Hovel Hunters International, Ep. 7. Possible Versus Plausible.

So, are we still looking for a house? That is a very good question, but on some level the answer is still probably yes.

I’m also still looking for a cabin in the woods, a cave up in the hills, a spider-hole in the ground, a camper, an RV, a really good tent, backpack and walking shoes; or even just a yurt out on the steppes somewhere.

(He’s looking for a good horse, ladies and gentlemen. That’s what I think. – ed.)

Unfortunately, it has to be in the Province of Ontario or the pension suddenly becomes null and void. Why that should be, I don’t know and there is no one that can properly explain it—not even anyone with the Province of Ontario.

Since I know just how hard it was to buy and maintain a $50,000.00 house on an ODSP benefit of $930.00 a month, (at least in this town), then I guess I got a rough idea of how hard it would be to buy and maintain an $80,000.00 house on a pension of $1,128.00 per month, with a bit more in book sales and part-time work. Also bearing in mind just how fucking hard it is to get Trillium Benefits and sometimes the HST rebate out of the good, kind, decent God-fearing Christian-Canadian volk over at the Canada Revenue Agency.

The first property is on the south end of East St., and it is apparently listed at $69,000.00. You can see that it is a storey and half frame house of wartime vintage. They’ve put on an addition and bumped up the roofline in an attempt to gain some space. The door on the front of the one-car garage is a patio-type slider. What that means is anyone’s guess without taking a walk-through. I don’t plan on doing that anytime soon. A house would have to really grab me—not even so much curb appeal, as in the structural or design sense. This one ain’t too good in that regard.

But buying someone else’s real bad reno job isn’t on the cards at this point. That's because I wouldn't have the finances to do anything about it. That includes emergency repairs, and all of that sort of thing.

The second property isn’t even listed. Supposedly, this one’s going for $80,000.00 The tip is that it’s for sale by owner. Again, not much curb appeal here, but in this price range that’s asking for a lot. The lot appears to be about thirty-five feet wide. It’s probably a hundred feet deep or so. The house is set well back from the sidewalk, which is better than being right on the street. There is a one-car garage. How much house does a single male actually need? Not much, arguably, but I’m the one being asked to sign on the dotted line and this one doesn’t grab me enough to ever want to take a walk-through.

The simple answer is that I understand the benefits of home ownership. I recognize the wonderful results of the power of positive thinking and neural linguistic programming. 

It's a little more cheerful when the sun is out.

Unfortunately, Tony Robbins isn’t the one paying the bills around here.

I am, and that makes a big difference in what is possible—or even plausible. I also understand the value of location, location, location. South East Street isn't quite so desirable as Nelson St., no matter the price or what the building actually looks like.

Thank you for reading.

Hovel Hunters International, Ep. 6. Executive Living.

# 99 Easy St.

From Lee Michaels, Blackburn News.

A Brampton-based property management company is trying to rid Sarnia rental buildings of drug-based crime, one unit at a time.

Safe and Sound Property Management Manager Rae Ostrander says they’re contacted by new property owners and then begin to service eviction notices to those who are not paying their rent.

They also collaborate with Sarnia police to determine if drug activities are known in the building and work to get rid of those tenants as well.

Link to the rest here.

Editorial Opinion:


So let me see if I got this right: you pack your buildings with the disabled, mental health/addictions people, working poor, single moms, people on Ontario Works and ODSP. 

Then you pressure the cops to crack down on drug activity in apartment buildings...

What, you got a for-profit jail in the works and all them beds need to be filled, eh...???

Yeah, I recall their ad in the paper:

“Residential apartments for rent in a clean, quiet, professionally-managed building currently undergoing policing operations for persistent drug activity. $700-$950.00 a month…”

The disabled welcomed with big smiles and open arms...and hands.

Especially since the province did away with the Moving Benefit.

Executive living bought to you by Safe & Smug in Brampton Property Management.

Just a general observation, but when property management does away with the live-in superintendent, you lose something in on-site presence. When I think of some of the simple noise problems I've experienced, and documented over the years, it would have been too simple to go down, knock at the super's door and say, "Hey! You gotta come up here and listen to this."

Quite frankly, it would have been nipped in the bud, very, very quickly, and not too many questions asked. On the other hand, the company probably does generate another $700-$950.00 per month in revenues.

Thank you for reading.

Hovel Hunters International, Ep. 5: Food Banks a National Disgrace.

Right now Canstruction is going on at the mall, raising food and donations for the Inn of the Good Shepherd.

I'm opposed to food banks, which in my opinion are a national disgrace. Food banks are, or never should be, anything more than a temporary solution. Unfortunately, they have become a permanent blight in every Canadian city and town.

Here's what Miles Yappi and local radio aren't telling you about poverty in Canada, in Ontario, in your home town. In 1995, provincial welfare rates were slashed, from $663.00/month for a single adult down to $520.00/month for a single adult. Here's what a single adult receives in assistance now, 2017: $681.00 a month. That's twenty-two years later--twenty-two years of inflation that rarely runs much below three percent and sometimes a lot higher. Then there is the principle of compounding, something middle-class poverty enablers understand very well in their own savings or debt programs. "Each cut or each raise is compounded on top of the result upon which it is based."

The thing is, we're retarded children--mentally ill/addictions; none of us went past grade three and therefore we're not supposed to know that.

Unfortunately, we can do the math.

So, what's the average price of a one-bedroom apartment in this town? At a quick guess, about $681.00/month. But then, Landlordie McLandlordface can do the math just as well as you can—and he sees all them government cheques and fucking food banks too.

Local food banks also have rent and utility banks. They can help in an emergency. But I'll be damned if I'm going to rent an apartment that is way beyond my means, knowing that I can always go down there once a month, especially in winter, and throw myself on their mercy and their generosity in order to heat the fucking place. The same goes double for home ownership, no matter how smart it would be to build up a bit of equity for my alleged retirement.

You can’t get that assistance if the heat and power are included in your astronomical rent, can you? At some point they must ask, ‘why don’t just you get a cheaper place…???’

And the landlord, and the government, know all that too.

Maybe you could rent a place for less than that—and there are one-roomers available for as little as $95.00/week. There’s one right downtown on Brock St., handily enough, a stone’s throw from the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Have you ever wondered what that might look like?

Let alone live in it.

Thank you for reading.

END