12 May

Commercial landlords and big retailers work together to pitch rent relief plan to Ottawa

Challenging Times

Posted by: Garth Chapman

A coalition of Canada’s largest retailers and commercial property owners is lobbying Ottawa for a rent relief package that could see major landlords slash rent by one-third for their distressed tenants and walk away from billions of dollars in revenue, while providing loans to retailers to cover the rest of their rent.

The group, which includes Hudson’s Bay Co., Indigo Books & Music Inc. and Cadillac Fairview, is proposing that landlords provide an abatement on one-third of the rent for 10 months to retail tenants whose revenues have declined significantly. The companies have also asked the government to establish a low-interest loan program to help retailers cover the other two-thirds of the rent, according to people with knowledge of the proposals. The Globe is not identifying the sources because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

The proposal is designed to help large retailers that aren’t covered by Ottawa’s rent relief program for small businesses. That program provides taxpayer funds for half of small tenants’ gross rent as long as the tenant has lost a minimum of 70 per cent of its revenues due to the novel coronavirus pandemic and pays $50,000 or less in monthly rent.

Indigo CEO Heather Reisman and Cadillac Fairview chief executive John Sullivan are leading the efforts on behalf of the coalition of big retailers and commercial real estate owners. The group includes Cineplex Inc., Aritzia Inc. and GoodLife Fitness Centres Inc.; as well as property owners such as RioCan REIT, SmartCentres REIT, Oxford Properties and Ivanhoé Cambridge Inc.

The coalition has been collectively advocating for the measures in order to show broad industry support.  But the loans could apply to any retailers designated as non-essential by governments that have been forced to close.  Many larger retailers are in need of rent relief, but don’t qualify for the small business relief program.  The measures would not apply to retailers such as grocers, which have not suffered deep enough revenue declines during the pandemic.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-commercial-landlords-and-big-retailers-work-together-to-pitch-rent/

12 May

Commercial Real Estate Owners Stuck Between Tenant Needs, Building Expenses

Challenging Times

Posted by: Garth Chapman

As tenants face the challenge of paying rents, building owners, particularly those with hard-hit retail spaces, have had to consider options in order to cover their own costs. These include property taxes that have soared over the years in major cities. The owners with mortgages are in a particularly challenging spot.

“Those with tenants in financial crisis typically want to ensure the businesses were in good shape prior to the pandemic, that the businesses truly need help and that tenants have looked into claims for business interruption insurance, as well as government stimulus programs.”

“Property tax is probably the largest component of rent that the tenant has to pay and municipalities typically aren’t abating property taxes. So, the landlord is still faced with the property tax bill they have to pay and the mortgage obviously.”

“There’s the added complication that if an owner wants to defer or lower rents, they have to check with their lender, or it could be a breach of their mortgage agreement.”

Commercial Real Estate Owners Stuck Between Tenant Needs, Building Expenses

12 May

Why Cap Rates are likely to go up

Challenging Times

Posted by: Garth Chapman

From an article by Colliers International

The capitalization rate of a real estate investment is calculated by dividing the property’s net operating income by the current market value. It’s the most popular measure for how real estate investments are assessed for profitability and rate of return.

Our expectation is that they will start to go up, because people are going to start to see more risks. The days of looking at an asset and painting it with a broad brush . . . are evaporating.

However the greatest factor for cap rates universally is the strength of a landlord’s tenants to pay their rent.

Scott Bowden, the managing director of valuation and advisory services for Colliers International

https://renx.ca/cap-rates-go-up-pandemic-raise-risk-colliers/

12 May

COVID-19’s Potential Impact on Commercial Real Estate valuations, by Asset Class

Challenging Times

Posted by: Garth Chapman

How will the recession brought about by government measures to combat COVID-19 impact commercial real estate valuations?

 

While it’s still too early to know long-term repercussions, companies are currently carrying out stress tests, forecasts, analyses and covenant-checks of assets to try to avoid surprises later.

Theoretically, property values should be moving lower as risks have increased and cash flow has likely weakened. However, as long as companies and high-net-worth investors seek to deploy large amounts of capital to buy real estate, the trend of high property valuations could continue.

Retail valuations

  • The retail sector has been challenged in recent years
  • While trophy assets such as CF Toronto Eaton Centre and Yorkdale Shopping Centre should still be very strong, there will be a widening gap between good and bad malls.
  • Enclosed malls in secondary and tertiary markets that were already ripe for redevelopment opportunities may have those plans hastened.
  • Grocery and pharmacy-anchored retail strips have generally performed well, as those stores have remained open to provide essential goods. However, those locations often also feature small businesses such as salons, bakeries and dry cleaners that may be in for tough times.
  • Migration to online shopping isn’t likely to end.

Multifamily

  • “Multifamily real estate has historically been the most resilient asset class and we think that continues today,” said Anna Kennedy, chief operating officer of KingSett Capital, a private equity real estate firm with $13 billion of assets under management.
  • Kennedy cited low vacancy rates, upward pressure on rents and an existing need for more rental apartments in key Canadian urban markets, which she believes portend continued strong performance.
  • Sender said people who are renting typically don’t have a lot of alternatives, and need to live somewhere, so “it makes sense that multifamily will be more resilient than commercial asset classes.”

Office

  • The majority of office workers across Canada have been working from home for about two months, and Kennedy said it’s been “quite remarkable” how they’ve adapted.
  • However, the consensus of the panel members was people still long for human interaction, working in teams and innovating, as well as creating new business relationships instead of just maintaining existing ones. All of this can best be done in office environments.
  • “If anything, they may well need more space because they’re concerned about the higher densities in their office space,” said Kennedy.
  • Increased workplace flexibility through hoteling systems and having more people work from home, at least part-time, could reduce demand for office space. However, Johnston believes it will be balanced by the desire for increased buffering and distancing.

Calgary office

  • While the office markets in most major Canadian cities have performed well of late, Calgary was a glaring exception. The most recent collapse of oil and gas prices has exacerbated the problems there.
  • Johnston said Altus was seeing light at the end of the tunnel with absorption and had forecast rental growth for the next few years, but that will now be amended.
  • Long-term leases signed years ago now have rents well above market value, and rents have decreased dramatically upon lease rollovers, according to Johnston. With Calgary’s downtown office vacancy rate hitting 24.6 per cent in Q1 2020, and expected to rise, rents should continue to decline.
  • One note of optimism was expressed by Kennedy. KingSett has four per cent of its income fund invested in Calgary and owns a couple of office buildings there that have “already been written down substantially over the last four years.”
  • She said rent collection for April was more than 90 per cent.

Seniors housing

  • Johnston said Altus was doing a lot of feasibility work for companies interested in building more seniors housing, which had been acknowledged as a growth sector because of Canada’s aging population.
  • The large COVID-19 death tolls in seniors homes has likely put a pause on that. Down the road, however, there will continue to be a need for such facilities — albeit with increased staffing, cleaning, security and other improvements.
  • “It’s not all seniors housing that’s being hit hard,” said Chin. “It’s long-term care which is the most vulnerable.”
  • Johnston said the children of seniors often decide if their parents will go into these facilities. Their personal wealth has potentially been decreased in this pandemic-caused recession and they may no longer be able to afford to pay for it.

Industrial

  • Johnston believes the industrial sector should remain relatively unscathed and companies will want to build more if they can find the land. Industrial space close to cities will continue to be especially important for last-mile delivery of goods.
  • Small-bay properties may be challenged, depending on where they fit in the supply chain, according to Johnston.
  • Chin said supply chain issues might prompt some companies to stockpile certain goods to ensure availability, and places will be needed to store them.
  • “We’ve lost some of our confidence in relying on global supply chains,” said Kennedy. “I think we may bite the bullet and pay more for certain strategic goods that we may want to manufacture at home.”

Hotels

  • Hotels will get “kicked in the teeth the hardest,” according to Sender, who believes the asset class is “in for a tough go for a period of time.”
  • Johnston said tourist-oriented hotels will suffer because people may be wary of going to them, travel may continue to be restricted to some extent, and disposable income could be impacted over the next few years.
  • Downtown hotels in major cities catering to diverse clientele – business clients as well as vacationers – may recover more quickly.

Development

  • Some new development has been temporarily put on hold due to COVID-19-mandated construction stoppages or slowdowns, which is likely to impact project budgets. Chin said the primary issue with development is delayed registrations because of municipal offices being closed.
  • Johnston said Altus is still performing development appraisals, however, and it’s too early to say if land values have been negatively impacted.
  • Although Otera is being conservative with its loan structures, Chin said the company is “looking at new development on a very selective basis. It depends on who the sponsors are.”
  • Otera has been repaid on three large condominium loans through the COVID-19 crisis and Chin expects to be repaid on two more in the next month, which are positive signs.

The full article

12 May

Stalled Multi-Family Projects can be Saved via Conversion to Affordable Housing – Financed up to 95% of Cost

Commercial & Multi-Family

Posted by: Garth Chapman

There are a number of multi-family projects in Alberta that have stalled, primarily due to a lack of funding caused by cost overruns, lenders backing out and other causes related to a struggling economy.  Such incomplete MF projects can be saved if the Developer is prepared to convert the use of their stalled out project to Affordable Housing status.

The CMHC Insurance Certificate is double-pronged, in that it works both for the construction financing and for the take-out mortgage at completion.  You can get the rate locks on both mortgages, even as far as to funding the take-out mortgage into escrow, all this at the currently vary low rates – I am seeing numbers in the range of 2.2% for 10-year terms.

The Balance Sheet lenders are now advantaged big-time over the Monoline and other mortgage lenders.

The rent is 10% below market, increasing by CPI annually, and is tied to the address no matter who the tenant may be – for 10 years.  The Affordable Housing requirements remain in place for 10 years, so this is not a short term scenario to solve a financing problem, but for the right projects and the right Developers it can save a project.

24 Apr

How You Can Access and interconnect your CRA and Service Canada Accounts online

Financial

Posted by: Garth Chapman

How You Can Access Online all your Interactions with your CRA and Service Canada Accounts…Online…Anytime

My Service Canada Account (MSCA) is a secure online portal that lets you apply, view and update your information for:

  • Employment Insurance (EI)
  • Canada Pension Plan (CPP)
  • Old Age Security (OAS).
  • And now also any of the many COVID-19 benefit programs for Canadians.

If you do not already have one, start by creating your Service Canada ‘My Service Canada Account’ here .

Within your ‘My Service Canada Account’ you should first setup or to confirm that your direct deposit account information is correct to facilitate the receipt to your bank account of any Government of Canada benefits, from CPP to OAS and EI and any of the many COVID-19 benefit programs.

To do this, login and go to ‘Service Canada account services’ and in the View/Change tab click on Canada Pension Plan (CPP) / Old Age Security (OAS) link and then click on ‘Payment information’ and then click on ‘2020’ and it will then display the payments you have received for both pensions by date.

Connecting your ‘My Service Canada Account’ with your CRA ‘My Account for Individuals’

From your My Service Canada Account, you can also securely access your income tax and other benefit information by clicking on the Canada Revenue Agency “My Account” button. This will connect you to your Canada Revenue Agency account without having to login or revalidate your identity. And if you have not yet registered for your online CRA ‘My Account for Individuals’ you can do this here Registration process to access the CRA login services

Learn how you can also sign in to your My Service Canada Account from your bank account login

My Service Canada Account: Register with your bank

Link between My Account and My Service Canada Account

The link provides you with a convenient connection between the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) My Account for Individuals and Employment and Social Development Canada’s (ESDC) My Service Canada Account.

If you are registered for CRA’s ‘My Account for Individuals’ you can securely access ESDC’s My Service Canada Account without having to login or revalidate your identity. The link will take you directly to your My Service Canada Account within a single secure session, without having to sign in or register with MSCA.

Using the “Tell Us Once” feature you can now update and share your direct deposit banking information with both CRA and ESDC in one easy step.

Individuals receiving a Canada Pension Plan (CPP) benefit, will be able to update their banking information with one department and can choose to share it with the other. Canadians can choose to share direct deposit information through multiple service channels including:

How to get your CRA ‘statement of account’

Your Statement of Account is what you will need when applying for a mortgage in order to prove you have paid any money showing on your NOA as owing to CRA.

Login to your CRA ‘My Account’ and you will land on the ‘Overview’ page.  In the Accounts and section of that page click on ‘View statement of account’ and then print that page or save it as a pdf file.

2 Apr

What is the Cost of a 6-month mortgage payment deferral?

Challenging Times

Posted by: Garth Chapman

What is the Cost of a 6-month mortgage payment deferral?

We will assume the deferral occurs in the first 6 months of the new mortgage, which is unlikely to happen but provides the most expensive case scenario. We will use the method used by most Credit Unions, and by TD Bank and others, whereby the bank will re-set you payment at the end of your current term, to have you pay back the accrued interest over the remaining entire amortization of the mortgage.  This keeps the amortization period unchanged from its original  length. This method is the most generous for your cash-flow, and is also the most expensive possible method.

  • A $100,000 mortgage at 3.00% interest with a 25 year amortization would have a monthly payment of $473.25. We will assume it is on a 5-year term.
  • If a client defers a $100,000 mortgage at 3% interest for 6 months you would accrue $1,500.00 in interest.  The interest each month for those 6 months is on a static balance rather than on a declining balance, so this amount is slightly higher than the $1,490.70 in interest you would pay if the payments were not deferred.
  • Once the 5-year term ends, and the mortgage renews the balance owing is higher by the accrued interest, plus interest on that accrued interest, plus the principal not paid and the interest on the principal not paid. All of that adds up to $3,266.87. You would have not made 6 payments totaling $2,839.50.
  • So upon renewal the balance owing would be $88,741.17 instead of the $85,474.30 it would have been without a deferral.
  • Therefore the total cost of the deferral at the end of the 5-year term would be $427.37.  So the total cost of a 6-month deferral after 5 years is equal to 90% of one monthly payment.
  • This assumes you pay all of that deferred money back on your mortgage at the end of that term. If you don’t then the cost will increase over time. Let’s look at that next.
  • Assuming the new interest rate at renewal was unchanged at 3.00%, and renewing with a 20-year amortization, your new monthly payment would be $491.33 instead of $473.24, a difference of $18.09 per month.
  • If you renewed again and again at the same interest rate until the mortgage was paid off you would have paid a total of $45,059.69 instead of $41,972.92, for a total cost of $3,086.77

TAKEAWAYS AND SUGGESTIONS:

  • Taking a payment deferral on any debt is a defensive and protective move taken at a time of great uncertainty. You may need that money during this challenging economic time or you may not, but you won’t have it if you don’t take the deferrals available to you. And you likely don’t currently know if you will need it or not. If you know you will not need it, then why take it.

What We are Doing:

  • We are being defensive and are protecting our financial position and our liquidity by taking deferrals on all 9 of our mortgages.
  • We are depositing the entire amounts of the deferred payments each month into a separate account. We will use only of that money what we must.
  • When this is over we will use the remaining money to pay down debt.  We might decide to use it to pay down our HELOCS instead of our mortgages because the HELOCS have higher interest rates than the mortgages.
  • That might not be the case for others, but we have very low fixed rate mortgages. And doing so will have the greatest impact in reducing our monthly payments.

Some Considerations for You:

  • If you take a 6-month deferral and you put that money into a separate bank account and spend of it only what you must, and then when the dust settles you pay what is left in that account directly on that mortgage you will reduce the long-term cost of the deferral.
  • Or, if when the dust settles you decide it is more important to reduce your overall monthly debt payments by the highest possible amount, then take that remaining money and pay down the debt that would reduce your monthly payments by the largest amount, or the debt with the highest interest rate.
  • It’s your money. Use it in the way that best serves you.

The following information is taken from a Money Coaches Canada article

Should I Defer my Mortgage Payments?

According to Vancouver based mortgage broker Marci Dean, each lender has created a policy around the deferral program. In some cases, the lenders default to a 6-month deferral and it’s up to the borrower to call/email to stop the deferral. For other lenders, it is month to month. In that case, borrowers will login or email their request to skip payment the following month.

Again, depending on the lender, interest will either be added to payments after the deferral or it will be added to the mortgage balance at the end of the term which will result in larger payments later.

Here are a few examples from bank lenders:

TD: Payments will be adjusted automatically at the start of your next term or, if you change anything else before renewal, at that time, to ensure your mortgage is paid off at the end of your original amortization period.

Scotiabank: A mortgage payment deferral means that payments are skipped for up to 6 months, during which interest is accrued to the outstanding balance of the mortgage. The amount is incorporated into the monthly payment when mortgage payments resume at the end of the deferral period.

CIBC: The interest that accrues during the deferral period will be added to the principal balance of your mortgage to provide you with immediate payment relief while experiencing temporary hardships. As a result, once payments resume, you will continue to pay interest on the principal, and your payments may increase after the deferral period.

I hope this information helps you in your decision-making and actions on your mortgage(s).  Do not hesitate to call or email me for further advice.

30 Mar

Big Picture Thoughts for Landlords – Early Days COVID-19

Challenging Times

Posted by: Garth Chapman

My Big Picture Thoughts for Landlords in the early days of COVID-19

Aside from one’s own personal sense of obligations to those in need, I believe that society as a whole bears the obligation to help those in need, at all times, and most especially in extraordinarily challenging times.

At this COVID-19 time a great many Canadians are in need. The Federal & Provincial governments are honouring society’s obligations by way of the many and growing supports, now at a point where it appears that no-one is at risk of not being able to pay for food and shelter and medical costs.

Governments leaned on the banks to provide payment deferrals to Canadians, and to support that are providing liquidity to those banks to allow the banks to do what the federal government has asked. This is an extension of the gov’t providing the obligated supports to Canadians in need.

Landlords taking deferrals does not deprive Canadian homeowners of their own opportunities to take deferrals. The banks won’t run out of capacity to offer deferrals because the federal Gov’t won’t allow that to happen.

Through all this, no matter if we were to take mortgage payment deferrals or not, we will stand by our good (mostly long-term) tenants and support them as they work their way through this. The rules Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announced on March 27th are essentially what we believe that we and our tenants should do. And we’ve conveyed that to our tenants.

With all the above in mind, we decided to apply for mortgage payment deferrals on our rental properties to buttress our cash reserves. Once we are through this if we have extra cash remaining we will use it to pay down those mortgages or to pay down any HELOC debt we then have on our rentals. Note- the interest rate is higher on the HELOCs than on our mortgages. If we were in property acquisition mode we would use such funds towards purchases.

On the Income Tax Implications of Payment Deferrals

I have been told by an Accountant that mortgage interest that is deferred is still a tax deductible expense.  Hence, mortgage interest deferred within a tax year will itself NOT reduce taxable income. Check with your own tax advisor to know your tax implications in advance.

So if you believe your cash-flows may become impaired over the coming months due to lost or reduced rents and/or increased vacancies you have the option of protecting your liquidity with mortgage payment deferrals for up to 6 months, and perhaps longer depending on how this goes.  You can always cancel them if at any time you decide you don’t need them.

On working through this with your Tenants

Rent is due. It’s a contract. Nothing stops you from offering deferrals to those in need, but do a proper needs test of that, much as many banks are doing when you ask them for a mortgage payment deferral.

You can of course later forgive any amounts of rents deferred as you choose to, but starting out with forgiveness instead of deferrals will fundamentally change the relationship, and maybe forever.

Provincial and federal governments have done easily enough to ensure nearly 100% of all renters will have enough income to pay their rent.

Think about what tenants’ payment priorities are:

1) Groceries

2) Non-elective child care and medical costs

3) If Applicable: Child support and Alimony payments

4) Rent

And after the rent comes everything else, like auto payments, credit card payments, student loans, personal loans, personal lines of credit – and note, all of those are eligible for payment deferrals.

On Communication

Nobody doesn’t want to pay a landlord who they know, and who they like/respect, and who has treated them well and is responsive to trouble calls on the property.

Have you or your Property Manager personally called all your tenants to check in and ask how are they doing?

30 Mar

Template – Your Second COVID-19 Letter to Tenants

Challenging Times

Posted by: Garth Chapman

We wanted to stay in touch and to reach out today with important new information regarding new or improved benefits that both the federal and Alberta governments have announced this week.  As you are also undoubtedly doing, we are working very hard to cut our costs in every area possible.  We will get through this, and what we do now and in the days and weeks ahead will determine the speed and ease with which our lives return to a ‘new normal’.

NEW – TEMPORARY NEW RULES FOR ALBERTA RENTERS AND LANDLORDS EFFECTIVE APRIL 1, 2020

On March 27th he Alberta government announced temporary measures for landlords and tenants.  Kenney said “For as long as the Public Health Emergency remains in effect landlords will be obliged to negotiate payment plans that accommodate their renters’ financial circumstances. Renters will be obliged to pay their rent as fully and consistently as possible, and both the renters and the landlords will be obliged to take into account the financial supports they are getting from the federal and provincial governments.”  Premier Kenney further said the government expects that before the end of April renters will begin receiving cash from new Provincial and Federal COVID-19 relief programs, and that the government expected that financial relief received by renters be used to pay rent.

Important– If you think you may not have the full amount of rent when it comes due, call us in advance and together we will make a rent payment plan.

Info for renters (scroll halfway down the page)  –  Rent Payment Plans  –   Suspension of Eviction Enforcement to May

All the COVID-19 Support Programs across Canada

This is a great open-source document detailing, searchable, and categorized by need and situation. Updated frequently. 

Financial Relief from non-governmental sources

Banks are offering COVID-19 Relief on Auto & Personal Loans, Credit Cards, Credit Lines

ATB Customer Relief Program

Credit Union customers – access to a variety of programs and solutions designed to ease difficulties with loan payments and short-term cash flow. Check with your Credit Union.

Important note – a payment deferral is not a forgiveness of the amount owed.  It means the payments are deferred to a later time, when we will have to pay them back, plus the cost of interest charges on the interest deferred.

CANADA – COVID-19 Economic Response Plan: Support for Canadians and Businesses

NEW PROGRAM: CERB – This is Big!

CERB: Canada Emergency Response Benefit

CERB will give workers who cease working or are receiving reduced employment income because of COVID-19 a $500 per week for 16 weeks. The income will be taxable, but the gov’t will not deduct income tax at source.

See Dutton Employment Law Group’s CERB review and FAQ

NEW PROGRAM FOR BUSINESSES: CEWS

The Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy to help Businesses keep & return workers to payroll retroactive to March 15.

It looks like the payment will be capped at 75% of $58,700 annual income, so $1,129 per week for up to 12 weeks.

Canada’s Federal COVID-19 Economic Response Plan

NEW INFO – It appears that the federal government will use the CRA ‘My Account for Individuals’ to register for or to access electronic payments.  Apply here for an individual CRA account unless you already have an account.

Link to all Federal COVID-19 Programs

These appear to be Automatic (but you should double-check on that):

  • Enhanced Canada Child Benefit for the 2019-2020 benefit year, by $300 per child
  • GST Credit increase
  • A one-time special payment by early May 2020 through the Goods and Services Tax credit. The average boost to income for those benefiting from this measure will be close to $400 for single individuals and close to $600 for couples.
  • Delay to Income Tax filing deadline to June 1, 2020 and payment deadline to Aug 31, 2020
  • These you must Apply for:
    • EI Work Sharing Program
    • Federal Student loan 6-month payment moratorium. Note: this is a deferment, not a forgiveness.

ALBERTA – Immediate relief for Albertans affected by the COVID-19 pandemic

NEW INFO – you will need a MyAlberta Digital ID account to receive Alberta government COVID-19 benefits.

There is normally a 10-day waiting period after uploading your driver’s license to the site waiting to receive by mail your verification code.

COVID-19 Supports for Albertans

  • Alberta student loan payments can access a 6-month, interest free, moratorium on payments.
  • Emergency isolation support – a one-time payment of $1,146 will be distributed to bridge the gap until the federal emergency payments begin in April.
  • Residential customers can defer electricity and natural gas bill payments for 90 days to ensure no one will be cut off, regardless of the service provider.

Important note – a payment deferral is not a forgiveness of the amount owed.  It means the payments are deferred to a later time, when we will have to pay them back.

Other Existing Income Supports for Albertans – click the link for details on existing programs

Covid-19 Government Resources for Albertan Renters & Property Owners – courtesy of ‘COVID-19 Resources’

UPDATED – Health Resources official sites

For more information about COVID-19 itself, please check out these resources:

Canada Public Health Services

Check these Alberta Provincial Health web pages:

How to Self-Isolate

Coronavirus Info for Albertans

AHS Help in Tough Times

AHS COVID-19 Self-Assessment

Household Budgeting Apps & Programs

Mvelopes – FREE VERSION is full featured online personal finance App based on the age-old envelope budgeting method, where you put your cash in envelopes, each marked to what the cash is for, and when it is gone, it is gone, resetting during the start of your next pay period.

You Need a Budget (YNAB) – $6.99 / month USD – packs in many features and improvements over earlier versions, and it intuitively teaches some solid budgeting practices.

Quicken – has 4 versions at varying costs Best for Those Who “Want It All”

Vertex42 – FREE – a great variety of Excel Spreadsheet based products. All the Vertex42™ budget templates can be downloaded for personal use and no charge.  See their household budget spreadsheet here

We will stay in touch with you – please keep us up to date as much as you like on how you are doing.  And don’t hesitate to call either of us on any of this with any questions as they come up.  We will always do what we can to help.

30 Mar

COVID-19 Aid Programs: Gov’t, Banking, Utilities & Health related

Challenging Times

Posted by: Garth Chapman

All the COVID-19 Support Programs in Canada in one place

This is a great open-source Google Doc detailing, searchable, and categorized by need and situation. Brilliantly conceived. Updated frequently. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lOJn7XS6ETIkbLRodYk681M_2dxkkQsc/view

Banks offering COVID-19 Relief on Auto & Personal Loans, Credit Cards, Credit Lines

Details of Major Banks offering relief in various forms

ATB Customer Relief Program

Credit Union customers – access to a variety of programs and solutions designed to ease difficulties with loan payments and short-term cash flow. Check with your Credit Union.

Important note – a payment deferral is not a forgiveness of the amount owed.  It means the payments are deferred to a later time, when we will have to pay them back, plus the cost of interest charges on the interest deferred.

CANADA – COVID-19 Economic Response Plan: Support for Canadians & Businesses

NEW PROGRAM – CERB 

CERB: Canada Emergency Response Benefit

  • CERB will give workers who cease working or are receiving reduced employment income because of COVID-19 $500 per week for 16 weeks. The income will be taxable, but the gov’t will not deduct income tax at source.
  • Dutton Employment Law Group’s excellent CERB review and FAQ

NEW PROGRAM FOR BUSINESSES – CEWS – This should be a big help to Employees and Contract Employees

Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) – to help Businesses keep & return workers to payroll retroactive to March 15.

  • As a Canadian employer whose business has been affected by COVID-19, you may be eligible for a subsidy of 75% of employee wages for up to 12 weeks, retroactive from March 15, 2020, to June 6, 2020.
  • This wage subsidy will enable you to re-hire workers previously laid off as a result of COVID-19, help prevent further job losses, and better position you to resume normal operations following the crisis.CEWS details previously published:
    • CEWS provides a wage subsidy of 75% up to a maximum salary of $58,700 ($847 per week) for up to 12 weeks.
    • It is available to all Canadian businesses that experience a 15% revenue reduction in March and 30% reduction in April and May (compared to either 2019 figures or 2020 figures), or to an average of their revenue earned in January and February 2020. There is no overall limit on the subsidy amount that an eligible employer may claim.
    • The subsidy is retroactive to March 15, 2020.
    • Businesses may measure revenue on the basis of accrual accounting (as they are earned) or cash accounting (as they are received); once a method is selected, it must continue to be used.
    • Once an employer is found eligible for a specific period, they will automatically qualify for the next period of the program.
    • The CEWS will provide an additional amount to compensate employers for their contributions to the Canada Pension Plan, Employment Insurance, Quebec Pension Plan and Quebec Parental Insurance Plan paid in respect of eligible employees who are on leave with pay due to COVID-19.
    • The employer will be required to repay amounts paid under the CEWS if they do not meet the eligibility requirements.

Canada’s Federal COVID-19 Economic Response Plan – click the link for details on existing programs

NEW INFO – It appears that the federal government will use the CRA ‘My Account for Individuals’ to register for or to access electronic payments.  Apply here for an individual CRA account unless you already have an account.

SERVICE CANADA – when their office are closed you can make an online Request For Service here – This online service request form is a temporary measure to ensure continuity of critical services.

Link to all Federal COVID-19 Programs

  • These appear to be Automatic (but you should double-check on that):
    • Enhanced Canada Child Benefit for the 2019-2020 benefit year, by $300 per child
    • GST Credit increase
    • A one-time special payment by early May 2020 through the Goods and Services Tax credit. The average boost to income for those benefitting from this measure will be close to $400 for single individuals and close to $600 for couples.
    • Delay to Income Tax filing deadline to June 1, 2020 and payment deadline to Aug 31, 2020
  • These you must Apply for:
    • EI Work Sharing Program
    • Federal Student loan 6-month payment moratorium. Note: this is a deferment, not a forgiveness.

ALBERTA – Immediate relief for Albertans affected by the COVID-19 pandemic

NEW INFO – you will need a MyAlberta Digital ID account to receive Alberta government COVID-19 benefits,

There is normally a 10-day waiting period after uploading your driver’s license to the site waiting to receive by mail your verification code.

COVID-19 Supports for Albertans

  • Alberta student loan payments can access a 6-month, interest free, moratorium on payments.
  • Emergency isolation support – a one-time payment of $1,146 will be distributed to bridge the gap until the federal emergency payments begin in April.
  • Residential customers can defer electricity and natural gas bill payments for 90 days to ensure no one will be cut off, regardless of the service provider.

Important note – a payment deferral is not a forgiveness of the amount owed.  It means the payments are deferred to a later time, when we will have to pay them back.

Other Existing Income Supports for Albertans – click the link for details on existing programs

Covid-19 Government Resources for Albertan Renters & Property Owners – courtesy of ‘COVID-19 Resources’

UPDATED – Health Resources official sites

For more information about COVID-19 itself, please check out these resources: