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Ottawa real estate auctioneer Unreserved has launched a $25-million lawsuit against the Ottawa Real Estate Board and other organizations it says are damaging the start-up.
“Because we’re gaining market share, traditional real estate is going, ‘Oh, god, we need to get rid of auctions now.’ That’s all it comes down to.”
Ottawa real estate auctioneer Unreserved has launched a $25-million lawsuit against the Ottawa Real Estate Board and other organizations it says are damaging the start-up.
Unreserved opened its doors last July, billing itself as a disruptive force in the real estate industry.
The firm has since auctioned more than 250 homes in the Ottawa area while raising $34 million in venture financing. According to Unreserved, the company already owns about 2.5 to 3 per cent of the market share in Ottawa.
Unreserved’s founder and CEO, Ryan O’Connor, says he has filed the lawsuit to defend his business against what he contends are attempts by the Ottawa Real Estate Board and other real estate associations to mislead Unreserved customers and to make it difficult — or impossible — for the company to operate.
“Because we’re gaining market share, traditional real estate is going, ‘Oh, god, we need to get rid of auctions now.’ That’s all it comes down to,” O’Connor charged in an interview.
“But we didn’t invest tens of millions into getting an auction company going only to have the board come along and say, ‘Auctions need to be shut down now because they’re growing.’”
In the lawsuit, filed earlier this month, Unreserved contends both Penny Torontow, president of the Ottawa Real Estate Board, and Tim Hudak, CEO of the Ontario Real Estate Association, defamed the company with “injurious falsehoods” in statements published on YouTube and in the Ottawa Citizen, respectively.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction to prevent them from repeating the statements and damages for their economic impact.
It also contends the board has harmed Unreserved’s relationship with a brokerage firm that helped it post properties for sale on the MLS (Multiple Listing System). The regional MLS database is operated by the Ottawa Real Estate Board, and only licensed realtors can list properties on the system.
Unreserved claims the board has demanded its MLS listings include phrases such as, “subject to terms and conditions,” and “for sale by an unregulated auction.” The board requires the phrases, the lawsuit alleges, “to scare and prevent” Unreserved customers and potential customers from using its services.
None of the allegations contained in the lawsuit have been proven in a court of law.
Janice Myers, chief executive officer of the Ottawa Real Estate Board, said it had not yet been served with the statement of claim. “Therefore, we are not able to comment at this time,” she said.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Hudak said the Ontario Real Estate Association would not stop “standing up to protect Ontario home buyers and sellers” because of the lawsuit.
“Unfortunately, thanks to a 1950s exemption supporting the sale of farm properties by auction, the normal provincial rules aimed at protecting consumers do not apply to real estate auctioneers,” Hudak said.
That has “serious negative consequences” for consumers, he said, adding: “Consumers have very little protection or recourse against serious risks like phantom or fake bidding on a property, misuse of buyer deposits, or whether an auctioneer has a personal interest in the property it is selling.”
Ontario and Manitoba are the only provinces in Canada that do not regulate real estate auctioneers, Hudak said.
The association is actively lobbying the provincial government to close the auctioneer exemption that allows Unreserved to sell real estate in Ontario.
The decades-old exemption has traditionally been used to auction family farms, but Unreserved has used it to sell homes and condos.
In a July 6 letter to Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Hudak asked him to scrap the “outdated” exemption. He wants real estate auction company owners to be required to formally register with the Real Estate Council of Ontario.
The government has said it will consider the scope of the auctioneer exemption during the next phase of reforms to the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, expected later this year.
O’Connor wants the auction exemption left alone, and he dismissed the contents of Hudak’s letter as more of the same kind of “scare tactics.” He contends the real estate associations are trying to squelch competition and preserve business for their own members.
“What’s so ironic is that they say they’re doing this all in the name of consumer protection, but when you peel the layers back, it’s all about self-preservation,” he charged.
O’Connor said consumers were well-protected by Unreserved’s approach. Buyers must have mortgage pre-approvals in place and register with the company to bid; all bidders are allowed to see what others have offered for a home in real time.
Under existing rules, real estate brokers acting for sellers cannot disclose details about purchase offers to other bidders. The process is known as blind bidding, and it means that in frothy markets, buyers sometimes have to bid aggressively to secure a home.
O’Connor said that means buyers can pay $100,00 or more over asking price to win a blind bid. “Where’s the protection for those buyers?” he asked. “Where’s the consumer protection for them?”
Bidding on Unreserved usually moves up in $2,500 increments, he said, which means buyers never make that kind of mistake. “We allow logic to prevail,” he said.
O’Connor has written to the federal competition bureau to complain about the actions of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. The board represents 3,800 registered real estate brokers and salespeople in the Ottawa area.
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If you’re a millennial and grew up in the ’90s, you’ll probably remember a fair amount of ’90s home decor trends that might still haunt you to this day.
There were sponge-painted walls, all-beige everything, wallpaper borders, oak cabinets, carpets in places where there shouldn’t be carpets, bedroom sets from big-box stores, Southwestern or Tuscan decor in homes that weren’t in Arizona or Italy, and the list goes on.
We thought we’d left those troubling times in the past, but 39 Hatherley Rd. really brings back all those memories.
Somehow this two-bedroom, one-bathroom house hit almost every ’90s trend, except for carpets in the bathroom (phew!).
What’s weird is this house has changed ownership a few times since the 90s. In fact, it was most recently purchased in 2010 for $250,000.
So it’s somewhat surprising that when you look at past listing photos, almost nothing has changed. In fact, it seems they added the sponge-painted walls in 2010.
But despite 39 Hartherley Rd. being a total throwback, this house is, as the listing says, “a diamond in the rough.”
First off, it’s a detached house with a 125-foot deep lot in a good location.
The main floor has a living room and kitchen with enough space for a dining table.
The layout is a bit awkward but the Dutch door off the kitchen is too cute.
Off the kitchen is a laundry room/mud room that leads to the spacious backyard.
Upstairs, there are two decently sized rooms and a small bathroom.
The house definitely needs some updating but the roof was done in 2015, the furnace is only a few years old, the electrical has been updated, and there’s room for expansion.
Also, a coat of paint will do wonders to brighten up the all-beige ’90s aesthetic.
However, the biggest selling point of this home is the price point.
39 Hatherley Rd. is listed for only $599,999, which is almost unheard of in Toronto, even if this place will probably go for closer to $700K.
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Modern and contemporary residences stand out with streamlined shapes and minimalist designs. They span from sleek global styles to cozy ranch layouts, offering something unique for all tastes.
Selecting the perfect garage door can pose a challenge for homeowners. Garage doors seamlessly blend with style and durability. This article offers insights on choosing garage doors that complement contemporary homes.
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Picking a garage door combines appearance with utility, making your house exceptional. Judge both looks and toughness to get a flawless match for your contemporary abode.
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Balancing Design with Functional Requirements
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San Francisco, once the crown jewel of the West Coast, is now teetering on the brink of collapse — and it seems like nobody is sounding the alarm.
The city’s housing market, in particular, has been hit hard over the past year, with prices plummeting and homeowners fleeing in droves.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon didn’t mince words when he compared San Francisco’s woes to those of New York City, calling the Bay Area “in far worse shape.”
“I think every city, like every country, should be thinking about what makes an attractive city,” Dimon told Maria Bartiromo in an interview on Fox Business.
“It’s parks, it’s art, but it’s definitely safety, it’s jobs and job creation, it’s the ability to have affordable housing. Any city that doesn’t do a good job will lose its population.”
San Francisco is failing on all fronts and in turn, its housing market is quietly crashing.
Once-luxurious properties are now listing and selling for massive discounts just to attract buyers.
Consider the penthouse at the San Francisco Four Seasons Residential, initially listed in November 2020 for $9.9 million, now begging for buyers at $3.75 million — a jaw-dropping 62% markdown.
It remains on the market today.
Homeowners desperate to escape the sinking ship are offloading their properties at losses, with many seeing their investments dwindle by hundreds of thousands of dollars in just months.
A five-bedroom home at 478-480 Fourth Ave. sold for $1.1 million earlier this month, after selling less than a year prior for $1.6 million.
At 88 King St., a two-bedroom condo overlooking a ball park that sold for $1.12 million more than a decade ago in 2014, recently sold last month for $1.08 million.
Another two-bedroom condo at 1075 Market St., which sold in 2019 for $1.25 million just traded hands earlier this month for $675,000 — and after a price cut, to boot.
The broader trend, according to the latest Redfin analysis, is stark. Nearly one in five homeowners in San Francisco are selling their homes for a loss.
Another one among them: A rare home overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge with oceanfront views was initially listed for the first time in nearly 35 years last March for a price of $12.8 million.
After several price cuts, it took a year to sell at the fairly modest price tag $7.85 million for the area.
The commercial sector isn’t faring any better, with office vacancies soaring post-pandemic.
And the desperation is palpable, as evidenced by the recent sale of a property on Market Street at a mind-boggling 90% discount.
The building at 995 Market St. was acquired for just $6.5 million during a public auction last week.
The previous owner had paid $62 million for it in 2018.
Even retail giants are abandoning ship.
In February, Macy’s announced that it was closing its massive flagship store in San Francisco’s Union Square.
The year prior, Nordstrom had announced it was closing two of its stores over the “deteriorating situation in the area.”
The mall had been inundated with fentanyl overdoses, drug dealers and thieves.
Real estate veteran Craig Ackerman, who’s witnessed San Francisco’s rise and fall over three decades, laments the city’s potential squandered by inept leadership.
He predicts years of continued mismanagement unless drastic changes are made. However, with the current administration’s penchant for liberal grandstanding over pragmatic solutions, the outlook remains grim.
“I do think that San Francisco probably has another five to eight years of mismanagement. I mean things are a mess out here and they don’t need to be. This could all be changed by the stroke of a pen,” Ackerman told The Post.
“But the mayor — they choose to continue this ridiculousness.”
“I don’t think it’s going to change,” Ackerman added.
“They are happy waving their liberal flags and looking for a fantasy land that doesn’t exist … It’ll kill you on the way there.”
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