to ask for an increase, be sure to tread lightly with your new-found freedom.

CNNMoney (New York) First published May 4, 2017: 1:59 PM ET

Read More

Gin recalled for having too much alcohol

Meet the guy who invents new beers for Anheuser-Busch

Canadian health authorities have launched a nationwide recall of Bombay Sapphire gin after bottles containing nearly double the advertised amount of alcohol were discovered.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said the bottles were found to contain 77% alcohol by volume rather than the typical 40%.

Bombay Sapphire is produced by the private firm Bacardi, which is well know for its rum products and Grey Goose Vodka.

The company said that up to 6,000 Bombay Sapphire bottles may be affected. The 1.1 liter bottles were sold only in Canada.

"The over proof product inadvertently entered the bottling line during a short period of time -- [up to] 45 minutes -- when [workers] were switching from one bottling tank to another bottling tank," the firm said.

Bacardi said the recall was launched after "an isolated consumer complaint and subsequent quality assurance checks."

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency warned consumers to throw out the bottles or return them. It said that there were no reports of anyone becoming sick from drinking the gin.

Other products may be recalled following a food safety investigation, the agency added.

Some bottles of Bombay Sapphire gin are being recalled in Canada.

Bacardi is the world's fourth largest spirits producer, churning out about 300 __million liters of drinks per year, according to Jeremy Cunnington, senior alcoholic drinks analyst at Euromonitor International.

Bombay Sapphire, which has been experiencing double-digit sales growth over the past few years, comprises 8% of Bacardi's global sales, according to Euromonitor.

The company, which is headquartered in Bermuda, sells its products in about 160 countries around the world. It operates 30 production facilities in places like Scotland, Italy, India, France, Spain, Germany, England and Mexico.

CNNMoney (London) First published May 4, 2017: 7:21 AM ET

Read More

Tim Cook: Apple creating $1B fund to bring manufacturing jobs to the U.S.

Apple unveils new "spaceship" headquarters

Apple CEO Tim Cook said Apple is putting $1 billion into a fund aimed at bringing advanced manufacturing jobs to the United States.

Speaking on CNBC's Mad Money on Wednesday, Cook boasted that Apple has already created two __million jobs in America and said the company has plans to hire "thousands more employees in the future."

But Apple (AAPL, Tech30) is searching for ways to do more, Cook said. He called the $1 billion an "initial" donation to the fund and said he's already spoken with one company that he plans to invest in. Apple declined to provide any additional details but Cook said it would announce more about the fund later this month.

"By doing that we can be the ripple in the pond," Cook said. "If we can create many manufacturing jobs, those manufacturing jobs create more jobs around them because you have a service industry that builds up around them."

Cook also said Apple plans to put money into programs that will train "the next generation" of app developers, and he plans to announce more about that this summer.

"You can see, we're really looking at this thing deeply. How do we grow our employee base? How do we grow our developer base? And how do we grow manufacturing?" Cook said. "And you will see us bring things to market in all of those areas across this year."

CNNMoney (New York) First published May 3, 2017: 7:25 PM ET

Read More

Belize police detain two suspects in death of Francesca Matus, Drew DeVoursney: reports

Two persons of interest have been detained and are being questioned in relation to the death of Francesca Matus.

Matus, a mother of two from Markham, Ont., went missing in Belize along with her American boyfriend Drew DeVoursney on April 25.

The pair were found dead, nearly a week later, strangled with their hands bound in duct tape.

Story continues below

READ MORE: Canadian found dead: Here’s what you need to know about travel to Belize

Police in Belize said investigators are treating the case as a homicide.

DeVoursney’s mother told WBS-TV 2 in Atlanta police emailed her about the developments earlier Wednesday.

Matus’ cousin Ivana Pucci told Global News she has not received any official details from Belize police, and Global Affairs said that no further information could be released to protect the privacy of the family.

Sr. Supt. Dennis Arnold told Channel 7 News in Belize that they were also investigating “some threats that [were] made” against Matus, though he declined to elaborate on the types of threats.

WATCH: Belize police say discovery of Markham woman and her American boyfriend being treated as homicide investigation 

Read More

7 bounty hunters face murder charges after shooting at wrong car

Seven bounty hunters who descended on the wrong car outside a Wal-Mart have been indicted on first-degree murder charges in the killing of an unarmed man and the wounding of another, Tennessee police announced Wednesday.

The charges come after a chaotic scene in Clarksville on April 23, where police said the bounty hunters shot at the four people in the sedan and chased them for seven miles.

Not one of the men in the sedan was wanted on outstanding charges.

Story continues below

In fact, the Clarksville bounty hunters were looking for someone else, and there is no indication that any of the victims fired at the defendants or were even armed, police spokesman Jim Knoll said in an email.

Bail bondsmen are empowered to hire or act as bounty hunters to bring in people who violate the terms of jail bonds, but they can’t use deadly force unless it’s self-defence.

Killed was 24-year-old Jalen Johnson, a father of three from Clarksville. His family called him an innocent man who died in an act of terrorizing violence.

Johnson’s uncle, Toni Jenkins, told The Associated Press that his nephew and the three men in the car with him had no idea why people would suddenly block their car in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Fearing an attack by gang members, they tried to flee.

The bounty hunters, Jenkins said, started shooting in the parking lot and continued to fire on them during the chase, even ramming the Nissan along the way.

Clarksville police would not confirm or deny these details, but authorities have said they are troubled by how the bounty hunters put people at risk.

The Montgomery County grand jury charged all seven men with first-degree felony murder, three counts of attempted second-degree murder, three counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, attempted especially aggravated kidnapping, four counts of aggravated assault, employing a firearm in commission of a dangerous felony and felony reckless endangerment, police said.

Some of the men charged were bonding agents and others were strictly bounty hunters, Knoll said.

The men charged include: William L. Byles, 31; Kenneth Chiasson, 38; Antwon D. Keesee, 32; Jonathan Schnepp, 31; Roger D. West, 31; Prentice L. Williams, 34 and Joshua Young, 27.

They do not yet have court dates or attorneys listed, the Montgomery County Circuit Court Clerk’s office said.

All the men are from Clarksville, a city about 50 miles (80 kilometres) northwest of Nashville near the Kentucky state line.

Read More

In an aging Canada, women need to save more than men — even if they make less

Canadians aged 65 and older outnumbered children under 14 for the first time in census history, Statistics Canada revealed today. And the majority of seniors are women. Among those aged 85 to 99, there were just 54 men for every 100 women in 2016, data show.

READ MORE: Census 2016: For the 1st time, more seniors than children living in Canada

Those numbers have big implications for how women should handle their personal finances.

While Canadians of any gender are facing the prospect of living longer after their working years, for women the post-retirement period generally stretches even longer. Many will also outlive their male spouses.

WATCH: Census 2016: Everything you need to know

Story continues below

Yet, women continue to face a gender wage gap that puts them at a disadvantage compared to men when it comes to the ability to save. In Canada female workers make $0.88 for every $1 earned by men, according to a recent RBC report.

READ MORE: Here’s what Canadian women would be making in these jobs if they were men

And women are also more likely to enter and exit the labour force through their career, as they raise children. That time taken off work, and the penalty it tends to come with in terms of professional advancement, also hurt women’s ability to squirrel away enough for retirement.

READ MORE: Census 2016: Elderly women redefining what it means to age alone

That’s why women need to save and invest differently than men, said Gennaro De Luca, senior partner of Redwood Capital Management, a financial advisory firm.

Women should be saving more than men

The rule of thumb when it comes to planning for retirement is that you should set aside 10 per cent of your income, but women should be saving between 15 per cent and 20 per cent, De Luca told Global News.

That’s because women tend to live longer and they are generally more risk-averse investors than men, explained De Luca.

“In my experience, women tend to see money as a means to an end, while for men there’s an ego thing that comes into play — it’s like a score sheet,” he said.

De Luca’s male clients often obsess about whether they’re making more money than other people or whether their investment returns beat the market.

His female clientele, he said, generally just wants to make sure that “they have enough that they don’t have to worry about it.”

And while women’s approach to money is more sensible, it can translate into excessive risk aversion and a focus on “accumulation rather than investment,” De Luca said.

READ MORE: Could you handle a 33 per cent interest-rate hike on your debt? If not, start paying it off now

Women should take more risks when investing

Women need to save more than men, but the gender wage gap and a stop-and-go career path make it difficult to do so, noted De Luca.

READ MORE: Federal Budget 2017: Liberals extend parental leave to 18 months, boost childcare funding

That’s why many women should not only invest their savings but dare to chase higher returns, he added.

In this regard, the fact that women tend to live longer plays to their advantage, he noted.

“The longer your time horizon, the more room you have to take on a little bit more risk,” he said.

READ MORE: Another perk for parents from budget 2017: flexible work arrangements

Sixty-five-year-old Canadian women can expect to live about three years longer than men, according to Statistics Canada. For Canadians born in the last decade, the gap widens to almost five years.

It means women can afford to allocate a larger portion of their investment portfolio to stocks or equity, said De Luca.

The average return from the Canadian stock market is about 8 per cent to 9 per cent, and that’s what investors can generally expect over the long term, he noted. 

READ MORE: 3 things you probably didn’t know about your credit score

Women need to know what’s going on with the household finances

Another problem is that women are sometimes completely in the dark about family finances. That’s an issue De Luca sees especially among his older clients: The husband used to take care of everything, and when he dies, the wife has no idea what to do.

As a general rule, married and common-law couples should always share financial information, according to De Luca. Even those who choose to keep their accounts and assets completely separate should do so, because each partner will have rights to the other’s assets should one of them die earlier.

“You need to know what’s there and what your rights are,” said De Luca.

Couples should also make sure that “their accounts are properly structured,” he said.

In addition to a will, couples might want to include an “estate info sheet,” detailing how things should unfold if one partner passes away, he added.

Above all, De Luca advised, “make sure to take care of these things before they become an issue.”

Read More

High-status women are happier when their husbands pitch in at home: study

It’s a no-brainer: work-life balance is hard to achieve, and women with high-status jobs are happier when they get help at home.

But women in these positions may also feel their careers can have a negative impact on their marital status.

Story continues below

According to a recent study published in the journal Organization Science, Alyson Byrne, assistant professor of organizational behaviour at Memorial University in Newfoundland, and Julian Barling, professor of organizational behaviour at Queen’s University, found women who believed they held “higher-status positions” compared to their husbands were more likely to experience “resentfulness or embarrassment” if their husband made less, for example.

“Husbands, however, were unaffected by their wives’ status spillover feelings: they only experienced greater marital dissatisfaction and thoughts about divorce if their wives were outwardly unhappy with their relationship,” the authors wrote in the Harvard Business Review.

READ MORE: 4 tips for career women who want to rise in management

“Societal norms still suggest that in heterosexual marriages, husbands ‘should’ hold higher job status relative to their wives,” the authors continued.

Often, when women are more successful than their male partners, the researchers note, they are labelled as “marrying down” or more prone to divorce. A fact that is often correlated to the so-called “Oscar Love Curse.”

The silver lining

But here’s what researchers want to get across: when husbands supported these women at home, they were more stable in their marriages overall. This included helping with domestic responsibilities like chores or cooking, as well as taking care of children or elders in the home.

“This was not the case if their partner simply provided emotional support, suggesting that it is the tangible support that husbands provide to higher job status wives that matters more. We suspect that providing this type of tangible support not only allows wives to focus on their careers, but also denotes respect,” the authors wrote.

Why this isn’t surprising

Toronto-based psychotherapist Nicole McCance says these results don’t surprise her. In fact, she says, housework can act as a sort of foreplay for some women.

“If you’re investing in her during the day, by doing the dishes, feeding kids or doing the laundry, she will feel appreciated,” she tells Global News.

WATCH: Why old clichés like ‘happy wife, happy life’ might be hurting your marriage

McCance adds when the housework isn’t equal, people tend to grow resentful over time, and this can ruin your relationship down the road.

“It’s hard to get out of it,” she says. “You don’t realize this underlying brewing anger until years later. People end up not attracted to [their partners] anymore.”

The research

For this study, researchers used a nine-item scale to assess married women’s feelings on their status, and surveyed 209 heterosexual high-status women who were either married or in common-law relationships. They also collected data from 53 husbands. These results were compared to an original sample from three years ago.

READ MORE: Why Calgary ranks as the third worst city in Canada for women

“Our analyses then showed that wives’ initial higher job status and feelings of status spillover predicted marital instability (but not necessarily divorce) three years later, reinforcing the importance of understanding this dynamic,” they wrote.

In Canada, nonprofit organization Catalyst notes women made up 47.2 per cent of the labour force in 2015, but men are two to three times more likely to be in senior management positions.

READ MORE: Women control family purse strings no matter who the breadwinner is: BMO survey

A 2016 Statistics Canada report found women held 35.5 per cent of all management positions and 33.3 per cent of all senior management roles.

How to build equal relationships

McCance offers some tips on building a meaningful relationship with a shared workload:

• Ask for help: Don’t expect your partner to read your mind, if you need help with something, ask.
• Don’t criticize their work: If they do end up helping around the house, don’t criticize them for not doing it “right.”
• Connect with each other: As soon as you see your partner opening the door, greet them with a hug.
• Plan date nights: At least twice a month, spend one-on-one time with each other.
• Ask about their day: Take a moment and be the listener, your partner will appreciate it in the long run.

And if your partner still doesn’t want to help or still believes women should bear the brunt of “traditional housework,” McCance says, tell them how it makes you feel.

“Don’t say, ‘You’re selfish and you never help.’ Let them know you feel overwhelmed, frustrated and alone.”

arti.patel@globalnews.ca
Follow @ArtiPatel

Read More

Census 2016: Canadian cities are turning into condo jungles

TORONTO – Janis Isaman makes no apologies for raising her six-year-old son in a two-bedroom condominium – and for eschewing the once-coveted trappings of a life in the suburbs.

“I definitely do not want a yard and I do not want anything to do with the suburban lifestyle,” says Isaman, 40, a business owner and single mother in Calgary.

Story continues below

READ MORE: High rise apartments booming in Vancouver, Toronto, according to 2016 census data

The variety of urban life suits Isaman and her son, she says. They can walk to their favourite tea shops, restaurants and the local library. And the time that would otherwise be taken up cutting grass and raking leaves can instead be spent exploring the city together.

“We have a way more abundant lifestyle because I’m not shovelling the walk, I’m not taking care of the yard.”

Isaman is part of a growing contingent of Canadian families opting for the compact condo lifestyle over the white picket fence and the sprawling suburban McMansion as space runs out in Canada’s biggest cities and housing prices remain out of reach for many.

READ MORE: Census 2016: For the 1st time, more seniors than children living in Canada

Wednesday’s latest tranche of census numbers doesn’t delve into the specific phenomenon of condo ownership or house prices; that’s for a later release scheduled for October. But it does illustrate a waning appetite for single-family dwellings among the millions of Canadians living in the country’s largest cities, many of whom are favouring the high-rise life.

Toronto and its ever-morphing Tetris skyline has the highest share of dwellings – nearly 30 per cent – in buildings of five or more storeys, Statistics Canada reports, followed by London, Ont., at 16.8 per cent, and Vancouver, at 16.7 per cent.

In 10 of Canada’s 35 so-called “census metropolitan areas,” “single-detached houses represented less than half of occupied private dwellings in 2016,” the agency reported, including in Vancouver.

READ MORE: Census 2016: Baby boomers push retiree growth rate to highest in 70 years

Indeed, in B.C., the share of single-detached houses fell from more than 60 per cent in the 1980s to just 44.1 per cent in 2016.

But it will take a shift in mindset for Canadians to embrace high density living, says Isaman. When her son was younger, she encountered a lot of pushback for raising a child in an apartment.

“It’s seen as a really big societal norm in Canada that you move to a house when you have a child,” she says. “I had to resist societal pressures that what I was doing was wrong. It seems weird to people because they think that kids need yards.”

READ MORE: Toronto-area home price index up 31.7% in April compared to last year

There are a number of factors driving the condo craze, says Shaun Hildebrand of Urbanation, a Toronto-based condo research firm.

Part of it is rooted in necessity. Soaring prices for detached homes and tightened mortgage rules have caused much of the pent-up housing demand in the Greater Toronto Area to shift into the condo market.

“The result is that a greater proportion of households are now living in apartments compared to 10 years ago,” Hildebrand says.

And while much of the past demand for condos was from first-time buyers looking to dip their toes into the market, today that is not necessarily the case.

“Anecdotally, we’re learning that more families are deciding to live in condos, due to affordability constraints and lifestyle decisions.”

READ MORE: 15% of Canada’s economy vulnerable to a housing slump, RBC says

That has caused a shift in the kinds of units that developers are building, reversing a decades-long trend of increasingly tiny units.

Babak Eslahjou, a partner at Core Architects, says that over the past 20 or so years, the square footage of condos has been shrinking, with developers squeezing more bedrooms into less space. The living and dining areas have been combined into one, producing a generation of condo-dwellers who eat and live on the couch.

But now, that trend is beginning to shift.

“We’re being asked to design units that are 1,000 or 1,200 square feet,” says Eslahjou. “We really haven’t been asked that in a long time.”

READ MORE: Why homebuyers should stay away from this popular financing strategy

It isn’t just young families making the shift to compact living, either: retirees are also downsizing, citing travel plans and the desire for less housework as motivating factors.

It’s been nearly a decade since Roz and Bob Holden traded their 3,500 square-foot house – complete with four bedrooms, a library and a tree-filled yard – for a two-bedroom condo, and the Toronto residents say they have no regrets.

“This is a much smaller space but it’s all we need,” says Bob. “We’re very comfortable here. We don’t feel squeezed in any way.”

Maintaining a large house simply didn’t make sense for the retired couple, now in their 70s, who spend much of their time travelling.

Living in a condo provides other perks too, such as a community of friends and an endless array of dining and entertainment options right outside their front door.

“We’re right on the subway line,” says Bob. “There are all sorts of restaurants and bars that we can walk to. For us it’s just the perfect lifestyle.”

READ MORE: Canadian housing price trend ‘very similar’ to U.S. just before the crash: National Bank

Read More

‘I did it’: Police investigating Reddit post describing Ontario woman’s murder

Police say an Ontario man wanted on a Canada-wide second-degree murder warrant in the killing of his girlfriend has fled to the U.S. and they are investigating a Reddit post purporting to show the murder suspect confessing to the crime.

Waterloo Regional Police responded to a 911 call at 38 Country Hill Drive around 3 a.m. April 28 in Kitchener, Ont., where they found the body of 22-year-old Melinda Vasilije suffering from multiple stab wounds after a “targeted” attack.

Investigators focused their attention on Vasilije’s boyfriend, 24-year-old Ager Hasan of Hamilton, as the lead suspect in her death and said the two had been involved in a relationship for about a year.

With the help of Hamilton police, Waterloo officers spoke to associates of Hasan and determined he had fled the area in a black 2016 Honda HR-V with Ontario licence plate BPKT509.

Photos posted on Reddit on May 2, 2017 appear to show Melinda Vasilije and Ager Hasan throughout their relationship.

Photos posted on Reddit on May 2, 2017 appear to show Melinda Vasilije and Ager Hasan throughout their relationship.

Photos posted on Reddit on May 2, 2017 appear to show Melinda Vasilije and Ager Hasan throughout their relationship.

Reddit

Story continues below

Police immediately connected with American law enforcement agencies, the Canada Border Services Agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It was then determined Hasan had crossed the border undetected at around 5:45 a.m.

“We believe that Ager Hasan is responsible for the death of Melinda Vasilije and as such there is a Canada-wide warrant issued for his arrest for one count of second-degree murder and three counts of breach of recognizance,” Insp. Mike Haffner said.

“The breach of recognizance charges stem from an April 3, 2017 incident at Ms. Vasilije’s residence, where he allegedly committed a break-and-enter and two counts of assault.”

Police said that although Vasilije was not a victim of the assault on April 3, it was a “domestic-related incident” and Hasan was arrested that night and later released from custody. He was then restricted from entering Kitchener or having any contact with Vasilije, according to police.

READ MORE: ‘Dangerous’ suspect wanted on Canada-wide murder warrant in Ontario kidnapping, stabbing

At around 10 a.m. April 28, State Police in Erie County, Pa., said they observed Hasan on surveillance footage in a Walmart parking lot steal a Pennsylvania licence plate and affix it to his car in place of his Ontario plate.

“We are continuing to liaise with our U.S. counterparts to locate Mr. Hasan,” Haffner said.

“The families involved in this investigation have been very cooperative with Waterloo Regional Police Service, and are encouraging Ager Hasan to turn himself in to a police station.”

Haffner added that once Hasan is located and taken into custody, police and the Crown attorney’s office would initiate the extradition process to return Hasan to Ontario to face the charges against him and “provide some closure to the family of Melinda Vasilije.”

Looking for Ager Mohsin Hasan, 24, in relation to suspicious death investigation of Kitchener woman, 22. He was last seen in this vehicle. pic.twitter.com/H04kJ2G1n3

— Waterloo Reg. Police (@WRPSToday) April 28, 2017

In a surprising turn of events, an online Reddit post emerged providing what appears to be a detailed description of Vasilije’s death. The post was purported to be written by Hasan.

“I understand the early judgements made by society, distancing myself makes it seem like I am trying to escape a crime. I’m not. I’m only trying to give myself some space and fully take in what happened before I turn myself in,” the post read.

“The fact is no one is more destroyed than I am. She was more than a girlfriend, a soon to be fiance, she was my everything. What happened that night was nothing but tragic.”

The post said the relationship between the suspect and the victim had been the first serious one for them both. It said they had travelled the world together, their families had met and they had been talking seriously about getting married and having children.

READ MORE: Man charged with 2nd-degree murder in death of Mississauga woman

“Melinda and I got into an argument via text and our relationship ended. I went to her apartment that day, to try and talk,” the post read, appearing to refer to the April 3 domestic incident described by police.

“Upon arrival I was confronted by Anna’s brother and her boyfriend. A physical altercation [took] place and the police were involved. At this stage I knew if we were to patch things up it would be rough. We didn’t see each other for a few weeks.”

The post said the two began texting again later last month and agreed to see each other and talk, where they made up after they “cuddled, kissed and talked about everything.”

“As I’m getting ready to leave she asks me if I had done anything with any other girls while we were on break or anytime we were on break. I told her we needed to be honest and said yes and told her about it,” the post stated.

“She started freaking out. Wouldn’t say a word and just kept slapping me with tears in her eyes. Slaps turned into hits. I told her I was sorry but if she didn’t stop I’d do something back. She didn’t stop. I then stupidly pushed her, harder than I expected. She fell against the sink.”

The author of the post claimed it was the “first time” they had ever done something physically “violent” to the victim, adding he had apologized but she then told him to leave.

“I began saying sorry even more and asked if I could get a hug. She was still crying. I go up to her to try and give her a hug, almost out no where she grabs a knife by the sink. Initially I thought was just going to hold it to try and tell me to leave. She doesn’t. She comes at me in full force, aiming towards my face,” the post read.

“I tell her to stop. She doesn’t, I tried grabbing the knife but ended up cutting my hands. After a few cuts I lost it. I freaked out, I was scared and in a state of shock. Never in a hundred years did I think she would use a knife against me. Out of shock and fear I grab one. I hit her with it, almost blindly. A few times. I didn’t know what happened. I was confused, shocked and scared.”

The poster said they didn’t intend for the incident to happen and left thinking “she just passed out.”

READ MORE: Suspect arrested in Kitchener homicide

“Then I looked at the blood, and started freaking out and just ran. I didn’t [know] for sure she had died until the next day,” he said.

“I honestly had no intentions of ever doing that to her, I was protecting myself.”

The poster referred to always keeping a passport in his car and claims to have driven directly to the U.S. to “get away for a few days before turning myself in or killing myself.”

“I’m in the United States with $200, no clean clothes, nothing. I didn’t intend on any of it,” the post read.

“It was out of fear and protecting myself alongside shock. I’m sorry, to everyone. Especially Melinda’s family. I know it will not will be accepted but know I didn’t mean anything bad to happened that night when I went there. Rest in peace my beautiful. I hope you forgive me in the after life.”

The post also included screenshots of a text message conversation purported to be between the two and photos of them as a couple.

Waterloo Regional Police said in a statement they are aware of the Reddit post and it is currently “being evaluated by investigators.”

“That said, information like this is potential evidence and, as such, needs to be authenticated and verified,” spokeswoman Cherri Greeno said in an emailed statement.

“We don’t want to jeopardize that process and cannot comment any further on evidence. We would continue to encourage Mr. Hasan to turn himself in to U.S. authorities.”

READ MORE: Kitchener man charged with 1st-degree murder in death of woman found in river

Police have not formally connected the Reddit post to the investigation into Vasilije’s death and Global News has not been able to verify the authenticity of the post.

Authorities in the U.S. have not reported any sightings of Hasan since April 28 at 10 a.m., when he is alleged to have changed the licence plate on his car in the Walmart parking lot.

The investigation continues and police said numerous individuals have been interviewed, canvasses completed and the collection of evidence has ended at Vasilije’s apartment.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 519-653-7700 ext. 8666 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

With files from Mark Carcasole

Read the full Reddit post:

Read the alleged text conversation:

Read More

Toronto police launch common nuisance investigation after troubling social media videos

Read More

Here are the Canadians most likely to get a tax audit this year

It’s every taxpayer’s worst nightmare: A notice from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) informing you that you’re going to be audited.

The CRA will send out around 30,000 such letters this year, according to tax lawyer David Rotfleisch, and those who get them are right to be afraid.

READ MORE: Why the CRA waives penalties on many Canadians who admit they didn’t pay taxes

“A CRA audit is a lot of process, paper, and powers-that-be,” he told Global News via email.

So who is most likely to be audited?

Technically, everyone can be audited. However, the CRA tends to zero in on certain categories of taxpayers. Some elements of your tax return could also raise red flags and lead to an audit. According to Rotfleisch, you’re especially at risk if:

• You’re self-employed. Tax returns for self-employed people are usually more complicated. There isn’t a single piece of paper, like a T-4 slip, that the CRA can use to cross-reference the income you declared.
• You work in construction, retail or the restaurant industry. The CRA has singled out those industries, where businesses are often heavily cash-based, for extra scrutiny due to high rates of tax evasion.
• You keep reporting rental and/or business losses. Are you really bleeding cash or are you stashing it away in the Cayman Islands? The CRA will wonder.
• You reported drastic swings in income, especially if self-employed. See above.
• Your income doesn’t match your postal code. Are you making significantly less than your neighbours? The CRA could start to wonder how you can afford to live where you do.
• You have offshore assets. Owning assets abroad is also something that could attract unwanted scrutiny.
• You received wire transfers from abroad of $10,000 or more. Since 2015, all financial institutions must report to the CRA, international electronic funds transfers (EFTs) of $10,000 or more. If your bank accounts have been on the receiving end of several of those, the CRA might have some questions.


Story continues below

READ MORE: Self-employed? Here are 6 steps to get your taxes right

Tax reviews aren’t audits

The first step when you get a letter from the CRA saying it wants to take a second look at your taxes is to take a deep breath and really understand the piece of paper in front of you.

Most likely, what you got in the mail is a tax review notice, not an audit letter. Tax reviews are the most common type of interaction people will have with the CRA after submitting their return, said Rotfleisch.

In a review, the taxman often wants to check out the records and receipts you used to claim expenses, said Rotfleisch. You show them the paperwork, and the matter is over.

However, run-of-the-mill tax reviews can turn into full-on audits, warns Rotfleisch.

That generally happens “if you don’t respond [to the CRA], or they don’t like what the response you gave,” he said.

READ MORE: Can’t afford to pay your tax bill? Here’s what you can do

How audits work

Usually, it starts with a letter advising you that you are being audited, according to Rotfleisch. The note will specify the years the CRA wants to examine, and the documents and records it wants to see.

You have the opportunity to make submissions, and the auditor is required to “review and respond to those submissions, dealing with every point of accounting issue and every tax law concern raised,” Rotfleisch wrote via email.

Audits generally stretch through several months, but can last multiple years in particularly thorny cases, according to Rotfleisch.

READ MORE: What the CRA can and can’t do with your data and social media accounts

Should you hire professional help?

Rotfleisch’s answer is “Yes,” and “always.”

If yours is a simple audit, it’s probably enough to turn to a tax accountant. A straightforward audit might be a case in which the CRA disallowed a tax deduction or credit for which you are clearly eligible and have the paperwork to show it, said Rotfleisch.

“That’s a simple submission — it’s numbers and receipts — your accountant can definitely handle that,” said Rotfleisch.

But make sure to go for a certified accountant, such as a chartered professional accountant (CPA), he added.

Even easy-peasy audits are full of “pitfalls and traps” for taxpayers who try to deal with it on their own or rely on the advice of tax preparers who aren’t properly qualified, warned Rotfleisch.

On the other hand, “if there are legal issues involved, or it’s a complex tax pattern, then you certainly want to have a tax lawyer involved,” he said.

Sometimes, you’ll need both a lawyer and a CPA, said Rotfleisch. In those cases, hiring the lawyer first is key, because that guarantees that your communication is privileged, and the CRA won’t be able to use it against you. The lawyer can then extend that privilege to exchanges between you and the CPA, according to Rotfleisch.

READ MORE: Did you sell your home in 2016? Let the CRA know or else…

If things go awry, keep calm and hang on to your tax lawyer

Even with a lawyer by your side, audits can take a toll on your mental health and your finances.

Rotfleisch recalls the case of a taxi driver client who had to painstakingly account for mileage travelled in his cab to see his family in Kingston, in order to show he did not, in fact, fail to declare some $50,000 in annual income, as the CRA alleged.

READ MORE: Canadians in the sharing economy are running out of excuses not to pay taxes

And sometimes, the end of the audit is not the end of the story. Once the process is completed, the CRA will send you a notice of assessment or reassessment, indicating taxes owed as well as any interest and penalties. You then have 90 days to file a notice of objection, which ensures the CRA will take yet another look at your case.

WATCH: Canada Revenue Agency takes too long to resolve tax objections: Auditor General

It took one such notice of objection to finally get the CRA to grant one of Rotfleisch’s clients $900,000 worth of GST/HST refund and interest for a case involving the export of second-hand vehicles. (Goods and services that are normally subject to the GST/HST may be exempt from it when exported from Canada.)

Whatever your audit might involve, the key is to promptly collaborate with the CRA without volunteering information the agency is not entitled to have, said Rotfleisch.

“You want to do co-operate as you’re required to co-operate — not beyond that.”

Read More

Alec Baldwin plays dual role on SNL’s take of ‘the O’Reilly Factor’

Read More

404 Page Not Found

Read More

Census 2016: Elderly women redefining what it means to age alone

TORONTO – At age 80, Ada Garrison finds herself at a new beginning.

A host of new friends, activities and challenges abound since a health scare prompted her to move into a retirement home in downtown Toronto.

READ MORE: Census 2016: For the 1st time, more seniors than children living in Canada

Story continues below

Six months ago she had been living alone in a two-bedroom apartment. Her 54-year-old daughter and grandson were in the unit below but she saw them rarely, as was the case with her two sons, one of whom lives in New York.

“I felt isolated,” Garrison admits of that time. “My kids were real busy and I could hear them; that was lovely, but the social time with them was skimpy.”

Meanwhile, her own circle of friends was dwindling.

“About half of them have died and that’s another reason that I felt blue. I was trying to make some younger friends, but people are swamped with work and there’s not a lot of leisure time.”

READ MORE: Census 2016: Baby boomers push retiree growth rate to highest in 70 years

The sociable grandmother moved to a retirement home where she now finds herself “cheek by jowl” with other seniors in an atmosphere she likens to living in a college dormitory. She takes classes and goes on group outings.

Her new daily imperative: make new friends and live life to the fullest.

Garrison is part of a growing group of single senior Canadian women who are redefining what it means to age alone. Their ranks are swelling, according to the latest tranche of data from the 2016 census, released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.

The number of elderly Canadians is soaring – a 19.4 per cent increase among those 85 and older between 2011 and 2016. Since people are living longer and women tend to outlive men, females have long had to cope with standing alone as they grew old.

WATCH: Specialized bicycles give Winnipeg seniors a chance to explore

Among Canadians aged 85 and older, there were nearly two women for every man in 2016, Statistics Canada found last year. For centenarians, whose ranks grew at a staggering rate of 41.3 per cent, the ratio was was five to one.

Some are widowed or divorced; others never married. Many have children, but they live far away amid housing and employment pressures. Some liken becoming a single senior to reinventing themselves entirely.

“There is a lot of reinvention because you’ve got another 30 to 35 years of life and why do what you’ve done before?” says 68-year-old Adina Lebo, who never married and lives alone in Toronto but finds support from a tight circle of female friends.

“Some of my friends started little businesses, like dog walking, or they took their mum’s cookie recipe and started making cookies and selling them at the local bakery and local fairs. Other people have gone into business with Airbnb and turned their home into a revenue-producing (business).”

Leslie Brodbeck, 71, says she found “a new confidence” after her husband died suddenly of brain cancer in 2008.

“I went to the bank, for instance … and negotiated a bridge loan all by myself. I had never done anything like that in my life,” says Brodbeck, who lives in London, Ont. “I want to be a person that’s vibrant and involved, not someone who sits at home and knits.”

And while it’s long been true that the people who approach 100 are mostly women, men are starting to close the gender gap, says Nora Spinks, chief executive officer of The Vanier Institute of the Family.

WATCH: Seniors living in poverty

In 2001, there were 2.3 men for every woman in the 85-and-over group, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. In 2016, that ratio was down to 1.87.

Spinks credits better illness detection, medical treatment and preventative care with pushing male life expectancy to increase at a slightly higher rate than that of women.

But older women still live longer, and many are alone.

Spinks says it’s not surprising many seniors describe feeling a newfound freedom, since it often follows a lifetime of sequential caregiving.

“First you look after your kids, then you look after your parents, then you look after your spouse, then you look after your friends,” she says.

“You’re taking care of others from the time you’re in your 20s – maybe late 20s, early 30s – right through to your 60s, and then all of a sudden, you get to focus on you. And for a lot of women that’s very liberating.”

It’s something Bev Farrell sees everyday in her work at Third Age Outreach, a geriatric service out of St. Joseph’s Health Care in London, Ont.

As a “therapeutic recreation specialist,” she helps older adults find meaningful activities such as exercise, crafts or card games.

She recalls helping a widow who was foundering after a decade spent caring for her ailing husband.

“She had to give herself permission to have fun, because she felt a little guilty at first.”

WATCH: New York seniors strut down the catwalk at annual fashion show

Lebo, chair of the Toronto chapter of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, says one of the biggest concerns of members is the fear they will outlive their savings.

Health care, housing, transit and social supports are all big concerns, but she has struggled to find steady employment since being losing her job five years ago. She finds support from older single women who share her struggles and can offer a helping hand when needed.

“We’re basically looking after ourselves and helping each other,” says Lebo, who also looks after her 96-year-old mother.

“I have friends who’ve said, ‘Adina, we’ll be calling you to assist us on medical things that require a second person and please call us,’ so that’s an unwritten bond.”

Meanwhile, older seniors like her mother are at greater risk of spending more time alone, says Lebo, especially when illness is involved and it becomes impossible to leave the house or entertain visitors.

Brodbeck’s advice, meanwhile, is the same as that she gives her children: plan ahead while you can and celebrate every stage of life.

“Look to the future, don’t dwell on the past, but live every day. Because you never know what’s around the corner and that’s what my husband’s death taught me.”

Read More

Jimmy Kimmel moved to tears revealing newborn son’s heart disease

Read More

Can you stop your bank branch closing?

It’s starting to look like the high street bank branch could go the way of the cheque – somehow limping along but widely expected to be ditched before too long. NatWest and RBS are to shut just under 160 branches between them, and that comes on top of well over 1,000 branches from all banks and building societies that closed nationally over 2015 and 2016, according to the consumer group Which?.

To an extent it is understandable that banks are behaving this way. HSBC, as an example, reports that footfall within its banks has fallen by an average of 40 per cent over the last 5 years as a result of customers turning to banking online.

And research carried out by CACI on behalf of the British Banking Association shows that customers used their mobile phones to check their current accounts 895 million times in 2015 alone, which is more than double the 427 million times they entered their branches. Two years on and there is no evidence that trend is reversing.

The same report predicted that by 2020 that number will rise to 2.3 billion times, far more than internet, branch or telephone banking combined.

But, as Which? highlights, while 56 per cent of people now use online banking, including apps, that still leaves 20 million who rely on bricks not clicks.

Can you stop a branch from closing?

There have been a number of protests against specific branch closures but, by and large, they have failed. And, in a surprising development last year, the Campaign for Community Banking Service closed down, with its founder bluntly telling the press that the public should not be misled into thinking they can stem the tide of closures.

The organisation had campaigned for banks to be made to club together and launch neutral shared branches, yet this was never supported by the Government or the banks themselves.

So far, so bleak for those who want to know that there is a real branch they can visit to discuss their finances face-to-face with a real person.

It’s no longer even possible to rely on banks’ pledges to remain open. For example, RBS had previously pledged to always retain a branch in those locations where it had become the last bank in town. However, it dropped that pledge and Moray McDonald, managing director of the personal and business banking division, told the Treasury Committee why.

“We are seeing a revolution in how our customers want to bank and interact with us. We have been literally, candidly, taken aback. In the last three years, 300 million transactions that would have taken place in branch now take place online or on mobile. We have 6 million habitual online users and 3 million mobile users, so we have seen our customers telling us they want to do something different. We have to follow our customers and decide where we want to invest in resource in order to support them best. As a result of that, we have decided that there are some locations where the footfall is getting so low that our customers are not using those locations.”

However, banks are not like garden centres; they can’t just close their doors and focus on their websites. The BBA and its member banks have adopted a protocol – updated last year – on bank closures.

This includes telling the community as soon as possible that their branch is to close and providing specially trained staff in branches that are due to close to help customers with alternative banking methods. It also includes working proactively with elderly or more vulnerable customers to help understand their requirements.

Most importantly, banks must ensure continued provision of alternative ways to bank. And that includes a way to actually carry out in-person banking. Enter another grand old institution looking for new ways to survive in an increasingly digital era: the Post Office.

Wait a minute Mr Postman

Around 99 per cent of UK personal bank customers and more than three-quarters of business customers can now do their day-to-day banking within any of the 11,000 Post Office branches across the UK. Admittedly, only basic banking such as balance enquiries, cash withdrawals and business deposits, although customers can also access the Post Office’s own range of financial products such as insurance, mortgages and savings.

A spokesperson for the Post Office explains: “Our branches provide a balance between the clicks – mobile and online – and bricks – a physical local presence for face-to-face transactions. By making sure alternative counter-based banking services are accessible through the Post Office, the impact of local branch closures on communities can be minimised.”

She adds that the access provided by the Post Office is most welcome within remote and rural areas, as well as within the less affluent parts of towns and cities.

“The Post Office is playing an important part in financial inclusion. It is the most accessible place for handling financial transactions, particularly in remote areas – ensuring customers have the opportunity to access cash and basic banking services whenever and wherever they need, providing a vital stimulus for local businesses.”

Looking for credit card or current account deals? Search here

Read More