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Barefoot
02-11-2013, 08:08 PM
LOONIES AND TOONIES MEETING - fEBRUARY 13, 2013

A very special event for Canadians is planned for Wednesday February 13, 2012 at La Hacienda - Carmen Miranda Room. It starts at 6:30 PM. The Registration desk opens at 5:30 PM. Please renew your membership for 2013 if you have not done so. We would love to welcome any new members who wish to join.

Please wear your name badge so we can identify you and update it to the 2013 version. If you have joined at a recent meeting, you can collect your new badge at the Registration Desk.

We are very fortunate this month to have two speakers. The first is David Altro of Altro Associates based in Montreal and Toronto. David Altro is the author of "Owning U.S. Property – the Canadian Way", 2nd Edition, a guidebook for all Canadians who own property in the U.S. The book provides solutions to common tax and real estate problems for Canadians who own property in the U.S. and he is recognized as being the world authority on this subject.

He is also extremely well versed in the Legal process for snowbirds, should something catastrophic health-wise occur to us while we are here wintering. He is knowledgeable about what paperwork we need to file to protect our interests in the unlikely event something does happen to us or our spouse/partner. We have asked David to focus on this particular subject this year as many of us do not know where we stand legally if something happens and we require that documentation.

David, in addition to being very informative, is extremely entertaining and has a profound love for Canada and his precious Montreal Canadiens - We urge you to wear hockey sweaters, or other hockey themed gear to show your love of your favourite team to fire him up and celebrate the return of NHL hockey.

The second speaker is Jerry Gironda of RBC who is based in St. Petersburg, Florida. Jerry Gironda is a Senior Relationship Manager for Royal Bank of Canada. RBC is one of the only banks that offers Canadians cross border banking and will issue us an “American” VISA card allowing us to avoid the 3% surcharge Canadian VISA charges on each transaction (based on our Canadian credit score). RBC was sold to an American bank last February and has gone through a transition from a branch bank to a virtual bank. We know many of you have encountered some challenges over that period. We have invited Jerry to our meeting to talk to those of you that may need some guidance or assistance.

Please bring your own refreshments and your own snacks. Please note that due to the nature of this meeting's content and the expected attendance [last year we had over 400 attendees] we will not have live entertainment. We do encourage all to mingle and socialize after the talks while our speakers entertain questions on a one-on-one basis.

The L & T Executive

golf2140
02-11-2013, 09:59 PM
Did I hear that our govn. is going to extend the time our friends from Canada can stay?

Barefoot
02-12-2013, 09:36 AM
Did I hear that our govn. is going to extend the time our friends from Canada can stay?

How I wish that were true .... I'd be drinking champagne and dancing in the streets! :beer3::pepper2:

There was a "Retiree Visa" Bill introduced into the U.S. Senate in October 2011. It would have increased the time that the U.S. Government allows Canadians to stay from six months to eight months. Most Canadians I know were very excited and hopeful that it would go forward and become law. But that was not to be. Sigh. It's a shame because an extra two months of Canadian snowbirds would put a lot of money into the Florida and Arizona economies. I'm told The Canadian Snowbird Association has 65,000 members, and that's only a fraction of the snowbirds.

Barefoot
02-16-2013, 03:27 PM
Members of the Loonies and Toonies Club enjoyed a great February meeting with special speakers. Between 300 and 400 people attended including 40 brand new members. Jerry Gironda from Royal Bank of Canada detailed what has happened since the transition of RBC from a branch bank to a virtual bank and how they are conducting business. David Altro from Altro Law in Montreal [offices in Toronto, Vancouver, Florida and Arizona] - author of the book "Owning US Real Estate "The Canadian Way" explained to members the different options of how to take title on property owned in the USA, and the validity of Canadian Wills and Powers of Attorney documents.

March 11 is the L & T third annual golf tournament at Eagle Ridge. Wait list signups are still being taken. March 13 is the second annual Bunko Tournament at La Hacienda.

Information is available on the website: Loonies Home Page1 (http://www.looniesandtoonies.com)

russoncindy
02-17-2013, 12:18 PM
Hey, you mentioned the Loonies and Toonies web site so I went over and checked it out. Wow, there sure is a lot of stuff there. They've got photos of all their meetings, parties and golf games etc., going back to day 1 (three years now). The photos are quickly accessible in a nice easy to follow menu arrangement. There are also reports of what happened at all the meetings, a joke page relating to Canadians, and lot's of other stuff, it even told me that the temperature in Toronto is -10 degrees celsius at the moment. Great site! See link in previous post.