Category: Uncategorized

I’ve heard that hemp has a ton of great uses – however this one is right up my alley. It is now being used to make concrete-like bricks that buildings can be built from. Carbon Negaive you say? huh? Basically the hemp locks up more CO2 in the growing and harvesting phases than it does in production. Have a read for more info, and check out the pics!

http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/08/24/hemcrete-carbon-negative-hemp-walls-7x-stronger-than-concrete/

Despite the billions of people we have on earth today, it seems that there is a strong lack of people who can inspire, awaken and motivate others to see their true potential. Not only that, but there is an ever-decreasing number of people who have been able to forge their own values and instead the majority just follow the social norms.

The youth of today, myself included, tend to lack the respect for others and the gratitude for life our forefathers once had. Thankfully, there are people out there, alive and passed, whose life stories can both inspire, and motivate.

In my post today I want to highlight efforts of bravery, courage and success; especially in times where a positive outcome looked unlikely.

I’m going to share some examples of will and determination that are a true model of manliness. It is my hope that each story will show you the real potential that we as humans have, and inspire you to make your own plight just as noble.

Dick Hoyt
Dick’s wife gave birth to their son Rick in 1962. During his entry into the world, Rick’s umbillical wrapped around his neck and cut off oxygen to his brain. His parents were told that their child would never develop properly and because of the incident, Rick has never been able to walk or talk.

When Rick was 13, his parents managed to save up $5,000 for an interactive computer so that he could communicate with them. One day Rick, who was in a wheelchair, expressed that he would like to participate in a long distance run to help raise money for a school friend who had been paralyzed. That event was just the beginning.

Dick Hoyt has since taken his son Rick on a gruelling 65 marathons and 216 triathlons, and at such a speed that they left healthy athletes in their wake. Why did Dick go to such efforts for his son? This quote should answer that question…

“When we got home from that race that night, Rick wrote on the computer, ‘Dad, when I run it feels like my disability disappears.’ So, that was a very powerful message to me.”

Aron Ralston
Like all men with a huge amount of courage in times of very serious matters, Aron Ralston downplays his bravery. He was a keen mountain climber who, in 2002, quit his job with Intel so that he could climb all of the “fourteeners” in Colorado.

On one such trip in 2003, he was on a solo expedition where a terrible event occurred. During one climb, a boulder had landed on him, crushing his forearm. He had kept the details of his trip to himself, so knew that nobody would be looking for him or know that he was in trouble.

He spent the next 5 days trying to move the boulder with no success. Because he thought the end was near, he made goodbye videos for his family and even carved his expected death date into the sandstone. It was at this point that he decided to try and amputate his own arm. And, using nothing more than a very blunt knife, that’s exactly what he did.

His story has become well known around the world and he now spends a lot of time giving inspirational speeches and sharing his wisdom.

“We’re all going to make mistakes, … Your mistakes are the result of choices you make. But, because we make mistakes, does not mean we can’t rectify that.”

Pat Tillman
In 2000, Pat Tillman was chosen by Sports Illustrated writer Paul Zimmerman as a member of his NFL All Pro Team. Tillman had just finished the season with 155 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 9 pass deflections. Not only was he an excellent player, he also stayed loyal to his team, the Cardinals, after being offered a $9m contract by the Superbowl winners, the St. Louis Rams.

Shortly after 9/11, Pat made the surprising decision to leave his multi-million dollar football career and join the United States Army. He was sent to Afghanistan after having been deployed in Iraq and this is where he lost his life on April 22nd, 2004 after being killed by “friendly fire”.

He is one of two active professional football players who left their careers and died in combat, he shares this in common with the late Bob Kalsu.

I believe that his friends’ description of him shows the qualities of one of the nation’s finest men:

“He’s one of the greatest guys in the world. No ego. No need for wealth. Just a great all around guy. We should all be like that.”

5 More Great Messages
We’ve now seen three examples of real men abundant in sheer mettle and tenacity. Following are five more examples that are each as inspiring and moving as the next.

• William Wallace – William was born in the 13th Century and is known for leading a resistance while the wars of Scottish Independence were in full flow. Today he is thought of as a national hero and was the inspiration behind a poem in the 15th century which later became the foundation of the film, Braveheart.
  

  “Every man dies. Not every man really lives.”

• Arnold Schwarzenegger – Arnold was chosen as “Mr. Universe” at the young age of 22 and went on to win “Mr. Olympia” a total of 7 times. He is also well known for his role in the Terminator movies and is currently the Governor of California.
  

  “For me life is continuously being hungry. The meaning of life is not simply to exist, to survive, but to move ahead, to go up, to achieve, to conquer.“

• Ted Williams – Ted is thought of as one of the greatest baseball players who has ever lived with 521 home runs and a .344 batting average. He was included in the baseball hall of fame in 1966. He also fought for his country as a pilot during World War II and the Korean War.
  

  “A man has to have goals – for a day, for a lifetime – and that was mine, to have people say, ‘There goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived.’

• Chiune Sugihara – Chiune was a Japanese diplomat who helped saved the lives of thousands of Jews by issuing them with visas so they could travel to Japan. His actions put not only his career on the line, but the lives of him and his family.
  

  “Do what is right because it is right; and leave it alone.”

• Liviu Librescu – Liviu was a Romanian teacher who survived the Holocaust. He was teaching at Virginia Tech when a gunman raided the school and killed 32 people. He helped save every one of his students, blocking the classroom door which the gunmen were trying to enter. He waited until every student had left via the class windows before falling with 5 bullets in his back.

  This is a quote from his son:

  “I walked through the streets today with my head held high because I have such a father.”

I like to think of these examples as a varied look at the true power man holds within. Hopefully the stories mentioned here can help you put life into perspective and see the potential that each of us has.

Source: http://www.dumblittleman.com/2009/06/8-inspirational-messages-from-manliest.html

5. 676 Lakeridge in Avalon. 36 more stacked townhouses in 3 blocks of 12 each.

4. 265 Centrum Blvd in Queenswood Heights. New Indoor Pool and Gym.

3. 8465 North Service Road (Between 10th line and Trim near water). Two 3 -1/2 storey apartment buildings with total 48 dwelling units.

2. 5607 Rockdale in Vars! Plan of Subdivision!!

1. 265 Centrum in Queenswood Hieghts – 5 storey hotel with 100 suites!!!

Details? just ask.

Cheers

So I’ve been pretty darn busy the past few weeks, and I am starting to notice and learn new things about my industry, my fellow salespeople, my clients, and myself as well.

About the industry – The market can change on a dime. I remember not even 5 or 6 weeks ago salespeople were reporting slightly lower than average volume of sales, and then a week or two after activity shot through the roof. I think it was around August 1st that everything just blew up. Everyone wanted one last chance at using the cheap money out there before the fall and winter was in full effect, and everyone began fighting for for properties! So much in fact that there would sometimes be half-a-dozen offers whithin days of merchandise hitting the market. Unreal!

About my fellow Salespeople – There are different forms of success amongst them. There is the type that takes the time to be kind and patient with their clients and build a business relationship out of trust and respect, and the kind that merely counts on volume of sales and does not put much effort at all into any form of relationship. Both are successfull, where the former builds a refferral based business and the latter builds a strict numbers-based-business that works on a simple economic model of numbers in VS numbers out.

My clients – can be very emotional, and I dont blame them, it is not their fault. It is the responsibility of the Salesperson to manage their clients expectations and keep communication open the entire time.

Myself – I am not a salesperson by nature – more of a provider and a giver. What I mean is that I don’t really know how to use a sales pitch to persuade and get things done; its my true nature to substantiate what I say and do with backup and facts. I am pretty big on analysis and I always do my homework for my clients and myself as well. Why does this matter? Well – it takes a lot of time. I like to have a very solid strategy based on irrefutable logic, and I like to base my decisions, including negotiations, on a functional compromise that makes sense.  From my point of view, doing the homework for a Buyer really helps knock the Seller off their knowledge based pedestal, and shows me which angle to approach from for the best end result for my client. Like I said – this research and strategy work takes some time – but I like it! When it works against me is when some simple persuasion and sales technique could have done the same thing, and I wasted time. I am still on the fence about this one, since my style covers all my angles and bases, and I have an answer and logic for every step forward, or to the side if need be.

My conclusions:

Industry – I need to diversify my business. I am currently working on a few waterfront deals, suburbian townhomes and rural properties. I think a proper mix of business will protect myself from quick changes in the marketplace. Too narrow of a niche makes you vulnerable to market changes.

Salespeople – When I started this business, one of the tools I used to analyze the direction of the industry was the TREACY model that I learned in my 4th year at University. Essentially is takes a snapshot of the industry and plots its course on three different scales of progress. One focuses on Product Leadership (Strong Branding), another on Operational Excellence (Volume and economy of scales based) and finally Customer Intimacy (total solutions and Relationship Management). I found Branding and Operational Excellence were the dominant Brokerage strategies, and Customer Intimacy,while present in some spots, was the least used strategy. It was leaving clients feeling like a number rather than a person, and making quite a number of people unhappy. What I plan on doing with my business is getting that volume that brings in the the cold hard cash, yet investing heavily in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) division that solely manages clients expectations, maintians positive relations, and makes sure they are taken CARE of. That way I believe I can acheive a great volume of business, while incresing my refferal based clients, and building a fantastic reputation of service AND results. That is the kind of salesperson I want to be, and the type of business I will build.  How will I get there? Well Im definetly on my way, and the secret is just that! haha.

My clients – like I said, its all about managing expectations. The better of a job I do here, the happier the clients are. I plan on having some sort of standard meeting for my clients, where a mobile CRM worker will work with the client to make sure all wants and needs are met, and they are as satisfied as can be. Until I have such a worker, I am of course the CRM specialist, as well as the salesperson, the admin, the bookkeeper, the runner, the buyer specialist, the seller specialist and the President!

Myself – Keep working hard and reinvest in myself. Sales training for one, keeping an open mind and focus on communication when and where it counts.

Til next time,

Marc

From the Ottawa Real Estate Board, August 10,2009 :

 Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,577 residential properties in July through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 1,414 in July 2008. This is an increase of 11.5 per cent.Of those sales, 339 were in the condominium property class, while 1,238 were in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, etc.) which is registered as a condominium, as well as properties which are co-operatives, life leases and timeshares. The residential property class includes all other residential properties.

 “Ottawa’s resale housing market had another strong month in July, and strong sales in the past few months have brought year-to-date sales to 2.6 per cent higher than in 2008,” said Board President Rick Snell. “High demand combined with a very low listing inventory is creating a very strong seller’s market with multiple offers and an increase in prices,” he added.

The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in July in the Ottawa area was $300,016, an increase of 1.7 per cent over July 2008. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $216,826, an increase of 2.9 per cent over July 2008. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $322,795, an increase of 1.2 per cent over July 2008.

The Board cautions that average sale price information can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value.

So you’ve heard me ramble and post about the HST doomsday for new homesales, and it goes in one ear and out the other. How about I give you my interpretation about how this could open an opportunity for you?

Here is what I am thinking: we both know that many people buy a new home pre-construction to save some money (builders, like most people after all, want money ASAP), and what they do is buy it bare bones, get in while the area is still being developed and do the upgrades themselves, thus saving them the margin that builders make on doing the work in-house. They then put the house on the market at the same time as the rest of the ones in the development, but now the margin made on the improvements goes in THEIR pocket and not the builders. Simple enough.

Can you imagine what will happen to these new homes once HST kicks in? HST is PST and GST combined and is set to hit us in January. So instead of now buying a 300K home and paying 15K in GST ON TOP of the price (300K + 5%), but now you would pay the additional 8%, so 24K, making your total 339K (300 + 5% + 8%)! Can you imagine???

How do you think the market will react? For one, now that new home sales are going to cost 8% more, you could argue that all RESALES could be sly enough, all things remaining the same,  to start asking for as much as 7.99% more and be considered a relative bargain (albeit a slight one).

But what the new homes are going to do is drop their prices, naturally. They need to liquidate their homes and pay their obligations, and people are going to go shop at the 7.99% increased resale ‘bargain bin’ to get what they need. Im guessing they will offer all kinds of incentives to purchase their homes as well.

What I think will happen is that in expectation of the looming HST, and given that no one can predict with 100% certainty how the economy will be in the spring, new homes will drop even further this fall/winter. ON TOP OF THAT – money is CHEAP right now. Our in-house broker John Walsh just emailed me new 5 year fixed rates at 4.02%!!!

Where I see a huge opportunity: Take advantage of CHEAP money and LOW prices on new homes in the fall, buy bare bones, upgrade it yourself, and then throw it on the market in the Spring as a RESALE comparable to its neighbouring NEW HOMES and not only put the upgrade margin in YOUR JEANS, but provide the added incentive to the buyer by not requiring them to pay the blended tax rate since your home is not a NEW one anymore (resale now) and thus GST, or by then HST, will NOT BE APPLICABLE.  WIN/WIN!!!

Hey – why not be sly yourself and increase your margin by %7.99 and get in the ‘bargain bin’ with a practially new home?

My idea of an opportunity.

Heck, I would do a 9 month business plan on this, map it out in a project format, get some quotes and commitments, go to a lender and finance a half dozen of these babies over the winter.  There a risk/reward possibility and a half.

So we know its going to happen in Jan – the question is: What are you going to do about it?

Inspired by something that happend yesterday.

My posting was as follows:   “What happened was that I discovered someone that I thought was a great person and a friend was actually a phony. I only discovered it when tough times called for tough decisions and they tried to be greedy, deceptive and manipulative. They tried to look out for themselves by double-crossing me and it honestly saddens me to see them resort to that. The saying ” When the grass gets short, you see the snakes” is pretty true. A sad reality of business is that people like that often are the ones who succeed – but I wont let it infect my ethics one bit. Thats not how I live my life and its not how I do business. Thanks again.”

Have any of you had similar experiences?

The fact of the matter is that wearing your heart on your sleeve will sometimes get you burned – and it might happen often. Im a big believer that being nice and willing to help is not something that should ever be scolded or even hampered by a bad experience. There are alot of miserable people out there, and misery loves company. They want to make people around them miserable and will spread negativity like the plague.

Be true to yourself, be who you want to be, and be proud of it.

The world doesnt need pessimists or destructive personalities. It needs strong minded individuals that are willing to be themselves and move forward with their lives.

You dont always need to be helping others, but atleast help yourself.

Cheers

We live in a culture where everyone seems to worry. Turn on the news – someone got shot, there’s mercury in the fish we eat, the cows have got BSE, a new super-flu is coming, terrorists are regrouping… on and on it goes.

If you take all of this stuff seriously, it’s likely that you’ll never go out, never eat, never travel, or never take any kind of risk at all. But in fact, worry makes no sense at all.

Here are some reasons why worry really is a pointless and damaging activity, though I suspect we all know this deep down.

Things never happen the way you imagine. When you worry, you are predicting the future. You are saying ‘I know that things will turn out badly.’ But this just isn’t the case. You have no idea how the future is going to turn out, except to say that it will not be what you think it will be. So why worry?

Worry means you give away your power.

Some People are so entrenched in worry that they cannot see any other way to live. But worry robs you of your power to be proactive. The truth is that you are in control and you can choose how to react to situations, so why choose to give that power away so easily and so unconsciously?

Worrying is completely unproductive.
Why waste your energy doing something that gets you nowhere. On a treadmill, at least you get some exercise, but worry is a truly pointless activity. Spend your time and energy on something more useful.

Worry distorts reality.
We live in an age where people live longer, have better access to health care, have more opportunity for personal and professional growth, more chance to travel, greater access to information and lifelong education, and many other wonderful things. Yes, there are risks and potential dangers, but worry magnifies these disproportionately and blinds us to the wonders of our age.

Worrying is bad for your health.
Worry is not a normal state of mind and it adversely affects your health, even your physical health. When you worry, physical changes are happening in your body which are very damaging. It increases stress which can increase blood pressure, cause higher levels of stomach acid, cause muscle tension and headaches, among many other things.

Worry is not natural.
Do little children worry? Do animals worry? Do all adults worry? There is nothing inherent in being human that means you have to worry. Worry is a pathology, a distortion of our natural, healthy state.

Do you know the most frequent instruction given in the Bible? Surprisingly, it is not ‘love one another’ or ‘love God’ or anything like that. It is simple ‘do not be afraid.’ I don’t know how many times it appears, but I’ve seen estimates between 100 and 366 times. You don’t have to be religious to realize that this is good advice.

So how can we break out of this worry habit? Like all habits, it might not be easy to do, but there are some clear, simple and effective steps you can take to eliminate worry from your life.

Realize that you are in control.
In The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey tells us that the first step to a better life is the realization that we are free to choose how to react to circumstances. Worry is a choice – it’s inside our own head and, as such, it is within the sphere of our own influence.

Recognize that worry is a habit.
Like all habits, there is a momentum to worry, and it might not be easy to break away from this, especially if you’ve been a worrier all your life. But it’s possible to change any habit.

Keep things in perspective.
E. Joseph Crossman said, ‘If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today.’ Are you still worrying about those things? Will all this stuff matter in 100 years from now?

Face your fears.
Nelson DeMille said that ‘Somehow our devils are never quite what we expect when we meet them face to face.’ After you do something that scares you, you’ll probably find it wasn’t as bad as you thought. With time, all your worry will dissipate.

Stop trying to be in control of everything.
You cannot control the whole world. Things happen that are truly outside our circle of influence, and so we need to relax and accept that sometimes things just happen as they will. This is part of life, and worry will not change it one little bit.

Stop taking yourself so seriously.
If you fail, so what? If you screw up, is it the end of the world? Are you really so important that the world will stop turning if you get things wrong? Life is not that serious.

Worry is a dangerous and poisonous thing. You must not let it eat away at you.
Finally, one of my favorite quotes from Mark Twain. ‘I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.’

Original Source: http://www.dumblittleman.com/2008/12/why-worry.html

What kind of Real Estate help can I provide during this RAINY summer? Hmmm… How about TIPS on staying DRY in a tent while camping?

PERFECT!

Just for all of you that want to GET OUT and have fun regardless of the weather – ENJOY!

Introduction

Instructions

Things You’ll Need

• Large tarp
• Small camping shovel
• Twine
• Heavy duty foil

Steps

Step One

 Click to enlarge

Choose your campsite carefully. Pick the highest ground on your site as the place for your tent. In the midst of trees is best.

 

Step Three

 Click to enlarge

Tie your tarp over your tent. Tie twine onto each corner of your tarp and on two sides across from each other in the middle. It must be long enough to tie around the nearby trees. Make sure it is tied higher in the center, from the sides, than on the corners, but it must be taut and not touch the material of your tent.

 

Step Five

 Click to enlarge

Save your embers. You can keep the coals of your campfire going by putting a makeshift tent of foil over it, until the downpour subsides.

 

Step Seven

 Click to enlarge

Dry your tent before taking it down. This will extend the life of your tent, and keep it from getting moldy. If you have to take it down, at least open it in your garage or outside when you get home and let it dry. Follow these steps and your camping trip will survive the rainstorm.

Tips & Warnings

• Put tarp above tent, so that it cannot blow downward and touch it.
• Dig trench around tent.
• Dig drain-off canal from trench.
• Cover coals of your fire to keep them from extinguishing.
• Don’t stay in a tent during an electrical storm, move to shelter, if only your car.
• Don’t touch the fabric of your tent, while it is raining or while it is wet.
• Don’t store a wet tent.

Original Source: http://www.ehow.com/PrintArticle.html?id=4544688