live work space

A client from Toronto came into the city this week to decide whether to move his business to Hamilton. He is looking for a work/live situation where he can have a retail presence with the ability to live in the same location.  This live/work scenario is the big buzzword in real estate in major centers.  Small business make up the majority of our retail landscape and people who are photographers, artists, jewelers, book stores etc., are unable to afford to lease a space for their business and then rent an apartment on top of that.  They are looking to pay around $1,200 to $1,500 dollars a month for a space that can accommodate both living and working.

I have a 12,000 sqft building for lease which is set up for only commercial business and we are unable to accommodate people living in the space – legally.  We have at least one inquiry a week for the live/work scenario and being a real estate broker I started to look around town to find such a space.  So when my client from Toronto wanted a live/work space I decided to “tweet” it out to #hamont.  The response was quick and impressive.  The responses were Hamilton Economic Development, a Councillor, a landlord on James Street and one from Ottawa street.  Everyone who responded wanted to help a Toronto native find a space in our city. I took their suggestions and combined them with the leads I could muster up from the real estate board and set out a little tour for a live/work space in Hamilton.

My client emailed me he missed the 9:30 bus but would be on the 10 bus out of Toronto.  I picked him up at the hunter station at 10:45 and we headed on our tour.  I drove him around Locke, Aberdeen, Hess, International village, king and main street through Ottawa street and back down Cannon and James.  Every street has something to offer at different price levels and sizes.  We really took our time on James Street and looked at the new CBC/Art Gallery building and he was impressed with the architecture of the city.  We stopped in Mixed Media where Dave, the owner, gave my client the lowdown on space, the city, art community etc.  We then showed him available space on James and even though it was pretty run down he was impressed with the community and space to really consider making the move from Toronto.

Hamilton should focus on the live/work space since we are still an affordable city.  A ton of small business is being done on the internet but these small business owners still need space to live – create – sell their creations.  They are making money and want to be part of a community.  Hamilton is the only “real city” close enough to Toronto that can provide a community, parks, education, airport, transportation, green space that will make people make the move.  It may only take 45 minutes to get here but once they leave the “big city” they realize pretty quickly how Hamilton is the “real city” not a beige, plastic suburb. 

Coffee Round Table

by Darrin DeRoches October 18 - 24, 2012

I was invited to a coffee round table by Glen Norton our Urban Renewal Manager which featured Mathieu Langelier – Executive Director, Hamilton Halton Builder Association and Cameron Nolan the President of Realtors Association of Hamilton Burlington. To be honest, I thought that it would be a boring, stuffy type of stale coffee, big winded talk from people who had an agenda and who were forcing it down your throat kind of deal. But I was totally wrong.     The meeting was held at the Mulberry Coffee Shop, which provided the space, great coffee and amazing muffins. The informal setting and talk really brought out a casual, yet I say, cool – vibe. The open form brought out architects, realtors, investors, property owners, landlords etc. Everyone had an open forum to discuss topical points that related to our city. The two big topics were the new but dreaded legalizing apartments and the creation of more condos/apartments in the downtown. Everyone is up in arms in registering all apartments with the city. It is not the costs of doing it; it is the ramifications that come with it. Every landlord wants their units to be legal since it will make insuring and renting easier but at what costs? The zoning nightmares will be insane, costly and next to impossible. The second topic about bringing new builds to the downtown boiled down to the same concerns – City Hall. Builders are not worried about selling the units; they are concern with all the red tape in city hall – period.     It is easy to blame City Hall and our politicians for all of our problems but from a neutral point of view – City Hall has made vast improvements but it still has a way to go. Twenty years ago I dealt with city hall for a business downtown and they were like dinosaurs in the building department. I had to challenge, argue, go to the OMB and finally just correct all of their assumptions with the facts in order to move forward on a simple 15 person patio. In today’s building department there is still a pass-the-buck, cover-your-ass type of attitude. This culture has to change and it has to change from the top down. The city says they are open for business and they are BUT and it is a big but, the building department has to get up to speed. I can sit here and suggest what they should do but really they should sit with a bunch of builders, realtors and landlords and ask them what needs to be fixed and FIX IT!     Our downtown and our city as a whole can grow exponentially if only we really open the doors to the developers, builders and businessman who are scratching at our door but are afraid to really commit.  Streamline our building department, remove obstacles and let our city grow to its full potential – it may all just start with a simple conversation over a coffee. V     Darrin DeRoches is a local real estate and mortgage broker. He can be reached to answer questions, comments or stories about real estate experiences through this weekly column at mail@uniquerealty.ca.

Fast Moving Market

by Darrin DeRoches October 11 - 17, 2012

Let’s look at the real estate numbers so far this year. For the first 9 months of the year, our market is up 7.5 per cent from last year. In comparison, the overall for last year was a 7 per cent increase and since the first nine months are up 7.5 per cent, we should easily beat last year’s increase. It is easy to say that in the past two years, real estate value has grown by over 7 per cent - that is a great increase. In today’s market, homes are selling faster – 45 days on the market compared to 54 days last year – and for higher prices. September actually had a 13 per cent increase in value compared to September, 2011. In short, fewer homes are on the market but are selling at top dollar.     The average home price during September in our market is $369,032. That is pretty impressive. The next question is, has it become a sellers’ market or is it a buyers’ market? The reality is it is pretty balanced right now but you can call it a sellers’ market since listings are way down and prices are through the roof. So what does this mean? Sell your home now! If you are even considering selling your property, this is the time to get top dollar. If you sell now, you will get the best price but you may also have to pay top dollar for the next property – or will you?     If you consider the reality that all properties are getting top dollar in today’s market, how can you take advantage of this? The first thing you do is prepare your property to get top dollar and once you hit the market, start looking at properties that have been on the market for over 45 days. If they have not sold, they are either overpriced, in need of repairs or have been over looked. These properties have become the “ugly ducklings” and there are deals to be made. A savvy real estate broker can pinpoint these properties where you can actually use the strong market as your bargaining chip. If a property is not being sold – something is wrong. Point out the issues and make an offer with these in mind and properly negotiated you can find the right property for a great price.     The market tends to slow in mid-November/December and if a property has been up since September they will be concerned that they cannot sell before Christmas. In some cases they have already bought and they will just want to sell to move on. I saw a property sell for $20,000 less than market value since he was satisfied to get his money out and move on to his new project. A quick closing can save you thousands of dollars right now. V     Darrin DeRoches is a local real estate and mortgage broker. H

Agent Goes AWOL by Darrin DeRoches October 4 - 10, 2012 What do you do when your agent goes missing? I received a call today from a buyer who had made an offer on an investment property that we had listed. He was looking for his deposit back since he could not get financing and he had called his agent three times in the last week with no response. Exasperated, he called me asking if I could write him a check. Unfortunately, I could not do that. So I called his agent and I’m still waiting to hear back from him.     This whole deal was wonky from the beginning and now I have to explain to my seller that the deal is dead. I have to call the other company, talk to the broker of record, request the paperwork and probably even deliver the deposit check back to their office. We have to put the property back on the market and start all over again. Oh, and I almost forgot – no commission, not a penny. So if it sounds like I am complaining about the lost sale – I am not – it’s the other agent that is going to get an ear full.     The agent showed the property to multiple buyers, which puts up a red flag that they are trying to ‘convince’ buyers to buy an investment property. The offer was mediocre at best and they had a quick closing date which would be very difficult to meet. The most telling part that the agent was full of it was that if you called his voicemail, it stated “if you leave a message, I will get back to you within 24 hours”. I would not hire an agent that would get back to me within 24 hours. I realized the agent was not only part–time but had a 9 to 5 job since all calls were returned just after five o’clock when he got off work.     The reason he was not answering the phone was because he was not making any money. I believe his client was not aware that you have to put 20 per cent down on investment properties and tried to “pull the wool over the eyes” of the bank. Of course it did not work, banks are not that blind. So not only did he not inform his client about the costs involved, he is now being totally unprofessional by not answering their calls.     The moral of the story is – you get what you pay for. If you are looking to buy an investment property, talk to an agent who has investment properties and works full–time. They will provide the proper answers and give you expert advice on the investment. So now I will do the other agents job and remember his name because if he calls again – I will suggest he sticks with his 9 to 5 – he has no business working in the real estate business. V