We’ve seen every jurisdiction across the country allow the residential construction industry to basically do what they want, and the so-called warranty insurance programs meant to protect consumers are a complete farce with more emphasis on avoiding liability than building a safe, high quality building.

After tens of thousands of families were plundered by the leaky condo disaster in BC (and many more still will be), it’s already beginning to look like we’ll be having another wave of victims.

Since we now know there are safety issues, who is liable when glass panels fall to the street as happened recently from a Montreal high-rise, and Toronto several times already?

Glass Condos: Joel Kimmel

Do you think the 2-5-10 warranty insurance program covers it in B.C.? Not a chance!

So how exactly should a well-designed glazed curtainwall perform, what is the minimum standard acceptable by our Building Codes, and what does the warranty cover in BC?

Glass condos are a big deal and an issue we’ll be hearing much more about in the future.

First off they are poor energy performers, which by itself could prove expensive in the longer term as energy costs skyrocket. In Metro Vancouver it is not as bad as in Toronto because of the warmer weather (less expansion-contraction), but it is still not a good idea.

Secondly, we can anticipate there will be major $ spent on resealing these buildings and replacing glass as the seals and insulation fail over time.

For instance, one building in Coal Harbour has a curvilinear curtainwall (looks like a sail). The glass pieces are individually cut and the cost to replace 1 piece is estimated at $10K  (cost to manufacture the specialty piece and use a crane to install it because the piece is about 10ft tall x 5ft wide).

What will this do for the resale value, and for future demand?

Owners will have to estimate the life expectancy of the glass and the replacement costs, and then accumulate the capital funds to cover it. This is what the Depreciation Reporting legislation just introduced in B.C. in December 2011 requires. What is this going to mean for the monthly condo fees?

For some additional reading, Letting go of longing for light, is an interesting 2009 Toronto Star article by Christopher Hume, covering this topic. Also, a fairly recent CBC report: Throw-away buildings: Toronto’s glass condos

This unique real estate seminar will provide you with insights to avoid pitfalls as a buyer, and ways to protect yourself. Buying or selling real estate is a big decision and the more informed you are, the more successful the process. This is an opportunity to meet with a team of professionals to learn some helpful tips and to ask questions.

A mortgage broker, a REALTOR®, a lawyer and a financial planner in the same room at the same time, offering a public service seminar, and answering all of your questions about purchasing real estate.

Register today to reserve your seat at this FREE Seminar.

Call: 604.813.8402 or email: intouch@telus.net

7:00-9:00pm – Wednesday, March 7th.

Douglas College – 1250 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam, Rm C1004

Mortgage Broker: Explains some of the different financing options available, the impact of credit history, and how to qualify for your mortgage. Pauline Tonkin is a fully licensed broker, a member of the Mortgage Brokers Association of BC and the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals.

Lawyer: Talks about common misconceptions and clarifies some of the legal aspects of purchasing real estate.  Laura Holland, B.Comm/LL.B. is a partner at Drysdale Bacon & McStravick with 15 years experience in residential real estate and investing in real estate.

Financial Planner: Shares ways to structure your finances in an efficient manner to save on taxes when purchasing real estate. David Perkins, CFP has 16 years in the financial planning field. Purchasing or selling real estate is of particular interest to David as these activities can allow you to restructure your finances to pay less tax.

REALTOR®: Discusses the importance of buyer due diligence in the residential real estate market and touches on some of the risks and issues, with examples. John Grasty, ABR, SRES, is known for his advocacy on behalf of homeowners, and as a Tri-Cities based REALTOR® his expertise is valued and respected, and his opinion widely sought after.

By December 1st we had returned squarely into a balanced market with just over 14,000 listings available.

We start the New Year with just over 10,400 listings on MLS as at January 1st; overnight more than 1,600 listings had expired.

Initially in 2012 there will be a shortage of listings (similar to the past few years at this time), but many of those expired listings will gradually return to the market over the next few weeks and months. Hopefully the reasons so many homes failed to sell (primarily overpricing-unrealistic expectations) on the first attempt are addressed when they are re-listed.

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (Surrey, White Rock, Abbotsford, Mission, etc) experienced the same phenomenon with over 6,800 active listings on December 31, 2011, and overnight dropping to only 5,907 listings available on January 1, 2012.

All these figures represent mainly resales using the MLS (and exclude new home sales and for-sale-by-owner), which is about 70% of the market.

As we share salutations and best wishes for 2012, there is much contemplation both professionally and personally.

Professionally, I’d like to offer you my expertise should you be considering entering the real estate market this year in the Tri-Cities and surrounding areas. I’d also invite you to the next real estate seminar (no cost, or sales pitch) on January 24th. Give me a call if I can be of help: 778-878-0778.

On a personal level I wish all of my friends and acquaintances the very best for the coming year.

My first impressions are all positive and why I felt compelled to post this.

As I walk around Moody Centre (my neighbourhood), it’s always nice to see something that will help to revitalize the area because there have been far too many failed attempts.

The latest incarnation of the historic Hotel Burrard has retained the original Tudor Style, which helped establish it as such a prominent Port Moody landmark.

The completely reconfigured interior shares complimentary elements to the Tudor style and masterfully revives the 1930’s roadhouse to make it more meaningful in a modern way.

After 14 years of ownership, acting upon their own vision, and complying with heritage and sustainable guidelines, publicans, Anna, Damir, Darlene and Luka, has shown us what the future for Downtown Port Moody can look like.

Lori is back to serve the returning clientele, and Chef Andy, formerly of the Steamworks in Gastown, bolsters dining to a full gastropub experience.

The popular Shepherd’s Pie and Salmon Flatbread is delivered in a sustainable way with the freshness of local foods and ingredients, and all dressings and sauces are made from scratch.

Sharing an appetizing flash fried Calamari, crispy Jalapenos, and Tzatziki starter, was a delicious introduction, which was followed by a tasty Mesclun and Arugula Salad with Strawberries, Avocado, grilled Prawns, Quinoa and Balsamic Vinaigrette.

When you discover the extent of your drink choices you’ll also be pleasantly surprised.

In addition to the traditional beers, wines and spirits you’ll find in any pub, at The Burrard you can now choose from the 12 beers on tap, including 5 craft beers, or for the sommelier, 12 fine wines consistently dispensed at the correct temperature.

I savoured the rich bodied dark Angry Scotch Ale (from Surrey’s, Russell Brewing Company) and since I was walking home, decided without hesitation to have another. ☺ Yummy!

Btw, menu items and drinks even cater to requirements of Gluten-free☺

There were no start-up kinks to work out, and for me, the overall experience was all a big “LIKE!”

Real estate has evolved, but fortunately for future homeowners, there’s a better way to approach real estate than relying on much of the incomplete or misinformation found on the Internet. Buyers looking for an upper hand should always prepare themselves.

Join local REALTOR® and Homeowner Advocate, John Grasty, ABR, SRES, at this popular Buyer Beware seminar, and learn from an expert about the latest issues in today’s real estate market.

Date / Time: Tuesday Jan 24 2012, 7-8:45pm – followed by Q & A if you want to stick around:)

Location: Douglas College – David Lam Campus

Address: 1250 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam, BC

Registration: You can register by email, or by cell phone: 778.878.0778 – “I’d enjoy meeting you and will be available after to answer all of your questions.”

Cost: …this is a public service (no cost) seminar

With all the responsibilities of buying and selling real estate, the need for risk management is crucial.  Risk goes hand in hand with confidence, so I say to those who don’t take steps to protect their interests, “Let the buyer beware”.

While this page only has 60 or so people talking, beyond the traditional methods of engagement (e.g. All Candidates Meetings, mailings, signs, etc), it was a gift to candidates, to express their concerns, to get their views and solutions out there, and differentiate themselves from each other, including the incumbents.

Most of the new candidates are at a huge disadvantage because they don’t have the name recognition of incumbents.

At the first All Candidates meeting there was an inordinate amount of time spent by candidates letting us know about their Port Moody roots.

As you are aware the city is hiring a new manager. Do you think it is important how long the new manager has lived in Port Moody?

No, of course not, because we want the best person available and that means looking for experience beyond the borders of Port Moody. So why was it important for you to keep telling voters how long you and your ancestors have been here? It isn’t.

Few were up to the job of holding the incumbents accountable?

I saw one candidate in Coquitlam advertising a long list of committees served on (lots of activity), but little about what outcomes were achieved.

Activity is easy to report; after all, anyone can attend meetings or events.

It’s the results clearly demonstrating effectiveness that should count.

Several of the candidates spoke about a longer-range vision but have failed to get into specifics. This is the same with most of the issues.  At the Pleasantside All Candidates Meeting I heard one of the new candidates broadly state that he thought the previous council had done a good job, but didn’t say how or what he was going to do better! What a complete waste of air-time. Others have become sign-busters and got involved in other side-shows, rather than remaining focused on the issues and their solutions.

Where is the differentiation of candidates?

The incumbents should shine in this area given the past opportunities they’ve already had, but there are gaping voids in real meaningful, achievements and results reported by some of them. Look closely.

I’ve been open about two candidates I’m supporting, Robert Simons for Mayor, and Gerry Nuttall for Council, and for this very reason; results. I should add that I’ve also had the opportunity to work directly with these two candidates on different committees so my decision is based on exceptional first-hand experiences.

If you’re still having difficulty deciding who to vote for, don’t be fooled by candidates with lists of positions held or committees served on; look for concrete results.

The Port Moody website says, “In accordance with the provincial Municipal Charter, Port Moody publishes an annual report.” Sure, but this reporting by Port Moody fails to provide the public with the measurement criteria (metrics) used to evaluate the objectives.

Instead of the public being able to review the City’s shortcomings in the annual report, a nice rosy picture is painted with a list of things done the past year and a broad list of things to do in the upcoming year.

Since 2004, section 98 of the Community Charter requires that certain information must be included in the report for public review. This includes the specific objectives and the metrics by which the City of Port Moody will be accountable.

Is it this lack of accountability that has raised the need for a discussion about having a Municipal Auditor General?

The Community Charter annual reporting requirements are clear.  By June 30th each year the city must provide citizens with the performance from the previous year and what is planned for the upcoming year, and not just a list of things to do and/or done.

Why is accountability to the taxpayer taking a back seat to the time and resources of City staff preparing award program entry forms for financial reporting recognition from the Government Finance Officers Association? Surely transparency is more important than recognition.

Perhaps it’s time for a wake-up call to whoever has been asleep at the wheel!

The director of planning addressed the concern at the meeting by stating that zoning and bylaws would need to be changed to put a halt to it spreading.

So when the topic of blocked views was raised a few years later at a council meeting by a delegation from the Barber Lane area, I was surprised to hear that zoning and bylaw issues had still not been addressed. At that meeting during the deliberations I remember Councillor Clay remarking words to the effect that when they started building monster homes in his neighbourhood (Moody Centre) nobody came to help him so why should council help the delegates.

At the Pleasantside All Candidates Meeting on Sunday evening we learned that council has still failed to fix the problem areas, which explains why several more monster homes have been allowed to sprout up throughout Moody Centre.

So it’s taken over four (4) years to hear on Sunday night that council is now reviewing these things.

Zoned out, or what?

When Bill Good asks, “What is it going to mean for business in the Tri-cities?” Michael summarizes Port Moody’s situation as, “there is many developments on hold just waiting for shovels to be put in the ground, and frankly the business community is just waiting to see construction start.”

Would this lead you to believe that there is something major going on that we don’t know about yet? Hmm!

Maybe a half-dozen or so hi-rise towers in the vicinity of the West Coast Express will be thrust upon us. Remember, the Province selected this site as ideal for an Evergreen Line station where no density exists; yet!

There was of course the economic development opportunities presented by a large group from western Moody Centre, homeowners, business owners and landowners, who proposed revitalization for the “Gateway” to Port Moody, which was sadly dismissed by their elected representatives; do you think council is contemplating the big flip-flop on this? Nah; wishful thinking!

Perhaps the visionary Hi-Tech Park project brought forward by Councillor Nuttall (and rejected by council) is going to be brought back to the table?

In 2005 Port Moody taxpayers funded an update of the Port Moody Economic Profile. It was used as a resource document for the aforementioned projects.

It’s sad that Port Moody Council sat on their hands, and failed to embrace this report which, “provides necessary background information to the community in formulating economic development policies and strategies.”

It was described as a, “…valuable source of information for economic development researchers, potential business investors, and anyone interested in the economy of Port Moody.” One would think that “anyone interested” would have included our elected council; after all, they would have requisitioned the report in the first place; right? Too bad!

Here we are two full council terms later.  So what has council done with this information, and what value did we taxpayers receive from the report?  The answer to this question probably accounts for why nobody representing the City of Port Moody was invited to be on the CKNW program to talk about economic development.

Our elected representatives have already had their chances, and lots of time, to show us what they can deliver, so any platform promises made by incumbent candidates for the upcoming elections need to be given as much credence as their individual track records on economic development; not much!

Often it seems like a race to see who can post first, somewhat like CNN breaking news. In fact if you observe closely at some functions (including council meetings) some politicians are busy posting on their smart devices (you can tell by the time of the posting) and really not paying attention to what is going on around them or what the speaker is saying.

Some might claim to be a multi-tasker, but for years neuroscientists have been debunking that myth because humans cannot context switch like computers. Put the word multi-tasker in your resume today and you probably won’t get the job (for an admitted lack of focus)! Also, the results of texting while driving are now irrefutable proof.

If you were to check out all of these postings, or photos, on your favourite social network you’d soon realize how time consuming this must be. With so much time taken up attending all of the various functions it makes me wonder where these social networking politicians find the time to read and absorb the reams of material for all of the meetings.

My participation at these social gatherings is infrequent so I don’t have much to post, but it’s always great to catch up with friends, and to occasionally meet new people. Heck, I do the periodic live post myself, and I’ve recently been checking out Foursquare, although I’m not yet sure why, and I really don’t aspire to be a networking “Social-lite” either:) If I tell you that I enjoyed the ambiance or a particular menu item at the local restaurant will you be paying attention, is it shallow of me, or do you even care?

Scoring the number of events or places attended, or connections made, would be like a politician scoring the number of committees chaired, positions held, or other affiliations; it’s pretty meaningless information so it’s difficult to understand what all of this social networking activity will result in, or even how to assess it.

The omnipresence of social networking leaves little doubt in my mind that these politicians must have their fingers on the pulse of public opinion (or their Crackberry), so I’m sure taxpayers must be reaping the benefits from all of this somehow; but how?

A multitude of reports have been rendered and a body of public input has been collected at city hall, but there has been a long gap in actually delivering a viable vision for Port Moody.

About 15 years ago, “Residents for a Better Port Moody”, an offline group, successfully campaigned to change the course of Port Moody.

Today, I’d personally like to see a similar grassroots group on a Facebook forum perhaps, having a meaningful interaction to get below the surface of the one-off project mode (recreation centre, firehall, etc.), and then having publicly run “Meetup’s”, versus the traditional town halls or public hearings, towards a vision.

During these municipal elections it’s really great to see that a few candidates have already started to share and explain their visions online, albeit in smaller groups, but we need to hear and see much more of this; it’s been missing.

Reliance on the news media to become informed, or an All Candidates Meeting, is simply not sufficient either, and especially for new candidates, some of whom I suspect might well be better qualified than incumbents, but don’t have the name recognition.

Please share your thoughts.