I'm looking for a referral to a good insurance broker in Calgary who can access multiple carriers for a rental condo policy. I need a higher limit than my current insurance company will write because the corporation increased their deductible materially.

Hello, I am planning on using the Smith Maneuver to convert the final portion of my personal mortgage into tax deductible debt for my rentals. To do this, I would like to pay my condo fees on my rentals directly from my Scotia Heloc on autopsy each month. Does anyone know if this is possible or...

We have sold 5 properties this year, and plan on selling 1 or 2 more before the end of the year into Calgary's hot market. While we're selling rental condos at good values for our buyers, its time for us to right size our portfolio and take some gains as my wife had our first child earlier in...

Hi all, A relative is moving to Calgary and is looking for a good manager to take care of a condo as a rental in Ft Mac. Anybody have someone they're happy with? Michael

Hello, I was hoping some of you may have some past experience regarding mobile homes. Do they have titles (in Alberta) or is there a registry for serial numbers similar to how autos work? How would I check whether a mobile home has a lien against it? I'm looking at buying for cash, so I...

Well 2013 is off to a great start, (Closed 2 properties so far this year!) which means it's time for the annual prediction contest. Put your answers in a reply below, and be sure to answer the tiebreaker, as last year's winner was decided on that basis after one of the tied entrants didn't put a...

Hello, I was wondering if anyone had a ballpark idea on how much it should cost to get a post tensioned cable inspection done on a residential building (Calgary)? Regards, Michael

Hello, A friend of mine owns a side by side duplex in a good area of Calgary, and was considering selling it, and asked for advice. Based on comps form a Realtor, it seems like it would be worth more split into two separately titled units than it is as a whole duplex. Has anyone done this...

The CMHC announced a number of changes, including: 1. Amortizations reduced to 25 years 2. Refinancing limited to 80% 3. Properties purchased at over $1 million no longer eligible for mortgage insurance 4. GDS and TDS set at 39% and 44% 5. HELOCs limited to 65% Some of these will have...

http://www.canadianmortgagetrends.com/canadian_mortgage_trends/2012/05/heloc-loan-to-values.html Raises some concerns for me, especially the part about existing 80% loan to value HELOCs not being grandfathered. It seems like they'd pretty much have to give people time to get their existing...

Hello, I'm looking to move my insurance, and was wondering if anyone had a recommended broker in Calgary. It'd be personal home and condominium rentals (4-7 rentals, depending on rate/availability). Could bundle auto if that helped. Post here or email me (from my profile) if you prefer...

A condo building I'm on the board of is having an issue with a property manager. He manages two units, and is consistently putting terrible tenants in them. (When you advertise "pets welcome, no damage deposit" you don't get the cream of the crop). Anyway, I've checked his name and his company...

With the 2011 contest coming to a successful conclusion (congrats to RandyDalton, 2011 winner!) I thought I'd post the questions for 2012. I've re-used some of them, and changed some to make them more topical to the year. 1) Regarding the government's CMHC mortgage rules what will be the...

The title pretty much says it all. I'm the new president of one of my condo board's, and we need a reserve fund study. There isn't one now, so we're looking for someone who knows their stuff, as opposed to a quick update of the last one. I would appreciate any contacts, either posted here or...

Oxford Properties has announced they're marketing a new 25 storey office building that they have planned in downtown Calgary. Considering the huge amount of space that has been built/leased recently (8th avenue place, the Bow) the fact that they're considering it is unbelievable...

After reading and considering Wade's "4 Cats" thread, I noticed most of the threads I believe he was referring to dealt with the stock market/economy/oil price, etc. Everything except real estate. The real estate threads tend to be much more diverse in terms of responses, which you would expect...

Hello, I'm the president of a condo board that needs a new management company for a building here in Calgary. What questions would others consider important that I have addressed? What key factors would swing the decision one way or another for you. I'm going to be talking to a few management...

I saw this article and thought I'd post it here for comment by some of you who are more in-tune with Hamilton. Will this affect your strategy there? The mayor is saying potentially 10 years plus for the LRT to come in, and it's not his first transit priority. It sounds like he'll be focusing on...

This month's issue of Alberta Venture magazine had a feature on the 25 best communities for business in Western Canada. This could be worth a quick read for those working on goldmine scorecards of various places in the area, as they've aggregated a lot of data, or just for those looking for...

I came across a potential deal recently that's outside my area of expertise. I know some of you do AFS and some of you do suited bungalows in inner-city Calgary, so I thought I'd post this for discussion. Let 'er fly! RC-2 Zoning, legal non-conforming suite (listed on the city website as...