COVID and the housing market

Government money = government specs = higher costs = guaranteed payment for over runs.
As someone who works in building municipal facilities, this is the correct but let me elaborate a little:

Government employees = no one wants to take the fault/decision and risk their cushy pension/zero incentive to save costs = over engineer and quadruple check everything + change and re-change everything five times = higher costs = guaranteed to go over budget.

But hey, us vendors and Baystreet consulting firms are quite happy.
 
As someone who works in building municipal facilities, this is the correct but let me elaborate a little:

Government employees = no one wants to take the fault/decision and risk their cushy pension/zero incentive to save costs = over engineer and quadruple check everything + change and re-change everything five times = higher costs = guaranteed to go over budget.

But hey, us vendors and Baystreet consulting firms are quite happy.
This is it right there. As an OPS employee the hardest part is getting a decision out of someone, anyone.

Needs to be studied, confirmed, re-validated, re-confirmed etc etc.

Costs go up astronomically as nobody (contractors included) wants to sign on the dotted line.

But as they say ‘the worst decision is no decision’.

I make decisions in the smaller value and if things screw up…oops. Big dollars go up the chain.

Dealing with an issue where no one wants to sign because the decision is a $15M decision…so it’s easier to say ‘not enough info and I need more’…they just never tell you when ‘more’ is enough.
 
As someone who works in building municipal facilities, this is the correct but let me elaborate a little:

Government employees = no one wants to take the fault/decision and risk their cushy pension/zero incentive to save costs = over engineer and quadruple check everything + change and re-change everything five times = higher costs = guaranteed to go over budget.

But hey, us vendors and Baystreet consulting firms are quite happy.
A neighbour had business repairing physio equipment and to drum up work, went to a couple of hospitals offering to test their equipment for free.

They declined because if he pointed out a problem they would be obligated to fix it and messing with their budgets.
 
Seeing a whole lot of these ‘ready for flip’ and ‘handyman specials in my feeds recently.


Funny because if it’s so easy….why they selling and not keeping all them GAINS!
 
Seeing a whole lot of these ‘ready for flip’ and ‘handyman specials in my feeds recently.


Funny because if it’s so easy….why they selling and not keeping all them GAINS!
300K buy plus 200K renovation and sell for 500. What a great deal.
 
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300K but plus 200K renovation and sell for 500. What a great deal.
Barton and Sherman?

If you ask Google Maps for the center of the sphincter in Hamilton… it will take you to Barton and Sherman.
 
My wife lived for a few months at James and Barton. Prosties in socks and crocs, drunks unconscious on the lawn, etc. Good times.
Hope you didn't meet here there.
 
James and Barton is the edge of the Portuguese district and home of the art community. Yeah it’s got the drug rehab center but you also have the CF barracks and a bunch of very cool restaurants. And Art Crawl every summer . It’s an ok spot .


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300K buy plus 200K renovation and sell for 500. What a great deal.
What would three apartments bring in over a year. It might work as a rental property if it wasn't for LTB.

The advantage of flipping is you don't have to look after it after closing. Rental with flipper quality workmanship aaand LTB could hurt real bad.
 
What would three apartments bring in over a year. It might work as a rental property if it wasn't for LTB.

The advantage of flipping is you don't have to look after it after closing. Rental with flipper quality workmanship aaand LTB could hurt real bad.
People think you can make apartments by boarding over some doors. Sadly, obc rears it's ugly head and you need fire and noise rated partitions. In an already constructed house, that is an expensive proposition as you need to redo every partition between the new suites, get multiple inspections etc. I suspect that municipalities will hit you with dc's too. Anything possible to make affordable housing impossible.
 
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People think you can make apartments by boarding over some doors. Sadly, obc rears it's ugly head and you need fire and noise rated partitions. In an already constructed house, that is an expensive proposition as you need to redo every partition between the new suites, get multiple inspections etc. I suspect that musicality will hit you with dc's too. Anything possible to make affordable housing impossible.
Or you can just rent it out by the room / month.

Colleagues rented a room in Scarborough….$1000/month NOT including a private bathroom or kitchen.

Highway robbery but it’s how some people live.

It’s a short term thing for him but I’ve been sending him cheaper rooms for rent as $1k/month is obscene to me.
 
Or you can just rent it out by the room / month.

Colleagues rented a room in Scarborough….$1000/month NOT including a private bathroom or kitchen.

Highway robbery but it’s how some people live.

It’s a short term thing for him but I’ve been sending him cheaper rooms for rent as $1k/month is obscene to me.
Paid $550 back in 2016 for room with shared kitchen and bathroom in Richmond hill. In 2012 paid $1200 (split with roommate) 2brdm 1400sq ft apartment downtown.

I feel sorry for renters today.
 
Or you can just rent it out by the room / month.

Colleagues rented a room in Scarborough….$1000/month NOT including a private bathroom or kitchen.

Highway robbery but it’s how some people live.

It’s a short term thing for him but I’ve been sending him cheaper rooms for rent as $1k/month is obscene to me.
A buddy does it. Because of the shared spaces it is a rooming house and LTB has little to no say in the matter. It depends on access to facilities. With the right access the roomer is considered and occupant, not a tenent.

Rent out three bedrooms instead of a three bedroom apartment for about the same price and LTB gets to fly a kite.
 
My wife lived for a few months at James and Barton. Prosties in socks and crocs, drunks unconscious on the lawn, etc. Good times.
That neighbourhood never fails to disappoint. Couple of years back pucking up a buddy to go duck hunting at 3:30AM we stopped at the Timmie's at Barton and Gage (fully dressed in camo with a truck loaded with decoys and layout blinds) and was propositioned by one the evenings finest crack whores - she as willing to give my buddy and I a twofer 🤮. I politely declined and we had a laugh all the way to the killing field.

I grew up on Kensington near Gage Park and that hood has always been gritty but not that 'bad'. I remember selling my parents house just after COVID for ridiculous $$ and it had issues - serious issues. The back half of the house (kitchen, dining room, laundry room and bathroom) was on cedar piles and one corner was sinking so bad if you dripped a golf ball it would race to that corner of the house - probably 5"-6". The new owner, instead of jacking the house level and putting down proper cement footings decided rip up the entire floor and rip 12' 2x10's from 5' down to zero over 24' and nailed them on top of the floor joist so that it was level again and then installed new plywood and flooring o_Oo_O:LOL:. Then put a new kitchen with granite and top end appliances. What a dog's breakfast. I walked thought it on one of the open houses and he had all the windows covered or something under the windows so it would not look like the window is crooked. I am amazed with some people.
 
That neighbourhood never fails to disappoint. Couple of years back pucking up a buddy to go duck hunting at 3:30AM we stopped at the Timmie's at Barton and Gage (fully dressed in camo with a truck loaded with decoys and layout blinds) and was propositioned by one the evenings finest crack whores - she as willing to give my buddy and I a twofer 🤮. I politely declined and we had a laugh all the way to the killing field.

I grew up on Kensington near Gage Park and that hood has always been gritty but not that 'bad'. I remember selling my parents house just after COVID for ridiculous $$ and it had issues - serious issues. The back half of the house (kitchen, dining room, laundry room and bathroom) was on cedar piles and one corner was sinking so bad if you dripped a golf ball it would race to that corner of the house - probably 5"-6". The new owner, instead of jacking the house level and putting down proper cement footings decided rip up the entire floor and rip 12' 2x10's from 5' down to zero over 24' and nailed them on top of the floor joist so that it was level again and then installed new plywood and flooring o_Oo_O:LOL:. Then put a new kitchen with granite and top end appliances. What a dog's breakfast. I walked thought it on one of the open houses and he had all the windows covered or something under the windows so it would not look like the window is crooked. I am amazed with some people.
A house we looked at long ago in Holland Landing had a breakfast added as an addition to the back of the kitchen. Slope was more than 3" across 8'. I looked outside and as the addition had tipped away from the house, they filled the gap with sprayfoam and added metal flashing over to shield it. Hard pass.
 
A house we looked at long ago in Holland Landing had a breakfast added as an addition to the back of the kitchen. Slope was more than 3" across 8'. I looked outside and as the addition had tipped away from the house, they filled the gap with sprayfoam and added metal flashing over to shield it. Hard pass.
Spray Foam :LOL: :LOL:

Sometimes people amaze me!
 
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