Are insurance costs flat or rising?
One of the fascinating aspects of being a “middle” person, whose professional responsibilities are wedged somewhere between the cost crazed customer and the greedy underwriter, is that you see a vast amount of information from a very different perspective. The cost of transferring the risks associated with sudden and unexpected physical building damage, and the related rental income loss, is pretty cheap for the apartment building owner. Add to that the covering off of any liability claims, not to mention related defence costs, and the result is that the building owner has off loaded a huge burden of surprising and unpredictable financial losses. Take the cost of doing this, as a percentage of gross building revenue taken in, and one cannot help but think of the old term “chump change.”  Try operating a trucking fleet and learn what insurance costing can really look like…not a pretty picture.  Read more >

Lending value versus market value continued
In this issue, the focus will be on capitalization rates, how they are determined and what makes them vary. There is often a difference between the market cap rate buyers are paying to purchase the property and the cap rate lenders and CMHC are using to determine the value for lending purposes.  Read more >

How property and casualty insurance works
Insurance can be a dull topic and most of our clients know the fundamental issues that drive the cost of their insurance. Or do they? Let’s find out right here how this business really works, as it is not always what it seems to be.  Read more >

The good and the bad about cell antennas
A city cell site can generate millions annually for Rogers, Bell and Telus. Typically, the apartment owner only gets paid one per cent of that if the site is not managed properly. Read more >