The smaller the house you build, the more creative you need to be. One of my daughters is moving into her own home that is just 192 sq ft. She’ll live right next door to a small workshop (about 350 sq ft) where she will design and produce high fashion custom clothing for glamorous women […]

We helped one of my daughters (I have five children) buy a home four years ago for $345,000. We added a basement apartment for $80k so her total cost is about $425,000. We had it appraised last month—after insane pandemic-induced appreciation, it’s now worth $760,000 according to a local appraiser. First thing she said to […]

At the beginning of this pandemic, folks asked me what I thought would happen to real estate values. I believed office and shopping mall valuations would fall out of bed while industrial and residential would hold their own. The latter because people always need a place to live; the former because I thought nations (including […]

Since a number of my readers and coaching clients are realtors, I thought I’d lay something down here for them. They’ve all heard, “You have to list to last,” and since it is spring, well, here’re 22 tips—     Lawn signs work So, do free webinars And doorhangers or flyers[1] Develop a decent email list (legally, […]

I am optimistic that the global economy will recover but it will be vastly different. Overall, it may not only be a more localized economy but a more productive one too as weaker players get weeded out and some industries fade while others surge. It’s also likely that the surpluses produced by revamped economies will […]

By Bruce M Firestone, PhD, Royal LePAGE Performance broker, Ottawa Senators founder, real estate investment and business coach How to become an indispensable lifetime real estate investment client adviser course APPLY NOW! DOWNLOAD THIS FORM, COMPLETE IT AND RETURN IT TO BRUCE@BRUCEMFIRESTONE.COM, https://www.dropbox.com/s/09vj5nqn29jwea8/rlp-lifetime-adviser-course-signup-form-bruce-m-firestone-institute-2021.pdf?dl=0 Schedule 2021 RLP training session #1: Don’t sell this house! March 18th, […]

I can’t believe that other landowners/property owners haven’t figured out how to repurpose their retail space to live-work-play-make spaces, all at grade. There is demand for these types of spaces from gigpreneurs who, for example, want to work in a street-facing studio and live behind their store, all on one level (ie, the ground floor). […]

Over the Christmas holidays, I was rereading The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne. I read it when I was a kid and enjoyed it, so I thought I’d see what I think of it now. It’s about five Union soldiers who escape Confederate captivity during the US Civil War in a balloon that is swept […]

[By the way, I have a few paperback copies I am giving away for Xmas. If you’re in Ottawa Canada and would like to drop by and get a copy, let me know, bruce.firestone@century21.ca. These proof copies have a few spelling errors in them (an absolute no-no in any book but especially one written for […]

How old are the modern Ottawa Senators? To answer this question, I just ask my daughter Jessica (the youngest of our five kids) how old she is. Why? Because my spouse, Dawn Macmillan, was 9-months pregnant with our baby who was due the day after I had to leave to arrive on time for the […]

Main Street Makeovers He must have received his law degree in the snail-mail. The guy didn’t know the difference between foreclosure and power-of-sale. Why is this even important? Foreclosure versus Power of Sale Because I advise a number of funds (REITs, MICs, Private Equity Funds, Mortgage Trusts, Mutual Fund Trusts, individual private lenders such as […]

[Excerpt from Gadgets and Gizmos—how to tell if you own a real business or just an expensive hobby  available from, https://brucemfirestone.com/product/gadgets-and-gizmos/] I realize this is a somewhat self-serving headline since I am a real estate investment and business coach and my spouse is a California-based CTI[1]-trained life coach, but don’t take my word for it—listen […]