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December 21st, 2008 at 11:08 pm
FINANCIAL FACELIFT
” Lose the house, buy a condo”
http://business.theglobeandmai...../Business/
December 21st, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Even more important re Vancouver Condos and the RE future !!!
” Father offers daughter to shoe-thrower”
http://www.reuters.com/article.....UH20081217
December 21st, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Financial crisis hits home in Hamptons (U.S.)
http://business.theglobeandmai.....m_mostview
QUOTE:
NEW YORK — Just months after he was ousted from Lehman Brothers, Joseph Gregory put his mansion in tony Bridgehampton, N.Y., on the market for $32.5-million (U.S.)
The former president of the sinking investment bank could not have picked a worse time.
The Hamptons, a summer vacation playground for New York’s financial and celebrity elite, are being hit hard as Wall Street power houses such as Lehman and Bear Stearns succumb to the financial crisis.
According to a report by Douglas Elliman, real estate prices fell 11 per cent in the third quarter in the Hamptons, an exclusive section on the eastern tip of Long Island, less than 60 kilometres from New York City.
——
Suggestion: put it on CraigList, that tends to attract the
more elite amonsgst us.
December 21st, 2008 at 6:25 pm
#144, Yea, and if the other suite was listed for a million dollars you’d be saving $600,000, Wow , what a deal !!!!! The horrible thing is that the only thing that will matter is what they eventually sell for. I would say that this’desperate’ couple can kiss their $55 grand goodbye and get ready to take a very cold financial enema. Brrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!! Waiting for a ‘saviour’ while holding your breath can be hazardous to your health. Fairy grandmothers have left the building. How stupid are these people?
Whats that I hear? “Help me Mommy, I’ve got a Boo Boo and you have to make it go away Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.” Yup, thats the flushing whiny sound of another specu-vestor going through the meatgrinder courtesty of the Bob Rennie Crap Sausage and Bullshit factory.
December 21st, 2008 at 5:22 pm
The Madoff Economy (by Paul Krugman)
December 21st, 2008 at 5:18 pm
Arit: I wonder if that specuvestor on CL has any clue what a legitimate investor might be interested in knowing– they didn’t say how big, how many bedrooms, where in Richmond, what’s so luxurious about it…….
I wonder if they even know that much about it, or if they just bought it as a “no-lose proposition, doesn’t matter what the actual specs are”!
December 21st, 2008 at 5:11 pm
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.....86927.html
“In order to salvage some of our deposit, we are willing to assign this New Luxury condo which is ready and must be purchased immediately, for $10,000 less than the purchased price ($355,000) over 2 years ago!
The same suite is listed for $400,000 right now!
So you will be saving $55,000!
We are desperate not to lose our $55,000 deposit, So we are open to any offer.
More details are available upon request.”
Yawn…. 55,000 is only a small fraction of what you are about to lose. Something like 15% of your total loss…
Regards
arit
December 21st, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Lord Huggington
I am with you. If before I would consider strata living, today and in the future I am staying away from it. Another lesson learned on other people’s experience.
Thank you internet.
Regarding Stewart’s post:
There is a picture of Caleb (bonus point: who knows what’s Caleb in Arabic?) standing next to his Corvette, where it says:
“It is clear that Caleb has chosen his career as a Realtor because he is able to put 100% of himself into his business and his clients’ satisfaction. He works tirelessly to sell properties for these valued clients.”
works tirelessly = post listing in a bear blog?
My definition of ‘work tirelessly’ is a bit different… LOL
Regards
arit
December 21st, 2008 at 3:40 pm
#140 Mike, I think you can rephrase the question to read
” How ‘far’ wrong could you possibly be, $100,000.00, $200,000.00+++, maybe lose it all when the building gets tied up in litigation and you’re on the hook as a principal?” This might be more to the point.
And ‘ assignment of contract” !!!!!; at this stage of a crash????? What kind of an idiot would step under that piano? Hey man , good luck with that.
To the guy who’s touting this dog ‘F-You , you F’ing sleazeball f’er. Find a job you’re more suited to, like pimping and such. And have a nice day!!!!!!
December 21st, 2008 at 1:44 pm
The more I watch this train wreck in progress, the more I want to stay away from any sort of condo when the time finally comes to buy. I originally thought a townhouse or some such would suit my needs, but it seems the sheer level of neglect as to both the construction quality, and strata councils dripping with specuvestors that don’t want to pay for proper maintenance is going to just thrash that segment of the market. After listening to that CKNW podcast about just how little many stratas are paying for upkeep as well as emergency reserves was the last nail in the coffin for me.
I remember reading either earlier this year or some time last year about many condos in Miami turning into rotting husks because so few were being properly maintained. There was mold in the hallways, paint was in bad shape, and a host of other problems. I reckon that’s a sneak peak at what the condo market here in Vancouver has in store for itself. (Sorry, I had no luck Googling that old news story)
December 21st, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Don’t miss this amazing deal – it’s the best in the neigborhood!!
2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, Den, Storage and Parking – unit has so much to offer sub-zero+Bosch appliances, hardwood floors, balcony and storage locker. Brand new and never lived in completes in 2008/early 2009. Assignment of Contract – Seller is selling for below what he originally paid how can you go wrong!!!
Visit our website for pictures and more info http://www.calebquinton.com
8th at Pine
December 21st, 2008 at 1:25 pm
I must have struck a chord with a bitter buyer. This guy at work who I was telling my thoughts on where real estate was going, apparently behind my back tried to paint me as a bitter renter. Apparently”I will never buy”. He always acts nonchallant and carefree and cool when talking about real estate. As if he is secure and not caring where prices go. But I guess I struck a chord. Not only the behind my back lash out but apparently buying before the olympics is a no lose proposition. I really wish him luck with that. he he. All the stupid arrongant people in my life are going to make this enjoyable. Get the popcorn this is going to be fun.
December 21st, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Hey, a lot of great commentary on the forum today. I particularily like the Freudian slip in #129 ” aboslute hoesty” . “ABSOLUTE WHOREISTY”, I translate . The very fact that sub-agents are unpaid salesman that say or do anything for a commission makes them bend to the unethical side when times are tough and commissions are few. You know the old saying ” As cold as a whores heart?” I think that applies to the real estate industry in spades.
Have a great holiday all.
December 21st, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Yeah nutslaps!
On the way up purchasers did would scream blue murder if they didnt get their condo at the agreed price.
Why should the developer expect anything but less on the down side nutslap.
Flippers were happy to take the profits. Developers were prepared to take less profit, and if the profit went to a flipper, then the developer had defrayed their risk.price go up in march
Dont cry for these flippers who go broke. They were quite happy to take the profit, thinking there was no risk. If they thought there was no risk then they deserve to be forced to accept the true nature of risk and reward.
How many condo’s were on contract, how many flippers. That is a lot of pain for a lot of people.
It wont be long before you see homeless on the streets, with signs saying, bankrupted by nasty developer.
Walk on by, and dont look back
December 21st, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Many bears have pointed out the median income here is unable to support the price of housing. I’m thinking though that the problem is much more severe in Vanouver and B.C., as opposed to say, Calgary, where median income is much higher in Calgary buy the cost of housing there is much cheaper!
If what we’re seeing plays out, there will be that much more speculators in Vancouver and B.C. that will be unable to complete, leading to more units being dumped back onto the market versus other Canadian cities. The supply here will balloon that much more than other Canadian cities if developers start dumping these units back on the market here versus developers in other Canadian cities where pre-sale buyers are able to complete.
What do the rest of you think?
December 21st, 2008 at 11:02 am
Advertising on Craiglist is W-A-S-T-E of time.
Tried it once…couldn’t even find the ad later …and was amazed how many ads were posted in 24 hours after mine. Frikkin 100′s of them . (Gee , Ya ‘ think maybe “free” has something to do with it?)
Also, on the guilt by association, one’s ad gets buried amongst those that blather on limitlessly with the most dumbest revelations, as opposed to basics like:
– $ Rent per month, ,
– % of Utililies ,
–# of Bedrooms,
–No Smoking/ No Pets,
–References req’d etc.
A good ad gets lost in this insane asylum of CraigsList, its more an “intellectual bloodsport” type of amusement to read.
A classic was what one VCI posted with the landlord admitting to a mice problem now fixed? yeah right !
With apologies to pet owners,(and yes I do love animals which is why I don’t imprison them like a slave LOL…. NOTE TO SELF: oops watch the pet lover backlash ) ,…a landlord of a new condo is reeking of desperation if they accept pets. You can have your insurance claims made null and void if the pet is deemed responsible for the damage.
In about 1- 2 months the pet odor will infest the place, and a lot of people have pet allergies, plus many stratas won’t allow them.
Paul wrote a while back of the apocalyptic vision of YaleTown and all those other Hi Rise areas in the with RE meltdown blast zone .
I am more convinced now of that “Apocalypse Now” vision.
“I love the smell of perspirng realtors and crapping specuvestors in the morning ” .
Overpriced newly built condos with desperate “owners on paper” trying for any/all cash flow will expose the potential landlord to bad renters,(hookers, drug labs, etc. )now with access to the entire building….. the good ones will stay away.
All too predictable.
December 21st, 2008 at 11:00 am
“Why did almost everyone believe in the omnipotence of the Federal Reserve when its counterpart, the Bank of Japan, spent a decade trying and failing to jump-start a stalled economy?”
http://thechronicleherald.ca/N.....97165.html
December 21st, 2008 at 10:33 am
Speaking of accountability;
Re: Madoff’s $50 BILLION Ponzi scheme
I read an article that the U.S. Feds will investigate several firms that invested with Madoff.
May result in both Criminal and Civil suits.
I think Civil Suits are a 100% given when the “lawsuit” net gets cast, given a serious lack of due – diligence.
December 21st, 2008 at 10:27 am
It looks like the condo flippers can’t find buyers at inflated prices to take their condos off of their hands. So these amateur real estate specultors are now being turned into newly minted landlords. It appears that these vacant condos are now flooding the rental market as these Donald Trumps in the making, scramble to cover their monthly mortgage, strata, property taxes. Guess what people? The rental market is not looking like a safe harbour of refuge from the big bad real estate market. Didn’t Bob Rennie warn you about this?
Re: Condo Rental Market Update! Getting Ugly Fast!!!!
Postby kansai_92 on Thu Dec 18, 2008 11:38 pm
Some people might argue that Craigslist rental counts might be skewed because of the simple fact that more people are using Craigslist.
But I’m also seeing approximately double the number of rentals available from Prompton leasing department when compared to last year.
In most cases rents are the same or lower when compared to last year.
Listings are also showing up with “small pets” considered, free cable and internet for a year, free Hydro for 3 months, etc.
There were virtually no ads offering incentives last year and only a handful accepting pets.
It seems that new units coming online with the completion of buildings like Coopers Lookout and H&H are putting downward pressure on the other buildings in False Creek North.
And I’m also seeing some ads on Craigslist that were originally advertised as being available for October occupancy.
It’s now mid-December. That means 4 months of hemmoraging if they’re lucky enough to find a tenant for January 1st.
December 21st, 2008 at 10:08 am
Re: Bad spelling. Try this one.
fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too
Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.
i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltt eres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs forwrad it
December 21st, 2008 at 9:55 am
“absolute hoNesty” above, oops.
Blogs – they’ve created a “first draft” society.
-Stephen Colbert
December 21st, 2008 at 9:51 am
Realtors, contractors and others connected to the market use their words to prop up the market, this is not news, I know. However, what happens when they’re wrong?
Will the realtor be held accountable for advising a potential buyer that the home is “a good investment” one where “a buyer should buy and hold”or “flip it for profit”?
These people are giving investment advice and they are not qualified to do so. I doubt a realtor’s errors and omissions insurance would cover bad investment advice, they are not a financial advisor, afterall.
Something needs to give. People need to be held accountable for what they say. If someone listens and follows their advice and gets burned, they are the only one who suffers, I think that burden should be shared by the “professionals” offering the advice.
A quick review of the Realtors Code of Ethics shows that they are committed to “aboslute hoesty” and have their “Golden Rule – Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. Cute how they throw in a religious [con]notation.
http://www.crea.ca/public/real.....ejan08.pdf
So really, all they would get is a suspension or elimination of their license if it made it that far. What about the money that the buyer lost?
Contractors do the same thing, I heard one recently advising someone to do a huge reno, million bucks, saying that the value of the home will go from 1 to 4M if done… how can they be so sure? What if they’re wrong?
I find it all so offensive. It’s a crime that is allowed to happen right under everyone’s nose. Buyer beware, buyer be diligent.
December 21st, 2008 at 9:25 am
Alexcnuck is working on 2yr contract then not sure about his future,he is never going to buy a 500sq.ft. condo while every one else with steady job are able to buy anytime.
On side not good ansa Western Separatist GOOD ANSWER!
December 21st, 2008 at 8:31 am
RE: Post #120
” People will declare bankruptcy and walk away, as sure as they did in the 80s. As onerous as it might be, in many cases, its less so than their alternatives ” .
I agree.
Many people walked away in the 1980′s and left the keys. It’s also called “trying to get blood out of a stone”.
The Feds (in fact all levels of Gov’t )and the lending institutions have a lot to answer for, so I don’t see any purposes on beating up on the small potatoes bankruptcy candidates. With so much “Fiat Money” floating around its kind of distasteful for some entities to “actually” claim ownership of it.
Many of the developers have incorporated individual projects ( if you read their signs and the “fine print” ) as a means to reduce risk exposure. This happened a lot after the leaky condo fiasco, but we have another problem now, a leaking RE bubble.
I thought the 1980′s were ugly, but all the signs indicate that we should “fasten our seat belts” , the fiscal “G” forces are going to unwind and BIG time.
December 21st, 2008 at 8:06 am
Richmond Olympic Oval
From ” Richmond Review” DEC. 19 , 2008 edition :
QUOTE:
In the new year, a drop-in fitness pass at the Richmond Olympic Oval will cost about the same as a movie ticket.
Beginning Jan. 5, $12.50 will give adults one day access to the 400-metre ice track, hardwood courts, a fitness class and the 6,000-square-foot workout gym.
The rate is the same as the Talisman Centre in Calgary, which oval planners used as a model.
A 60-day membership costs $60 until Feb. 25, 2009. Regular rates haven’t been announced, but expect them to go skyward. A two-month membership at the Talisman Centre is $124.
Richmond Sports Council chair Jim Lamond has plenty of questions to ask of oval brass. He said sports groups are eager to know what they can use the oval for—and for how much.
“I would expect them to sit down and discuss the rates with the community.”
Lamond said B.C. Place has hiked its rental rates so high, few sporting groups rent the often-vacant building. He said the oval can’t run the same risk.
“You don’t price yourself out of the market,” said Lamond, who suggested Richmond residents should get a break on the rates since their tax dollars built the oval.
Aran Kay, oval communications co-ordinator, said the oval could also offer a multiple card pass, which usually reduces the rate for drop-in visitors.
————-
The Pre – Olympic gouge is already starting.
Richmond staff had already tried to impliment pay parking around the Oval.
December 21st, 2008 at 7:12 am
Ah, WS, I see you’re kind of new to these boards, or you’d have seen many posts from me some here, more at Rob’s site, on investments, inflation and deflation. Have you heard of the last one? It just might be important coming up!
“Cash” is just a convenient word to represent a range of vehicles, all quite liquid, that my carefully husbanded war-chest is deployed in.
I would warrant that MOST Canadians would really like to have had their savings in the form of paper money stuffed in a mattress this year.
Inflation, and even hyper-inflation, is a POSSIBLE future problem, but right now DEflation, AKA meltdown, is the problem. With one of those colourful bits of paper I can obtain more of almost anything else than I could have last year. That doesn’t meet my definition of worthless. An imaginary pile of those bits of paper, that doesn’t actually have any but is really the the promise that people will pay them in future, is what is worthless. If we go on deflating they will be forced into default, if inflation takes over they will be paid back, but in your “worthless bits of colourful paper”
Either way, the vast pile of unsustainable debt, the growth of which has enabled the economy to”grow” in the face of all reason, will NOT be paid back the way the future value of mutuals, stocks, bonds, pensions, houses, RRSP, etc, etc depends on.
It is debt that is rapidly losing value, not cash. This may change, if so my strategy will change.
I have no intention of being left holding worthless cash, nor a broken promise to pay me
some.
A rude awakening? One has to be asleep first, sir! I am wide awake. Good Morning to you.
December 21st, 2008 at 2:50 am
I believe what Happy Moon is engaging in is called “satire.”
Good posts, realpaul. Especially No. 40. I enjoy your clear writing.
With all due respect, alexcanuck, if you’re sitting on a pile of cash thinking you’re going to be king of the hill when this meltdown is over, I’m afraid you’re in for a rude awakening. Your cash will be worthless, just like everyone else’s. Our fearless leaders are speaking to us in soft tones right now so we don’t figure out that our colourful bits of paper are as worthless as stock certificates.
December 20th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
GOOD AANNSSAA TO BEARS,GOOD AANNSSAA TO THREAD RICHMAN, GOOOOOOD ANSWER!
December 20th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Guess you don’t need to worry about keeping your balls warm.
December 20th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
I just don’t get the “bitter renters, depressed and bleak” approach.
I am very bearish on the economy and RE market, but that has nothing to do with our personal life.
We have a wonderful life, and the best part is that it won’t change as the recession rolls on. We eat very well, we hike and camp, we have no debt and huge savings, if one or even both lost our jobs our life wouldn’t change, at the very worst we would go somewhere warm and cheap to wait it out. We have lots of time off, we love one another.
We are terrible for the economy, but we won’t change our effect on the economy as the recession starts up. We just don’t participate in the frantic race to “keep up”, and as a result we have all we want.
If more people thought like us, GDP would be half the size, and both people and the environment would be better off for it.
December 20th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
realpaul,
People will declare bankruptcy and walk away, as sure as they did in the 80s. As onerous as it might be, in many cases, its less so than their alternatives.
December 20th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Richman#117, If you’re holding a real property investment you’re losing big money daily and didn’t have the brains to trade out. That’s DUMB. If you don’t care about losing money that tells me that you didn’t make it yourself, that’s INFANTILE. Ergo I ask, ” What’s grandma cooking for dinner tonight”. Do you get to take your tray back down to the basement?
And PS, your grammar, syntax and spelling tells us that you didn’t spend much time in the classroom or in an office so I assume you are not in buisness either.
December 20th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
http://www.infomercial-hell.com/tom-vu/
December 20th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Some people always lives in the dark room, depressed, cry their eyeballs out for the world didn’t bent over for them, no matter what market condition is. That’s ATTITUDE!
December 20th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Canadian law doesn’t allow for that type of ” walking away’ as is being popularized in California. The lenders are well within their right to sue and will probably be successful unless the borrower take s the extraordinary step of personal bankruptcy which far mor onerous in Canada than it is in the US.
December 20th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
coming down faster than expected
http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=1047623
December 20th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Yep, thanks to homeowners walking away, we get to where we want to be, anyhow. Tight credit bringing down prices, but still reasonable interest if you are one of those rare borrowers with a large down-payment and excellent credit.
December 20th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
“When a homeowner walks away, it is someone else’s loss. That is clearly unethical.”
I disagree; there’s nobody putting a gun to the lender’s head forcing him to give anybody a loan. If more specuvestors walk away from their obligations, it just may make banks (and the end-buyers of the securitized debt) think twice before giving out a 200K loan to a part-time cocktail waitress.
If you walk away from the loan, the bank keeps the house. After all, that is the collateral that one puts up. The only problem is that the value of that collateral tends to dip below the value of the loan in a rapidly declining real estate market. But, of course, bankers knew (just like real-tards) that real estate only ever goes up, so they didn’t have to worry about the collateral part of the loan agreement.
In the end, I don’t see anything unethical on either the mortgager or mortgagee side. I do, however, see a whole boat load of greed and stupidity on both sides.
December 20th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Self-serving moral justification from the “Grim choice” article:
Gelinas of the Manhattan Institute says it would be unfair to portray mortgage walkers as villains because it’s not unethical to take a loss and walk away from a bad investment that might keep you stuck in a “money hole” for a decade or two.
It’s not unethical to walk away from an investment you own because that is your loss. But here we are not talking about walking away from an investment. We are talking about walking away from a DEBT, money owed to someone else. When a homeowner walks away, it is someone else’s loss. That is clearly unethical.
December 20th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
So what’s going to happen to all these cars piling everywhere? In the ports, at the dealership, on rented lots, at the manufacturers etc.
Which will happen first: they rust away or we see dramatic discounts until they are sold?
December 20th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
In July the CREA said it was only a one month blip. How many suckers did they screw with their erroneous statements
http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=656681
December 20th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
The Bad news bears are now the CREA. How ironic.
http://communities.canada.com/.....eport.aspx
December 20th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
With stories emerging like Madoff, one wonders how many companies are simply fronts for using easy credit through some scheme to steal money.
Could it be the case that some companies were not actually economically viable in the sense of producing a profitable product but were making money only by investing borrowed money in RE and stocks of those which were?
December 20th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
weekend levity
http://economicrot.blogspot.co.....0-dec.html
December 20th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
The cost of the Richmond SS oval is a pittance; in fact, it’s the equivalent of about 175 average-priced homes in Vancouver. (Or was.)
By the time prices bottom in Vancouver, I’d wager that 160 million will buy you about 400 average-priced homes in Vancouver.
December 20th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Aaaaaah
So…
” Ritchie Bros. launches new auction site in Tokyo”
http://www.vancouversun.com/bu.....story.html
QUOTE:
Even just a few weeks ago, things looked better in Japan than they do now. More small companies in the world’s second-largest economy have been going belly up. And big ones, like Sony and Toyota, are cutting tens of thousands of jobs and dramatically curbing investment.
What was “recession” writ large has quickly become “recession deepens”.
It’s grim. But for Richmond-based Ritchie Bros., which auctions industrial equipment, it is as good a time as any to start building a multi-million-dollar permanent site on a 16-acre piece of land it recently purchased outside of Tokyo.
PS
Reading this story…don’t count on Rich Asians bailing out our BC economy for the foreseeable future .
December 20th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Todays Vancouver Sun:
“Fuel surcharges not plunging along with the price of oil”
http://www.canada.com/vancouve.....mp;k=92156
It appears that many airlines bought into the PEAK Oil sales pitches and locked into hedging strategies of “fixed fuel costs” which are approx. double what the current market price is today. They are now offering reduced ticket prices , trying to compete for customers with price wars.
Methinks this is a volatile fiscal brew which inevitably results in the last man(airline) standing.
December 20th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Arit:
In answer to your question….
Yes I am stubborn but that blessing/ gift allows me to create brilliant posts and concurrently detect humourless envious dogma – driven posters .( …..mind you , a very small minority of Star Trek watching basement dwellers ).
December 20th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
#94 :
Recent Richmond City Staff reports stated that VANOC was the one that approached Richmond to host the Oval , and actually had the site picked out…(Ex RV park on land the City owned).
One day the truth will come out, but the bits and pieces connect enough dots to make these conclusions/comments .
Burnaby was willing to spend about $60 Million…but it appears that the Oval cost was quickly rising and Burnaby was balking and bailing . It is quite notorious for Olynmpic venues to be low balled at the start anyways. Richmond had planned to build an Olympic Broadcast Center on the Garden City Lands and dovetails its future Post Olympic use with a Trade and Exhibition Center for Tourism Richmond.
Then the Musqueam Band put an injunction on the site, and Richmond which had upfronted $500,000 to be an “Olympic partner” (WTF that really means??) was going to be left a bridesmaid. It appears that VANOC smelled blood and took advantage of it, and got Richmond Council to agree to take on the Oval with an announced sticker price in 2004 of $78 Million and on City owned land. Now its $178 Million
The Olympic movement is quite a scam, leaving debt riden cities/taxpayer victims in its wake…it is well documented, but unfortunately politicians get caught up in the IOC mind candy and never want to admit it.
Myself and a colleague pestered VANOC for info, knowing full well that the City didn’t even have a set of plans for the Oval, and thus no budget so how could they bid on something under such blank cheque conditions? VANOC’s BS-laden e-mails verified suspicions, if not made them worse.
The site for the Oval is the worst possible…below sea level, in a rain forest ,high humidity,near an airport etc. etc,makes for bad /slow ice….(unless one spends even more funds to remedy this )
IOC likes to see records broken…likely won’t happen at the Richmond Oval…which again harkens to a quickie desperation reeking decision forced by VANOC’s black hand
Burnaby will come out smelling like a rose for not getting this Oval thingie.
December 20th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Nolympics:
Thanks for the explanation about the oval. Seems like an unnecessary project indeed, but if we already spent the money, let’s try to make best use of it while it lasts, no?
No point in losing twice….
Regarding the “I’m first” topic:
Listen to some “very well educated very bright” advice: People did not vote ME up for being first. It is different: WE, ALL, as a group, told YOU that we don’t like the “I’m first” posts.
Are you as stubborn in real life?
Regards,
arit