No, that's not dog pee in the carpet. It's a feature.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Monday, October 7, 2013
Space-age, Spacing-saving Italian Design.
The trend towards smaller condos is here to stay and with it comes a trend towards compact, space-saving furniture. One of my clients was recently looking for a murphy bed for the guest room in her sleek loft near the the Lachine Canal. She wanted something both stylish and practical - a fold-out bed hidden behind a desk and bookshelf set up, for example. This video is making the rounds just a little too late for my canal-side acquaintance, but it might be of interest to someone else out there hoping to add a little Italian brio to their home decor.
Best of all, Montreal's Fraser Furniture is the exclusive retailer for this totally cool line.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Montreal Real Estate Board says Buh-bye to Cdn Real Estate Association
The Greater Montreal Real Estate Board, Canada's second largest, has served notice that it will withdraw from the Canadian Real Estate Association at the end of 2013. Quebec members pay about $3.4 million in CREA dues annually.
The GMREB represents 10,000 or so brokers, roughly a tenth of all CREA's membership. The national organization represents boards across Canada. The two have been at odds for years, with Montreal complaining about CREA's weak defense of Quebeckers' interests, spending, dues increases and the services members receive in return.
The big item is CREA's unwillingness or inability to block "for sale by owner" (FSBO) properties from the realtor.ca system in Quebec. These listings are legal in other jurisdictions but not in Quebec, where only brokers licensed through the provincial licensing agency, the OACIQ, are allowed to market and sell properties on behalf of a third party. This makes Quebec different from the rest of Canada.
Quebec's 12 boards were worried enough about the possibility of FSBOs being listed on the realtor.ca that they launched their own property-search website, centris.ca. It has asked CREA to default to Centris rather than Realtor for all Quebec property searches. So far, no response.
In a letter to members, the GMREB included links to two Montreal area FSBO listings recently posted to realtor.ca through a Toronto listing service affiliated with the Toronto Real Estate Board. That back door move bypasses Quebec's licensing and professional oversight requirements.
You can see how there would be irritation and hurt feelings, right?
But FSBOs aren't the only irritant. Montreal is also reluctant to take part in a national data distribution system that would put information collected by GMREB members into the hands of cut-rate sales firms and FSBOs. Data like average selling prices, days on the market, etc is gold to real estate professionals and, presumably to those who would feast on our labour. We've paid to have it collated by our association. We aren't about to give it away to the Du Proprios of the world.
There are other issues, as well. CREA wants to create a national code of ethics for real estate professionals. GMREB opposes the idea because its primary role is to protect and promote its membership. Quebec brokers are bound by a code of ethics administered by the OACIQ. The OACIQ fields complaints from the public, investigates, adjudicates and punishes brokers who break the rules. Best of all, every broker pays dues to maintain the agency even though we get no benefit from it. Needless to say, GMREB has no interest in paying for the implementation of a second code of ethics.
Finally, GMREB has been asking questions about where the CREA dues end up. Remember, this is Quebec, where we know a thing or two about expense-account padding, lavish dinners, cocktail parties, exotic meeting locales etc etc. Quebec's federation of real estate boards complained about lavish spending and duplication of services. For its part. GMREB managed to claw back $1.5 million in CREA dues in the last two years and has used the money to promote centris.ca and for other advertising tailored to the Quebec market.
Talks have been ongoing, but now the time of talking seems to be over. CREA is having a special general meeting later this month in Vancouver. According to the Montreal board, despite promises to the contrary, none of Quebec's concerns are addresses on the meeting's agenda.
Unless something changes between now and then, Quebec will cut itself loose from CREA's mothership. Says GMREB president Patrick Juanèda:
The board reserves the right to change its mind, especially if CREA responds to its concerns at the upcoming general meeting. Stay tuned.
************************************************************
While we're on the topic of people being annoyed by the way in which their dues are spent, there's a petition going around that takes issue with the way the OACIQ is spending brokers' money.
The straw that broke the camel's back is a recently announced mandatory course for all real estate brokers on the importance of "collaboration". Collaboration is what happens when one broker calls another broker to see a property. If you show it, you are collaborating. If you ignore the call or multiple calls, you are not collaborating. Pretty simple. The OACIQ is requiring all license holders to take take this 2-hour on-line course at a cost of $150 each.
$150 each and they don't even have to rent a room, put on a pot of coffee or lay out a tray of danish. That's an easy $2.6 million for the licensing agency. That's on top of the $16.3 million it collected in annual dues from saps like me in 2012.
People see this training as little more than a cash grab. They are concerned that if the OACIQ gets away with this it will implement more and more "imporatant" mandatory training at extra cost to the dues payers. It's the Quebec way, right? Can't balance your budget? Raise fees! Implement surcharges! Create a new tax! Easy money, right? The English version of the petition has 450+ signatures. The French version, nearly 2,900.
Here's the petition.
The GMREB represents 10,000 or so brokers, roughly a tenth of all CREA's membership. The national organization represents boards across Canada. The two have been at odds for years, with Montreal complaining about CREA's weak defense of Quebeckers' interests, spending, dues increases and the services members receive in return.
The big item is CREA's unwillingness or inability to block "for sale by owner" (FSBO) properties from the realtor.ca system in Quebec. These listings are legal in other jurisdictions but not in Quebec, where only brokers licensed through the provincial licensing agency, the OACIQ, are allowed to market and sell properties on behalf of a third party. This makes Quebec different from the rest of Canada.
Quebec's 12 boards were worried enough about the possibility of FSBOs being listed on the realtor.ca that they launched their own property-search website, centris.ca. It has asked CREA to default to Centris rather than Realtor for all Quebec property searches. So far, no response.
In a letter to members, the GMREB included links to two Montreal area FSBO listings recently posted to realtor.ca through a Toronto listing service affiliated with the Toronto Real Estate Board. That back door move bypasses Quebec's licensing and professional oversight requirements.
You can see how there would be irritation and hurt feelings, right?
But FSBOs aren't the only irritant. Montreal is also reluctant to take part in a national data distribution system that would put information collected by GMREB members into the hands of cut-rate sales firms and FSBOs. Data like average selling prices, days on the market, etc is gold to real estate professionals and, presumably to those who would feast on our labour. We've paid to have it collated by our association. We aren't about to give it away to the Du Proprios of the world.
There are other issues, as well. CREA wants to create a national code of ethics for real estate professionals. GMREB opposes the idea because its primary role is to protect and promote its membership. Quebec brokers are bound by a code of ethics administered by the OACIQ. The OACIQ fields complaints from the public, investigates, adjudicates and punishes brokers who break the rules. Best of all, every broker pays dues to maintain the agency even though we get no benefit from it. Needless to say, GMREB has no interest in paying for the implementation of a second code of ethics.
Finally, GMREB has been asking questions about where the CREA dues end up. Remember, this is Quebec, where we know a thing or two about expense-account padding, lavish dinners, cocktail parties, exotic meeting locales etc etc. Quebec's federation of real estate boards complained about lavish spending and duplication of services. For its part. GMREB managed to claw back $1.5 million in CREA dues in the last two years and has used the money to promote centris.ca and for other advertising tailored to the Quebec market.
Talks have been ongoing, but now the time of talking seems to be over. CREA is having a special general meeting later this month in Vancouver. According to the Montreal board, despite promises to the contrary, none of Quebec's concerns are addresses on the meeting's agenda.
Unless something changes between now and then, Quebec will cut itself loose from CREA's mothership. Says GMREB president Patrick Juanèda:
Your Board of Directors has evaluated the situation carefully and considers that, at this time, the risks and disadvantages outweigh the benefits of our membership in CREA. It is important to note that the code of ethics and data distribution rules are already in place. If we stay in CREA, we must ensure that we implement the necessary structures and have all of our members comply with them.
The board reserves the right to change its mind, especially if CREA responds to its concerns at the upcoming general meeting. Stay tuned.
************************************************************
While we're on the topic of people being annoyed by the way in which their dues are spent, there's a petition going around that takes issue with the way the OACIQ is spending brokers' money.
The straw that broke the camel's back is a recently announced mandatory course for all real estate brokers on the importance of "collaboration". Collaboration is what happens when one broker calls another broker to see a property. If you show it, you are collaborating. If you ignore the call or multiple calls, you are not collaborating. Pretty simple. The OACIQ is requiring all license holders to take take this 2-hour on-line course at a cost of $150 each.
$150 each and they don't even have to rent a room, put on a pot of coffee or lay out a tray of danish. That's an easy $2.6 million for the licensing agency. That's on top of the $16.3 million it collected in annual dues from saps like me in 2012.
People see this training as little more than a cash grab. They are concerned that if the OACIQ gets away with this it will implement more and more "imporatant" mandatory training at extra cost to the dues payers. It's the Quebec way, right? Can't balance your budget? Raise fees! Implement surcharges! Create a new tax! Easy money, right? The English version of the petition has 450+ signatures. The French version, nearly 2,900.
Here's the petition.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
New Listing. Two-Bedroom Condo, Drolet near Laurier
Looking for a Plateau condo with tons of upgrades, superior soundproofing and steps from the metro?
Check out my new listing at 5121 Drolet, apt. 202.
This two-bedroom condo is found in a 2005 concrete building. Concrete means solid construction and superior soundproofing. Just what you need in a Plateau property.
The apartment is located on the first floor of a three storey building, a few steps up from ground level. There's a balcony off the front and a second balcony/fire escape at the back. There are 8 units, two per floor,including two semi-basements.
The layout features an open living and dining area with big windows, a brick accent wall in the dining room and accent lighting.There are built-in speakers for the flat-screen TV. It has a wall-mounted air conditioner and an air exchange system.
The open galley kitchen has plenty of counter space, dark wood cabinets, a combined microwave oven and kitchen fan and a garburator.
Both bedrooms are to the back, one with the aforementioned balcony, the second with two good-sized windows. Both have large closets.
The bathroom is huge, with a corner tub and separate shower. Stackable washer and dryer are in a closet in the hallway just outside the bathroom door.
The condo has exotic hardwood floors, finished in a warm reddish brown. The place is impeccably clean.
Condo fees are $100 a month and there is a healthy $19,000 in the reserve fund. No big projects are on the horizon.
5121 Drolet is located just north on Laurier and one block west of St. Denis St. The Laurier metro is a two-minute walk. Drolet is a one-way south street with very little through traffic. Laurier is a one-way east, with a bike path that serves to calm traffic. All in all, a very quiet corner of the Plateau.
The asking price is $327,000.
The property can be sold furnished or unfurnished.
Check out my new listing at 5121 Drolet, apt. 202.
The apartment is located on the first floor of a three storey building, a few steps up from ground level. There's a balcony off the front and a second balcony/fire escape at the back. There are 8 units, two per floor,including two semi-basements.
The open galley kitchen has plenty of counter space, dark wood cabinets, a combined microwave oven and kitchen fan and a garburator.
The bathroom is huge, with a corner tub and separate shower. Stackable washer and dryer are in a closet in the hallway just outside the bathroom door.
Condo fees are $100 a month and there is a healthy $19,000 in the reserve fund. No big projects are on the horizon.
5121 Drolet is located just north on Laurier and one block west of St. Denis St. The Laurier metro is a two-minute walk. Drolet is a one-way south street with very little through traffic. Laurier is a one-way east, with a bike path that serves to calm traffic. All in all, a very quiet corner of the Plateau.
The asking price is $327,000.
The property can be sold furnished or unfurnished.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
City Offering $136 million in Subsidies and Incentives to Keep Homebuyers on the Island
The city of Montreal has quietly renewed a program to encourage tenants and families to buy and stay on the island. The on-again, off-again home ownership program received a $136-million cash injection with little fanfare in April. As in years past, the city will take applications for up to three years, or until the cash runs out.
The cash tends to run out well before the three years are up.
Still, not a bad program if you fit the various criteria. For new homes, the incentives are on a sliding scale, depending on whether you are a single buyer, a couple without children or a household with children. The lump sum incentives range from $4,500 to $12,000 . Households with kids can also get a refund of the hated welcome tax.
Not bad! The program gets complicated when you look at the types of properties that are eligible. For single buyers, the maximum budget is $200,000, for a couple $250,000. If you're buying for a family, the budget can go as high at $360,000, but to qualify for the highest amount you must buy a three-bedroom unit.
The program will also refund the welcome tax on the purchase of a resale duplex or triplex, providing the purchase price is not more than $450.000 and $490.000 respectively.
Households with kids can also get six months of free public transit with the purchase of a one-year Opus card. It is not clear from the brochure whether this means a total of 18 months of public transit for the price of 12 or 12 months for the price of six.
As with any program, there's lots of small print. Still, worth looking into if it can save you several thousand dollars, right?
Here's the website, en anglais et en francais .
You can also download the brochure on the site.
The cash tends to run out well before the three years are up.
Still, not a bad program if you fit the various criteria. For new homes, the incentives are on a sliding scale, depending on whether you are a single buyer, a couple without children or a household with children. The lump sum incentives range from $4,500 to $12,000 . Households with kids can also get a refund of the hated welcome tax.
Not bad! The program gets complicated when you look at the types of properties that are eligible. For single buyers, the maximum budget is $200,000, for a couple $250,000. If you're buying for a family, the budget can go as high at $360,000, but to qualify for the highest amount you must buy a three-bedroom unit.
The program will also refund the welcome tax on the purchase of a resale duplex or triplex, providing the purchase price is not more than $450.000 and $490.000 respectively.
Households with kids can also get six months of free public transit with the purchase of a one-year Opus card. It is not clear from the brochure whether this means a total of 18 months of public transit for the price of 12 or 12 months for the price of six.
As with any program, there's lots of small print. Still, worth looking into if it can save you several thousand dollars, right?
Here's the website, en anglais et en francais .
You can also download the brochure on the site.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Trains, a Part of Life in Montreal
The horrifying train derailment, explosion and fire in downtown Lac-Mégantic, Qc. earlier this month has given rise to a lot of talk about the wisdom of running trains through populated areas.
One of my Facbeook acquaintances even kidded me about whether there was going to be a run on St-Henri real estate as people dumped their homes out of fear for their safety. I was skeptical then and remain skeptical now. That's what I told CTV News, when reporter Max Harrold called me up.
He had already interviewed a Management prof at UQAM who had studied the sale of 40,000 residential properties on Montreal island. His analysis indicated that living within 50 metres of a super highway reduced the value of a home by as much as 5 per cent, living within 50 metres of a rail line meant an 8-10 per cent reduction in property values.
This I don't dispute.
My larger point when asked about the impact of the Lac-Mégantic tragedy on Montreal home prices was that Montreal was built along rail lines. Think about all the communities where trains are a fact of life - Point St. Charles, St. Henri ( the level crossing pictured above), NDG, Westmount, Cote St. Luc, TMR, Griffintown and all those suburbs served by commuter rail service. That's a lot of trains.
Montrealers have long made their peace with trains and for all the horror of what happened in Lac-Mégantic, it says something that it is the only train disaster most of us can remember. I was chatting with The Gazette's Allison Lampert and she pointed out that the big difference between Montreal and Lac Mégantic is that CN owns and controls most of the freight rail track in the city and has a better track record for safety than the corner-cutting Chicago outfit MMA whose freight train caused the fiery explosion in small-town Lac-Mégantic.
I think that the images of burning crude oil and a leveled downtown core are fresh in our minds but that within a few months those memories will fade and Montrealers will feel comfortable with the rumble and squeal of passing freight trains once more.
We buy homes near rail lines, like we buy homes near airports or near flood zones.
You can watch the CTV report here.
One of my Facbeook acquaintances even kidded me about whether there was going to be a run on St-Henri real estate as people dumped their homes out of fear for their safety. I was skeptical then and remain skeptical now. That's what I told CTV News, when reporter Max Harrold called me up.
 | |
| Don't mind my dorky face. I was talking, ok. |
This I don't dispute.
My larger point when asked about the impact of the Lac-Mégantic tragedy on Montreal home prices was that Montreal was built along rail lines. Think about all the communities where trains are a fact of life - Point St. Charles, St. Henri ( the level crossing pictured above), NDG, Westmount, Cote St. Luc, TMR, Griffintown and all those suburbs served by commuter rail service. That's a lot of trains.
Montrealers have long made their peace with trains and for all the horror of what happened in Lac-Mégantic, it says something that it is the only train disaster most of us can remember. I was chatting with The Gazette's Allison Lampert and she pointed out that the big difference between Montreal and Lac Mégantic is that CN owns and controls most of the freight rail track in the city and has a better track record for safety than the corner-cutting Chicago outfit MMA whose freight train caused the fiery explosion in small-town Lac-Mégantic.
I think that the images of burning crude oil and a leveled downtown core are fresh in our minds but that within a few months those memories will fade and Montrealers will feel comfortable with the rumble and squeal of passing freight trains once more.
We buy homes near rail lines, like we buy homes near airports or near flood zones.
You can watch the CTV report here.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Smoking, Bad for You, Bad for Resale Values.
Trade publication REM Online (I read 'em so you don't have to) reports that 87 per cent of Ontario agents and brokers surveyed said that smoking in a house has a negative effect on resale value. Eighty-nine per cent of those surveyed said that houses where people smoke are harder to sell.
The surveyed professionals said smoking could hurt the resale price anywhere from 20 to more than 30 per cent.
It's true. Lingering cigarette smoke is one of the big turn offs when people visit a property, along with cat box smells, stale cooking odors and a lingering smell of dampness.
People notice weird smells first and those smells tend to linger in memory, often unconsciously.
You can read the REM Online story here.
The surveyed professionals said smoking could hurt the resale price anywhere from 20 to more than 30 per cent.
It's true. Lingering cigarette smoke is one of the big turn offs when people visit a property, along with cat box smells, stale cooking odors and a lingering smell of dampness.
People notice weird smells first and those smells tend to linger in memory, often unconsciously.
You can read the REM Online story here.
Monday, June 3, 2013
What Were They Thinking?
"If you buy this property, you can put carpets here and here. Also, you can make random heaps of stuff like this and maybe line up a few chairs and a sofa."
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Beer At Last! Beer At Last! Thank God Almighty, Beer At Last!
After years of discussion, zoning changes, bylaw amendments, renovation and false starts, Verdun's first honest to gosh drinking establishment has opened its doors on Wellington St. Here's a report from those nice CBC radio people.
Plus, a somewhat boring video tour.
Benelux, an authentic brewpub, has taken over the auspices of the former Bank of Montreal, near the corner of de l'Eglise, or Church St., as the old timers say.
A well-placed MontReal Estate reader, reports that for now the pub is only serving its house blonde but that should change as Benelux gets up to full speed.
A great event in Verdun history. The town, then city, then borough of Verdun has been officially dry for about 100 years. It is a sign of changing times and changing demographics that an upscale drinking hole is the first, and for now only, bar allowed to operate.
Plus, a somewhat boring video tour.
Benelux, an authentic brewpub, has taken over the auspices of the former Bank of Montreal, near the corner of de l'Eglise, or Church St., as the old timers say.
A well-placed MontReal Estate reader, reports that for now the pub is only serving its house blonde but that should change as Benelux gets up to full speed.
A great event in Verdun history. The town, then city, then borough of Verdun has been officially dry for about 100 years. It is a sign of changing times and changing demographics that an upscale drinking hole is the first, and for now only, bar allowed to operate.
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