Here’s an interesting conundrum as we move further into summer: what happens if the water’s edge changes? There has been a very serious issue with Ontario’s lakes shrinking year over year. I was at a friend’s cottage last month and she was pointing out the rock they...
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cesia@wall-arm.ca
To plan, or not to plan. That is the question.
I am a big fan of Seth Godin. I read his blog daily, and I've read several of his books (and have the others on my to-read list). He is a very powerful writer, not least because what he writes is so simple. A few weeks ago, he wrote this post about health care...
SPIS
A Seller Property Information Sheet is a form designed to give buyers additional information about the house. It asks sellers to list any known defects, pending work orders or tax increases, oversight by any regulatory body such as conservation authorities, etc. The...
Yours, mine and ours
I have clients who are a classic blended family. She had a child young and separated from the father when her daughter was three; he divorced his wife when his daughter was seven; and when they married, they had a child together. They consider all three children to be...
What exactly am I paying for?
I get a lot of calls from people looking for quotes on my real estate fees. I completely understand; whenever I am thinking about a big purchase, I shop around too. What I wanted to talk about today was what, exactly, you need to keep in mind when you're doing your...
Have a coffee with your discussion of dying
Have you ever heard of a death café? Neither had I, until I read this article at the Globe and Mail last week. Basically, they are informal gatherings – sometimes at coffee shops, sometimes in people’s homes – where a small group can get together, enjoy tea and...
A road to nowhere
In 1985, Veikko Kivikangas subdivided a parcel of waterfront land he owned in Sudbury into three lots. One had direct road access; the others were given a right-of-way over each of the other pieces in order to access their lands. There had long been a gravel road over...
Some thoughts for the not-quite-married
In Canada, for the most part, there is little day-to-day difference between couples who are legally married and couples who are common law. You can get benefits at work, get a family membership at the gym, and generally live as if you are married. One significant...
Happy long weekend!
The Canada Day long weekend is rapidly approaching here in the great white north. I’m looking forward to a nice break, filled with the first birthday party for my friend’s son, at least one barbeque and definitely some fireworks on Monday night. What I’m not looking...
Celebrity death match, round two
I have posted often before on the fact that celebrities tend to make the same mistakes as the rest of us, just compounded by more money and more dependants (you can read posts here, here and here, for example). Sheyna Steiner has posted a new list of celebrity follies...