Bella Vista Calgary Interview

On Wednesday 29 June 2011, I was interviewed for CBC Television on a developer’s ability to walk away from buildings that are made with significant structural deficiencies. The story aired at 5PM and 6PM, and was good at expressing the anger being caused by a system that is failing owners.

While it didn’t make the sound bite, I lay the blame fully with the developer. They may indicate the building was passed by the city inspectors, but the inspectors are a lot like police attempting to catch speeders. Overall they help reduce the overall error rate, but they cannot catch everything, and there are developers that will still, wilfully, “drive 225 in a 50 zone” and not be caught. For developers to say “I wasn’t caught by the inspectors, so I hold no blame” is completely without base.

Here is the link to one of the CBC cuts, starting at the 6:55 mark is the condominium segment.

Here’s an article from the Calgary Herald which covers the issue well.

Condos or Cars

Condos cheaper than Porsches. A Porsche 911 (including tires) costs $91,450 USD (Porsche USA).The median price in the first quarter for a previously owned condo in Miami-Fort Lauderdale was $79,200, USD (National Association of Realtors). Ahh, which do I want more?