I was going to do a nice long post with various photographs but apparently my camera does not want to upload any pictures to this computer today. I have tried for quite awhile and still nothing. I will have to upload them to my mom's laptop later and then just add them in. So if you are reading this and there are photos, you have got the updated version!
Work is going by rather smoothly now! I am making far less mistakes on both purchases and sales. Sales are far easier to do but because one of my co-workers pretty much exclusively does sales, I tend to do more purchases. Which means I still make too many mistakes on sales. That and the one girl who does mostly sales is pretty ridiculously meticulous and comes down on me for every little thing that goes wrong on any file that I work on... Crazy lady!
I did my first Transfer file today! Yay! It's not done yet since the client will not be coming in to sign the documents until next Wednesday, but I have all of the documents prepared! A Transfer file is a lot easier than any of the other files but I had never done one before. Usually when we do one it's between husband and wife. Say, for instance, there is just the husband on title. He may want his wife to now take title to the property or he may want for both he and his wife to take title to the property jointly. This can be for many reasons but mostly to avoid making a Will they can take title together so that if something were to happen to one of them, their share of the property would go directly to the other person without having to go through probate or worry about any other people claiming they have rights to the property. Anyways, that is exactly what is going on with this file. The Husband owned the property prior to being married and now he is married and wants his wife to be on title too. There are far less documents that need to be signed and there is no other lawyer involved. I prepare the Transfer by myself. Both people come in and Acknowledge that this transfer is occuring. And when everything is signed, the Transfer gets registered in Teraview and is available at the Land Registry Office. I still do not do the registereing part but I think come September, I will be able to get cracking on that aspect of it. The bossman said that I will soon get to review my own Status Certificate also, as well as sit in on a few sign ups that either he or the other lawyer do. Yay!
We have had our fair share of crazies lately. One client told me that the bank/mortgage company paid her property taxes. She was mistaken. Really, she was on a pre-authorized payment and her taxes were taken out of her bank account by the City automatically. Once I found this out, I told her that we would need the proof that these taxes have in fact been paid. She kept telling me over and over and over again that the bank paid them. She refused to listen to me. She refused to even acknowledge that I was speaking at one point and said that I kept asking the same questions. I proceeded to tell her that there was no need for her to yell at me - three times I said this. I then hung up the phone and gave the file to the lawyer to deal with. That's one thing I like about this place - whenever there is trouble, I can always pass the file on to a higher up! This lady was a real piece of work though. Before all of this went down, she had called to ask our receptionist which suite we were in. The receptionist was telling her the whole address but was cut off by the crazy lady and told that she obviously knew where we were located! So the receptionist hung up. A couple of days later, the Receptionist is following up with this lady since she is supposed to have dropped off our Sale Questionnaire by that point. The lady said she dropped it off! However, she dropped it off at the wrong building. At a building that our law firm has not acted out of for over three years. At a building and in a suite where she didn't even look at the name on the door. She just left the questionnaire on the desk and left without saying anything or asking any questions. WHAT A NUT!! So instead of filling out another questionnaire, she makes the Receptionist do it over the phone with her. Then I of course have to call her ten different times to clarify everytthing that is on the questionnaire because a lot of it isn't filled out properly. Oy. And to top the whole thing off, she had a line of credit on her property. When we pay off a line of credit, we holdback quite a bit of money - usually the difference between the amount we need to pay to the bank (the amount the client owes) and the amount that the bank registered on title as a charge/mortgage. Sometimes this can be a really really large amount. So we are holding back this money and she calls today to see if the cheque is ready yet. It's not ready until we hear back from the bank that the line of credit has been closed. We have not yet heard. I tell her this and she then tells me what I am doing is illegal and her bank says that I am not allowed to do that. The banks are always fucking with me. With all of us! But I tell her it's not illegal and all they need to do is sign the fax that I sent to them to say that the line of credit has been closed. Not a hard thing to do but the banks never want to accommodate us and then the clients go off their rockers. It makes sense to hold back this money. If the line of credit is not closed, the client can still draw on their account and then we would be on the hook to pay the difference because we undertook to pay out that mortgage/line. And if we don't holdback, then we would have to pay out of our own pockets. I do not think bossman would be too pleased about that.
Another crazy is actually a legal secretary acting for the purchaser on one of the sale files that I was working on. She had ordered a tax certificate to see if my client had any taxes on the property that he had yet to pay. Understandable. She then calls to tell me this is the case. Fine. He owes however much money. She then calls me EVERY SINGLE DAY, sometimes two or three times, to let me know that the client still has not made this payment. I then call the tax department who is not supposed to talk to me because I wasn't the one who ordered the tax certificate. They are very funny that way. Very secretive about people's taxes and the amount that they have paid. The lady there tells me she's not supposed to talk to me but she is going to becasue she has spoken with this crazy legal secretary and can understand why I am so damn confused. So she gives me the exact number that we will need to pay to the tax department on closing so that our client is paid up to date. Perfect. The crazo calls again and I entered a number in wrong. I admit to it. (I know - that's usually really hard for me to do!) But instead of just saying thank you and send me the amended copy, she needs to go on for like ten minutes about how I'm wrong and why it's wrong and yadda yadda yadda. I nearly got out of my chair and walked over to the damn lady's office down on Don Mills to punch her in the face. Instead, one of ladies in my office told me just to hang up on her. So I said Buh Bye. On the day of closing, which was yesterday, I pass off the file to another girl in the office. She was having such a hard time with this lady too. She would call and then fax two seconds later exactly what she just called about! So damn annoying. And then call to see if we got the fax. At one point, the girl who handled the closing was trying to explain to her why we hadn't received the payout statement yet for the mortgage that we had to payout and discharge that was on the property. But this crazo kept interupting her and wouldn't let her get her whole explaination in. This girl rarely gets mad and she was fuming. She told her several times to be quiet because she was still talking! That was great. She pissed everyone off at the office. I finally faxed her and told her to only communicate by fax from then on as we were no longer going to accept her phone calls. At least I was not the only one who couldn't get along with this crazo!
I was going to go into the fun times that have been had lately but since my photos still won't work and it's time for my bedtime, that update will have to be next week. I will be able to add this weekend of fun in Brantford where I am attending a wedding to the list of excitement I've had over the past few weeks. I can't believe how busy I have been. Especially since the cash flow isn't all that great! haha I'm not sure how many other articling students have so much free time (well not exactly free but at least time away from the office). I'm glad I lucked out by working here. I can leave my work at work and still enjoy my evenings and weekends how they should be enjoyed!
August 11, 2010
July 20, 2010
A whole month flies by!
Well, its been exactly a month since my last update. Obviously I have lost my blogging skills. But it has been a very very busy month both at work and leisurely so this shall be a rather long update me thinks!
The busiest month in my firm's entire history, which is about 12 years or more I think, is finally over. June was definitely the busiest month that many real estate law firms saw. Everyone trying to beat the HST. Which I guess is a good move, beating the tax on legal fees and commissions. It's only about $80 if the HST doesn't apply to the commission because the agreement of purchase and sale was signed and firm long before the June 30 deadline. Can you imagine rushing and stressing and forcing a closing to save $80? Insane if you ask me. Now that HST will be applying to commissions it will add more extra fees but still! When you are buying a $400,000 really, whats another $1,000 in taxes? I guess my brain doesn't work the same way as others.
Overall, we had over 150 transactions in June, more than half of them in the span of three days - June 25, June 28 and June 30. Absolute insanity in the office! But we got a nice little bonus from the bossman as a thank you for all the hard work and stress we all had to put up with.
Now July has been rather slow. Things have slowed right down, which I guess none of us can complain about. The other girls are able to catch up on things that got put off all of June such as bank reports and entering discharges and filing them away. The discharges I think have actually been building up for about a year!! One a sale, if there is a mortgage still on the property when the person is selling it, we need to pay out that mortgage. Once it is paid out, it can be discharged. So the bank has to apply to the Land Registry office and have the mortgage discharged. This can take up to several months. So we get discharges directly from the banks on our sales, and then we have to enter them into our system and let the other lawyer's office know that it has been discharged. We also get them from the other lawyer's office on our purchases. On closing they provide us with an undertaking that they will get the discharge of the mortgage and forward it to us. It's a very important item but it's a tedious task, especially when they have been building up for months!
Since things are so slow, there arent very many transactions, and I have been given a lot of free reign. I have been working on a lot of purchases whether they be houses or condos, new or resale. I am getting a lot of practice and it's going pretty well. I of course miss a couple of things, but I am still on the learning side of things and so I get a lot more slack.
Several crazy folks in the wood work lately but I can't come up with anything exciting to come up with right now. I'll have to start taking better notes at work when I encounter a good story.
Things outside of work:
- Bridal shower - Maxine had her bridal shower at the Hilton in Brantford. For those of you with really good memories, we had her stag and doe three weeks prior to that and we stayed at the scary scary "Grand" Motel. It was a nice affair with tons of food of course.
- The boyfriend's dad's birthday - We went to Emma's Backporch restaurant on the Burlington Waterfront. I ordered the Chicken Tostito salad and its super good. You get to eat the bowl!!
- My birthday dinner - We went to Frankie Tomattos for my birthday dinner. It's a spectacular Italian buffet with something like 14 eating stations. Unfortunately, it was a Monday and apparently Mondays are kids eat free nights. Plus, it was the end of June which means there were several groups of teeny boppers celebrating their graduations. Oy!
- Whittamores - Did some strawberry, raspberry, snow peas and red skinned potato picking and digging. The potatoes tasted so good when they are so fresh. Froze a bunch of the raspberries so that I can enjoy them all year long!
- Strawberry Fest in Stouffville
- Blue Jays v. Red Sox at SkyDome - the game was so long. Not sure how long exactly but it was over four hours. I think we were still in the fourth inning after two hours! High scoring. We ended up winning. There was a bunch of Americans behind us who wouldn't shut up. They thankfully left around the sixth inning to go up the CN Tower. Hopefully the fence gave out.
- Celtic Fest in Unionville and the Unionville Farmer's Market where I got a big bunch of kettle corn. Super yummy!! Im already planning on going back just for the popcorn.
- Drive in - Went to see Inception and Jonah Hex at the North York drive in in Sharon. Inception was absolutely fantastic and I recommend seeing it. Keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. And it doesn't feel anything near the two and a half hours that it is. Jonah Hex on the otherhand can be missed. And then thrown in the garbage or burned. Quite awful, Not sure how Josh Brolin or Megan Fox got roped into that flick. After the two movies I discovered that I had put the key into the wrong position and the car battery died. Which was really fun at 2 in the morning. So we had to get a boost from the guy that ran the place. Lucky for us since the place cleared out by the time I figured out the battery had been zapped. First the alarm and locks malfunctioned. Then the radio and lights and I finally realized what was happening. Uncool. But thankfully easily fixed!
- Lots of lounging by the pool since the weather has been splendidly hot and sunny!
- Many movies watched on the weekends with the boy toy and several episodes of Six Feet Under with the mumsy!
The busiest month in my firm's entire history, which is about 12 years or more I think, is finally over. June was definitely the busiest month that many real estate law firms saw. Everyone trying to beat the HST. Which I guess is a good move, beating the tax on legal fees and commissions. It's only about $80 if the HST doesn't apply to the commission because the agreement of purchase and sale was signed and firm long before the June 30 deadline. Can you imagine rushing and stressing and forcing a closing to save $80? Insane if you ask me. Now that HST will be applying to commissions it will add more extra fees but still! When you are buying a $400,000 really, whats another $1,000 in taxes? I guess my brain doesn't work the same way as others.
Overall, we had over 150 transactions in June, more than half of them in the span of three days - June 25, June 28 and June 30. Absolute insanity in the office! But we got a nice little bonus from the bossman as a thank you for all the hard work and stress we all had to put up with.
Now July has been rather slow. Things have slowed right down, which I guess none of us can complain about. The other girls are able to catch up on things that got put off all of June such as bank reports and entering discharges and filing them away. The discharges I think have actually been building up for about a year!! One a sale, if there is a mortgage still on the property when the person is selling it, we need to pay out that mortgage. Once it is paid out, it can be discharged. So the bank has to apply to the Land Registry office and have the mortgage discharged. This can take up to several months. So we get discharges directly from the banks on our sales, and then we have to enter them into our system and let the other lawyer's office know that it has been discharged. We also get them from the other lawyer's office on our purchases. On closing they provide us with an undertaking that they will get the discharge of the mortgage and forward it to us. It's a very important item but it's a tedious task, especially when they have been building up for months!
Since things are so slow, there arent very many transactions, and I have been given a lot of free reign. I have been working on a lot of purchases whether they be houses or condos, new or resale. I am getting a lot of practice and it's going pretty well. I of course miss a couple of things, but I am still on the learning side of things and so I get a lot more slack.
Several crazy folks in the wood work lately but I can't come up with anything exciting to come up with right now. I'll have to start taking better notes at work when I encounter a good story.
Things outside of work:
- Bridal shower - Maxine had her bridal shower at the Hilton in Brantford. For those of you with really good memories, we had her stag and doe three weeks prior to that and we stayed at the scary scary "Grand" Motel. It was a nice affair with tons of food of course.
- The boyfriend's dad's birthday - We went to Emma's Backporch restaurant on the Burlington Waterfront. I ordered the Chicken Tostito salad and its super good. You get to eat the bowl!!
- My birthday dinner - We went to Frankie Tomattos for my birthday dinner. It's a spectacular Italian buffet with something like 14 eating stations. Unfortunately, it was a Monday and apparently Mondays are kids eat free nights. Plus, it was the end of June which means there were several groups of teeny boppers celebrating their graduations. Oy!
- Whittamores - Did some strawberry, raspberry, snow peas and red skinned potato picking and digging. The potatoes tasted so good when they are so fresh. Froze a bunch of the raspberries so that I can enjoy them all year long!
- Strawberry Fest in Stouffville
- Blue Jays v. Red Sox at SkyDome - the game was so long. Not sure how long exactly but it was over four hours. I think we were still in the fourth inning after two hours! High scoring. We ended up winning. There was a bunch of Americans behind us who wouldn't shut up. They thankfully left around the sixth inning to go up the CN Tower. Hopefully the fence gave out.
- Celtic Fest in Unionville and the Unionville Farmer's Market where I got a big bunch of kettle corn. Super yummy!! Im already planning on going back just for the popcorn.
- Drive in - Went to see Inception and Jonah Hex at the North York drive in in Sharon. Inception was absolutely fantastic and I recommend seeing it. Keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. And it doesn't feel anything near the two and a half hours that it is. Jonah Hex on the otherhand can be missed. And then thrown in the garbage or burned. Quite awful, Not sure how Josh Brolin or Megan Fox got roped into that flick. After the two movies I discovered that I had put the key into the wrong position and the car battery died. Which was really fun at 2 in the morning. So we had to get a boost from the guy that ran the place. Lucky for us since the place cleared out by the time I figured out the battery had been zapped. First the alarm and locks malfunctioned. Then the radio and lights and I finally realized what was happening. Uncool. But thankfully easily fixed!
- Lots of lounging by the pool since the weather has been splendidly hot and sunny!
- Many movies watched on the weekends with the boy toy and several episodes of Six Feet Under with the mumsy!
June 20, 2010
Happy Father's Day
I went to Kelsey's today to have a salad and I came home and looked up the nutrition information to calculate my points. I can't BELIEVE how much fat is in the dressings on salads at restaurants. I mean, it makes them taste better, but I got a salad to be healthy! It came to 14 points... Oy. Plus then my folks came home from visiting with my nonna and nonno and they brought me home leftovers which consisted of penne and homemade tomato sauce, a homemade meatball and sausauge in tomato sauce. So good. I have been over my point limit the last four days in a row. Good thing I have flex points but tomorrow is going to be a day where I am very under my point limit. Not looking forward to Tuesday's weigh in. Hopefully it's not as bad as I am making it out in my head. I am okay with not losing weight every week but gaining weight this early on might be a major set back for me. The next two weeks won't be any better either as it will be filled with birthday things, social events and baking!
Work. I don't even know what it is that I am to say about it anymore. I have been so busy and so stressed out over work for the last couple of weeks. I actually stayed until 9:30 on Wednesday night so that I could at least catch up on a few file openings. There are so many accumulating that I can't open because I am now working on getting files together in time for signing the documents and closing the transaction. Of the ten that I was given or I assumed, I only have two more that need to be completed. They are related transactions and I think the sale is mostly done. I have already written to the current mortgagee requesting a mortgage discharge statement so I know how much money we need to pay to them so we can register a discharge of that mortgage and take it off title. I also got all the tax information for the client so I was able to complete the statement of adjustments and tell the other side how much our client paid in taxes and whether they need to be compensated by their client for the amount paid. Now for the purchase, I am still working on getting the mortgage instructions under control. These instructions are from Macquarie. I have no idea who they are. We have had many mortgages come through for them but I have never seen a bank for them and I don't really know where one would go to request a Macquarie mortgage. Anyways, not that the instructons are difficult but they are different then any I have done before so it's taking longer than I think it should.
There were a couple of rush file openings that needed to be done last week. All of them are closing on June 30th so I don't even know how many we are up to now for that day. For a small firm, I know it's a damn lot. The bossman gave them to this one girl to open up because she would likely be the one that would be finishing off the files. But she pawned them all off on me, of course. So I am supposed to stop everything and open these damn files for her?! Gah. So I left them to the end of the day, opened them, and then had her scrambling I think to try and get everything in order. So ridiculous some people are.
I was in Burlington this weekend at the Sound of Music Festival. This is what contributed to my overdoing of points, even though there wasn't TOO much bad eating. But I did have half of a pulled pork sandwich. Those things are absolutely to die for. Yum! They were also giving away free Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches which are good for the point system but god damn are they expensive. So I took it while they were free. I didn't want to use up two points though, so I shared it with boyfriend. He liked it too. Also ended up eating a souvlaki pita that evening and some oil popped popcorn. And of course a couple of beers and a couple of vodkas. haha I can't stop drinking just because I have to watch my points now, can I?! I'm totally in trouble these next couple of weeks... haha
I have to start resting up for next week. I feel work and socializing and baking will be a doozy for me.
Work. I don't even know what it is that I am to say about it anymore. I have been so busy and so stressed out over work for the last couple of weeks. I actually stayed until 9:30 on Wednesday night so that I could at least catch up on a few file openings. There are so many accumulating that I can't open because I am now working on getting files together in time for signing the documents and closing the transaction. Of the ten that I was given or I assumed, I only have two more that need to be completed. They are related transactions and I think the sale is mostly done. I have already written to the current mortgagee requesting a mortgage discharge statement so I know how much money we need to pay to them so we can register a discharge of that mortgage and take it off title. I also got all the tax information for the client so I was able to complete the statement of adjustments and tell the other side how much our client paid in taxes and whether they need to be compensated by their client for the amount paid. Now for the purchase, I am still working on getting the mortgage instructions under control. These instructions are from Macquarie. I have no idea who they are. We have had many mortgages come through for them but I have never seen a bank for them and I don't really know where one would go to request a Macquarie mortgage. Anyways, not that the instructons are difficult but they are different then any I have done before so it's taking longer than I think it should.
There were a couple of rush file openings that needed to be done last week. All of them are closing on June 30th so I don't even know how many we are up to now for that day. For a small firm, I know it's a damn lot. The bossman gave them to this one girl to open up because she would likely be the one that would be finishing off the files. But she pawned them all off on me, of course. So I am supposed to stop everything and open these damn files for her?! Gah. So I left them to the end of the day, opened them, and then had her scrambling I think to try and get everything in order. So ridiculous some people are.
I was in Burlington this weekend at the Sound of Music Festival. This is what contributed to my overdoing of points, even though there wasn't TOO much bad eating. But I did have half of a pulled pork sandwich. Those things are absolutely to die for. Yum! They were also giving away free Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches which are good for the point system but god damn are they expensive. So I took it while they were free. I didn't want to use up two points though, so I shared it with boyfriend. He liked it too. Also ended up eating a souvlaki pita that evening and some oil popped popcorn. And of course a couple of beers and a couple of vodkas. haha I can't stop drinking just because I have to watch my points now, can I?! I'm totally in trouble these next couple of weeks... haha
I have to start resting up for next week. I feel work and socializing and baking will be a doozy for me.
June 9, 2010
Licenses, Dinos and Flowers!
While last week was rather stressful and frustrating, this one has started out on some rather positive notes (other than the fact that I may need to stay late tomorrow and I stayed an extra hour last night). First off, the new/return receptionist is getting better at what she does. She is able to do her tasks quicker, however, she for some reason thinks I work on every single file. Bizarre chicky. Just look it up in the system. It says who was the last one in the file and they are more than likely the one working on the file. However, she is still very very slow on the file opening. Which is a problem because if I have to focus on file opening, I wont be able to do all the other tasks that are currently on my plate. Everyone in the office has been throwing all kinds of random crap at her. I guess they don't realize that these files don't open themselves!
Bossman also hired another girl. There is no room for this girl. Some weird old school portable desk was brought out of somewhere for the occassion. It's set up right next to my desk. There is no phone and no computer on this old school desk. Therefore, she can't do any phone answering or anything that requires any of the computer programs that we virtually live off of. She is our new banking girl, though. This will take the load off some of the work that one of the other girls normally does so she can focus on closing the sale files that she has been given. When the days are slow, though, or she's not at the bank, she doesn't have a whole lot to do. She's been putting file folders, checklists, filing random crap, putting waybills in chronological order and not a whole lot. It's hard to find stuff for her to do that doesn't really require the computer or phone. Poor girl. Hopefully something comes up or the bank needs to be visited more often so she doesn't appear as bored.
I got my Teraview licence on Friday! Yay! So I have a bunch of paper work that I am supposed to read through so that I don't make any mistakes. Just got the USB from Bossman today. You need this USB to be able to do any sort of work on Teraview. It's really quite interesting. The USB logs everything that you do on the computer program. That way, the programers can track everything that is done on their site and can figure out where issues or fraud has occurred. The liability risk is pretty high. But today I did my very first execution search!! Usually, after I do the requistion letter on the purchase files, I give the file to another coworker. She then will do the execution search if we have the client's questionnaire. The questionnaire is given when we open the file and it requires the client to file out how they plan to take title and exactly how they want their names to appear. So now, I can do it myself! I search two people. The execution search checks to see whether anyone by that name has been sued by anyone else and the issue hasn't been resolved. The search picks up every name so it might catch the middle and last names but the first names may be different. It is still an execution against the client. We then have to check with the client if it is them or not. If it's not, we just get the client to sign an affidavit stating that they are not one and the same person as the person whose name came up in the search. That can only be done if the execution is for a value of $50,000 or less though. If it is over $50,000, or there are a number of them over $50,000, we have to write to the solicitor representing the person suing them, and get them to determine that our client is not one and the same person as that mentioned in the execution. They will then charge us/our client for them to write this letter. Sounds like a lot of effort, but a client cannot purchase a property if they have executions against them so the executions must be waived or lifted before the transaction can close. I get to be a part of that world now! Yahoo! Tomorrow I will do my first transfer and charge/mortgage. I like learning.
Saturday's Walking with Dinosaurs was absolutely amazing. The dinosaurs were so large and they really looked as if they were moving around. It was incredible. The sound effects were perfect also. The story was not what I was expecting it to be, not that I really knew what to expect. There is a paleontologist narrating the story of the dinosaurs and he takes us through the ages. Talks about the dinosaurs, other animals that were on earth at the time, the vegetation and the shape of the continents. Here is the green vegetation before there were any flowers:
Meet the Dinosaurs!
Stegosaurus:
Brachiosaurus lovin:
The battle between the baby T-Rex, mama T-Rex, Protoceratops and Ankylosaurus!! RAWR!!
Close up of mama and baby T-Rex:
The ending threw me right off. I didn't think they were actually doing a full and accurate retelling of the story of the dinosaurs but they did. The meteor came and killed off the dinosaurs. Left me a little sad feeling but then the baby T-Rex came out and took a bow and he was so cute that really you couldn't stay sad!
After baking healthy Strawberry oat muffins last night with Dominique, I wanted to bake some more this evening. So I made some Banana Coconut Oat drops. They only have five ingredients and don't take very long at all. 2 cups of oats, 1/2 cup of coconut, 3 ripe bananas, 1/3 cup oil and 1 tsp of vanilla extract. I modified the original recipe because I had no dates and I like coconut a lot so that is the recipe I came up with. They are only 1 Weight Watcher point each. They aren't all that big but they are satisfying and that's all I need! Here is what they look like:
I then decided to head into my backyard and see if the garden has been doing anything exciting lately. Our perennials are not coming up all that well. They didnt grow all that well last year either so I wasn't too surprised. We got a few different plants to try and fill in the gaps. So far, really only the hanging baskets are blooming. And some annuals my mom planted out front. But there is also an indoor hibiscus which we've put outside for the time being. Here are some good blooms:
They still have raindrops on them from the light rain which fell all day long. Gorgeous. I love my flowers.
Bossman also hired another girl. There is no room for this girl. Some weird old school portable desk was brought out of somewhere for the occassion. It's set up right next to my desk. There is no phone and no computer on this old school desk. Therefore, she can't do any phone answering or anything that requires any of the computer programs that we virtually live off of. She is our new banking girl, though. This will take the load off some of the work that one of the other girls normally does so she can focus on closing the sale files that she has been given. When the days are slow, though, or she's not at the bank, she doesn't have a whole lot to do. She's been putting file folders, checklists, filing random crap, putting waybills in chronological order and not a whole lot. It's hard to find stuff for her to do that doesn't really require the computer or phone. Poor girl. Hopefully something comes up or the bank needs to be visited more often so she doesn't appear as bored.
I got my Teraview licence on Friday! Yay! So I have a bunch of paper work that I am supposed to read through so that I don't make any mistakes. Just got the USB from Bossman today. You need this USB to be able to do any sort of work on Teraview. It's really quite interesting. The USB logs everything that you do on the computer program. That way, the programers can track everything that is done on their site and can figure out where issues or fraud has occurred. The liability risk is pretty high. But today I did my very first execution search!! Usually, after I do the requistion letter on the purchase files, I give the file to another coworker. She then will do the execution search if we have the client's questionnaire. The questionnaire is given when we open the file and it requires the client to file out how they plan to take title and exactly how they want their names to appear. So now, I can do it myself! I search two people. The execution search checks to see whether anyone by that name has been sued by anyone else and the issue hasn't been resolved. The search picks up every name so it might catch the middle and last names but the first names may be different. It is still an execution against the client. We then have to check with the client if it is them or not. If it's not, we just get the client to sign an affidavit stating that they are not one and the same person as the person whose name came up in the search. That can only be done if the execution is for a value of $50,000 or less though. If it is over $50,000, or there are a number of them over $50,000, we have to write to the solicitor representing the person suing them, and get them to determine that our client is not one and the same person as that mentioned in the execution. They will then charge us/our client for them to write this letter. Sounds like a lot of effort, but a client cannot purchase a property if they have executions against them so the executions must be waived or lifted before the transaction can close. I get to be a part of that world now! Yahoo! Tomorrow I will do my first transfer and charge/mortgage. I like learning.
Saturday's Walking with Dinosaurs was absolutely amazing. The dinosaurs were so large and they really looked as if they were moving around. It was incredible. The sound effects were perfect also. The story was not what I was expecting it to be, not that I really knew what to expect. There is a paleontologist narrating the story of the dinosaurs and he takes us through the ages. Talks about the dinosaurs, other animals that were on earth at the time, the vegetation and the shape of the continents. Here is the green vegetation before there were any flowers:
Meet the Dinosaurs!
Stegosaurus:
The battle between the baby T-Rex, mama T-Rex, Protoceratops and Ankylosaurus!! RAWR!!
The ending threw me right off. I didn't think they were actually doing a full and accurate retelling of the story of the dinosaurs but they did. The meteor came and killed off the dinosaurs. Left me a little sad feeling but then the baby T-Rex came out and took a bow and he was so cute that really you couldn't stay sad!
After baking healthy Strawberry oat muffins last night with Dominique, I wanted to bake some more this evening. So I made some Banana Coconut Oat drops. They only have five ingredients and don't take very long at all. 2 cups of oats, 1/2 cup of coconut, 3 ripe bananas, 1/3 cup oil and 1 tsp of vanilla extract. I modified the original recipe because I had no dates and I like coconut a lot so that is the recipe I came up with. They are only 1 Weight Watcher point each. They aren't all that big but they are satisfying and that's all I need! Here is what they look like:
I then decided to head into my backyard and see if the garden has been doing anything exciting lately. Our perennials are not coming up all that well. They didnt grow all that well last year either so I wasn't too surprised. We got a few different plants to try and fill in the gaps. So far, really only the hanging baskets are blooming. And some annuals my mom planted out front. But there is also an indoor hibiscus which we've put outside for the time being. Here are some good blooms:
June 3, 2010
First completed file!
I'm obviously really bad at keeping up with this blog. However, I only have one follower and one other semi-reader, so I don't feel so bad!! haha
Work has been super super super busy and super super super stressful. I have made up 9 of the 10 hours that I owed bossman and I am certain many more overtime hours are in my near future. June is the most busy month I think I've witnessed there. Everyone is still trying to beat the HST. The last four working days on the month are going to be absolutely insane. I'm not really sure how everyone is going to pull all this shit together but it will get done. Just don't expect any of us to be smiling!
So I have all of my files sitting on my desk and slowly going forward. I worked on my first sale file today! One of the other girls went through a sale file yesterday while I followed along with her. I wrote everything down because there is just so much to do, but today I was able to do the sale file mostly by myself. This was the sale file that was thrown at me out of the blue because I had a question on the file and she decided she didn't want to answer me and so therefore I was working on the file. And they clients have a purchase too. The purchase isn't for two weeks after the sale closes and one of the clients is leaving on Monday for a few weeks. So it's a big rush job. Luckily we got the mortgage documents late this afternoon so I can prepare teh purchase file without having to prepare a power of attorney. And then she can sign before she leaves the country. Now I just have to make sure I get all the purchase documents ready for signing. As I STILL don't have my license/disc on Teraview, I can't prepare the actual transfer or mortgage/charge documents, so I will have to get one of the other girls to do that part for me. But luckily I asked bossman about it today (for like the fifth time) and we faxed out the request for my name and password this afternoon. Which means that I better be getting it goddamn soon! Then I can ACTUALLY finish the whole file on my own. Maybe by the end of the month when most of my other files are due.
The girl that took over the front desk has already left. She apparently was offered a better position somewhere else, I assume in her field. No one really talked about it prior to her departure, so when we arrived on Monday and found that she was no longer coming in, it was a bit of a shock. But another girl that has been there the past two summers has returned. She has the phones, filing and copying down pat. The only problem is that I know have to train her how to open files. I feel I just did that. The other girl never really got it down pat so I am more hopeful about this one. Not as fast of a learner though, but we'll get there!
I thought we were finally finished opening up all the files for June but we got three more today. Bossman has decided that he would not be accepting anymore transactions for the end of the month so these ones were earlier in the month. Which is also pretty annoying because things need to be done really fast and quick. But I have passed those ones on to the experts to get through them since I am way too green and slow at it thus far.
Two weekends in a row we have gone to stag and does. Although I am not a fan of having to drive over an hour every weekend for 6 weekends in a row, we have already won several exciting items. The highlights are a 26 of Smirnoff, aromatherapy sets, bracelet, candles, gym bag, $25 gift certificate to a pub and $100 gift certificate for a fancy pants restaurant. Very exciting. Plus we have another stag and doe this weekend in which we have the chance to win a signed Alexander Ovechkin jersey, among other things. Which is also very exciting!! But it's going to be a full out fun weekend. Prior to the stag and doe we are going to see Walking with the Dinosaurs at Copps Colliseum! It is an early birthday gift from my boy! Wooooot! And then after the program, we are staying over in a fantastic looking little hole in the wall in Brantford, where the stag and doe is. No plans for the afternoon after yet, but we will have to find something entertaining to do in the town. I've never been in that area in the day time so maybe there is a big highlight that I must see! Any tips of what to do in the Brantford on a Sunday?!
I am certainly glad that tomorrow is Friday. This week has been a bit of a mess. As was last week. Month end. And now month beginning of an insane month. Plus the air conditioner has decided to konk out. So even if it's not too hot outside, it's at least 15 degrees hotter indoors. We all have desk fans directly in our faces and still all sweating up a storm. It might be helping me lose my weight though! Started the Weight Watchers last week and this Tuesday on weigh in day I was done another 2.5 pounds. So in total, I am down 8.5 pounds. I eat pretty well during the week but then comes the weekends where stag and does provide fattening foods and liquor. And my boy can eat anything because he's a skinny guy and never gets fat. BAH TO HIM I SAYS!!! So I have prblems restraining myself on weekends. But I think the healthy times during the week compensate for it. At least so far. Fingers crossed for more good times and weight dropping off.
Work has been super super super busy and super super super stressful. I have made up 9 of the 10 hours that I owed bossman and I am certain many more overtime hours are in my near future. June is the most busy month I think I've witnessed there. Everyone is still trying to beat the HST. The last four working days on the month are going to be absolutely insane. I'm not really sure how everyone is going to pull all this shit together but it will get done. Just don't expect any of us to be smiling!
So I have all of my files sitting on my desk and slowly going forward. I worked on my first sale file today! One of the other girls went through a sale file yesterday while I followed along with her. I wrote everything down because there is just so much to do, but today I was able to do the sale file mostly by myself. This was the sale file that was thrown at me out of the blue because I had a question on the file and she decided she didn't want to answer me and so therefore I was working on the file. And they clients have a purchase too. The purchase isn't for two weeks after the sale closes and one of the clients is leaving on Monday for a few weeks. So it's a big rush job. Luckily we got the mortgage documents late this afternoon so I can prepare teh purchase file without having to prepare a power of attorney. And then she can sign before she leaves the country. Now I just have to make sure I get all the purchase documents ready for signing. As I STILL don't have my license/disc on Teraview, I can't prepare the actual transfer or mortgage/charge documents, so I will have to get one of the other girls to do that part for me. But luckily I asked bossman about it today (for like the fifth time) and we faxed out the request for my name and password this afternoon. Which means that I better be getting it goddamn soon! Then I can ACTUALLY finish the whole file on my own. Maybe by the end of the month when most of my other files are due.
The girl that took over the front desk has already left. She apparently was offered a better position somewhere else, I assume in her field. No one really talked about it prior to her departure, so when we arrived on Monday and found that she was no longer coming in, it was a bit of a shock. But another girl that has been there the past two summers has returned. She has the phones, filing and copying down pat. The only problem is that I know have to train her how to open files. I feel I just did that. The other girl never really got it down pat so I am more hopeful about this one. Not as fast of a learner though, but we'll get there!
I thought we were finally finished opening up all the files for June but we got three more today. Bossman has decided that he would not be accepting anymore transactions for the end of the month so these ones were earlier in the month. Which is also pretty annoying because things need to be done really fast and quick. But I have passed those ones on to the experts to get through them since I am way too green and slow at it thus far.
Two weekends in a row we have gone to stag and does. Although I am not a fan of having to drive over an hour every weekend for 6 weekends in a row, we have already won several exciting items. The highlights are a 26 of Smirnoff, aromatherapy sets, bracelet, candles, gym bag, $25 gift certificate to a pub and $100 gift certificate for a fancy pants restaurant. Very exciting. Plus we have another stag and doe this weekend in which we have the chance to win a signed Alexander Ovechkin jersey, among other things. Which is also very exciting!! But it's going to be a full out fun weekend. Prior to the stag and doe we are going to see Walking with the Dinosaurs at Copps Colliseum! It is an early birthday gift from my boy! Wooooot! And then after the program, we are staying over in a fantastic looking little hole in the wall in Brantford, where the stag and doe is. No plans for the afternoon after yet, but we will have to find something entertaining to do in the town. I've never been in that area in the day time so maybe there is a big highlight that I must see! Any tips of what to do in the Brantford on a Sunday?!
I am certainly glad that tomorrow is Friday. This week has been a bit of a mess. As was last week. Month end. And now month beginning of an insane month. Plus the air conditioner has decided to konk out. So even if it's not too hot outside, it's at least 15 degrees hotter indoors. We all have desk fans directly in our faces and still all sweating up a storm. It might be helping me lose my weight though! Started the Weight Watchers last week and this Tuesday on weigh in day I was done another 2.5 pounds. So in total, I am down 8.5 pounds. I eat pretty well during the week but then comes the weekends where stag and does provide fattening foods and liquor. And my boy can eat anything because he's a skinny guy and never gets fat. BAH TO HIM I SAYS!!! So I have prblems restraining myself on weekends. But I think the healthy times during the week compensate for it. At least so far. Fingers crossed for more good times and weight dropping off.
May 19, 2010
A wee little update
Well well well I'm finally moving on up in the office!! Bossman presented me with 8 different files (5 purchases and 3 sales) that I am to take from start to finish all by myself. They are already opened (and of course I opene them all) and they don't close until the end of June for the most part so I have a lot of time to work on them and make sure everything is in order. I still dont have the disk for Teraview but it will be coming soon so I will actually be able to prepare the transfers and everything also! I'm very very excited about the prospect of learning new things and actually seeing a finished product. About time!
Now that the receptionist is working at the office full time, we are able to get more files opened, quicker. She still needs me to look over each file before she sends out the letters to the client, other lawyer and deal secretaries and agents but she is getting the hang of it pretty quickly. Especially the sale files. I still have to open a lot of purchase files, especially ones that the lawyer gives me for status certificates and new home or condominium purchase agreements. The files need to be opened before I can type up the letters to give to the clients and/or the agents. So... It takes up a hell of a lot of time. And then I am behind on all the "regular" file openings. So the receptionist and I are planning on staying late a few days in the next coming weeks so that we can get all caught up. Sigh. There goes my "life"! hahaha The bossman overpaid me a couple of weeks ago because he just used the amount from the paycheque before when I had ten extra overtime hours, so now I owe the bossman ten hours of overtime. Might as well break even as soon as I can so I dont owe him for too long. Starting tomorrow!
I have been on a relatively no carb diet for a week and a half. My "weigh in" was on Monday. I am just doing it on my own so there is no official weigh in. But based on the scales upstairs, I lost 6 pounds in my first week! So I decided to do the no bread/pasta/rice/popcorn/cereal diet for a few more days to jumpstart my diet. Then I am going to get on the Weight Watchers band wagon. I haven't done that diet/life style in years but they have two different plans. You can switch between the two plans every week if you choose so I am going to try them both for a while and see which one I like better or which one works better. I do look forward to eating breads and pastas again! Milestones or Montana's this weekend will put a nice start to my reintroduction to carbs.
Now that the receptionist is working at the office full time, we are able to get more files opened, quicker. She still needs me to look over each file before she sends out the letters to the client, other lawyer and deal secretaries and agents but she is getting the hang of it pretty quickly. Especially the sale files. I still have to open a lot of purchase files, especially ones that the lawyer gives me for status certificates and new home or condominium purchase agreements. The files need to be opened before I can type up the letters to give to the clients and/or the agents. So... It takes up a hell of a lot of time. And then I am behind on all the "regular" file openings. So the receptionist and I are planning on staying late a few days in the next coming weeks so that we can get all caught up. Sigh. There goes my "life"! hahaha The bossman overpaid me a couple of weeks ago because he just used the amount from the paycheque before when I had ten extra overtime hours, so now I owe the bossman ten hours of overtime. Might as well break even as soon as I can so I dont owe him for too long. Starting tomorrow!
I have been on a relatively no carb diet for a week and a half. My "weigh in" was on Monday. I am just doing it on my own so there is no official weigh in. But based on the scales upstairs, I lost 6 pounds in my first week! So I decided to do the no bread/pasta/rice/popcorn/cereal diet for a few more days to jumpstart my diet. Then I am going to get on the Weight Watchers band wagon. I haven't done that diet/life style in years but they have two different plans. You can switch between the two plans every week if you choose so I am going to try them both for a while and see which one I like better or which one works better. I do look forward to eating breads and pastas again! Milestones or Montana's this weekend will put a nice start to my reintroduction to carbs.
May 12, 2010
Lesson 1
On Friday the bossman had me do a letter for him from scratch, mostly because he had no desire to deal with these inane issues from the crazies. My first real letter. So I'm all nervous and excited and worried that I don't quite speak like a lawyer. I speak like a normal person who just happens to have a law degree. I start drafting this letter to the lawyer on the other side of a transaction that recently closed. Our client, the purchaser, has a complaint that the washer is not working. So I draft this short mickey mouse type letter to the other solicitor. I give it to the bossman to look over and it turns out that I am supposed to have actual numbers included in the letter that I am asking for their client to pay. I call the client to ask her to get an estimate an find out that she's actually talking about her dryer that is no longer working, not her washer. Already my letter is falling apart. She tells me she will get a repairman in to give her an estimate that we can provide to the other lawyer. She calls back yesterday. The repairman tells her that there is in fact nothing wrong with her dryer. It's actually a problem with her vents. The vents might be the responsibility of the condominium property management but the client claims that they told her it is not. The other lawyer has taken over the task it seems, as this client is quite confused as to what is going on, and I have now lost my first chance to write a letter for an issue following closing. Sigh. It will come soon enough I guess.
I learned another thing this past week. When I do my requisition letters, there is occassionally an instrument or two that has been expired or discharged but for some reason has not been deleted from title or the parcel page. A request must be made to the Land Registry Office to have these items deleted. This one parcel had three different instruments that need to be deleted because they were no longer relevant to title. I wrote to the Office and they actually deleted them! Yay! I was told it would likely be difficult to get the Toronto Registry Office to actually remove the instruments as they are usually rahter busy an not into doing that for the people, but alas, they must like me. So I can do my requisition letter as per usual. Phew!
The receptionist who is taking over my role in the front was supposed to have started full time on Monday but she still has some schooling. I'm not sure how long this college course is but it's clearly longer than most normal ones as it's going well into May. I think it's on the American schedule, where they start at the end of August, have January off, and go until the end of May. Which is unfortunate that the bossman chose this girl because now I'm still not able to get completely immersed into the articling experience yet. But I'm told it's coming... So I keep waiting. With bated breath. And fingers crossed. And a whole lot to learn.
I learned another thing this past week. When I do my requisition letters, there is occassionally an instrument or two that has been expired or discharged but for some reason has not been deleted from title or the parcel page. A request must be made to the Land Registry Office to have these items deleted. This one parcel had three different instruments that need to be deleted because they were no longer relevant to title. I wrote to the Office and they actually deleted them! Yay! I was told it would likely be difficult to get the Toronto Registry Office to actually remove the instruments as they are usually rahter busy an not into doing that for the people, but alas, they must like me. So I can do my requisition letter as per usual. Phew!
The receptionist who is taking over my role in the front was supposed to have started full time on Monday but she still has some schooling. I'm not sure how long this college course is but it's clearly longer than most normal ones as it's going well into May. I think it's on the American schedule, where they start at the end of August, have January off, and go until the end of May. Which is unfortunate that the bossman chose this girl because now I'm still not able to get completely immersed into the articling experience yet. But I'm told it's coming... So I keep waiting. With bated breath. And fingers crossed. And a whole lot to learn.
May 3, 2010
Missing the Beach
I am trying to get back into the swing of things. I have been neglecting my blogging and my walking. I haven`t been able to get back into the walking so I thought that I would start with the blogging.
Puerto Plata was absolutely amazing. We spent a week at the Grand Oasis Marien. It`s a 4.5 star resort. It exceeded all my expectations. The food was really good. Some things could have used more spice and flavour but they had a table full of different herbs and spices that could easily be added to any dish. So I refuse to allow anyone to complain about the food there. I have been to Varadero and Holguin (both in Cuba) and the food in both those cities leave something to be desired. The a la cartes were also very good in PP even though our resort made you line up around 6 o`clock in the evening to get a table. There were no reservations made ahead of time. But you could go as many times as you like, so we did the Italian restaurant twice and the Tex Mex restaurant once. Delish. Here are some examples of the a la cartes:
The beach and sun were amazing. The beach was cleaned on a daily basis so there was no buildup of seaweed. The sun was super strong and me being pastey white got amazingly burnt. There were a lot of Dominicans on the beach trying to sell us stuff and to get us to go to their Orange Flea Market. That was definitely an experience. We went into the warehouse type area and pretty much were not allowed to leave until we bought something. Thankfully, I think we got a couple of good deals. You have to barter with them and are told never ever to pay the price that they originally ask for. So I ended up getting an awesome turtle (two over the week), a wrap, mini cigars, Dominican baseball, two necklaces, two bracelets and a pair of earrings for $55 US and we think that we made out well.
We went off the resort only once. It was for a Puerto Plata City Tour. It involved going to the Brugal Rum Factory, Amber Museum, Rainbow Lounge (place to see whether an Amber stone was real or not plus a place to shop), the City Centre with San Felipe Cathedral, San Felipe Fortress, a buffet in a local restaurant and a Cable Car ride up Mount Isabel. The mountain was fantastic and breathtaking. There was a giant Jesus statue on top similar to that of Rio de Janeiro. Plus it was all a botanical garden and there were many little critters that we were able to photograph.
The entire trip was amazing and I would recommend the resort and the City to anyone.
I finally am back at my old desk again! The new girl has been officially trained so I have my old desk that I had last summer and in December. However, it`s still only for 2.5 days a week until mid May. She is still finishing up her semester. But after that, full time in my cushy chair at my own desk away from reception! I didn`t get the new computer though. That went to another worker at the office. But that`s fine as mine appears to be working fine, even though that co-worker has been using it and she is cursed. Every computer she touches seems to turn evil. I shouldn`t talk though. In the past two months I managed to break two monitors. I don`t even know how that is possible. The one that the bossman used to replace the first one was just one in the office though so it wasn`t brand new. If I was able to break a brand new monitor in two months, I would be damn impressed! Of course, this new fancy monitor is at the receptionist`s desk. I have everything old... But in just a matter of weeks I will be able to work on a mortgage file from start to finish! The anticipation is mounting!
Puerto Plata was absolutely amazing. We spent a week at the Grand Oasis Marien. It`s a 4.5 star resort. It exceeded all my expectations. The food was really good. Some things could have used more spice and flavour but they had a table full of different herbs and spices that could easily be added to any dish. So I refuse to allow anyone to complain about the food there. I have been to Varadero and Holguin (both in Cuba) and the food in both those cities leave something to be desired. The a la cartes were also very good in PP even though our resort made you line up around 6 o`clock in the evening to get a table. There were no reservations made ahead of time. But you could go as many times as you like, so we did the Italian restaurant twice and the Tex Mex restaurant once. Delish. Here are some examples of the a la cartes:
The beach and sun were amazing. The beach was cleaned on a daily basis so there was no buildup of seaweed. The sun was super strong and me being pastey white got amazingly burnt. There were a lot of Dominicans on the beach trying to sell us stuff and to get us to go to their Orange Flea Market. That was definitely an experience. We went into the warehouse type area and pretty much were not allowed to leave until we bought something. Thankfully, I think we got a couple of good deals. You have to barter with them and are told never ever to pay the price that they originally ask for. So I ended up getting an awesome turtle (two over the week), a wrap, mini cigars, Dominican baseball, two necklaces, two bracelets and a pair of earrings for $55 US and we think that we made out well.
We went off the resort only once. It was for a Puerto Plata City Tour. It involved going to the Brugal Rum Factory, Amber Museum, Rainbow Lounge (place to see whether an Amber stone was real or not plus a place to shop), the City Centre with San Felipe Cathedral, San Felipe Fortress, a buffet in a local restaurant and a Cable Car ride up Mount Isabel. The mountain was fantastic and breathtaking. There was a giant Jesus statue on top similar to that of Rio de Janeiro. Plus it was all a botanical garden and there were many little critters that we were able to photograph.
The entire trip was amazing and I would recommend the resort and the City to anyone.
I finally am back at my old desk again! The new girl has been officially trained so I have my old desk that I had last summer and in December. However, it`s still only for 2.5 days a week until mid May. She is still finishing up her semester. But after that, full time in my cushy chair at my own desk away from reception! I didn`t get the new computer though. That went to another worker at the office. But that`s fine as mine appears to be working fine, even though that co-worker has been using it and she is cursed. Every computer she touches seems to turn evil. I shouldn`t talk though. In the past two months I managed to break two monitors. I don`t even know how that is possible. The one that the bossman used to replace the first one was just one in the office though so it wasn`t brand new. If I was able to break a brand new monitor in two months, I would be damn impressed! Of course, this new fancy monitor is at the receptionist`s desk. I have everything old... But in just a matter of weeks I will be able to work on a mortgage file from start to finish! The anticipation is mounting!
April 15, 2010
Moving on up
It has been two LOOOOOOOOOONG weeks but I think I am finally ready to make another post! I know you have all been waiting with bated breath to see what my return will bring.
So the bossman FINALLY hired me a new recptionist! YAY!!! She just started on Tuesday and is currently only working 2 and a half days a week until mid May. Bummer. But at least I got a bit of help. He should have hired her long ago but alas... I spent the full two and a half days training her in the front. She's going to be doing the phones, welcoming clients when they come in and taking and photocopying their ID, typing letters for the lawyers, faxing, and eventually opening files. We tried to open a couple but the first one I got her to open was an assignment which is one of the toughest ones to open. There is an Agreement of Purchase and Sale between a new buyer and a person who is buying a new condo from a builder but wants to sell it before the final registration of the condo corp. So the original buyer actually drops out of the equation and the new purchaser deals directly with the builder. We were trying to sort through all the agreements and it just requires a lot more attention to detail. Of course we made many mistakes and I confused the hell out of her but it's a learning process, right?!
I have had to stay late all week long. Bossman wanted me to get as many files open as I could before I left for Puerto Plata on Saturday afternoon. With the new girl needing to be trained, I didnt have time to do anything important during the day time so many late nights were required. Thankfully tomorrow is Friday and I DO NOT stay late on Friday nights. I do hope that on my return that there will be a new computer (or at the very least an old computer that has been fixed up) is ready for me. As we speak, there is one computer too few in the office and I refuse to sit up front and share the computer and desk with the new receptionist. That just wont work. People all up in my grill like that. Not cool.... Not cool.
Bossman informed me that I will be getting my own licence for the Teraview program. That is what is needed to actually be able to close the transaction. The licence is required to sign off on the deed and transfer the home from the sellers to the buyers. I look forward to being able to complete a transaction from start to finish and not have to only be doing file openings. Fingers crossed that it will happen sooner rather than later!
My parents were in the Dominican Republic last week. My personal week from hell. My aunt and my dog both passed away. Its definitely a hard experience putting your dog down when your parents, the other two most important people in your dog's life, are off on vacation. Very tough. So I stayed late at work and spent Saturday at the zoo so I wouldn't have to spend too much time alone at home. Now that the folks are back, it's still hard but at least there are other people in the house most of the time so it doesn't feel all that lonely. I'm glad to be going on vacation. I could really use a change of scenery and some relaxation.
Well, I should get packing. Saturday will be here in no time! I'll tell you all about the beach and sun when I get back! Cheers.
So the bossman FINALLY hired me a new recptionist! YAY!!! She just started on Tuesday and is currently only working 2 and a half days a week until mid May. Bummer. But at least I got a bit of help. He should have hired her long ago but alas... I spent the full two and a half days training her in the front. She's going to be doing the phones, welcoming clients when they come in and taking and photocopying their ID, typing letters for the lawyers, faxing, and eventually opening files. We tried to open a couple but the first one I got her to open was an assignment which is one of the toughest ones to open. There is an Agreement of Purchase and Sale between a new buyer and a person who is buying a new condo from a builder but wants to sell it before the final registration of the condo corp. So the original buyer actually drops out of the equation and the new purchaser deals directly with the builder. We were trying to sort through all the agreements and it just requires a lot more attention to detail. Of course we made many mistakes and I confused the hell out of her but it's a learning process, right?!
I have had to stay late all week long. Bossman wanted me to get as many files open as I could before I left for Puerto Plata on Saturday afternoon. With the new girl needing to be trained, I didnt have time to do anything important during the day time so many late nights were required. Thankfully tomorrow is Friday and I DO NOT stay late on Friday nights. I do hope that on my return that there will be a new computer (or at the very least an old computer that has been fixed up) is ready for me. As we speak, there is one computer too few in the office and I refuse to sit up front and share the computer and desk with the new receptionist. That just wont work. People all up in my grill like that. Not cool.... Not cool.
Bossman informed me that I will be getting my own licence for the Teraview program. That is what is needed to actually be able to close the transaction. The licence is required to sign off on the deed and transfer the home from the sellers to the buyers. I look forward to being able to complete a transaction from start to finish and not have to only be doing file openings. Fingers crossed that it will happen sooner rather than later!
My parents were in the Dominican Republic last week. My personal week from hell. My aunt and my dog both passed away. Its definitely a hard experience putting your dog down when your parents, the other two most important people in your dog's life, are off on vacation. Very tough. So I stayed late at work and spent Saturday at the zoo so I wouldn't have to spend too much time alone at home. Now that the folks are back, it's still hard but at least there are other people in the house most of the time so it doesn't feel all that lonely. I'm glad to be going on vacation. I could really use a change of scenery and some relaxation.
Well, I should get packing. Saturday will be here in no time! I'll tell you all about the beach and sun when I get back! Cheers.
March 31, 2010
One Month!
This will just be a short update.
I caught up on all my file openings (yay!). But within moments the bossman had another 8 or so files for me to open. So I have been slowly pluggin away on those. The new girl is still MIA. He's had a couple of interviews with different girls but again did not seem too impressed with any of them after they left so it's unlikely any of them will be my new replacement. Sigh. Tomorrow marks my one month milestone for articing. nd still, same crap shoot.
Yesterday we started packing up the 2009 files finally. It has only been three months afterall. So we have to take out all the files from the filing cabinets, make sure they are in alphabetical order and place them into boxes. There are so many files and boxes. Currently, the 2010 files are scattered all around the office so it will be nice to finally get these 2009 files into storage and have room in the cabinets for the files that closed this year. So I've spent at least two hours sorting through all these files and I am in pain. I really don't think this is in my job description!
Managed to hit up the Maple Syrup Festival in Burlington on the weekend. Had a wonderful pancake and bacon and maple syrup meal. Yum. Plus bought some maple syrup candies and lollipops and watched how maple syrup was made. There were cows and pigs and peacocks (yuck!) also on site. We walked the Maple Lane and Trillium trails. Photos to come once I upload them.
Watched Funny People. Don't. It's not funny.
Watched Veronika Decides to Die last night. Not sure if that's even been released in Canada yet. It's based on the Paolo Coelho book. Stars Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jonathan Tucker. It was good. Spiritual but not too godly or religious. I rather enjoyed it. Very dramatic. Watching a Sarah Michelle Gellar masturbating scene followed by a hot and heavy sex scene with your mother right next to you makes for good movie viewing!
That is all. Sorry it's so short and sporadic. Not in the blogging mood tonight.
I caught up on all my file openings (yay!). But within moments the bossman had another 8 or so files for me to open. So I have been slowly pluggin away on those. The new girl is still MIA. He's had a couple of interviews with different girls but again did not seem too impressed with any of them after they left so it's unlikely any of them will be my new replacement. Sigh. Tomorrow marks my one month milestone for articing. nd still, same crap shoot.
Yesterday we started packing up the 2009 files finally. It has only been three months afterall. So we have to take out all the files from the filing cabinets, make sure they are in alphabetical order and place them into boxes. There are so many files and boxes. Currently, the 2010 files are scattered all around the office so it will be nice to finally get these 2009 files into storage and have room in the cabinets for the files that closed this year. So I've spent at least two hours sorting through all these files and I am in pain. I really don't think this is in my job description!
Managed to hit up the Maple Syrup Festival in Burlington on the weekend. Had a wonderful pancake and bacon and maple syrup meal. Yum. Plus bought some maple syrup candies and lollipops and watched how maple syrup was made. There were cows and pigs and peacocks (yuck!) also on site. We walked the Maple Lane and Trillium trails. Photos to come once I upload them.
Watched Funny People. Don't. It's not funny.
Watched Veronika Decides to Die last night. Not sure if that's even been released in Canada yet. It's based on the Paolo Coelho book. Stars Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jonathan Tucker. It was good. Spiritual but not too godly or religious. I rather enjoyed it. Very dramatic. Watching a Sarah Michelle Gellar masturbating scene followed by a hot and heavy sex scene with your mother right next to you makes for good movie viewing!
That is all. Sorry it's so short and sporadic. Not in the blogging mood tonight.
March 25, 2010
The Carrie Underwood Spectacle
The days at the office have been kind of blending together lately which is why my blogs are not all that work related. But you just wait! SOON! When that new girl gets hired and I have trained the hell out of her, I will be learning my new tasks and I will have plenty to tell you folks. As for now, nothing too exciting. Although, the clients are still hilariously bizzare. Like this one the other day called us up. I answer the phone with the law firm's name so everyone knows who they are calling. Anyways, he proceeds to tell me that someone emailed him and sent him our initial letter and questionnaire. This person is me since that is step two after opening the file in the computer system. So he's like "this letter says that you are barristers & solicitors" and I responded with "yes, we're a law office with lawyers". Maybe a facetious answer but many people don't realize that barristers & solicitors are in fact lawyers. So he goes on asking me why we need the questionnaire, he didn't recognize the law firm name and whether we will then pass it on to his lawyer... After telling him we are his lawyer, he still didn't recognize us. And we had already done his new home review. And spoken on the phone with him several times. And emailing him several times about that review. Oy. I don't know how some people survive...
I stayed a couple of extra hours today. Opened up two mortgage files and two transfers. A transfer file is just changing title from one person or persons to another. Or taking one person off or adding one person. It's not actually a purchase or sale in the property. There is little or no consideration given. So often independent legal advice is needed so that they understand the consequences of going on or coming off title without giving or getting any compensation for it. As well as any mortgage consequences. They are easy files for the most part and the bossman can get good moneys for it. I haven't done a transfer yet because I still dont have my tereview disk. But when I do, look out world! I will be making transfers left right and center!
Tuesday night I went to Hamilton to see Carrie Underwood. This was my first country concert but since it was Carrie Underwood, it was really only half country. She has some very very country songs though. Her first opening band was Sons of Sylvia. Three brothers jamming away on stage. The first one was named Adam. He played this really tiny guitar and he played it around his nipples! I'm not really sure what that instrument is technically called but it's awesome. Check it out for yourself, even though all my photos are quite blurry since digital photos don't really turn out well far away in dark concert halls. This one is actually a photo of the big screen they have next to the stage.
The second brother was named Austin. I don't think I have any photos of him just by himself. He played mostly the guitar. This photo is when they decided they were going to jam. The vocalist grabbed his violin/fiddle and they did some picking:
They are Canadian born guys and they crowd ate them up. Far heavier than I thought they were going to be, except when they brought out the violin/fiddle. They had some pop influences too. I think they were pretty different but not sure how many male fans they would have. As for the females, even if they didn't like the music all too much, the singer, Ashley, is pretty. He kind of had some Jimmy Neutron hair going on. Here he is being all intense:
The next artist was Craig Morgan. I had never heard of him, nor any of his songs. He's very much what you would consider a classic country singer. Now, although I don't normally really listen to country, other than the pop country that is Carrie Underwood and Shania Twain, I really enjoyed what Craig Morgan had to offer. He was extremely happy and laid back and loved every moment that he was up on that stage.
Then out came Carrie Underwood. I hadn't read any reviews of her previous concerts so I had no idea what to expect. What I got was a big production put on by a very enthusiastic and beautiful lady. She can sing very well live, which is pretty much a given, given the way she handled herself on American Idol. She did several costume changes which I also wasn't expecting. I thought she would merely be in one outfit and do a few things on stage. She didn't dance and didn't have any back up dancers (thank god). But she changed at least five times and had several interesting props on stage.
First, she came out of the floor on a psychiatrist's couch:
Her second album is called Carnival Ride so she pretended she was at the carnival next:
She was in a super hot little waitress-esqe outfit. But prettier.
She did a costume change into these fake overall things. Thankfully I don't have a close up of the outfit. But I do have a photo of her swinging from a make shift fake tree swing.
Then the coolest thing ever happened. She went offstage and there was a bit of a montage of Carrie walking through the streets of Oklahoma. Then she jumps into the back of the a blue pick up truck on the screen and voila! She's in the pick up truck in the air! So neat.
She does a duet with Randy Travis on one of her albums. Since he couldn't be there and she couldn't be performing on the Grand Ole Opry, she pretended to be there and had him singing on the screen behind her on the Grand Ole Opry stage. Quite cheesy but perfect for a country show.
She also does a duet with the Sons of Sylvia boys. They came up on stage and they performed really well together. SInce they have so much intensity and are still relatively new to the scene, I think Carrie had a rather hard time at not breaking out laughing while she was up there with them.
Just before the finale she was in a super short dress. This is for the benefit of the boys:
All in all a great show.
Off to Burlington this weekend. Hopefully it's not as cold and as wet as they are calling for. I was wanting to go to the Maple Syrup festival at Bronte Park. That's unlikely to happen now though.
I stayed a couple of extra hours today. Opened up two mortgage files and two transfers. A transfer file is just changing title from one person or persons to another. Or taking one person off or adding one person. It's not actually a purchase or sale in the property. There is little or no consideration given. So often independent legal advice is needed so that they understand the consequences of going on or coming off title without giving or getting any compensation for it. As well as any mortgage consequences. They are easy files for the most part and the bossman can get good moneys for it. I haven't done a transfer yet because I still dont have my tereview disk. But when I do, look out world! I will be making transfers left right and center!
Tuesday night I went to Hamilton to see Carrie Underwood. This was my first country concert but since it was Carrie Underwood, it was really only half country. She has some very very country songs though. Her first opening band was Sons of Sylvia. Three brothers jamming away on stage. The first one was named Adam. He played this really tiny guitar and he played it around his nipples! I'm not really sure what that instrument is technically called but it's awesome. Check it out for yourself, even though all my photos are quite blurry since digital photos don't really turn out well far away in dark concert halls. This one is actually a photo of the big screen they have next to the stage.
The next artist was Craig Morgan. I had never heard of him, nor any of his songs. He's very much what you would consider a classic country singer. Now, although I don't normally really listen to country, other than the pop country that is Carrie Underwood and Shania Twain, I really enjoyed what Craig Morgan had to offer. He was extremely happy and laid back and loved every moment that he was up on that stage.
Then out came Carrie Underwood. I hadn't read any reviews of her previous concerts so I had no idea what to expect. What I got was a big production put on by a very enthusiastic and beautiful lady. She can sing very well live, which is pretty much a given, given the way she handled herself on American Idol. She did several costume changes which I also wasn't expecting. I thought she would merely be in one outfit and do a few things on stage. She didn't dance and didn't have any back up dancers (thank god). But she changed at least five times and had several interesting props on stage.
First, she came out of the floor on a psychiatrist's couch:
Just before the finale she was in a super short dress. This is for the benefit of the boys:
Off to Burlington this weekend. Hopefully it's not as cold and as wet as they are calling for. I was wanting to go to the Maple Syrup festival at Bronte Park. That's unlikely to happen now though.
March 22, 2010
Too many cute animals!
I haven't got any really interesting stories related to work/real estate as of late. There wasn't a whole lot for me to do on Friday so I spent most of the day opening up some files. There are always files to be opened. We must receive at least three to five agreements of purchase and sale a day. Once we get an agreement, we are able to open it. I don't really like when we get mortgage or refinance files. They usually close so quickly so you have to open the file right away. And the clients never listen when you tell them that they need to provide us with the mortgage statements for the mortgage they want to close out and all statement for any debts that need to be paid out. So we never get those on time and then the mortgages can't be funded when they are supposed to. So it just gets delayed. Which is fine, as long as they don't complain that it wasn't done on the day they were expecting it to be done. Banks are all crazy. The whole mortgage and funding process is still a little bizzare to me. I'll have to wait until I work on a full mortgage file to see what it's like to work with them from start to finish.
Thursday night Crash Karma played in Burlington and my boyfriend went to see them perform. He was up close and personal and even got to chat a bit with Mike Turner. Here is Mike playing his guitar. It's a little blurry but when you are rocking out that hard, there is no way you can stand still long enough for a photo. For those that do not know who Crash Karma are, they are a Canadian "super group": Mike Turner from Our Lady Peace fame, Edwin from I Mother Earth fame, Jeff Burrows of The Tea Party fame and Amir Epstein of Zygote (I have no idea who that band is). The tickets were merely $10 and they played at some billiards bar that normally has cover bands. I am a tad bit jealous that I was unable to attend but us articling students working girls have places to be the next morning and it's far too long of a travel back home at that time of night.
Friday night we watched a movie called "Are You Scared?". Not an instant classic. It was poorly acted and poorly directed. But, it was quite the hilarious horror flick and I did find myself laughing a lot, and not just AT the movie. It is similiar to the Saw films for those of you that have seen any of those. But, like I said, poorly acted. And not as intelligent as Jigsaw. The kills are in the same manner, but were done far more quickly and less dramatically than any Jigsaw murder. The detectives that were supposed to be solving the crime were absolutely useless and added nothing to the plot. They didn't even help the victims that were locked in the warehouse. The one walked in and was instantly killed. The other one was in there looking for the hostages after they had already come out. They never even met. Very weird for them to even be in the movie but I think they were there as filler since the movie would have only been 60 minutes without them. And then they left the ending as a cliffhanger but there is no way that they are ever going to be making a sequel. And there's no way it was ACTUALLY a cliffhanger. The woman was locked in a room with the killer standing behind her. Either they couldn't think of a creative way to kill her off or they really thought that they could make another movie out of that crap.
On Saturday we put on Music and Lyrics. Staring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. It was pretty good. Not nearly as cheesy or horrible as I thought it was going to be. But Hugh Grant can't make a bad movie and Drew Barrymore is too cute to hate. She's a bit of a crazy and he's a hasbeen 80s pop star. Both play their parts brilliantly. And Robert from Everybody Loves Raymond plays Hugh's agent and Hugh's his only client. Hugh plays great gigs like Bar Mitzvahs and Adventureland. Until, of course, he is asked by a current pop star to create a song for her. He comes up with the Music while Drew eventually and begrudgedly comes up with the Lyrics. While the ending is necessarily cheesey and provides serveral eye rolling moments, it is needed for the happy ending that you know is going to present itself from the first time you see Drew enter Hugh's apartment to water his plants.
Sunday we headed to the Pickering Flea Market because Gary Roberts of former Toronto Maple Leafs / Pittsburgh Penguins / Calgary Flames fame was there signing autographs. We decided to not show up as early as we had when we went to get Jonas Gustavsson's autograph so the line was considerably longer by the time we got there. However, it got much much longer by the time we were at the front for our autograph. It only took us about 30 minutes once he got there for us to get to the front of the line. Here he is signing my hockey puck:
Afterwards, we went to the Pickering Town Centre and I spent at least an hour in PJ Pets looking at all the animals. There were so many dogs and cats and bunnies. But so many more fishes!!! Here are several photos of the amazingly beautiful animals I spent my time visiting:
GAH! TOO CUTE!!
Well, 24 is coming on so I shall be off. Carrie Underwood concert in Hamilton tomorrow! So excited!!
Friday night we watched a movie called "Are You Scared?". Not an instant classic. It was poorly acted and poorly directed. But, it was quite the hilarious horror flick and I did find myself laughing a lot, and not just AT the movie. It is similiar to the Saw films for those of you that have seen any of those. But, like I said, poorly acted. And not as intelligent as Jigsaw. The kills are in the same manner, but were done far more quickly and less dramatically than any Jigsaw murder. The detectives that were supposed to be solving the crime were absolutely useless and added nothing to the plot. They didn't even help the victims that were locked in the warehouse. The one walked in and was instantly killed. The other one was in there looking for the hostages after they had already come out. They never even met. Very weird for them to even be in the movie but I think they were there as filler since the movie would have only been 60 minutes without them. And then they left the ending as a cliffhanger but there is no way that they are ever going to be making a sequel. And there's no way it was ACTUALLY a cliffhanger. The woman was locked in a room with the killer standing behind her. Either they couldn't think of a creative way to kill her off or they really thought that they could make another movie out of that crap.
On Saturday we put on Music and Lyrics. Staring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. It was pretty good. Not nearly as cheesy or horrible as I thought it was going to be. But Hugh Grant can't make a bad movie and Drew Barrymore is too cute to hate. She's a bit of a crazy and he's a hasbeen 80s pop star. Both play their parts brilliantly. And Robert from Everybody Loves Raymond plays Hugh's agent and Hugh's his only client. Hugh plays great gigs like Bar Mitzvahs and Adventureland. Until, of course, he is asked by a current pop star to create a song for her. He comes up with the Music while Drew eventually and begrudgedly comes up with the Lyrics. While the ending is necessarily cheesey and provides serveral eye rolling moments, it is needed for the happy ending that you know is going to present itself from the first time you see Drew enter Hugh's apartment to water his plants.
Sunday we headed to the Pickering Flea Market because Gary Roberts of former Toronto Maple Leafs / Pittsburgh Penguins / Calgary Flames fame was there signing autographs. We decided to not show up as early as we had when we went to get Jonas Gustavsson's autograph so the line was considerably longer by the time we got there. However, it got much much longer by the time we were at the front for our autograph. It only took us about 30 minutes once he got there for us to get to the front of the line. Here he is signing my hockey puck:
Afterwards, we went to the Pickering Town Centre and I spent at least an hour in PJ Pets looking at all the animals. There were so many dogs and cats and bunnies. But so many more fishes!!! Here are several photos of the amazingly beautiful animals I spent my time visiting:
GAH! TOO CUTE!!
Well, 24 is coming on so I shall be off. Carrie Underwood concert in Hamilton tomorrow! So excited!!
March 18, 2010
Happy Belated St Paddys!
Happy Belated St. Patrick's Day to you!! I spent my special day at work and then went to a pub on main street with the folks. We sat on the patio, even though it started to get pretty darn chilly as the sun began to set. I met the folks at the pub and mom already had finished half a green beer. But when I ordered, she claimed she didnt like it (apparently she thought the green beer would somehow taste different than regular beer) and so I just finished hers. Here it is:
So she then ordered a white wine. Which she ordered green! My mother is such a crazy thinker that way!! Here it is:
We so then ordered some grub. They were just pub meals but the sammiches were pretty good. Dad got the pulled pork sandwich. Mom got the roast beef dip sandwich. And I got the Italian sandwich made with veal:
I think we all loved our meals. I would have liked to stay there and have more green beer but the place was packed and like I said, as the sun set, the chill set in.
It was also Bossman's birthday. So, of course, we ordered a Dufflet cake! This time it was a Cappuccino Dacquoise. The bossman was still reeling over the crazies that were in before so he was very chatty and making all these jokes about them. They still haven't come back to sign their documents. Apparently they somehow managed to get an extension from the builder on their closing day. And after several emails back and forth with the crazy woman, they are scheduled to be back in tomorrow morning. They also now have to go for independent legal advice. This is because they changed their mortgage. So now the son is on the mortgage/title at 98% and each parent is on at 1%. So now they need another lawyer to explain to them that they only owe a small portion of title but if for some reason the mortgage does not get paid, they are still on the hook for the entire amount. Luckily, we have another real estate lawyer just down the hall that will do that for us. So after they go to him, they must come back to us. Lucky us.
Anyways, all that to explain why I didn't have time to get a photo of the whole cake. He was incredibly excited to get to eating it. So here is my piece of the cake:
Pretty great cake I tells ya.
Speaking of irrate clients, we had another one in the other day. This one, the client's name had an extra letter on the cheque. So she was going on and on about how that person does not exist in the world and therefore the bank would be unable to deposit that cheque. It is not the first time that a client's name has been misspelled on a cheque. The problem with this one was that it was issued by the purchaser\s lawyer and so it wasn't just as easy as us re-writing a cheque. The clerk had noticed this issue prior to the client coming in to pick up the cheque and had already received an undertaking from the purchasers lawyer to make a new cheque in case this one was not accepted by the bank. But this client would not have any of that. She went on and on to the clerk. And of course both the lawyers were in meetings. And she had a cab waiting for her downstairs. Finally a lawyer was able to talk to them and she gave them a hard time as well. Oy. There was nothing we could do for her at that moment. Either she would have to come back in a couple of days when we got a new cheque or she would have to at least attempt to put in the cheque and see if the bank had any issues. Which they didn't. Which we knew they wouldn't. So she got her money and she got out of our faces.
My dog has been rather ill lately. Had to bring him yet again to the vet this evening. Normally my mom does that bad part of the job, but this time she had to be in Italian class. So I had to old the wuss while he screamed and yelped when he got his shot. Plus they shoved two pills down his throat. One was a pill to soothe his belly. Kind of like a pepto. The other was much bigger and a pain killer. But he wouldn't take it. Instead, they had to put the pill in a pill shooter and shove it down his throat. Rather uncomfortable and awkward for him. But it went down. And he's been sleeping all night ever since so I'm hoping that means things are working.
It was a gorgeous evening for walking. I plowed around my circuit in just under 30 minutes. It does give my shins, salves and butt a good little workout. Hopefully tomorrow evening is still nice so I can go again. I feel the bad weather and overtime working is making me slack!
We so then ordered some grub. They were just pub meals but the sammiches were pretty good. Dad got the pulled pork sandwich. Mom got the roast beef dip sandwich. And I got the Italian sandwich made with veal:
I think we all loved our meals. I would have liked to stay there and have more green beer but the place was packed and like I said, as the sun set, the chill set in.
It was also Bossman's birthday. So, of course, we ordered a Dufflet cake! This time it was a Cappuccino Dacquoise. The bossman was still reeling over the crazies that were in before so he was very chatty and making all these jokes about them. They still haven't come back to sign their documents. Apparently they somehow managed to get an extension from the builder on their closing day. And after several emails back and forth with the crazy woman, they are scheduled to be back in tomorrow morning. They also now have to go for independent legal advice. This is because they changed their mortgage. So now the son is on the mortgage/title at 98% and each parent is on at 1%. So now they need another lawyer to explain to them that they only owe a small portion of title but if for some reason the mortgage does not get paid, they are still on the hook for the entire amount. Luckily, we have another real estate lawyer just down the hall that will do that for us. So after they go to him, they must come back to us. Lucky us.
Anyways, all that to explain why I didn't have time to get a photo of the whole cake. He was incredibly excited to get to eating it. So here is my piece of the cake:
Speaking of irrate clients, we had another one in the other day. This one, the client's name had an extra letter on the cheque. So she was going on and on about how that person does not exist in the world and therefore the bank would be unable to deposit that cheque. It is not the first time that a client's name has been misspelled on a cheque. The problem with this one was that it was issued by the purchaser\s lawyer and so it wasn't just as easy as us re-writing a cheque. The clerk had noticed this issue prior to the client coming in to pick up the cheque and had already received an undertaking from the purchasers lawyer to make a new cheque in case this one was not accepted by the bank. But this client would not have any of that. She went on and on to the clerk. And of course both the lawyers were in meetings. And she had a cab waiting for her downstairs. Finally a lawyer was able to talk to them and she gave them a hard time as well. Oy. There was nothing we could do for her at that moment. Either she would have to come back in a couple of days when we got a new cheque or she would have to at least attempt to put in the cheque and see if the bank had any issues. Which they didn't. Which we knew they wouldn't. So she got her money and she got out of our faces.
My dog has been rather ill lately. Had to bring him yet again to the vet this evening. Normally my mom does that bad part of the job, but this time she had to be in Italian class. So I had to old the wuss while he screamed and yelped when he got his shot. Plus they shoved two pills down his throat. One was a pill to soothe his belly. Kind of like a pepto. The other was much bigger and a pain killer. But he wouldn't take it. Instead, they had to put the pill in a pill shooter and shove it down his throat. Rather uncomfortable and awkward for him. But it went down. And he's been sleeping all night ever since so I'm hoping that means things are working.
It was a gorgeous evening for walking. I plowed around my circuit in just under 30 minutes. It does give my shins, salves and butt a good little workout. Hopefully tomorrow evening is still nice so I can go again. I feel the bad weather and overtime working is making me slack!
March 16, 2010
Who says Real Estate is boring?!
I shall start out with my most exciting thing of the day even though it happened merely moments to quittin time.
One of the lawyers is signing up a client. In fact there are three clients - parents and a child. This is not a young child, though. About 25 years old. I believe the condo they are buying is for him. Now me and another girl at the office had already been talking with these clients several times during the day. Yesterday also. They were having a hard time wrapping their head around the amount they needed to bring in. So we explained it thorroughly with them. And sent them the documents via email so they could see all the numbers and figures that we were talking about. We even told them to talk to the person that had set up their mortgage. Plus, it's a condo from a builder so there were probably a few extra amounts that they didn't take into consideration. I'm not sure because I didn't work on that part of the file but the builders are sneaky sneaky fellas.
The meeting room is a small room directly inside the door to our office. As I am still sitting in the front, at the front desk, I can usually hear murmurs and whisperings from the meeting room, but rarely can I hear full conversations. That was not the case today. I could hear all three clients loud and clear. One was deaf but he certainly knew how to read lips and he certainly knew how to vocalize how he was feeling. Another spoke barely any English at all. The third had some grasp of English but there was still a very obvious language barrier. They are still asking about the amount of money that they needed to pay to complete their transaction. Which, of course, they didn't bring in because they wanted it explained to them. So the lawyer is trying to carefully go over the numbers. But each of them keep talking and refuse to listen to her answers. Next thing I know she's swung open the door and heading to the bossman's office. She comes back within moments and tells the clients that she has done the best she could, they refused to listen and she will not finish signing them up. But the bossman will sign them up in the morning.
Complete chaos ensues. The three irrate clients storm out of the meeting room and come face to face with me. As I am the only one in the front. They begin yelling and screaming and threatening to go to another lawyer. Saying that we are trying to screw them out of their money. That our fees are totally outrageous (when really the money they need to bring in is everything that their mortgage doesn't cover and is therefore mostly costs added on by the builder). That they are going to sue. As I am standing by the fax machine I try to make my way further away from them, distancing myself as best I can. But they virtually storm past me screaming about their rights. The woman demands that she be heard. Trust me. She could be heard. By everyone in the damn building. They actually rushed into the lawyer's office. Finally the bossman comes out of his hiding shell of his office. I think he had his door shut otherwise there's no way he didn't hear it any sooner. He had to physically push his way past the father and son to put himself between them and the lawyer. He asked them to leave several times and told them to come back in the morning as we were nearly closed. They insisted they couldn't get another day off from work. He then threatened to call the cops. That got them out of there in a jiffy. Needless to say the door was shut and bolted behind them. I was a little scared to leave, since it was only five minutes later, but me and a coworker left together. With the two of us, we could totally take them!!
Moral of the story: Don't be a dingus.
I have actually been keeping track of things that I do during the day, but it appears I have left it at work. I am organized and nerdy like that. But also clearly very forgetful.
I have been doing a lot of Requisition Letters lately. This is done on every single purchase file. I briefly spoke about them a couple of posts ago. What I do is look at the parcel page. Each property has a parcel page. This outlines everything that has ever happened on a particular piece of land or a particular condo unit, be it dwelling, parking or locker. It's very thorough. It lists all the transfers that have ever been done and the purchase price. It lists every agreement, easement, lien or restrictive covenant on that piece of land. It lists every single mortgage that has ever been on there, even if it has already been paid off and even if it was from three or four owners previous. If it is no longer relevant or the item has been discharged from title, it is "deleted". Deleted instruments are still there. They just say deleted so we know not to worry about them anymore. I hope I didn't make all that sound more difficult than it really is. How am I ever going to teach someone the ropes?!? I am the worst describer ever. Sigh. Anyways, what I do with this parcel page is outline everything on there that has not been deleted and is therefore still outstanding. I then send this list to the Vendor's lawyer and ask them to ensure that the agreements, easements and restrictive covenants have all been complied with; that the liens and mortgages get paid off and discharged/deleted; and any other encumbrances come off title. Also, we search the Vendors' names to see if they have ever been sued. Now I don't do that part yet because I haven't gotten my Teraview disk yet but it's a coming! Apparently... So if one of the Vendors' names come up, we send it to their lawyer and ask them to determine whether it is actually their client or not. This will take some work. They will have to contact the people who act for the people that have sued them. If it is them, they need to be paid off. Otherwise, title would not be transfered free and clear and no one wants to get title subject to someone elses debts. If it's not them, they can merely provide letters from those other lawyers saying they are not one and the same person. I know. Challenging again. Our office will also search for the purchaser (who is our client) and will have to perform the same thing if any executions come up against their name.
I was going to talk about something else but I think that is technical enough for one day!
One of the lawyers is signing up a client. In fact there are three clients - parents and a child. This is not a young child, though. About 25 years old. I believe the condo they are buying is for him. Now me and another girl at the office had already been talking with these clients several times during the day. Yesterday also. They were having a hard time wrapping their head around the amount they needed to bring in. So we explained it thorroughly with them. And sent them the documents via email so they could see all the numbers and figures that we were talking about. We even told them to talk to the person that had set up their mortgage. Plus, it's a condo from a builder so there were probably a few extra amounts that they didn't take into consideration. I'm not sure because I didn't work on that part of the file but the builders are sneaky sneaky fellas.
The meeting room is a small room directly inside the door to our office. As I am still sitting in the front, at the front desk, I can usually hear murmurs and whisperings from the meeting room, but rarely can I hear full conversations. That was not the case today. I could hear all three clients loud and clear. One was deaf but he certainly knew how to read lips and he certainly knew how to vocalize how he was feeling. Another spoke barely any English at all. The third had some grasp of English but there was still a very obvious language barrier. They are still asking about the amount of money that they needed to pay to complete their transaction. Which, of course, they didn't bring in because they wanted it explained to them. So the lawyer is trying to carefully go over the numbers. But each of them keep talking and refuse to listen to her answers. Next thing I know she's swung open the door and heading to the bossman's office. She comes back within moments and tells the clients that she has done the best she could, they refused to listen and she will not finish signing them up. But the bossman will sign them up in the morning.
Complete chaos ensues. The three irrate clients storm out of the meeting room and come face to face with me. As I am the only one in the front. They begin yelling and screaming and threatening to go to another lawyer. Saying that we are trying to screw them out of their money. That our fees are totally outrageous (when really the money they need to bring in is everything that their mortgage doesn't cover and is therefore mostly costs added on by the builder). That they are going to sue. As I am standing by the fax machine I try to make my way further away from them, distancing myself as best I can. But they virtually storm past me screaming about their rights. The woman demands that she be heard. Trust me. She could be heard. By everyone in the damn building. They actually rushed into the lawyer's office. Finally the bossman comes out of his hiding shell of his office. I think he had his door shut otherwise there's no way he didn't hear it any sooner. He had to physically push his way past the father and son to put himself between them and the lawyer. He asked them to leave several times and told them to come back in the morning as we were nearly closed. They insisted they couldn't get another day off from work. He then threatened to call the cops. That got them out of there in a jiffy. Needless to say the door was shut and bolted behind them. I was a little scared to leave, since it was only five minutes later, but me and a coworker left together. With the two of us, we could totally take them!!
Moral of the story: Don't be a dingus.
I have actually been keeping track of things that I do during the day, but it appears I have left it at work. I am organized and nerdy like that. But also clearly very forgetful.
I have been doing a lot of Requisition Letters lately. This is done on every single purchase file. I briefly spoke about them a couple of posts ago. What I do is look at the parcel page. Each property has a parcel page. This outlines everything that has ever happened on a particular piece of land or a particular condo unit, be it dwelling, parking or locker. It's very thorough. It lists all the transfers that have ever been done and the purchase price. It lists every agreement, easement, lien or restrictive covenant on that piece of land. It lists every single mortgage that has ever been on there, even if it has already been paid off and even if it was from three or four owners previous. If it is no longer relevant or the item has been discharged from title, it is "deleted". Deleted instruments are still there. They just say deleted so we know not to worry about them anymore. I hope I didn't make all that sound more difficult than it really is. How am I ever going to teach someone the ropes?!? I am the worst describer ever. Sigh. Anyways, what I do with this parcel page is outline everything on there that has not been deleted and is therefore still outstanding. I then send this list to the Vendor's lawyer and ask them to ensure that the agreements, easements and restrictive covenants have all been complied with; that the liens and mortgages get paid off and discharged/deleted; and any other encumbrances come off title. Also, we search the Vendors' names to see if they have ever been sued. Now I don't do that part yet because I haven't gotten my Teraview disk yet but it's a coming! Apparently... So if one of the Vendors' names come up, we send it to their lawyer and ask them to determine whether it is actually their client or not. This will take some work. They will have to contact the people who act for the people that have sued them. If it is them, they need to be paid off. Otherwise, title would not be transfered free and clear and no one wants to get title subject to someone elses debts. If it's not them, they can merely provide letters from those other lawyers saying they are not one and the same person. I know. Challenging again. Our office will also search for the purchaser (who is our client) and will have to perform the same thing if any executions come up against their name.
I was going to talk about something else but I think that is technical enough for one day!
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