See, I knew it! Real estate is not a boring industry! Check out some of these latest news pieces and articles:
Here is an article from the Toronto Sun (yeah, the trashy little papaer that could!). As a man, it caught my attention! READ HERE to find out why!
St. Joseph will help you do more real estate business! Is there room for ‘religion’ in real estate? I know some of you need divine intervention! READ HERE.
Yes! I may finally get an NHL team worth cheering for. Because I live in Toronto, my natural team is the Leafs. However, I am too young to remember the last time they were in contention for the Cup and too old to ever beleive they will ever get the chance. I can’t cheer for Ottawa because….well, I just can’t.
But, Tuesday’s news that Jim Balsille – of RIM fame – had basically purchased the Nashville Predators franchise has put a smile on my face. And I’m sure millions of Canadians fans faces as well. I know the deal is not a slam dunk but in my books it’s money in the bank. The team will move to the Waterloo area and will be re-named the Berlin Blackberries!
And so, I can now have my own team to cheer for…Waterloo is only a couple hours drive west of my home!
Now, where is the real estate story in all this? Well, apparantly it is being reported that a holding company related to RIM has purchased a big parcel of land! To read up on this click HERE.
What are your thoughts?
Karim Kanji
Don’t know who Suzie McNeil is? Well, then you’re in the minority.
Suzie has been a musician for many years but earned semi-pop icon status last year when she appeared as a finalist in ROckStar: INXS. She can now be seen as Oz in Queen’s We Will Rock You which is playing in Toronto.
Here is an interesting glimpse into the real estate life of a rockstar……Enjoy!
http://www.thestar.com/Athome/article/214774
Karim
Affordable Housing. Is this an idea whose time has come and gone? Or is it a “concept” that needs our attention more than ever?
My father (a business owner for most of my life) beleives that home ownership is one of the key factors in developing a healthy and strong self image for people. I subscribe to the thought that everybody should have the ability to come “home” after a hard days work and hang their hat and spend time with family and freinds. Whether through renting or ownership this should be available to everyone.
The question then is, should affordable housing be a combination of affordable rental units and affordable ownership units?
I am a believer in the “free” market. Capitalism. However, I like the term Rich DeVos coined called Compassionate Capitalism. No, I don’t want to see people living on the streets. But I also don’t want to see people have a house “given” to them by the government. This job belongs to charities like Raising the Roof. Why? Maybe it’s because I’ve had to fight to enter into the housing market…and it’s a fight I continue to endure because I want to do it on my terms.
However, today’s market begs us to look at this problem again. Why? Take a look around you. The Canadian housing market is white hot! Prices for new homes and re-sales continue to climb to record levels. Mortgage rates are still low. And now we have 50 year ammortizations, interest only loans, and God-knows-what-other-bells-and-whistles.
The point is this: to buy a house is more expensive than it’s ever been regardless of interest rates. Second, rental prices are skyrocketing as well! Third, I really don’t have a clue what the solution is.
But maybe you have some thoughts that you’d care to share? We would really like to hear from YOU…….
On April 24th-25th, the Toronto Real Estate Board held their annual Realtor Quest at the Toronto Congress Centre. Realtor Quest offers Realtors an opportunity to earn valuable CE credits, networking opportunities with fellow Realtors and a wide range of vendors and associated services.
This year there was an amazing display called The Sustainable Condo. According to their website, “The Sustainable Condo, a full size display suite, demonstrates how human comfort and environmental responsibility can be acheived by combining smart, innovative design with state-of-the-art green building technologies, materials and products that are available and affordable now, from local suppliers and manufacturers.”
I highly encourage everyone to visit www.SustainableCondo.com and see for yourself what this amazing project is all about!
If you are a Realtor, I think this is something your present and future clients may be demanding and or looking for. If you are an avid environmentalist, then this is something you’ll love! Or if you’re just like me, someone who is interested in how a “sustainable” living environment can actually work, then this project will captivate your imagination.
I thank you for reading.
Karim Kanji
Media Release:
May 15, 2007:
Karim Kanji of RealCash Bancorp Inc. (www.RealCashCanada.com) will be participating in the Annual Easter Seals Drop Zone SuperHero Event on Monday September 17th 2007.
Karim will be experiencing the adrenaline rush rappelling down 16 stories from the rooftop of 175 Bloor Street East!
Easter Seals is a charity which helps Kids with disabilities be Kids! As many of you know, many Realtors proudly support Easter Seals. In fact, Century 21 Real Estate Canada is a proud supporter of Easter Seals and their Drop Zone Event.
Please visit the following secure website to donate:
Thank you!
Karim Kanji
RealCash Bancorp Inc.
1.800.265.2694
One of my favourite things is to meet “young” people who are either successful or well on their way to becoming successful. Well, I just met one of these people today. His name is Lee and he hails from Edmonton, Alberta. We met randomly and I asked if he would be willing to share some of his story. Here it is, in his words. I hope you enjoy!
Hi Karim,sure! Well lets see. As Inigo would say “Let me explain. No there ees too much. Let me sum up.”
My name’s Lee, I’m a computing scientist by education, and a beach volleyball player at heart. And here is the story.
Well back in 2002 I was working at Nortel and our site got shut down, so I had two choices: either find a new job in Montreal, or fly back home to Edmonton and look into real estate while trying to find a job. I like a challenge, so I went for option B. I also knew there was a game company back home that I wanted to work for called Bioware, so I figured hey, might as well apply, and see what happens right? So lo and behold after 3 months of hard work applying I got the job. so this is May 2002 approximately.
I knew my brother had been doing well in real estate, so I figured I’d buy my first house, and try and find a rental property. By that Christmas I had enough money saved up to put my first 10k onto my first house (yes the one I would live in silly). The first night I slept on the floor because it was so cool to own my first house. And by the end of the month, I had rented out all 3 rooms in the house to students because I lived near the university, and I wanted to treat my house like a rental property: i.e. the house should pay for itself.
Also at the outset I joined an investment group called REIN, and I got my first joint venture partner from there and we bought a duplex together in february of the next year. Now, this is the part where I almost got crushed: by the time we got keys on the place, someone had broken in, the pipes burst on the main kitchen floor on one side and did about 15,000 dollars damage to the place. I was thinking at this point “I’m screwed!” Well luckily, with the help of my Dad and few friends we got the place all torn out, I borrowed some money to get it fixed up, and we rented it out. It took about 3 months to fix the place up, working 9 to 6 at the day job and 7 to 11 at night and weekends doing renos, but we got it done. The duplex was mostly break even in the first year, but I made enough in equity to buy out my investor because she was moving to the states, so I refinanced the place, and paid her out.
Then two years passed… I did diddly except work at my job for 80 hour work weeks. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it, but I could see that this was not the way to get out of the rat race. At the time we got a really big payout from work so I had enough money to live off of for a year as long as I kept my tenants, which was awesome. So in Christmas of 2005 I decided to quit my job, and buy some houses. Now don’t get me wrong… this is probably insane, and if you knew me, well, its probably par for the course. Anyway, in the next 7-8 months I put offers in on places and closed on investors and bought 10 places. Of course, its very motivating when you know the only money you have left is slowly dwindling away in your savings account because it costs money to live (oy! whats up with that anyway?!).
Now I’m sitting on 11 properties, 2 more of which I’m managing, and I have enough partners now to purchase my first apartment building. Who knew? The equity is doing quite well in all of them, but I’ve got minimal cashflow… thus why I’m moving into the bigger leagues.
For anyone interested in learning more about me, I’ll put more details on my website in the next week: www.buyalbertarealestate.com. Come say hi, and pass on my contact info if you know anyone who is interested k? I’ve got 3 houses right now at 90k down that will return the same in the following year. Who likes 50-80% returns on their money in a year?! Sign me up!
I hope this is what you had in mind Karim, if you need anything else, don’t hesitate to call or email me k?Ciao for now,~Lee
Do you know of any other success stories? Let me know at karim@bellnet.ca.
Have a great day!
Karim Kanji
….so before I get crazy busy let me share with you some thoughts……
Mother’s Day.
It’s the day when, as a society, we purchase red roses, boxes of chocolate and Hallmark cards in our attempts to thank Mom for putting up with us.
I think we should thank our mother’s everyday. Thanks for changing our diapers many years ago. Thanks for driving me to soccer practice and those out of town hockey tournaments. Thanks for letting me cry on your shoulder when my best friend moved out of town. Thank you for babysitting our first child. Thanks for everything you’ve done and continue to do.
So, on Mother’s Day, take some time in between listing appointments to call your mom and tell her how much you love her. If she’s in town, go and visit her. If she has left this world, close your eyes and thank her in your heart.
And then after Mother’s Day, remember to take some time as often as possible to tell Mom, “I love you.”
Happy Mother’s Day to you and your Mom!
Regards,
Karim Kanji
Are you kidding me?!? Apparantly Mr. Mayor David Miller thinks so. What he forgot to tell you is that the Housing Boom in Toronto threatens the tax base of Toronto. What the political pundits of Toronto, and the Mayor as well, don’t want to happen is that Toronto becomes a residential community. With more businesses in Toronto it lowers the tax burden on residents. Anyways, that’s the way I see it!
Read for yourself HERE.
As many of you know, the environmental movement is attaching itself to all sectors of the economy including real estate. Yesterday I attended the Toronto Real Estate Board’s Realtor Quest Trade Show. Realtor Quest bills itself as Canada’s largest Realtor trade show. Well, at the trade show there was an exhibition titled “The Sustainable Condo – Using Less, Enjoying More.” It was a very interesting display of technology and nature working together to provide a healthy environment to live in.
Keep your eyes here next week as I will post pictures and a write up on this fantastic vision. In the meantime, here is a very interesting article I came across today…..
New York City Aims to Make Affordable Housing Sustainable
NEW YORK, April 12, 2007 — The Arker Companies, The Domain Companies and Neighborhood Housing Services of Staten Island announced the closing of financing for the rental component of the $60 million redevelopment of Markham Gardens, an affordable housing complex located in the West Brighton neighborhood on Staten Island’s north shore.
The redevelopment initiative — a participant in the LEED for Homes pilot program — will create a total of 290 new affordable residential units comprising 240 rental apartments and 25 two-family homes. The rebuilding of Markham Gardens is part of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s 10-year New Housing Marketplace Plan to build and preserve 165,000 affordable housing units for 500,000 New Yorkers; the largest municipal affordable housing plan in the nation’s history.
Designed with environmentally sustainable, energy-efficient and green building techniques, 150 of the 240 mixed-income rental units will be reserved for Section 8 voucher recipients referred by the New York City Housing Authority, including former Markham Garden tenants wishing to return. The remaining 90 units will be affordable to residents with incomes between $30,082 to $85,080 for a family of four.
The redevelopment also includes 50 units in 25 for-sale two-family homes for moderate-income families, as well as a park, outdoor seating areas with extensive landscaping, and a 6,000-square-foot recreational center consisting of an indoor basketball court, exercise facility, computer center and classrooms.