MacKay & McLean provides the professional services of a large Regina law firm, with the intimate attention of a small firm. The legal process can be daunting and overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. MacKay & McLean is with you every step of the way.

MacKay &  McLean are your Trusted REGINA LAWYERS. In Mackay & Mcleans' latest legal tip they provide helpful information about traffic tickets! 

Should you fight your traffic ticket?

Here are some important points to consider when deciding if you should fight your traffic ticket.

1. Did you ever feel that when you received a traffic ticket you were already considered guilty?
2. If you were told you were cheating on an exam, would you simply accept it? 
3. If your bank told you that you’re being charged a fee because you overspent, when you didn’t – would you just “pay it?
4. Would you just accept being overcharged at the grocery store and not say anything?

"The average person’s experience with the police is nearly always with a traffic stop. Most of us are nervous with this singular encounter. The expectation is that you have been caught doing something against the law and the expectation is that you will just take the punishment of paying the fine." Robert Mackay 

Here are some of the many reasons why you should consider fighting your ticket:

How to Decide Whether to Fight or Fold

Before assuming the ticket can’t be beaten and resigning yourself to writing out that check, we encourage you to take a hard look at the facts to see if you have a reasonable chance of success. You may be surprised at the variety of legal grounds available for defeating your ticket. 

Here are some questions to determine whether going to court makes sense

• Was the officer’s view of what occurred ­obstructed by other moving vehicles or ­stationary objects like trees, fences, or ­buildings? If so, this allows you to argue that the ­officer could not have clearly seen the ­alleged offence and gives you an opening to sell your ­version of events to the judge.
• Did the officer stop the right car? It is quite possible in heavy traffic for an officer to see a violation committed by one white minivan (a 1995 Plymouth Voyager, for example) and to stop ­another (an almost identical white 1994 Dodge Caravan) farther down the road. Your ability to claim this happened (“the officer got the wrong driver, Your Honor”) obviously goes way up if you can show that because of a curve in the road, construction project, or just heavy traffic, the ­officer lost sight of the offending vehicle ­between the violation and pulling you over.
• Was there an actual, provable error in the officer’s approach or methodology? Inciting you for speeding, did the ­officer correctly pace your vehicle or properly use radar, or laser to establish your speed?
• Do any other legal defences exist to the law you’re charged with ­violating? For ­example, if you were charged with driving too slowly in the left lane of a multi-lane highway, it is a legal defence that you were planning to turn left.

MacKay & McLean provides the professional services of a large Regina law firm, with the intimate attention of a small firm. The legal process can be daunting and overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. MacKay & McLean is with you every step of the way.

MacKay &  McLean are TRUSTED REGINA LAWYERS

When looking to buy, sell, or refinance a property, you need to hire somebody who is not a stranger to addressing the real estate needs of individuals and families. 

Bank of Canada lowers qualifying rate used in mortgage stress tests

The Canadian Press - Jul 19, 2019

With files from BNN Bloomberg

It's the first decrease in the five-year fixed mortgage rate since September 2016, when it dropped from 4.74 per cent to 4.64 per cent, and increased steadily since.

When looking to buy, sell, or refinance a property, you need to hire somebody who is not a stranger to addressing the real estate needs of individuals and families. Robert MacKay is the man to call. ROBERT MacKay is your TRUSTED REGINA REAL ESTATE LAWYER!

Buying a home can be a stressful but exciting time. Robert Mackay,  our Trusted Real Estate lawyer cautions about some potential scams when buying your home! 

Real estate fraud can cause you to have large financial losses. If you are a victim of real estate fraud you may find out that you no longer own your home or that there have been additional mortgages taken out in your name.

There are two main types of real estate fraud that may result in financial loss: 

Title Fraud 

Title fraud happens when the title to your home is stolen, and then the fraudster sells the home or applies for a new mortgage against it. Title fraud usually starts with identity theft, which can happen if somebody steals your personal information.

"Title insurance" is the best protection against this type of fraud. As well as protecting against title fraud, it also guards a new owner from against existing liens against a property's title (such as unpaid debts from utilities, mortgages and unpaid property taxes), encroachment issues (a structure on a property needs to be removed because it is on your neighbor's property) and errors in surveys and public records.

Foreclosure Fraud 

Foreclosure fraud usually happens when you are having problems making your mortgage payments. You may be tricked into transferring your property title to somebody to get a loan that will help you make your payments. Fraudsters usually keep the payments you make and also possess the title to your home, which they can resell or remortgage.

Two common scams that exploit a victim's need for cash are foreclosure fraud and home-equity fraud.

Cash-crunched property owners or investors seeking can be vulnerable to other scams or unscrupulous behavior to tap equity. There is always risk when leveraging properties, but a legitimate bank, broker or private lender should be forthright when explaining risks. However, those looking to borrow on equity should be alert for less scrupulous lenders, such as those who invite owners to embellish their application by exaggerating income, down payment or property assessment value sources in order to secure a larger loan.

Other types of scams you should be aware of include

Online rental/sale scams.

In these scams, rental property is advertised (usually at low costs) on online classified sites like Craigslist or Kijiji. The ads use information and photos describing the property that has been "scraped" from legitimate ads, such as those on the MLS. A scammer will impersonate the landlord, property manager or estate agent and will respond to emails and calls from prospective tenants. The scammer indicates he or she is unable to meet a prospective renter at the property, and instead proposes a meeting off site to exchange keys, sign a tenancy agreement and collect rental deposits. Victims may only learn they've been duped when they show up at a property to discover that it is already occupied.

Things to be alert for in such listings include claims of urgency, such as "must sell now," promises of high returns or "low-cost/no-cost" financing. These sort of claims are usually too good to be true, and they also can be prevalent in off-line scams.

Property investment seminars and courses.

Educating yourself about property investment can be essential for success, but prospective investors should be alert and do their research on seminar providers. There are legitimate speakers and seminars that provide beneficial information, others exist primarily to take money from the credulous … and there are some that are in between.

One common type of seminar is designed to hook buyers into "sure-fire" investments that are promoted by the seminar hosts. Potential investors may be invited to these seminars through an ad in a newspaper or magazine, a phone call, an email or other method. These seminars may include a motivational speaker, an "investment expert" or a "self-made millionaire."

The basic advice, be skeptical of claims and do your due diligence before committing any money to an expensive course or investment.

Remember there are no get-rich-quick schemes: the only people who make money are the scammers.

For more questions and help with any legal property issues consult with our Trusted Regina Real Estate Lawyer Robert MacKay

Here is a list of more consumer tips by Robert MacKay 

• Trusted Regina Real Estate Lawyer Robert MacKay warns about the potential implications of renting your property.
• Robert MacKay your Trusted Regina Real Estate Lawyer expert explains how CRA may penalize you if you fail to report it.
• Trusted Regina Real Estate Lawyer Robert MacKay asks: Do you know what kind of mortgage you have?
• Robert MacKay Trusted Regina Real Estate Lawyer expert tip on Buying Farmland
• Robert MacKay Trusted Regina Real Estate Lawyer expert tip on choosing a Regina real estate lawyer
• Robert MacKay Trusted Regina Real Estate Lawyer expert tip on GST & Acreages
• June is Credit Score Month and our Trusted Regina Partner Robert MacKay want's to help you understand the importance of your credit score.
• Robert MacKay your Trusted Regina Real Estate Lawyer expert tip on buying property at the lake
• Robert MacKay your Trusted Regina Real Estate Lawyer expert shares a tip on Legal Fees
• Robert MacKay Trusted Regina Real Estate Lawyer shares a Tip about Title Insurance

MacKay & McLean provides the professional services of a large Regina law firm, with the intimate attention of a small firm. The legal process can be daunting and overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. MacKay & McLean is with you every step of the way.

MacKay &  McLean are TRUSTED REGINA LAWYERS

When looking to buy, sell, or refinance a property, you need to hire somebody who is not a stranger to addressing the real estate needs of individuals and families. 

What an exciting time – the old house is sold, the new one is ready, and all that’s left is the move…..oh wait – not quite yet! There is all that legal “stuff” to deal with now….signatures….titles to be given…and pages and pages of documents that need to be signed before the key is in your hand!!! And to top it all off – who really knows a good real estate lawyer?

Do you know what kind of mortgage you have?

Hardly anyone pays attention to what type of mortgage they have. 

Sure, they know whether they have a fixed rate, a variable rate or an adjustable rate but few are aware that their mortgage will have a particular legal standing or why it is important.

When a market goes up, it's all roses and sunshine, at least if you already own your own home. Trying to buy in such a market can be a scary proposition. When the market goes down, well, that's scary too but for different reasons. 

Buying a house to find out it might be worthless in a year's time is not a fun proposition. However, we all still need a place to live and the markets will do what it will do.

In the event the downturn is significant or if you know what hits the proverbial fan, all of a sudden that legal distinction can be very important. 

Purchase Money Mortgage

For if you have what is known colloquially as a "purchase money mortgage", money borrowed to buy the property, then the bank's recourse is limited to the seizure and sale of the property.

So, if it sold for $1.00 but you still owed $1,000,000, well, the bank will be hoping its mortgage was insured, as they are not unable to chase you for any deficiencies under the mortgage.

This is an important consideration in a lot of foreclosures, as a lot of people have refinanced their property to consolidate debt or finance renovations. Luckily, the portion of the mortgage that related to the property's purchase is still protected.

Once you have committed to either buying or selling your property, simply tell your realtor and lender, as applicable, that Robert MacKay will be representing you and to forward the appropriate instructions to MacKay & McLean, attention "Robert MacKay". 

Robert MacKay's team provides professional, personalized service and with their assistance, you can rest assured that your real estate transactions will be handled with the utmost consideration and care.

They  provide a full range of legal services including:

• Real Estate & Mortgages
• Wills & Estates
• Family Law & Divorce
• Commercial & Corporate Law
• Litigation & Personal Injury

ROBERT Mackay is your TRUSTED REGINA REAL ESTATE LAWYER!

It is said that in this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes. Modern estate planning aims to assist individuals to navigate both of these unpleasant certainties.  Preparing double wills is an estate planning technique which minimizes the number of probate fees (estate administration taxes) payable on death by your estate.

Primary and Secondary wills