I’ve been blogging about the downtown condo market for a little over 5 years now. In that time I’ve seen tremendous shifts in the market as well as in how condos are marketed. I’ve met many great people through this blog and my twitter account, including many amazing clients who have bought and sold properties with me. A comment that I consistently hear from people, and what keeps me going, is that they really appreciate the knowledge, insights, and opinions I share on this blog. Unlike 98% of all real estate websites which are nothing more than online billboards full of regurgitated information, I like to think that I offer some added value with the original content I put up each week. I know that many Realtors and condo industry people read my blog and that’s cool, but ultimately I’ve created this website for the regular people who are interested in buying and selling real estate in Toronto.

With that in mind I’m happy to announce that I’m going to be expanding my blog very soon by adding videos. It’s something I’ve been considering doing for about 3 years, but never felt like I had the right ‘formula’ for doing so. Well, I’m still not sure if I have the right formula, but I’m about to find out!  It may surprise you but the videos are not going to be about what I typically write about on this blog: pre-construction condos. I’m going to shift gears a little bit as I’m finding that my client’s needs are changing and I am expanding my game to adapt along with them.

Some time in the next few days I’ll be rolling out an entirely new blog design, one that I hope you like, and with it, the addition of videos.  Thank you for your ongoing support and I look forward to your feedback once the new site and videos are up and running.

The most recent case was an email that I received from a prospective client. He forwarded me an email that he received from another Realtor (whom I have never met) about Theatre Park. The client was confused at the origin of the email and thought I was involved with it somehow. Reading through it I realized that the words of the email were copied and pasted from my recent blog post about Theatre Park. Brutal!

I know that the Toronto condo market is the NFL of condo markets, and that I am part of a hyper-competitive industry (30,000 Realtors in the Toronto Real Estate Board). We all copy each other to some extent (myself included), but when imitation crosses over into plagiarism, I can’t help but throw up a flag and call a foul.

So I wanted to put it to my loyal readers and followers: what should I do about these plagiarizers? Should I expose them publicly on this blog or some other forum? Should I threaten legal action (or actually pursue it) where warranted? Should I stop taking myself and my blog so seriously and ‘get over it’?

The angle I have taken to date has to simply ignore them, keep my eyes locked in the forward position, and concentrate my energies on creating the best, most informative, most BS-free, and most insightful Toronto condo blog on the Internet. What say you readers??

The immediate needs are obvious: people need food, shelter and water desperately. I have faith in the International Community to provide for these basic needs in the weeks to come. But when the dust settles and all the bodies are buried, Haiti will need to literally rebuild itself. This will take years and probably hundreds of  millions of dollars.

This is why I have decided that for the next 30 days, for every client of mine who buys or sells a property, I will donate $1 for every $1000 spent to a charity of their choice to help the relief efforts in Haiti. For example, a purchase/sale of a $300,000 condo will mean a $300 donation. The charity must be directly involved on the ground with the relief work that is happening in Haiti. And to be clear, the donation will be made in the name of the buyer/seller – so there is no financial benefit for me personally.

I realize this will be more of a gesture of good will than any major significant contribution to the cause, but I feel like I have to do something more than just give personally, and I see an opportunity here for my business (helping people buy and sell real estate) to do some good.

And just a thought to all the Toronto Realtors out there who are reading this blog: if you want to join with me and do the same with your clients, I think that would be great. With a little momentum, we could start to make a significant difference. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Update 1: 24 Hours after posting this I am happy to announce that 3 other Realtors have joined in the cause. Katy Galica of Re/Max Condos Plus, Kenny Shim of Re/Max Condos Plus, and Mark Savel of Re/Max Realtron.

Update 2: I’ve joined the Toronto Works For Haiti team. Toronto Works for Haiti is a collective of Toronto area small business owners who are offering services in exchange for donations to the relief efforts in Haiti. It’s all about raising money and awareness for Haiti so I am all for pooling resources and joining this group.

I would like to highlight one organization’s efforts in Haiti: Habitat for Humanity.

Habitat’s early response to the earthquake is threefold:

• Cleanup
  To clear the way for home repair and construction, Habitat will assist in the cleanup by mobilizing people to remove debris and salvage materials that can be recycled in new shelter.
• Shelter kits
  Shelter kits include building materials and tools and are designed to help families and neighborhoods make immediate repairs to damaged homes. The kits typically include items such as wall panels, roofing sheets, hurricane straps and a hammer and nails. Habitat also has a cadre of certified masons and carpenters to assist families with immediate repairs.
• Transitional shelter
  Small transitional shelters can be built quickly and provide permanent base structures that can be expanded over time. The shelters will meet humanitarian standards of adequate living space and provision of water and sanitation. The structures will also be designed with hurricane- and earthquake-resistant features

Other organizations who were very active in Haiti before the earthquake and will be there for years to come include:

• World Vision
• Red Cross
• Oxfam
• Doctors without Borders (MSF)

Consider giving to one or more of these organizations if you have not already.

5:00am – Waking up at 5am. Ouch, that hurts. City is silent except for a couple hundred Realtors…

5:30am – I’m at the X2 Condo broker’s sales event lineup outside the Intercontinental Hotel on Bloor Street. I quickly discover 2 lines are formed – one on the south side of Bloor, one on the north

5:35am – After first thinking of joining the south side line, I decide to join the north side as word on the street was that was the line that Baker Real Estate had said was the true line. I feel bad for the people who apparently had been waiting as long as 10 days outside, but the police did not want people crossing the street during rush hour traffic so a line formed on the north side where the hotel is located.

6:30am – Media frenzy in full effect as CP24, CTV NEWS and 680 News all are filming and interview people on the scene. The Twitterverse is starting to buzz with reports of 2 or possibly 3 separate lines that have formed.

8:30am – after 3 hours of waiting I get my official number from Baker Real Estate. #45. Another 50 people across the street are now chanting slogans and shouting across Bloor street, holding up signs that read “UNFAIR”. Originally, numbers were to be given out at 12 noon, but they did it earlier due to the crowds and traffic chaos that would be caused on Bloor street from the crowds gathered.

9:30am – CTV news just called me to interview me about the event. See the article online here.

10:30am – off to River City sales centrer on Eastern Ave for the broker’s information session. Another line up to get in.

11:00am – doors open and about 200 agents are here. All the usual players from the downtown scene, and also plenty of ’905′ agents. Say hi and catch up with a few people. Biggest news: It’s going to be a LOTTERY BUYING SYSTEM.

12:30pm – Just got back to the office and am preparing an email for my clients with all the details about River City.

2:30pm – answering client inquiries about River City and getting prepped for X2 sales event tonight.

3:00pm – Old colleague just called and asked if I want to share my spot in line for X2 event tonight…

4:00pm – Media lining up their cameras for the sales event at X2. Obviously hoping for a fracas to break out tonight. If you are driving I recommend avoiding Bloor anywhere near avenue road!
http://pic.gd/70b3a0.

7:45pm – so cold… Fingers Falling off after 3 hours waiting to get inside the hotel. No protests or drama at sales event so far

8:40pm – still outside. Word from inside is only 2 beds still available.

10:44 – managed to get a 2 bedroom unit…I think. I’m outta here. Got to get some sleep and warm up

Congratulations to Ali Karbassi for winning the truecondos.com/wp “Put Us On Your Radar” contest.  Ali is a real estate investor and currently works in business development & interactive marketing. Ali generously asked his prize of the $50 Best Buy gift card to be donated to Cancer.ca instead.

If you have not ‘put us on your radar’ yet, please do. This is a brand new web service that is now in Beta and allows my clients, customers, followers, and fans interact with me in a whole new way. Radar now supports Facebook messaging too! If you have already signed up but not yet set-up your account options for receiving ‘pulses’, please login to your account and set up your delivery options.

Stay tuned for more contests in the future and thank you to the hundreds who are subscribing, following, commenting, emailing, and working with truecondos.com/wp! If you have ideas for how this service can be improved, please let me know.

I am very pleased to announce an exciting new feature on truecondos.com/wp. Big Time Radar is a brand new technology that is still in Beta and truecondos.com/wp is one of the very first websites on the planet to be using this new service.

The concept behind Big Time Radar is really quite simple: it is a way for you (condo watcher, customer, client, reader, investor,  follower, stalker etc.) to get only the information you want, the way that you want to receive it. It is a 100% user-driven, opt-in communication experience. In short, it is the opposite of SPAM!

Here’s how it works:

1. Create your Radar account
2. Choose the information you want to receive from us in Pulses. You can change these at any time!
3. Choose the discreet delivery methods through which you receive your Pulses. You can change these at any time also. Currently available delivery methods: Email, Twitter, SMS Text Messages, MSN Messenger, and coming soon – Facebook.
4. Sit back and let the information you want come directly to you

You are in control-if you ever want to stop receiving Pulses, just sign into your account and remove yourself from any groups you have signed up for.

The downtown condo market moves fast and so does truecondos.com/wp. Sign up and receive great insider information before everyone else:

• Information about special VIP Sales Events
• Insider gossip and news about upcoming projects
• Special offers and promotions available only to truecondos.com/wp!
• Investor tips and advice
• Resale condos – Deals, Steals, Best & Worst Buildings
• and much more!

I am excited to get this service up and running and test it out with a group of users. As a special incentive to get my readers and followers to sign up, I will be giving away a $50 Best Buy gift card to one of the first 25 people who sign up for this service (random draw).

So sign up today and put truecondos.com/wp on your radar!

The winner of the prize of the Ruth’s Chris gift card valued at $88 is Ayaz Lalani of Brampton, Ontario. Ayaz is a seasoned condo investor and has been a subscriber to truecondos.com/wp for several months. Congrats to Ayaz.

Thank you to everyone who subscribes, reads, or even just trolls this blog. Stay tuned to truecondos.com/wp for more contests in the future. If you have an idea for how I can make truecondos.com/wp an even better website for condo buyers, sellers, and investors in Toronto, send me an email any time!

To subscribe to truecondos.com/wp, simply enter your email in the ‘Subscribe’ box in the right sidebar of this page, or subscribe to the RSS feed using your favourite feed reader.

Edit: I made a change to the contest rules since first posting this because of an excellent suggestion from a long-time subscriber.

Announcing the first ever contest on truecondos.com/wp!

I’ve been overwhelmed by the response this website/blog has generated over the past 2+ years I’ve been running it. I’ve met so many great people through this site, and many of them have told me that truecondos.com/wp is possibly the best site on the net for Downtown Toronto Condos.

I’ve had the option for my readers to subscribe to this blog by email for a while now (see sidebar to the right ->), and my subscriber list is approaching a milestone – 100 RSS subscribers (currently we are at 91). That’s pretty awesome and I’m happy that so many people care enough about what I have to say to actually voluntarily subscribe to this blog.

I wanted to do something special and fun to celebrate #100, so as soon as the 100th person has subscribed to the truecondos.com/wp RSS feed, I will do a random draw of the 100 subscribers, and the winner will receive a gift card to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse valued at $88 CDN.

To enter, all you need to do is enter your email into the subscribe box in the right sidebar, then verify your email address after you receive a verification email. That’s it! No catch, nothing to sign, nothing to commit to, just subscribe and thank you for continuing to support this website. If you are already a subscriber you have already been entered automatically!

I will announce the winner whenever we reach 100. Might take a week, might take a month. Who knows.

Couple rules: Subscribers must be NEW subscribers (no doubling up on the email addresses), and subscribers can’t be my immediate family and friends (sorry mom). And what the heck, just to cover my butt I’ll say I reserve the right to change the contest rules at any time