519-646-2222Blog Articles
WHAT IS GOOD CREDIT AND HOW CAN YOU MAKE IT BETTER?
The answer is not what you might expect. You could be a millionaire and have bad credit or you could be poor as dirt and have good credit. Having good credit really means that you are in debt already – someone who is not in debt does not have good credit. But whether you have […]
Read moreCONSUMER PROPOSALS – From A to Z
This blog tells you how consumer proposals work, from process to cost and outcome. The process of filing a consumer proposal begins with finding a Licensed Insolvency Trustee (formerly known as a Trustee in Bankruptcy) to help you. Only a Licensed Trustee can file a proposal with the Federal Government. LOCATING A TRUSTEE: You can […]
Read moreWHAT GOOD DOES THE CMHC DO?
CMHC Previously described by McLeans Magazine as Canada’s Mortgage Monster – apparently lives up to its reputation. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is a Crown Corporation that facilitates and encourages excessive indebtedness for Canadian consumers and ironically charges them a fee for the privilege. The CHMC holds assets valued at over $248,490,000,000.00 according to its 2014 […]
Read moreWHAT IS SURPLUS INCOME
What is surplus income, how and why is it calculated and collected? What is surplus income: Surplus income isn’t as it sounds, it isn’t money that is “left over” or “surplus” to paying monthly bills. Surplus income is somewhat “notional” it is calculated from income that exceeds the amounts that are required to live a […]
Read moreNew Consumer Protection Rules
Get involved – have your say about Consumer Protection The Ontario government is in the process of developing consumer protection rules that will govern the fees and to some extent the operations of Credit Counselling, Debt Consulting and Debt Settlement Companies. Consumers and other interested parties are invited to have input into the development and implementation […]
Read moreWHAT HAPPENS TO ME IF MY EX GOES BANKRUPT?
That is a great question and one that we are often asked, the answer is “it depends”. It depends on how closely your financial lives are interrelated. Some spouses lead completely separate financial lives each having their own incomes and credit/debt facilities as well as separate responsibility for household bills and accounts. In which case […]
Read moreSHOULD BANKRUPTCY TRUSTEES CHANGE THEIR NAME?
What do you think – a rose by any other name? Are you stigmatized by the Bankruptcy & Insolvency Act or by the term “Bankruptcy”? The CAIRP, the professional association that provides academic training for prospective trustees as well the “CIRP” designation, has recently petitioned the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy to change the […]
Read moreCredit or Debt
What’s in a name? Those of us who remember Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet from our high school days immediately recognize the phrase “that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet“ – so let’s apply that phrase to the topic at hand; “debt” or wait a minute is it “credit”? How […]
Read moreKEEP IT LOCAL – THERE ARE BENEFITS
This is not only true of fruits and vegetables but it is true of many services you may receive. The trustee community is relatively small, especially when compared with many other professions. In Canada there are slightly more than 1,000 licensed trustees and 225 trustee firms. By Contrast there are about 78,000 Chartered Accountants and […]
Read more“SERVICING DEBT” versus “PAYING DEBT”
Do you understand the difference? Many people think that the fact they are able to “pay” their bills each month is a good thing. But that is just an illusion, or delusion depending how you look at it Ask yourself this simple question “do I like being in debt?” If you answered “yes”, you do […]
Read moreWHO WILL SUE ME – AM I BULLET PROOF?
The answer to that question is not very clear it is a bit of a gambit – generally speaking institutional creditors are unlikely to waste their money suing people for low levels of debt. The maximum amount that can be sued in Ontario Small Claims Court is $25,000. Anything above that must be heard before […]
Read moreHOW TO GET YOUR CREDIT BACK
Obtaining credit isn’t hard with or without an insolvency proceeding – the real difficulty is getting favourable terms. Lenders are in the business of lending, they WANT to lend you money. Lenders take risks, calculated risks. They do want you to be indebted to them, after all that’s precisely their business. But remember it is […]
Read moreSENIORS GOING BANKRUPT IN DROVES
You have heard the sensational reports on CBC radio. Certainly scoring airtime for some trustees but is it true? CBC Radio is once again airing a misleading report from an Ontario trustee firm that suggests that seniors are filing for bankruptcy in alarming numbers. In short, this information is inaccurate, myopic, and quite sensational. The […]
Read moreBANKS HAVE A DUTY IMPOSED ON THEM BY THE BIA
But they rarely, if ever, comply with Section 78 of the Bakruptcy & Insolvency Act. Under Section 78 of the Bankruptcy & Insolvency Act bankers are required to notify trustee of bank accounts and to freeze them pending consent from the trustee. Section 78. Where a banker has ascertained that a person having an account […]
Read moreIS THE CASH STORE BANKRUPT?
Although the headline in this (linked) Reuters article refers to “bankruptcy protection” that is not quite the case. The Cash Store actually filed a Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (“CCAA”) proceeding which is a court driven restructuring process administered by a trustee in bankruptcy. In order to file a CCAA the company must owe its creditors […]
Read more“AVOID BANKRUPTCY AND PAY ONLY PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR”
There are many things wrong with that statement! Having worked in the Insolvency industry since 1995 we have seen many situations in which people are able to get out of debt and pay only pennies on the dollar of what they owe. This is achieved mostly through the filing of a formal proceeding such as […]
Read moreWHAT DO ECONOMIC HEADLINES MEAN FOR US
This past week the news headlines have been nothing short of bleak but can we learn the right lessons? LOONIE TAKES A SWAN DIVE I blogged about this one when the dollar was hitting $1.03USD – if we all went out and bought up all the US dollars we could have, even with the bank […]
Read moreBankrupts and home ownership
Can bankrupts buy house after they are discharged, and should they? People filing for bankruptcy either own a house or can’t wait until they repair their credit to the point that buying a home is a reality. But buying a house according to some experts is a fools paradise. “Will I qualify for a mortgage […]
Read moreDEBT CONSULTANTS AND TRUSTEES
“Wag the Dog”. Debt consultants could not exist without the support of trustees. The fact is that debt consultants can do little or nothing to help debtors find relief except to refer them to a trustee in bankruptcy for help. Only licensed collection agencies, trustees in bankruptcy and lawyers can provide debt settlement services. Generally […]
Read moreSTAY OUT OF DEBT
Getting out of debt is easy! How can you break your reliance on debt to make ends meet? An imperative is that you must live within your “means” – in other words “change your lifestyle expectations”. Reduce eating out, fewer vacations, less impulsivity and monitor what you are spending your money on. How much do you […]
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