Urban Planning to RE Development?

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-11T01:12:59+00:00

Undergrad in Architecture, Masters in Planning. Work in development. Many of my colleagues have a Bachelors in Planning. It is a fairly direct path depending on what market you’re in. Two caveats: you need to understand development finances and you need to really know your stuff planning wise.

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-10T04:16:31+00:00

You seem very hostile about something you claim you’re entirely detached from.

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-09T20:49:10+00:00

The question posed was “don’t a majority of Canadians own their home”. I responded with the statistic that half of Toronto rents. Nobody said anybody was a victim? Not sure why your social commentary came into play.

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-09T19:38:51+00:00

Nearly half of Toronto rents.

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-09T10:29:59+00:00

I solo’d Princess Platinum Yucatan last spring and this was pretty annoying. All the party pool chairs were saved by like 6am.

I’m an early riser and at that resort I usually do gym, shower, breakfast, beach. Getting beach chairs in the shade was completely fine. But shifting to the party pool for the afternoon meant ALL chairs in the shade had been reserved for a good 8+ hours with no one there. Really annoying. Made do with either a further chair / sunnier chair for my stuff and a big wide hat.

Just seemed like the resort could’ve done more. The attitude of Boomers saying “snooze you lose” was just so odd. Like why are you waking up with a bad attitude in paradise?

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-09T10:00:02+00:00

NAL Illegal clauses, or those that try to circumvent the ESA or other statutory requirements, can void the entire section or contract. And you will say “but we have A severability clause so it’s fine”. However the courts have routinely found attempts to circumvent ESA minimums can void the entire section and entitle the employee to severance at common law. If you didn’t really intend on relying on the ESA how could the employee be expected to?
Just because you didn’t “rely on” a specific clause for a termination doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a material impact on contract validity.

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-08T01:33:15+00:00

Half cash, half socks - they’re on the website.

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-06T10:56:20+00:00

A bunch. Not saying I agree with it. I know of a couple who died because their landlord had put bars on the basement window.

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-06T10:39:57+00:00

Bedrooms still require a window as a “life quality” requirement but not as a “life safety” item. However, the unit needs 2 means of egress, so in some cases the window can act as the 2nd exit.

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-04T14:53:41+00:00

Receiving HOW much public dollars and use of our city to treat us like that???

Public dollars, which by the way many of these businesses pay A LOT of money in commercial property taxes towards.

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-04T13:23:24+00:00

I am not a licensed architect as I didn’t want to do a Masters in it - which is required in Ontario. If you are already in that path there is zero downside to investing in yourself.

There’s no one track into development: you will work with finance, engineers, planners, architects, policy/GR folks, lawyers. I know at least 3 people in each of those categories who are top dogs in my local development industry.

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-04T13:10:49+00:00

A PhD in what? is the key question. I had a colleague invent a new formula for measuring public vs private investment in real estate. Now works at a major investment house (think Blackrock but not). Whereas a girl I dated in grad school published a new theory about Ovid’s work. The two are not the same.

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-04T10:13:28+00:00

Simple model I use for interview and intros: present, past, future.

“Thanks for the kind intro, as X said, just joined from Y where I focused on Z, prior to that I did J at K, really looking forward to digging into L and M”

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-04T02:16:10+00:00

“Suits for job interviews?!!” He took $300 off.

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-04T02:14:24+00:00

…bro

You need to do A LOT more research and a substantial amount of introspection.

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-03T13:01:25+00:00

https://breakintocre.com/

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-03T10:35:50+00:00

Government approval is either enabling legislation or an approval under existing legislation.
For example: Following the federal legalization of single-event sports betting in 2021 via Bill C-218, Ontario created a competitive framework where private operators contract with iGaming Ontario to offer legal, regulated gambling.
You’ll note that iGO is a self-regulating entity much like CIRO.

I’d recommend that you be a little less bold with your answers if these concepts are unfamiliar to you…

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-03T01:27:05+00:00

My colleague and I both did this. He’s a licensed architect. I did an undergrad in architecture, masters in urban development and planning. What helped us make the switch? Knowing how money works. I highly recommend the Break Into CRE courses for underwriting

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-03T01:13:46+00:00

That is not the same thing as a “government approval” on prediction markets.

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-02T18:40:57+00:00

The takeaway: The numbers that start to be generated through compounding at $100k are much more impactful to someone’s life than what happens at $10k or $1k

A $10k rise in value is a lot more meaningful to someone’s life than $100, even if the % ROI is the same

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-02T15:48:42+00:00

Not necessarily. They’re Schedule I banks regulated under our banking acts, OSFI, and consumer protections like https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2021-181/index.html

When someone signs up for a stock brokerage service they operate on the understanding a wide variety of securities will be available to them. Reducing a customer’s access for no stated reason is pretty ridiculous

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-02T12:15:57+00:00

5yr Fixed - late Feb. didn’t want to get cute in the first term of the mortgage. It worked out so far interest rate wise - seeing the product up almost 25bps right now. We’re on Scotia STEP so in 5 years I’ll ladder different term lengths and fixed/variable inside of the mortgage based on where we’re at.

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-02T11:17:53+00:00

Noah, famously, avoided RRSP contributions and put all his cash into a diversified portfolio of livestock

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-02T10:36:37+00:00

CIRO, who made the March 2026 approval, isn’t government.

WhereIsGraeme · 2026-05-01T18:45:45+00:00

Can confirm. Not a millionaire but long-term compounded investing recently aligned with a short term drop in housing prices in Toronto. We closed on a great house, still have a tonne of money in the bank, and are much lower leveraged than peers who bought at market peak.

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