The Arrogant Worms Posted November 7, 2023 Share Posted November 7, 2023 Feds to convert government-owned properties in Ottawa into 1,600 new homes https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/feds-to-convert-government-owned-properties-in-ottawa-into-1-600-new-homes-1.6634449 1 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elias Pettersson Posted November 7, 2023 Share Posted November 7, 2023 1 hour ago, Bure_Pavel said: https://storeys.com/investors-canadian-homeownership-boc/ This article says 30%, maybe the figure I saw was just investors and I assumed foreign investors. But I would be willing to bet out of the 30% there is still a good chunk of foreign money being flowed into the BC and Canadian real estate market through work arounds and loopholes. Has been that way for the last 30 years. That article says 30% are "investors", it doesn't mention anything about foreign buyers. There are lots of local investors that buy properties, especially through corporations. It's pretty difficult to get around the foreign buyer ban these days, as the government does a paper trail on all of the corporations that are buying. Corporations also need to disclose beneficial ownership of the company, all directors of the company need to be fully vetted. I'm sure there is still a workaround for a foreign buyer to purchase, but most likely the lawyer and the realtor would have to be in on it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bure_Pavel Posted November 7, 2023 Share Posted November 7, 2023 24 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said: That article says 30% are "investors", it doesn't mention anything about foreign buyers. There are lots of local investors that buy properties, especially through corporations. It's pretty difficult to get around the foreign buyer ban these days, as the government does a paper trail on all of the corporations that are buying. Corporations also need to disclose beneficial ownership of the company, all directors of the company need to be fully vetted. I'm sure there is still a workaround for a foreign buyer to purchase, but most likely the lawyer and the realtor would have to be in on it... Only 86 days into the the foreign buyer ban they loosened the rules for both foreign individuals and company's, it also is a little stranger that almost immediately after the ban their was a huge uptick in domestic real estate investing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taxi Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 On 11/7/2023 at 11:57 AM, Elias Pettersson said: That article says 30% are "investors", it doesn't mention anything about foreign buyers. There are lots of local investors that buy properties, especially through corporations. It's pretty difficult to get around the foreign buyer ban these days, as the government does a paper trail on all of the corporations that are buying. Corporations also need to disclose beneficial ownership of the company, all directors of the company need to be fully vetted. I'm sure there is still a workaround for a foreign buyer to purchase, but most likely the lawyer and the realtor would have to be in on it... Or you just find a local to put the property in their name. That being said there are many local investors. Lots of locals own more than one property. Many people use their home equity to give their children down payments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
420Fish Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 Did anyone here watch the docuseries Britain's Housing Crises: What went wrong? In their case, every time the government tried to improve the market, the only benefactors were developers. The projects would come in overbudget, with substandard builds, and a fraction of the number of homes intended. Legalized corruption that transferred wealth for the masses over to a few individuals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Long Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 16 minutes ago, 420Fish said: Did anyone here watch the docuseries Britain's Housing Crises: What went wrong? In their case, every time the government tried to improve the market, the only benefactors were developers. The projects would come in overbudget, with substandard builds, and a fraction of the number of homes intended. Legalized corruption that transferred wealth for the masses over to a few individuals. How do we build condo buildings without developers? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
420Fish Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 1 hour ago, Bob Long said: How do we build condo buildings without developers? Is this your way of stating the obvious that you can not build without a developer, or are you asking how do you build without a developer taking advantage of government funding, or are you suggesting developers are not corrupt at all? Please expand on your quip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Long Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 28 minutes ago, 420Fish said: Is this your way of stating the obvious that you can not build without a developer, or are you asking how do you build without a developer taking advantage of government funding, or are you suggesting developers are not corrupt at all? Please expand on your quip. Yes I'm stating that we need to view developers as a key partner in homebuilding. Not sure what relevance the UK graft has to our context. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
420Fish Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 3 minutes ago, Bob Long said: Yes I'm stating that we need to view developers as a key partner in homebuilding. Not sure what relevance the UK graft has to our context. Scrutiny of the UK housing crises could provide insight into Canada's decision making. For instance, in retrospect the UK realized that some of their fast tracking (due to pressure from an election based deadline) caused financial and health/safety problems with their housing projects. First they awarded the contract to a single developer, that resulted in a very rich payout to a CEO. Then code inspections and material inspections were overlooked to save time. Low income people found themselves living in substandard conditions. In one case, and entire apartment building went up in flames with multiple casualties. And to everyone's frustration, only a fraction of the houses promised were actually complete before government funding ran out. So there is a lot to learn here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeneedLumme Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 24 minutes ago, 420Fish said: Scrutiny of the UK housing crises could provide insight into Canada's decision making. For instance, in retrospect the UK realized that some of their fast tracking (due to pressure from an election based deadline) caused financial and health/safety problems with their housing projects. First they awarded the contract to a single developer, that resulted in a very rich payout to a CEO. Then code inspections and material inspections were overlooked to save time. Low income people found themselves living in substandard conditions. In one case, and entire apartment building went up in flames with multiple casualties. And to everyone's frustration, only a fraction of the houses promised were actually complete before government funding ran out. So there is a lot to learn here. Sounds something like Olympic Village in Vancouver. The City of Vancouver demonstrated what happens when governments get involved in developments. Difference here was that they sold the units rather than renting them (except for a portion that were some of the most expensive social housing in the country). A huge amount of wasted taxpayers money and the new owners bought into nightmares. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Long Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 44 minutes ago, WeneedLumme said: Sounds something like Olympic Village in Vancouver. The City of Vancouver demonstrated what happens when governments get involved in developments. Difference here was that they sold the units rather than renting them (except for a portion that were some of the most expensive social housing in the country). A huge amount of wasted taxpayers money and the new owners bought into nightmares. Nightmares? Where are you getting that from? Lived there for 5 years, it was great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Long Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 1 hour ago, 420Fish said: Scrutiny of the UK housing crises could provide insight into Canada's decision making. For instance, in retrospect the UK realized that some of their fast tracking (due to pressure from an election based deadline) caused financial and health/safety problems with their housing projects. First they awarded the contract to a single developer, that resulted in a very rich payout to a CEO. Then code inspections and material inspections were overlooked to save time. Low income people found themselves living in substandard conditions. In one case, and entire apartment building went up in flames with multiple casualties. And to everyone's frustration, only a fraction of the houses promised were actually complete before government funding ran out. So there is a lot to learn here. Not sure there's anything new to learn. Be careful who you pick. Also don't know what the alternative to developers is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
420Fish Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 5 minutes ago, Bob Long said: Not sure there's anything new to learn. Be careful who you pick. Also don't know what the alternative to developers is. I'd hope the people involved always have something to learn. And this is not a matter of advocating for one particular group. The key is to understand the repercussions of government involvement, and recognize the behaviors of developers, sellers, buyers, and financial institutions, as a nation tries to manipulate or correct the housing market. I don't believe anyone is trying to eliminate developers. More like regulate their practices, and hold them accountable, when government funded projects are taken advantage of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elias Pettersson Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 54 minutes ago, WeneedLumme said: Sounds something like Olympic Village in Vancouver. The City of Vancouver demonstrated what happens when governments get involved in developments. Difference here was that they sold the units rather than renting them (except for a portion that were some of the most expensive social housing in the country). A huge amount of wasted taxpayers money and the new owners bought into nightmares. I never heard of any nightmares at Olympic Village and a buddy of mine basically ran the sales division for Rennie at the time everything was sold. Millennium basically ran out of money and the city wouldn't put in any more funds after the Olympics were done, so Francesco Aquilini actually bought the site and completed the project and got Rennie to resell it. Even Chip Wilson bought a Penthouse there for over $7 million at the time back in 2013. Other than one building which had some issues, most of the buildings there never had any structural issues other than with the air conditioning systems. I know lots of people that live in Olympic Village, it's one of the nicer neighborhoods all of of Vancouver... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elias Pettersson Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, 420Fish said: Is this your way of stating the obvious that you can not build without a developer, or are you asking how do you build without a developer taking advantage of government funding, or are you suggesting developers are not corrupt at all? Please expand on your quip. The hate that developers get is unbelievable. Try focusing that hate on the actual municipalities who are the ones that take a 26% cut on every high rise that gets built, so your condo that you are buying is 26% more just because of your government's "cut". Do you know how much empty land the government is "sitting" on right now that is not developed? Just sitting there doing nothing, in some of the most expensive areas in Vancouver. Why is it just sitting there? Because of government incompetence and red tape. Some of these council members don't know their heads from their butts. They don't have a clue how to run a government, nevermind how to solve the housing problem... Edited November 12, 2023 by Elias Pettersson 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Long Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 22 minutes ago, 420Fish said: I'd hope the people involved always have something to learn. And this is not a matter of advocating for one particular group. The key is to understand the repercussions of government involvement, and recognize the behaviors of developers, sellers, buyers, and financial institutions, as a nation tries to manipulate or correct the housing market. I don't believe anyone is trying to eliminate developers. More like regulate their practices, and hold them accountable, when government funded projects are taken advantage of. I think that's a given though. Government involvement around Granville Island produced 100s of co-op homes that worked out well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
420Fish Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 8 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said: The hate that developers get is unbelievable. Try focusing that hate on the actual municipalities who are the ones that take a 26% cut on every high rise that gets built, so your condo that you are buying is 26% more just because of your government's "cut". Do you know how much empty land the government is "sitting" on right now that is not developed? Just sitting there doing nothing, in some of the most expensive areas in Vancouver. Why is it just sitting there? Because of government incompetence and red tape. Some of these council members don't know their heads from their butts. They don't have a clue how to run a government, nevermind how to solve the housing problem... Oh man, sorry if you read my post as hateful towards developers. Not the intention at all. Only friendly conversation based on a docuseries I found interesting. I will disclose that I am in no way an expert of this subject, nor offering a solution to a complex issue. Hope that calms you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Long Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 (edited) 24 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said: I never heard of any nightmares at Olympic Village and a buddy of mine basically ran the sales division for Rennie at the time everything was sold. Millennium basically ran out of money and the city wouldn't put in any more funds after the Olympics were done, so Francesco Aquilini actually bought the site and completed the project and got Rennie to resell it. Even Chip Wilson bought a Penthouse there for over $7 million at the time back in 2013. Other than one building which had some issues, most of the buildings there never had any structural issues other than with the air conditioning systems. I know lots of people that live in Olympic Village, it's one of the nicer neighborhoods all of of Vancouver... Yea the passive a/c system was something people didn't understand well. Once a valve system was replaced ( about $3,500 if I recall) it worked great. I was Brock's neighbor for a few years in a building that Aqulini bought 26 units in. Edited November 12, 2023 by Bob Long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
420Fish Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 8 minutes ago, Bob Long said: I think that's a given though. Government involvement around Granville Island produced 100s of co-op homes that worked out well. I wish I had your confidence in this system. My attitude is far more leery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elias Pettersson Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 (edited) 12 minutes ago, Bob Long said: Yea the passive a/c system was something people didn't understand well. Once a valve system was replaced ( about $3,500 if I recall) it worked great. I was Brock's neighbor for a few years in a building that Aqulini bought 26 units in. The heating and cooling system at Olympic Village is very unique. It basically comes from the water through false creek and there is a plant there that diverts all the water and turns it into renewable energy, heating and cooling. Someone explained it to me one time like 10 years ago. They had issues with it at the beginning, but it works fine now and could be a ground breaker to other areas doing the same thing, Edited November 12, 2023 by Elias Pettersson 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Long Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 4 minutes ago, 420Fish said: I wish I had your confidence in this system. My attitude is far more leery. Just have to look at the successes too. There are many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elias Pettersson Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 15 minutes ago, 420Fish said: Oh man, sorry if you read my post as hateful towards developers. Not the intention at all. Only friendly conversation based on a docuseries I found interesting. I will disclose that I am in no way an expert of this subject, nor offering a solution to a complex issue. Hope that calms you. No worries, I'm calm now... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Long Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 1 minute ago, Elias Pettersson said: The heating and cooling system at Olympic Village is very unique. It basically comes from the water through false creek and there is a plant there that diverts all the water and turns it into renewable energy, heating and cooling. Someone explained it to me one time like 10 years ago. They had issues with it at the beginning, but it works fine now and could be a ground breaker to other areas doing the same thing, I know, used it for 5 years. We paid a separate bill for enerpro for the renewable power stuff. People were dumb tho. We had water pipes in the ceiling but people kept drilling into them 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4petesake Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 6 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said: The heating and cooling system at Olympic Village is very unique. It basically comes from the water through false creek and there is a plant there that diverts all the water and turns it into renewable energy, heating and cooling. Someone explained it to me one time like 10 years ago. They had issues with it at the beginning, but it works fine now and could be a ground breaker to other areas doing the same thing, 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
420Fish Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 2 minutes ago, Bob Long said: Just have to look at the successes too. There are many. I suppose the true measure of success will be found in the people who get to own and maintain a proper home to live in, and those that do not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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