Front of house

Charming 3-Story+ Home in tree-lined Glen Park area. The cheerful completely remodeled kitchen has a new duel Bosch gas stove, stainless steel fridge and silstone countertops. Great workspace/eating area with double doors that exits to a giant sundeck for partying or cozy breakfasts. The floors are first-growth fir flooring covered with non-skid memory foam padded lino and industreal carpet. The house has completely updated electrical, insulation throughout, new double-glazed thermal windows. Eco windows, washer/dryer, lights. New roof (2006) with covered eave-troughs, 4 skylights, and much much more.Call me for more information.

Price $829,000

Kitchen

Kitchen

Kitchen

Kitchen

Livingroom to Diningroom

Livingroom to Entrance

Livingroom to Hall

Entry Solarium

When you buy an apartment, there are three common forms of ownership. Most popular in British Columbia is Strata. This is when you own your own apartment and there are common areas that you are collectively responsible for. The banks like this form of ownership and it is easy to get good mortgages on these properties.

During the late forties and early fifties a number of properties were built called cooperatives. These are where the owners own the whole building and are given a share of the whole property (their apartment) where they live. They are responsible for all collective spaces in proportion to the size of their share.

The banks do not like this form of ownership so only a few banks in the city will support mortgages and all mortgages are given only at a premium.

Throughout the city there are also apartments sold on leasehold land. These include the federal owned developments in False Creek, the city owned developments in Champlain Heights, and various privately owned leasehold properties throughout the West End. There are also homes sold that are situated on Indian Land. These leasehold properties have been quite problematic in the past and should not be entered into without consulting a lawyer.

Freehold home

Freehold

A freehold interest (also known as a fee simple) is the more precise term for what we ordinarily refer to as ownership of a property.  The owner of the freehold interest has full use and control of the land and the buildings on it, subject to any rights of the Crown, local land-use bylaws and any other restrictions in place at the time of purchase.

In English law, a freehold is the ownership of real property, being the land and all immovable structures attached to such land. Immovable property includes land and all that naturally goes with it, such as buildings, trees, or underground resources, but not such things as vehicles or livestock (which are movable).

For an estate to be a freehold it must possess two qualities: Immobility (property must be land or some interest issuing out of or annexed to land); and ownership of it must be of an indeterminate duration. If the time of ownership can be fixed and determined, then it cannot be a freehold.

Leasehold

In some cases you might purchase the right to use a residential property for a long, but limited, period of time.  The owner of this right of use has a type of ownership called a leasehold interest.  This type of ownership is used most often for townhouses or apartments built on city-owned land. (for example: False Creek or Champlain Hights and some buildings in the West End).  It is also occasionally  on First Nations reserves, and for apartments where the owner of the freehold interest of an entire apartment block sells leasehold interests in individual apartment units to other owners.

Leasehold interests are frequently set for periods of 99 years, but regardless of the length of the original term, you will only be able to purchase the remaining portion.  Of course, the shorter the remaining portion, the less you, or the person who eventually purchases from you, will be willing to pay for the leasehold interest

This is a strata property composed of three individual houses on one piece of property

Strata

The strata form of ownership is designed to provide exclusive use and ownership of a specific housing unit (the strata lot) which is contained in a larger property (the strata project), plus shared use and ownership of the common areas such as halls, grounds, garages, elevators, etc.

This type of ownership is used for homes, duplexes, apartment blocks, townhouse complexes, warehouses, and many other types of buildings.  Because ownership of the common space is shared, the owners also share financial responsibility for its maintenance such as the commonly owned roads, disposal system, landscaping, elevators, management, etc.

A Cooperative in Kerresdale

Cooperative

Not to be confused with government housing co-ops, A housing cooperative is a legal entity—usually a corporation—that owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings. Each shareholder in the legal entity is granted the right to occupy one housing unit, sometimes subject to an occupancy agreement, which is similar to a lease or “strata laws”. The occupancy agreement specifies the co-op’s rules.

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”.

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.

Kerrisdale Community Centre

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

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

Marcia's Studio

In early May I went to my 50th High School Reunion. Well, it wasn’t really my High School Reunion. It was a reunion of my buds. We went to two schools. Hollywood High School and Fairfax High School. (I went to Fairfax). We met at Marcia’s ranch that was about 15 miles outside of Santa Maria. There were 35 of us. We had all been unusual people and we still were. I would describe us as the intelligencia.

As a group we came from adequately comfortable homes. Our parents were well educated and in some cases, of the international set. (This had less to do with money as to do with comfort in living outside the USA.) Probably half of us had at least one parent who had been born in Europe and had come to North America escaping the Nazis or went to Europe escaping McCarthyism. This translated into that some of us had lived in Europe and several of us spoke more than one language… (Not me! I was the throw back of the crowd.) There were 6 artists and a big chunk of the rest were University Profs – now retired. Edward is a concert pianist. Marcia is an artist who owns a gallery in Santa Barbara and Joanne was one of the first four women included in Jepson’s History of Art. Len has revolutionized linguistics. Mike is a constitutional lawyer. You can google them all later.

Although not all of us have made significant inroads in the development of American Culture, we were all important to each other. These people were my oldest friends. Five of them had gone to Wonderland Ave. School, my elementary school. It was in the Hollywood Hills and they were part of my memories of the smell of sage and summer dust puffing up between my toes as we tromped around the hills before they were carved into housing projects.

We came together at Marcia’s ranch in the California Costal Range. It was real Chaparral country. Everything was in bloom. We walked, we talked and we ate. And, we renew old acquaintenances. Now the trick will be to keep up our friendships in this world of over activities and our shortening lives with it’s lack of time for those things that count in life. This visit was one of the high points of my present life. Now if I can only remember it.

on the road outside of Mt. Shasta

Wedgeleaf ceanothus or Buckbrush ceanothus is found from the Willamette Valley of west-central Oregon, south to the Rogue Valley and Siskiyou Mountains of southwestern Oregon. Also frequent along the coastal ranges of California, to the Liebre, San Gabriel, San Bernardino, Santa Rosa, and Laguna mountains in southern California. http://depts.washington.edu/propplnt/Plants/Ceanothus%20cuneatus.htm

Marcia's Studio

Allen Associates has completed the Burtt Art Studio, a 1,800 sq. ft. straw bale structure which has integral color natural lime plasters on interior and exterior walls. The roof is made from SIP panels with recycled content standing seam roofing. A Rinnai on-demand water heater provides domestic hot water and backup radiant floor space heating. A stained concrete slab serves as the finish floor. The bathroom has a composting toilet. The crowning glory was a dying walnut tree on site that was milled into planks for bookcases and shelving.

http://www.marciaburtt.com/

http://www.gballiance.com/pdfs/GBA.Greenspeak.Spring2005.pdf.

My oldest friends from the third grade. We all moved to the hills the same year. Joanne and her twin sister Ellie and Hatsy.

Every morning I walked with Gina and one day with Peter too. Peter and I had been in an Acting summer camp together one summer. We were paired together because we were the funniest ones there. We recited the Happy Prince together. 60 years later and we still remembered it word for word.

Saturday night was the main Event

Helen smokes a lot. Here she is after Mexican.

And here is one of me after eating.

Theresa Marshal introduces Favianna Rodriguez at the W2 Launch Pad

*********************************************************************************************************************************

Helen is Helen Potrebenko and is a wonderful writer. Here is her poem to IWD.

THE LAST FEMINIST

What do you remember most?
Walking down Georgia.
Not betrayal, not defeat;
walking down Georgia.

What do you miss the most?
Walking down Georgia.
The days before
the ruling class could arrange
for us to see our liberation disappear
with the sisters rushing off
to join the middle class.
Walking down Georgia.

What do you hope for?
Not the goddesses they invented
to preach poverty to the poor,
wealth to the rich.
Walking down Georgia.

What do you fear the most?
Poverty and violence
and no more
walking down Georgia.

What did you think you were doing
walking down Georgia?
We were walking
for abortion;
for the right to control our own bodies.
For equal pay -
we thought women’s work should be paid
the same as men’s work.
For paid work -
we thought if a person did a job,
they should be paid for it.
For the right to organize
into groups of our own choice.
For the right to negotiate
about our own working conditions.
For day care
and all the raggle-taggle of children’s rights.
(Children’s rights are not important -
they’re only a women’s issue.)
Against sexism and racism and exploitation;
against poverty and violence and oppression.
For the right to jobs and promotion and pay
and to love whom we choose
and to live and laugh and raise children.
For safe houses and safe jobs
and streets where you don’t die.
Hey, we dreamed of safe houses
and safe jobs and safe streets,
walking down Georgia.
(Dreams drown in blood.)

What do you dream about now?
Women and children
in our hundreds
in our thousands
walking down Georgia;
chanting and singing down Georgia;
yelling on Georgia;
carrying babies and balloons
and banners,
walking down Georgia.

Copyright 2009, Helen Potrebenko. For permissions please visit http://helenpotrebenko.icopyright.com.

• before their home can be transferred to a new owner, other than to their surviving spouse, or

• upon their death, with repayment through their estate.

Homeowners aged 60 years and over may defer the payment of annual property taxes on their principal residence. The program is also available to homeowners of any age who are widowed spouses, or who meet the definition of a person with disabilities, in the “Disability Benefits Program Act.”

Check with your local Municipal Government for more information.
For forms to defer your property taxes go to:

http://142.32.78.120/search/SearchResults.aspx?SearchMode=1&Brochures=true&Bulletins=true&Forms=true&Legislation=true&Notices=true&Tax%20Facts=true&Keyword=property%20taxes&PageSize=10

Currently more than 12,000 households in British Columbia defer their property taxes.  In total there is about $173 million owing to the provincial government.  West Vancouver heads the list with 941 homeowners who deferred over $4 million last year, just over $4,000 each on average so as you can see, although it was started to help poor seniors not loose their homes, the rich have been quick to jump on the band wagon!
Lots of seniors who can well afford to pay their property taxes are realizing it is a good investment NOT to pay property taxes but to defer it against the increased value in their homes.The program has become more popular with the increase in the price of homes, property taxes and the aging population.  There was a 50% increase in applications last year.

The interest rate is set every six months, October and April at not greater than 2% below the rate at which the province borrows money.  There is a $60 set-up charge and an annual renewal fee of $10 on which no interest is charged, it just accrues.

So consider a property tax deferment as a way to stay in your home. It is the cheapest loan you can get!

As I sat on the porch with my 95 year old mother, watching the Christmas star plummet to earth, she suddenly said, “I have waited 75 years for the fall of Capitalism”. Of course my Commie friends are not as complacent as they watch their nest eggs get scrambled. I am just glad I can always fall back on my ART.

And then I think of the black knight on the white house horse who has finally brought us hope. And that old depression ditty spins round and round my brain. “Oh they preach Socialism, but they practice Fascism; just to preserve Capitalism for the bosses.”

Wishing you Peace on Earth and a better world tomorrow.

Jeannie

and from my sweetie, Henri too, all the best in the new year.

European Chafer – A New Pest in The Lower Mainland

The European Chafer, Rhizotrogus majalis, is a serious pest of turf in eastern North America. In 2001 it was found in New Westminster, British Columbia, in lawns and boulevards. It is probable this pest has been in B.C. for a few years, and has now spread beyond New Westminster. In fact, while doing a bit of gardening in our yard we had a rain of beetles falling on our heads.

Description

The adult beetle (Figure 1} is tan coloured and resembles a smallish June beetle. The larvae, or grubs (Figures 2,3}, have a C -shaped body and brown head. Mature chafer grubs are smaller than mature June beetle grubs. A microscope is required to confidently identify the grubs.

	Figure 1: Adult European Chafer.
	Figure 2: Mature European Chafer grubs

Biology

The European chafer completes its life cycle in one year. The adult chafer beetles swarm in conspicuous mating flights on warm evenings in late June and early July. The beetles fly to tall objects, usually trees or other vertical structures to mate. The adult females then locate nearby lawns to lay their eggs in. The females deposit up to 50 eggs each.

Eggs hatch in late July or early August and the larvae or grubs begin feeding on roots until the ground freezes. In colder climates, the larvae migrate down below the frost-line to overwinter.

From April to mid-May, the larvae migrate close to the soil surface and feed on turf roots. From mid-May to early June, the larvae stop feeding and pupate (undergo metamorphosis), and the adult beetles emerge two weeks later.

Damage

The grubs are the damaging stage. They feed on all types of grass and, if numerous and food is scarce, may move into vegetable plantings to feed on corn, potatoes and other crops. European chafer grubs prefer to feed on fibrous roots, and can damage ornamental and nursery plants by reducing their fibrous root system. Most of the damage is done by the the third (final} instar grubs in the fall and early spring, but damage can be masked by the abundant moisture at these times. Drier weather can quickly result in the appearance of brown, dying patches. Considerable damage to turf can occur in the fall and winter from animals, especially skunks, and birds digging up the grass to feed on the larger grubs (Figure 4).
The adult beetles feed at dusk on the leaves of deciduous trees but, even when numerous, seldom cause significant damage.

	Figure 3: European Chafer grubs in turf
	Figure 4: Boulevard damage caused by skunks digging out grubs.

Monitoring

In the Spring or Fall, turf that has been damaged by white grubs will lift away from the soil easily because the roots have been eaten and they no longer anchor the turf to the soil. Often, raccoons and skunks will pull back the turf in search of a meal of grubs. This secondary damage is usually more extensive than that caused by the grubs.

Turf that has been severely damaged by birds or other animals may also be brown, wilted or tufted in appearance. Grubs will often be visible when the turf is pulled back. Damage is most severe in the fall and the spring when the grubs are increasing in size rapidly and feeding near the surface.

To confirm the presence of European chafer grubs in your lawn this spring or fall, do the following:

1. Use a garden shovel or spade to cut three sides of a 12-inch square.
2. Grasp the open edges and peel back the turf like a carpet, towards the attached side.
3. Look for the white, C-shaped grubs (larvae) or cocoons (pupae) in the soil, and just underneath the turf roots.
4. Repeat Steps 1 to 3 in at least five different sections of lawn.
5. If you count five or more white grubs per square foot, consider applying a (non-toxic) biological treatment in the summer.
6. If you are unsure of what you have found, place a grub inside a jar or plastic bag, and take it down to your local specialty garden centre for identification.

Management

Healthy, vigorous, well-irrigated turf can withstand low levels of grub feeding.

Biological Treatment

A 2005 study commissioned by the Western Canada Turfgrass Association, the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association, and several local municipalities, revealed that biological treatments could be very effective at controlling the European chafer population, when used in combination with healthy lawn care practices.

According to the study, the most effective biological control measure was the nematode (or roundworm) Heterorhabditis bacteriophora – a natively occurring species that has been used successfully in BC to control other pests. The H. bacteriophora nematode is a “cruiser” species that actively seeks out white grubs (such as the European chafer), and quickly destroys them from the inside-out.

Treatments are most effective if done in late July, after the European chafer eggs have hatched and when the young grubs are most vulnerable to nematode attack.

Book your nematode treatment in the spring, by doing one of the following:

• Inquire at a specialty garden centre about ordering nematodes and applying them to your lawn in late July. “Nemasys G” is one of a few brand names to look for. Stratas may inquire about bulk purchase rates from wholesalers/distributors of these products; OR

• Find a lawn contractors in your area by searching in the phone directory under “Lawn Maintenance”. Receive one or more quotes for the application of H. bacteriophora nematodes to your lawn in July

What is the long term solution? 

In order to prevent European chafer damage in the long-term, many residents are now considering the use of alternative ground covers – particularly on sites that are sunny and well-draining, and prone to yearly infestations.

Groundcovers can be selected to be aesthetically pleasing year-round and to require minimal maintenance. They may also be incorporated with foot paths to increase their aesthetic value. Mulch or paving stones can also be considered in high traffic areas.

Trifolium repens (Dutch White Clover) is one example of a low-growing plant that will form a green, durable ground cover that is easy to maintain. It also produces tiny white or pale pink flowers that may attract bees and other beneficial insects to your yard.

Some of the options of a turf yard. White clover mixed with grass and wildflowers.

Links

• Effective Control of White Grubs (Health Canada)
  www.pmra-arla.gc.ca/english/consum/whitegrubs-e.html – [NEW WINDOW]
  
• Healthy Lawns (Health Canada)
  www.healthylawns.ca – [NEW WINDOW]
• Organic Grub Control (Living Green)
  www.livinggreen.info/library/organic_grub_control.cfm – [NEW WINDOW]
• Preventing Raccoon Problems (Ministry of Environment)
  www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/epdpa/ipmp/Brochures/racoons.htm - [NEW WINDOW]
  
• Wildlife in the City: Racoons (City of Toronto)

Edit this entry.