Blog by Betsy Carstairs

Lane Way Housing solution

March 31st, 2012
I recently was invited by Kottage Rv in Port Coquitlam to a look see @ their company. It is a green initiative recycling box cars into mini homes for cottages or lane way housing. It was a very interesting visit to the factory with  Mayor Greg Moore of Port Cquitlam & Joan Drabyk from  New Westminster's inspections division. I did find the concept good as all the customizing is done in a cont ...

Outward-Bound fundraiser

March 28th, 2012
I attended a fundraiser for Outward Bound this weekend. It was a swing dance in memory of Neil Falkner who died in a avalanche doing what he loved...skiing.  The venue was perfect for this as it had a great dance floor for all the swing dancers...professional & amature alike. I loved Neil's sister Lucy doing her performance in memory of her brother. What a fabulous dancer & what a great way t ...

Vancouver vrs Vietnam real estate

March 27th, 2012
 I recently was in VIetnam & was surprised at how narrow the new homes are. Some homes are as narrow as 2 meters!!!! Yes they are going up 3-4 stories but with this narrow a footprint the staircase would eat up 1/2 of the floor space unless the staircase was very narrow.. Makes me look at Vancouver's smaller 33' frontage lots with a whole new appreciation of how much space one has with a 3,30 ...

Roche Point Open House!

March 27th, 2012
We are proud to announce that this Apr 1st, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM we will be hosting an Open House at 3315 APEX Place in the Roche Point neighborhood, North Vancouver. This is an opportunity to visit this excellent House for sale in beautiful Roche Point.Please come with any questions you may have. In the meantime you can take a virtual tour of this Roche Point House for sale.As always pleas ...

Roche Point Open House!

March 23rd, 2012
We are proud to announce that this Mar 25th, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM we will be hosting an Open House at 3315 APEX Place in the Roche Point neighborhood, North Vancouver. This is an opportunity to visit this excellent House for sale in beautiful Roche Point.Please come with any questions you may have. In the meantime you can take a virtual tour of this Roche Point House for sale.As always plea ...

International Woman's Day

March 17th, 2012
I love International Women's Day as this is also The Annual West Coast Leaf's Equality Breakfast meeting. The Vancouver Hotel now know as The Fairmont Vancouver really is a insight to Vancouver as it was in the early 1900's. Beautiful sculptures as well as brass walled elevators & grand winding stair cases. A tribute to Vancouver's rich history.. This year there were over 750 in attendance to ...

3315 APEX Place, North Vancouver, British Columbia

March 13th, 2012
I just finished uploading this House for sale, 3315 APEX Place, North Vancouver, British Columbia Contemporary 3 level home with sunny southern exposed back yard on a kid friendly cul-de-sac. Open plan with vaulted ceilings on main, newer upscale kitchen, laminated wood & tile flooring, bay windows & sunken family room off kitchen. Back yard boast large deck, gazebo with hot tub, & trampolin ...

Indian Arm, North Vancouver, appealing property assessments

March 10th, 2012
I attended a hearing this week with a Indian Arm owner who was challenging her property assessment. It was interesting to see how values are estblished as each of the properties up The Indian are so different from one another. Not a easy task. There are lease hold properties, free hold properties & properties that have 200' frontage all the way down to 50' frontages. Views vary dramatically a ...

Vietnam in February

March 4th, 2012
Vancouver's winter grey skies can be easily replaced with warm blue skies with a quick trip to Vietnam. This year I went to visit some friends in this beautiful country. I flew into Saigone & we spent 3 days in this city. The 1950's French architecture & gorgeous garden parks were truely stunning. I felt very safe here even if the traffic really is daunting. I opted for a pedicab & even that ...