Frivolously opining in Hamilton

Hamilton Bungalows for Sale

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 04:45:32 -0700

Bungalows

It's raining bungalows in my listing portfolio

Here are the listings I have now

5 Connor Court

Rosedale Bungalow

$274,900

Owner occupied for over forty years this beautiful and spacious bungalow is lovingly maintained. Side door leads to a spacious landing, ideal if lower level use is for in laws or a rental.

Upstairs are three large bedrooms, living room, kitchen and dinette. Mostly hardwood floors. Lovely yard. Tucked in at the far end of Rosedale, on a small court, steps to King's Forest, minutes to Red Hill Valley Expressway.

**********************

Red Hill Expressway

140 Taylor Avenue

$267,000

3 Bedroom Bungalow Plus Complete one Bedroom Apartment on Lower Level

Ideal for in-laws or perhaps a rental

or getting rid of the teens......

new kitchen, furnace, central air conditioner

hardwood floors on main floor

gorgeous one bedroom, new bath and rec room in basement

shows beautifully !!!!

***************************

Stoney Creek Bungalow for Sale

Olde Stoney Creek

3 bedroom beauty with finished basement

$264,900

Hardwood and tile, main level family room with fireplace

B i a n c a M a r i j a n

Realtor*

bmarijan@sutton.com 905 575 7070 www.besthamiltonrealestate.com

How much is List of Hamilton Find a Home

your home worth? Must sells !!! Newest Listings!!

Selling, Living and Loving Hamilton

New Listing! Resort Yard and One of a Kind Home!

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 18:20:50 -0700

Just listed this unique home!!

10 Venus Court

Hamilton

$459,900

gym

elegant foyer

family room with fireplace and bar

sunken living room, hardwood floors, great windows and view

diningroom with hardwood floors

upgraded kitchen, granite counters

master bedroom with ensuite

all doors lead to resort like yard

four bedrooms

two car garage

interlocking driveway

B i a n c a M a r i j a n

Realtor*

bmarijan@sutton.com 905 575 7070 www.besthamiltonrealestate.com

How much is List of Hamilton Find a Home

your home worth? Must sells !!! Newest Listings!!

Selling, Living and Loving Hamilton

West Harbour Bayfront Beach Boulevard Neighbourhoods and Real Estate

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 14:07:29 -0700

Hamilton Waterfront

Bayfront West Harbour and Beach Boulevard

Hamiltonians love their waterfront and they don't miss an opportunity to get "down" there and enjoy a day of ice cream, go cart racing, walking, people watching and the best fries in Hamilton at Hutche's.

The waterfront is divided in two areas; The West Harbour in the West end of the City and Beach Boulevard in the East End of the City

Williams Cafe at the West Harbour

Reached by minutes from anny point in Hamilton, the waterfront has something for everyone willing to unplug the electronics and leave the Blackberry at home.

Sailing lessons, roller- blading, jogging, walking, swimming and daydreaming, it's all here.

The Real Estate West Harbour

This area is just coming up, it was home to Italian and Portuguese immigrants at the beginning of the century, now it's gone hip or cool or whatever the word du jour is.

Waterfront is really limited and impossible to come by but homes a few blocks in are lovely. Starting price is around 140K and can go significantly higher.

As the neighbourhood is in a Renaissance, some home require modernization, which a lot of people have taken on.

These are the homes on the market now

Real Estate Beach Bolevard

Homes here are amazing but buying one is a waiting game. Prices have spiked considerably over the last few years but deals and fixer uppers can still be found. Waterfront is several kilometers long. One town house development has been completed and another is in the works.

Prices start at around 300K and go up, and up!!

To view homes currently on the market on Beach Boluevard, click here

The video below will take you on a walk along the lakefront in Hamilton

B i a n c a M a r i j a n

Realtor*

bmarijan@sutton.com 905 575 7070 www.besthamiltonrealestate.com

How much is List of Hamilton Find a Home

your home worth? Must sells !!! Newest Listings!!

Selling, Living and Loving Hamilton

Hamilton Corktown Neighbourhood and Real Estate

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 12:54:36 -0700

Corktown

The history of Irish migration to British North America in the nineteenth-century has centered predominantly on those immigrants who were exiled from Ireland after the Great Famine, 1845-1850.

However, a significant number of Irishmen, both Protestant and Catholic, arrived in Canada as immigrants by choice in the years leading up to the Great Hunger.

Their immigration were often part of family economic strategies and, as such, they arrived in North America with a greater capability for early success.

Irish-Canadian historiography, moreover, has focused primarily on rural settlement, by far the most common choice of Irish migrants in the Canadas.

Yet, a significant number of Irishmen did settle in the growing urban centres of nineteenth-century Canada.

The Real Estate

Conveniently located, steps to the Go Station and Public Transportation, Corktown is a commuter's dream.

The neighbouhood is dotted with semi-detached homes, larger detached homes and condos. Most condos were built in the 1960's with the exception of Chateau Royale, a hip condo building on James South, with great units and tons of amenities.

Homes start at around 200K+-.

Here is what is on the market now

The area is full of cafes, patios, restaurants and pubs.

Merchants on James Street South

Corktown Neighbourhood Association

Best Beer and Best Live Music In Hamilton

Legendary Corktown Tavern

The video below will take you on a nice stroll through Corktown

Contact me to find your home in Corktown

B i a n c a M a r i j a n

Realtor*

bmarijan@sutton.com 905 575 7070 www.besthamiltonrealestate.com

How much is List of Hamilton Find a Home

your home worth? Must sells !!! Newest Listings!!

Selling, Living and Loving Hamilton

Jamesville/ James Street North Neighbourhood and Real Estate

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 12:00:40 -0700

James Street North

I've been selling real estate in Hamilton for about 24 years and I know it inside an out. If this career fails, I KNOW I would be an asset to a taxi company. I spend a lot of time out and about and one of my favorite spots to stop and chill for a minute or two is James Street North.

James Street was Hamilton's little Italy or Little Portugal and you can see influences everywhere, in the gardens of nearby homes, the fish shops and grocery stores to the restaurants.

I seldom miss the Art Crawl, held second Friday of the month.

The street closes down, galleries open their doors late into the night, the atmosphere is just so electric, it reminds me of New York's West Village.

James North Art Collective

Hamilton Artists Inc.

I usually go to the Mulberry Street cafe for the best grilled cheese sandwich in Hamilton and a cappuccino, sit on the patio and regroup.

Acclamation has great lamb and the Wild Orchid has always been a special spot for my husband and me, we go there to plan, plot and patch up after disagreements.

Ventura's is for special occasions.

James Street North Real Estate

The area is quirky and artsy, influenced by the early immigrants from Europe, namely Portuguese, Italian and South Americans. Home prices range from 200k upward to 300K+.

It's now the hub of the art scene with galleries and boutiques, restaurants and cafes.

Even the Art Gallery of Hamilton has got on board and is opening a store on the street

The area is home to many galleries and is an art lovers heaven. Stoll to galleries, to great restaurants, cafes and live a life just a little more relaxed.

Walk to the West Harbour, hike, bike, canoe and fish on the lake.

Search James Street North Real Estate

The video below will take you on a nice walk throught the area

Contact me to find you a James Street North Home

B i a n c a M a r i j a n

Realtor*

bmarijan@sutton.com 905 575 7070 www.besthamiltonrealestate.com

How much is List of Hamilton Find a Home

your home worth? Must sells !!! Newest Listings!!

Selling, Living and Loving Hamilton

Locke Street, Hamilton, Real Estate and Neighbourhood

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 11:23:00 -0700

Locke Street Neighbourhood

Love this street and the neighbourhood. I used to work at a Remax nearby and real estate agents would congregate at the West Town to have a cocktail or two and exchange stories and info on new listings.

The vibrant Locke Street has evolved over the past decade and now offers somethings for everyone and every palette.

Antique stores, delis, restaurants, a great pizzeria.

Bread Bar, Locke Street Bakery, a cheese boutique, chocolate boutique, upscale clothing stores.

A fabulous consignment shop where you can pick up designer duds for a song, interior decor-- the street is full of great shops offering unique stuff.

Lot of beauty salons and places to get pampered.

Locke Street Merchants Directory

Searach Listings in the Locke Street Area

The area is defined by the Queen/Dundurn/Main/ Escarpment Rectangle

Locke Street Festival September 8 2012

The Real Estate

Homes in this area are plain spectacular. Mansions abound, with character and charisma of the 20's and 30's, when most were constructed. Homes start at around 300K and go upwards of 700K.

Not much comes on the market and when it does, it's gone fast.

Walk the Bruce Trail, bike to the Harbour, stroll on Locke, saunter over to Hess Village, walk to down town, everything is nearby.

Excellent schools, University and College within minutes, recreation area and lots of parks.

Proximity to #403 access makes this area ideal for those commuting to jobs out of town.

Lots of kids, nannies, yummy mommies, intellectual types and 60's hippies to be spotted.

Find a home in the Locke Street Area

The video below is a nice walk through the neighbourhood and a peek at the gorgeous homes in the area

Contact me to find you a home in this neighbourhood

B i a n c a M a r i j a n

Realtor*

bmarijan@sutton.com 905 575 7070 www.besthamiltonrealestate.com

How much is List of Hamilton Find a Home

your home worth? Must sells !!! Newest Listings!!

Selling, Living and Loving Hamilton

Hamilton St Clair Neighbourhood and Real Estate Listings

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 10:15:35 -0700

This leafy neighbourhood is anchored by the beautiful St.Clair Boulevard.

The parcel of land on which the Boulevard was built was owned by the Rutherfords, whose house on the corner of St. Clair and Delaware was razed to complete the construction of the Boulevard.

Construction started in 1913 and was completed before 1930.

This is no subdivision of today, each home is architecturally unique.

Real Estate

Homes here can be as low as $200,000 a few blocks from the Boulevard and as high as 500K on the Boulevard and anything in between.

Young families, professionals, creative types and GTA migrants love this area for it's architectural diversity, broad streets with mature trees and quiet community feel.

Click for Amazing Properties on the Market in the St. Clair Area

From sprawling manors

gorgeous Tudors, this area has it all.

Defined by the Escarpment on the South and Main or King Streets on the North

Click for Listings in the St.Clair Neighbourhood

Map of Hamilton Neighbourhoods, Boundries and Names

The video below is a nice walk through the area

B i a n c a M a r i j a n

Realtor*

bmarijan@sutton.com 905 575 7070 www.besthamiltonrealestate.com

How much is List of Hamilton Find a Home

your home worth? Must sells !!! Newest Listings!!

Selling, Living and Loving Hamilton

Gage Park

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 09:15:12 -0700

Gage Park, Park, Area and Real Estate

Since 1922, the City of Hamilton’s Gage Park has provided Hamiltonians with a rich mixture of open space, play fields, gardens and tree-lined paths that cover over 30 hectares of green space at the foot of the Niagara Escarpment.

Located east of the downtown core at Main Street East and Gage Avenue South, Gage Park serves both its surrounding downtown community as well as plays host to citywide special events that draw people from beyond Hamilton’s borders.

Gage Park has two playgrounds (one is wheelchair accessible), a bandshell, greenhouses, gardens, spray pad, wading pool, the Children's Museum where there is a creative play structure with spring toys and swings, and the beautiful Gage Park Fountain.

Here are just some of the things to do in the park.

It's Your Festival

Gage Park Greenhouse

Turkish Festival

Gage Park Kids Museum

Gage Park is a beautiful mid city park, offering quiet and respite for our busy lives.

Search Gage Park Listing For Sale

Gage Avenue and Upper Gage Avenue are named after the park of the same name whose western border is bounded by Gage Avenue.

The park was on lands sold by Robert Russel Gage, a descendent of William Gage and named in honour of the Gage families that descended from James Gage, a lumber merchant and his uncle William Gage, a farmer.

Together James and William had farms that were the site of the Battle of Stoney Creek during the War of 1812.

The wounded were treated inside their homes and they were both awarded compensation for it by the government.

Originally Gage Avenue was called Trolley Street.

Love this photo, it's glorious!

Hamilton Gage Park Area Real Estate

I've worked in the area for over twenty years and love selling homes in this enclave.

The homes are on generous lots, the streets are shady with mature trees, the neighbourhood offers a lot of nearby amenities, one of which is the up and coming artsy Ottawa Street and the Center Mall.

The homes are spacious, some are manors, there is not too many multi family conversions so the area has that community feel.

Most of the homes have beautiful detailing dating to time of construction, beginning of the 20th century, charm and history.

Prices in this area are still reasonable and significantly less than the South West.

Click on any link to see what's on the market now!!

New Listings In your In Box-Register Now

Click to see homes currently on the Market in the Gage Park Area

The video below is Gage Park Area and Real Estate in the winter

B i a n c a M a r i j a n

Realtor*

bmarijan@sutton.com 905 575 7070 www.besthamiltonrealestate.com

How much is List of Hamilton Find a Home

your home worth? Must sells !!! Newest Listings!!

Selling, Living and Loving Hamilton

Ottawa Street Real Estate in the East and Central Hamilton

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 08:15:43 -0700

Ottawa Street The Garment District

My parents immigrated to Hamilton in the 70's, a wave of young working class families fleeing various restricting regimes in Eastern Europe. We settled in our first house in the Ottawa Street Neighbourhood, a massive duplex with two-2 bedroom units, each with a dining room and a living room.

Ottawa Street was the place where everyone went to shop, eat, socialize, to see and be seen.

It was full of ethnic delis, garment shops, travel agencies taking people back to the old country for vacations, newspaper stands, banks that actually provided customer service (yes kids, it was long ago and far away) and merchants that knew your name or maybe even your mother tongue.

Tim Horton, a hockey player for anyone who just landed from Mars, and Ron Joyce, whose autobiography "Always Fresh" really took me back to my childhood, opened the first Tim Hortons in Canada on the corner of Ottawa and Campbell opened in May 1964.

My father was offered a franchise some years later and I do remember he thought it was the most ludicrous idea he had ever heard. "Who in their right mind was going to pay for a cup of coffee when they can have one at home for free"

Properties for sale in the Ottawa Street Neighbourhood

Ottawa Street's demise started with the "let's go to the mall" culture of the 80's and 90's but it's comeback has been remarkable. Guided by the local BIA it has revamped, re branded and reinvented itself as a neighbourhood/community street.

Commerical Real Estate for Sale on Ottawa Street

The Ottawa Street Farmer's Market selling local

produce, has relocated to one of the back lots of Ottawa

Street, after the construction of the "Center Mall" the

architectual travesty of box stores and pedestrian

unfriendly speedway layout.

Local farmers selling local produce, grown within an hours

drive.

Here is a list of vendors are the market

Stores on Ottawa Street

Earls Court Gallery has relocated from Locke Street some years ago and seems to be thriving.

Dunav Meat and Deli is owned by a friend of my dad's and a very generous contributor to various charities. This shop is a carnivore's dream come true. Located at #201, don't miss it on your stroll.

Adenda, an antique shop is owned by a friend of mine Vlado. Vlado used to throw the most amazing eccentric parties ever, back in the day when I could actually stay up past eleven. His colorful resume includes a shop in Yorkdale, a re decoration of Estee Lauders apartment and a lot of film work.

If you're lucky, you may find a fainting couch or an armoir used on a major film production waiting just for you

A craving for Italian?

Limoncello You can't miss it, is a beautiful restaurant with great food and great service. I have snuck away from the grind to enjoy a White Russian, or two, on the quaint patio on several occasions.

Ottawa Street Merchant Directory

Ottawa Street Real Estate

Homes Range from as low as around $100,000 and push upwards of 200K North of Main Street and towards 250K on the South side.

This neighbourhood is up and coming and buying a home can mean a mortgage payment as low as 600 dollars a month.

Click link below to see properties for sale in the area, then call me to view!!!!

Properties for sale in the Ottawa Street Neighbourhood

The video is a glimpse into this beautiful neighbourhood

B i a n c a M a r i j a n

Realtor*

bmarijan@sutton.com 905 575 7070 www.besthamiltonrealestate.com

How much is List of Hamilton Find a Home

your home worth? Must sells !!! Newest Listings!!

Selling, Living and Loving Hamilton

Changes to lending policies a good thing

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 08:17:24 -0700

Friday, 22 June 2012, 10:54:34 AM

Mortgage lending, practices and guidelines have tightened once again.

Major changes are;

1/No more amortization periods of 30 years, max 25 yrs.

This I completely agree with, because if your goal is not to pay the mortgage off in a reasonable amount of time, you might as well be renting. A few years ago I had clients actually buy a home they could not afford by any stretch of the imagination and then amortize the mortgage over FORTY YEARS. This is financial Hara-Kiri. It’s keeping up the Joneses but the Joneses don’t even know who you are.

2. Refinancing restricted to 80% of value of your home, instead of 85%.

The beauty of living in a nanny state is that they fully recognize if most of us go belly up and end up on the dole, they will have to work harder to sustain us. These are preliminary steps to preserve equity people have in their homes. It’s kind of like your mom withholding your allowance but depositing it in your saving account.

This will likely start a domino effect of consumer debt defaults. People, over financed and unable to roll their 28% interest credit cards into their homes, will simply default on them. Their credit score will go down, but most are prepared for that and frankly don’t give a damn.

Sounds also like the government is stopping the pathetic pandering the The Big Five by letting them take some hits on bad loans. Don’t weep for them, though, after 115 Billion bailout, I’m sure they’re doing fine. And if they’re not (RBC downgraded) there is always another bail out on the horizon, compliments of the working class.

Check out salaries of CEO’s.

3. No more CMHC insurance for purchases over one million.

Hmmmm. That’s a weird one. Why? Can’t decipher if they are a high risk or not. Mortgage Default Statistics are amazingly difficult to find, like they are shrouded in secrecy. Any thoughts?

4.GDS and TDS ratios get reworked.

Gross Debt Service Ratio (a percentage of your income that is used for mortgage property taxes and utilities is brought down to 39%. This means you “qualify” for less of a mortgage but as far as I’m concerned, it’s a good thing.

Total Debt Service is the percentage of your income used to service all your debt and obligations. Now reduced to 44%. Overall, this means we will be able to borrow less. Money is drying up as the government knew of RBC”S downgrading announced just yesterday and the probably that another bail out for the giant will be needed. If you could not make money as a bank in the past decade you should be tarred and feathered in a public square.

"It will mean that some people will not buy into the market, it will also mean that some people will buy less into the market, they'll buy a less expensive home or less expensive condominium.” Says Flaherty

I'm starting to like this guy!

B i a n c a M a r i j a n

Realtor*

bmarijan@sutton.com 905 575 7070 www.besthamiltonrealestate.com

How much is List of Hamilton Find a Home

your home worth? Must sells !!! Newest Listings!!

Selling, Living and Loving Hamilton

Most expensive real estate listed on MLS

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 05:28:33 -0700

Canada’s most expensive homes listed on the MLS market

ahhh the lives of the rich ---and richer.

a little tidbit might surprise you and lead to a whole lotta conclusions.

Canada has ONLY 125,000 millionairs, so its not a big club and it's not a far fetched club to get into.

All you have to do is get started with some Hamilton Investment Properties

to search Hamilton Real Estate Investment Opportunities

click here

12. Vancouver: $18.9 Million

4798 Drummond, Vancouver: Located in Vancouver's posh Point Grey neighbourhood, this house features 15,000 square feet of living space across eight bedrooms, a circular driveway, fountain and gazebo.

11. Toronto: $18.9 Million

75 Highland Crescent, Toronto: This house boasts "breathtaking views of the city skyline." There are four bedrooms and six bathrooms in this "smart home" that features "Porsche design" entry systems, security cameras, a power entry gate and a car elevator

10. Oakville, Ont.:

$18.9 Million

2100 Lakeshore East, Oakville: This six-bedroom house sits on the shores of Lake Ontario in Oakville, near Toronto. Situated on 3.2 acres, it has 185 feet of waterfront and a boat house

9. Austin, Quebec: $18.9 Million

105 Chemin Fisher, Austin: The realtor selling this property suggests you may want to build a heliport to get to this 200-acre estate located in a secluded corner of Quebec's eastern townships. There are several houses on this site, the main one being built in 1927. Another building is described as a "three-season chalet" and is located next to the 120-foot dock on Lake Mephramagog

8. Caledon, Ont.: $19 Million

17485 McLaren Rd., Caledon, Ont.: No fewer than ten bedrooms and seventeen bathrooms in this house in Toronto's cottage country. The terrain features ravines, ponds and rolling farmland. Not to mention a spa, tennis court, pool room and a hobby workshop

7. Toronto: $19.5 Million

346 Riverview, Toronto: Located in Toronto's prestigious Rosedale district, this six-bedroom, 11-bathroom house sits on a one-acre lot. Fourteen-foot ceilings, a wine cellar and an orangerie are among the features to be found here.

6. Vancouver: $19.8 Million

4880 Drummond, Vancouver: Yet another house in Vancouver's Point Grey neighbourhood has made this list, this time a 9,000-square-foot mansion featuring seven bedrooms and bathrooms, and a four-car garage

5. Vancouver: $19.9 Million

5771 Newton, Vancouver: There aren't too many private homes to be found on the splendidly isolated grounds of the University of British Columbia, but this property near Northwest Marine Drive is one. Seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms in this 12,000-square-foot home

4. Toronto: $28 Million

1400-155 Cumberland, Toronto: This condo in Toronto's Yorkville district (the heart of the film festival) is monstrous by apartment standards: 10,000 square feet on two floors. Four bedrooms, five baths and "breathtaking views

3. Vancouver: $28.8 Million

PH01-1011 West Cordova, Vancouver: This condo may well be located in the most prestigious apartment building in Canada -- no other building has had units featured in HuffPost's "most expensive" lists quite as often as 1011 West Cordova, also known as The Fairmont Pacific Rim

2. Vancouver: $31.9 Million

3390 The Crescent, Vancouver: Villa Russe, as this estate is known, is located in Vancouver's Shaugnessy Heights and features six bedrooms (the master bedroom has three dressing rooms), five fireplaces and eight bathrooms.

1. Vancouver: $34 Million

This house on a peninsula in ritzy West Vancouver features four bedrooms and six baths over 9,000 square feet -- spacious indeed

B i a n c a M a r i j a n

Realtor*

bmarijan@sutton.com 905 575 7070 www.besthamiltonrealestate.com

How much is List of Hamilton Find a Home

your home worth? Must sells !!! Newest Listings!!

Selling, Living and Loving Hamilton

New Hamilton Real Estate Condo Projects

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 05:11:31 -0700

Hamilton Real Estate Condo Projects

Take a look at condo projects down town, in some stage of development.

There is about nine in the works, and they are bringing a new look to the core and a new style of living to Hamiltonians.

_____________________________________________

150 Main Street West Condos and Commerical

Phase 1 will have 135 condo units.

Phase 2 will have 277 units . A third phase with 275 units at 20 George St. is in the design stage.

The project is expected to create 687 condo units over the next three years.

_____________________________________

Acclamation Lofts 185 James St. N

60 units to 185 James St. N., planned to open in 2014.

Condo units will range from 700-square-foot to 2,500-square-foot penthouses

_____________________________________________

City Square 1 and 2 on the former Thistle Club

175 units, with a third phase in the planning stages.

Park/Charlton West/ Robinson

___________________________________________

Hamilton Grand

90 units plus office and retail space at 64 Main Street East @ John

______________________________

Homewood Suites King and Bay

182 Rooms and Suites

Convention Center

17 floors

________________________________________

Stinson School Lofts (71 units) is at 200 Stinson St.

______________________________

Urban West Condos

33 units at 427 Aberdeen Ave.

_________________________________________

Witton Lofts

James Street North/Murray Street W. 36 Suites

___________________________________

B i a n c a M a r i j a n

Realtor*

bmarijan@sutton.com 905 575 7070 www.besthamiltonrealestate.com

How much is List of Hamilton Find a Home

your home worth? Must sells !!! Newest Listings!!

Selling, Living and Loving Hamilton

I wish I was a flying Wallenda

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 20:03:57 -0700

I have a paralyzing fear of heights and seeing the viral video of grandma skydiving the other day made me nauseous.

I took a flying lesson last summer and almost passed out of fear. The guys at Spectrum in Burlington were fantastic but the plane scared the daylights out of me.

Spending the nite before reminiscing with a friend visiting from France with several glasses of vino did not help.

Fear just grips me and I can't shake it, however much I try to speak to the scared self, rationale is impossible to reach when heights are concerned.

The photos are amazing.

I just wish I had the nerve.

Or at least the nerve to have seen it for myself.

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.
Mark Twain

Nik Wallenda walked 1800 feet on a tight rope over roaring and misty Niagara Falls yesterday.

He is the seventh generation of daredevils, the Flying Wallendas.

His father Karl Wallenda, born in Germany in the 1920’s plummeted to his death doing a high wire walk in Puerto Rico in his seventies.

B i a n c a M a r i j a n

Realtor*

bmarijan@sutton.com 905 575 7070 www.besthamiltonrealestate.com

How much is List of Hamilton Find a Home

your home worth? Must sells !!! Newest Listings!!

Selling, Living and Loving Hamilton

Hamilton Real Estate Downtown Condo Projects

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 11:55:46 -0700

Hamilton Real Estate Condo Projects

Take a look at condo projects down town, in some stage of development.

There is about nine in the works, and they are bringing a new look to the core and a new style of living to Hamiltonians.

_____________________________________________

150 Main Street West Condos and Commerical

Phase 1 will have 135 condo units.

Phase 2 will have 277 units . A third phase with 275 units at 20 George St. is in the design stage.

The project is expected to create 687 condo units over the next three years.

_____________________________________

Acclamation Lofts 185 James St. N

60 units to 185 James St. N., planned to open in 2014.

Condo units will range from 700-square-foot to 2,500-square-foot penthouses

_____________________________________________

City Square 1 and 2 on the former Thistle Club

175 units, with a third phase in the planning stages.

Park/Charlton West/ Robinson

___________________________________________

Hamilton Grand

90 units plus office and retail space at 64 Main Street East @ John

______________________________

Homewood Suites King and Bay

182 Rooms and Suites

Convention Center

17 floors

________________________________________

Stinson School Lofts (71 units) is at 200 Stinson St.

______________________________

Urban West Condos

33 units at 427 Aberdeen Ave.

_________________________________________

Witton Lofts

James Street North/Murray Street W. 36 Suites

___________________________________

B i a n c a M a r i j a n

Realtor*

bmarijan@sutton.com 905 575 7070 www.besthamiltonrealestate.com

How much is List of Hamilton Find a Home

your home worth? Must sells !!! Newest Listings!!

Selling, Living and Loving Hamilton

Hamilton Real Estate Trends

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 07:39:59 -0700

Downtown making slow, sure gains

More businesses, more jobs, more people looking for a good restaurant

By Samantha Craggs, CBC News

Rosemary and Steve Marsh have moved Business Insurance Services from Burlington to the downtown core, one of the small signs officials point to that Hamilton's core is on the mend. (Samantha Craggs/CBC)

Steve and Rosemary Marsh weren't prepared for the attention they got when they moved their Business Insurance Services office from Burlington to downtown Hamilton.

They were located on Plains Road East. Three weeks ago, they moved to 231 Main St. W. The office only has four full-time employees, but the day after Steve Marsh signed the lease, Mayor Bob Bratina called him.

"I said, 'We're just a small business,' " Marsh recalled. "But people seem excited that we came from Burlington. Everyone seems to be going to Burlington. There are a lot of great reasons to come to Hamilton."

The Marshes represent what could be called a slow but sure revitalization of Hamilton's beleaguered downtown.

After a number of false starts, many say the trend is changing. Vacant buildings are filling up, there are more jobs and Hamiltonians are starting to feel better about the core.

The Downtown Business Improvement Association gained 35 new members in 2011. Since January, executive director Kathy Drewitt said, there have been about 10 more, so "this year will blow last year out of the water." The International Village Business Improvement Association gained 17 new members last year.

Downtown vacancy rate falling

There are at least nine condo development projects happening downtown, representing a combined 300 to 500 potential multi-residential housing starts in the coming years, a city report says. At the end of 2011, that development was worth $104,334,600 in construction value. There were 330 new jobs created downtown last year.

The downtown office vacancy rate is creeping downward. The core has a little over five million square feet of office space. In 2009, 15 per cent (771,220 square feet) of that was vacant, compared with 12 per cent (618,555 square feet) in 2011.

Also, the value of construction downtown in 2011 increased about one-third over the year before. In 2011, there was more than $18.2 million in construction compared to $13.5 million in construction the year before.

That number is overshadowed by the more than $100 million in construction in 2009, but city figures show that was buoyed byseveral public-sector projects, including renovations to City Hall and the Lister Block.

But there's an element that's harder to measure — attitude. People are speaking fondly of the core and "there's an attitude change you can hear in people's voices,"said Richard Allen, director of the Renew Hamilton project.

"Change happens in small, incremental bites," Allen said. "If we can accept that, we'll see that we're turning a corner."

There are skeptics, said Neil Everson, Hamilton's director of economic development.

"You're always going to get people who see the glass as half empty, but there's a real buzz about the downtown core."

That's how the Marshes see it. Steve is a Hamilton native and former board member for the Burlington Economic Development Corporation. When he looked for new office space, the Hamilton office was the second place he saw.

"I don't know how you feel about Hamilton," his realtor said, "but I want to show you this place."

Hamilton is cheaper, said Steve. And Burlington lacked the right size space for their small operation.

"It was a big deal for us to make the move,"Rosemary said, "but it was blatantly the right decision."

McMaster bringing doctors, patients

Another victory for downtown is the McMaster Downtown Health Campus. The project will be located on the current site of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board education centre at 100 Main St. W.

Work will start later this year on the $85-million project, scheduled to open in 2014.The city issued a demolition permit last week for the school board building, erected in 1966.

The board's plan has been to move operations to its Crestwood location on the Mountain. But the board and the city have formed a joint task force to study ways to keep the board downtown, including the 250 employees who currently work at the Main Street centre. The task force meets again on June 18 to review options.

The McMaster project will be 195,000 square feet and have about 450 employees.

There will be about 4,000 medical students there, and 19,000 square feet will be used by the local health unit, said Andrea Farquhar, McMaster's assistant vice-president of public and government relations.

McMaster expects about 54,000 patient visits per year there, and doctors to serve 15,000 underserviced patients.

"We're bringing 450 employees," she said. "That's 450 people who will be looking for places to go for lunch or pick up their dry cleaning and other sorts of economic impact."

The design is nearly complete and the university has hired a project manager, Farquhar said.

Ward 2 Coun. Jason Farr and another councillorinitiated the joint task force. He wants the board to stay downtown, but sings the praises of the McMaster project.

Not a boom, but 'darn close'

"It's very good for the downtown economy to have professionals milling about, having lunch and spending money," he said. "It's very good to have 54,000 visitors per year."

As for downtown's recent progress, "I don't want to call it a boom, but it's darn close."

Not everyone is as rosy about the progress. The community group Hamilton Citizens at City Hall (CATCH) published the article "Growth Down Sharply Last Year" on its website on April 22.

The article dissected a recent city report that showed the taxes collected downtown have climbed from $25.1 million in 2008 to $26.9 million last year, saying the number is not adjusted for inflation. (Everson counters that inflation has little impact on tax rates.)

CATCH monitors to see if the increased tax dollars spent on economic development bear fruit, said co-ordinator Don McLean of Stoney Creek.

The report doesn't show much progress downtown in terms of tax appeals and property reevaluation, McLean said.

Optimism 'can blind you at times'

"It doesn't mean revitalization is not proceeding," he said. "It means that it's proceeding at a slower pace than expected."

Optimism is important, McLean said, "but you can let it blind you at times.

"We have to keep our feet on the ground as we work our way through these things."

James Street North resident John Mokrycke, an architect, has had a downtown office since 1994. When he looks out his window, he said, he sees a difference.

"It's slow," he said. "Nothing happens fast in Hamilton. But it's a steady, positive momentum, and that's probably better."

This story is part of a CBC Hamilton series examining the state of downtown. The series runs until Thursday.

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Hamilton Real Estate Market Update

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 07:31:32 -0700

Dip In Construction Temporary: City Staff

The dip in the city’s May building permit figures is more like a deep breath before a burst of fresh air than a whimper.

Norm Schleehahn, with Hamilton’s economic development department, said a drop in the number and value of commercial and industrial permits in May is not much of a concern.

“We have quite a bit of development to come yet — over 600,000 square feet,” he said. “(Permits) will be getting exponentially bigger.”

In April, city staff predicted Hamilton to be on track to break the previous $1-billion record building boom set in 2010.

After the first quarter of this year, the value was $271 million, up $75 million compared to the first quarter of that record-setting year.

But in May, while residential growth remained strong — about the same as last year at $69 million — commercial permits were only $5.35 million compared to $7 million last May. Industrial permits dropped to $3.8 million compared to $5.8 million the same time last year.

Institutional permits (for hospitals, schools and government buildings) also slid from the previous month.

However, Schleehahn said total permits are still about $30 million more than this time in 2010, so he’s hopeful the numbers will rebound.

He pointed to several large projects, such as the Maple Leaf meat processing plant, Activation Labs and the McMaster Health Care Centre, as future propellers of construction figures.

“I think it’s a blip on the radar. There are several new projects that we’re hopeful about.”

He said Union Gas will soon be embarking on developing the last piece of vacant property on the South Service Road in Stoney Creek. It will be a LEED building on a redeveloped brownfield site.

“There is a lot of momentum out there. We’re hopeful this will continue.”

(Hamilton Spectator, Lisa Grace Marr, June 14, 2012

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The Six Enemies of Greatness (and Happiness)!

Wed, 23 May 2012 06:28:14 -0700

The Six Enemies of Greatness (and Happiness)!

These six factors can erode the grandest of plans and the noblest of intentions.

They can turn visionaries into paper-pushers and wide-eyed dreamers into shivering, weeping balls of regret.

Beware!!

1) Availability

We often settle for what's available, and what's available isn't always great. "Because it was there," is an okay reason to climb a mountain, but not a very good reason to take a job or a free sample at the supermarket.

And sadly, we'll never know everything.

2) Ignorance

If we don't know how to make something great, we simply won't. If we don't know that greatness is possible, we won't bother attempting it. All too often, we literally do not know any better than good enough.

3) Committees

Nothing destroys a good idea faster than a mandatory consensus. The lowest common denominator is never a high standard.

4) Comfort

Why pursue greatness when you've already got 324 channels and a recliner? Pass the dip and forget about your grand designs.

5) Momentum

If you've been doing what you're doing for years and it's not-so-great, you are in a rut. Many people refer to these ruts as careers.

6) Passivity

There's a difference between being agreeable and agreeing to everything. Trust the little internal voice that tells you, "this is a bad idea."

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Stoney Creek four level back split $279,900

Sat, 12 May 2012 06:18:46 -0700

Stoney Creek

$279,900

new listing

Thee bedrooms

recroom with fireplace

fourth bedroom or den

hardwood floors on two levels

aggressively priced

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Hamilton Starter Home $154,900

Sat, 12 May 2012 05:55:53 -0700

Hamilton First Time Buyer's/ Starter Home in the Ottawa Street/ Garment District

$154,900

mortgage payment under $800.00

four bedrooms

completely renovated inside

needs gardener urgently

main floor laundry room

main floor two piece bath

30ft living room dining room combination

hardwood floors in living room

laminate in four bedrooms

renovated baths

upgraded windows

in the lovely Ottawa Street Garment District

steps to shopping at Center Mall

shops on Ottawa Street

Farmer's Market

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Tame your Debt!!

Fri, 04 May 2012 10:28:52 -0700

8 Ways To Tame Household Debt

Canadians often think of themselves as a thrifty people, but economists and financial experts say we are overspending at a troubling rate.

　"I have a concern right now – we have more debt than our American counterparts," says Greg Pollock, president and CEO of Advocis, the Financial Advisers Association of Canada.　

Late last year, Statistics Canada published a report that found Canada's household debt-to-income ratio was over 150 per cent (in the U.S., it's closer to 145 per cent). That means that for every $1,000 that is earned in after-tax income, Canadian households owe $1,500.　

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney have voiced concern about Canadian consumer debt, and caution that it will only get worse when interest rates start inching upwards.　

These warnings, along with persistent speculation about another recession, have made household spending a pressing issue. So what can you do to curb your debt?

　Experts say that the most effective strategy in taming household spending is not to impose draconian rules — like cutting your cable subscription or that daily latte — but to ask yourself how necessary your individual expenditures are.　

"I can't tell [clients] as a financial coach to reduce this and this – they need to ask themselves the questions about what are priorities for them," says Pat White, executive director at Credit Counselling Canada.　

"One family may say, 'It's important for us to have those cable services, because we never go to a movie, we don't rent any movies, that is our entertainment.' They don't want to cut that expense. Everyone's different."　

Here are eight tips that should

help you budget better.

1. Organize your finances.

For those who aren't inclined to keeping a ledger, the idea of becoming your own accountant can seem daunting. When Pat White proposes it to some clients, she says they assume it means "sitting down every day and accounting for every penny and having a really complex filing system with nice little tabs and the whole bit."　

That works for some people, but for the novice, White suggests a more measured approach. "If you just took the step to say, 'Here's two envelopes, I'm putting all my unpaid bills in one, all my paid bills in the other, and twice a month I'm sitting down to look at what's going on,' that would help immensely."

2. Distinguish between your wants and needs.

If you're going to buckle down on the home front, you have to ask yourself some tough questions — and answer honestly.　

In going through your regular expenses, decide which items are must-haves and which are luxuries: Do you need to subscribe to more than one newspaper? Do you really need call display?　

One way to avoid this consumer quandary when going to the mall is to make a list first.　

"You stick to the list, you don't make the shopping exercise a way to add to your debt," says Pollock. "Shopping should not be a hobby. Get a real hobby to keep you busy."

3. Don't pay for things you no longer use.

In going through your expenditures, you might come across payments you'd actually forgotten about, which could be pre-authorized withdrawals for things like magazines, overdraft protection or a gym membership.　

Some of these items will be easier to drop than others, but the key is to stop being aspirational and start being rational.　

"You look at that gym membership that comes off your chequing account every month and you feel guilty and keep saying to yourself, 'I wish I'd get there,'" says White. "You just need to say, 'I've got to cancel that, because it's just not working for me — I'm paying for something I don't use.'"

4. Look for things that are low- or no-cost.

Everybody loves the idea of saving money, but the methods aren't always apparent. By doing just a bit of research, says White, you can discover some low- or no-cost alternatives to some of your regular expenditures. The library is always a good bet – borrowing books, magazines and DVDs for free could seriously lighten your entertainment budget, for example.

5. Get rid of your credit cards.

Pollock insists that slaying your debt requires you to take a pair of scissors to your plastic. "The key thing about addressing debt is not to get into more debt," he says. "One way that you can assist in not getting into more debt is by getting rid of credit cards."

　Without credit at the ready, you're more inclined to think twice about imprudent purchases.

6. Pay your bills on time.

This seems obvious – after all, if you don't meet your payment deadlines, you incur a late fee.　

But Pollock says some people are so afraid of their bills, they won't even open the envelope. "[People] just put them aside, like they're going to take care of themselves," he says. "It's not realistic."

7. Build an emergency fund.

Having a cash reserve is a great hedge against unexpected future expenses and stumbling into deeper debt. "If something does go wrong, you don't have to borrow the funds, which then gets you back into the debt cycle," says Pollock.　

"The furnace breaks down, the car breaks down, you're temporarily laid off – whatever the emergency might be, you can address that with the savings that you have."

　The rule of thumb for an emergency fund is typically three to six months worth of income. This is a large figure for most people, Pollack concedes, so the key is to build it up incrementally, but regularly.

8. Put your tax returns toward paying down debt.

For some Canadians, tax season provides a financial windfall. But rather than buying bottles of bubbly, you should put that money to smart use."It's not an opportunity to all of a sudden just go on a spending spree," says Pollock. "It's an opportunity to pay down some debt. Pay off the highest-interest bill that's coming through your front door

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Are freeways doomed?

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 07:18:16 -0700

Several cities are tearing down highways, creating bold new public spaces -- and building a future without cars

(Credit: iStockphoto/Diverstudio)

Everyone freak out: Carmageddon is back. Right now, several U.S. cities are scheming to shut down major freeways — permanently. In the push to take back cities from cars, this is what you’d call throwing down the gauntlet.

The drive to tear down the huge freeways that many blame for the inner-city blight of the ’60s and ’70s is one of the most dramatic signs of the new urban order. Proponents of such efforts have data to show that freeway removal is not at all bizarre, that we can return to human-size streets without causing a gridlock apocalypse. And that may be true. But pulling down these shrines to the automobile also feels like a bold rewriting of America’s 20th-century urban script: Revenge of the Pedestrian. This time it’s personal.

Ready or not, decision time is upon us. Many of these highways were built to last between 40 and 50 years — they’ll soon need to be either repaired or reinvented. “What’s going to happen in the next 10 years when we need to make a big investment to prevent them from collapsing like the one in Minneapolis?” asks John Renne, professor of urban studies at the University of New Orleans.

For some cities, this means a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reclaim a vast amount of downtown land and turn it into the public space of their dreams. A group in St. Louis is agitating for the removal of a one-and-a-half mile stretch of Interstate 70, which would reunite the city center with the Mississippi River and Eero Saarinen’s Gateway Arch. Advocates there hope that by opening the city’s “front door,” as they call it, for the first time since 1964, they’ll set the stage for a renaissance of St. Louis’ depopulated downtown. Trenton, N.J., has a similar goal, and is looking at converting the four-lane highway that runs along the Delaware River into a vibrant waterfront of parks and buildings. And as New Orleans implements a new master plan for the city following Hurricane Katrina, anything seems possible — including a pitch to tear down the Claiborne Expressway, the freeway that divided several of the city’s historically black neighborhoods when it was erected decades ago. It would be replaced with a vibrant boulevard that reunites those neighborhoods in an infrastructural act of poetic justice.

It’s hard to overstate the gravity of such proposals. Few urban design initiatives can instantly transform a large swath of a city like building (or unbuilding) a freeway. San Francisco saw this in 1991, when, ahead of the tear-down trend, the city demolished the bay-adjacent double-decker Embarcadero Freeway after it was damaged in an earthquake. Today, the area where the Embarcadero once stood has evolved from a forbidding dead zone to a bustling waterfront and tourist magnet. Standing there now, you’d never guess it was once the site of 16 lanes of through-traffic.

Now, other cities want their own Embarcadero miracle. Tony Ortiz lives in Crotona Park East, the Bronx neighborhood made famous when President Carter visited its burned-out ruins in the ’70s. Ortiz, an 84-year-old, white-haired bantam rooster of a man, moved here from Puerto Rico in 1946, and remembers life before the Sheridan Expressway. The sidewalks were “busier with people,” he says, standing in front of his six-story building a block from the expressway. He and his friends boxed in the streets, where he once proudly knocked one of them out cold. But after the Sheridan was built, Ortiz mainly remembers a neighborhood in decline and the stench of arson.

Today, the area, while still poor, has bounced back considerably. And now, New York is studying plans to tear down the Sheridan, which runs along the Bronx River right past Ortiz’s window, and replace it with a stretch of waterfront parkland. It could include swimming pools, soccer fields, a 30,000-square-foot recreation center and housing similar to that which was bulldozed to make way for the freeway back in 1958.

It would be a dazzling turn of events for an area that time once nearly forgot. But would removing the freeway really revive the neighborhood in and of itself? Probably not. Because even though Ortiz remembers the Sheridan as the moment prosperity turned to blight, the truth is, places like Crotona Park East probably would have declined anyway. These were neighborhoods that almost certainly would have succumbed to depopulation, crime and the crack epidemic, freeway or no, simply because they were vulnerable communities during a difficult time.

But even if freeways weren’t the lone catalysts of decline, removing them could still spur positive change. Cities are vastly more resilient places today than they were in the 1960s. In 2011, revitalization is more possible than ever – you just need to lay the groundwork for it. Ask John Norquist, who, as mayor of Milwaukee, presided over the demolition of the Park East Freeway in 2002. The elevated structure was “the death of any property around it,” Norquist says. Now, a concerted effort to draw new businesses seems to finally be panning out. After a slow start, the reclaimed area has 24 acres of parks, waterfront and burgeoning commercial development. Manpower Group, the temp agency giant, recently relocated there from the suburbs, and the space is connected by a riverfront recreational trail to the “Beerline,” a stretch of new middle-class development along the city’s old freight tracks.

The boldest tear-down proposal, however, might be in New Orleans, where local activists are working to restore a corridor that was once the pride of the city’s African-American business community. Claiborne Avenue, an elegant boulevard famous for its hundreds of oak trees, once formed the shopping district of Treme and several other black neighborhoods. But in the late 1960s, the avenue was plowed under, and soon the Claiborne Expressway was rising in its place. (You can hear it being built to the ominous sound of pile drivers during the bad-trip cemetery scene in “Easy Rider.”)

The proposal for the Claiborne corridor would remake the avenue much like the old one (minus the oaks), stitch it into the street grid, and let businesses grow alongside. It would also reunite the neighborhoods the freeway divided, allowing residents of the north side to benefit from the south side’s proximity to the French Quarter. As for gentrification fears, John Renne doesn’t foresee an influx of wealthy people displacing the current residents. “If there’s a pendulum and gentrification is on one side, we’re on the other side,” he says. “We’re in blight. It would have to swing pretty far to get to gentrification.” Polls show the city is behind the plan — now activists need to get Mayor Mitch Landrieu on board. The mayor has called it a potential “game changer” but has not officially thrown his support behind it.

Where do these grand plans leave the lowly car commuter? In pretty good shape, as it turns out. In case you haven’t been on an urban freeway lately, allow me to blow your mind: They don’t work like they’re supposed to. They’re quick to deteriorate, clogged at all the wrong times and offer little versatility when problems arise — one collision can make 10,000 people late for work. In fact, the dirty secret of freeways is that they don’t reduce traffic, they create it. Ask any urban planner: Give people more roads, and more of them will drive. Studies show that, in most cases, removing a freeway adds only a few extra minutes to commute times. At the same time, most of the freeways currently on the chopping block are underused anyway. (The day I drove to the Bronx to meet Tony Ortiz, the Sheridan was empty enough to walk across.) The drivers-versus-transit-riders stereotype doesn’t hold, either: A study by Renne’s students found that in New Orleans, the vast majority of locals want the Claiborne Expressway gone — including 50 percent of the drivers who use it regularly. “No one’s advocating for putting [the freeway] back” in Milwaukee now that it’s gone, says Norquist, and getting rid of it “killed forever the idea of putting a freeway around the downtown.”

Improved traffic flow, fewer roads to maintain, nicer neighborhoods — what’s not to love? The funny thing about freeways: People get attached to them, even when they do more harm than good. Renne’s students found a small segment of the community around the Claiborne had grown fond of it, even those who didn’t use it. Some feared gentrification if it were removed. And a few felt an emotional bond with their elevated highway — one local resident expressed dismay that his tradition of barbecuing under the expressway with his son might end.

But such opinions are anomalies. For most residents of these communities, tearing down the freeways that crashed through their neighborhoods half a century ago would rectify a long-standing injustice. Removing urban freeways could open up whole new business districts, provide space for parks where they’re needed most, free up land for affordable housing, and create vast new waterfront tourist meccas. In Seoul, South Korea, one freeway demolition even unearthed a river that runs right through the city. Buried by the highway for 30 years, the Cheonggyecheon Stream has since become a popular recreation spot, and the mayor who tore down the freeway to reveal it was elected president in a landslide soon afterward. Apparently his supporters had no trouble getting to the polls.

Will Doig writes the Dream City column for SalonMore Will Doig

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Hamilton Mountain Building Lot for Sale/New Listing

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 06:12:13 -0700

Just Listed

Central Mountain

Land Value Only/No Value in Home

50X148

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What Canada's Bank CEOs Earned Last Year/secret bail outs come to light

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 05:34:00 -0700

These salaries make for a good debate.

Are these guys deserving, in the name of free markets and capitalism to make this kind of cash?

After all, they have done the unthinkable, generating historically unseen profits smack in the middle of a global recession.

Are we, the sheeple, just plain stupid to agree to get fleeced with banking charges, interest rates, outrageous mortgage discharge penalties, double interact charges etc without uttering one peep of disapproval.

Bank of Canada’s rate prime today is three percent; your credit card is 18%, six times or 600% mark up.

On top of it all, the banks have got us the people insuring their CMHC loans, so if someone does default on their mortgage, it’s not the bank that bears the brunt of the loses, it’s the tax payers.

Machiavelli would be proud at this kind an arrangement.

And we, the sheeple, well, imho, we’re gonna have to put the remotes down and start paying attention to what is going on around us-'cause it is exploitation at the highest level.　

What Canada's Bank CEOs Earned Last Year

5. Gerry McCaughey, CIBC - $9.5 Million

4. Bill Downe, BMO - $9.9 Million

3. Gordon Nixon, RBC - $10.1 Million

2. Rick Waugh, Scotiabank - $10.6 Mln

1. Ed Clark, TD Bank - $11.3 Million

these salaries make for even a hotter debate once we discover that our government has secretly, unbeknownst to us 'bailed them out"

privatizing profits and socializing losses

Support for banks 'much more substantial than Canadians were led to believe': CCPA report

Canada's biggest banks accepted tens of billions in government funds during the recession, according to a report released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Canada's banking system is often lauded for being one of the world's safest. But an analysis by CCPA senior economist David Macdonald found that Canada's major lenders were in a far worse position during the downturn than has ever been previously believed.

Macdonald pored over data provided by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions and the big banks themselves for his report published Monday.

It says support for Canadian banks from various agencies reached $114 billion at its peak. That works out to $3,400 for every man, woman and child in Canada, and also to seven per cent of Canada's gross domestic product in 2009.

The figure is also 10 times the size of the amount Canadian taxpayers spent on the auto industry in 2009.

"At some point during the crisis, three of Canada’s banks — CIBC, BMO, and Scotiabank — were completely under water, with government support exceeding the market value of the company," Macdonald said. "Without government supports to fall back on, Canadian banks would have been in serious trouble."

During October 2008 and June 2010, the banks combined to report $27 billion in profits on their balance sheets.

Report says mortgages taken off bank balance sheets

One of the most well-known ways in which policymakers helped the banks during the crisis is through a $69-billion CMHC program whereby the housing agency took mortgages off the balance sheets of big Canadian banks. In contrast with other support facilities, all of the funds granted by the CMHC were through selling assets (in this case mortgages) to the housing agency. They were not funds that had to be paid back.

The CMHC has provided the aggregate total of how much was given out, but has yet to release specifics on which banks sold how much to them, and when.

But Canadian lenders also dipped into a program set up by the U.S. Federal Reserve aimed at providing cash to keep American banks afloat. CIBC and BMO took almost $3 billion each out of the fund, RBC and TD took out $8 billion and Scotiabank drew down almost $12 billion, the CCPA report found.

That data came from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which released it publicly. But Macdonald's analysis found that Canadian banks got a comparable amount — $41 billion — from Bank of Canada facilities, an agency that has been far less transparent in sharing the information.

"Despite Access to Information requests for the data, the Bank of Canada refuses to release it," the CCPA report states.

CBA assessing report

"The federal government claims it was offering the banks ‘liquidity support,’ but it looks an awful lot like a bailout to me," says Macdonald. "Whatever you call it, Canadian government aid for the country’s biggest banks was far more indispensable than the official line would suggest.

"The support for Canadian banks was much more substantial than Canadians were led to believe," Macdonald said.

Indeed, the scale of the funding is eye-opening.

At its peak, CIBC received $21 billion in support — almost 1.5 times the value of the company at the time. BMO maxed out at $17 billion or 118 per cent, Scotiabank peaked at $25 billion or 100 per cent of its value, while TD and RBC maxed out at $26 billion and $25 billion —good enough for 69 and 63 per cent, respectively, of the total value of those companies at the time.

"It would have been cheaper to buy every single share in these companies," Macdonald said.

When asked for comment, the Canadian Bankers Association said they had received the report and were assessing it

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singles are buying real estate, on their own terms

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:46:56 -0700

Living alone, not living lonely...

I have been to Paris many times and just love the city.

The city of lights or the city of love, I presumed, was full of wonderful intellectually stylish couples who lived in bliss, ate baguettes, drank wine in Les Deux Magot while dissecting the Simon De de Beauvoir/ Sartre relationship.

Surprisingly, an article I read in the Spec recently states that half of all households in Paris are single people.

In Stockholm, that number is 60%.

Although Americans pride themselves on their self-reliance and the culture of individualism, Germany, France and Britain have a greater proportion of one person households than the US, as does Japan.

Three of the nations with fastest-growing populations of single people, China, India and Brazil are also among those with the fastest growing economies.

In Canada, according to Stats Can, there were 3,327,050 one-person households across the country last year, more than three times as many households with at least five people, or around 30% of all households (that’s a guess I’m too lazy to find a calculator)

Household
	2006
	Canada	N.B.	Que.	Ont.
	number
Total households¹	12,437,470	295,960	3,189,345	4,555,025
1-person households	3,327,050	71,945	980,340	1,104,865
2-person households	4,175,145	111,795	1,098,470	1,449,600
3-person households	1,978,555	51,450	494,970	753,520
4-person households	1,868,765	42,580	419,200	768,250

Living alone is not the caricature of the 60’s, the bachelor eating out of a tin can or the “spinster” knitting for nieces and nephews.

Single people have everything they need for fantastic, self directed lives. They have more time than folks with kids, they have income and they have friends. Lots of friends.

Dating is in abundance thanks to the internet and single people do not troll the singles bar in hope of getting asked to dance, they’re actively pursuing mates on dating sites, scheduling dates to their liking and checking out the dating pool from the privacy of their home and comfort of their pyjamas.

They’re also buying real estate. Lot of real estate.

Toronto’s condo market, now reaching saturation, has been buoyed by the single buyer.

In Hamilton, singles live in about 40% of households.

There is more single households in Hamilton than those with three people, presumably consisting of parents and one child.

And singles are not the stereotypical apartment dwellers and renters. They are buying real estate, realizing the potency of such investment over the long term.

Topping the list of my single clients purchases are town homes and condo apartments, particularly for single women who don’t want to do a lot of exterior maintenance.

My single guy clients seem to be a little more adventurous, buying duplexes is a favourite. They settle themselves into a main floor unit which is generally smaller and rent out the upstairs, with renters paying for all or part of the mortgage.

The damsel in distress is as extinct as the dinosaur these days; women believe that they don’t have to wait for Mr. Right to show up in order to buy a house, they realize can do it on their own.

And they expect Mr. Right to own a house, when he does show up.

(Cue in for Aretha Franklin/ Annie Lennox Duet; Sisters are doing it for themselves)

B i a n c a M a r i j a n

Realtor*

bmarijan@sutton.com 905 575 7070 www.besthamiltonrealestate.com

How much is List of Hamilton Find a Home

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Selling, Living and Loving Hamilton

Proof life is nothing more than a reflection of our attitude

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:34:12 -0700

Living small: Lulu’s shipping container home

Downsizing was “big” in 2011, but few took the drastic measures Argentinean-born Californian single mom Lulu did.

Lulu went back to school and didn’t want to have to work full-time hours on top of her studies just to pay her rent. Instead, she and her daughter moved into a shipping container — for a steal.

“I think I’m a little claustrophobic, so the storage container was a little daunting, but I got the container for free,” she said.

Lulu went to work, honing her DIY skills on the box that would become her home. She put windows and a door, installed a kitchen and insulation, and then fitted a bed, couch, bookshelf and cabinets into the 160-square-foot cube.

The total cost of her tiny home: $4,000.

Watch the tour of Lulu’s shipping container below:

When Lulu discovered that the space was too small for two people, she built an extension using salvaged materials: a used flatbed trailer became the base for a shed-like second bedroom.

Her brother calls her style “elegant poor.”

The space issues may be a sacrifice, but not having a mortgage tacked onto student loans is worth it, she says:

“I mean this was really a choice about, you know, how many hours do we have to our life and how do I want to spend those hours and really about do I want to go and work more than 10, 20, 30 hours a week so that I can pay rent to have a big house so that I can be a healthy normal mom. So this was my choice and [my daughter's] definitely complained at times, but I also know that we have spent way more hours [together] than I would have if I had to pay rent.”

By Nadine Bells | Shine from Yahoo! Canada – Wed, 28 Dec, 2011 10:41 AM EST

B i a n c a M a r i j a n

Realtor*

bmarijan@sutton.com 905 575 7070 www.besthamiltonrealestate.com

How much is List of Hamilton Find a Home

your home worth? Must sells !!! Newest Listings!!

Selling, Living and Loving Hamilton