Haunted Houses…Literally

, , ,

In the event of foreclosures or long-standing ‘For Sale’ properties, things aren’t always going to sail as smooth as they seem. Due to the peculiar nature of human beings, there’s never a set in stone safety measure that can be taken to avoid the property owners suffering beyond the scope of their house being foreclosed, or sitting on a property for months waiting for it to. That’s painful enough.

Unfortunately when you add people, poverty and/or curiosity to the mix, there’s an off-chance your property awaiting a buyer may in fact sprout an under the radar resident, or two, or three… It’s not an uncommon scenario for massive homes to host visitors without the owners being aware of it, but it gets even stranger when these squatters are able to stick around through legal loopholes. Apparently squatters have rights? More on that here–> http://www.managementtrust.com/blog/bid/94855/SQUATTER-S-RIGHTS

Another weird thing that can happen as the victim of a foreclosure is somehow getting stuck with the bill for the house you got forced out of. Yes, your foreclosure can somehow come back to haunt you…or at least your wallet. See, the way this works is that during the foreclosure process if the ownership isn’t transferred then the original owner despite their non-residency is responsible for paying property taxes and fees. Just what you need after having your house foreclosed! This is actually so common that there are nearly 2 million homes in the US that started the foreclosure process and never ended up concluding it.

Doesn’t it seem like these situations would easily be prevented with a few policy changes? You’d think there’d be a bit more care given to assuring the well-being of such large investments, no?!

Would you like to see these policies revisited to avoid potential problems down the road? Share your thoughts with us on Twitter @enviromint.

 

image courtesy of Sean MacEntee

/by

Sizzling Marketing

, ,

An article released by the National Post this morning is bringing a particular amount of attention to the world of real estate marketing.

A Calgary, AB, based real estate agent recently released a billboard advertisement that’s been drawing a lot of attention; whether that attention’s a good or bad thing we’re still unsure. The billboard featured a photo of the young female agent Diana Arvatescu with the caption ‘Let Me Take You Home, It’s Gorgeous Inside’ as the message of the ad.

What started out as a clever innuendo campaign has now developed into a critique of the appropriateness of this style of advertising, and it’s place in real estate, as critics believe it to be too sexually implying and could put the agent in danger as a result.

Though critics may be overly assumptive in predicting that harm would come to the young Diana, the larger issue now is where the boundaries are to be drawn regarding appropriate advertising in a relatively conservative industry such as real estate.

What are your thoughts on this campaign? Is Diana going too far, or simply adding some spice to a bland industry? Comment below or let us know your thoughts on Twitter @enviromint.

 

image courtesy of huffingtonpost.ca

/by

Non-Disposable Housing

, , , ,

It’s typical of our culture to replace rather than reuse; this applies in all areas, such as clothing, vehicles, food, housing, and more. We live in an essentially ‘disposable society’ where the norm is to replace or be rid of items that are arguably dated or ‘useless’ rather than exploring their potential for renewed usage. Another example is buyers who purchase properties simply to demolish and rebuild on the same land rather than building on the existing residence’s foundation or making renovations and improvements to it instead of executing an entire rebuild.

Developments such as water towers, which were a social necessity once-upon-a-time, tend to fall through the cracks of time, awaiting their impending demolition days to make way for new developments, homes, businesses, etc. However, it would appear that the concept of re-vamping older buildings rather than destroying them seems to be catching in some circles; and though these may not be the most practical lodgings, they regardless set a positive precedent for prospective investors and developers alike in terms of sustainable consciousness and development.

Instead of destroying these old structures, investors and developers have transformed each of the following water towers into appealing lodgings, while avoiding the costly and ineffective process of deconstruction and reconstruction. To learn more about each of these modernized water towers, just click the links below the photo to go to their original articles.

all images and articles courtesy of TreeHugger.com


http://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/water-tower-converted-superluxe-london-home.html


http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/water-tower-house-by-jo-crepain.html


http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/water-tower-repurposed-into-house-with-lots-of-stairs.html


http://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/tom-dixons-water-tank-house.html

/by

Groundbreaking Sustainable Living Space

, , ,

Gizmodo featured an article this morning that caught our immediate attention – a walk-through of a 350 square foot apartment that’s been customized to fold and expand into up to eight different rooms. To boot, the apartment’s owner is the founder of treehugger.com.

The reason this landed to well with us is the obviousness of how innovative apartment designs such as this one is the shift in direction we should be going to secure a sustainable future. Not only does the space serve multiple uses in such a confined space, but the ability to do so may be exactly the innovative construction method required to prevent future housing shortage crises.

Maximizing this amount of space is not only effective for the inhabitant, but for the rest of the building, as if each apartment were optimized in such a manner it would be startling how much smaller the building would in fact need to be. In other words, we should consider this method in order to improve the number of apartments that are able to be developed within new buildings as large expansive spaces become a thing of the past…maybe.

Obviously there will always be a market for more outlandish properties. However, if the option were readily available to optimize a living space in the same way as the apartment in the video below, it wouldn’t be surprising if there were a positive shift towards this design alternative in order to save money on square footage, and to take full advantage of every inch.

GIZMODO – The Tiny Transforming Apartment That Packs Eight Rooms into 350 Square Feet from Gizmodo on Vimeo.

For more real estate and environmental news, follow us on Twitter @enviromint.

image courtesy of Gizmodo.

/by

Agents Need To Step It Up

, , ,

Technology has revolutionized many industries throughout the course of time. It’s permitted for the development of new realms of employment and opportunity, while simultaneously doing the exact opposite. We’ve replaced bank tellers with ATM’s, cashiers with automatic registers, industrial workers with computerized assembly lines and manufacturing technologies, accountants with accounting software, and now potentially real estate agents with online buying and selling platforms.

Services such as BuyerCurious.com are clearly out to replace the age of the agent. This web-based platform allows for buyers and sellers to execute efficient real estate transactions and services while taking agents out of the picture in every aspect. Why? To remove the commission rates and keep more money in everybody’s pockets. Well…everyone except the agents. Though this service hasn’t reached Canada yet, one can only predict that the appeal this style of product offering has will entice the development of a Canadian version thereof in the near future.

The livelihood of real estate agents is sadly coming to a crossroads where the incessant usability improvements and revolutionary concepts applied to publicly available online services are threatening their existence. So now we need to ask ourselves: Will real estate agents make like the dinosaurs and run from the asteroid, or rise up and literally fight the machine?

This question has no easy answer, but it’s becoming very clear that if real estate agents want to stick around and justify the commission rates they reap they need to pick up their socks and present unprecedented value and services to their clients; things that websites and computers will never be able to provide. Obviously commission rates are a touchy topic, hence the public’s weening away from them, so to earn these rates agents need to renew their personas into that of marketing experts on their clients’ behalf rather than playing the typical role an overpaid tour guide.

To stand the test of time agents need to step up their game or pack up their things…there doesn’t seem to be much middle-ground at this point. Have some ideas on how agents can overcome this technology wave? Shoot us a reply in the comments below or on Twitter @enviromint.

image courtesy of DucDigital

/by

The End Is Near

, ,

The past year has been one of many great steps forward. One might even say we’re using this year to triple-jump into 2013 by launching a new version of our software jam-packed with great features for all to enjoy. It’s not exactly a Christmas present…but it’s close.

Full Article Explaining Our New Software: http://www.realestateaccountingsoftware.ca/general/christmas-early/

 

We were also fortunate enough to expand the frontiers of our organization by aligning ourselves with the reputable EstateVue in order to bring an all-in-one option for all real estate agent and brokerage services spanning from accounting to marketing.

View the full press release here: http://www.realestateaccountingsoftware.ca/industry-news/announcing-partnership-estatevue/

To make known our newly minted relationship with EstateVue, we hit the road and were fortunate enough to attend the Royal LePage National Sales Conference together to establish some new relationships and educate the masses about all we have to offer. More to come next year!

RLPNSC Overview article found here: http://www.realestateaccountingsoftware.ca/industry-news/rlpnsc-2/

Thanks to everyone who helped make this year so great; we can’t wait to speak to you on the other side. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 

image courtesy of bvalium

 

 

 

 

/by

Market Slump Contributes to Recovery

, ,

You’d think that the market being down in the dumps would be something to worry about, but according to new theories put forth by several economists this could be somewhat of a God-send for real estate recovery.

Like we were saying in our post ‘Collaborative Recovery’, in order for the real estate market to recover, we need to see participation from all areas of society rather than the elite. Well, prices being as low as they currently are could in fact be what we’re looking for to jump-start the climb out of the market’s shriveled state. Couples, young families, or whomever else, have now been granted the opportunity of a low-cost housing index (for the most part) which is exactly the type of stimulus the market needs to recover. The low prices could very well be the icing on the cake for a lot of potential young buyers, who may otherwise not have been able to afford a home. Now that mortgage rates are so low and housing prices having practically never been lower (at least for quite some time), we may finally start to see the collaborative initiative required for a wholesome market recovery.

Through this, theories are also being put forth suggesting that the Canadian market won’t take a second dive like our neighbours to the South as statistics put forth suggesting a second crash were in fact misconstrued and did not account all factors, especially when compared to the US market. For example, the debt-to-income ratio, when compared to the US, didn’t take into account the amount of extra benefits Canadians receive through their debt such as healthcare and other subsidized services that the US doesn’t provide, therefore weighting economic predictions in a direction that may not be entirely comparable after all.

The only way to tell if any of these theories come true, is of course time. However, the prospects being put forth don’t seem shy of being on the right track…we hope.

For more real estate and environmental news, follow us on Twitter @enviromint.

 

image courtesy of USACE-Sacramento District

 

/by

Collaborative Recovery

, ,

A short while ago we talked about how the real estate’s market recovery will more likely than not depend on full societal collaboration and participation within the market, in a post called ‘To Stabilize We Must Equalize’. If only those who are in good shape participate, then top-end properties circulate freely while mid-level properties stay put and depreciate.

Looking into the future, this concept is seemingly being applied to various markets already, which is a huge step in the right direction. Participation is going to be the key to market re-stabilization.  In the US, it’s showing that dual-income households are helping largely in this aspect. Therein lies the example that multiple participants working towards a common goal within their own households are improving the market in its entirety. An annual study by NAR showed that about 65% of all buyers are married couples, as opposed to 58% the year before. This increase in efforts is exactly what we need to see.

According to a recent Scotiabank poll, an impressive 77% of Canadians view home purchasing as an investment as opposed to an expense. With this mentality, Canada will hopefully follow-suit with our neighbours to the South in investigating the proper investment methods that will not only benefit the buyers and sellers, but the market itself. Recovery is close, now it’s just a matter of harnessing interests and investment strategies to collaboratively force a market recovery.

For more real estate and environmental news, follow on Twitter @enviromint.

 

image courtesy of Ken Jarvis Photography

/by

To Stabilize We Must Equalize

, ,

Speculations around market recovery are many. The desolate state in which the property market resides is remaining stagnant, with fragments of measurable recovery being made. Therein lies the question of how to inject some life into the current market; enough to drive a full recovery.

A recent Vancouver Sun article highlighted a very interesting and probable theory put forth by Vancouver’s Mayor Gregor Robertson. The concept he proposes is that more low to middle-income housing must be implemented in order to develop an efficient housing market recovery. Reason being is similar to a concept we covered in a previous blog post – Here We Go Again – that covered the principle of a market recovery being impossible wherein the lower-income citizens couldn’t participate in the market themselves. If only the wealthy are purchasing and rotating properties, then the market only fluctuates above a particular income bracket, as opposed to that of a fluid recovery that encompasses the efforts of all classes within a particular society.

The concept of introducing affordable housing for the lower and middle-class is quite ideal. In order to stabilize the property market, we must first even the playing field. If implemented successfully, this methodology could quickly yield beneficial results, as a rounded market recovery rather than a weighted one would increase and stabilize real estate across the board instead of augmenting the values of high-value properties for relatively elite citizens to exchange amongst themselves like poker chips.

For more real estate and environmental news, follow us on Twitter @enviromint

 

image courtesy of Antanith

 

 

/by

One Page At A Time

, , ,

Real estate, according to a recent article, is responsible for the fall of one tree per 17 transactions completed. This may seem like a lot, and it may appear as an overzealous assumption, but rest assured that this is most certainly no exaggeration. Real estate, while putting roofs over peoples’ heads, rapidly destroys potential wildlife habitats and is responsible for a vast amount of paper waste.

Technology’s progressions over the past decade are now sophisticated enough to allow for the replacement of paper resources entirely – so that’s exactly what we did. Digitization of documents has never been easier, so why not take a page out of our book and go paperless? Not only is this an efficient way to refine your business’ efficiency, but to make a conscious social decision to take a stand against the waste created by paper in our industry. With the elimination of paper documents, no longer are the days where sheets and forms go missing, become inaccessible, or need to be mailed. By switching to a digital business model you can refine your business process, access documents from virtually anywhere, distribute and share information instantaneously, while having a rested conscience from taking a personal stand against environmental destruction and paper waste.

For more environmental and real estate news, check us out on Twitter @enviromint.

 

image courtesy of Horia Varlan

/by