Blog Category Archives: Community News and Events

Burlington Ontario 

I lived in several Ontario cities before finally settling in Burlington more than a decade ago now.

Since living in Burlington it seems I am always learning of some very successful people who I had no idea had a connection to this great city.

Listed are several people who at one time lived in Burlington:

Robert Bateman – Artist
Robert Bateman is a celebrated artist and environmentalist whose artistic technique encapsulates the natural world and wildlife. He lived in Burlington and taught at Nelson and Lord Elgin High Schools from 1958-1963, 1965-1969 and 1970-76. There is now a Burlington high school named in his honour.

Jim Carrey – Actor
James Eugene Carrey was born in 1962 in Aurora and lived in Burlington for eight years. He attended Aldershot High School. Carey would often perform comedy sketches for classmates in middle school which fortified his outrageous stage talent. He relocated to Scarborough in his teens, where he later dropped out of high school to pursue a career in comedy. Smart decision!

Finger Eleven – Alternative Rock Band
The members of Finger 11 first came together at Lester B. Pearson High School where they originated as a funk band called the Rainbow Butt Monkeys. Original members Scott and Sean Andersen, Rob Gommerman, James Black and Rick Jackett won a contest on a local radio station and used the prize money to produce their first album Letters from Chutney (1995). When the original drummer left the band, the Rainbow Butt Monkeys became Finger 11 and hired current drummer Rich Beddoe.

Chip & Pepper Foster – Entertainment/Fashion
Identical twins Chip & Pepper Foster grew up in Burlington and went to high school at M.M. Robinson. They are co-owners of the self-titled Chip & Pepper apparel company and former hosts of their own NBC series, Chip and Pepper’s Cartoon Madness. In 1994, the Fosters opened a store by the name of Golf Punk. As it grew, the Fosters decided to resurrect their signature brand, which took place in fall of 2003 in Los Angeles. The duo gained notoriety as stylists on the Style Network show The Look For Less and numerous appearances on E!, including Glamour’s 50 Biggest Fashion Dos & Don’ts. More recently, the Fosters introduced a line called C7P aimed particularly at the teen market.

Ryan Gosling – Actor
Ryan Gosling was born in London and lived in Cornwall before he moved to Burlington where he attended Lester B. Pearson High School. He starred in the Mickey Mouse Club and hit T.V. show Breaker High. He has since been nominated for an Academy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance in the 2006 drama Half Nelson as well as a Golden Globe award and Screen Actors Guild Award for his role in 2008’s Lars and the Real Girl.

Sarah Harmer – Musician
Sarah Harmer grew up on a small farm in northern Burlington. She has become an accomplished singer, songwriter and activist, co-founding the organization PERL (Protecting Escarpment Rural Land). Harmer earned a degree in Philosophy and Women’s Studies from Queen’s University and has received numerous Juno award nominations, including Songwriter of the Year. To date, she has released five albums, her latest being Oh Little Fire in 2010.

Walk Off The Earth – Alternative Rock Band
Walk Off The Earth is an unconventional, multi-talented five-piece band based in Burlington. Their brilliant 5-people-playing-one-guitar interpretation of Gotye’s Somebody That I Used To Know exploded on Youtube garnering well over 35 million views in under two weeks. The massive fan response quickly drew attention to their collection of innovative songs and videos spanning their last five years and generated an unprecedented flood of media interest. They were nominated for two Junos in 2013 for break through group and video of the year.

Burlington is a great place to live for many reasons … just ask any of these famous people. I bet they’d agree.

Contact Hilda Campbell Now 

When you’re ready to buy or sell in the Burlington or Oakville area, or for general real estate advice, please contact me and I can help!

Source: tourismburlington.com

What To Look For 

There are so many things to look out for when purchasing a home, one of which is whether or not the home was used as a grow-op. So, what is a grow-op? “Grow-op” is short for grow operation and is a place where marijuana is grown illegally. A grow-op causes significant damage to a home. Depending on the amount of damage, the home will have to be either remediate (cleaned up) or demolished. Demolishing the home may seem drastic, but a grow-op can cause structural damage, pose a fire hazard, and causes poor indoor air quality due to mold.

Some Signs It's a Grow-Op

Courtesy of the Canadian Real Estate Association, here are some of the signs to look out for to spot if the house you’re considering buying is being used as a grow-op:

• Frequent visitors at odd hours for short periods of time
• Residents have no garbage or put their garbage at another neighbour’s house
• Interior lights that are much brighter than normal home lighting
• Windows covered, blacked out, or curtains always drawn
• Unusual or modified wiring on the exterior of the house
• Brownish stains on the underside of beams or arches that bleed down a wall
• Sounds of construction or electrical humming from equipment
• Localized surges and decreases in power
• A unique skunk-like odour from the marijuana plants
• Lack of snow on the roof
• Condensation on windows and frost build up on the eaves and vents
• Evidence of digging in the soil around the hydro meter may indicate an electrical bypass (the average bypass steals electricity worth $1,100 to $1,600/month)
• Mold in corners where the walls and ceilings meet
• Unusual number of roof vents or signs of roof vents

Repairing The Damage

According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, the average claim to repair damage caused by a grow-op is $41,000.  Keep in mind that fires caused by illegal activities are not covered by insurance companies. That’s scary when you consider a marijuana grow-op is 24 times more likely to catch fire than a typical home.

What do you look out for if the home used to be a grow-op and is now vacant?

• Fresh paint on window frames to cover damage caused by the high levels of humidity
• Painted concrete floors in the basement with circular marks where pots once stood
• Concrete masonry patches, or alterations on the inside of the garage
• Denting on front doors (from police ramming the door)

Passing Home Inspections

You probably think signs of a grow-op are obvious. However, the show Marketplace did a segment on grow-ops a few years ago.  They featured a Toronto home that passed a home inspection, but was ultimately found to be a former grow-op. The show wanted to find out if other home inspectors would see the grow-op clues and hired four inspectors to go through the house. They all had a look, but not one detected that the house had been a grow-op.

Look For Warning Signs

Look for some or all of the warning signs mentioned above and hire the right real estate agent for the all-important job of assisting you in buying a home.

Contact Me When You're Ready To Sell 

When you’re ready to buy or sell in the Burlington or Oakville area, or for general real estate advice, please contact me. I can help!