Just saw an episode of Numb3rs from Season 4 (Number 11, I think, "Breaking Point") and the villain was a real estate developer who kidnapped a reporter. As part of finding the bad guy, as he does every week, Charlie Epps uses mathematics to crack the case. In the process he gives a fair explanation of how real estate values are affected by neighbouring properties. Actually, it's better than fair, it's great.

Listen here.

Photo Album of images from our Brock Street Listing.

“The Best Business Advice I Ever Got” | Real Estate Opinion MAG - AgentGenius

Found this great piece on agentgenius.com today and just had to share it with you. Personally, I've had a few really good pieces of advice through the years. Some of the best were:

1. Underpromis and overdeliver. (On the linked list too.)
2. Be yourself; don't compromise who you are for the sake of a deal.
3. This one's a little more greed oriented but it's still always stuck with me: Everyone you see walking down the street has $50 in their pocket that belongs to you. Your job is to try to get them to give it to you.

There have been many more, but I'd like to hear yours. What's the best business advice you've ever received?

What Makes a CRE Guru? What Doesn't? | Sibdu - Commercial Real Estate Professional & Social Networking

This is a really good article on what it takes to be seen as an expert in your field. And what you should avoid doing if you don't want to be dismissed as just one of the crowd.

Common sense ideas like not calling yourself the expert or guru. Sounds too self serving to be genuine. Don't be obnoxious; should go without saying, but sadly there are those who need to be reminded.

If you want to be seen as the expert, you need to create conversations by building relationships. Commercial real estate is still a people business based on long term relationships where both parties bring value to the association. Be a life-long learner. Never, and I mean never, assume that you know all there is to know on a subject. Constantly look for new avenues to educate your self.

For myself, I'd add volunteering to the list. Volunteering on your local association is a great way to give back, but it's also a very good way to project an air of expertise. Your peers will give you a little more respect for stepping up to the plate and volunteering for the betterment of your industry and your clients will see you as the guru because you are actively involved in your trade association. You'll make a lot of great connections as a volunteer; I speak from experience. The more you volunteer, the busier your business will get.

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Came across this new template from Our Blogger Templates and really liked what I saw.  Easy to manipulate and easy to customize.  Tell us what you think, we love feedback!

We've been very active over the last little while and have closed a few significant deals. For example:

• 340+ site trailer park in Leamington, Ontario - $2.8M
• Gas bar anchored plaza in Bancroft, Ontario - $1.6M
• 200 acre development site near Campbellford, Ontario - $1.95M

All within the last 8 weeks!

Give me a call to see what we can do for you. 1-877-272-4040 or email me.

Our Hotsheet has been updated again. Please take a look at what we're working on. Let me know if you'd like to be notified by email when we update the page.

I guess I'm not crazy after all! I got a bit of a friendly back slapping from a fellow citizen; thanks Dan!

Parkway land an asset - use it
Editorial - Saturday, May 19, 2007 - Peterborough Examiner

Re "No surprise: Parkway a good plan for 50 years" (Letter, May 17)

Three cheers for Doug Lytle's letter. He has said what I have been saying for years about people lobbying for non-use of those lands designated for the purpose that they were collected 50 years ago, to build a Parkway.

I too get annoyed by people who purchase property adjacent to vacant land and then complain when the land is developed. Just like people who buy a home adjacent to a school then complain about the noise the children make as they play. This "Parkway land" was one of the reasons I purchased my home where I did, believing that city council would eventually follow through on the plans to complete The Parkway.

DAN STUBBS
Fairmount Boulevard

No surprise: Parkway a good plan for more than 50 years Editorial - Thursday, May 17, 2007 Peterborough Examiner

Re "Never fear, soon those ugly parks will all be paved" (Letter, May 14) - Matt Vidler's letter was one of the best I've ever seen. I disagree with him, but it was an excellent read. Mr. Vidler's comments about a "crafty-enough council" are well founded - city council has been forced into piecemeal development of sections of The Parkway because of a lack of political will. The non-binding referendum on the subject was just that: non-binding. It is still up to our elected officials to do the right thing even after seeking public input. A non-binding referendum is merely used to gauge sentiment and is advisory. The government then interprets the results of non-binding referenda and may even (gasp!) choose to ignore them.

As far as a "war against nature," which is worse: slowly crawling through traffic to get from one end of town to the other, idling at a half dozen traffic lights for minutes at a time, enduring stop and go traffic (a proven pollution cause) or driving a fairly simple route through the city at a sedate pace while still saving time and fuel and possibly reducing the amount of net pollution? I don't know, but logic seems to dictate the latter is the lesser of two evils.

Let's not forget that the City of Peterborough has owned The Parkway lands for over 50 years for the express purpose of, you guessed it, building The Parkway - that's why they're called The Parkway lands and not the park lands. People who live along The Parkway lands knew there was the potential of a roadway being built next to their homes when they bought them - this shouldn't be a surprise or a revelation.

Mr. Vidler's comment about property owners next to Wal-Mart wanting to get market value for their homes is a point well taken. I was directly involved in the land negotiations for the new Wal-Mart and I can say, unequivocally, that each of those property owners was approached at the very beginning and asked if they would be willing to sell for market value plus a bonus for their time and trouble - all of them turned down repeated offers. No one bullied them, no one coerced them, no one misled them - they made informed choices of their own volition, so let's stop the Wal-Mart bashing on this front, shall we?

We need The Parkway to be completed. Now. It was a good idea 50 years ago, and it's still a good idea today. Let's get on with it.

I still don't have a problem with the government selling it's real estate assets. If it makes economic sense to sell and will save the taxpayer some money, then I say it's worthwhile.  What really chaps my $%^ is the way in which this is being handled.

Not only have they engaged banks, rather than REALTORS to "handle" the sales, but they are trying to keep the details "confidential".  Sorry, that's not the way it works.  I've been doing this kind or work for a decade, and if you want to maximize return, then you need to expose an investment property to the greatest audience of potential buyers possible.  That means using MLS and the professionalism of trained Commercial REALTORs.  

Link to globeandmail.com: Ottawa's real estate targets exceed market appraisals

I am absolutely livid about this one. The federal government appears to be breaking the law in a bid to sell and leaseback several of its office buildings. This article from the Globe and Mail tells the tale.



What really irks me as a REALTOR is that the banks are not licensed real estate brokerages in Canada. Some of them do have brokerage arms, but it isn't clear in this case whether or not the banks in question do, or if they do, that they are using those brokerage divisions. What I see is a couple of banks giving real estate advice and offering brokerage services without a license.



There have long been unlicensed practitioners out there in commercial real estate - those of us in the trenches see them every day. That doesn't make it right; and the Canadian Government should not, under any circumstances be condoning this!



I will be contacting the regulating authorities about this and will post back if I get anywhere.





Technorati Tags: commercial real estate, canada, government, illegal

I just came across this great article about a local company that has won a very prestigious contract to provide prefabricated log homes to a resort company in Cornwall, England.

My in-laws live in Bobcaygeon, and I've been by the Confederation Log Homes plant on Cty Rd 36 many times. While I'm not really a fan of log homes myself, they are an environmentally friendly and efficient alternative. I am always amazed at how much home grown talent we have access to, right here in our region.

Our new Hotsheet is up for viewing. Please feel free to take a look and see what's going on in the Greater Peterborough commercial real estate market.

We have some exciting new listings and are looking for a lot of different properties on behalf of buyers.

If you'd like to receive an email notification when the Hotsheet is updated, please email me and ask to subscribe.

Thanks for dropping by.

canada.com

This story on canada.com is worth a read. Everyone should be talking to their MP about the necessity of changing how investment properties are taxed at the time of sale. I know from my own commercial real estate practice (this happened to me today!), that there are sellers out there sitting on millions of dollars in real estate that they can't 'afford' to sell because of the tax implications. Imagine owning a retail plaza worth about $15.5M and being unable to sell it because your accountant has advised you that you will be immediately liable for a $6M tax bill!

Let's do the math: for a building to be worth $15.5M, it should be earning about $1,300,000 per year in net income if we apply a capitalization rate of somewhere between 8% and 8.5%. If we take $15,500,000 and subtract $6,000,000 we're left with $9,500,000 (without considering brokerage fees, legal fees and closing costs). If we go back to marekt with that money and reinvest at similar rates of return, you'll soon realize that you just took a rather large haircut - to the tune of about $500,000 per year in income!.

So where is the incentive to sell and reinvest and thereby stimulate the economy?

Our government needs to take a long hard look at this because, in the long run, more money will be made from the spin-off of reinvestment, like renovations and remodelling, than will be lost in initial tax deferrals.

Developers see dollar signs behind green ratings

Big companies will pay a premium for eco-sensitive buildings, LORI MAYNE writes

globeandmail.com: Developers see dollar signs behind green ratings

This story in the Globe caught my attention as it's becoming more and more fashionable, and smart, to build green buildings. While these projects are only a drop in the bucket compared to the total amount of office construction going on right now across Canada, it is encouraging to see some of the biggest developers finally realize the returns that can be realized on green construction and systems implementation.

While it may cost more to build this way, the long term return on investment in terms of lower maintenance costs and lower energy costs will be felt for decades. Kudos to these visionaries.