A Growing Problem in BC

I’m about to talk about a topic that will make your skin crawl…bed bugs! Yes…they’re not the subject of myth…they’re real and they’re nasty little creatures reaching near epidemic proportions in our city. Bed bugs are now found in 5 Star Hotels and Resorts and the most expensive of luxury buildings to the least expensive. They’re everywhere. But with a few simple preventative steps you can help stop the spread and protect your home from pests.

Bed bugs were nearly extinct in the 1940’s but started a ressurgence about 10 years ago when pesticides used to stop cockroaches changed. The old pesricides used to also kill bed bugs (what few were still around).  New York City has just held a public forum on the problem…it’s become that serious in the city that now an estimated 50% of residences both owner occupied and rentals have infestations.

What can you do to protect yourself and your family? One of the best things to do is to invest a mere 40$ from a department store Wallmart, Zellers etc) on a mattress and box spring cover. Be sure to buy the type designed for your bed size and the type designed to resists dust mites, bed bugs and waterproof.

Bed bugs can live without food for up to 1.5 years! They feed much like mosquitoes, they attack at night, typically one hour before dawn when you are most certainly asleep. They hide in the creases and folds of mattresses and are typically about 2 millimetres long and light brown in colour. They are wingless and cannot fly. They are sometimes mistaken for Ladybugs…but make no mistake…unlike the Ladybug they serve no purpose!

Downtown Vancouver is near epidemic proportions…many people move in and out of the downtown core and bedbugs find it rather easy to travel in multi family residential units…typically through the ceiling air ducts or holes around plumbing fixtures in the walls. They are attrated by CO2 and heat. We exhale CO2 when we sleep which makes it easy for them to find a source of food…us!!

The bites are quite harmless…however they can be extremely itchy and annoying and if welts develop as a result of scratching then infection can arise. The bites are much like mosquito bites.

These nasty bugs breed at an alarming rate…500 eggs per day can be laid in a 10 day period…which is why the discovery of 2 bedbugs is something that needs to be dealt with immediately.

It’s only a matter of time before this problem is going to reach all the corners of this province. If you Google “bedbugs” you will most likely come across the bed bug registry…it’s typically disgruntled renters upset about a landlords refusal to phone an exterminator.

Exterminators will be happy to charge 450$ for a visit…but rarely are they able to stop the problem.

The best, most effective ways to help stop and prevent the problem is so simple…go to a local department store and buy a mattress cover. This will make it impossible for bedbugs already burried to reemerge and it will make it impossible for new ones to bury and hide in folds and creases. And it’s so inexpensive! Other tips are to check your baseboards for any area where they may hide and vacuum those areas…then dispose of the bad immediately in a dumpster…not in your home. These bugs are so tiny they could easily creep back out.

One of the reasons why people often think this is a problem that only plagues renters is because of embarrassment. People fear they will be labelled “dirty” or “messy” by their landlord…and home owners wouldn’t dare report their dwelling to the bed bug registry. This is a problem that affects everyone…rich, renters, home owners…everyone!

If you’re a landlord…educate your tenant and buy them a mattress cover…it will be alot cheaper than sending an exterminator. It’s your responsibility to send an exterminator under the BC Law. This problem is now becoming so serious, the BC Government has issued a statement in regards to this. 

An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of remorse!

Is Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant EAST our next hot spot for real estate growth?

Hello Vancouver,

Yesterday, as I headed out of downtown Vancouver (and avoiding the Olympic crowds)…something really struck me. Downtown Westside  is all developped and very very expensive…yet just one block East of Main Street we have one of Canada’s most under appreciated areas…Mount Pleasant East (aka Chinatown – downtown East side). How is it possible that literally one block west, we have some of Canada’s most pricey real estate and yet RIGHT beside it we have Canada’s most in need of development offering affordable prices for those patient enough to wait.

It wasn’t that long ago that Keefer Street west of Main wasn’t the best place to walk. Now, a mere 4-5 years later we have beautiful condos at prices no one ever expected to see. Even though by real estate standards this area at Keefer and Abbott St was technically the west side of downtown…it had real estate values that were less than a few blocks west. Why? because georgraphically this area was quite close to Canada’s most infamous corner…Hastings and Main. But now what do we see…we see gorgeous concrete and brick high rises and a beautiful tennis court and cultural garden centre. This has fast become the new “it” spot in downtown Vancouver, close to GM Place, Tinseltown etc. It’s become one of the most sought after neighbourhoods…with Yaletown now out pricing itself for anyone needing more living space…this area is the new place to be.    

This now takes me back to why I love Mount Pleasant East, this area is 70% renters by alot of absentee (slumlords?) landlords. When you have an area with such a high percentage of renters…it doesn’t leave many people to stand up and represent the needs of the area. But there’s no where left to go if you don’t want to take a bridge to downtown! It’ s still walking distance to downtown Vancouver’s Sea Wall, Chinatown, GM Place, BC Place, Yaletown…the list goes on! 

The good news is that I firmly believe it’s possibly the next area where a buyer or investor could see the greatest price appreciation. Many of the homes that line Venebles St and Union St are tear downs…there are a few newer homes scattered about that some what stick out like a sore thumb. However, it’s not hard to see that it’s an area in need of a major face lift.

Most of those homes have little more than land value. But how is it that literally 2 blocks east of science world, you can buy a single family home for less than a pie in the sky condo! Unbelievable! I cannot believe that this is still the case. It’s time to let go of the stigma and realize the diamond in the rough that is Mount Pleasant East.

The city of Vancouver would love to tear down the Georgia Viaduct…it occupies 5 blocks of prime city land that connects the downtown core with Mount Pleasant East. At the first set of lights when you head east on the Georgia viaduct you have Gore Avenue, 3 brand new beautiful homes are there to greet you. Sadly, where Gore starts, the Georgia viaduct ends and Prior Street begins. Then we see rows of homes that have surely seen happier days.

But what an opportunity to own. What an opportunity to invest and own land for less than the air parcels (aka condo apartments) all for less money, higher land values and within a 10 minute walk to Science World!

If the city were to tear down the Georgia viaduct and redevelop this land…we could possibly finally see this wonderful, undervalued gem in disguise...realize it’s true potential. When I search for listings, I can find single family homes with LAND under 600,000…consider that this same price won’t get you a decent 750 sq ft condo merely a few blocks away…and you will perhaps see what I see.

It’s time to let go of the stigma of the downtown east side…it’s getting better. The Olympics saw the closure of the Georgia Viaduct…the city’s immediate plans are to spend about 300,000 to create a garden and bicycle land up and down the viaduct. If this happenss…traffic will immensely slow down and give this neighbourhood a chance to thrive and become a family community. Gardens are also proposed for up and down Prior St and Union St which are the main arteries through Mount Pleasant East.  To me it only makes geographical sense that Vancouver’s best real estate value will be in this neighbourhood.

For now, Mount Pleasant East continues to be what I believe is a diamond in the rough.

Thank you for reading, please feel free to comment.

Temi Aluko 778-883-4002

Vancouver’s African Community Realtor Pre Olympic News

Hello Vancouver and my friends in our African Community, it’s almost Olympic time here and it’s a buzz of activity in downtown Vancouver. Many road closures, lots of noise, lots of people working shorter weeks in order to accomodate the more difficult commute into the city.

Many people ask me “what do I think will happen with the real estate market in Vancouver after the Olympics?” Historically, real estate has continued to appreciate at least 16 months after the Olympics. If you look at the other host cities (with the exception of Montreal in the 70’s) they all went up. Montreal is perhaps an exception due the very high the interest rates on the horizon. We have a very stable market here and if history repeats itself,  we will contimue to see good growth in the city and the surrounding areas.  Afterwards, many leading economic leaders have predicted at least a 7% increase (that’s 7000 per 100,000).

Rates are still at historic lows! Our beautiful city will be showcased to the world, this is a very exciting time for Vancouver. The city welcoming to our growing African community and many others.  It’s a great time to get into real estate, even if it’s not your dream home right now…starting will help you build towards that dream home for the future.