Saint John, NB

I work for a wonderful company that has REALTORS who contribute to a worthwhile foundation that helps many women & children!

Royal LePage Atlantic has REALTORS that are dedicated to the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation. The Shelter Foundation is the largest public foundation in Canada that are dedicated exclusively to ending violence against women and children. Royal LePage pays the costs of administration so that 100% of all money and effort goes towards helping local shelters and supporting violence-prevention programs in the New Brunswick area of Saint John, Rothesey, Sussex, Shediac and Moncton in New Brunswick, Canada.

Royal LePage REALTORS across Canada have raised more than $7 million since 1999 to help over 30,000 women and children each year.

This Friday, October 24th, 2008 at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto, Royal LePage is having an evening of "The Royal Treatment" at the Shelter Foundation's annual fundraising gala! It's being hosted by CHFI's Erin Davis and featurning a performance by Destino.

For more information, email: shelterfoundation@royallepage.ca

Also, you can donate by cheque, payable to Royal Lepage Shelter Foundation and mail it to the following address:

Royal LePage Shelter Foundation

39 Wynford Drive

Don Mills, ON M3C 3K5

(877) 775-4545

On Wednesday, Oct 1st, 2008, we had both the Queen Mary 2 and the Norwegian Dream at our Saint John, New Brunswick port. We had approximately 5,000 more people in our city in less then a day. In the spring to fall months, we have cruise ships in port every week. The temperature within the Bay of Fundy doesn't exceed 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

Here are the differences between the two cruise ships:

Queen Mary 2 vs. Norwegian Dream

Gross Tons: 151,400 vs. 50,760

Builder: Chantiers de L'Antique vs. Chantiers de L'Antique (France)

Original Cost: 550 million (Euros) vs. 240 million ( Euros)

Entered Service: Jan. 2004 vs. Dec. 1992 (stretched 1998)

Registry: Great Britain vs. The Bahamas

Length: 1,131.9 ft / 345.03 m vs. 754 ft / 229.8 m

Beam: 134.5 ft / 41 m vs. 93.5 ft /28.5 m

Draft: 32.6 ft / 9.95 m vs. 22.3 ft / 6.8 m

Passenger Decks: 17 vs. 10

Total Crew: 1,254 vs. 700

Passengers: 3,090 vs. 2,156

Pass. Space Ratio: 57.2 vs. 29.3

Crew-Pass. Ratio: 2.0 vs. 2.5

Cruising Speed: 25 knots vs. 21 knots

Queen Mary 2 - FACTS

The ONLY Canyon Ranch SpaClub at sea

The World's 1st Planetarium at sea

The largest library at sea

The longest jogging track at sea

The largest wine collection at sea

A cultural academy by the University of Oxford, with 7 classrooms and an auditorium

A Pillow Concierge offers a choice of up to 9 different types of pillows

Some royal suites have private elevators

Classic hallmarks include sweeping staircases & a grand ballroom, domed salons

Staff has renowned "White Star Service"

Norwegian Dream - FACTS

Freestyle Cruising concept

Increased entertainment & dining options

Guest can do anything or nothing at all

New LifeStyle Program

More art auctions

Health & Wellness Programs

Cooking demonstrations

In 1998, was stretched an additional 130 ft midsection

My top restaurants in Saint John, New Brunswick.

I've put together a list the top five places I eat in Saint John. Although these aren't my favorites, they are practical, quick and easy.

1. [Dining] Vito's Restaurant & Lounge (Uptown & Rothesay Ave)- Vito's offers some great Italian food at great prices in a relaxing and comfortable atmosphere.
2. [Grab A Pizza or Pasta] Angelo's Restaurant (Quispamsis and Hampton)- Offers amazing Italian food. Although the dining room is small, it's well worth it. Very reasonable prices as well.
3. [Relax, Eat, and have a drink] Sebastien - Offers a variety of dishes and known for their massive selection of Martini's and drinks. Luxury and intimate setting. Super place for socializing and light business
4. [Grab something quick] The Wild Carrot Cafe (City Market) - Great tasting and healthy food, grab something quick on you're lunch break and enjoy the market atmosphere.
   
5. [Quick and easy] Fast Jack's (Level 3 Brunswick Square) - Fast jacks is a great place to get breakfast and lunch (breakfast served all day). The food is good, the service is good, and the prices are good. I personally recommend the chicken ceaser wrap.

Hidden Gems & Other Favorites

These are some great places to fill up and relax. They didn't make the top five but they are highly recommended.

• Sisters (Fine Italian Foods) - Saint John City Market, Uptown
  
• The Coffee Mill (Something for everyone) - Lancaster Mall, West Saint John
• Cozy Corner (Just like a home cooked meal) - Hampton
• Mama Georges (Better than home cooked, and you don't even have to do the dishes) - Norton
• Church Street Steak House - Uptown Saint John
• Boilerworks - On the boardwalk (Market Square)
• Ale House - On the boardwalk (Market Square)
• Swiss Chalet

Feel free to coment with you're favorite restaurants.

As a real estate salesperson and the owner of a Saint John property management company, I see many people who buy rental properties and don't think they need a property manager (in most cases they own a small building or a single family home they rent out). Little do they know it's not only about collecting your rent cheque every month.

Here are some things to consider when asking yourself "Do I need a property manager"?

Residential Tenancies Act

First and for most is the laws governing rental units. Here in New Brunswick Canada it's called the Residential Tenancies act. It outlines the rights a tenant has, as well as the rights of the landlord. If you aren't familiar with them, you need to get familiar or find a manager that is - otherwise you could end up in some trouble with the law.

On call 24/7 365 day's a year?

As a landlord you need to be on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Not only do you need to be on call, but you need to be ready to get to your property in a hurry in the event of an emergency. Many landlord's tell me they are available 24/7 but they look a little puzzled when I ask them: "You're out on a Saturday night with friends and family, and you've had a couple glasses of wine. You're tenant calls and the toilet is flooding. What do you do?".

At the end of the day, you need someone on call and available to take care of these problems should they arise.

My building is brand new, we wont have any problems.

It doesn't matter how new your building is. Bad things happen to new buildings too! Toilets get backed up, leaks happen, there isn't anything we can do about it except be ready when it happens.

My tenants are great executive clients, there wont be any problems.

That's great, I'm glad to hear you've got great tenants. You can have a beautiful property, but it doesn't mean anything without the good tenants. The problem is that accidents happen with good tenants too (e.g. the bottle of bleach they just picked up at the store has a faulty cover, and gets spilled all over the floor - it's not because they are bad people). For this reason you must always collect a security deposit.

You have executive tenants, and they are looking for executive service. If they have a problem, they want prompt and professional service whether its 2 in the afternoon or 2 in the morning.

Who's to blame, and who's going to pay for that?

If you make a mistake, you're going to pay for it. If your property manager makes a mistake, they will be paying for it (or their insurance will).

The bottom line is, property managers have experience and knowledge in what they do (after all, that's how they make a living. If they weren't good at it, they wouldn't be doing it for very long). They have systems, and accountability. Before you say no to a property manager, sit down and talk to one (or two) and find out what they can do for you.

If you're purchasing rental property in the Greater Saint John Area give Harrity Real Estate Services a call, and we will set up a free initial consultation. If you already own rental property, give us a call and we will give you a free initial consultation to discuess how we can improve your investment, and give you the time for what matters most to you.

Thanks for reading.

Luther Harrity

Saint John Real Estate & Property Management Services

The last couple of weeks I've been doing some research into LED lighting. We see it used in vehicles and flashlights all the time, but why not household lighting? LED's last for ages, are resistant to vibration and movement (they don't break!) and they save loads of energy compared to the regular energy saving bulbs.

Yes the new energy saving bulbs (compact fluorescent) that fit the traditional edison size fixtures are saving on our power bills, but not near as much as a led light bulb will (some LED light bulbs will output the same light as a 60W bulb while only using 4.5W) - not to mention the compact fluorescent bulb uses gases that are harmful to the environment.

You can purchase LED light fixtures for your home or business (they aren't easy to find though). I have recently seen some of the new track lighting LED's on shelves at Home Depot; however you're looking for a solution for your home or business other than track lighting you'll have to look to the Internet.

While searching the archives over at REM Online, I found an article by Randy Norman titled "Shame on you, David Suzuki". The article accuses environmentalist David Suzuki for promoting the compact fluorescent bulbs that are less energy efficient than the LED's and do harm the environment. He also credits David (and figures like him) to the lack of LED awareness and sales.

Due to the popularity of the compact fluorescent bulbs, LED's are slow to hit the market and expensive to purchase (although it is a good investment in the long term). It is my hope that everyone that reads this blog will help promote the LED bulbs and fixtures to their clients, and use them in their own homes and businesses.

The more awareness, the more people will buy them and the cheaper they will become. Businesses especially should be purchasing these bulbs, as they are in the greatest position to save on lighting cost. Once enough businesses step up to the plate, I believe (and hope) the LED bulb will come mainstream and hopefully the standard for lighting both in businesses and homes.

Here are a few LED Lighting websites:

• Marktech LED Lighting (My personal Favorite)
• Nemalux.com
• GVA Lighting
• LED Neon Flex (Neon Lighting Only)

If you've got some great websites or suppliers please share them with me.