"Quote"

In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it.

Robert Heinlein

the "Bigger Picture"

In light of response from my previous blogging, I have realized that there is some serious concern over our community’s direction, or lack of it. So... now I have a new idea…What if we developed a comprehensive plan that included a well thought out vision for the future which had guidelines that balanced and encompassed the needs of our area… and then actually used it?Do you think this can happen? Damned right it can. It just took me about 3 clicks of the mouse to find an excellent example of this and it came right from our close neighbors to the west. Check out Fernie’s “Official Community Plan” which entails a 150 page Document which addresses issues such as housing, transportation, parks, economic development, the natural and social environment, infrastructure, etc for the next 20 years. http://fernie.ca/siteengine/ActivePage.asp?PageID=24 I understand that this plan is developed and maintained by a council appointed committee. Do you think they use it? Anyone who has been through Fernie recently knows the answer. Imagine if we had a comprehensive plan with a specific direction that was consistent and based on the needs of our community. We could then draw on this when it came to our hot button topics including the Crowsnest Center, and we could then make appropriate decisions with help from the plan’s mandate. Another example that immediately comes to my mind would be a situation where a developer comes into town with their own idea of what the future of the Crowsnest Pass should look like. These ideas might be different than that of the consensus of the community. We could then use the “Building Design Guideline” within our Community plan, such as Fernie does, to regulate things such as architectural controls that suit our community, and not our developers. I am learning about many issues we are addressing in our community including the Crowsnest Center crisis, devastating school enrollment numbers, heritage initiatives concerned about creating a future that reflects our past, affordable housing issues, and of course the ever present concern of the impact of our environment. Oh, did I mention the Crowsnest Center crisis? In my opinion our town council should be focusing on the “bigger picture” here, developing a plan, such as Fernie's, that would cover all of these issues. Once we do it might be surprising how solving these individual community concerns might start to come together.
I hope our new council realizes that we are one of the last Western Canadian mountain towns to experience the need to address growth, the future, and the implications and concerns that follow. There are so many resources out there, including Fernie’s plan, that we could use as an example to effectively help us deal with these issues (as well as many others).

Stats. March to present

I will be posting some general Real Estate Stats hopefully every month or so. If you are keeping an eye on the area these stats speak volumes about where we have been, where we are, and hopefully where we are headed. If you are curious about any of these statistics, or if you are doing your homework in the area and would like more, don’t hesitate to ask me.
Our March numbers were down, and I was actually quite surprised. We sold 6 residential properties in the Pass, down from 13 in both 2006 and 2007. Things had appeared to pick up in March, and this activity may end up apparent in The April numbers. April 2006 we sold 10 residential properties, and 11 in 2007. This month to date we have sold 7, and are currently sitting with 6 conditional sales.
As for our inventory we are sitting with exactly 100 properties on the market which is up about 25 or so in the last month. Is it time to buy? I think so. The spring market is now here and prices should creep up in the next few months. As for me personally, I am waiting to see a truckload of “deep service” material (Sewer Pipe etc.) to show up at the River Run Development. When we see the next sign of “actual” development there the price of housing will likely jump quickly to the next benchmark.

Letter "from" the editor?

I had submitted my letter “18 cars in the yard” to the Crowsnest Pass Promoter to be included as a letter to the editor in this Friday’s paper. Leave it to the media to edit my thoughts as to not even reflect the intent of my letter.

I did receive 67 page visits to this blog yesterday, a few phone calls congratulating my letter, and did also receive 2 emails which I will share as I thought they were quite fitting. Do you think I have struck a nerve around here?

The first email included this:

“I see the Promoter ‘bastardized’ your letter. “

Well I will be visiting the editor on Monday and this will be my next “Letter to the Editor” offering.


My letter to the editor last week that was renamed “time to clean up the Pass” from its original title of “18 cars in the yard” was edited for content which reflected the whole point and context of the letter. It is one thing to cut the letter up (which was done), but if an editor is able to change the semantics should my name still be signed at the bottom, or should it be theirs? Although a portion of the intention of the letter was still apparent the original letter used an analogy of the mayor’s yard comparing it to the state of our Municipality and the coincidence thereof. Why would the Promoter decide for me on my behalf that I should not scrutinize a local politician? Are we supposed to be afraid of our local leaders? Sorry, but if you are an elected public official the bottom line is that you are fair game. This is a democracy isn’t it? In this case there is an obvious distinction between stating a fact and or an opinion, and being libelous. If I can’t state my opinion as it was intended then what is the point of a “letter to the editor” anyhow.
Definition of libel: “An untruthful statement about a person, published in writing or through broadcast media that injures the person's reputation or standing in the community.”

The second email included:

“...I own property in Crowsnest Pass…We don't live in the Pass - as much as I'd love to, we don't see all the amenities or progressive attitude that would make the decision an easy one.

My wife and I were both very impressed with your letter in the Promoter. If your ideas became a reality, I would have a much easier time convincing her that Crowsnest has the mindset and ammenities for us.

We love the natural beauty of the area, the historic buildings and attitudes of some of the people but still feel there is a bit of "backwardness" within the municipality. I hope your letter can bring likeminded people together and cause some change in the future.

Please run for council.”



All I have to say is…Well spoken.

Ignorance is Bliss

OK… I am not sure how much I need to get involved, but my last post seemed to attract some attention, so here we go one more time. I have had an internet presence for almost 10 years now in this area and have never had my name “googled” more since posting “18 cars in the yard”. I have also been approached nearly every day in our community with people responding to my comments in that post. I honestly did not think anyone would find my little blog, never mind care so much about what it said.

So before I get down off of my little “soap box” and move on from local politics for a while I do wish to emphasize what I think was important about my last post. Athough the analogy implied towards the Mayors yard was a major point, and was completely relevent to the letter, the issue here might be less about what exactly to do with municipally owned buildings etc, and more about being progressive, proactive, about having a vision for this area, and about building a plan which not only actually addresses the issues of our current populace but also that of our grandkids and their kids. I hope we understand that we are at a time and place here where the decisions made by our current town council will have an impact on this community for generations to come.

Eventually we will get a reality check. And actually, in my opinion, we already are. Here is only one example. Check out our councilor Dean Ward’s last blog regarding the state of our school system. We all know numbers are down drastically, but it is a bit of a reality check to actually see them written down. http://crowsnestpasshome.blogspot.com/2008/03/school-enrollement-in-crowsnest-pass.html Also, I am going to say that it is great to see a councilor addressing the need for drawing young families to our area. Way to go Dean.

Do we really understand the need for forward or progressive thinking in this area? Does the future of the Crowsnest Pass depend on change that needs to start happening right now? Do we have a solid vision for the future, or for that matter do we have a future? Are we doing everything possible to take care of the needs of our retired population and keeping and/or inviting the current and next generations of citizens? Are some of us concerned more about personal gain rather than about the future of our community?

Maybe it is time I really start paying attention to what is happening around here, but hey, maybe it is better that I don’t. Because after all…ignorance is bliss…isn’t it?

18 cars in the yard

Why, with all due respect, and with no offence intended to our local leader (who has left the door open for this one), does it seem like the state of our community is too close in principle and appearance to the state of our mayors yard? It seems like we could use a major cleanup, even a bigger “yard sale” so to speak, and some major re-organizing in the Crowsnest Pass. Is it more than a coincidence that the town is cluttered with derelict, barely useable, money pit buildings and property?
With my utmost respect to our local governance, I absolutely do not and will probably never profess to understand the economics and politics of a small town. I am also only speaking an opinion of someone who has no idea of the mechanics of operating such a thing.
However, having said that, I do have a few ideas to put forth. Why not dispose of the municipally owned land currently occupying what I am starting to understand is high maintenance, high expense, worn out, and majorly underused community buildings and property in the Crowsnest Pass. Use this opportunity to let a developer build something useful and create some desperately needed aesthetics in these areas. I would hold onto one key piece of land though, and with help from the proceeds of the other disposed properties here is what I would do with it. I would build Multi facility community/recreation center at the current Crowsnest Center site. And yes, bring in the wrecking ball to that old worn out, under used, high maintenance money pit. Trust me, coming from someone who has moved a young family here, that this alone will help encourage families to move to this area. In my mind attracting families should be absolutely paramount to the agenda of this municipality. Next, I might sell the MDM School to a developer who will turn the building into affordable housing and or senior housing in the way of condos, and sell off the rest of the vacant land on the property and encourage lower end affordable housing on the site.
It is my opinion that attracting young families to this area and making sure we take care of the older population that is already with us is with no question key to the future of this community. We may be nearing the end of an incredible economic era, and a reflection of this era will be noticed for generations to come across most cities and towns in Alberta and across Canada. Hopefully our legacy from this prosperity ends up more than just high Real Estate prices, a handful of small developments, and a partially reclaimed coal pile on the side of Highway 3.

We have a great community here, actually the friendliest and most welcoming community that I have had the good fortune of living in. This alone was a major factor in my decision to bring and raise my family here. The Crowsnest Pass should capitalize on a good thing, at a great time, and take advantage of some of the opportunities around us to help realize the awesome potential this area has to offer.

Time to Buy?

O.K. Real Estate investing in the last few years has been a no brainer. Buy Real Estate in Alberta, even at top dollar, even with competing offers, over list price, whatever… it didn’t matter because as long as you could get your hands on a property, you were going to make money on it. It was EASY, and that is a fact.
Maybe those days of EASY money are fading away, at least for a while, but does that mean that you shouldn’t invest in Real Estate? No. Here are only a few reasons why:
1. Nervous sellers- It is a buyer’s market now in Alberta. There are more listings now than there have been for years, sellers are not getting the attention that they have been used to, and many are starting to fear a major market correction. I hate to admit it but if there has been a time to consider “lowballing” an offer for an investment property in the last 5 years (so long as you are willing to lose the property from pissing off a seller) it is now.
2. Interest Rates- Good, and apparently only getting better.
3. Employment Rate- Alberta still has many jobs to go around. A seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.5% suggests that Alberta’s labour force is still a power house. Check out these stats. http://employment.alberta.ca/documents/LMI/LMI-LFS_0208_highlights.pdf
4. Price of Oil- If there is anything I have learned in the last 10 years it is that when they say oil is going to go up 40 cents a liter by summer, this just means more $$$ for Alberta.

As far as locally in the Crowsnest Pass we could be on the cusp of turning this town into a Great Canadian Rocky Mountain destination as it whole heartedly deserves. The market has not really slowed here, and this is likely a great time and place to invest… Here are a couple of examples of what is happening:

Our Friends from Bridgegate, have apparently secured the Radisson Hotel chain to manage the Hotel that they have planned on their commercial space in the 52 acre development in Blairmore. That is Big News. At a Realtor open house last week regarding the River Run Development (the 52 acres) from Bridgegate, they have suggested that they will be starting the deep services within the month and building immediately thereafter. Building apparently will commence early summer with the first units completed by this time next year. They have also indicated that they are about to launch a massive advertising campaign for their development which will rub directly off on our whole area. They also promise me that they have also not forgotten about the multi-billion dollar project at the lake. I will not lie, I have been a pessimist of our new developer friends, and mostly for good reason. However they were convincing at our Realtor Meeting and my confidence will hopefully grow as fast as their projects for the next few months. Having said that…the best buying opportunities locally may be numbered as these projects start to actually materialize, and confidence in them and our area goes up.

This is how I will sum it up. When it comes to recent economic scares, and the talk of recession in the U.S., all I can say is that I am pretty happy that I have me and my money in Alberta. I am honestly not too worried. The market in the Pass remains strong and the potential here locally is great. Our property prices are likely well below Alberta’s average but have the potential to end up higher if things happen as planned, and if the potential of the area is realized. Hopefully we are only getting started here. This makes quite a favorable spread when it comes to looking at the potential of your Real estate investment return.

I think that the Opportunity to make money is definitely still out there and the only difference might be that we will actually have to remember how to shop around, do our homework, and exercise some due diligence to make educated decisions about investing in Real Estate.