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Understanding Easements

Before you purchase property you should know if there any easements on the property, where they are located and what restrictions are associated with them. An easement is a privilege acquired by a landowner for the benefit of their land over the land of another. It is the right to use another person's land for a stated purpose, An easement can be granted for any length of time. Here are three basic requirements to form an easement:

1) Two parcels of land must be affected.
2) The land must benefit, not just the landowner.
3) The boundaries must definable with some accuracy and there must be a granter and grantee.

A right-of-way is a type of easement that gives someone the right to travel across property owned by another person. An easement can benefit an individual or a business entity. Hydro, sewer and water are common examples of some right-of-ways. Another example of a right-of-way is if you decided to give your neighbour access to your private waterfront beach by allowing them exclusive use of a six foot strip of land down one side of your property.

Be aware that you cannot build a structure on an easement i.e. you would not be able to build a garage. Don't assume that because an easement is not currently being used that it will never be used. As long as an easement on title, there's always a possibility that the individual who benefits from it will decide to enforce it.

Happy Holidays!

Blanket Drive Warms Thousands

VANCOUVER, BC – From the Ladner seniors who fundraised to buy socks to students in Richmond and Langley, the 18th annual REALTORS Care® Blanket Drive collected blankets and warm clothing to help over 19,000 working poor and homeless people across the Lower Mainland.

Hundreds of real estate offices acted as drop-off locations during the November 26 - December 3 event. REALTORS® picked up, sorted and delivered thousands of donations to over three-dozen charities from Whistler to Hope.

The Squamish Helping Hands Society organizes a variety of shelter and food programs to assist those in need and is a recipient charity of the Blanket Drive
“The blanket and clothing donations we get not only help our clients, the act of giving itself recognizes a much deeper understanding of the human need there is in our communities and how important it is for us to take care of each other,” said Maureen Mackell, executive director.

That sentiment was echoed by Andy Kwak, executive director of The Salvation Army Centre of Hope in Abbotsford.

“Our mission is to bring warmth, nutrition and shelter to those who need it, so you can imagine how helpful hundreds of bags of clothing and blankets are to the people we serve. We really appreciate the effort that REALTORS® put into this drive and their support throughout the entire year."

Since 1994, the Blanket Drive has grown to become the largest collection of its kind in the Lower Mainland assisting over 205,000 people over those years. Donations come from REALTORS®, their clients, the general public, corporations, retailers, community groups and schools. Everyone works together to make the Blanket Drive a success.

Although the Blanket Drive is finished, the need still remains.

Please donate the following to your local charity :

New or gently used

• blankets, sleeping bags
• warm clothing - coats, jeans, pants, sweaters
• scarves, gloves, mitts, hats
• socks (new)
• underwear (new)

source REBGV

Fraser Valley REALTORS® donate $20,000 to Abbotsford’s Holmberg House

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) has gifted $20,000 to the Abbotsford Hospice Society’s (AHS) new adult hospice. The contribution will go towards the creation of a water feature in the future garden of Holmberg House set to break ground in January, 2013.


Scott Olson, President of the FVREB, explains, “REALTORS® devote themselves to helping people find the perfect home. Holmberg House will be exactly that. As the final home for so many special people, we wanted to help make it feel as welcoming and comforting as possible.”
The feature, designed specifically for the grounds of Holmberg House, is a waterfall flowing into a pebble stream surrounded by garden foliage. The building itself will be the only hospice in Abbotsford to provide holistic care in a non-institutional setting with patient suites large enough to accommodate visiting family and friends.

The 10-bed facility will care for patients as young as 19 facing terminal illness. AHS requires 12 million dollars for the capital costs and is currently halfway to meeting its goal. Debbie Lehmann is the Executive Director. “We are absolutely thrilled with this donation and in particular the intent behind it.
“The Board members put a lot of thought into how to make the donation special for our residents and meaningful for the REALTORS® of Fraser Valley who made it possible. We’re sure the water feature will be a favourite place for relaxation and reflection for everyone the hospice serves.

The FVREB is an association of 2,855 professionals serving the real estate needs of the communities of North Delta, Surrey, White Rock, Langley, Abbotsford and Mission. For more information, go to www.fvreb.bc.ca.

For over 25 years, the AHS has helped the terminally ill in the Abbotsford region while also providing bereavement support for families, along with public education, outreach and community referrals. For more information, go to www.abbotsfordhospice.org.

Business For Sale Pizza / Greek Restaurant

Small Greek and Italian restaurant offering affordable lunch and dinner in Morgan Creek. Delivery. Offer deli items such as tzaziki, hummus, and pita, as well as gelato and sorbetto! Outdoor seating. more pics here: http://www.powerhouseagents.ca/Surrey/British_Columbia/Commercial_Real_Estate/Morgan_Creek/Agent/Listing_70931141.html

B.C. a world leader in adoption of holiday LED lights

Power Smart's push has paid off — have you made the switch?

Great tips from BC Hydro!

Changing our holiday lighting may not exactly change the world, but there's no doubt that shifting from traditional incandescent holiday light strings to LED options makes a big difference in conservation.
Seasonal ENERGY STAR® LEDs are the most energy efficient choice possible, as they use up to 90% less energy than your traditional strings.
Over the past few years, homeowners and retailers, institutions and large businesses across the province have made the shift from incandescent to LED holiday lights. Power Smart's push has made B.C. a world leader in the adoption of this energy-efficient option.
That adds up. Consider the conversion done by the Vancouver Park Board on a stand of large trees overlooking English Bay. Shifting to 12,750 LED lights reduced the display's total holiday consumption from 20,400 to just 2,650 kilowatt-hours. That's enough electricity for one and a half B.C. homes for a whole year.
At home, if you replace six strands of incandescent lights with LEDs, and operate them six hours a day for the month of December, you would save $23 in holiday lights. (The LEDs would use just 28 cents in electricity for the whole month!) Plus, LEDs last up to 10 times as long, and have no filaments, so they're harder to break. And since they produce almost no heat, they reduce the risk of fire.
If you want to save electricity on your holiday lighting this year, consider the following:

• Add a timer to ensure your holiday lights are turned off when you don't need them on.
• Reduce areas of lighting that aren't needed.
• If you're using incandescents, consider recycling them at the end of this season. Then get ready for next year by scooping up some savings: buy next year's ENERGY STAR LED light strings when they go on sale after the holidays.
• If you're already using ENERGY STAR LED light strings, congratulations.You're helping change the world, one energy-efficient bulb at a time.

How to recycle your old holiday lights

You can recycle your old incandescent bulbs (and older LEDs that need replacement) at LightRecycle locations across B.C.

sources:  http://www.bchydro.com/news/conservation/2012/seasonal-energy-star-leds.html?WT.mc_id=c-12-12_led

RRSP Mortgages

This issue deals with using an RRSP as a mortgage lender. With interest rates on conventional bank deposits very low, using your RRSP to lend money on a mortgage to a third party or even yourself can be a way of getting a better investment return. Your RRSP has to a self directed one, and your RRSP administrator has to be able to handle mortgages in your RRSP. As well the applicable regulations have to be followed.


You can be your own mortgage lender. If you have enough cash in your RRSP, your RRSP could lend you the money on a first mortgage and your monthly payments could then be made to your RRSP instead of the bank. In such a case the mortgage has to be insured through CMHC or another mortgage insurer. If you don’t have enough money in your RRSP for the entire mortgage you might want to approach a friend who has money in their RRSP or even your bank to do a joint first mortgage with you, i.e. they lend part of the money and your RRSP lends the rest. Many years ago my wife and I did that with our bank. Of course there has to be appropriate mortgage administration agreement between the parties which deals with the ownership of the mortgage, how the payments are divided, etc. It is important to remember that even though you are your own lender, the mortgage administrator will treat it as an arm’s length mortgage. That means you can’t default just because it is your own money. The administrator is legally obligated to enforce the mortgage.

You can also have your RRSP lend on a second mortgage. The rules are less stringent as the mortgage does not have to be insured. I have a client who has done that on a few occasions and is getting a 12- 18% return on his money. Again you have to check the permissible investments under your self-directed RRSP as well as any applicable charges from your administrator.

Laundromat , Internet cafe, deli for Sale

3 in 1 business ; coin laundry, Internet cafe, and deli. Long established self serve coin laundry lounge in North Delta shopping plaza. Corner of Scott Road/ Nordel Way. 24 washers/13 dryers. Internet stations.

pics and info here: http://donmortimore.point2agent.com/Delta/British_Columbia/Commercial_Real_Estate/Annieville/Agent/Listing_70549086.html