Every year in November, we attend the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation Gala. This past Friday was the 5th year for the charity gala and it was a stellar event!

We’ve posted about the Shelter Foundation in the past and in particular about the annual Royal LePage Garage Sale for Shelter held at Royal LePage offices across Canada every May. We believe very strongly in the importance of giving back to our community, especially to those who are most vulnerable and marginalized, and one of the ways we do this is through our support of and participation in the Shelter Foundation. Through donating a portion of every commission we receive and through the fundraising events that we organize and participate in throughout the year, we do our utmost to bring hope and provide a safe shelter for those who need it most. We’re honoured to be in the top 10% of Shelter Foundation donors in Canada.

The numbers aren’t in yet, but between the live and silent auctions we think a record may have been set at the Gala this year! I know that a dinner for 6 with our President/CEO Phil Soper went for $4000. Hey, he’s a very popular guy!

So what’s up with the faux fur? The “pre-loved” fur coat featured in the above photo was purchased for $3.75 from the Salvation Army by two Calgary Realtors – Dave Shulz and Chris Matlashewski – during the Royal LePage National Conference in 2008. Fittingly, the Salvation Army they bought it from supports the prevention of spousal abuse.

Since then the beloved faux fur has been auctioned off at each conference to the highest bidder – who gets to keep it for the year and have their name immortalized on the lining of the coat. This scruffy cast-off has raised about $17,000 so far for the Shelter Foundation!

Unfortunately we are not the current keepers of the coat. That honour belongs to a group of Realtors at Royal LePage Westside in Vancouver who were cunning enough to band together to win the coat for 2011/2012 but also kind enough to let the faux fur make a visit to the Gala this year. But we do intend to do whatever it takes to bring the faux fur to Ontario next year – so be warned Westside!!!

An article I read yesterday about a home buyer’s terrible experience with a major basement leak just one month after moving in raises a lot of points and points a lot of fingers, but in the end it leaves the reader confused and angry because it doesn’t answer the question: how could this situation have been prevented?

Here’s the scenario: the home buyer bought a house from a small scale developer who had previously experienced water leakage in the basement. The seller maintains that the listing agent  told him he was not obligated to disclose the problem since it had been fixed. One month after moving in, the home buyer experienced a major leak in the basement in the same area.

But the article mentions something so briefly that unless you already have the knowledge, you wouldn’t realize how essential it is. I’m talking about building permits.

First of all, it is in everyone’s best interest – including the listing agent’s – if a listing agent asks their seller not only if they obtained the required building permits for any renovations, additions or deletions, but also to see confirmation that the permits were signed off by the regulatory body (in Toronto, for example, this would be the City of Toronto Building Inspection department). In the absence of these, the listing agent should refuse to take the listing.

Secondly, the buyer’s agent should also confirm this information in the best interests of their buyer.

Last but not least, the buyer’s solicitor may have been able to prevent closing had they contacted the City regarding permits on the property. In this particular case, a regular search for open permits such as you can do in Toronto here would not have sufficed since the seller did not obtain any permits at all. But with this particular case, the absence of any permits should have raised a red flag.

It’s also important to know that if a seller has obtained permits but has not had them signed off, they should contact the City for an inspection to determine if all work meets the requirements of the permits, what might be outstanding, and how to go about fulfilling the requirements for a sign off if there is outstanding work.

Here is the full text of the article if you would like to read it.

Why?!?

Even though it doesn’t include the fall colours, what a great photo of the Grange gardens!

The original Grange Manor was built in 1817 and in 1910 became the Art Museum of Toronto, the predecessor to the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). The Manor house is now incorporated into the current AGO.

The Grange used to consist of 100 acres of land from Queen to Bloor and from Beverley to McCaul!