Here's an article in today's CANOE.CA that mentions the same expected backlash that I've felt would be forthcoming from home buyers and sellers.
In short, they're going to have to provide some significant, additional personal information in order to conduct a real estate transaction, such as
- date of birth and
- occupation,
- plus ID such as a driver's licence or passport.
So when we ask you for this information, please don't feel offended at us - we're only adhering to the laws.
I wish the government or even the real estate organizations at the provincial or federal level had done a much better job of informing the public that this is the "new world", rather than let us break the news to our clients and customers seemingly out of the blue. I mean, I haven't seen or heard a single ad about this on TV or radio to let the public know this was coming. Maybe that's their intention - that they don't want the criminals to know.
And interestingly, if people either refuse to provide the information or we feel there is something suspicious about the transaction, we're obligated to not only file a report with FINTRAC but we're also obligated to *not* tell you that we're doing it.
By the way, this is no different from how the banks, stock brokerages, casinos and other business must also act now under this legislation. Read one of my following blog posts if you want the link to FINTRAC or to read more about this.
Big brother is watching....(well, at least more than yesterday!)
