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robertmarch82 · 5 years ago

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They created a “Palestinian people” as a tactical instrument to have the right to claim land in Israel. It was Nasser, president of Egypt, who brought the Palestinian people on the political agenda first. To strengthen their arguments, they settled Arabs by the millions until today.

Ben Fladder, studied German Language and Literature & IT System at Free University of Berlin (2010)

To explain why Israel is such a big thing on Quora (at least for me), I want to tell you some of the earlier history of the State of Israel. This short part of history is enough to make Israel a big thing for me, I don’t need to go into detail about the almost 1600 years, that Jews lived there as indigenous people from 1500 BC to 70 AD (and until today).

I do not deny, that Israel has committed war-crimes, just as the Arabs have. I am not an Israeli, nor am I Jewish, so I do not have any personal connection to Israel that would make me feel I must justify anything. Just the facts are enough in my opinion.

Before the first Zionistic settlements started in the 1870s, there were roughly around 255.000 Arabic people in the rural areas and around 24.000 Jews (the numbers vary, but that’s the average) living under Osman rule. The land was totally devastated. Agriculture and livestock took place on a minimal level, just barely enough for the self – sustaining of the inhabitants. Reports from 1882 - 1913 talk about “completely sown land, with dirty dilapidated houses built of loam, catastrophic hygienic circumstances”, the little agriculture done with small wooden plows. You find these descriptions for practically all the land. People were shocked when they came there and compared the status quo with what they had imagined.

Felix Bovet wrote about his visit of the area in 1858: „The ... Turkish [Osmans] ... turned it into a wasteland ... The Arabs themselves, who are its inhabitants ... have created nothing here.“ Quote from: Felix Bovet in: "Egypt, Palestine and Phoenicia: A Visit to Sacred Lands" (Can be found in /Scheel/)

The reasons lay in a chaotic, inhuman politic and the traditional lifestyle of the inhabitants. An example is the “Musha-land”, one of six categories of land under ottoman rule. Musha-land is supposed to have been the biggest obstacle against improvement for the fellahin/fell. In addition, wells and fields were further destroyed through steady fights between the Arabic residents themselves and the steady attacks and extortions from their neighbours, the Bedouin. The population was steadily declining.

Alif I. Tannous, a Palestinian intellectual wrote in October 1935: “Until today the fellahin/fell are the object of oppression, disregarding and bad treatment by their own people and the old political regime. The feudal system extincts their life, the effendi-class looks down on them and the old Turkish regime was too corrupt to deal with this vital problem.“

Because of this always declining population, lease declined as well and so the leaders constantly let non-Arabic and Arabic workers into the country. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica of 1911 not less than 50 languages were spoken in what today is Israel.

With the new workers/peasants it went the same way as described above: They fell into poverty; the wars went on and the owners didn’t gain enough income from their land …

So, selling it to immigrating Jews was a jackpot for many of the owners. As said most of the land belonged to Arab families in the cities like the Sursock family in Beirut. They for example sold 240 square kilometres between Haifa and Beisan for over 800.000 British pounds to (among others) the Jewish National Fund. That‘s only one family. There were so many, who got rich by selling land, they had no use for because it was dried out and devastated. The money from these land sales often became the basis for their political power today. They also sold swamp land to those Jews, who had no experience with farming (swamp land was almost impossible to cultivate. If you were lucky enough to survive the first year, you gave up during the second). Jokes made the round about the stupid Jews who paid so much money for swamps.

But the Jews made it. I guess the century-long experience of being mistreated together with the pogroms that had happened not long ago, in Russia, Europe and North-Africa did theirs to motivate them. They put effort, all their money and knowledge into building up new homes. The immigrants that came there were a mix of farmers, workers, soldiers, intellectuals, medics, engineers etc. Men and women were active in the discussions and plannings of the settlements. All that contributed to the successful re-cultivation of the land and to the relatively modern and open society that evolved in Israel.

Together with the green, Arabs came to work there. Many Palestinians are descendants of the migrant workers from Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, who came between 1830 and 1945 to what is now Israel. And they came by increasing numbers, because the Jewish immigrants created more and more work and wealth.

A study from 1943 – 1947 and 1949 – 1963, as well showed that most Arabic inhabitants came from other countries. For example, the village el-Fahan (20 km west of Hadera): In 1943, out of 2.800 inhabitants 900 were from Egypt, 1.400 from Hejaz in Saudi-Arabia, 500 from today’s Jordan.

The population of el-Fahan exploded when Jordan’s King Hussein brought ten thousands of Arabic settlers there from 1948 – 1967, for the Arabization of the city that is already mentioned in the Bible.

Since the founding of the state of Israel tenth of thousands of Arabic immigrants have come to Jewish cities, farms and fabrics and all the other work opportunities, doubling and tripling the number of Arabs.

The Peel-Commission reported in 1937, that the „… lack of land … is less attributable to many Jews having bought land, but to the increase of the Arabic people.“

So far so good. But now the real problems began. To make it short: The Arabic leaders didn’t like the thought, that the Jews were prospering, especially since the idea of an organized Arabic settlement in the areas had been existent for a while among them. There had been attacks on a lower scale all the time.

But now a broad anti-Jewish campaign was launched, intensified especially during WW II, all over the Arabic world. Protagonists of this campaign were for example the Muslim Brothers (especially their founder Hassan Al-Banna, a big admirer of Hitler and Mussolini, who praised them in speeches) or Amin al-Husseini - the Mufti of Jerusalem (a searched war-criminal and collaborator of NS-Germany). These campaigns were supported by the Nazis. Hitler and his thugs even set up a radio-station for al-Husseini to spread anti-Semitic ideas from Germany (where he lived as Hitler’s guest since 1941) over Egypt and the whole Maghreb. Powered by the internal explosive situation in the Arab countries – poverty, political fights etc. – this anti-Semitism digged its way deep into people’s thinking.

Arabic leaders and organizations tried to destroy Israel twice with military force but lost. So, they changed their tactics and used not only terrorism but also humans as a “tactical” instrument. During the 1967-war, they actively tried to make Arab inhabitants move out of Israel by telling them horror-stories about massacres by Israeli soldiers and pretending to want them safe when they overrun the country. Similar tales as we had them in Europe during the middle ages and up to the 1940s (some statistics talk about 68% Arabs that left Israel without ever having seen an Israeli soldier. They then denied many of those refugees to enter Egypt for example and used them to “stay an open wound in Israel’s flesh forever” (see the sources).

A quote from the Muslim Weekly Magazine KUL-SHAY, Beirut, 19.08.1951: „Who brought the Palestinians as refugees into the Lebanon, where they came into huge hardship and destitute – no one else but the Arabic States themselves, including the Lebanon.” Can be found in: /Farah/

Since 1967 Arabs built 261 settlements in Judea and Samaria alone - but only 144 Jewish settlements in ALL of Israel were built. But we never hear about that, do we?

When Jordan overran a part of Jerusalem in 1948, the Jews in this part of the city were killed, robbed and expelled to make Jerusalem Arabic. That happened in many parts of the country: Kfar Etzion near Hebron: in 1948, all Jewish citizens except one who managed to flee got shot by the Jordans. On the north side of Jerusalem, a village named Neve Jaakov was arabized through the murdering of all Jews.

Quotes:

· Zuheir Mohsen, a high-ranked PLO-member, said in 1977 (in a disarming honesty): “There is no Palestinian people. The creation of a Palestinian State is one weapon to continue our fight against Israel and for the Arabic unity. Since Golda Meir is denying the existence of a Palestinian people, I claim, that there is such a people and that it is to be distinguished from the Jordans ... Only for political and tactical reasons we talk about the existence of a Palestinian identity, because it lies within the national interest of the Arabs, to oppose a separate existence of the Palestinians to Zionism. For tactical reasons Jordan, which is a country with fixed borders, cannot claim Haifa and Jaffa. I in contrast, as Palestinian, can claim Haifa, Jaffa, Beerscheba and Jerusalem. But as soon as our rights on Palestine are restored, we must not delay the reunion of Jordan and Palestine not a single longer.” Quote from: W. Roxan: Israel und die Palästinenser. Darmstadt 1978. p.66·

· Prof. Philip Hitti, Arabic American historian from Princeton university, said in 1946 in front of the Anglo-American committee: „Something like Palestine has never existed in history.“ and in 1988: “One thing is clear: No Palestinian State has ever existed not for the shortest period in the past. There is no Palestinian language either, no distinct Palestinian culture, no special religion in Palestine.” Quotes from: Mitchell G. Bard: Behauptungen und Tatsachen-Der israelisch-arabische Konflikt im Überblick, Hänssler 2002. p.50 (original from Jerusalem Post, 2. November 1991) and from /Pfisterer/ (originally from Six millions de Palestiniens ... valeurs actuelles. Paris 26.12.1988, p. 31)·

· „The Palestinians… it could have come to a humanitarian solution, like in other parts of the world ... [But it is as] the Arabs in the Arabic League said in those days: ‘We want to keep this as an open wound und use the human beings as a pawn against Israel. Quote from: Joan Peters in, quoted in ARAB NATIONS PERPETUATED THE REFUGEE PROBLEM /Arutz Sheva-4. Febr. 2001

I did not mention all the things we can see on TV every day: Terrorist attacks and rockets that end peace-negotiations and provoke counter-attacks. There are organisations, who have no interest at all to make peace with Israel. They will not stop until Israel is destroyed or they are. The sad thing is that they use their own people, Muslims and Arabs to reach their goals. And these people get brainwashed and let themselves be used for a war, that will better nothing for them. What will happen, when Israel is destroyed? Will the Palestinians live any better in the ruins of this country? It would be so easy: Let the refugees in your countries, not like 1967 when you first called them to leave their homes and then put them in refugee camps and treated them like second class humans. Just let them in, stop telling them, that Israel is the root of all evil.

But this will never happen, I fear that peace will never come. I feel sorry for the Jews, who for almost 2000 years are expelled from their land, fought, harassed and lied upon, be it by Europeans or Arabs, Christians or Muslims. It’s a shame. Not even after the fabric-like murder during the “3rd Reich” we manage to let them live in peace. They do not want to make the world Jewish. They just want to live their lifes with their religion in their country.

When you watch the news, not from Arabic countries or Israel – no, from Europe, then you can find reports about policemen giving their microphones and speakers to people who use them to shout things like “Hamas, Hamas, Jews into the gas” through them:

http://www.faz.net/aktuell/rhein...

Did German (!) police do anything against those exclamations which are illegal according to German law? No, you know what they did? They put a young man on trial, who had stood beside this aggressive bawling people and waved a little, 5-inch-long Israel-flag. Sued him for making an unregistered counter-demonstration. Although the German constitution gives everybody the right to express their opinion peacefully at any time. But the judge spoke justice, right? No. He found that the man was guilty and since he was a kind judge, he offered him, if he would commit his crime, to just make him pay a small fee. Otherwise it would be way more expensive.

Such things happen all over Europe. Jews emigrate back to Israel out of Europe and this only place where they can feel, if not safe, then at least wanted, this place is in steady danger of being destroyed. Arabs have so many countries where they can live in, Europeans, Christians, Muslims have. Why don’t we leave Jews live on this tiny place on earth? I really don’t get it. We are drifting into something very bad. But this time no one will be able to say that they didn’t know anything. This time everybody could see the signs in the newspapers, on TV, on the radio. If you believe in god, no matter which: Beware, beware. If you do not believe in any god then: Will you be able to stand the shame?

Sources:

/Stein/: Kenneth W. Stein: The Land Question in Palestine, 1917-1939, The University of North Carolina Press, 1984

/Peters/: Joan Peters: From Time Immemorial-The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict Over Palestine, Harper & Row, NY, 198

/Twain/: Mark Twain: The Innocents Abroad, London 1881.

/Voss/: H. Carl Voss: The Palestine Problem Today. Israel and its Neighbours.

/RBP/: Royal-British-Palestine-Commission: Report of 1913

/Goldberg/: David B. Goldberg, M.A., Haschiwa: Auf unwegsamen Pfaden- von Touristen selten betreten (Exzerpt), in: Die Rückkehr No.2/1995

/Samad/: Hamed Abdel-Samad: Der Islamische Faschismus. Eine Analyse. Droemer Verlag 2014

/Pfisterer/: Rudolf Pfisterer: Israel oder Palästina. R.Brockhaus 1992.

/Kark/ Ruth Kark, Ed.: The Land that became Israel/ Ran Aaronsohn: Cultural Landscape of Pre-Zionist Settlements. Yale University Press. London 1990

/Scheel/ Wolfgang Scheel. Referat March 2006: Zionistische Landbegrünung als Erfüllung biblischer Verheißungen.

/Ba/ S.83, /Pf/ S.147 (Bericht der Königlichen Palästina-Kommission, S. 242, Detaillierte Protokollauszüge in J. Peters, From Time, S. 302ff). and https://www.freitag.de/autoren/b...

/Fereydoun/: Fereydoun Hoveyda: Que veulent les Arabes? Paris 1991. In German: Was wollen die Araber? Droemer Knaur. München 1992

/EB11/: Encyclopaedia Britannica of 1911

https://www.quora.com/Why-does-Israel-seem-to-be-such-a-big-theme-on-Quora-when-there-are-so-many-other-troubled-areas-in-the-world

#antisemitism #israel #palestine #arabs #palestinians #muslims #islam #europe #germany

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justmikethepoet · 5 years ago

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I have a dream. That every woman with half a man, Gets double the courage. That they put as much effort as they do into finding a partner, into finding their purpose. And who's list of partners will always be shorter than her skirt is. And when it's not, she'll always know where the doctor, her block list, or a church is. Because any evil that medicine or technology can't fix, she'll give it to God. And she'll never place her heart in the hands of a man that never asked for the job. A lot of women be half queen and half crazy. Giving second chances to half kings just to have babies. Sacrificing peace for potential. Sacrificing sleep like it ain’t essential. Up all night. No make up sex. Ready to fight, But too scared to type a breakup text. Knowing their worth, but still giving out discounts. Body signing checks that hearts can’t cash. No wonder the shit bounce. Heads be getting scratched like old braids under new closures. I pray for the day that when you get lonely you call YOU over. Girls get drunk in love with punks and thugs. Then wonder why they get broken hearts not goose bumps and hugs. I wish the first person you fell in love with was you. That way when somebody tries to sell you some bullshit you’ll know what to do. Breaking news. The bar ain’t just gonna set itself. You gotta be the one to put it in the air. Then you gotta be patient enough to sit back and see who really cares. But you wanna travel with yours, like dancers with private parties booked before work. Praying for men that watch you get dressed on Sunday for church. But he’s the one you let lead you huh? But he’s the one you tell “I need you” huh? It’s time. To stop tripping off the eye candy and go soul searching. To stop telling yourself to keep trying when y’all aren’t both working. You are all you need. And before you go breaking your back, let them get down on bended knee. Cuz sometimes, These boys don’t know how to be men until you’ve found a new one. So get out that lease, out them sheets, out in theses streets, and go get you one. 9/15: Washington D.C. pull up on me ❤️ (at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2K-o7jla9l/?igshid=163b91pswpya7

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whatdoesshedotothem · 3 years ago

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Tuesday 11 August 1835

7 35

12 35

No kiss. very fine morning F71° at 8 20 breakfast (in my dressing room) at 8 ¼ - A- took the carriage and was off at nine to the central national school to Mrs Petherie the head mistress to learn the method as far as possible in the course of our morning - saw Mr Johnson and said all that could be necessary in observation and explanation of my note, so that I have no need to see him again - wrote and sent little ¼ sheet note to ‘Miss Gordon 34 Hertford street’ sorry I did not see her yesterday when she called even tho’ I was at dinner - will call this morning about one, certainly not earlier - cut my nails and finished dressing till 10 then till 11 5 had Neele the engraver with A-‘s maps and had Mrs Hawkins - and dated my letter to Lady H de H- of which wrote the 2 first pages of the 1st ½ sheet on Sunday night - dated the top of my 3rd page this morning, but went on with my subject of Sunday - ‘Sometime ago when I daily reproached myself for not writing, I began to think of your new correspondent at Stockholm, and that perhaps, par consequent, you had less time to think of me - the summer seemed to come upon me at unawares, and long before I heard of your being off, I calculated you had reached your journey’s end - Tuesday 11 August. How happy you must be! the friend of our youth can have no rival - Time blunts the edge of our credulity - year after year brings with it some new burden of mistrust, and the heart, wearied perhaps with disappointments turns with nameless satisfaction to the friends it trusted first, and owns no faith so firm as that of early days’ - mention the report of the misunderstanding with the court - that Lady S- had said she thought it could not be true as Lady Harriet had told her of Mr. de H- being with the King, which I had agreed in, and said no more - Lady VC- had not named it - ask Lady Harriet to bear with my table linen a little longer - my return to Copenhagen delayed not given up - wonder if we shall meet again in Paris - A- returned from the national school at 12 ¼ - sat talking a little while - some chance of our having the man and his wife who thought of going out to Jamaica with the bishop of the island - at one had finished my letter 2 half sheets full (of which the 2 first pp. dated and written on Sunday) to Lady H de H- then wrote the following to ‘Messrs. Hammersleys Bankers’ vid. line 9 next p. ‘Miss Lister will be much obliged to Messrs. Hammersleys, on the arrival of the model from Geneva, to give it in charge to Mr Bewsher of the King’s Warehouse at the custom house - the price agreed to be paid for the model was, Mrs. Lister finds, 1600 francs, to which the expense of carriage from Geneva to London will be added - Mrs Lister will be obliged to Messrs. Hammersleys to inform her of the amount of the bill before ordering its payment - Mrs Lister received yesterday the letter directed to her at Messrs. Hammersleys’ - Left A- took the carriage and out at 1 35 drove to 34 Herford street - Lady G- in her bedroom - in her dressing gown - sat with her about near an hour - very glad to see me - will return from Scotland viâ Yorkshire - could we not meet? I said I could not possibly receive her at Shibden in the present state of things - at last agreed that she should write tell me her plans, and I would try to meet her in York and shew her the lions - Mrs. Thompson of Eskrick had invited her to the festival and she had promised to take Georgina and go, but on going to Coutts’ she found her banking book credited on the wrong side going to the festival would be expensive, and she had written to give up the thought of it - This she owned had something to do with her present illness I laughed and said she ought to have taken me my income to hers would have made a difference we should have got on very well together it was too late now all her own fault but thought I it is better as it is she would not have suited me she like poor old lady Stuart is out at the elbows let it be a lesson to me - Mr. Guthrie, Lady G-‘s apothecary came and I wished good morning - met Miss Cornewall on the stairs who was very civil - In fact, I did not know her but she recognised me - en passant left my note( vid. line 29 of the last p.) at Hammersleys - then to Whitehall and sat about ½ hour with Lady Stuart - very glad to see me - thought I should not leave London without writing or seeing her again tho’ V- said I should - Lady S- will write to tell me what she fixes upon - thinks of going to Ramsgate - I ventured to suggest her taking Miss Hyrioth - lady S- thought she could not be spared - V- obliged to wait for the character of a cook-housekeeper she thought of taking and would not .:. be off to Olney till Thursday instead of tomorrow - Lady S- pays £96 per annum ground rent for her house and paid a fine of £400 on the last renewal of the lease (for 20 years) 9 years to run - government talks of taking no fine the next time but having £240 per annum rent - this would not do but said that among my various thoughts I had thought that the lease might be worth my renewing if Lord S- did not wish to renew it to himself - home at 3 ¾ - took up A- and out again at 4 - took her to see the Queen’s bazaar in Oxford street where I bought my Hastings table and other linen - A- bought knitted woollen petticoats at Robertshaws a great ready-made ladies clothes shop - apparently a very good respectable shop - north side of the street - bought a lb. of last years grapes 3/.! at the great fruit shop in Oxford street opposite Holles street for A- was sick and faint and wanted fruit – has not been well since Sunday Morning at church - home again at 5 - dressed - dinner at 6 - had the carriage and out again from 7 to 8 50 - all the while at Roake and Varty’s booksellers in the strand, for A- to buy books and cheap paper for the Lightcliffe school use - I stood reading over Brockedon’s guide from London to Naples via Paris Rome etc - just published - 24/. 1vol 8vo with several good views - seems a goodish sort of thing - the Leghorn bonnets made of unripe wheat straw grown on poor land - this manufacture now as good In England thro’ the information 1st got by the society of arts - Leghorn the best port for shipments to England - less duty paid and most direct conveyance by sea -Inquire when there - Mrs Leigh in the strand 3 doors from Bedford street the great person for continental travelling books - very fine day - very hot - packing and paying till 11 20. - A- queer about money this will never do we shall never stick together I will labour at my accounts and set myself straight and prepare to do without her in case of need. - when with lady S- this morning (did not see Vere) left with her my letter (2 half sheets full) to ‘the Lady Harriet de Hagemann’ to go with the letter I found Lady S- writing to her to Stockholm - Neels (vid. line 6 of today) who brought the country maps by Greenwood to complete A-‘s set, told me he and Walker the engraver and publisher, I think he said, should loose 4 or 5 thousand pounds by Greenwood, a man of genius but not a man of business - very speculative and sanguine about all he took up, but not successful –

SH:7/ML/E/18/0080

now going about getting subscriptions to a sort of Dictionary of all the gentlemen’s seats in England to come out by counties - Surry in the press - he is going all over to get information from the different families - the regular publishers are afraid of engaging with him, but a young man who has some money has entered into partnership with him and is to publish the work - I said such a work might answer if well managed - desired Mr Greenwood to call upon me at Shibden Hall (gave my address) and expressed myself anxious for his work to answer - asked who was considered the best civil engineer in London who had renommée ? Tredgold? no! he (Mr Neele) thought Giles who might be heard of at Gardiner’s in Regent street who publishes the ordnance maps and is .:. the best mappist in London - when I had Mrs Hawkins up this morning mentioned turning Northgate house into a larger hotel and told her to ask Mr Hawkins if he knew of anybody likely to make a good tenant - explained the sort of person and his wife I should like to have - Mrs H- quite understood the thing and said there were many who would be glad of it - I said they should have a capital of £7,000 or £8,000 to begin with - very fine day - very hot - F47 ½° in my dressing room now at 12 35 tonight

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rebeccahpedersen · 7 years ago

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What’s The Future Of Purpose-Built Rentals In Toronto?

TorontoRealtyBlog

I suppose this could be turned into a mathematical equation on an exam for a first-year university business class.

If you owned a plot of land, should you: a) construct a condominium, sell the units, and be “out” inside of 4-5 years, b) construct a purpose-built rental tower, hold it in perpetuity, and after X number of years, surpass the amount of money made from option (a).

The number of new purpose-built rental buildings in Toronto had dropped massively during the real estate boom, and was all set to make a big comeback if not for the Ontario government’s actions last April.

Let’s look at a couple of purpose-built rentals that are moving forward, and consider why a developer would build for the long-term, rather than short…

What would you do, if you were in the situation described above?

Say you own a parking lot in downtown Toronto, and you’re building a 40-storey, 240-unit residential tower.

You could build the structure and rent out all 240 units, collecting cheques each and every month.

Assuming you financed, say, 70% of the project, you’d have to work to pay the loan back via the monthly rent – for how long, exactly? Ten years? Twenty years? And then afterwards, you just sit back and collect the cheques? Let the good times roll?

You could build the structure and sell the individual units, forming a condominium corporation, and once the building is registered as such, hand the 240 deeds over the owners and say, “Good luck,” then take the money and run.

I know what you’re thinking – in the first scenario, the builders/owners/investors would sell to a REIT or a pension fund, for an amount that’s based on the income stream, rather than keep the building “forever.”

But that complicates our very simple question: apartment or condo?

Before the late 1970’s, every high-rise unit was within an apartment building, owned as a whole, by an individual or corporation.

It wasn’t until the early 1980’s that the “condominium” became common, which gave way to a major shift in the percentage of units which were condo versus those which were apartment style, through the 90’s, and into the 2000’s. Today, there are very few purpose-built rentals being constructed, and you have to ask yourselves, why?

If money isn’t the answer, then I don’t know what is!

In 2017, it seems that “rental units” don’t refer to the same thing that they did in the 1970’s.

In the 70’s, you’d expect to “rent” within an apartment, with the superintendent living down the hall like your University residence “Don” did, paying the rent each month to whoever owned the building.

Today, an overwhelming percentage of “rental units” are owned by individuals, whether it’s a basement apartment, a unit within a four-plex, or as is so often the case, a condominium.

So do you, the renter, care if you’re renting Unit #2707 from XYZ Corporation who owns all 240 units in the building, versus renting from John Smith who owns that one unit, within the condominium?

I don’t think most renters care, to be honest.

There are pros and cons to each type of landlord.

If you’re renting a condominium, you might find that your landlord is overbearing and annoying, compared to an apartment building superintendent, or you might find that the owner lives overseas, doesn’t respond to emails, and won’t pay to fix anything in the unit.

But the topic today isn’t whether you’d rather rent an apartment or a condo, but rather whether you’d rather build an apartment or a condo as a developer.

And if money isn’t the biggest reason to build and sell condominiums, rather than hold apartment-rentals long term, then perhaps the new regulations from the “Ontario Fair Housing Plan” are.

I remember reading an article, circa early 2015, that was touting the explosive growth forecast for the purpose-built rental market. Let me see if I can dig that up…

….ah HERE.

This is from a website called http://www.biznow.com, and includes data from Urbanation, which is slowly becoming Toronto’s most accurate source of condo and rental statistics:

Dormant for two decades, purpose-built rental apartments are resurgent in the GTA, with eight buildings (2,458 units) under construction and 37 (9,207 units) proposed, according to a new report from Urbanation. SVP Shaun Hildebrand unpacks the renewed enthusiasm for purpose-built rental.

Only 34 rental projects were built in the GTA since 2005, a mere 6,723 units. “Construction has been flat over the last 10 years,” Shaun tells us. (Indeed, compare that to the plethora of condo buildings that cropped up in the same period.) But with affordability issues pushing rental demand to a 20-year high, the residential pipeline’s been filling fast with rental developments. “If you add up all the projects under construction, and those expected to start in coming years,” says Shaun, “it’s actually 75% higher than what’s been developed in the past decade.”

That doesn’t include pre-construction condo projects that might convert into rental, which is happening more lately as the purpose-built market gathers steam. Earlier this year Urbancorp canceled its Kingsclub condo complex on King West (above), announcing plans for rental apartment towers instead. And last December, the group behind The Selby, a proposed 49-storey condo project at Sherbourne and Bloor, turned it into a rental development. “Large developers and institutional investors are getting behind rental,” says Shaun.

The Honest Ed’s redevelopment by Westbank Corp (above) won’t include any condos, just rental apartments. What explains the surging interest? Rental demand is at a record high as a booming young population migrates into the city centre, where it’s more expensive to buy real estate. Vacancy rates are hovering around 1%; and rent levels rose nearly 15% in the past five years, notes Shaun. “That was what [investors and developers] were waiting for: the big jump in rents.” Apartment rents downtown can be higher than condo rental rates in some cases. “So it’s starting to make more sense to build rental.”

RioCan REIT and Allied Properties REIT are JVing on 602-620 King West (above), a mixed-use project with an office tower and 14-storey rental building. For years condos have been the de facto supply of new rental units, but Shaun notes renters place a premium on living in professionally managed rental apartment buildings. “It’s a secure form of housing. The unit owner isn’t going to sell it and force you to vacate.” And amid eroding affordability, more people are choosing to stay put in rental properties. “The development industry realizes the demand for rental has longevity—this is not a fad.”

Now that was written in April of 2015, and a lot has changed since then.

January to April of 2017 was the hottest real estate market, specifically condo market, that Toronto has ever seen.

And here we sit, nearly 30 months later, and I still have to wonder what the future holds for purpose-built rental properties in Toronto, let alone the downtown core.

There are a few examples popping up.

The southeast corner of Bay & Gerrard Streets is going to be home to a 43-storey, 595 unit rental building, and I think every last one of us would have bet our shirt that this location would have produced yet another condominium.

And the building’s name?

The Livmore

Their slogan?

“Lease is Less.”

Here’s the press release from back in July:

GWL Realty Advisors (GWLRA) today launched their flagship purpose-built rental building and the largest of its kind in terms of number of units currently under construction in Canada. Located at the southeast corner of Bay and Gerrard Streets in the heart of downtown Toronto, the Page + Steele designed amenity-rich building will introduce 595 rental suites into one of the tightest rental markets in recent history.

Unveiled today as The Livmore, the 43-storey apartment tower offers extensive amenities and features: media room, party room with kitchen facilities, every unit with en-suite washer/dryer and custom features and finishes, full service fitness and yoga rooms, a pet spa and outdoor dog run area, and a Sky Lounge on the 26th floor providing panoramic views of the city.

With vacancy levels of both purpose built and condo rental at historic lows, The Livmore will contribute significantly to meeting the rental needs in Toronto’s downtown core. And the message – Lease is More — is a simple one. That is, without the financial constraints of a mortgage, interest rates, property taxes and maintenance fees, life offers more of everything — play, entertain, read, breathe, laugh, cycle, think and Livmore. The project is walking distance to streetcar and subway stations, universities, medical/hospital services on University Avenue, Yorkville shopping and restaurants, and the financial and theatre districts.

The wisdom of renting resonates with prospective residents but also with politicians and financial experts. Speaking at today’s launch about the need for more downtown rental housing was Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam. “Purpose-built rental is in high-need, particularly in the downtown core,” said Wong-Tam. “Toronto is now the 4th largest city in North Americaand growing. As our city expands, there needs to be a selection of housing options and I am pleased that GWL Realty Advisors is at the table to serve this demand.”

Toronto’s chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat added, ” The Livmore is an essential contribution to our city – 570 new units of purpose built rental will be added to our housing stock right in the heart of the city, adding housing choice. It also fulfills a key objective of our city building through the provision of a complete community, that includes excellent amenity space and public space and new affordable housing.”

You can always tell when something is written by Public Relations, and not a journalist.

“The wisdom of renting resonates with prospective residents but also with politicians and financial experts.”

Politicians?

Since when do I care if Adam Vaughan rents or owns?

In any event, the sales pitch is a bit much (ie. “without the financial constraints of a mortgage, interest rates, property taxes and maintenance fees, life offers more of everything — play, entertain, read, breathe, laugh, cycle, think and Livmore”), but I’m sure you could easily accuse me of pushing home ownership too, so fair is fair.

It’s important to note, however, that adding rental housing to a downtown core that is in dire need of it, does not mean this will be affordable to all, or cheaper than what the free market will bear, and I think that’s an important distinction to make as there’s a common misconception out there that “condo owners” are greedy, when in reality, whichever pension fund or REIT owns The Livmore will seek the highest rents possible.

So if politicians are on board, as it looks like some are in the case of The Livmore, then are there advantages to developers for building an apartment rather than a condo?

In some cases, yes.

Look no further than 66 Isabella Street for a great example.

This was a 1970-built, 26-storey apartment building that was well past its time.

The owners of the property wanted to expand, and while I’m tempted to put words in their mouths and say “They wanted to build a condo,” I would guess that what they did build was probably a combination of what they wanted to build, what they were allowed to build, what incentives they were given by the City of Toronto, and how they worked with the city toward a common goal.

What they did, in the end, was pretty clever.

Here’s the artist’s rendering of the “new” 66 Isabella Street:

See the beige part of the building on the left-hand side, behind the glass-tower, that looks like a 1970’s apartment building?

That is the 1970’s apartment building. They just annexed this massive glass tower to it.

Over 200 units were added, all rental.

Critics might suggest there’s no fusion between the two buildings, but we’re not building art here; we’re building rental units.

So if 66 Isabella Street is any indication, perhaps the City of Toronto will encourage developers to consider constructing purpose-built rentals, by relaxing height restrictions, fast-tracking applications, providing subsidies or discounted development levies, or anything else that will help change the outlook of many developers from short-term to long-term.

I will add that the “Ontario Fair Housing Plan” did not help matters.

Developers were apparently not happy with the “Rental Fairness Act,” and over 20,000 planned rental units were in jeopardy what a survey was commissioned back in May.

This should come as no surprise to anybody.

And only time will tell whether that was just rhetoric and posturing, or if Toronto really could lose out on as many as 20,000 planned rental units, which would end up becoming condos.

I may sell real estate for a living, and not rent it, but I think a healthy combination of both new condominiums and purpose-built rentals would do the city well.

There will always be private investors who want to own individual condos and lease them out.

Perhaps that is a topic for next week.

How have the new rental measures affected investors? And how, as a result, have would-be renters been affected as well?

The post What’s The Future Of Purpose-Built Rentals In Toronto? appeared first on Toronto Real Estate Property Sales & Investments | Toronto Realty Blog by David Fleming.

Originated from http://ift.tt/2gJl7VO

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thingsioncehelddear · 7 years ago

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Hey Annie! It's April again. Ive finally decided on accepting to Waterloo AFM yayyy! Do you have any recommendations for housing? Pros and Cons of living in residence vs off campus? The residence you preferred? Thank you!!!!! BTW your blog is very helpful XDXD

Omg congratulations!!! I’m so excited for you! :)

I would recommend living in residence in first year - just because it’s part of the university experience, and it gives you a chance to adjust to university life without having to deal with some of the more complex issues that off-campus living can bring. Then, in second year, you can choose to move off-campus or remain on-campus.

LIVING IN RESIDENCE

Pros:

The University is not going to trick you or rip you off. When you sign a residence contract with them, you can sleep easy knowing exactly what you’re paying for and what you’ll be getting in return.

Even with all the new construction in Waterloo, the residence buildings are still the closest buildings to all your classes.

If you live in a traditional-style residence, you can adjust to university life without having to worry about cooking or cleaning.

You’ll have a Don who you can turn to - whether you’re having roommate issues or you’ve locked yourself out!

Although the residence suites and rooms are not the nicest out there… they’re not the sketchy rat-infested places you’ll sometimes find off-campus.

Cons:

Living in residence can be pricier than living off-campus.

If you come from a very clean and tidy household or your family has a really nice house, you may find even the cleanest or newest residence building a bit.. sad. :P

LIVING OFF-CAMPUS

Pros:

You can choose from a variety of housing to meet your needs. Whether you want a luxury condo or a cozy house, 5 roommates or 1, given the crazy construction going on here, there will be something for you. :)

You can also choose a location to meet your needs. Want to be closer to campus? Phillip Street or Lester Street is here for you. Want to be closer to Conestoga Mall? King Street. You get the gist. :)

You can learn to become an independent, functional adult who can cook and clean and manage their own lease! Woot woot!

Cons:

You need to be very, very careful when signing a lease because these student housing companies won’t be looking out for you. Read up on tenant rights, read all the terms, ask all the questions, make copies of everything, and never ever sign a lease for a building that has not been finished yet.

The quality of tenant services can be quite varied from company to company. In some buildings, you could wait weeks before someone even addresses your maintenance request. In others, your dishwasher will be fixed within 30 minutes of you sending that email. Talk to people who live or have lived there to find out what management is like.

Adulting is really hard. :(

Depending on how far your building is from campus, you might need to take the bus. Not fun, trust me. Especially when everyone is taking the bus to their 10 AM class and 3 buses jammed full of students pass you by because there’s simply no room left on them. :(

I hope this helps with your decision! My first choice was MKV but I ended up getting UWP. I lived there in first year and really didn’t like it because to be perfectly honest, I’m just used to a higher standard of living haha. :P It was definitely part of the university experience though. I moved off-campus in second year, and I live in one of the “luxury” condos off campus now - pricey but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

#TIOHD Residence

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rebeccahpedersen · 7 years ago

Text

What’s The Future Of Purpose-Built Rentals In Toronto?

TorontoRealtyBlog

I suppose this could be turned into a mathematical equation on an exam for a first-year university business class.

Let’s look at a couple of purpose-built rentals that are moving forward, and consider why a developer would build for the long-term, rather than short…

What would you do, if you were in the situation described above?

Say you own a parking lot in downtown Toronto, and you’re building a 40-storey, 240-unit residential tower.

You could build the structure and rent out all 240 units, collecting cheques each and every month.

But that complicates our very simple question: apartment or condo?

Before the late 1970’s, every high-rise unit was within an apartment building, owned as a whole, by an individual or corporation.

If money isn’t the answer, then I don’t know what is!

In 2017, it seems that “rental units” don’t refer to the same thing that they did in the 1970’s.

Today, an overwhelming percentage of “rental units” are owned by individuals, whether it’s a basement apartment, a unit within a four-plex, or as is so often the case, a condominium.

So do you, the renter, care if you’re renting Unit #2707 from XYZ Corporation who owns all 240 units in the building, versus renting from John Smith who owns that one unit, within the condominium?

I don’t think most renters care, to be honest.

There are pros and cons to each type of landlord.

But the topic today isn’t whether you’d rather rent an apartment or a condo, but rather whether you’d rather build an apartment or a condo as a developer.

And if money isn’t the biggest reason to build and sell condominiums, rather than hold apartment-rentals long term, then perhaps the new regulations from the “Ontario Fair Housing Plan” are.

I remember reading an article, circa early 2015, that was touting the explosive growth forecast for the purpose-built rental market. Let me see if I can dig that up…

….ah HERE.

This is from a website called http://www.biznow.com, and includes data from Urbanation, which is slowly becoming Toronto’s most accurate source of condo and rental statistics:

Now that was written in April of 2015, and a lot has changed since then.

January to April of 2017 was the hottest real estate market, specifically condo market, that Toronto has ever seen.

And here we sit, nearly 30 months later, and I still have to wonder what the future holds for purpose-built rental properties in Toronto, let alone the downtown core.

There are a few examples popping up.

And the building’s name?

The Livmore

Their slogan?

“Lease is Less.”

Here’s the press release from back in July:

You can always tell when something is written by Public Relations, and not a journalist.

“The wisdom of renting resonates with prospective residents but also with politicians and financial experts.”

Politicians?

Since when do I care if Adam Vaughan rents or owns?

So if politicians are on board, as it looks like some are in the case of The Livmore, then are there advantages to developers for building an apartment rather than a condo?

In some cases, yes.

Look no further than 66 Isabella Street for a great example.

This was a 1970-built, 26-storey apartment building that was well past its time.

What they did, in the end, was pretty clever.

Here’s the artist’s rendering of the “new” 66 Isabella Street:

See the beige part of the building on the left-hand side, behind the glass-tower, that looks like a 1970’s apartment building?

That is the 1970’s apartment building. They just annexed this massive glass tower to it.

Over 200 units were added, all rental.

Critics might suggest there’s no fusion between the two buildings, but we’re not building art here; we’re building rental units.

I will add that the “Ontario Fair Housing Plan” did not help matters.

Developers were apparently not happy with the “Rental Fairness Act,” and over 20,000 planned rental units were in jeopardy what a survey was commissioned back in May.

This should come as no surprise to anybody.

And only time will tell whether that was just rhetoric and posturing, or if Toronto really could lose out on as many as 20,000 planned rental units, which would end up becoming condos.

I may sell real estate for a living, and not rent it, but I think a healthy combination of both new condominiums and purpose-built rentals would do the city well.

There will always be private investors who want to own individual condos and lease them out.

Perhaps that is a topic for next week.

How have the new rental measures affected investors? And how, as a result, have would-be renters been affected as well?

The post What’s The Future Of Purpose-Built Rentals In Toronto? appeared first on Toronto Real Estate Property Sales & Investments | Toronto Realty Blog by David Fleming.

Originated from http://ift.tt/2gJl7VO

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