Curtis Leibel 780-438-2500

When looking at building, developing or investing, one of the most important things before making a purchase is doing some research into the type of zoning of the lot.  Zoning laws different from province to province and even city to city, so it is a good idea to become familiar with the bylaws set out in your specific region.  Only certain developments may be permitted on a particular lot and if you would like to make any changes to the zoning, it will first have to be approved not only by a city land officer, but also potentially the surrounding neighbors affected by the change.

Again, the very depth of the subject is too much to get into in a blog, but I will give you a quick rundown of the specific zonings you may come across in the city.

(For more specific information, visit:http://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/urban_planning_and_design/land-use-zones-summary.aspx, most info in this blog has been obtained from there )

There are roughly 6 or 7 types of zoning, but the most common that you may encounter are residential and commercial zoning.  Within these 2 zones, there are further subdivided classifications:

FOR RESIDENTIAL ZONING:

RF1 – Single Detached Residential Zone

• This zone provides the opportunity for single family housing.

RF2 – Low Density Infill Zone

• This zone provides the opportunity for retaining single family housing, while allowing some duplex development.

RF3 – Low Density Redevelopment Zone

• This zone provides the opportunity for single family and duplex housing while allowing some apartment or row housing with up to four units.

RSL – Residential Small Lot Zone

• This zone provides the opportunity for single family housing with attached garages on smaller lots.

RPL – Planned Lot Residential Zone

• This zone provides the opportunity for single family housing on smaller lots and accessed by a rear lane.

RF4 – Semi-Detached Zone

• This zone provides the opportunity for primarily semi-detached and duplex housing.

RF5 – Row Housing Zone

• This zone provides the opportunity for relatively low to medium density housing, such as row houses or town houses.

RF6 – Medium Density Multiple Family Zone

• This zone provides the opportunity for medium density housing, such as row houses or town houses that may have separate second storey units.

RA7 – Low Rise Apartment Zone

• This zone provides the opportunity for low rise apartment buildings up to four storeys.

RA8 – Medium Rise Apartment Zone

• This zone provides the opportunity for medium rise apartment buildings up to six storeys in height.

RA9 – High Rise Apartment Zone

• This zone provides the opportunity for high rise apartment buildings.

RR – Rural Residential Zone

• This zone provides the opportunity for permanent single family residential development in a rural setting.

RMH – Mobile Home Zone

• This zone provides the opportunity for mobile homes developed within a mobile home park or subdivision

AND NOW COMMERCIAL ZONING:

CNC – Neighbourhood Convenience Commercial Zone

• This zone provides the opportunity for convenience commercial and personal service uses, intended to serve the day-to-day needs of residents within the neighbourhood.

CSC – Shopping Centre Zone

• This zone provides the opportunity for larger shopping centres intended to serve a community or regional area. Residential, office, entertainment and cultural uses may be included in this zone.

CB1 – Low Intensity Business Zone

• This zone provides the opportunity for low intensity commercial, office and service uses located along arterial roadways that border residential areas.

CB2 – General Business Zone

• This zone provides the opportunity for businesses that require large sites and a location with good visibility and accessibility along, or adjacent to major public roadways.

CB3 – Commercial Mixed Business Zone

• This zone provides the opportunity for medium intensity commercial development near capacity transportation nodes.

CHY – Highway Corridor Zone

• This zone provides the opportunity for high quality commercial development along roads serving as entrance routes to the City.

CO – Commercial Office Zone

• This zone provides the opportunity for medium intensity office, commercial and residential development in the inner city, around Light Rail Transit station areas or other locations offering good accessibility by private automobile and transit.

Hope this sheds some light on the type of zonings permitted in Edmonton.  Feel free to call or email me with more in depth questions if you need to dive deeper into this!

Breathtaking view from new listing on the 19th floor in great building downtown.  Here are the details:

This 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 19th floor condo has been completely renovated.  New kitchen with quartz countertops, undermounted sink, high gloss cabinets, new stainless steel appliances, and stainless backsplash.  New laminate floors, new bathrooms (Master ensuite has walk-in shower), new light fixtures and all freshly painted.  The Gainsborough is an 18+ building with a laundry on each floor, fitness center, guest suite, social room, workshop, and underground assigned parking. The outdoor space is beautifully landscaped complete with a barbecue area and  gazebo.  Fabulous location, convenient to art galleries, restaurants,shopping and public transportation.

Beautiful new condo listing right in convenient location downtown.  This large 3rd floor one bedroom corner unit was almost completely redone with new laminate throughout main area, carpet in bedroom and heated ceramic floors in bathroom!   A great layout includes a bonus den area off the living room.  Tastefully finished with a new maple kitchen and black appliances as well as a pantry.  A modern tiled bathroom also boasts heated floors!!  Other features include a built in gas fireplace, an alarm system, and a delightful balcony in the front. To top it off, this rare find comes complete with insuite laundry. This location offers great access to LRT, downtown, river valley and the proposed new arena. Please hurry to look as it wont last long!

When looking at purchasing a new property, whether as an investment property or a principal residence with a significant other, it is important to know what would happen in the case of an unexpected death.  When you go to sign the papers at your lawyers, and there will be more than 1 person on title, you will be asked if you would like to be Joint tenants or Tenants in Common.

Joint tenancy – neither owner has their own divisable share of the property. In this case they both have full possession of the whole land/building.  This means that each owner has a “right to survivorship” – if one joint owner passes, their interest in the property is completely dissolved and the surviving owner takes over 100% ownership.

Tenancy in Common – In this case both owners hold rights to their own divisible share of the property.  Most often this is 50% each, but can be set at whatever percentage the two or more owners agree to at the time of signing.  Each owner has their own share in the property and can do what they want with their share without the consent of the other.  If one owner were to pass away, their share in the property will be passed on to the beneficiary in their will.

There are definite advantages and disadvantages to each scenario, but when deciding which is best for you it is important to plan ahead in the case of unexpected death of one of the owners.  For example, if the other owner dies in tenants in common scenario, do you know who will be the beneficiary?  What happens if the beneficiary decides they want to sell, even if it will be at a loss?  Likewise, if you unexpectantly die in a joint tenancy scenario, would you trust that the other owner takes full control of property (including profits) and your wife/husband/children potentially recieve nothing?

Ultimately it is important to discuss all your options with your lawyer before you sign off on possession of a new property to ensure that you protect you and your families best interests in the event of an unexpected death.

Welcome to the latest installment of foreign investments!  This time my research takes me to the beautiful land of Belize.  For those who dont know, Belize sits right below the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, not far from such beautiful resort cities as Cancun and Playa Del Carmen.  A smaller country, with most of the population residing on the coast, Belize is made up a combination of Spanish, Mexican, Mayan, African and British nationalities.  The national language is English (although most natives speak Creole as well) and the currency is a Belizan dollar which mirrors the American dollar 1:2 at all times.

My general feeling for Belize is that it was a expat hotspot in the late 90’s and early 2000’s and thus started to see alot of real estate growth (under heavy north american influence).  Things were booming and prices for lots and houses were skyrocketing as they were being built.  Then 2007 arrived, money became tight, and alot of houses or developments were left abandoned or unfinished.

That being said, I think it is a great opportunity to enter the market now, as investors slowly start to come back.  Most communities have all the amenemities already and it is only a matter of time until the growth returns.  My professional real estate opinion of buying real estate in Belize – although there isa somewhat high price to get into the market (compared to other central american locations) I think you will still see significant growth in your investment over the next 10-20 years.

The other opportunity that still exists in Belize is buying Islands (or Cayes as they are called there).   There are hundreds of tiny cayes riddled within a short boat ride from locations such as Belize City and Placencia that are somewhat easily accessible.  Prices range anywhere from 100,000 to 1,000,000+ depending on size and location, but for someone looking to get away to there own secluded island in the Caribbean, this would be an ideal place to start your search.

Let me know if you have any more questions, or want me to put you in contact with a Realtor working in Belize.  Thats all for now!

Definitely one of the neatest townhomes Ive seen.  Located in a prime location in Oliver just one block off Jasper ave, these cute 2 storey walk up townhomes are quite unique.  You may recognize them as having a large bubble window off the front if you’ve ever walked past them before.  Totally renovated 2 bedroom, 2 bath with all new hardwood and carpet as well as a totally contemporary modern kitchen complete with foot pedals for the kitchen sink!  If you are looking for something affordable, unique and downtown, this could be your unit!

New Listing up in the beautiful community of Hazeldean. 3 bedroom, 1000sq ft home almost completely renovated. New bamboo hardwood throughout, all new kitchen and bath, stainless steel appliances, paint, trim and fixtures as well as a brand new furnace, upgraded electrical and shingles on house and garage. All this for just 345,000

I have a fantastic new listing coming on in the widely desired Windermere area.  Almost 3100 square feet of custom building.  The features are too many to list on this blog alone, but includes:  3 car garage, walk out basement with nanny suite, 6 bathrooms, 4 bedrooms upstairs and one in the basement and backing onto green space.  An incredibly unique building with so many energy efficient upgrades including 2X8 framing, underslab insulation, extra attic insulation, triple pane windows, and a HRV unit – you can have it all and still be enviromentally friendly.   Truly one of a kind.

If you have read this blog in the past, you will know that every time I take a trip, I look into the real estate situation while I am there….not only to learn more about how real estate works in other countries, but also to try and find new investment opportunities.  This trip takes us through Guatemala and Mexico.

GUATEMALA:

First off – one of my favorite countries in central america!  Some of the most beautiful secluded beaches in the world, in one of the cheapest countries.  The problem here lies in the fact that it is difficult for a foreigner to actually own land.  Well, its difficult for locals to even own the land.  I didnt get to do a lot of research in the cities, but it seem like the rural and coast areas follow the same principals- in that all the land is technically government owned, but basically lent out to the resident if they have been there for 10 years or more.  They still have “title transfer” and you can technically own the land, but if you aren’t a resident, aren’t consistently at the property, or there is a radical government change, you could run into some difficulties.  That being said, Guatemala is a very stable country right now and the people are incredibly friendly so the likelihood of anything happening is very slim.  That, combined with a low investment amount (ie. beachfront property can be bought for 10k or less) make this a palatable risk.  As always, I would recommend getting well acquainted with the people and the area before making any decisions.

Mexico:

I also had the chance to spend significant time in San Jose and Cabo San Lucas.  This area is growing fast with new resorts, condos and developments being built everyday.  There is a significant amount of American and Canadian investment in this area, and it is very easy to do.  There are many reputable real estate agencies here, and if you get hooked up with the right people, investing here can be very easy and with little risk.  You will find many of the amenities of home here (supermarkets, golf courses, chain restaurants) so it truly is home away from home for many – except nicer weather!!  In terms of investment, Its quite reasonable to think that with all the building and migration here prices will continue to increase.  With these amenities, however, come higher purchase prices.  Condos in gated communities will run in the 150-225k range and houses 300k – infinite with a range of everything inbetween.  Its a beautiful place and great place to look at investing in with a slightly higher investment commitment.

I am proud to announce a new listing coming up with a fantastic new builder from Madison Park Custom Homes.  Check them out at http://www.madisonparkhomes.ca/

This beautiful custom home is nestled in a cozy little cul-de-sac between the North Saskatchewan River and the serene Windermere Ravine.  This huge 780 sq meter lot features a SOUTH facing back
yard overlooking a Tranquil park.  Relax in the back and gaze out in the vastness as the world goes by.

Stay tuned as more information about the home is finalized.  If you want to have a say in the design, contact me now!