It is at HouseBlogs.net http://houseblogs.net/ Of the hundreds of members, 20 in Canada, there are two from Nova Scotia The Bookyeti and his house called “Pemberley “, then there is the King of Kentville and the “Kentville Money Pit “.
Estabrooks, has a point that what had been assumed by many people to be public islands seem to be suddenly swept away from the public realm and the use becomes prohibited.
…Halifax – NDP MLA Bill Estabrooks wants Nova Scotians to know that people from around the world are buying up islands off the coast of Nova Scotia on the Internet, which limits public use and endangers fish and wildlife habitats.
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A tongue in cheek look at Canada. (Editors note: This is a bit long and I would have edited this article down, but can’t as it has to be published in full)
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After reading the article in the Chronicle Herald (Subscription only – Halifax, N.S.) about a US fella purchasing Lot 25 on Oak Island from David Tobias, I decided to do a bit of poking around myself.
After reading the article in the Chronicle Herald (Subscription only – Halifax, N.S.) about a US fella purchasing Lot 25 on Oak Island from David Tobias, I decided to do a bit of poking around myself. The article says that the purchaser is from the states and the lot is registered to a Nova Scotia company by the name of Centre Road Ventures that is owned by one Alan Kostrzewa.
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Soliciting comments – I have 5 FREE invitations to Googles new GMAIL.com web based email for the first 5 comments I receive as feed-back on my Real Estate Blog.
Dear Readership,
I have been writing my real estate blog for just a little over 2 months now. While I have received a few comments on my blog, they have mostly been from close associates, I appreciate these comments, but I would like to hear from my readership. For the good or the bad of it.
And for the first 5 comments I receive I will send a FREE invitation to Googles new GMAIL.com – Web Based Email!
EMAIL Tim Harris with a comment
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Through my Executive-MBA at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax I find myself at a reception at Tongji University, Shanghai.
No matter where I travel, it seems if you are in real estate sales, you get asked the universal question. “What do you think of the local real estate market?”
This happened to me yesterday, and in all places, Shanghai. Through my Executive-MBA Program at Saint Mary’s University and a business trip arranged by Saint Mary’s to the other side of the world, I found myself at a reception at Tongji University, Shanghai. We met with 20 or more Shanghai International MBA students and faculty. It was an intimate reception on the Tongji University Campus. A few speeches, a couple of presentations by our class business groups and then a Chinese buffet.
In the middle of the reception I was introduced to Dr. Jianwie Wu, a professor at the School of Economics and Management at Tongji. How he found out I was a Realtor is a mystery. His great interest of me was how I saw the Shanghai real estate market and more specifically where the top may be. Apparently he has invested well in real estate and in the past couple of years his holdings have risen 200%. He wanted to know what economic indicators I would use to predict the top of the market for his holdings? A straight forward enough question!
Now, having been in Shanghai for all of 24 hours and not having the faintest idea about the market, I would say I hadn’t any idea where the market was going to go, The little I do know of Shanghai real estate, is real property ownership is legal and encouraged. Fair trading exits and companies like Cendant, who own Century 21 and Coldwell Banker want in a big way.
I hesitated and answered that I didn’t have access to that crystal ball. My new friend Dr. Wu looked a little forlorn that a Canadian real estate broker couldn’t add any insight to his question. Somehow I found myself slipping in my role as a Realtor and started asking Dr. Wu some questions. Did he want to know when the market was topping out so he could sell? Would he reinvest in real estate right away? Were his holding making money? Dr. Wu considered all of this and gave me a few answers. Apparently his holding were all inside the inner ring road. Again from what little I do know, inner ring real estate is hot! But he pressed to ways to know the market was topping off. Suddenly, I found myself formulating an answer. I told him to watch the Shanghai GPD index. Watch for weakness predictions, a sign that the top is near. Monitor the Shanghai labour index, again watch for pull-backs. Look at the construction association reports to see if there is a predicted time Shanghai may meet the housing demand or + number vacancy rates. I told him any combination of these indexes or economic indicators may signal a pull-back in real estate values. Lastly I told him to watch actual sales, track historical costs, quite soon there may be enough organized real estate data to help him with this. Whether I really helped Dr. Wu, I don’t know. However he seemed satisfied with my answer and moved on.
The amazing thing was, I was 7,198 miles from home and stuck in the middle of a reception and was being asked the same questions I get when I am home.
Next we are off to Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam, to another reception tomorrow night. I can almost predict the conversation I am going to have.
EMAIL Tim Harris with a comment
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In just over a month I will be graduating from Saint Mary’s Executive-MBA program. Was it worth it and what’s it got to do with real estate?
My journey back to academia began late spring of 2003 when a newspaper ad caught my eye. It was for the Saint Mary’s EMBA program . “Earn an MBA while working full time, call today”. Having just completed a Dale Carnegie Course a month before, I knew I wanted something to challenge me and tackling an MBA was way outside of my comfort zone and thus something to be conquered. So I called.
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“People on the South Shore say the province should have taken the initiative years ago to develop the island, infamous for its Money Pit since it was discovered in 1795.” Halifax Daily News
Not far from Chester is Oak Island, reported to hide Capt. Kidd’s buried treasure. However there are other ideas out there. The Halifax Daily News published an article today on the Island, focusing more on why the Province of Nova Scotia hasn’t purchased the island and turned it into some sort of tourist attraction.
This author along with one of Realtor LIz Buell, had the opportunity to speak with Dan Blankenship, one of the owners of Oak Island, several years ago. After a tour of the island we had a little chat about possibly bringing the island to the market. At the time we were talking about a value of 2 million dollars with the possibility of an asking price somewhere above that value. We left it in Dan’s hands, followed up with a few telephone calls, but Dan decided not to bring the island to the market. As I say that was several years ago. Now it seems the asking price is fetching 7 million dollars.
Excerpt from todays article:
“MONEY PIT HIGHLIGHTS
1795: Teenager Daniel McGinnis stumbles across a curious circular depression in the ground. Over the next few days, he and two friends dig a hole, finding a layer of flagstones two feet below the surface. They later find layers of oak logs spanning the pit at various depths.
1861: The Oak Island Association clears the Money Pit down to 88 feet. They dig two other shafts, trying to intercept the channel from the ocean. Water eventually floods the pit.
1959: Bob Restall and his family begin their search. He finds a rock with “1704” scratched on it at the Smith’s Cove beach. Some believe it was a prank left by a previous search team.
1965: While excavating a shaft, Bob Restall passes out and falls into the water at the bottom. His son, Bobbie, and two workers try to rescue him. They all drown, possibly overcome by carbon monoxide from a generator.
1965: Dan Blankenship begins his search, pushing the shaft down 60 feet, where he finds a hand-wrought nail and a washer. At 90 feet, he runs into a layer of rocks in stagnant water.”
and
“The myths abound:
Captain Kidd and his pirate treasure.
Sir Francis Drake hiding plunder from the Spanish treasure fleets.
Original manuscripts of Shakespeare’s plays written by Sir Francis Bacon.
The Knights Templar and the Holy Grail.
For the full story go to The Halifax Daily News (article my be time sensitive and could be archived quite quickly)
EMAIL Tim Harris with a comment
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A Norwegian real estate agent tells it like it is. ; )
OSLO, Norway (AP) – A Norwegian real estate investor tired of glowing but inaccurate property advertisements opted for blunt honesty in offering an apartment for sale.
“Gruesome two-room apartment with balcony,” said the advertisement posted on the Finn.no Internet portal this week. “A very worn-out apartment.” Some Norwegian real estate brokers exaggerate wildly in their advertisements, describing, for example, a total ruin as a “charming fixer-upper.” Or they can try to make the location seem more attractive than it is, such as one house “on a quiet side street.” The side street was quiet, but the four-lane super highway on the other side was less so….. full story
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“It began more than 20 years ago as a spiritual journey. Today, the Buddhist migration to Nova Scotia stands as one of the most significant events in the province’s history. From just a few students practising meditation in an old office space, the movement has grown to the point where it’s hard to imagine Halifax without it. And it’s all because a respected teacher suggested that his students could practise their religion and live, as he put it, ‘a decent life’ in quiet Nova Scotia. ” Rob Gordon – CBC Halifax
These are two great news items about our buddhists friends in Nova Scotia. I have to say I have met many Buddhist residing in N.S. and have liked and admired everyone that I met. Any province or state should be so blessed with the quality of people represented within the buddhist faith.
Please see the video news items below. If for some reason the attached clips do not play they can be found at CBC’s web site.
You will need Real Player One as a video player. But that is about it. Get it free on the ne if the video’s won’t play for you. REAL PLAYER ONE
“A Decent Place: The story of the Nova Scotia Buddhists”
“A Decent Place: Once here, the challenge is to stay here”
20050211ns_buddhists_2.ram
Thank you for listening.
EMAIL Tim Harris with a comment
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