Socially responsible investing — our commitment to society, environment, and you.

There are many potential ways to screen for ethical investments. Most investors care about some or all of the following categories, and want to make sure that their investments are not supporting:

Our socially responsible investments provide unparalleled care for the environment and our
community

addictive substances or lifestyles: tobacco, alcohol, pharmaceuticals or gambling;
weapons or defense;
animal testing;
workplace inequity;
community disruption or degradation;
environmental pollution; or
human rights and unethical business practices.

As a real estate investment team, we are serious about creating a socially responsible investing program that removes any kind of support for these screening criteria. Some of them apply particularly to the real estate business, and we can give you complete assurance that your investment is treated with a maximum of social awareness.

We are conscious that the real estate industry can cause significant disruption and degradation to a community. The social responsibility of factories, big box stores, farmland development and mining operations, to name a few, can be highly debatable.

So we focus 100% of our efforts on improving existing homes — which can only have a positive impact on a community. There can be some noise during construction times but we make sure that we go above and beyond noise by-laws, and always stay considerate of neighbours.

Care for the community

Socially responsible investing means taking care of our community

There are times when we may apply for permits to create a separate apartment or rezone for expanded use. Some neighbours may raise some concerns over these changes, but since we keep our goals very reasonable we have always been able to reassure them. We make changes that are aesthetic and subtle, so as not to overwhelm a community. In the end the neighbourhoods have never been disrupted.

When negotiating for house purchases, we may start with polarized negotiations when working through realtors until we find out more information about the vendor’s needs. Then we approach with creative win-win scenarios. Fairness and respect are qualities that we demonstrate for the vendors, ourselves, the agents and our investors. Everybody has to win or we don’t do the deal.

When finding buyers, renters and people wanting to rent-to-own, we treat everyone as equals. We are all people working together, and hopefully helping fulfill each others needs.

Yet we must still be selective in accommodating tenants, and may choose to discourage potential tenants from applying to one of our properties if we see likely incompatibilities. Some prospects may be more suitable for one of our single family dwellings rather than sharing space in a multi-unit building. After a while, you get to know who would be happy in a given situation. We are always available to listen and are open to suggestions for improvements. We want our tenants happy because, after all, they pay the rent.

Our lease and rental agreements are long but clear. We ask everyone to read the agreements over carefully before signing. If they don’t understand something we do our best to explain and will always advise that they consult their lawyer.

Care for the environment

Socially responsible investing means taking good care of our environment

Our screening process for acquiring building materials and household supplies is very carefully thought out, with a lot of care given to environmental impact. These are some of the factors that we take into consideration:

Re-use

Can we find a needed item second-hand? Many people think that if they recycle they are helping the environment. In fact, that is one of the last resorts. ‘Reduce, Re-use, Recycle’ are said in that order for a reason. The first question we ask is “Do I need this?” The second is “Can I get it used?” And the last is “Is it recyclable?”

Being in the business of making money in real estate, we won’t buy it unless we need it. So, at the point of needing something, we first look to our “Re-use” screening tool. One of the first places we search is the local Re-Store — which is a Habitat For Humanity project. By purchasing from them, we are doing something good for our environment and also helping a wonderful charitable organization.

The next question we ask is “Will it be of good, reliable quality?” If you know from experience that there are some mechanical things that it’s better not to buy second-hand, we understand your pain. There is no sense in having to buy twice — it just creates more waste in the end.

Choice of materials

We research many different factors when considering what materials to use in our renovation projects:

Our socially responsible selection of construction materials makes the environment a top priority

What’s the source of the material?
Is it renewable or non-renewable?
How is a product manufactured or assembled?
To create the final product from the source material, what kind of energy is required?
How much water is used in the manufacturing?
What kind of binding materials?
Packaging?
Is there a lot of pollution or waste created in the process?
How are the materials transported?
Do they have to be imported, requiring more transportation, or are they produced locally?

Answering all of these questions seems exhausting to think about, but once you’ve researched it once, you know it for all future projects. And we’re always on the lookout for new information and new products that are better for the environment.

Health

Houses, especially in Canadian winters, are where people spend most of their time. As more and more people are developing environmental sensitivities, we feel responsible to do our work in ways that will create a healthy living environment for our tenants and home buyers.

For example, many carpets, paints and adhesives give off toxic gases called volatile organic compounds (VOC’s). By finding and using products that are non-offgassing, we create indoor environments that are healthy for living, breathing, eating and playing — even for pets and babies.

Making the best decision

After going through our socially responsible investing decision process, there is still one more crucial consideration: cost.

Does it always have to come back to money?

Yes.

After all, this is your investment. We are not about to squander your money if the benefit received from the most socially responsible choice doesn’t outweigh the cost.

Our cost-benefit analysis determines if the extra cost of our decisions gives sufficient environmental, health and socially responsible benefits to warrant it.