Calgary Construction XXVI

[Western Spaghetti]

With all due respect, that post wasn't necessary. A couple of people posted that you might have gone over to Skyrise because of money. You've said that you are getting money, and so apparently they were right. End of story.

Originally Posted by Surrealplaces

Apologies for sidetracking things, but I wanted to speak to this since it is about me, and wanted to clear up any confusion. It's my own business, but I don't mind clearing the air.

1) I did not go over to SRC for money or corporate bucks. I was posting pics there for free, as I had been doing at SSP, SSC, and Emporis. After posting for a while SRC approached me and asked if I'd like to be their dedicated representative for the Calgary area.
Someone to interface with developers and architects, do building tours and various ground breaking ceremonies, etc... on their behalf. They pay me a monthly stipend for doing so - it's about what most of you make in 3 to 4 hours of work, so I no I didn't do it for the corporate bucks, and wasn't chasing greed. I do it because I like the building tours, and ceremonies and such.

2) I do not get paid to be a moderator in the forum or to upload photos, or anything else to do with the forum. That's a hobby.

3) I do get paid to write articles for them on a per article basis, as do some others who also write articles for them. Each article pays around what you make in about an hour of work, so it's definitely for enjoyment and not for money.
Here are samples of the articles. They usually take at least an hour or two, sometimes longer. Definitely not in it for the money.
https://calgary.skyrisecities.com/news/2...rary-lives-calgarians-great-expectations
https://calgary.skyrisecities.com/news/2019/02/courtyard-33-gets-green-light-city-hall
https://calgary.skyrisecities.com/news/2...12-months-progress-calgary-cancer-centre

4) I didn't leave because of any particular members. I did feel like SSP was going downward, and I couldn't stomach the Canada section and constant hate on for Calgary. But members weren't the primary reason I was at SRC. I never really packed up and left, just that the other site was refreshing and a good opportunity to start something new, and was enjoying it.

That is all. If anyone has any specific questions feel free to PM me.

[SteveP]

Originally Posted by Western Spaghetti

With all due respect, that post wasn't necessary. A couple of people posted that you might have gone over to Skyrise because of money. You've said that you are getting money, and so apparently they were right. End of story.

100% agree. Exactly. I never accused anyone of anything, I just said that I heard that there was money involved with Surrealplaces and SRC. And as it turns out I was right.

[SteveP]

Originally Posted by Bad Grizzly

Buddy, this is the Internet I don’t believe the man himself anymore than I would somebody from Reddit. Who’s to say either way?

That's just it. Anyone can say anything on the internet when it's anonymous.

[SteveP]

I heard the same thing.

Originally Posted by topdog

Thanks for posting. I heard on Reddit that SRC had poached you and some of the others with cash. So you’re saying that’s not the case?

[Deepstar]

It’s almost as if some people have no clue what condo fees are about. Yes you have to keep paying for them. You also have to pay for water and heating forever unless you want to freeze and die of thirst.

Condo fees also cover a number of other items besides heating and water. Security, amenities, elevator maintenance, underground parking and HVAC, landscaping to name a few.
Home owners will either have to pay for those things I’m selves, or do you work them selves. Maybe you want to do the work yourself like I do, but at some point when you get older it gets harder to do. A reason so many condo owners are older. Sometimes you have a job or you’re out of town a lot, again it’s great to have someone else do all the maintenance, shovelling and yardwork etc.

Jcyyca, isn’t your wife a real estate agent? Why don’t you ask her what condo fees are used for, if she’s a half decent agent she can explain it to you.

Originally Posted by jc_yyc_ca

Those condo fees are quite high for a building like that with no amenities, but speaks to my example about how condo fees are only going to go up. This exactly proves my point that people have to would have to be dumb to buy into an apartment condo.

Originally Posted by jc_yyc_ca

It's because it's a new building. Look at the condo fees of any building older than the year 2000, I bet there is nothing less than $600/month. That's the equivalent of adding another 150K to your mortgage.

Originally Posted by suburbia

Thanks Western Spaghetti. I didn't know what it was either and am happy Corndogger asked the question. I just saw on the Realtor.ca link that HOA was X amount monthly and so used the same word without known more details.



That's funny and sad at the same time. Yeah, with that one $140K unit that had $719 HOA per month, they were indeed looking to corndogger any new unsuspecting owner LOL!

Oh, and LOL means Laugh out Loud

Originally Posted by SteveP

They should rename HOA to BOCA (Bend Over Condo Owners)

[SteveP]

Uh, yeah I think we get the concept of condo fees. The concept of paying for a condo fees forever is not up for debate. I don’t want to pay for somebody else to do yardwork and shovelling snow when I can do it myself and save the money.

BTW don’t you live in a single family home? You said so in the past, yet you’re suddenly an expert in condo fees.

Originally Posted by Deepstar

It’s almost as if some people have no clue what condo fees are about. Yes you have to keep paying for them. You also have to pay for water and heating forever unless you want to freeze and die of thirst.

Condo fees also cover a number of other items besides heating and water. Security, amenities, elevator maintenance, underground parking and HVAC, landscaping to name a few.
Home owners will either have to pay for those things I’m selves, or do you work them selves. Maybe you want to do the work yourself like I do, but at some point when you get older it gets harder to do. A reason so many condo owners are older. Sometimes you have a job or you’re out of town a lot, again it’s great to have someone else do all the maintenance, shovelling and yardwork etc.

Jcyyca, isn’t your wife a real estate agent? Why don’t you ask her what condo fees are used for, if she’s a half decent agent she can explain it to you.

[Suburgatory]

Originally Posted by SteveP

Uh, yeah I think we get the concept of condo fees. The concept of paying for a condo fees forever is not up for debate. I don’t want to pay for somebody else to do yardwork and shovelling snow when I can do it myself and save the money.

BTW don’t you live in a single family home? You said so in the past, yet you’re suddenly an expert in condo fees.

It’s pretty simple. My kid has more of a grasp on it than you and he’s 15 years away from going to university.

[SteveP]

Originally Posted by Surrealplaces

You’re welcome. To answer your question, no, nobody has been ‘poached’ by SRC, myself included.

You admitted in your post you were getting paid by SRC. Is that not getting poached away with cash?

[Suburgatory]

Originally Posted by Bad Grizzly

So basically a quitter then.

Quoting for posterity.

[Suburgatory]

Originally Posted by SteveP

You admitted in your post you were getting paid by SRC. Is that not getting poached away with cash?

Where did he say he was being paid to not visit or post on SSP and be exclusively a SRC member?

[jc_yyc_ca]

Yeah we know about condo fees and what they cover, and if you had of read through all of the posts you would’ve seen that was already covered by another poster. The other poster failed to recognize that not all of those costs are costs that every homeowner needs to pay for. Hi shuffle my own walk and do my own yardwork, I do a lot of my own plumbing repairs and things like that. Also...hello. How many houses have elevators in them? I believe we can safely rule out elevator repairs as a cost for most homeowners

Anyway it doesn’t matter, I will repeat myself again, condo fees are a monthly payment that never goes away. That was the whole point of the discussion.

Originally Posted by Deepstar

It’s almost as if some people have no clue what condo fees are about. Yes you have to keep paying for them. You also have to pay for water and heating forever unless you want to freeze and die of thirst.

Condo fees also cover a number of other items besides heating and water. Security, amenities, elevator maintenance, underground parking and HVAC, landscaping to name a few.
Home owners will either have to pay for those things I’m selves, or do you work them selves. Maybe you want to do the work yourself like I do, but at some point when you get older it gets harder to do. A reason so many condo owners are older. Sometimes you have a job or you’re out of town a lot, again it’s great to have someone else do all the maintenance, shovelling and yardwork etc.

Jcyyca, isn’t your wife a real estate agent? Why don’t you ask her what condo fees are used for, if she’s a half decent agent she can explain it to you.

[Suburgatory]

Originally Posted by jc_yyc_ca

Yeah we know about condo fees and what they cover, and if you had of read through all of the posts you would’ve seen that was already covered by another poster. The other poster failed to recognize that not all of those costs are costs that every homeowner needs to pay for. Hi shuffle my own walk and do my own yardwork, I do a lot of my own plumbing repairs and things like that. Also...hello. How many houses have elevators in them?I believe we can safely rule out elevator repairs as a cost for most homeowners

Anyway it doesn’t matter, I will repeat myself again, condo fees are a monthly payment that never goes away. That was the whole point of the discussion.

Quite a few actually. But those people that can afford an elevator aren’t concerned about its maintenance costs. Just like a Ferrari owner can generally afford to fix it.

Home utilities are a monthly bill that never goes away. That was the whole point of the discussion.

[Corndogger]

Originally Posted by Surrealplaces

Nobody was poached, nobody is getting money to be at SRC and paid money to stay away from SSP. Myself included.

That’s my last post. Apologies for the side track.

I always enjoyed your posts. Loved the photos and that you were open-minded.

[jc_yyc_ca]

Originally Posted by Surrealplaces

Nobody was poached, nobody is getting money to be at SRC and paid money to stay away from SSP. Myself included.

That’s my last post Apologies for the side track.

[jc_yyc_ca]

The whole point was that part of what you pay for condo fees you could do yourself. Like trimming hedges and shoveling snow. Why should I pay to heat the underground parking, when I have a garage or driveway? Also I noticed you’re not mentioning anything about special assessments. I wonder why that is?

Originally Posted by Suburgatory

Quite a few actually. But those people that can afford an elevator aren’t concerned about its maintenance costs. Just like a Ferrari owner can generally afford to fix it.

Home utilities are a monthly bill that never goes away. That was the whole point of the discussion.

[Suburgatory]

Originally Posted by jc_yyc_ca

The whole point was that part of what you pay for condo fees you could do yourself. Like trimming hedges and shoveling snow. Why should I pay to heat the underground parking, when I have a garage or driveway? Also I noticed you’re not mentioning anything about special assessments. I wonder why that is?

I noticed you’re not talking about replacing your furnace, water heater and roof shingles. I wonder why that is?

[Rollerstud98]

I just did my furnace and went to a tankless water heater last September. Furnace all in with a case coil for future a/c and all venting $1900. Water heater was $1500. Condenser when I do get one will be an expensive one as I want high end very quiet. I just moved in to this place last July, so far heating and electricity has been $150 a month cheaper than my last place. When time comes for roof I will be installing a 50 year rubber roof and also will be installing hardie board siding. Extra cost but worth it with not having to worry about hail anymore. Windows will be upgraded this summer which will probably cost me $4000-$6000. I do all the work myself so I save a bunch of money in labour. That will be the beginning of my renos on this new place.

Surprisingly this house came with upgraded interior doors so I get to save money there not having to put in solid core doors every where. My street is polar opposite of the 30 year old developments you were posting earlier suburgstory, trees every where and also only 30 years old.

[Northern]

Originally Posted by Suburgatory

I noticed you’re not talking about replacing your furnace, water heater and roof shingles. I wonder why that is?

If he’s anything like me, he fixes things himself, like I do. Need a new roof? Do it yourself, you’ll save lots of dough. I redid my own roof a couple of years ago. I googled it, watched a couple of YouTube videos and did the hard work with the help of a couple of friends who had done it before. Got it done. Cost me 4K, plus some pizza and beer for my buddies.

Now let’s duscuss a furnace. How often does one replace a furnace? Answer: not very often. It’s not a discussion point.

Hot water tank. Maybe goes once every 15 years? The cost? Answer: The repair cost is about two months if condo fees.

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by Suburgatory

It’s pretty simple. My kid has more of a grasp on it than you and he’s 15 years away from going to university.

Wait. Daemon is your son?

[Suburgatory]

Originally Posted by Rollerstud98

I just did my furnace and went to a tankless water heater last September. Furnace all in with a case coil for future a/c and all venting $1900. Water heater was $1500. Condenser when I do get one will be an expensive one as I want high end very quiet. I just moved in to this place last July, so far heating and electricity has been $150 a month cheaper than my last place. When time comes for roof I will be installing a 50 year rubber roof and also will be installing hardie board siding. Extra cost but worth it with not having to worry about hail anymore. Windows will be upgraded this summer which will probably cost me $4000-$6000. I do all the work myself so I save a bunch of money in labour. That will be the beginning of my renos on this new place.

Surprisingly this house came with upgraded interior doors so I get to save money there not having to put in solid core doors every where. My street is polar opposite of the 30 year old developments you were posting earlier suburgstory, trees every where and also only 30 years old.

You work in the HVAC industry no? So you likely got a deal on the units and did the install yourself? How much would it have cost someone for retail + parts + labour?

My post of the treeless Falconridge street was obviously just a response to the hyperbole about the inner city.