FIRST TIME NEW HOMEBUYERS’ BONUS

New first time homebuyers got some GREAT NEWS when the British Columbia Provincial Budget for 2012 was announced in February.

Not only was the HST Rebate Threshold for new home purchases increased from $525,000.00 to $850,000.00, increasing the maximum rebate to $42,500.00, the BC Government also announced the introduction of a new First-Time New Home Buyers’ Bonus.

For eligible buyers, the new Bonus is a one-time refundable personal income tax credit equal to 5% of the purchase price up to $10,000.00.  In order to be eligible for the Bonus, the buyer(s) need to meet several requirements including:

• The contract of purchase and sale must be entered into after February 21, 2012;
• The buyer(s) must have never previously owned a primary residence anywhere in the world;
• The new home must be the buyer(s)’ primary residence following the purchase;
• The buyer(s) must have filed a BC resident income tax return for the eligible tax year;
• The buyer(s) must take possession and/or ownership of the new home before April 1, 2013;
• The home must be located in BC.

To find out whether you qualify for the Bonus, you can contact the Income taxation Branch Ministry of Finance of British Columbia at 1(877) 387-3332, visit their website at www.fin.gov.bc.ca, or review the BC government’s fact sheet at the link below:

http://www.bcbudget.gov.bc.ca/2012/homebuyers/2012_First_Time_Home_Buyers_Fact_Sheet.pdf

We’d be happy to help you get the best out of your new home buying experience.  Call us anytime for more information or help with your next home purchase.

Wills and Estates – the right person will have a strong familiarity with wills and estates such that they can competently and efficiently complete such work as may be needed, leading to more involvement over the winter months to cover a maternity leave starting in September.

Conveyancing- Your responsibilities would include handling residential purchase, sale and/or mortgage files from start to finish as needed to relieve workload from our lead conveyancer. The position would require a focus on conveyancing leading up to September where the focus would shift to wills and estates.

Backup/Support Corporate – workload permitting, you would assist in the preparation of corporate annual report packages and commercial transactions as needed each month.

Salary will be very competitive and based upon experience. Please forward your resume to Montgomery Miles Law Firm, Attention Dave Miles, either in person or by confidential email to dave@montgomerymiles.com. We thank all applicants for their interest but only those short-listed will be contacted.

In many cases, companies only had one or two people involved and the roles of the officers were often ignored or blurred, as most times the directors would do all things for the company as needed.

Companies are no longer required to have any officers at all – just directors. No longer will a married couple need to debate which one of them should be the President. No longer will a customer or a supplier need to worry if they are dealing with the right person, as long as they are dealing with one of the directors. In most one or two person companies, officers are not needed and are often omitted. There may however be exceptions to this general rule, especially with companies where there are more people, so the division of power is clear and so certain or specific tasks are clearly set out.

Photo courtesy of Fortune Live Media

Hi, my name is Michelle Muhlbach and I am the owner of Tidy Tushees Diaper Service!  I started researching cloth diapers while pregnant with my daughter in 2010, as I was always looking for ways to lessen my carbon footprint.  Given that the average baby uses between 5000-7000 diapers (producing more than a tonne of waste); parents can make an enormous environmental impact simply by using cloth diapers.

It was only after meeting with Tidy Tushees previous owner, Kelly Paley, that I learned about all of the other possible risks associated with the plastic and chemicals in disposables.  Diaper manufacturers don’t have to release what is in their diapers, yet studies show that our babies are facing increased risks of cancer, respiratory illnesses including asthma, chemical burns and skin sensitivity and even declining fertility rates directly linked to the use of disposables.

Tidy Tushees makes it easy for families to use cloth diapers.  Soft, absorbent, fitted cotton diapers are delivered in a waterproof nylon bag each week. The diapers don’t appear to be any different than other diapers with the same shape and snaps to make them easy to use. Parents or caregivers simply change their baby the same way they would with disposable diapers, but instead of tossing the soiled diaper in a garbage bag (where it will take more than 500 years to break down in the local landfill), it goes into the delivery bag for pick up and laundering. That’s it, no dunking, rinsing or soaking. Just change your baby and help change the planet!

Cloth diapers aren’t any harder to use, will save families money, will reduce the incidents of diaper rash, will encourage children to potty train sooner and will have an enormous environmental impact.”

I was hooked and as luck would have it Tidy Tushees came up for sale about 10 months down the road…enter David Miles! At the outset I found myself thinking “How hard can this really be, it’s the sale of a business between moms”, however I quickly learned that there was a lot more to it than that!  David was essential in my purchase of the business and ensured that the purchase and all transactions ran smoothly and without any surprises, which allowed me to focus making my new venture a success!

What’s upcoming for Tidy Tushees?  In conjunction with Earth Day this year Tidy Tushees will be hosting the Great Cloth Diaper Change at the Laurel Packinghouse on April 21^st! The Great Cloth Diaper Change is an international cloth diaper changing event, which will attempt to break last year’s Guinness World Record of 5,026 cloth diapers changed simultaneously.  Wish us luck!

Happy Diapering!

Michelle Muhlbach

(250)870-4106

info@tidytushees.ca

www.tidytushees.ca

Atomic 55, as you can clearly see by scrolling to the bottom of this page, is the website developer for Montgomery Miles Law Firm.  Atomic 55 is owned by Ryan and Jennifer Grundy and operates out of the technology building at the corner of St. Paul and Doyle here in Kelowna after its recent move from its Pandosy Street location. Atomic 55 has a staff of 5 developers locally as well as a team of developers in Indonesia.

Atomic 55 focuses on website design, search engine optimization (SEO) and any kind of marketing your business could require. Their key focuses are on unique creativity and the use of technology in your marketing efforts. Through a separate company, Ryan and Jenn have teamed with another individual to start See Our Tour, which sells a complimentary service of a virtual tour of your business which can be then posted on your website for clients to view. Following this technology, Ryan and Jenn, then formed VUE Techologies to provide a further service known as EstateVue. EstateVue is a real estate tour software unlike any other.

The owners of the Warriors have been very active in the Kelowna and West Kelowna community, involving the team in many different community fundraisers to help charities and raise awareness for the team. While the team does develop players who may play in the NHL, the team’s focus is on developing players who focus on moving on to play collegiate hockey while also pursing post-secondary education.

The Warriors are a great game to watch and a great place to bring the family out for some great hockey at a reasonable price. If you’re lucky, the game may go into overtime where you will get to see a different OT format – teams go four on four for five minutes but instead of ending it with a shootout, they first play some three on three, ending in a tie if neither team scores. We’ve witnessed it first hand and it was some of the fastest and most exciting hockey we’ve ever watched, with the Warriors taking the win.

Congrats to Mark and Janelle Cheyne and their hardworking Warrior team on their many successes, and the positive impact they are having in the West Kelowna and Kelowna community.

Offering year-round coed sports leagues in Volleyball, Soccer, Basketball, Floor Hockey, Dodgeball, Beach Volleyball and of course All Sport.

Co-founded by Jamie Taverner, Urban Rec Okanagan aspires to be the sport and social club for active adults all over the Okanagan Valley.  Whether you are looking for a venue or a reason to get together with your friends, just looking to play some sports or maybe meet some great new people in your community you should check out Urban Rec Okanagan for coed recreational sports leagues, parties and social events.

Urban Rec embraces – “Real People, Real Sports, Real Fun” as the core experience we deliver to our members.  People first and taking having fun very seriously!  Visit our website for more information  www.urbanrec/kelowna

Tim & Judy Foster are pleased to announce the purchase of Excel Spa from Janinne Cleary in July of 2011. Excel Spa recently celebrated its 28^th year in business and we hope to continue to improve in the success of this award winning full service salon and spa.  In the past six months we have completed several renovations to further enhance the warm and relaxing atmosphere.

Our experienced Stylists and Estheticians are trained in the latest trends, treatments & colors to consistently deliver great results and superior customer service. We are introducing a new website to showcase our services, staff, products, accessories & atmosphere early in 2012. Please look for it at www.excelspa.com.

The Montgomery Miles team has helped us achieve our goal of obtaining a successful business and to show our appreciation we would like to extend a 20% discount to their clients and staff.  Simply mention your relationship with Montgomery Miles to Judy and she will ensure your discount is applied. Please drop in for a complimentary consultation, browse our accessories and products or have a coffee and tour the shop.

Look forward to meeting you.

Excel Spa
2695 Pandosy St
250 763 9655

Eating a rainbow is a fun and easy way to get kids thinking about the importance of eating a variety of colourful fruits and vegetables everday. By breaking produce down into colour groups of fire-engine red, bright orange, sunshine yellow, emerald green, and rich purples you can make eating fruits and vegetables fun and easy for your kids! Even at a very young age, kids can easily grasp the concept of eating a rainbow! Based on the success of the chart with their daughter Hannah, Kia and her husband Jamie set out to make the chart available to families throughout North America! The result is the Today I Ate A Rainbow kit consisting of a colourful chart, 4 sets of magnets, a rainbow shopping list and The Rainbow Bunch book! You can learn more about this product at www.todayiatearainbow.com.

In 2010 the Robertson family formed a company called Rainbow Innovations Group with their partners and are already working on expanding their product line to encourage healthy eating for the whole family! They have also turned their rainbow kit into a healthy fundraiser item for schools across North America. They will be launching more books in The Rainbow Bunch series in 2012 as well as more videos in their kids cooking series called In The Rainbow Kitchen.

You can connect with the Kia on Twitter @eatingarainbow and on Facebook www.facebook.com/todayiatearainbow Also, be sure to check out their Rainbow blog for fun recipes to make with kids, tips for picky eaters and so much more!

If you’d like to get your kids ASKING to eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables you can purchase a Today I Ate A Rainbow kit online at www.todayiatearainbow.com the rainbow kits are currently on sale for only $19!

So you’re probably asking yourself “How does this affect ME?” Well if you have already granted or been appointed under an Enduring Power of Attorney before September 1, 2011, the Enduring Power of Attorney will remain valid as long as it complied with the provisions of the Act in force prior to September 1, 2011.
If you are considering granting an Enduring Power of Attorney or acting as an attorney, it is important to know what responsibilities you will be obligated to fulfill as the attorney, as the requirements under the new Act can be quite onerous.

If you would like any further information regarding the changes, or need assistance with your estate planning, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at 250-980-3362 or by email at Deanna@montgomerymiles.com.
Deanna Stone