I guess during boom days, it is not the $200 lawyer expense, but the time of the lawyer review, that makes the buyers to take the short-cut. Think about a long line-up on a new development site.
But either ways, the buyers were fooled, by a group of xyz-tards. The facts are that the buyers are really the *tards, and those xyz-tards are not and they have made a lot of benefits from the miserable buyers.
Where is the monitoring system? Where is the justice system? Where is the government? NO-LYMPICS is right – we may have to take care of ourselves, alone.
You have to wonder what the Private Developers with an oversupply of condos of their own are thinking now the Mayor Gregor has exposed Vancouver’s worst- kept secret.
City of Vancouver has several hundred condos to unload in the very near future. This is called competing product.
One never knows how desperate City of Vancouver might be. Its like an iceberg of supply looming to flood the market with a fire sale at any moment.
That……plus why would a private developer embarrass themselves trying to flog a dead horse to an increasingly aware public with RE product of value that is depreciating daily.
Vancouver has to have some very good advice to make a good call. There is a point the financing costs continually eat away at the profit(which I think is gone), versus the hold out for a market turnaround which may never happen. In other words, selling at a loss may be the best moves..it may enrage the citizens, but thats why a good bean counter lays out the best-case to minimize the losses, which is what I think will be COV’s best strategy.
The hard costs for the Olympic village are $875 +++ per sq. ft excluding ancilliary costs and growing like a 100 mega ton thermal nuke.
The COV is looking at market costs of comparables and crapping thier pants. They mentioned ‘ holding the condos off the market until conditions improve’. HAHAHAHAHA ad infinitum. You say $200 a sq. ft in 2 years , I say sub $100 within 1 year.
Protestors shouldn’t be inconveniencing the public with stunts like blocking traffic..they lose support . Also they also attract rebellious a-holes who cling on and use it as an excuse to wreak havoc, vandalism etc. like the Vancouver Canucks riots.
Need to announce the protests ahead of time and get everyone riled up but civil. Politicians worst nightmare is a large organized mob they can’t arrest.
How about March and April when Local Gov’ts draft their annual budgets? Especially Vancouver !
I’d like to see Shaughnessy trophy wives , business executives, clergy people, handicapped and homeless people (aka just about E-V-E-R-Y-B-O-D-Y) marching arm -in -arm on the Olympic clock and every other Olympic venue
I never understood why a homebuyer wouldn’t spend a measly $200 to have a lawyer review thier purchase contract before committing themselves to it. This is a perfect example of why you should never ever trust a realturd.
The protesters marched down Georgia and managed to block both lanes for a bit and they needed a police escort.
I think a lot of those protesters are just there to cause trouble and don’t care about the cause furthermore blocking traffic doesn’t prove anything, it’s not like driving down Georgia is restricted to people who support the Israeli occupation..
So the development industry has risen the white flag. Vowed never to buy a Vancouver Sun today but I want to keep the headline from today’s paper regarding Olympics. Only one small tiny section of Westcoast Homes! Anyone remember the days when there were 3 (yes even in January)! I LOVE IT. All that real estate marketing crap and biased commentary used to make me rage. I used to wipe my ass with it, then burn it. Today I will keep it with the front page as the day the industry raised the white flag that there is no point advertising its crap product. There are no buyers and the market is flooded. We will be at $200/SF for conrete Downtown within 2 years.
So, looking at that, it really goes without saying that all declines are not equal when it comes to real dollars… especially in Vancouver, where a 10% loss there, would equal an 18% one in Calgary, 29% in Montreal, or 38% in Winnipeg. So just keep in mind, all those plot points are relative. http://edmontonhousingbust.blogspot.com/
blueskies: These Somali pirates do have contribution to the financial crunch – they have trimmed down $3-million for the inflated financial world. So in theory, the $500-trillion potential trouble is shrunk 0.0000006%.
Adds more to my view Local Gov’ts are useless t*ts.
Watch the floodgates unfold from people venting who were stung in so many ways in this latest building orgy boom.
PS:
I hesitated to use the word ” innocent ” in front of people venting….”caveat emptor” aka “buyer beware” is even more relevant and applicable in boom times.
If you think your Local Gov’t gives a shite about your best interest , I have a bridge to sell you and I will throw in a warehouse full of “I’m Backing the Bid ” bumper stickers no one wants to use anymore for some strange life – saving/self – preservation reason.
1. one who entertains guests either at home or elsewhere
2. a person who keeps an inn or hotel; innkeeper
3. a country or area that provides place and services for a competition or event the city will be host to the Olympics
4. any organism on or in which a parasitic organism lives for nourishment or protection
This is not a single instance – 18 new houses on one street, built by the same builder, without permit to start the building. During the boom days, who knows how many houses were built like those? How do you know if the house was decent built when you buy a brand new one? After thousands dollars spent on the crap (a.k.a. the new house), the couples are still suffering from nightmares, with a lot of mental stresses.
Who are the parties to be blamed for the mess?
1. the builder – Mr. Wright, he is sued as a result eventually
2. the government pointed inspector – seems still in large
3. the insurance company Tarion for the new home guarantee program, who should protect the home owner, but in fact it protected the builder on the contrary – just changed head.
4. anyone else? you guess.
——–
I would think if you are going to buy a home, be extremely cautious on the houses built during the boom time, say during 2004 and 2008. Lessons learned.
“Oh, boy. I predict many will stay around and try to work with out any papers. Maybe file some refugee claims? If their work situation isn’t good in their country I doubt they’re going to want to go back. Not that it’s a problem. CIC loses several thousand immigrants with removal orders every year.”
Many will work for cash under the table.
It will be interesting to see how some builders will compete paying regular wages to construction workers, while other pay $8.00 cash, plus a bunk bed in a basement shared by 20 others.
No seat belts in vehicle driven to construction site!
I get the feeling that looking back on this era “public private partnerships” will be seen as todays version of asbestos. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and the sales pitch was slick, whocouldanode that it would turn out so toxic?
NO-LYMPICS,I share your frustration, it’s unfair some criminals go to jail for pilfering, and others get rich doing the same thing on a greater scale.
If only people could see the connection between this grand theft and the eventual cut backs which will impact on schools and hospitals-basically the most venerable.
“These construction workers don’t even live in Vancouver. They’re immigrants. Who cares about those numbers. They’ll get packed up into a container and shipped out to Dubai.”
Oh, boy. I predict many will stay around and try to work with out any papers. Maybe file some refugee claims? If their work situation isn’t good in their country I doubt they’re going to want to go back. Not that it’s a problem. CIC loses several thousand immigrants with removal orders every year.
I think the answer to the Olympic Village Fiasco is to set up an Olympic Rescue Team
Find the best people in to run the organization and pay them well.
My nominees are:
President Bob Rennie
Spokesperson Bill Good
Strategic Planning Ozzie
Risk Management Muir
VP Marketing Helmut Pastick
Comptroller Tsur
Non -Vancouver BC Citizes start to rally and make it clear a revolution will occur if one dime of BC Gov’t $$$ goes to bail COV. That would be salt in the wounds while other areas of BC have been bleeding.
The COV citizens likewise take the cue and plan a revolt if COV raises taxes.
Then what?
Sue us?
Go ahead, we still won’t pay, can’t get blood out of a stone.
Has the IOC actually taken a Gov’t to court ?
Jimmy Pattison had a saying “your FIRST loss is your BEST loss.
What would the IOC say of everyone said F*ck off IOC we ain’t paying,we shut down and eat our losses to date, in fact why not cancel the 2010 games ?
Seriously if any VCI poster or anyone else was given a choice to
(i)Cancel OR
(ii)Keep paying(and paying and paying for years
what would you do?
I’d laugh like hell as I vote “NO”. I could care less about “world class” BC being notorious for standing up to this IOC black hole…maybe the world would thank us and give us a medal.
There will be a tipping point where a decision to fund something far more important ie “X” will be weighed against the continued 2010 cheque – writing.
We haven’t even started talking about the Security Bill….they LowBalled it at under $ 200 Million, but the lying pimps now hint at $1 Billion, especially when all the last few Olympics have been OVER $1 Billion. To me, this lowball was the first warnign sign these scumbag were lying to us. The Snivel servant cops etc. will be drooling over the gravy train that will be this $1 Billion cost to act as gun- toting macho -looking kevlar- clad bouncers for for this 2 week party.
Maybe the IOC should turn tail and run when an army of 4 Million BC residents says F*ck off IOC.
NO -LYMPICS:
No lympics, the COV will certainly get financing given it’s cash cow slave base sometimes referred to as citizens, but the question is not only at what cost, but at what terms.
There is certainly not going to be a friendly reduction of labour rates by the cooperative socially concious unions. In fact you can count on ever more onerous conditions and escalating costs of the labour component should the COV move to a 24/7 mandate. These are socialist city managers working with barking mad socialist union ideagogues. None of whom has any experiance in major project development. Not a good combination. WAC BENNETT said ” These socialists ( The NDP ) couldn’t run a lemonade stand”, it’s always proved to be true with the socialists of this Province, it won’t be any differant this time.
The whole thing is more like a circus for it’s entertainment value, except you know that it will end in a steamy slashing bloodbath for the taxpayer. In that it’s more like a Greek tragedy where everyone dies.
” I hear the train a comin, it’s comin round the bend”. Johnny Cash.
Remember the fast ferries and the NDP? This project is going to blow that fiasco out of the water in proportion but instead of being a Provincial disaster which was washed in the huge bucket of ‘General Revenue’ this is a site specific COV issue which I very much doubt will become a Provincial liability.
Campbell isn’t likeable , but he isn’t stupid. Think of how much political sway he will have with COV city councils by hanging this over thier heads. Look at how he can point out the dangers of a socialist administration during elections coming, it’s the NDP fiasco part deux. Greg ( the pretty young boy in a skirt) Roberts and council have handed Campbell a free ride come next election.
I wouldn’t doubt that they will try to float some kind of bond at agregious intrest , something like 11-14%. Lets watch and see shall we? Watching these losers squirm has got to be sweet justice for Sam Sullivan who took that coke poured over his head with a seraphic smile. He obviously knew what was coming. Revenge is sweet.
Good article on rental market price declines in LA as a result of the bust.
Here is Calculated Risk putting it in perspective, you can link to the original LA Times article from there.
A snippet. Mark Verge, owner of the property listings service Westside Rentals, said he’d seen rents fall faster in the last three months than at any time since he founded the company 13 years ago.
“I used to have to beg owners to lower rents. Now they ask me, ‘What do you think I should lower it to?’ ” Verge said.
Verge said his service had 24,000 units listed for rent — a 33% increase from the 18,000 he had at this time last year.
‘The Olympic village is a billion-dollar project, and the city taxpayers are on the hook for all of it.’
— Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson
Key word is “ALL” of it.
So, Gregor admits it, must be implying Millenium is toast.
Prediction is Fortress Group is either toast soon,(its share value has tanked….) or playing a dangerous game of bluff to see if the City blinks FIRST and literally gives away the farm ie City assets or other “in kind” leverage mechanisms etc..
The COV may be in THE weakest position…can it afford to start over and go shopping for financing in such an economic climate ? I don’t think so.
Fortress Group seems to be tanking as well, but may see that its own short term salvation solution will be to put a gun to COV’s head and milk them to the last drop . If this was a private sector debtor, they would simply fold and run. Again , a Gov’t can’t…and Fortress knows it, and knew it going in.
Given the aforementioned ,….My prediction is the City announcement Friday is a preamble to the outright sellout of Vancouver and its citizens next Thursday,( the last deadline day they announced ).
PS I am not counting on any miracles or white knights and especially ANY senior levels of Gov’t. If they do I sense a major revolt.
Quote:
This is a real construction project, no one at the city of Vancouver has any experiance doing this type of work. You have to understand the construction buisness, no one at COV has this kind of background, especially the young novice pretender Greggy ( look up my skirt) Roberts.
An entirely new team of project managers will have to be brought in from who knows where on extremly short notice and that is going to be very expensive. They are going to need a lot of time to envision the project or they will not take on the liability. Who would.
They are certainly not going to take on this mess sight unseen on any contract basis except a cost plus open ended contract which does not extend thier own liability.
=============================
I recall a few weeks back a construction worker being interviewed who had stated they may soon be working on the Olympic Village site 24/7.
That will be a good indicator of how desperate they are if it happens. Any VCI posters eyes out there to keep tabs?
Cost-Plus contract?
If that happens we are talking free fall into a black hole.
On the one hand, there are thousands of construction workers now out of work, one would think that one of the few silver linings is labour costs for the Olympic Village would be much cheaper. However, COV Council has a distinct Left Wing aka ” Union friendly” slant. However, the General Public has no appetite for pork – barrelling favouritism, increased taxes, and snouts in the Public Trough.
My sense is that the Olympic Village contractors in place will stay in place…when things were booming there were shortages and securing any contractors came at a premium.
Given work has dried up, these Contractors are doubly blessed with work and likley at high rates.
All I can see is them ratcheting up the schedule, but I am sure that with the IOC penalty gun at COV’s head…COV is likely on schedule insofar as the work…its simply a matter of securing the financing.
However, just because its a Gov’t body is NO guarantee COV will get any financing. COV Credit Rating ( TRIPLE A ?) will get shot over this one single deal ,and my guess is for years… and of coure this affects all their OTHER financing, the interest rates they pay which of course leads to higher property taxes , …..Catch 22 ad – infinitum .
Seriously , what lenders are going to lend to anyone holding the bag on this Olympic Village ? The demands for collateral from any lenders will be UNprecedented for a Local Gov’t.
We are in quasi Science-Fiction areas if No One lends to COV , the project stops, and the IOC enacts its penalty clauses and sicks its legal pit bulls on the COV.
There are so many “PERFECT STORM” variables lining up as this black hole continually expands it is hard to keep up and keep track of…..one literally has to buy a frikkin program.
Olympic Village ( Public – Private venture) VERSUS 100% Private Sector Development .
This harkens back to my earlier posts.
This entire deal has too many overlapping obligations and legalities.
Host Olympic cities are obligated to build accomodations for Olympic athletes.
Rather than tents or perhap Britco trailers or renting out trailer park, it appears that permanent apartment buildings/condos are the norm for Olympic athletes.
Vancovuer, as host City has a land shortage re land for hi dnsity residential. It had a fair amount of land on the South side of False Creek The City mandarins must have either felt they were geniuses (or perhaps lobbied by such outside groups as ” global Economic Hit Men” )to do a joint venture development to build the Olympic Village for the athletes and then sell them at a profit. At the time the deal was announced, the press reports seemed to indicate that Vancouver had outright sold the land for an UNprecedented price per sq. ft.
Later we find out it was a strange Joint Venture.
However, given the IOC has its sticky fingers in, and must be catered to first, I had noted that IOC deal with host cities are often secretive and very confidential. My best guess is COV cannot cut corners on the OLYMPIC Village, because for all intents and purposes IOC and VANOC own it…even if its for a short time. The IOC specificiations can and will be adhered to, that is common practice. That is then a fixed non -negotiable cost. For all we know,…IOC may also insist on the standard of labour used ie certiifed tradesmen.
COV in my view will have squat all wriggle room…simply on the basis of beholden to IOC in this Olympic Village Joint Venture with (i) IOC (ii)Millenium and (iii) COV
THUS:
IOC has basically a (2 )week use, but ironically the IOC has more say and control over the Olympic Village than either Millenium or COV . IOC has no risk…has the lions share of the benefits, but conversley Millenium and COV carry all the risk and increasingly liitle if any benenfit. In fact, as we speak,this is now going down the totem pole with COV left as the last man standing and left carrying the ENTIRE bag.
In sheer contrast,..Private Developers are more savvvy than COV “Donald Trump wannabee” rubes…they can and will have flexible contracts and cut corners, if not have numbered companies set up per project and bail as a last resort.
Private sector developers didn’t get RICH cutting cheques if they can avoid it , and COV and its taxpayers will get POORER and POORER by cutting seemingly endless cheques.
Curious what, if any , ” W-r-GG..l…E ” room the COV has re the Olympic Village.
Apparently, 1/3 of the units are sold (whatever that means ie downpayment on the VISA card , 0/40 loan ??? My guess is they didn’t want to scare off buyers and bottom -fed to the lowest common denominator of other developers )
Unless Olympic Village had weasel- clauses in the purchase contract that allowed them to cut corners,(CBC show had a very good news feature on this a while back) these units that were sold may have savvy buyers who insist on the terms of the agreement(ie granite countertops,and NOT formica cove top counter with granite look,…. OR stainless steel applicances and NOT lime green rebuilts from the 1970′s ) .
If this is not complied with, these buyers may claim “breach of contract” and get their deposit back(which I am sure they would prefer). In other words, these current buyers may bail, using any/all mean possible to put the agreement under microscopic legal scrutiny. They may even get really smart, organize and rally and try to embarass the City which the image conscious City won’t like and then sign all sorts of mutually agreeable non- disclosure deals.
The City is very vulnerable now, the law of the jungle kicks in (ie go for the throat and the nether regions at the same time).
===========================================
The 2/3 of the Olympic Village units NOT yet sold will be interesting as to if they can or will cut corners in these Unsold units in order to complete.
Nanaimo faces some pressing issues as the city moves into 2009 and residents should be concerned about whether or not their city council has the experience and skill to close deals and curtail spending. City staff know how to manage our finances, but ultimately direction has to come from our elected politicians. And with a few newbies and some old-time mainstays at the helm, we need assurance that we voted for the right people to lead the city through the next year, a 12-month stretch that some say will be a treacherous time that requires prudent decision-making and frugal spending.
=================================
Nanaimo is fascinating parallel to Vancouver on many fronts.
New Mayor, new Council and dealings with Millenium re: a hotel project.
QUOTE:
” (Nanaimo) Council appears to have taken a hard line with Millennium, but I guarantee you, this group really just wants to establish a tough-love relationship. Every councillor I’ve talked to wants to stay with the company. Without Millennium, they have to start the process all over again and that means several more years of delays, even if they’re able to find a developer with enough money to spend in these tough times. But a failed deal also means council would have to find a new way to build condos next to Maffeo-Sutton Park, not an easy task considering the differing opinions among councillors about the type of development desired for the downtown. ”
My view is get over it Nanaimo….all the evidence suggests Millenium is in the death throes, it would much prefer to do the Vancouver deal if it could, Nanaimo is off the radar screen. If Millenium can’t do it by NOW it never will, given all the projections show the economy will get worse. Even if you build your Nanaimo hotel…it may sit empty and no one comes to your Convention Center anyway as the global economy tanks. This goes back to my earlier post on how these little political rubes in cities everywhere get suckered into these white elephant projects, where, like the Olympics, they rarely even break even.
———————————————–
They are also looking at serious belt tightening given the economic slowdown.
January 9th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
My apologies if this has been discussed already but am I the only one questioning why the real estate board has not released the December data?”
You should be smart enough to know why you’re the only one who’s questioning about the data, it’s because you’re 5 days behind in life. Everyone’s seen the numbers except you. What planet do you live on?
“Construction layoffs drove the decline, as the sector lost 44,300 full-time jobs to register one of the sharpest monthly drops in more than three decades. ”
These construction workers don’t even live in Vancouver. They’re immigrants. Who cares about those numbers. They’ll get packed up into a container and shipped out to Dubai.
Confessions of an Economic Hitman, by John Perkins.
Great book. Confirms what we already know if we’re cynics/realists. Opens your eyes if you’re a dewy optimist or retarded, utopian, world-improver/do-gooder.
I borrowed my copy from the library, so I stole this telling quote from the book’s Wiki entry:
“Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals who…funnel money from the World Bank…and other foreign “aid” organizations into the coffers of huge corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy families who control the planet’s natural resources. Their tools included fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder.”
Perkins wrote that “organizations like the C.I.A. and the N.S.A. (recruited) potential economic hit men like me” and sent them “to work for private consulting companies, engineering firms, construction companies, so that if we were caught, there would be no connection with the government.”
The bottom line: COV is on the hook for EVERYTHING. That was admitted to by the young mayor today on the 6 PM news.
Shocking, yes, reality bites yes. Fortis walked months ago and COV has taken up the management and the bills.
Nobodys ‘working together towards a common goal”. The rats have leapt over the side. This ship is going down, along with any expectations of new books for the schools, housing for the homeless and everything else. Taxes are going to SCREAM UP. The costs are out of control and will hit the planet Mars before the screwballs at COV and thier union buddies suck the citizens dry.
Fortress wasn’t shy to renegotiate, so I don’t see why the city should be either, especially since what’s at stake is the future wealth and well-being of our city. This is a major undertaking involving many parties with a common goal and its success depends on everyone working together. Making one party and its citizens take a disproportionate hit due to bad circumstances could result in a lot of bad will.
Another comment is that the construction cost per unit of these condos is very high. Not exactly sure why that is.
So lets see, the Millenium Project is now under COV management and they are ONE BILLION DOLLARS in the red at this time. They got the land for free , so they can’t add that into thier costs. They have only finished the concrete shell and foundation (thats the cheap stuff)and the project is a billion in the hole.
Now if they manage to spend as much per sq ft as they did with the Pennsylvania SRO at roughly 4 times market cost using thier union contractors guided by the idiot incompetants at COV we should see the final costs come in at something north of FOUR BILLION DOLLARS using the same cost structure of $326 per SQ FT finished cost.
I’m leaning towards the 4 billion ++ figure because like I said they haven’t even got to the expensive part of the project yet and they are being mangaged by a staff of miscreants, malcontents and no good niks who couldn’t manage a lemonade stand.
This is a real construction project, no one at the city of Vancouver has any experiance doing this type of work. You have to understand the construction buisness, no one at COV has this kind of background, especially the young novice pretender Greggy ( look up my skirt) Roberts.
An entirely new team of project managers will have to be brought in from who knows where on extremly short notice and that is going to be very expensive. They are going to need a lot of time to envision the project or they will not take on the liability. Who would.
They are certainly not going to take on this mess sight unseen on any contract basis except a cost plus open ended contract which does not extend thier own liability.
Hey case in point, look at that smart German firm that walked off the tunnel project in North van when the government started fucking with the plans.
Oh No , little Greggy, you’re in way over your head on this. best to bail now. Or do you have buyers lined up for all the 50 million dollar condos you’re stuck with. I come to this figure by multiplying the current expectation of selling the condos for 6 mill ( as currently advertised) X 4 which is probably where your costs end up.
Dream On sweet Prince. The next time I want to see you in a skirt it better be on the pretty boys float during Gay Pride Week. This town is going to need a good laugh.
Vancouver real estate never go down has a copy right protection means you can adopt it’s model any where in the world however you need to be residence of original city because saying apply on it’s soil only.People in dubai thought it is vancouver but when they were searching for seymoure bombshells?Anyway Vancouver is multicultural society with advantage of international language,rain and beach plus friendly attitudes while in dubai there is a fear of under world don D Ibrahim believe to be hiding along with Sota Shakel and their regiments attending call for opration from bin like daddies.
You can tell it’s BAAAAAADDD news when Mayor Gregor makes the announcement on Friday.
Any media hack will tell you that Friday is the traditional day for bad news…..then the messengers can take off and hope the weekend dilutes people’s memories.
Regardless, he is candidly admitting what many VCI posters have been saying all along, the Olympic Village will be a financial disaster.
January 10th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
realpaul:
realpaul,
I guess during boom days, it is not the $200 lawyer expense, but the time of the lawyer review, that makes the buyers to take the short-cut. Think about a long line-up on a new development site.
But either ways, the buyers were fooled, by a group of xyz-tards. The facts are that the buyers are really the *tards, and those xyz-tards are not and they have made a lot of benefits from the miserable buyers.
Where is the monitoring system? Where is the justice system? Where is the government? NO-LYMPICS is right – we may have to take care of ourselves, alone.
January 10th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
144 RennieWhereRU? Says:
January 10th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
So the development industry has risen the white flag.
==================================================
You have to wonder what the Private Developers with an oversupply of condos of their own are thinking now the Mayor Gregor has exposed Vancouver’s worst- kept secret.
City of Vancouver has several hundred condos to unload in the very near future. This is called competing product.
One never knows how desperate City of Vancouver might be. Its like an iceberg of supply looming to flood the market with a fire sale at any moment.
That……plus why would a private developer embarrass themselves trying to flog a dead horse to an increasingly aware public with RE product of value that is depreciating daily.
Vancouver has to have some very good advice to make a good call. There is a point the financing costs continually eat away at the profit(which I think is gone), versus the hold out for a market turnaround which may never happen. In other words, selling at a loss may be the best moves..it may enrage the citizens, but thats why a good bean counter lays out the best-case to minimize the losses, which is what I think will be COV’s best strategy.
January 10th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
RennieWhereRU?:
The hard costs for the Olympic village are $875 +++ per sq. ft excluding ancilliary costs and growing like a 100 mega ton thermal nuke.
The COV is looking at market costs of comparables and crapping thier pants. They mentioned ‘ holding the condos off the market until conditions improve’. HAHAHAHAHA ad infinitum. You say $200 a sq. ft in 2 years , I say sub $100 within 1 year.
January 10th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Protestors shouldn’t be inconveniencing the public with stunts like blocking traffic..they lose support . Also they also attract rebellious a-holes who cling on and use it as an excuse to wreak havoc, vandalism etc. like the Vancouver Canucks riots.
Need to announce the protests ahead of time and get everyone riled up but civil. Politicians worst nightmare is a large organized mob they can’t arrest.
How about March and April when Local Gov’ts draft their annual budgets? Especially Vancouver !
I’d like to see Shaughnessy trophy wives , business executives, clergy people, handicapped and homeless people (aka just about E-V-E-R-Y-B-O-D-Y) marching arm -in -arm on the Olympic clock and every other Olympic venue
January 10th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
CZ:
I never understood why a homebuyer wouldn’t spend a measly $200 to have a lawyer review thier purchase contract before committing themselves to it. This is a perfect example of why you should never ever trust a realturd.
January 10th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
The protesters marched down Georgia and managed to block both lanes for a bit and they needed a police escort.
I think a lot of those protesters are just there to cause trouble and don’t care about the cause furthermore blocking traffic doesn’t prove anything, it’s not like driving down Georgia is restricted to people who support the Israeli occupation..
Maybe I just don’t get it?
January 10th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
So the development industry has risen the white flag. Vowed never to buy a Vancouver Sun today but I want to keep the headline from today’s paper regarding Olympics. Only one small tiny section of Westcoast Homes! Anyone remember the days when there were 3 (yes even in January)! I LOVE IT. All that real estate marketing crap and biased commentary used to make me rage. I used to wipe my ass with it, then burn it. Today I will keep it with the front page as the day the industry raised the white flag that there is no point advertising its crap product. There are no buyers and the market is flooded. We will be at $200/SF for conrete Downtown within 2 years.
January 10th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
CZ:
realpaul, any comments on the possibility of similar cases in YVR? thanks.
January 10th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
new canadian real estate bear blog
So, looking at that, it really goes without saying that all declines are not equal when it comes to real dollars… especially in Vancouver, where a 10% loss there, would equal an 18% one in Calgary, 29% in Montreal, or 38% in Winnipeg. So just keep in mind, all those plot points are relative.
http://edmontonhousingbust.blogspot.com/
January 10th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
blueskies: These Somali pirates do have contribution to the financial crunch – they have trimmed down $3-million for the inflated financial world. So in theory, the $500-trillion potential trouble is shrunk 0.0000006%.
January 10th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
137 bdk Says:
January 10th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Can anyone else see the big protest going on downtown?
They’re on Georgia now.
=========================
BDK:
Keep us updated if you can.
I am sure it will be on the T.V. News.
Time for BC to rock and roll with a 2009 “anti -2010″ party
YEAH BABY !!!!
January 10th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Post 135 CZ
Great link and great digging !
Adds more to my view Local Gov’ts are useless t*ts.
Watch the floodgates unfold from people venting who were stung in so many ways in this latest building orgy boom.
PS:
I hesitated to use the word ” innocent ” in front of people venting….”caveat emptor” aka “buyer beware” is even more relevant and applicable in boom times.
If you think your Local Gov’t gives a shite about your best interest , I have a bridge to sell you and I will throw in a warehouse full of “I’m Backing the Bid ” bumper stickers no one wants to use anymore for some strange life – saving/self – preservation reason.
January 10th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
realpaul:
Ah less we forget, it was Campell and his management that did a wonerful job on the new confention center. How much over budget is it again???
January 10th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Can anyone else see the big protest going on downtown?
They’re on Georgia now.
January 10th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Vancouver host city for 2010 games!
host (hōst)
noun
1. one who entertains guests either at home or elsewhere
2. a person who keeps an inn or hotel; innkeeper
3. a country or area that provides place and services for a competition or event the city will be host to the Olympics
4. any organism on or in which a parasitic organism lives for nourishment or protection
January 10th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Worth to check out this, New Home Nightmares:
http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/...../main.html
This is not a single instance – 18 new houses on one street, built by the same builder, without permit to start the building. During the boom days, who knows how many houses were built like those? How do you know if the house was decent built when you buy a brand new one? After thousands dollars spent on the crap (a.k.a. the new house), the couples are still suffering from nightmares, with a lot of mental stresses.
Who are the parties to be blamed for the mess?
1. the builder – Mr. Wright, he is sued as a result eventually
2. the government pointed inspector – seems still in large
3. the insurance company Tarion for the new home guarantee program, who should protect the home owner, but in fact it protected the builder on the contrary – just changed head.
4. anyone else? you guess.
——–
I would think if you are going to buy a home, be extremely cautious on the houses built during the boom time, say during 2004 and 2008. Lessons learned.
January 10th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Check out this thread on the OlyVill if you want to see me going at someone named LB, which presumably stands for ‘Last Bull.’
January 10th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
“Oh, boy. I predict many will stay around and try to work with out any papers. Maybe file some refugee claims? If their work situation isn’t good in their country I doubt they’re going to want to go back. Not that it’s a problem. CIC loses several thousand immigrants with removal orders every year.”
Many will work for cash under the table.
It will be interesting to see how some builders will compete paying regular wages to construction workers, while other pay $8.00 cash, plus a bunk bed in a basement shared by 20 others.
No seat belts in vehicle driven to construction site!
January 10th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
I get the feeling that looking back on this era “public private partnerships” will be seen as todays version of asbestos. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and the sales pitch was slick, whocouldanode that it would turn out so toxic?
January 10th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Olympic village costs getting scary
http://www.vancouversun.com/ne.....story.html
January 10th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Costs of COV loans ‘hundreds of millions
http://www.vancouversun.com/Ho.....story.html
January 10th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Olympic costs gargantuan and growing
http://www.vancouversun.com/Sp.....story.html
January 10th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
NO-LYMPICS,I share your frustration, it’s unfair some criminals go to jail for pilfering, and others get rich doing the same thing on a greater scale.
If only people could see the connection between this grand theft and the eventual cut backs which will impact on schools and hospitals-basically the most venerable.
January 10th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
“These construction workers don’t even live in Vancouver. They’re immigrants. Who cares about those numbers. They’ll get packed up into a container and shipped out to Dubai.”
Oh, boy. I predict many will stay around and try to work with out any papers. Maybe file some refugee claims? If their work situation isn’t good in their country I doubt they’re going to want to go back. Not that it’s a problem. CIC loses several thousand immigrants with removal orders every year.
January 10th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
I think the answer to the Olympic Village Fiasco is to set up an Olympic Rescue Team
Find the best people in to run the organization and pay them well.
My nominees are:
President Bob Rennie
Spokesperson Bill Good
Strategic Planning Ozzie
Risk Management Muir
VP Marketing Helmut Pastick
Comptroller Tsur
January 10th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Here’s the Plan
Non -Vancouver BC Citizes start to rally and make it clear a revolution will occur if one dime of BC Gov’t $$$ goes to bail COV. That would be salt in the wounds while other areas of BC have been bleeding.
The COV citizens likewise take the cue and plan a revolt if COV raises taxes.
Then what?
Sue us?
Go ahead, we still won’t pay, can’t get blood out of a stone.
Has the IOC actually taken a Gov’t to court ?
Jimmy Pattison had a saying “your FIRST loss is your BEST loss.
What would the IOC say of everyone said F*ck off IOC we ain’t paying,we shut down and eat our losses to date, in fact why not cancel the 2010 games ?
Seriously if any VCI poster or anyone else was given a choice to
(i)Cancel OR
(ii)Keep paying(and paying and paying for years
what would you do?
I’d laugh like hell as I vote “NO”. I could care less about “world class” BC being notorious for standing up to this IOC black hole…maybe the world would thank us and give us a medal.
There will be a tipping point where a decision to fund something far more important ie “X” will be weighed against the continued 2010 cheque – writing.
We haven’t even started talking about the Security Bill….they LowBalled it at under $ 200 Million, but the lying pimps now hint at $1 Billion, especially when all the last few Olympics have been OVER $1 Billion. To me, this lowball was the first warnign sign these scumbag were lying to us. The Snivel servant cops etc. will be drooling over the gravy train that will be this $1 Billion cost to act as gun- toting macho -looking kevlar- clad bouncers for for this 2 week party.
Maybe the IOC should turn tail and run when an army of 4 Million BC residents says F*ck off IOC.
January 10th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
NO -LYMPICS:
No lympics, the COV will certainly get financing given it’s cash cow slave base sometimes referred to as citizens, but the question is not only at what cost, but at what terms.
There is certainly not going to be a friendly reduction of labour rates by the cooperative socially concious unions. In fact you can count on ever more onerous conditions and escalating costs of the labour component should the COV move to a 24/7 mandate. These are socialist city managers working with barking mad socialist union ideagogues. None of whom has any experiance in major project development. Not a good combination. WAC BENNETT said ” These socialists ( The NDP ) couldn’t run a lemonade stand”, it’s always proved to be true with the socialists of this Province, it won’t be any differant this time.
The whole thing is more like a circus for it’s entertainment value, except you know that it will end in a steamy slashing bloodbath for the taxpayer. In that it’s more like a Greek tragedy where everyone dies.
” I hear the train a comin, it’s comin round the bend”. Johnny Cash.
Remember the fast ferries and the NDP? This project is going to blow that fiasco out of the water in proportion but instead of being a Provincial disaster which was washed in the huge bucket of ‘General Revenue’ this is a site specific COV issue which I very much doubt will become a Provincial liability.
Campbell isn’t likeable , but he isn’t stupid. Think of how much political sway he will have with COV city councils by hanging this over thier heads. Look at how he can point out the dangers of a socialist administration during elections coming, it’s the NDP fiasco part deux. Greg ( the pretty young boy in a skirt) Roberts and council have handed Campbell a free ride come next election.
I wouldn’t doubt that they will try to float some kind of bond at agregious intrest , something like 11-14%. Lets watch and see shall we? Watching these losers squirm has got to be sweet justice for Sam Sullivan who took that coke poured over his head with a seraphic smile. He obviously knew what was coming. Revenge is sweet.
January 10th, 2009 at 11:16 am
Good article on rental market price declines in LA as a result of the bust.
Here is Calculated Risk putting it in perspective, you can link to the original LA Times article from there.
A snippet. Mark Verge, owner of the property listings service Westside Rentals, said he’d seen rents fall faster in the last three months than at any time since he founded the company 13 years ago.
“I used to have to beg owners to lower rents. Now they ask me, ‘What do you think I should lower it to?’ ” Verge said.
Verge said his service had 24,000 units listed for rent — a 33% increase from the 18,000 he had at this time last year.
January 10th, 2009 at 11:14 am
…another possible group of
rich offshore buyers to save YVR RE
“rich Somali pirates”
http://tinyurl.com/76hwuk
…oh wait that didn’t work out too well
supraboy back to you……
January 10th, 2009 at 9:38 am
( Be right back…time to get more coffee and thank God I ain’t a Vancovuer property owner).
“Olympic Village may cost Vancouver taxpayers $875M: Mayor”
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story.....llage.html
QUOTE:
‘The Olympic village is a billion-dollar project, and the city taxpayers are on the hook for all of it.’
— Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson
Key word is “ALL” of it.
So, Gregor admits it, must be implying Millenium is toast.
Prediction is Fortress Group is either toast soon,(its share value has tanked….) or playing a dangerous game of bluff to see if the City blinks FIRST and literally gives away the farm ie City assets or other “in kind” leverage mechanisms etc..
Story re Fortress Group:
http://www.streetinsider.com/I.....65257.html
The COV may be in THE weakest position…can it afford to start over and go shopping for financing in such an economic climate ? I don’t think so.
Fortress Group seems to be tanking as well, but may see that its own short term salvation solution will be to put a gun to COV’s head and milk them to the last drop . If this was a private sector debtor, they would simply fold and run. Again , a Gov’t can’t…and Fortress knows it, and knew it going in.
Given the aforementioned ,….My prediction is the City announcement Friday is a preamble to the outright sellout of Vancouver and its citizens next Thursday,( the last deadline day they announced ).
PS I am not counting on any miracles or white knights and especially ANY senior levels of Gov’t. If they do I sense a major revolt.
January 10th, 2009 at 9:15 am
John Perkins (Economic Hitman)is interviewed in movie ” Zeitgeist: Addendum ”
http://video.google.com/videop.....7695921912
————————————————————
Also:
A proposed solution to the global economic mess is the ” Venus Project”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T.....us_Project
January 10th, 2009 at 8:40 am
Post # 108 from realpaul
Quote:
This is a real construction project, no one at the city of Vancouver has any experiance doing this type of work. You have to understand the construction buisness, no one at COV has this kind of background, especially the young novice pretender Greggy ( look up my skirt) Roberts.
An entirely new team of project managers will have to be brought in from who knows where on extremly short notice and that is going to be very expensive. They are going to need a lot of time to envision the project or they will not take on the liability. Who would.
They are certainly not going to take on this mess sight unseen on any contract basis except a cost plus open ended contract which does not extend thier own liability.
=============================
I recall a few weeks back a construction worker being interviewed who had stated they may soon be working on the Olympic Village site 24/7.
That will be a good indicator of how desperate they are if it happens. Any VCI posters eyes out there to keep tabs?
Cost-Plus contract?
If that happens we are talking free fall into a black hole.
On the one hand, there are thousands of construction workers now out of work, one would think that one of the few silver linings is labour costs for the Olympic Village would be much cheaper. However, COV Council has a distinct Left Wing aka ” Union friendly” slant. However, the General Public has no appetite for pork – barrelling favouritism, increased taxes, and snouts in the Public Trough.
My sense is that the Olympic Village contractors in place will stay in place…when things were booming there were shortages and securing any contractors came at a premium.
Given work has dried up, these Contractors are doubly blessed with work and likley at high rates.
All I can see is them ratcheting up the schedule, but I am sure that with the IOC penalty gun at COV’s head…COV is likely on schedule insofar as the work…its simply a matter of securing the financing.
However, just because its a Gov’t body is NO guarantee COV will get any financing. COV Credit Rating ( TRIPLE A ?) will get shot over this one single deal ,and my guess is for years… and of coure this affects all their OTHER financing, the interest rates they pay which of course leads to higher property taxes , …..Catch 22 ad – infinitum .
Seriously , what lenders are going to lend to anyone holding the bag on this Olympic Village ? The demands for collateral from any lenders will be UNprecedented for a Local Gov’t.
We are in quasi Science-Fiction areas if No One lends to COV , the project stops, and the IOC enacts its penalty clauses and sicks its legal pit bulls on the COV.
There are so many “PERFECT STORM” variables lining up as this black hole continually expands it is hard to keep up and keep track of…..one literally has to buy a frikkin program.
January 10th, 2009 at 8:06 am
Olympic Village ( Public – Private venture) VERSUS 100% Private Sector Development .
This harkens back to my earlier posts.
This entire deal has too many overlapping obligations and legalities.
Host Olympic cities are obligated to build accomodations for Olympic athletes.
Rather than tents or perhap Britco trailers or renting out trailer park, it appears that permanent apartment buildings/condos are the norm for Olympic athletes.
Vancovuer, as host City has a land shortage re land for hi dnsity residential. It had a fair amount of land on the South side of False Creek The City mandarins must have either felt they were geniuses (or perhaps lobbied by such outside groups as ” global Economic Hit Men” )to do a joint venture development to build the Olympic Village for the athletes and then sell them at a profit. At the time the deal was announced, the press reports seemed to indicate that Vancouver had outright sold the land for an UNprecedented price per sq. ft.
Later we find out it was a strange Joint Venture.
However, given the IOC has its sticky fingers in, and must be catered to first, I had noted that IOC deal with host cities are often secretive and very confidential. My best guess is COV cannot cut corners on the OLYMPIC Village, because for all intents and purposes IOC and VANOC own it…even if its for a short time. The IOC specificiations can and will be adhered to, that is common practice. That is then a fixed non -negotiable cost. For all we know,…IOC may also insist on the standard of labour used ie certiifed tradesmen.
COV in my view will have squat all wriggle room…simply on the basis of beholden to IOC in this Olympic Village Joint Venture with (i) IOC (ii)Millenium and (iii) COV
THUS:
IOC has basically a (2 )week use, but ironically the IOC has more say and control over the Olympic Village than either Millenium or COV . IOC has no risk…has the lions share of the benefits, but conversley Millenium and COV carry all the risk and increasingly liitle if any benenfit. In fact, as we speak,this is now going down the totem pole with COV left as the last man standing and left carrying the ENTIRE bag.
In sheer contrast,..Private Developers are more savvvy than COV “Donald Trump wannabee” rubes…they can and will have flexible contracts and cut corners, if not have numbered companies set up per project and bail as a last resort.
Private sector developers didn’t get RICH cutting cheques if they can avoid it , and COV and its taxpayers will get POORER and POORER by cutting seemingly endless cheques.
January 10th, 2009 at 7:32 am
Curious what, if any , ” W-r-GG..l…E ” room the COV has re the Olympic Village.
Apparently, 1/3 of the units are sold (whatever that means ie downpayment on the VISA card , 0/40 loan ??? My guess is they didn’t want to scare off buyers and bottom -fed to the lowest common denominator of other developers )
Unless Olympic Village had weasel- clauses in the purchase contract that allowed them to cut corners,(CBC show had a very good news feature on this a while back) these units that were sold may have savvy buyers who insist on the terms of the agreement(ie granite countertops,and NOT formica cove top counter with granite look,…. OR stainless steel applicances and NOT lime green rebuilts from the 1970′s ) .
If this is not complied with, these buyers may claim “breach of contract” and get their deposit back(which I am sure they would prefer). In other words, these current buyers may bail, using any/all mean possible to put the agreement under microscopic legal scrutiny. They may even get really smart, organize and rally and try to embarass the City which the image conscious City won’t like and then sign all sorts of mutually agreeable non- disclosure deals.
The City is very vulnerable now, the law of the jungle kicks in (ie go for the throat and the nether regions at the same time).
===========================================
The 2/3 of the Olympic Village units NOT yet sold will be interesting as to if they can or will cut corners in these Unsold units in order to complete.
(To be continued)
January 10th, 2009 at 7:08 am
From Nanaimo:
“Analysis: Do we have the council to get us through 2009?”
http://www.chtv.com/ch/cheknew.....4982319e96
QUOTE:
Nanaimo faces some pressing issues as the city moves into 2009 and residents should be concerned about whether or not their city council has the experience and skill to close deals and curtail spending. City staff know how to manage our finances, but ultimately direction has to come from our elected politicians. And with a few newbies and some old-time mainstays at the helm, we need assurance that we voted for the right people to lead the city through the next year, a 12-month stretch that some say will be a treacherous time that requires prudent decision-making and frugal spending.
=================================
Nanaimo is fascinating parallel to Vancouver on many fronts.
New Mayor, new Council and dealings with Millenium re: a hotel project.
QUOTE:
” (Nanaimo) Council appears to have taken a hard line with Millennium, but I guarantee you, this group really just wants to establish a tough-love relationship. Every councillor I’ve talked to wants to stay with the company. Without Millennium, they have to start the process all over again and that means several more years of delays, even if they’re able to find a developer with enough money to spend in these tough times. But a failed deal also means council would have to find a new way to build condos next to Maffeo-Sutton Park, not an easy task considering the differing opinions among councillors about the type of development desired for the downtown. ”
My view is get over it Nanaimo….all the evidence suggests Millenium is in the death throes, it would much prefer to do the Vancouver deal if it could, Nanaimo is off the radar screen. If Millenium can’t do it by NOW it never will, given all the projections show the economy will get worse. Even if you build your Nanaimo hotel…it may sit empty and no one comes to your Convention Center anyway as the global economy tanks. This goes back to my earlier post on how these little political rubes in cities everywhere get suckered into these white elephant projects, where, like the Olympics, they rarely even break even.
———————————————–
They are also looking at serious belt tightening given the economic slowdown.
(To be continued)
January 9th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
“MickeyFinn Says:
January 9th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
My apologies if this has been discussed already but am I the only one questioning why the real estate board has not released the December data?”
You should be smart enough to know why you’re the only one who’s questioning about the data, it’s because you’re 5 days behind in life. Everyone’s seen the numbers except you. What planet do you live on?
January 9th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
“Construction layoffs drove the decline, as the sector lost 44,300 full-time jobs to register one of the sharpest monthly drops in more than three decades. ”
These construction workers don’t even live in Vancouver. They’re immigrants. Who cares about those numbers. They’ll get packed up into a container and shipped out to Dubai.
January 9th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Confessions of an Economic Hitman, by John Perkins.
Great book. Confirms what we already know if we’re cynics/realists. Opens your eyes if you’re a dewy optimist or retarded, utopian, world-improver/do-gooder.
I borrowed my copy from the library, so I stole this telling quote from the book’s Wiki entry:
“Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals who…funnel money from the World Bank…and other foreign “aid” organizations into the coffers of huge corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy families who control the planet’s natural resources. Their tools included fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder.”
Perkins wrote that “organizations like the C.I.A. and the N.S.A. (recruited) potential economic hit men like me” and sent them “to work for private consulting companies, engineering firms, construction companies, so that if we were caught, there would be no connection with the government.”
January 9th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
observer:
The bottom line: COV is on the hook for EVERYTHING. That was admitted to by the young mayor today on the 6 PM news.
Shocking, yes, reality bites yes. Fortis walked months ago and COV has taken up the management and the bills.
Nobodys ‘working together towards a common goal”. The rats have leapt over the side. This ship is going down, along with any expectations of new books for the schools, housing for the homeless and everything else. Taxes are going to SCREAM UP. The costs are out of control and will hit the planet Mars before the screwballs at COV and thier union buddies suck the citizens dry.
January 9th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
Thanks vancouverboom2 and Lilypad… the REBGV moved the info on me.
January 9th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
NO -LYMPICS:
http://tinyurl.com/7cw3ce
Beijing based craigslist ad flogging Alberta RE….. whodathunkit?
January 9th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Fortress wasn’t shy to renegotiate, so I don’t see why the city should be either, especially since what’s at stake is the future wealth and well-being of our city. This is a major undertaking involving many parties with a common goal and its success depends on everyone working together. Making one party and its citizens take a disproportionate hit due to bad circumstances could result in a lot of bad will.
Another comment is that the construction cost per unit of these condos is very high. Not exactly sure why that is.
January 9th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
So lets see, the Millenium Project is now under COV management and they are ONE BILLION DOLLARS in the red at this time. They got the land for free , so they can’t add that into thier costs. They have only finished the concrete shell and foundation (thats the cheap stuff)and the project is a billion in the hole.
Now if they manage to spend as much per sq ft as they did with the Pennsylvania SRO at roughly 4 times market cost using thier union contractors guided by the idiot incompetants at COV we should see the final costs come in at something north of FOUR BILLION DOLLARS using the same cost structure of $326 per SQ FT finished cost.
I’m leaning towards the 4 billion ++ figure because like I said they haven’t even got to the expensive part of the project yet and they are being mangaged by a staff of miscreants, malcontents and no good niks who couldn’t manage a lemonade stand.
This is a real construction project, no one at the city of Vancouver has any experiance doing this type of work. You have to understand the construction buisness, no one at COV has this kind of background, especially the young novice pretender Greggy ( look up my skirt) Roberts.
An entirely new team of project managers will have to be brought in from who knows where on extremly short notice and that is going to be very expensive. They are going to need a lot of time to envision the project or they will not take on the liability. Who would.
They are certainly not going to take on this mess sight unseen on any contract basis except a cost plus open ended contract which does not extend thier own liability.
Hey case in point, look at that smart German firm that walked off the tunnel project in North van when the government started fucking with the plans.
Oh No , little Greggy, you’re in way over your head on this. best to bail now. Or do you have buyers lined up for all the 50 million dollar condos you’re stuck with. I come to this figure by multiplying the current expectation of selling the condos for 6 mill ( as currently advertised) X 4 which is probably where your costs end up.
Dream On sweet Prince. The next time I want to see you in a skirt it better be on the pretty boys float during Gay Pride Week. This town is going to need a good laugh.
January 9th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
#106
It’s all clear now, that you for the explanation
January 9th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
Micky #91
Try rebgv.org or click on link below
http://www.rebgv.org/news-stat.....-vancouver
http://www.rebgv.org/housing-p.....2008-12-01
BDK,
Vancouver real estate never go down has a copy right protection means you can adopt it’s model any where in the world however you need to be residence of original city because saying apply on it’s soil only.People in dubai thought it is vancouver but when they were searching for seymoure bombshells?Anyway Vancouver is multicultural society with advantage of international language,rain and beach plus friendly attitudes while in dubai there is a fear of under world don D Ibrahim believe to be hiding along with Sota Shakel and their regiments attending call for opration from bin like daddies.
January 9th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
NO -LYMPICS:
http://tinyurl.com/7cw3ce
Beijing based craigslist ad flogging AB RE….. whodathunkit?
January 9th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
Apparently Mayor Gregor is the grand nephew of Dr. Norman Bethune.
Wheewwww !!!
You know the punchline right…
” ALL THOSE RICH ASIANS WILL FLOCK TO VANCOUVER OUT OF GRATITUDE AND BUY UP ALL THOSE CONDOS , INCRUDING THE ORRYMPIC VIRRAGE ”
How do you say CraigsList in Cantonese or Mandarin ?
January 9th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
“in the last month prices are down 50%” this is the place that copied Vancouver.
January 9th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
HAHHA
#32 is awesome!
Hey Satv what do you think of that you idiot?
http://www.videosift.com/video.....-Overnight
January 9th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
You can tell it’s BAAAAAADDD news when Mayor Gregor makes the announcement on Friday.
Any media hack will tell you that Friday is the traditional day for bad news…..then the messengers can take off and hope the weekend dilutes people’s memories.
Regardless, he is candidly admitting what many VCI posters have been saying all along, the Olympic Village will be a financial disaster.