Marg Scheben-Edey - Collingwood, Ontario

Many years ago, my widowed mother executed two Power of Attorneys:  one for personal care and one for property.  It was one of the best things she could have done. 

Five years ago, my Mom had a debilitating stroke that left her partially paralyzed and unable to speak.  As a result, her home had to be sold and I had to take over responsibility of all of her assets and personal care.  This was easily possible because of the existing and valid Power of Attorneys; without them, the Public Guardian and Trustee for the Province would have stepped in and taken over her affairs.  What a thought.

It's becoming increasingly common to see properties listed for sale with the Seller being represented by an attorney given the power to handle the transaction.  As this is an area most REALTORS® don't have a great deal of training in, our real estate board recently held a training session led by local lawyer.

He explained that there are two categories of POA's; one for personal care and one for property.  With respect to property specifically, there are then two types:  one is a non-continuing POA which is limited and specific in purpose; for example if a seller was out of the country and unable to execute documents for a specific period of time.  The second type is a continuing POA which is most common.  It gives power to the named attorney (and we're not talking about a lawyer here) to do anything on the persons behalf that they could do if they were capable except make a will.

In order to be legal, POA's must meet various requirements and among them, it must be signed by the person giving the attorney power, it must be dated and two adult, arms length witnesses be present and sign.

In respect to real estate transactions, Sellers who are acting under the Power of Attorney should make sure that any conditions in the document are met and that the POA is valid as they will be responsible for the actions they take.  Then they should provide an original or notarized copy of the document to their REALTOR®.

For buyers purchasing a property where the documents are executed by a POA on behalf of the property owner, it would be prudent to include a clause right in the agreement of purchase and sale having the POA warrant that the POA is indeed in full force and effect.

My first real estate advisor was my Dad. He used to say that when you buy a home, make sure it's one that "first your foes lived in, then your friends and then you." The idea was that a new house has deficiencies that can cause frustrations while subsequent owners add to and perfect a home.

I admit these lessons coloured my viewpoint. While sometimes a new home is suitable for certain buyers, I generally think a resale home offers less risk and more benefit in most cases.

A few years ago, I had a client who insisted on buying one of the first 3 homes to be built in a brand new subdivision. I cautioned her that there was a risk in doing so. What if the developer sold off the land to someone else who had an entirely different vision for her neighbourhood? What if their work crews were terrible? Did they have a TARION track record? Well sure enough, she bought the house. The builder went belly up, the land is for sale and the deficiencies have never been corrected.

More recently, I've been working with some super folks looking to buy a luxury condo in the area for rest and relaxation from their busy lives. They became intrigued with a new development and picked what they thought would be a perfect site. It overlooks a quiet meadow with a fabulous view of Blue Mountain where the sunsets would be magnificent. It's quiet and peaceful but they'd have to pay a significant "lot premium" to acquire that end unit spot.

What the builder's salesperson didn't tell them is that a new road is planned to run right beside the unit and then, the meadow will be a construction zone for years to come as hundreds of homes are planned for that land. Their view of the mountain will likely be impacted by the new condo's to be built right behind them. Not only that but the builder is a year behind schedule and existing owners are screaming foul over unaddressed deficiencies. After I heard about their plan to buy, I got the plans for the area which I was able to show them. That purchase is now on hold.

When it comes to buying new, buyer beware. Model homes often have thousands and thousands of dollars of enticing upgrades and slick presentations that make the fantasy exceedingly powerful. In many cases, you as a buyer are on your own and unrepresented in negotiations. Take your time, think, ask and seek outside advice before signing on the dotted line.

When it’s time to buy or sell real estate in the Collingwood, Blue Mountain or Georgian Triangle area, contact Marg, an experienced and competent Broker who’s ready whenever you are!

A few months ago, I showed a house listed with another local real estate company. It was in surprisingly poor condition inside and I was surprised at the asking price. As is customary, I contacted the listing agent afterwards to provide feedback on my showing.

I told the agent that I thought the house was seriously over-priced by at least $30,000 and interestingly, he agreed with me. He said his clients were not co-operative about reducing the price. (I always then wonder why this agent would even have taken the listing). Anyway, it languished on the market for over six months but the other day, I was surprised to see a sold sign on the same property. When the sale came through our system, I was very surprised to see that it had sold fairly close to the asking price and before I even looked to see which agent made the sale, I knew the answer. Sure enough, it was the listing agent himself.

It makes me wonder, who was he representing in the negotiations? We know he personally agreed the house was over market. Did he share that opinion with the buyers? If he was representing only the sellers, I guess it's a good bet that he did not. Were the buyers aware that it had been on the market for months for no offers? Were they given information about market conditions in the area and comparable sale values? Did they ask? Did they have a contract in place with the agent to represent their interests as a dual agent?

I feel so uncomfortable and yes, mad when I see deals like this go through. Some day down the line, they are going to want to sell and chances are they'll have a rude awakening at that time. On the other hand, maybe they made a conscious choice to pay too much. Yeah, right.

The issue of who is representing the parties to a transaction is an important one. Buyers in particular should be sure they understand their rights and obligations surrounding this issue because NOT doing so could carry a very high price indeed.

When it’s time to buy or sell real estate in the Collingwood, Blue Mountain or Georgian Triangle area, contact Marg, an experienced and competent Broker who’s ready whenever you are!

Recently, our family has had a very direct experience with our local medical system and I know that many people considering a move into the area often ask about the local conditions for health care.

The area has a wide range of services that includes expanding and new medical centres, labs, a new family health network, walk-in clinics, specialists and a full range of natural health practioners such as chiropractors, acupuncturists, naturopaths and more.

The South Georgian Bay area is serviced by a small 30 bed hospital in Meaford and by the larger 72 bed, Collingwood General and Marine Hospital; the latter spot where we've sort of camped out of late.

A few weeks ago, without any warning signs whatsoever, my mother went into congestive heart failure. My mom suffered a serious stroke almost five years ago and resides with us.

The ambulance arrived within less than 5 minutes after our 911 call and within 15 minutes, she was being treated by two ER doctors who admitted her in critical condition. A team of nurses and respiratory technicians were assembled and for the next 24 hours, she was monitored and worked on literally by the minute with her every need addressed. The next day, she moved to a medical floor and since then, a co-ordinated and caring team performed what seemed like miracles bringing my Mom back to us. Everyone worked together and most of the time, they made us feel as though my mother was the most important person in the place. Interestingly, I heard other families express similar views.

Now I'm not saying out hospital is perfect and in fact, they are not. None are. I do think there is an element of luck involved whenever you set foot into the over-burdened hospital system. We happen to have a doctor who is part of an excellent team and we had incredible and experienced nurses. I know some people, in fact lots of people, who have not had positive outcomes and in my heart, I can only hope that things have gotten better over the years. Regardless, our experience has been great.

The Collingwood hospital was established in 1887 as an 8 bed facility. Today, it is a modern institution with a full range of services including a dialysis unit, mental health centre, diabetes clinic, surgical unit and a full-time emergency unit. We have a mammography department, a CT scanner and all the equipment you might not expect to find in a smaller community like ours. The hospital foundation has had great success attracting significant donors over time and, there is a troupe of over 200 amazing volunteers on board. (My favourite has to be the huggable front desk greeter who sounds EXACTLY like Mrs. Doubtfire!)

For those who really want to analyze the good and bad, the Fraser Institute issues Hospital Report Cards. I would note that the last results are already about 4 or 5 years old and I think the scores would be even better today.

I'm heading out today to buy my tickets for Wingfield on Ice. If you haven't seen or read all about Walt Wingfield, then you've missed something very special that speaks to all of us living in rural Ontario.

We have a fantastic Arts & Culture scene in this area. By chance, I ran into Irene Thomas last week. She is Theatre Collingwoods Producer and General Manager so, I asked if she might contribute a series of guest posts to the blog about local Arts & Culture which happily, she readily agreed to. Thanks Irene!

Theatre Collingwood

Twenty-five years ago, a group of community leaders came together with a theatrical dream. They envisioned a vibrant, well-rounded community, enlivened and connected by arts & culture. And so, Theatre Collingwood was formed, initially as a non-profit summer theatre company.

Theatre Collingwood has come a long way since then. It is now a year-round fully professional producing company, attended by over 9000 people yearly. A major ‘cultural pillar', it nurtures the ‘heart and soul' of residents, regional attendees and visitors from across southern Ontario.

The first production of the summer has just closed - it is the fifth NEW Canadian play created by Theatre Collingwood in the past six years! Lovingly created to celebrate Collingwood's sesquicentennial, the ‘vaudeville' style of musical variety took us back a century in time to the way our grandparents were entertained right here in our fair town.

But don't despair! Three more summer productions follow. Up next is the ever-popular WINGFIELD ON ICE written by a renowned Canadian playwright who lives in this community, Dan Needles.

What makes this witty rural comedy so appealing to Collingwood is the synergy between rural and urban sensibilities. The playwright, Dan Needles is deeply familiar with this theme, having grown up divided between Toronto and his family's Rosemont farm. Dan himself admits, "I was never certain of where I belonged or understood people's reactions. When in the city, people call you a hick and when in the country, you're labeled a city slicker. In either situation you're from ‘away' and people have definite opinions about that".

The Wingfield stories chronicle the misadventures of a Bay Street stockbroker who quits the rat race of urban life to buy a hundred acre farm in order to enjoy tranquil small-town living.

Can you relate? Whether you've gradually migrated to this region as a weekender, or you are thinking of moving to this area seeking a quality of life which is enriched with culture...then Collingwood is the perfect choice. A community set in an idyllic rural setting which offers the ‘theatrical' pleasures of city life.

For all the details on the SERIOUSLY SIDE-SPLITTING summer theatre season, visit the website.