I am always open to new sports and activities. Recently, i joined the Toronto Business Casual group. A netorking social community where we gathering to mingul and participate in group activities. 
Our latest gathering was at a Fencing club! Good European fencing. Incrediable sport using skill, body, stragety and determination.
The battles are challenging. There are five rounds per challenge. Each round is ended by a hit. By the 5th round you will be exhausted!!
I would definately recommend experiencing fencing if you have not. Join Toronto Business Casual to meet new groups of people. It's fun!
Foreign investors looking for global real estate investments have ranked Canada among the top three countries to park their money.
The U.S. and Germany were in first and second place, but Canada ranked third in the survey for providing the most "stable and secure" investment by the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE) released Monday.
Last year Canada placed sixth. Canada also ranked sixth as the country best seen as providing the most opportunity for capital appreciation. Last year Canada ranked 13th.
"Canada is a core investment for many investors who see our market for its stability," said George Carras, president of commercial real estate consultancy RealNet Canada Inc. "This bodes well for the future, where we might see more interest from foreign investors this year."
Despite the promising signs, 2009 was a dismal year for commercial real estate, particularly in the key Greater Toronto Area market.
There was $5.4 billion worth of investment volume in commercial buildings last year, the lowest figure in more than a decade.
"It was definitely a tough year, where a lot of investors just sat on their hands waiting out the market," said Carras.
The market started to show signs of life in the fourth quarter, however, with an almost four-fold increase from the third quarter.
The biggest sale in the fourth quarter and for the year was 151 Front St. E. for $180 million to Allied REIT. Morguard Investments also purchased two office towers on Bloor St. for $164 million.
The international perception that Canada has withstood the economic downturn particularly well has been beneficial for the real estate markets here.
The perennial frontrunner, the United States, while still in No. 1 spot as being a stable market for investment at 44 per cent of the vote, is down from 53 per cent in 2008 and 57 per cent in 2010.
This is the first time that the United States, a place where investors have traditionally parked their money, has fallen below 50 per cent. Germany received 21 per cent of the vote and Canada was at 14 per cent.
The industry group predicts that 2010 will be a better time for the investment industry.
Reference: The Toronto Star
Monopoly, a game of strategy, skill, luck and negotiation.
MONOPOLY is the best-selling board game in the world, sold in 103 countries and produced in 37 languages. The 2009 MONOPOLY Canadian Championships took place at the Montréal Science Centre from May 28 to 30, 2009. The top player will earn the prestigious title of MONOPOLY Canadian Champion, $15,000, and the honor of representing the country at the 13th MONOPOLY World Championships in the ‘Entertainment Capital of the World,’ Las Vegas, in October 2009. A few friend and I gave it our best to have the chance to represent Canada in the World Monopoly championship. We came extremely close to making the final table. Unfortunately, even with my real estate skills I was not able to make the final four. All in all, we had a great time and I will participate in the next championship.
It's time to break up the banks!
This is a great video that explains how and why we got into this global economic crisis. The video focuses on the U.S. banking system. If you want to know how we got into this economic crisis, click the link below.
The explanation video is approximately 13min. The rest is discussion on the economy.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22778.htm
Check it out.
Alex Melconian
www.TorontoRealEstateGTA.com
Date: June 1st, 2009
The market is cooking! East York/Leaside area is hot. We received 23 offers on our listing. Listed at $549,000 sold for $715,000. That's $166,000 over the asking price. Have a propety to sell in the area? Call us today.
See the full story here:
http://watch.ctv.ca/news/clip177030#clip177030
Alex Melconian
Re/Max Hallmark Realty
416.494.7653
Bloor 1 or blame someone
One of the biggiest developments to enter Toronto is now infamous Bloor 1 project. With a fenzy of buyers waiting in line for weeks to purchase a piece of the hottest selling property in downtown Toronto are now left in limbo waiting to see if the project will ever be developed. An eyesore empty lot sits at the coner of central downtown Bloor and Yonge. Empty since the old buildings were demolished a year ago.
Developer of the project, Bazis International, milked the anxious crowd by jacking up purchase prices by 10's of thousands, $100's thousands dollars per 2o minutes. At the time, the real estate market was hot. An anonymous Hong Kong businessman offered $25 million for a two-story penthouse suite.
Process of the development halted abruptly when the developers financing institution, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy. Construction has been delayed with the developer trying to remove Lehman Brothers off paper and finding a new financing institution. In todays economic crunch, banks are not as lenient to lend money and the developer may need to find a couple or few financing institutions. 
On June 15th, Bazis will enter a 31 day period where it can notify the condo purchasers that it will be cancelling construction. In this case, the buyers will receive their deposits back in full. However, the weeks people waiting in line, the agonizing wait and excitement to puchase is all in vain.
On Sunday March 7th, 2009 people came together to help raise funding for the Bowl for Kids Sake - Big Brothers & Sisters foundation. From our Real Estate office John C. Kennedy took inititive (as he does annually) to encourage others to help raise money for this worthy cause. Our goal was to raise $10,000.
A few days ago, John was once again speaking about the Big Brothers and Sisters cause when introduced the RE/MAX Hallmark Angels Program. A program created by John which gave our clients and friends an opportunity to help Realtors out with this cause. Ken McLachlan (Broker of Re/Max Hallmark) put John in the hot seat by asking John if he would wear an Angel outfit if we reach our target. Now, John is a big guy and has a big heart, so he took the challenge. As you can see from the photo we hit our goal!
Re/Max Hallmark raised $10,310!! Including the other participates, we were able to raise over $56,000. For every $1000 raised, a child in need will be able to attend college/university.
With your help I was able to raise $210! Special thanks to:
Ani Chakmakian
Hayley Morrison
Sarah Ng
Robert Thrower
Danah Kassabian
Nevart Melconian
Rita Melconian and...
John C. kennedy
Attachment(s): John.jpg
The RE/MAX Hallmark Social Committee is proud to present a
For Adults at the beautiful
ROM Museum
100 Queen’s Park, Toronto, ON
The “hunt” will last for 1 ½-2 hours, you work with a partner, and a buffet lunch is held afterward with prizes delegated to the winners.
Date: Monday March 30, 2009
Time: 10 a.m. Sharp (Subway stop the St. George stop on the Bloor-Danforth subway line-walk south).
Cost: $40.00 (includes taxes, prizes and lunch)
Clients are welcome!
Sign Up: Contact Alex now before: March 20, 2009
Alex Melconian
416.494.7653
Limited to the first 200 participants
Attachment(s): hunt.bmp
Who could argue that Toronto is the best place in the world to invest in Real Estate?
Simply - for the safety of capital, and future appreciation where else in the world could be better? The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) employs 3.1 million people (1.35 million in Toronto). Over the past 8 years, our residential real estate pricing has increased an average of 5% per year! Toronto has never seen a 5-star hotel until now with the likes of the Shangri-La, The Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, Trump, and The Hazelton. Several new commercial high-rises are being built - The Telus Tower, RBC Centre, and the Bay-Adelaide Centre along with a few more just completed and others in planning. New neighbourhoods and old have been dramatically altered.
Cityplace exploded creating 9500 new homes amonst 19 new buildings, changing the face of Toronto for the better and filled the downtown core with 20,000 new people to feed our economy. Toronto the good is now also Toronto the Big, Rich, Fun and Safe. We are a rich city but on a global scale, we are not expensive.
Canadian banks are the safest, most profitable, and least risky on the planet, and most head offices are in our downtown. We are the financial envy of most of the world. We have the second largest oil reserves on the planet. We have huge resources of water, gold, uranium, nickel, diamonds, potash, 
wood, grain, beef and virtually every other resource. Our beautiful, rich, clean, safe, fun, tolerant, racially diverse city will grow. Growing for the better, richer and yes, that does mean our real estate will appreciate over the medium and the long-term.
Where is the best place in the world to invest in real estate? I tell you without any doubt, Toronto.
Attachment(s): index_02.jpg
Season's Greetings to all & Happy New Year!
Wishing you a health, happiness and a prosperous 2009!
For the New Year, Harry and I wanted to give our clients more than a Holiday card. We decided to give a bottle of red wine this year to enjoy over the holidays. 
We ordered our wine well in advanced and on the day ready for bottling, we bottled the wine! It was a lot of fun! We ordered our wine from Markham Heritage Wines. The owner is Craig Elliott (seen here with Harry and me). Located at 15 Heritage Road, unit2.
Wine bottling is a lot of fun. Steps to bottling wine. 
First you need to give your bottles a rinse.
After they dry, you connect the bottle to a device which fills your bottle with wine. The wine is drained from a large container. Spillage is vacuumed into a little container.
Next, each bottle has to be corked. You load a cork into a machine which forces the cork into the bottle.
Place a cap on the bottle and then place the bottle with the cap into this very hot cap heater for just a couple of seconds. The heat absorbed the air and seals the cap around the tip of the wine bottle.
Finally, place the label on your wine bottle and Voila!
Lastly, the funiest part comes when you get to open your bottle of wine after!
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
from the Toronto Real Estate GTA team.
Gingerbread House For Sale!
This sugary 1 Bedroom, gum ball, frosty, gingerbread scent home could be yours! Approx 1 sq ft. This luxury candy home backs on to an artificial tree located on a plastic mobile plate. This no entrance, no windows, no parking but is great for the kids!
This is a duress sale! The owner has already lost an arm trying to sell! If interested, please post a comment. Offers welcomed anytime.
Attachment(s): Gingerbread6.jpg
Below is the complete email conversation that Adelaide man David Thorne claims he had with a utility company chasing payment of an overdue bill. 
Appartently his photo sold on ebay for $10,000 US.
From: Jane Gilles
Date: Wednesday 8 Oct 2008 12.19pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Overdue account
Dear David,
Our records indicate that your account is overdue by the amount of $233.95. If you have already made this payment please contact us within the next 7 days to confirm payment has been applied to your account and is no longer outstanding.
Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles
From: David Thorne
Date: Wednesday 8 Oct 2008 12.37pm
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Overdue account
Dear Jane,
I do not have any money so am sending you this drawing I did of a spider instead. I value the drawing at $233.95 so trust that this settles the matter.
Regards, David.
From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 10.07am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Overdue account Dear David,
Thankyou for contacting us. Unfortunately we are unable to accept drawings as payment and your account remains in arrears of $233.95. Please contact us within the next 7 days to confirm payment has been applied to your account and is no longer outstanding.
Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles
From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 10.32am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Overdue account Dear Jane,
Can I have my drawing of a spider back then please.
Regards, David.
From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 11.42am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Overdue account Dear David,
You emailed the drawing to me. Do you want me to email it back to you?
Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles
From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 11.56am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Overdue account Dear Jane,
Yes please.
Regards, David.
From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 12.14pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Overdue account
Attached
From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 09.22am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Whose spider is that?
Dear Jane, Are you sure this drawing of a spider is the one I sent you? This spider only has seven legs and I do not feel I would have made such an elementary mistake when I drew it.
Regards, David.
From: Jane Gilles
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.03am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Whose spider is that? Dear David, Yes it is the same drawing. I copied and pasted it from the email you sent me on the 8th. David your account is still overdue by the amount of $233.95. Please make this payment as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles
From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.05am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Automated Out of Office Response Thankyou for contacting me. I am currently away on leave, traveling through time and will be returning last week.
Regards, David.
From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.08am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Whose spider is that? Hello, I am back and have read through your emails and accept that despite missing a leg, that drawing of a spider may indeed be the one I sent you. I realise with hindsight that it is possible you rejected the drawing of a spider due to this obvious limb ommission but did not point it out in an effort to avoid hurting my feelings. As such, I am sending you a revised drawing with the correct number of legs as full payment for any amount outstanding. I trust this will bring the matter to a conclusion.
Regards, David.
From: Jane Gilles
Date: Monday 13 Oct 2008 2.51pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that? Dear David, As I have stated, we do not accept drawings in lei of money for accounts outstanding. We accept cheque, bank cheque, money order or cash. Please make a payment this week to avoid incurring any additional fees.
Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles
From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 13 Oct 2008 3.17pm
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that? I understand and will definately make a payment this week if I remember. As you have not accepted my second drawing as payment, please return the drawing to me as soon as possible. It was silly of me to assume I could provide you with something of completely no value whatsoever, waste your time and then attach such a large amount to it.
Regards, David.
From: Jane Gilles
Date: Tuesday 14 Oct 2008 11.18am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that? Attached
Seattle Special Olympics
A few years ago at the Seattle Special Olympics, ninecontestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled atthe starting line for the 100 yard dash. At the gun, they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but witha relish to run the race to the finish and win. All, that is,except one boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy. They slowed down and looked back. They all turned around and wentback... everyone of them. One girl with Down's Syndrome bent downand kissed him and said," This will make it better." All nine linked in arms walked across the finish line together. Everyone in the stadium stood, and the cheering went on for several minutes.
People who were there are still telling the story. Why? Because deep down we know one thing. What matters most in this life is more than winning forourselves. What truly matters in this life is helping others win, even if it means slowing down and changing our course.
For those of you looking to buy a first home, or a move-up home, and certainly anyone looking for investment grade condominiums, the East End of Toronto is where the best value is and the smart money is buying. Central and West end projects like Aura, The Fashion House, Minto King West, Charlie, Burano, U, and Ice, will cost $500-$700 PSF for a typical 400-1000 square foot condominium. This may be market pricing, but I like to buy wholesale, not retail. I like to find buying opportunities at less than market value. In my opinion, this can only be done in Toronto's East End. The best values always occur in "developing neighbourhoods." The East End is an area in transition; not only is it a great place to live, with a lifestyle second to none, but condo prices are 20-25% less than West and Central Toronto. Due to the development activity occurring, it is inevitable that soon prices will rise to the same level as the West End. Currently, you can expect to pay just $380-$450 PSF for the same condo that would be $500-$700 PSF on Bay St., King Street West, or virtually anywhere in the core of downtown. People are now just starting to flood to the eastside to buy. In a few years, the area will move to $500+ PSF. The whole feel of the eastside will continue to change. So much is changing so quickly. Exciting new things are taking place in the East End, like the Distillery District and Corktown, and the regeneration of the Design District (King & Parliament), the Queen Street East gentrification, the development of the Leslieville-Riverside neighbourhood, adding thousands of new residents and of course the new West Donlands development. All of these new projects add up to billions of dollars of redevelopment and investment in infrastructure. This will be a new world. It is typical for people to buy high and sell low, the total opposite of wise investment behaviour. Consumers typically exhibit lemming-like money losing habits. The key to accumulating wealth is to think out of the box. Imagine, what will be the next exciting part of Toronto and ride that change. I'm not advocating pioneering, because we all know pioneers get arrows in the back. The East End has already had |  big success with the likes of The Garment Factory, North Beach, The Printing Factory, Edge, Broadview Lofts and the Riverside Lofts, among others. Currently, condo buyers can save $100-$120 PSF, or the equivalent of $50,000-$60,000 for a 600 square foot home, when buying from floor plans in the eastside developments. Where in the East End am I referring to? Just a short trip to the area bounded by Parliament-Leslie, Lakeshore, and Dundas. The area is literally downtown or just two minutes away. To specifically name a few opportunities - Broadview and Queen East, Carlaw and Queen East, and Parliament & King; projects like The King East, The Ninety, Worklofts and FlatIron Lofts are where the easy money will be made over the next three years. They represent the catalyst for the vibrant housing upheaval that the east end is experiencing. Buy a condo with 15% down, wait three years and find yourself with a $50,000-$75,000 profit. It couldn't be easier.
Contact Alex Melconian: 416.494.7653 |  |  |
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*Reference Brad J. Lamb