Monday, May 11, 2026

Monday May 11, 2026 Condo

 

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Older Blog:  https://cuencaupdates.blogspot.com/ 

Please see my best artworks for sale at my websites:

 http://souvenirphotostudio.neocities.org/

or https://pixels.com/profiles/al-bourassa

******

Monday May 11, 2026

 Belated... to all my friends and family....

Sunday was supposed to be 26C and nice but the clouds obliterated the sky and even though it reached 25C, it felt cool.  I rode the Gio to Blues On Whyte, just to get out of the house.  Leo was late, as usual, and some other whiny guy sang a decent set while Leo just chatted with the roadies, so I finished my pop and left early.
 I found a great realtor through my friend Tony and used her website Sunday to narrow down some choices for condos to buy....  I found this one that pushed all the right buttons...  https://www.almahadzic.com/recip.html#!/wps/recip/16836/browse/details-108274340   

 But, overnight, my brain kept knawing at me about the potential for major problems with condo associations, special assessments, etc...  And they are not easily sold as a result... The place is 55 years old, but then most cheaply available condos are of that era.

I decided that I would give it a personal drive-by on the Gio and check for problems, anomalies, whatever.

The posting agent was skillful  with the camera, hiding the fact that the balcony actually mostly faces the neighbouring huge hi-rise.   I contacted my friend Tracy who lives nearby and I caught her passing right by, so we gave it a look together.  At one point, she managed that apartment before it got sold for condos and became Viewpoint.  She pointed out that the windows are very old and will need replacing before long.  I also doubted that the storage cage in the parkade would open enough to store the Gio... 

That kinda cemented my mind that a condo is not the way I want to go, and I also received a truthful confirmation as well from the realtor, Alma.  I don't need a place where you need permission for doing anything, plus pay heavy fees, taxes, insurance and internet......  

I still want to do something with most of my money before the market crashes again...  Today is the first time my investments actually gained a bit since January...  I will have to keep looking at trying to do something in Colombia to protect Cristina...

On that nice trip I also stopped at the Library to swap James Patterson books again.

Then I went to Canada Place for donairs, but they were closed...  Closer to home, I stopped for giros, but they were busy drilling walls and not concerned for customers.  So I went next door who had a donair special on the board outside, but then they said that was only for lunchtime!!  Needless to say, none of these places got my business today... 

I hope you enjoy the pictures.  I am getting lazy, now that PhotoShop won't work on my PC, so these are straight from the camera...

That was the day’s excitement.

Al

******

© All my work is COPYRIGHT protected and may not be used in any way without purchase, or without my permission.  

If you want to borrow a picture to share with family and friends, Facebook or whatever, at least PLEASE give me credit for the photo.

NOTE  that you may click on any photo for an ENLARGED VIEW.


 

This is a block from home

Cool trike on Whyte!


On Saskatchewan Drive


Viewpoint
Second from top is for sale


Ravine in front of the building


Faces Northeast


Mostly faces that huge apartment

A view from jasper Avenue

Old windows are obvious

Finally, spring is budding

River Valley from closer to downtown

 

 


Saturday, May 9, 2026

Saturday May 9, 2026 Condos

 

PLEASE bookmark this page and check daily.

Older Blog:  https://cuencaupdates.blogspot.com/ 

Please see my best artworks for sale at my websites:

 http://souvenirphotostudio.neocities.org/

or https://pixels.com/profiles/al-bourassa

******

Saturday May 9, 2026

Tuesday, I organized my thoughts on balancing access to the James Patterson "Private" series, between the Library and Don's offerings.

And Dawn brought me a fantastic supper of ribs and baked potato...  It is truly helpful to have friends who love to cook and share meals. 

Wednesday I worked on pics all day and made salad for me and Dawn.

Thursday was my lovely wife's birthday and I had sent her a Jacquie Lawson card that I forgot she can't open down there....  I ended up videoing the card here and sending it via WhatsApp....

Then Dawn again made an incredible supper of shrimp fettucine which she shared with myself and Don...  How can a person refuse such delicacies...??

Thursday and Friday were horrible days to get any work done as our Telus internet would keep dropping signal several times per day.  I am quite adept at contacting them normally, and our Manager, when this is so prevalent.  They would not answer my last call, so the problem must have been widespread.

Friday, I began further research on possibly buying a small condo here as a hedge against an expected economic downturn.  I got referred to a very knowledgable and attentive realtor but my needs are a little unique because of the Gio....  I have almost given up on buying property down in Colombia, but who knows what time will bring.

This morning I got a call from Telus saying they hope they have solved the Internet/Wifi problem and,... so far so good....

And I got messages from my wife that she has yet another baby bird she has rescued in our backyard.  Cristina is truly a saint! 

I went out on the Gio this afternoon to eyeball a couple of condos in my price range.  The first is only a maybe if it is vacant, as it looks...  The second one is very tempting, kitty-corner from a police station because the area was once very bad.   It is a ground floor, 2-bedroom in pretty decent shape, but there are 3 for sale in that small building, so what does that indicate???  But again, the problem is having safe parking for the Gio, especially over the winter when I am gone..

Since I am in no particular rush, and I am not a fan of condo boards having sway over my lifestyle, this all may be for naught....

 I hope you enjoy the pictures.  That was the day’s excitement.

Al

******

© All my work is COPYRIGHT protected and may not be used in any way without purchase, or without my permission.  

If you want to borrow a picture to share with family and friends, Facebook or whatever, at least PLEASE give me credit for the photo.

NOTE  that you may click on any photo for an ENLARGED VIEW.


I hope this is vacant, and for sale

The whole bottom floor to the right...,,,

Close to a good shopping ctr, and police...