Welcome!
VancouverPeak.com- jesse and Makaya are now friends
- jesse replied to the forum topic Sandbox. in the group Housing Data
- jesse posted an update: CMHC starts, completions and under construction in Vancouver […]
- The Ant started the forum topic BC Population Growth in the group Housing Data
- jesse and The Ant are now friends
- jesse and wreckonomics are now friends
- wreckonomics posted an update: New Year, New HPI. ”Selection Broadens and Demand Eases to […]
- Best place on meth and admin are now friends
- jesse and Best place on meth are now friends
- jesse replied to the forum topic February 2012 Daily Numbers in the group Housing Data
Wordpress theme by Abhishek Tripathi of Mediawick Digital Solutions
January 13th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
I voted ‘No’: Some get to retire early off the money they made from the “sandwich meat” and then they start complaining when they have to pay a few thousand to the city whose hand they so handsomely fed from.
January 13th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
It seems a few dozen very well placed people get lucky and rich while evryone else gets left holding the bag. Facts speak for themselves.
Some get to be senators.
January 13th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
142 realpaul Says:
January 13th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
No-lympics you wrote about the CBS oil report
Some additional info
http://seekingalpha.com/articl…..b_articles
======================================================
realpaul
Read it … Mucho Thanks.
60 Minutes gave a very good primer on how Futures Markets work.
Overall , the 60 Minutes Report made too much sense for a denialists to shoot it down.
They tend to do their research/homework , and their investigative credibility is their main asset.
January 13th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Well ….think of the Positive.
Think of the Olympics like a visit to the Dentist
2010 “root canal” is over in about a year
The Brits have got 3+ years to live in sheer fear , loathing and dread of the same before its over.
At least we held “Olympics LITE” ie the cheaper Olympic WINTER games.
Her Majesty Q.E. may have to put the Family Jewels in hock.
Prince Harry can be an opening act for Andrew Dice Clay .
Think positive !
January 13th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Post # 144 aka “Poo flinger”
Don’t you ever run out of ammo ?
Are you down to the vital organs soon/yet ?
Let us know.
January 13th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
realpaul:
..follow Salt Lake, Athens, Sydney and Beijing as a post Olympic Mega Bomb. …
realpaul, try to look at the bright side, at least we know Vancouver is not going to follow up Sarajevo’s post Olympic mega bomb..
January 13th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
realpaul: Give it a rest, sandwich meat man.
January 13th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
London is hosting ‘ the real Olympics’ in 2012 so shouldn’t the real estate market be booming. I mean isn’t London a ‘world class city’ like Vancouver?
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9e94.....ck_check=1
Vancouver may follow Salt Lake, Athens, Sydney and Beijing as a post Olympic Mega Bomb. Taxpayers and all those wonderful pre olympic fluff pieces have blown up in taxpayers faces everywhere. It seems a few dozen very well placed people get lucky and rich while evryone else gets left holding the bag. Facts speak for themselves.
January 13th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
No-lympics you wrote about the CBS oil report
Some additional info
http://seekingalpha.com/articl.....b_articles
January 13th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
You probably saw that older fellow who said on the News (re the Olympic Village bailout) who said ” What? they better not ask me for a single penny”…or words to that effect.
They have repeated that video clip.
PREDICTION: It will become a rallying cry.
As realpaul has researched…it may cost over $ 100 Million per year in just the INTEREST payments. That is over 10% of COV annual budget….again just the I-N-T-E-R-E-S-T payments , with the goal to fulfill its contractual obligations…and avoid penalties.
JOB # 1:
The COV is in a major stickhandling exercise with ” COV Citizen-Taxpayer Bank “.
Simply stated, the objective is to fund the Olympic Village “White Elephant” to birth on NOV. 2009 , when VANOC then adopts it.
What happens AFTER Feb 2010 is not even a concern/focus right now for the COV.
The PERFECT STORM has placed the COV in between a Rock and a Hard Place.
You will see a COV Citizen based in Revolt re Tax Increases. They don’t care who is to blame. In a declining RE market,… they will already feel robbed with more salt rubbed in the wounds, it’s simply Human Nature.
COV Vision party will be forced to slash and burn City services…Staff layoffs…it won’t have any choice.
Citizens will harbour grudges to City Civil Servants who have “safe jobs” as their own jobs are dubious if not already laid – off.
Batten down the hatches.
PS
I don’t wish for this to happen, but I cannot for the life of me not see it unfolding as outlined.
January 13th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
If you have a nagging feeling like the world is a bit to contrived,. If you can handle a good dose of reality in the morning.
read George Ure at Urban Survival
http://www.urbansurvival.com/week.htm
January 13th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
1) Does this sound familiar. Is this a parellel or what
In discussing the €110 billion given in loans to developers, Mr Kelly said a typical regional housing collapse in the US saw banks sustain a 20 per cent loss on these loans, but the narrowness of the Irish market increased the risk of “substantially larger losses” for Irish banks.
A future headline will read;
‘ The narrowness of the Vancouver market increased the risk of substantially larger losses.’ You read it here first.
January 13th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Olympic Village:
As the detail ooze out…it looks like they also bought the “GREEN” Coloured Kool – Aid.
By that I refer to all those LEEDS standards etc.
If not mistaken, they will have “Green Rooves” on some buildings.
City of Richmond made “Green Rooves”mandatory for certain classes and sizes of Non Residential buildings, and acknowledged that would add approx 20 % to the construction costs.
So… if the Olympic Village is going this route…maybe time to cut back on this “GREEN” frill ? Any smart condo shopper may see the premium that gets rolled into the price , balk and then walk.
However, the dipshites in COV probably locked LEEDS and “Green Rooves” into the Olympic Village contract. It will end up being another waste of $$$ Millions of Taxpayer dollars.
January 13th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
no-olympics: COV doesn’t have the expertise to do something like that, but it was fun imagining it anyways.
As I see it, there are two obligations COV needs to meet. One is to IOC and probably it would be hard to come up with an alternative in such a short time.
The other is the penalties to Fortress if it doesn’t complete. If Millennium can’t complete on its own, COV needs to step into provide funds to fulfill its obligation. If there are refinancing penalties, it should normally be Millennium who has to pay I should think (because COV only has to ensure completion, it doesn’t necessarily mean it has to borrow from Fortress), but I guess ultimately, they will just tack that on what they ask from COV.
Although it is possible COV can get back this money from future sales, the fact that Fortress seems to be the first creditor doesn’t bode well in this regard as you pointed out.
Ultimately, it boils down to saving face and maintaining our ‘world class status’. The question is whether this will mean the city will deteriorate in standard of living due to future lack of funds for other things. It is often said the olympics boosts the local economy. On the contrary, I think the opposite is true. It is meant to be a drain on the host citizens as a test to see if they can withstand it without descending into a slum like conditions. If they can, then they can call themselves ‘world class’.
January 13th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
1) Values in Europes most successful economy ” The Irish Miracle” is tanking bigtime. Vancouvers economy is ranked below Arkansas. We do not have a ‘world class’ economy. Adjust for the scenery and Vancouver is little more than two table stall in a flea market. The economy of tourism was growing when the CDN dollar was trading at fifty cents to the US buck and 3-1 on an English pound but that is not happening anymore and since it’s not cheap as suds anymore people aren’t going to come here for the precious little Vancouver has to offer compared to othe destinations world wide.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news.....20759.html
2) I said that the VOC would try to float a bond issue, they have made that announcement. This ‘tax and spend’ mentality is so typical of the socialist politicians. In fact they have assets to sell, staff to lay off, benefits to claw back, contracts to renegotiate, projects to postpone, favours to cancel etc etc. These socialist dipshits just don’t get it. Instead of rationalizing thier buisness structure by running simple normal efficiencies , the only thing they can dream up is
” Lets lay another blanket of tax on the citizen”. The citizens of Vancouver are just ‘SANDWICH MEAT” for the greedy maw of socialist greed in city politics.
In todays market the best they can do is around 11% ( I confirmed that with a money guy I know) this will run the city approx., $110 Million a year on intrest charges alone for the 1 Billion they forecast the costs to be. Thats over 2 million a week thats not going into school books for the classrooms.
It’s started to be mentioned by COV publicist circles that the asset can be realised and the costs mitigated over time. They envision holding the condos off the market ‘until things improve’. The Professor from the Sauder School of Business at UBC that BCTV interviewed a couple of nights ago confirmed what I have previously said in that the average recovery time of a real estate market has been 6 years!!!!! 6 years is a long time to leave 1 million sq ft of condos vacant. Don’t even think about the carrying costs at 11% over 6 years and depreciation and maintenance and mgmt etc etc etc. In fact the last ‘recovery’ took 11 years.
I also heard one of the COV apologists say that Vancouver was the the only city in the world with waterfront build out, what freaking nonsense. Every country in the world that has waterfront has build out. I just visited Amsterdam, HK and Singapore , and guess what, all had waterfront build out. Singapore has a five billion dollar casino project that has stalled and Singapore is ten times the world class city the Vancouver media drones claim it to be.
January 13th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Gallery of photos for the Olympic Village
http://www.vancouversun.com/En.....story.html
January 13th, 2009 at 11:37 am
scullboy:
Wow!
You are onto something here
“He spent so much time trying to figure out how to wiggle out of work, he’d have been better off just doing his job.”
I refer to this exact same behaviour as: “They put more effort into deflecting the work than doing it.” See it every day.
regards
arit
January 13th, 2009 at 11:06 am
130 MrBear Says:
January 13th, 2009 at 9:11 am
NO -LYMPICS: I agree that certifying home inspectors is a bit of a fig leaf. What I’d be more concerned about as an inspector (or in hiring one) is having Errors and Omissions insurance
=======================================
MrBear
Well said.
However Re: Home Inspection …..Its waaaay too deep a topic to get into.
ERRORS and OMMISSIONS ?….is certainly something to keep in mind ( as with any professional ).
However, if the shite hits the fan…ERRORS and OMMISSIONS insurance is simply the defendant (ie Inspector)having ” bought or rented a Lawyer ” working for the deep pocketed Insurer , ……its not a blank -cheque settlement for the agrieved client, who is a lowly ” One – Of ” likely mortgaged to the hilt.
All I am saying is be very careful.
It is or can be a mine- field out there.
If you as a potential home purchaser do not have a clue about building, or what constitutes good building practices, you WILL be ” meat in the sandwich ” .
Clearly understand the obligations:
(i) Govt has to you (ie F*ck all )
(ii) the Developer has to you …often D*ck all (see Warranty)
(iii)Warranty(if still in effect and read the fine print)
(iv) and Reatlturd has to you ( ahahahahaaha)
Understand now ?
Find ways to educate yourself….it is one of THE most important decisions in your life.
Now…off the soapbox I go.
January 13th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Anonymous:
That’s my understanding why VCI was created…there is far too much “sandwich meat” out there as many of us VCI posters have unfortunately seen and discussed.
My own Thesaurus refers to sandwich meat as : sheep..lemmings..kool – aid swallowers,..Bob Rennie cult followers etc.etc.
That’s reporting a fact, not that we VCI posters are creating them nor have any intention of creating them.
As some have noted….there are still people willing to buy new condos in this collapsing market or even condos that are leakers.
If you want to get up on a soapbox and rant against the tide like King Kanute……go ahead. What amazes me is that I am getting this uneasy sense that too many people really think the current economic mess is a minor fart…all will be well in spring 2008 or certainly by early 2010.
(Cringe)
You have heard of Free Will:
No one is born sandwich meat….its a personal choice to BECOME sandwich meat.
January 13th, 2009 at 9:37 am
100 observer Says:
January 12th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
I wonder what the penalties are to Fortress if COV doesn’t complete?
If Fortress imposes refinancing penalties, maybe what COV should do is borrow money to mount a hostile take over of Fortress (given its depressed share price, it could be around the same ball park as the amount they are now seeking), rescind the original deal, then liquidate Fortress assets to complete the project and retain full title to the development. Problem solved.
===========================================================
Observer:
That may be a brilliant strategy in the real world, but unfortunately “politics” and “politicians” are involved.
From todays SUN article:
http://www.vancouversun.com/En.....story.html
QUOTE:
No one knows for sure who will cover the $1-billion project’s future bills, but workers scurrying about the Southeast False Creek job clearly have a mission to finish on time so Vanoc can take possession this November.
——————————
It has been discussed that Plan B may be to literally put up the Olympic athletes in local hotels.
However, the press releases continually talk about VANOC taking possession in NOVEMBER.
That implies a “Given”, NOT an Option, and hence the deadline to complete appears to be set in stone and IOC/ VANOC is the driving force.
Fortress may be cleverly using this as piggybacked leverage as well, ie we have a limited number of days which tick down to Nov., NO extensions , NO abandoning the project.
Also… I highly doubt the IOC or VANOC would allow athletes to bunk at local hotels… that is ridiculous, could get ugly under any number of scenarios , and drive up the already outrageous security costs.
Conclusion:
–VANOC wants the keys in November.
–The last man standing (ie (COV) has to pay for completion and hand the keys over to VANOC/IOC , or else.
–Fortress has a teflon suit , and is at the sidelines laughing and reading P.T . Barnum’s biography and quotes .
=================================================
ALSO from the SUN story
QUOTE:
“He also noted about 40 per cent of the unique curved glazing used on the buildings came from a Korean supplier who didn’t understand right away the tight schedule Millennium was working under. So the glass was late in arriving at first, which set other related construction activities back.”
————–
Huh?
Dumb Dumb Dumb…
How can these people be involved in such a tight schedule and allow that to happen , especially when you need to get to lock – up , windows are crucial.
Did Bob Rennie advise them to go with such frivolous architectural embellishmnets. How much else was outsourced offshore ?
Can’t wait for more of the details to ooze out.
January 13th, 2009 at 9:11 am
NO -LYMPICS: I agree that certifying home inspectors is a bit of a fig leaf. What I’d be more concerned about as an inspector (or in hiring one) is having Errors and Omissions insurance.
January 13th, 2009 at 9:03 am
alexcanuck: If readers don’t like my point of view they will click me down. That is the nice thing about the internet. It allows for democracy. Cheers.
January 13th, 2009 at 8:53 am
NO -LYMPICS: I have worked in many different industries, and believe me I have never heard of anyone referring to people as “sandwich meat”. It must be unique to the housing industry, because that is one industry I haven’t worked in and the way I hear you guys talking I wouldn’t last a day in that industry. It turns my stomach to hear the way you guys talk about people.
January 13th, 2009 at 8:45 am
Anonymous:
No, I mean like treating people respectfully and not thinking of them as “sandwich meat”.
A) Like you treat people?
B) Troll meat, after a very long slow-cooker session, can be delicious. In case you haven’t noticed, it is kind of up to you to protect yourself in this big mean world. Always has been, always will be. Sorry for that, sucker!
I strongly support fining predatory scam artists into bankruptcy to teach them to play nice, but also saying too bad, so sad to their victims to teach them not to be such greedy and naive fools.
As far as the builders, that’s just how the game was set up. I can’t really fault them, I just can’t. If they didn’t play by the rules they would go broke and be forced to leave the game. The planners, inspectors, code-writers, law-makers who allow them to hide behind a disposable liability shield, builder-sponsored “insurers” and so on bear far more responsibility in my view.
I’m sure there were and are some contract builders who stay small and do excellent work for ones willing to pay for it. But who, other than the long-term prideful owner, is willing to pay extra for a benefit that doesn’t show up until long after everyone else has left the table?
Realpaul; When the time comes, can you recommend a custom builder who meets that description?
January 13th, 2009 at 8:25 am
For years the property tax structure in Vancouver has subsidized residential construction. That is gone forever (at least in my life time) thanks to the Olympic legacy.
Just like Montreal post Big-Owe, Vancouver real estate is on its long-term slide from over-priced, to affordable then to a bargain. Should be done somewhere in the next 10-20 years.
January 13th, 2009 at 8:18 am
From Calculated Risk
In Florida, California, Arizona and Nevada, the flood of unsold condominiums is entering the apartment market and the excess supply is lowering rents in those areas, Barclays Capital analysts say.
Does this sound familiar? Does anyone still think it’s different here?
January 13th, 2009 at 8:08 am
120 Anonymous Says:
January 13th, 2009 at 7:48 am
NO -LYMPICS: Yeah, right. Verbosity doesn’t make you right.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/briti…..ector.html
===========================================================
Huh?
That’s old news…re: the link .
That’s corporatism in action.
It’s simply creating an Old Boy’s Club to the exclusion of others . Then the politics and the infighting and becomes a quasi union. . Gov’t likes this, it simply a legal deflection so Gov’t doesn’t have to carry the bag and wash its hands (like it did with Leaky condos passed by Gov’t inspectors ).
Its like saying if your are not a UNION tradesmen any work you do is substandard. Yeah Right.
Why don’t they PROPERLY certify D-bag Architects and GOVERNMENT Inpectors who design at one end of the spectrum and ultimately pass the crap at the other end everybody bitches about ?
Therein lies the joke with these bandits.
BTW. Anonymous You must work for Gov’t.
Besides being a professional troll, I get the distinct feeling you are disconnected from the real world and how it works.
January 13th, 2009 at 8:07 am
alexcanuck: No, I mean like treating people respectfully and not thinking of them as “sandwich meat”.
January 13th, 2009 at 8:04 am
You do realize there are other ways of living, don’t you
Do mean like flinging poo anonymously and garnering down-clicks?
Pope:
Re. the ratings. Could it be jiggered so anonymous comments disappear at minus 10?
I don’t like the idea of just shouting down unpopular voices, but an exception would be nice for some-one who can’t even make up a name?
Or just ban the idiot, he really doesn’t add anything to the fairly good conversation here.
January 13th, 2009 at 7:53 am
117 Anonymous Says:
January 13th, 2009 at 7:33 am
NO -LYMPICS: What other kinds of activities have you been involved in that you would like to tell us about?
=========================================================
Sure:
I have won 5 consecutive Super Bowls as a relief pitcher for the Boston Celtics.
Nobel Laureate in arm wrestling .
Advised Jimmy Pattison to hire Glen Clark.
Update:
I am currently developing a device that can track Trolls and send a Taser -like current to the same Troll when they touch any vowels on the keyboard.
Should be ready by Noon(Eastern Time).
January 13th, 2009 at 7:48 am
NO -LYMPICS: Yeah, right. Verbosity doesn’t make you right.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/briti.....ector.html
January 13th, 2009 at 7:45 am
NO -LYMPICS: It was the norm in those days.
It was the Wild West with all sorts of parties entering the fray.
——————————————————————
——————————————————————
Good excuse for unethical behavior. I guess anyone could use that excuse and you would accept it, right. Would you accept that excuse from city council? Hummmmm? Or is it reserved for only the special ones?
January 13th, 2009 at 7:40 am
Home Inspection:
I stated earlier that I had inspected homes for some parties that asked me to , but I haven’t hung out a shingle advertisng ” Home Inspection “.
I’ve taken home inspection and related courses,(including BCIT) and taught courses, and held hands – on seminars.
In my view, the Home Inspection field is an ART of its own.
It relies on a lot of instinct and experience , not much different than detective work.
A lot of people in it were Ex – Tradesmen. ie an Ex plumber. Many Home Inspectors come from a wide variety of backgrounds . However, can they cover all the other bases ?
One house I looked at had already been inspected for the potential buyer. The potential buyer pointed out 2 galvanized water pipes that were cut off and dangling between the floor joists in the basement ceiling. The previous inspector had NO clue what they were. I said those are a pair of old H/C water pipes running up to what used to be a “suite” in the attic….not uncommon for a house this age and style.
For what may seem like a straight forward profession, a science is actually not, its more of an art.
It is things like keeping an ear out for little info -nuggets like a roofer I know who said the quality of a lot of tar -based roofing products has declined, given what used to be considered junk after the refining process ( but excellent for roofing ) has now had more extracted from it by the refining process , thus a lesser quality raw material for roofing products .
No inspector can give you guarantees, it is a balance of probabilities with a rider clause re: latent defects ie if they can’t see it(ie buried in a wall) they can’t be responsible.
Caveat Emptor applies not just to objects , but to “Services” as well.
January 13th, 2009 at 7:33 am
NO -LYMPICS: What other kinds of activities have you been involved in that you would like to tell us about?
January 13th, 2009 at 7:31 am
NO -LYMPICS: If you don’t cater to the given market, you are left behind in the dust.
If you try to stand on a soapbox and preach, the lemmings will simply run right past you. Not saying it’s right, but that’s the way it is.
———————————————————————–
———————————————————————–
Well, I guess that is one way of looking at the world. “If we don’t join the corruption we can’t survive.”
You do realize there are other ways of living, don’t you?
January 13th, 2009 at 7:24 am
From today’s Vancouver Sun:
“About one-third of the condo units have been sold and while construction activity was humming Monday, a sales presentation centre operated by Rennie Marketing Systems was devoid of potential customers at midday.
The presentation centre — with project site models, display kitchens and Olympic-style posters — features a luxurious two-bedroom, 1,273-square-foot unit with a listing price of $1,590,000, or nearly $1,250 a square foot.”
http://www.vancouversun.com/En.....story.html
$1250/SF – didn’t they get the memo? The market has dipped.
January 13th, 2009 at 7:05 am
Anonymous:
With respect to Single Family Homes
Besides simply trolling, why criticize realpaul for doing business the way he did ?
It was the norm in those days.
It was the Wild West with all sorts of parties entering the fray. RealPaul and I swapped memories of one company we both know that went from a rinky dinky builder to one of Vancouvers biggest SFH home builder. I don’t see them much anymore. The rise and fall is typical.
For whatever reason…the rationale and methodology became established, aka ” the trend “,(such as McMansions based on Feng Shui) and it became the template thousands of other builders and developers had to follow.
Non ” Rich Asians ” who build new houses are told by their realtors to incorporate certain features into their homes if they ever want to sell them,(ie such as in – floor radiant heating ) assuming a Rich Asian will be the likely future buyer.
If you don’t cater to the given market, you are left behind in the dust.
If you try to stand on a soapbox and preach, the lemmings will simply run right past you. Not saying it’s right, but that’s the way it is.
January 13th, 2009 at 6:52 am
NO -LYMPICS: Question: What type of home inspector were you, i.e., what are your credentials? Were you an independent home inspector?
http://www.independentinspecto.....umbia.html
January 13th, 2009 at 6:44 am
NO -LYMPICS: That situation sounds typical.
January 13th, 2009 at 6:42 am
House prices collapse?
A person I know owns a 5000 + sq. ft. house he bought brand new in Richmond.
It sits on a 10,000 sq. ft. lot.
Paid under $500,000 for it in 1991.
Waaaay under what it normally would have sold for.
How?
There was a slump at the times, the builder was overextended with a few unsold homes, and Bush had just entered the GULF WAR.
ie a Perfect Storm for the Seller.
The person I know smelled blood,..and the builder wanted to stop the bleeding.
Quick deal, Cash , no (or few ) subject- to’s etc.
Was offered $ 1 million for it a few months ago before things tanked.
January 13th, 2009 at 6:31 am
realpaul: Question: Would you do it all over again knowing how much anguish (monetary and emotional costs) the leaky condos that you were involved in building caused to honest hard-working people who did hire an inspector and a lawyer for their transaction and were simply buying a place to live in?
January 13th, 2009 at 6:22 am
realpaul: As long as you can sleep at night, that’s the main thing.
January 13th, 2009 at 6:08 am
Anonymous:
by the 80’s I was creating numbered company ( zero liablity entities) and contracting projects to new immigrants for a profit and half the time I never set foot on the land.
Thats right troll, I never set foot on the land, it was a case of new immigrants being allowed to build out projects under thier own supervision as ‘buisnessmen’.
Definition of a troll with a reading comprehension disability
“They too may pursue this object in an obsessive-compulsive manner.”
January 13th, 2009 at 6:04 am
Anonymous:
in case you missed it
2.(n) -A depraved individual who sits in front of a computer all day and posts flames of an idiotic or pseudo-intellectual nature on public forums and private websites. Many of these people actually become emotional about what is said on the afore-said mediums and feel it is their duty to punish those who disagree with them. They too may pursue this object in an obsessive-compulsive manner.
so anonymous hows the weather up there?
Back on earth
The City is now faced with financing charges of 8++% to finance the balance of the project finances. Article in the National Post this AM
January 13th, 2009 at 5:00 am
In case you missed it:
78
realpaul Says:
January 7th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
It can happen anywhere including here. Houses for $1000.00
http://money.cnn.com/video/#/v…..e.cnnmoney
#71 you’re quite right. In the 1991 market those McMansion prices ( From 1.2 Mill down to 650K) peaked and crashed within months (of the final completion of my last 3 projects in Richmond Broadmoor area). I was there just FYI for the new real estate promoters.
The prices stayed at 1991 levels until 2002 and then slowly crept back up but have never recovered to the 1.2 mill level. The fact is that they became functionally obselete as time passed ( a decade) and newbie owners sat on them making payments waiting to recover losses. Many now are rooming houses. But in all fairness renting rooms in your house is very common to the culture in HK and China.
I was a 3rd generation builder ( retired now from the racket) , I hammered nails after school and on weekends when I was six. My point being that we did a lot of the work ourselves with quality in mind, people took pride in that stuff back in the 60’s.
When I was building in the 80’s and 90’s I seldom visted the sites, I never met most of the contractors or the buyers. I was hiring contractors and functionaries who havn’t the least interest in quality, we were more interested in scheduling.
Those structures that were built in that time ( beginning in the 80’s) were all built out of the worst crap and materials that a builder can get away with. This includes the SFH’s, condo’s and concrete in every sub area that were built back then. I saw crap built in the very best areas which was doomed to fail because of the crap material and faulty engineering, and I’m talking multi-million dollar home and mega million high rises. DUH, wonder why they leak now?????
We figured if they would pass inspection that they were ‘good enough’. In the 60’s it would take close to a year to build a house. We’d build a few at a time. In the 80’s it would take 3 months, they were just slapped together. The inspectors, city engineers and architects were idiots and should have been prosecuted for the leaky condo mess on the commercial side and frankly we in the industry were shocked and amused when they slid out the back door unscathed. The city’s lawyers were really on thier game shielding layers of scum from tainting the skirts of the mucky mucks.
But thats a big ’so what’ in the building community today. Nobody gives a shit about quality, they really don’t. They might say they do in the ads, but thats because the realturds and the ad men haven’t a clue, today is all about decorating the kitchen because thats where the sale is made.
When an experianced builder walks through a site today it’s all he can do to keep from spitting his lunch through his nose it’s so funny and in many case dangerous, but if the inspectors don’t give a shit and the city doesn’t give a shit and the architect signed off then who’s going to give a shit?
The new Canadian Indian builder, the new Canadian Chinese builder, most of these people have never worn lace up shoes for Petes sake, they have zero understanding of mechanics or construction in this country or thier own, it is just a ‘buisness opportunity’subsidized by the temple bank, half the time with grow op money. Have any of you ever been on a construction site in India? YIKES !!!!!
Oh yeah , they’re famous for quality products and food exports. LOL, thats why when buildings fail in China and India the entire structure crumbles into a pile of dust. If you want a quality home built you have to hire a European ( or someone)with a lifelong understanding of this type of structural development. If you have to explain electrical wiring is or what a hot water tank is to a ‘builder’ then maybe you should rethink your contract. I have had this experiance.
In the 60’s a builder put his name on a product and stood by it for generations, by the 80’s I was creating numbered company ( zero liablity entities) and contracting projects to new immigrants for a profit and half the time I never set foot on the land. Most of home owners had never lived in SFH and couldn’t find thier way up a set of stairs, never mind ask how the studs were spaced.
Building Tommorows Ghettos Today, I allways got a laugh from that idea.
Another line I like is from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie where Capt. Jack says in a toast “Take what you can and give nothing back.” This seems to have become the maxim for buisness in Vancouver.
January 13th, 2009 at 1:56 am
No-Lymics,
You asked about VB2′s mom’s evening occupation.
Let’s just say she operates out of TV towers, and many men have enjoyed her “seven treasure surprise”. Mind you, they all needed a dose of penicillin afterwards.
January 13th, 2009 at 1:11 am
Supra, you really are a git.
I’ve tried to like you or at the very least, to find you slightly more amusing then our resident poo – flinging money, VB2.
YOu remind me so much of this Chinese dude who used to work for me. He’d try *everything* to convince us he was an “entrepreneur” who was destined to be rich. When SARS broke out in Toronto, he ordered a bunch of masks he was planning on selling. He was sure he was on to something.
Of course the masks arrived in a cardboard box. Unsterilized. With “made in China” on the label.
We called him “nurse Wu” and “the Wu – man” for a while after that. It took him quite a while to get the joke.
He leased a BMW 3 series, which actually struck me as somewhat sensible, except that he told people he’d earned the money to buy it in a business deal. The guy was forever trying to import cheap junk from China and make a profit at it, even though all the other young Chinese guys in Toronto were doing the same thing, and selling the junk for less.
Like you he had, shall we say, an interesting view on the intelligence and work ethic of his caucasian counterparts, and his boss (me). He spent so much time trying to figure out how to wiggle out of work, he’d have been better off just doing his job. The guy just never pulled his weight, and yet he was convinced he worked harder then anyone else.
Once, he claimed to have a sprained ankle, yet someone snapped a photo of him at the company picnic playing volleyball, going for a shot perfectly balanced on his “sprained” ankle. It was a lot of fun seeing the look on his face when I busted him on that one. “Gwai lo ain’t so stupid after all, huh?” I said, just to watch the colour drain out of his face.
Eventually I caught him pulling some shady business and fired him. He swore he’d have his high – powered lawyers all over the company.
Needless to say, it never happened.
Eventually I caught him calling back into work, asking his colleagues to give him a reference and confirm he was the “head of the department”. Needless to say, that didn’t happen either.
You, my friend are *exactly* like that dude.
I can’t quite figure out if you’re trying to convince us of the things you write, or if you just believe without question the appearances around you. Either way it’s painfully clear you’re a very young man, either just out of high school or community college. You don’t know enough about the world to put on a convincing act; the only person you’re fooling is yourself. Literally.
Now go drink some nasty – ass Chinese beer, dude. There’s a reason nobody outside Richmond orders or drinks the stuff. It’s the equivalent of duck piss.
Real men drink Keith’s.
January 13th, 2009 at 12:50 am
observer: Awesome idea, and may just be the most sensible option for the city as this point. We wouldn’t come out ahead, but at least we wouldn’t be stuck in as deep a hole.
Somebody should pay for this mess, unfortunately it looks like it will be us the taxpayer.
January 13th, 2009 at 12:23 am
Out of balance refers to a scenario where the borrower starts incurring cost-overruns and fails to obtain financing on the over-budget amount. If you watch Olympic Village presentation by the city manager, she says this happened to Millennium starting in May 2008. There were technical issues with “construction and commitments” that threw the budget out of whack and, on September 15, Fortress chose to pull the plug.
Concord Pacific put in a bid but I believe they came in several million lower on the land buy. Wall Financial also bid.
January 12th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
Anonymous:
Blog Troll 35 up, 8 down
1.(n) -A pathetic and moronic person who maintains a blog with an unhealthy obsessive-compulsive drive, especially angsty goths (sorry to all the likeable goths out there). The content of their blogs usually includes events that no sane person would care about. Here’s sample of what a blog troll might write on their blog:
“today, I ate a sanwich. It bad – it was just ok, mediocre, I guess you could call it. After that I read a few chapters out of an Anne Rice book and was deeply moved by her erotic descriptions of gay vampires fornicating. . Then I took a nap.
2.(n) -A depraved individual who sits in front of a computer all day and posts flames of an idiotic or pseudo-intellectual nature on public forums and private websites. Many of these people actually become emotional about what is said on the afore-said mediums and feel it is their duty to punish those who disagree with them. They too may pursue this object in an obsessive-compulsive manner.