Blog by Michael Giesbrecht
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Flip This House
June 4th, 2007Expensive Homes
May 28th, 2007
A recent survey has designated London as the world's most expensive place to buy residential property, beating out Monaco, New York City, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. Homes are going for an average of $4,600 per square foot in the British capital.
Earlier this year, a 77-square-foot former storage room, without electricity or heat, in the exclusive Knightsbridge neighbourhood was on the mark ...
Home Inspection
May 27th, 2007
How Important Is A Home Inspection?
By Michael Giesbrecht
Prudential Sussex Realty
May 2007
Should a buyer get a home inspection for a home they are buying? Should a seller order a home inspection prior to putting the property on the market? There are advantages for both.
Simply put, a home inspection is a visual examination of both the physical structure and major sy ...
Smokin' Aces
May 25th, 2007There was an interesting article in the Vancouver Sun yesterday about a condo owner suing her downstairs neighbour. Apparently the neighbour down below smokes a cigarette about 10 times a day on her patio and the smoke is causing the neighbour above stress, irritability and disruption of sleep. It will be intreresting to see how this plays out.
BC Home Sales in April
May 18th, 2007
British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that residential sales volume on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in BC rose 17 per cent to $4.2 billion in April, compared to the same month last year. Residential unit sales increased 5 per cent to 9,677 during the same period. The average MLS® price reached $431,945, climbing 11 per cent from April 2006. “BC home sales rebounded ...
Underground Contractors
May 14th, 2007
The Ontario government is cracking down on the underground construction industry, saying unregistered home builders who work on the sly, undercharging legitimate contractors, are costing the economy up to $2-billion in lost taxes each year.
Ontario Labour Minister Steve Peters said Monday the government will share information with Tarion Warranty Corp. in order to ferret out unregister ...
Mold
May 11th, 2007
Mold can be harmful or helpful—depending on where it grows.
Mold needs moisture to grow.
Mold does not grow on dry materials.
Mold growing inside a home can affect the occupants.
Occupants can learn to recognize mold.
What are molds?
Molds are microscopic fungi, a group of organisms which also includes mushrooms and yeasts. Fungi are highly ...
Condominium Fees
May 7th, 2007
Darlene Ursulak is a careful and informed consumer who has owned two condominium suites, and has never been caught off guard by a large jump in monthly maintenance fees.
But Earle Shiohet, a major investor in property, stays far away from condominiums, citing what he calls "the great unknown of condo fees." The former real estate lawyer points out that horror stories about fees doublin ...
Land Rush in Calgary
May 6th, 2007
More than 100 people desperate for a prime building lot near Calgary got their chance Saturday when a developer put 56 pricey parcels on the market - first come, first served.
Some had been waiting since Monday for a chance to pay from $260,000 to $525,000 for land in Elbow Valley West, an area just west of the city.
"There's a lot of people with a lot of money," said Ben Knopp, ...