Jeannie Kamins, Realtor

WINNER OF THE BEST DRESSED MATRON AWARD, 2010 Academy Awards Ceremony

Jeannie Kamins won the Best Dressed Matron Award at the Oscar Ceremonies this year. She was wearing the Rose Dress by the famous designer, Ralph. When asked how come we hadn’t seen her on the Red Carpet, she replied, “I know you probably missed me as I stepped out of my pink flocked limo on Sunday night, but unfortunately I arrived at the same time as J-Lo. Next year I will have to plan better. Notice that I am wearing the Hopeless Diamond and carrying the famous Scrappy Coco”.

Sunny corner 1 bedroom co-op suite for $259,900.  The suite is facing east & south to a lovely garden. There are three gardens in the complex for those sunny summer afternoons.

The Suite has the look, charm & feel of a mid-century bungalow with lots of light & big, comfy rooms. Beautiful hardwood floors & double-glazed windows keep you warm in this well maintained & mechanically up-dated complex. Walking distance to shopping, amenities, parks, community centre & transit.

Kerrisday Community Centre

All the convenience & charm of Kerrisdale at your doorstep at such an affordable price. Co-op 35% down payment required. Shows well. Parking available on a 1st come first serve basis.

#10 – 3477 Commercial Street   $325,000

MLS # V760933

“In 2000 we went looking for a Vancouver home where we would be in the company of other writers and artists. Opposite the Skytrain and Trout Lake on Commercial Street at 18th Avenue, we found the ideal situation–a sunlit, two level, two bedroom European-style condominium. This small home (800+ square feet) has served us well. It is in brand new condition. A skylight in the kitchen opens to the sun and the evening skies. There is a fine gas fire in the living room, and we can see the mountains from the living room and the balcony off the dining room. Our front door opens onto the Villa’s central garden courtyard. The property is secure, including the underground parking.”

So describes my client about his pied a terre here in Vancouver as he and his wife have finally decided that living in Toronto and having a place on Galliano was enough toes on the earth for any one couple. So now you have the chance to put your toe into one of the best spots to live in Vancouver. There on Little Commercial only steps to Trout Lake. Or take a stroll down Commercial for a cup of Cappuccino and a Biscotti before you do your weekly shopping at the numerous markets along the Drive.

If you wait ’til Saturday you can shop at the Farmers Market and feel righteous as you “buy green”, follow the 100 mile diet and support local farmers.

It doesn’t stop there. The complex is filled with artists and writers so you can enjoy a community of culture while gabbing with neighbours in the central courtyard – without even going down to the street.

These fellow condo-ites recently got control of the strata council and have pro-actively ordered an engineer’s report to bring the condo up to snuff. Coming from the report were many suggestions to fix problems that had been nagging at the property for a while. And last year an assessment was put on the suite and has been paid. So you will be buying a property that is “as good as new” with all known problems being dealt with.

Now check out the pictures and give me a call at 604-760-7342 to view the listing.

Exterior from the street. A bit garrish, eh!

Once inside you walk down the courtyard to the suite.

Then up the stairs to the door.

Up the stairs to the suite

enter the suite

Top of the stairs is the kitchen and the skylight opens!

to the right is the dining area and the door to the balcony

the living room with gas fireplace

Download  PDF:  Flyer page 1, Green Tea House Details

Go to full description here.

The Harmon | Sill residence and Studios (MLS Listing: V746957 – http://www.caroleharmon.ca/sale/index.html ) was designed by architect David Murray from Edmonton Alberta, and was completed in fall 2006. This property consists of a home and two separate studios. One for Gary Sill is a composer, pianist, and music producer, the second is for Carole Harmon – a photographer. His studio is located on the main floor of the main house and includes a sound studio and performance space,  Carole Harmon’s studio is located in a separate workshop building at the rear of the property. She also operates Harmon Gallery in Banff, Alberta.

For more pictures and the blue prints of the Green Tea House go to:

http://www.caroleharmon.ca/sale/index.html

Design Concept

This property is located between Main and Fraser Streets at the head of Brewery Creek. The site was chosen for it’s central location and proximity to the vibrant Main Street corridor which is one of Eastside Vancouver’s most popular neighbourhoods with new shops and services opening almost weekly.

The house and photography studio are built on floating concrete slabs supported by deep drilled helical steel piles. The metaphor of a land-locked houseboat was used as the inspiration for the design. Both buildings are entered over raised cedar bridges which float above the landscaping. A rectangular concrete pond fronts the photography studio building.

The lot contains the last remaining mature trees in the neighbourhood including a Deodar cedar, Douglas fir, and red leaf hazelnut in the front yard and a hawthorn, tamarack and ancient apple tree in the back yard. The yard is being developed with native plants and ground cover. The roofs of the photography studio and the entrance over the main front door have been structurally prepared for green roof plantings which have not yet been actualized. The building concept and execution included, whenever practically possible, environmental considerations and the finishes and materials used were chosen to enhance the original design concept.

The Music Studio

The audio Studio is located in the main house adjacent to the living room. It has a 10′ ceiling and is a 24′ X 15′ room built within a 26′ X 17′ shell with the floor resting on rubber de-couplers. The 14″ space under the floor is heavily insulated as are the walls and ceiling. A 5″ open space separates the insulated structure from the exterior envelope. A 7′ opening accommodates two custom built metal and glass doors which open wide enough to allow the grand piano to roll in from the adjoining live room when absolute quiet is needed. The studio has it’s own electrical which is separated from the rest of the building and an air exchange unit that silently brings in fresh air.

The live room is 25′ X 16′ with 12′ ceiling and opens on one side into the rest of the building. A lighting rail circles the ceiling with various heads and floods that are useful for home concerts. Both studio and living room are floored with recycled pine and heating is in-floor radiant. The studio is connected to the living room by double acoustic steel doors which allow the grand piano to be in either the studio or living room.  The details and a slide show of Gary Sill’s studio can be seen on his website: Gary Sill Music | Creative Music Performance, Composition and Recording Services

This is a light filled space with enough ‘liveliness’ to make it easy and inviting to play in.

The Photography Studio

Carole Harmon’s photography studio is a 616 sq, ft., one story, free standing building located on the north side of the property. The building design is the same as the main house, with large windows overlooking a rectangular concrete pond which is structurally cantilevered to the building. Both are constructed on a floating concrete slab supported by deep drilled steel piles as is the main building. The building is presently configured with a large open studio on the east side of the building and a two piece bathroom and darkroom on the west side. The bathroom has been plumbed and prepared for a future shower. Three skylights have been framed into the ceiling of the main studio space. The studio roof has been built to accommodate a future green roof. It was intended that the shower, skylights and green roof would be completed together after the main construction as a Phase 2 project. To view the work produced in this studio please visit Carole’s personal website: Carole Harmon | Photographic Artist | Canadian Fine Art Photography and Harmon Gallery website: Harmon Photography – Fine Art Nature Photography in our Banff Gallery

Description of house

The main house is two story with a cedar deck and hot tub on the second floor in the SW corner accessed from the family room. The open concept plan uses changing levels to define areas.

The living room and music studio are sunken one step from the entrance hallway and have reclaimed fir floors. Reclaimed fir is also used in the exposed fir ceilings of the entrance way and dining room. Fir was chosen as it is an indigenous wood and the actual flooring was reclaimed from a military gymnasium in Nanaimo.

The kitchen, mechanical room and powder room are raised and float above the entrance way by 2 steps. Beneath the raised kitchen is a large storage space.

The dining room is dropped by three steps. Aesthetically this provides separation for the practical areas of the main floor while still keeping the kitchen as the heart of the home. A panorama of windows overlook the rear yard from the kitchen and dining room. In a practical sense this design allows for the services under the kitchen floor as well as some low crawl space storage.

The stairway to the second floor is located centrally and is one of the architectural features of this home. The stairs themselves are of the same fir as the living room, studio and second story floors with open mesh powder-coated aluminum along the north side which is open to the kitchen. An enormous skylight over the stairwell floods the stairwell and interior of the house with light brightening the kitchen below and family room, master bedroom, and master bath on the second floor.

Link here for more pictures and the blue prints of the Green Tea House.

Click to download PDF flyers

They have come up with a new regulation that I will have to be accountable for. I am checking with the BC Civil Liberties Association, but at present I have no choice but to give the company more of your personal information. The new regulation is part of bill C-25. Check out the information below.

“New federal laws and regulations dealing with money laundering and anti-terrorist financing now in effect require real estate agents and brokers to collect and verify more personal information from buyers and sellers.

Real estate agents now must also track the source of funds received during the course of a real estate transaction, such as the deposit.

The new regulations are part of Bill C-25 passed in 2007 that requires a number of industries, including real estate, to do more to help stop money laundering and terrorist financing. The regulations are enforced by the federal agency known as the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, or FINTRAC.

“Real estate agents have had legal obligations under the federal government’s push to prevent criminal activity and terrorism since 2001, when Canada’s first comprehensive laws to combat money laundering and terrorist financing were introduced,” said Canadian Real Estate Association president Calvin Lindberg.

“In the first phase of compliance, real estate agents were required to report only suspicious transactions, or transactions involving more than $10,000 in cash,” he added. “Now, verified personal information must be kept of the buyer and seller for each and every real estate transaction in Canada. That personal information includes details such as occupation.”

Real estate agents are now required to ask for proof of the identity of all buyers or sellers involved in a Canadian real estate transaction — there were 559,325 MLS® transactions last year. If the client is a corporation, that information must include corporate documentation and the names of the corporation directors. Agents must also ascertain if a third party is involved in the transaction.

This also applies if a buyer or seller involved in a transaction is not represented by a real estate agent, but the other individual involved is represented. Those buying or selling privately will be asked by the agent representing the other party involved in the transaction to provide proof of identity as well, and that record must be kept by the real estate agent involved in the transaction.

Also under the new FINTRAC regulations, real estate agents dealing with clients they never meet must also verify personal information. The broker office involved can do this with a service agreement with an agent or “mandatary” (one given the mandate to act in the transaction) in the area where the client is located. That agent or mandatary must then meet the client,

verify the identification of the client, and

provide the information to the broker office

actually handling the real estate transaction.

“There are buyers, sellers or investors from other countries who rely on expertise here rather than visiting the property themselves,” the CREA president said. “They must now meet with an official agent of the Canadian broker, and provide proof of identity. This agreement will add to the business costs of the Canadian broker.”

In addition to verification of personal information, real estate agents must also complete a report on the receipt of all funds received during the real estate transaction, not just those of $10,000 or more.

In order to comply with these new federal regulations, real estate agents are required to keep this identification and receipt of funds information on file for five years and provide it to FINTRAC if requested. It is the individual broker office that will be responsible for the safe keeping of the information, and the brokerage that will have to respond to any FINTRAC information request.

SOLD

 Jim is an artist and his home is amazing. Check out these pictures!

The home is called the Ellis Residence and is now on the Market. It was designed by Bob Lewis in the late 1950’s. This Meticulously maintained home showcases west coast living at its best.

The Bright open plan with windows to the south allows spacious views of the entire harbour and the Vancouver inlet.

The home has three bedrooms and two fireplaces.

Master bedroom. Note the closets hidden in the walls.  The two other bedrooms follow, one is used as an office.

There are five skylights and cedar paneling throughout.

The family room is yet another office.

Approach up the Country cobblestone drive to the house nestled among gardens and cedars.

Spend your summers bar-b-queing on your two patios.

The Patio seen from two angles.

Jim has a great studio over the two car garage.

First open house June 8th from 2-4 PM. Check out more details on the internet www.realtylink.org. The MLS number is V738356

Getting an Electrical Inspection to facilitate insurance access.

I went to the big Vancouver Real Estate Conference at Canada Place last month. Following the breakfast meeting we had the choice of lots of work shops that seem to have two perspectives – one to make me richer and one to tell us how to service our clients better. I know I missed out on wealth years ago when I spent 30 years as an artist, but it is never too late for service to your customers.

Most interesting to me was a workshop on buying an old house with outdated electrical systems. They covered knob and tube wiring among other problem systems. The speaker stated that the problem with old wiring is most often not that it is dangerous, but that you cannot get insurance on your house. (A major biggie.)

Most insurance companies refuse to insure an older house that has aluminum or knob and tube wiring. Up until recently, the only option available was to have the outdated wiring removed (at considerable expense), even though the wiring might in fact be perfectly safe.

To solve this problem, Brian Cook (the presenter), formed a new company called “PowerCheck Home Electrical Safety Inspections”. He approached BCAA and proposed that they support an inspection that assesses any risk posed by the knob and tube (and other old wiring) to get them to accept the assessment for insurance purposes. BCAA agreed to insure heritage property with this inspection.

According to PowerCheck, (providing there has been no tampering), about 95 per cent of all knob and tube wiring is fine. In such cases, PowerCheck prepares a list of “Corrective Actions”. Once the corrective actions have been remidied, the home is automatically re-rated at a respective lower risk rating.

The insurance companies will automatically give you insurance (at a premium rate) when you buy using PowerCheck with an agreement that once you bring the risk down you will have your insurance lowered.

For more information check out http://www.powercheck.ca or call (604) 684-3630

The Reverse Mortgage – why not?

I am totally against the Reverse Mortgage. It is a con game organized by the bankers to steal your house and your inheritance.

You know the hype about Reverse Mortgages, “If you are age 62 or older and are “house-rich but cash-poor,” a reverse mortgage may be an option to help increase your income.” They go on to say, “It allows you to access money which is not required to be paid back until you leave the house or it’s sold. However, because your home is such a valuable asset, you may want to consult with your family attorney, or financial advisor before applying for an RM.”

GOOD ADVICE! DO CHECK IT OUT WITH AN ATTORNEY AND A FINANCIAL ADVISER BEFORE YOU APPLY.

Here are a few of the down sides to the reverse mortgage that you should consider before you jump in.

1. Interest is added to the balance starting with the first month and each month thereafter. This means that the total amount of interest you owe increases significantly because interest is compounding and you are paying interest on the interest.

2. Insured plans charge insurance premiums and some have mortgage servicing charges. Even though you can put these costs on the loan, this reduces what you can borrow.

3. RMs use up a portion of the equity in your home, leaving fewer assets for you and your heirs in the future.

4. Interest on RMs is not deductible for income tax purposes until you pay off all or part of your debt.

5. Because you retain title to your home with an RM, you also remain responsible for taxes, repairs, and maintenance.

The most damning information I have received related to the RM came from a friend whose parents had gotten one and who lost thousands of dollars. Here is her letter!

“I would like to tell you about the experience my parents, both 82, had with the reverse mortgage company, Canadian Home Income Plan (CHIP). I’m sure that you have seen their very seductive television ads; even Gordon Pape is speaking for CHIP suggesting that it is a “good investment”. I believe that the business practice of this company should be exposed. They are preying on the elderly, low-income people in Canada.

Five years ago, my parents signed an agreement with CHIP for a reverse mortgage of $43,000, over a 10 year term. At that time they owned their home outright. Five years later, halfway through the term, they were encumbered with $88,000.00 worth of debt on their home. In exchange for this, they had been receiving an annuity payment of $360.00 per month. So essentially, they had paid $88,000.00 for $21,600.00. Had they let the term run the ten years, they would have been encumbered with $125,000.00 worth of debt on the home, so paying $125,000.00 for $43,200.00. And they would have absolutely nothing to fall back on if either one of them had to go into long-term care.

The implied idea in selling reverse mortgages is that the value of your home will increase, so you are not really “losing” anything. Their home is presently worth about $145,000.00, and is located in a rural area of southern Vancouver Island. Home prices in this area have stayed steady for the last 7 years, and they are not likely to rise much in the future, as it is a fairly depressed area economically.

In order to stop the erosion of the equity in the home they decided to take out a mortgage. Luckily, rates are now low, and their monthly payments are also fairly low and manageable. When I was searching out lawyers for them to draw up the mortgage papers, each one of them agreed with me that the CHIP reverse mortgage was something to be very wary of.”

So, what are your choices?

Had they taken out a standard interest only mortgage of $50,000 at 5.5% for five years – amortized over 20 years, and put the $50,000 in the bank their yearly interest payment would have been 2,750/year. That plus $350/mon ( $4,200/year), would have given them over 7 years before they used up the$50,000 (not counting the interest they would have gotten from the $50,000). It would have dropped their property value down only the 50,000 rather than 125000, and they still would have had a nest egg for emergencies.

Again I urge you to see a lawyer before you get into a reverse mortgage.

Perhaps a more suitable way for you to deal with a need for monthly income would be to downsize your living situation and investing the difference in an RRSP or a retirement fund. Give me a call and let’s work out a solution together, and remember, there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

I use a Buyer’s Contract when I work with a buyer. I do this so that there is an agreement that we are working together. A Buyer’s Contract assures that I will work hard.

Here I am taking Babs on a tour of condos. Eventually we found her the best place in town for her. It brings me great joy to have my buyers find their dream homes.