That's right - it's that time already again - this weekend in fact! The 2013 Winnipeg bike auction will be held this Saturday April 27th and Sunday April 28th out in the boonies
Charleswood. It is a new Auctioneer this year. I have no idea how that might be relevant but I thought I would share. There will be over 750 bikes available. That means the police
are recovering approximately 2 bikes a day. How are there that many unclaimed bikes per year?? Probably because people like me don't take my own advice (as given in the post in 2011 about the auction) and register their bikes for the $6.10.
Seriously, someone please make sure I do that this year. Call 311 for
more information on that if you need. Also, this year apparently they
have again partnered with WRENCH to provide some of the bikes - take a minute to check out their website an learn a bit more about this great non-profit.
If this post looks familiar it's because I basically just copied it from last year in a mad rush to post this on time. I was on track to have written this post a month ago, except when I emailed 311 on March 19th they had no idea when it might be. Seems weird to me that an event like this wasn't planned more than a couple weeks in advance. But hey, what do I know?
Also, because last year I included the video for "Bicycle Race" by Queen, this year I shall include another Queen video. This is not remotely related to bicycles, rather I have very late in life discovered that I REALLY LIKE QUEEN (late bloomer apparently).
This isn't a real post, it's just too long for twitter.
In 2006 I bought my house. 2006 was also the peak year for the Cadillac Escalade (based on US sales) with just over 62,200 units sold. At the time, base models were selling for just over $57,000 US. Based on other figures in the wikipedia article, I think it's safe to say that many people purchased a model for in and around $65,000.
Which is how much I paid for MY HOUSE.
That was literally a factor when I decided to purchase my house, the fact that I could compare its purchase price to that of a vehicle. Although the Escalade is obnoxiously big, you would still be hard pressed to live in one. I sort of thought to myself, "how wrong could I go?"
Fast forward 7 years. The average price today for a 2006 Escalade is now $22,182. My house on the other hand? Well the City assessment pegs it at a cool $134,000.
Of course I realize that it's not entirely fair to compare real estate to a car, it just really was a comparison at the time. I could buy a tacky SUV (spinning hubcaps optional) or A HOUSE for the same price! How bad could the North End be?? Answer? It isn't, and I'm sure glad I chose the house (not that I was actually considering an Escalade)
Well, we all know that I spend an excessive amount of time looking at the MLS, especially at houses here in the North End. Well, there are two houses of interest (ok, I'm stretching it here, but I need to share my discoveries with someone).
The first house may or may not have had Samuel L. Jackson inside. I don't know if he brought any of the motherfu$kin' snakes from the plane. I also can't say for sure if he was in the house because all the ad states is that his upcoming film "Reasonable Doubt" was filmed in the home, no guarantee he was in the scene.
See the listing for 255 Burrows here. $134,900 for a house that may or may not have been graced by the presence by Mr. Jackson seems like a bargain. Heck, I'm sure the sentence Go the F**k to Sleep has been uttered in this neighbourhood before, although probably shouted from one neighbour to another...
Next is a fun one.
495 Dufferin doesn't mention its brush with fame in the ad, but that's why you have me around, to make sure you're up on the media attention that this house has gotten in the past!
You may remember this house from such media showings such as the Evening News! Now this supposedly formerly dilapidated home can be yours for only $83,900!
Of course the ad claims that the house has been totally re-done, but ever the cynic I am I figure that if I was trying to sell a super nice house that had just been gutted to the studs and redone I would include pictures in my listing. But that might just be me. Oh, and the fact that this house has been for sale almost constantly since the media firestorm last May also makes me a little skeptical. I'm going to suggest that this house is best bought as a tear down and that you build a shiny new house in its place - it would help to repair a black mark here in the North End.
There you have it; your chance to own some vaguely famous houses in the North End.
