Barrie Clulow

Fire Prevention Week Oct 4th - 10th

The Fire that Sparked a Tradition ... Chicago, 1871

Did you know that the Great Chicago Fire led to the establishment of fire Prevention Week.

Did you know the great Chicago fire lasted 2 days October 8th and 9th in 1871 and killed more than 250 people, left thousands homeless and burned more than 2,000 acres was the catalyst for fire prevention week.

This fire forever changed the way public officials viewed fire safety. To commemorate the event on its fortieth anniversary fire officials felt the most appropriate way was to inform and educate the public and since 1922 Fire Prevention week has been observed on the Sunday through to the Saturday that October 8th and 9th falls on.

To learn more about the history visit. The Great Chicago Fire and the Web of Memory, a virtual exhibition

Thank You for supporting Kathy Clulow
and Team Matthew House
in the Scotia Bank Charity Run in downtown Toronto

The race day was fantastic and they all had a great time. In fact, one of the team members, a former resident, Aynadis Bedado (originally from Ethiopia) actually finished in FIRST place among women in the 5K race! They are getting closer and closer to reaching their fundraising goal. While the race day may have ended the pledge lines are still open so it is not too late to make a pledge! By raising support for the team you are helping to bring hope at the end of the refugee highway by offering shelter and food, help with completing confusing refugee application papers, medical and counseling referrals, orientation to life in Canada, assistance in finding apartments, offering monthly drop-ins, and summer camp.

According to the United Nations, more than 100 million people in the world today are homeless. Millions more face a severe housing problem living without adequate sanitation, with irregular or no electricity supply and without adequate security.

Worldwide, more than 2 million housing units per year are needed for the next 50 years to solve the present worldwide housing crisis. With our global population expanding, however, at the end of those 50 years, there would still be a need for another 1 billion houses. (UN-HABITAT: 2005)

This year on Oct. 5, please join Habitat for Humanity in support of this global observance as we come together and declare that the lack of decent, affordable housing is unacceptable.

Raising awareness and advocating for change are the first steps toward transforming systems that perpetuate the global plague of poverty housing. World Habitat Day serves as an important reminder that everyone must unite to ensure that everyone has a safe, decent place to call home.

The U.N. further states that both developed and developing countries, cities and towns are increasingly feeling the effects of climate change, resource depletion, food insecurity, population growth and economic instability.

Rapid rates of urbanization cause serious negative consequences - overcrowding, poverty, slums with many poorly equipped to meet the service demands of ever growing urban populations.

With over half of the world’s population currently living in urban areas the U.N. believes there is no doubt that the "urban agenda" will increasingly become a priority for governments, local authorities and their non-governmental partners everywhere.

This weekend Kathy along with one of our young Grandsons is participating in the Scotia Bank Charity Run in downtown Toronto.

Matthew House is her favorite charity, it is a small shelter for refugees in down town Toronto, that welcomes refugees who arrive with nothing but the shirt on their backs and no where to turn. It has been Kathy's pleasure to be on the board of directors of this unique charity for several years now. You may have heard her talking about it, sharing some of the amazing stories. We have met many wonderful people from many different countries since She became involved with Matthew House.

The core value of Matthew House is to offer hope at the end of the refugee highway by offering shelter and food, help with completing confusing refugee application papers, medical and counseling referrals, orientation to life in Canada, assistance in finding apartments, offering monthly drop-ins, and summer camp.

Could you kindly take a moment and sponsor Kathy as She walks? Just follow this link. You will find it easy to go on line, safely give your donation and you will receive an email tax receipt right away. You too can make a difference in the life of a refugee.

Thank you so much.

Barrie Clulow

A FSBO Operator is offering Flat Fee MLS to augment his FSBO services.

You have to ask yourself why if his services are so good does he have to offer any MLS® options.

I suppose he finally realizes that MLS® still provides one of the best ways to get the most exposure for your home. Unfortunately his offer does not tell you that you may have to pay additional amounts such as a selling commission if the propeerrty is sold by someone other than the agent providing the flat fee service.

As I have said before

Everyone has the right to buy or sell in the manner they choose but for the widest possible exposure you need more than a sign on the lawn and a post on a blog or add in the newspaper.

While I do not doubt that at times there is a very good chance you may well be able to sell your home yourself. Just a couple of the things you need to consider before going this route are how much time and effort you are willing to put into it and your level of expertise in negotiations. You can always take your offer to a lawyer for legal advice and as this same poster states in another post you might even get some pricing advice from your local real estate professional.

But do you need a FSBO company to help you?

Not if you are knowledgeable enough to handle the sale by yourself in the first place. You can place your add on the Internet and in the paper just as easily as they can. You can post your add to most of the sites they use yourself along with many others they do not use. You can buy professional signs from the same sign company they use heck your local real estate professional may even tell you where they get their signs while they are giving you free Comparative Market Analysis information. You can pick up offer forms from your lawyer and the list goes on.

Or you can pay them their fee throw their sign on your lawn and sit back and wait as you watch most of the buyers look at and buy your competition through their Friendly Neighbourhood Real Estate Professional .

You need the exposure that only the combined membership of your local real estate board can give You through their various networks and interrelated web sites in addition to a co-operative listing system.

MLS is a Registered tradmark of The Canadian Real Estate Assocation