Options International in Cameroon - Guest Blog

The Options for Homes International team (Mike Labbé, Pauline Praseuth and Monica Daga) are currently in Cameroon to see the progress being made at Ocean View Estate, Options for Homes Cameroon's first development. As the newest member of the International team Monica Daga didn't know what to expect on her first trip to Africa.  She wrote us to let us know how the trip has been so far.  Check out what she had to say below:

Hello Dear Options Team,

I just wanted to share my experiences on my first trip to Cameroon.

I must say that when we arrived I was a bit nervous and did not know what to expect. The ride from Douala Airport to Limbe was dark, bumpy and we were stopped a few times by the military, I was a bit on the edge but later learned that is a standard procedure. We finally arrived to the hotel and we settle in and got ready for the busy week ahead of us.

During the first week I met the wonderful staff from Options for Homes Cameroon, they are absolutely amazing, very warm and welcoming. I got my first glance to the Ocean View Estates site, we travelled to Yaounde to meet Credit Foncier and the Ministry of Housing staff, and later during the week we met with the first deputy mayor of BUEA, and visited the Buea site.

On Saturday, we met Joyce the Youth Leader from Henry’s village. She was accompanied by one of the youth group members, they travelled more than 7 hours to see us, they wanted to learn more about how to raise funds to be self-sustainable, Mike gave them guidance and some great ideas on what to do to raise funds as a social enterprise. I was very impressed with their commitment to make their village a better place.

This week coming up we have a few important meetings with the Mayor of Buea and Sonara (Oil processing facility) staff, and on Mike’s birthday we will be travelling to Congo and might have a meeting in Togo since it is one of our stops before arriving to Kinshasa.

I have included some pictures to share some of the things I have seen so far.

I hope you like them!

Monica Daga

Meeting with the Director General  of  Credit Foncier

View from the Ocean View Estates site

Ocean View Estates Semi-detached Homes

Disclaimer: The views & opinions expressed in any guest blog featured on our site are those of the guest author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions & views of the Options Group of Companies community as a whole.

Options for Cars October Thank You Special

Options for Cars wants to say Thank You to its members and what better time than the month of October.  Options for Cars members are so supportive of the Options vision and they recommend Options for Cars to all of their friends. Take a look at the videos below from real Options for Cars members:





You can find more testimonials like these at https://www.youtube.com/user/OptionsforCarsGTA/videos

With members like these how can Options for Cars not show their appreciation?  For all of October Options for Cars will be offering lower rates on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays for all of its vehicles.

Rates will be starting at $8/hour & $50/day.  If you aren't a member of Options for Cars, now it the perfect time to join and enjoy lower rates.  Visit www.optionsforcars.ca to join today and learn more about the October Thank You Special!

Options Developments: Weston Village

Options for Homes has been around for over 20 years.  In that time a lot has been accomplished.  Currently we have 10 completed developments, 2 developments over 80% sold that will being construction soon, 2 set to launch next year and much more in the works. Options is gearing up to be able to produce 500 units of affordable ownership per year.

For the next 10 weeks we will be looking back at each of our completed developments and the communities that have been created at each.

First up is Weston Village:

- Options first project
- Completed in 1997
- 42 townhouses
- Resale values have increased by over 40%

Check out Mike Labbé discussing Options first ever development below.



Visit our blog next week to learn more about Options development, St. Lawrence.

TBT Cranbrooke Village Demolition

This week we're throwing it back to the demolition of Options more recently completed project, Cranbrooke Village.  The condo was completed in 2013 and is completely sold out.

Options purchased the land from the Ashbury and West United Church which was already on the site. Before construction began on Cranbrooke Village part of the church was demolished and some upgrade and renovations were done. Check out some photos from the demolition below.

Demolition started in January 2012 and occupancy began in the fall of 2013. Most purchasers have been living in their condo's for over a year and have settled into life as home owners.  A few owners at Cranbrooke Village have recently invited Options cameras into their homes to give us tour and speak about their lives as homeowners.  

We are excited to share their stories with you.  Stay tuned to Options YouTube channel for those videos in the coming weeks.  In the meantime check out some of our other videos and home owner testimonials here.

Options owners - in any development - if you are interested in participating in an Options suite tour contact Carly at events@optionsforhomes.ca.  We would love to get a snapshot of your life in your Options home. 

Guelph Renewable Energy Co-operative's First Project is Online!

The first of two projects by Guelph Renewable Energy Co-operative (GRECo) is now complete! The 110 kWp structure located at 2 Airpark Place in Guelph is up and running.  A second 300 kWp project at 218 Silvercreek Parkway is under construction and expected to be completed later this summer.  We spoke to Evan Ferrari to learn more about GRECo and the projects.

Workers constructing the 110 kWp structure at 2 Airspace Park.
Photo by: Evan Ferrari

Evan has been involved in renewables and conservation since the 1970's when he founded a water-pumping windmill project in Tanzania, Africa.  Since then he has worked for a number of organizations including SolarG Inc, Community Energy Partnerships Program and Windshare in various capacities.  He is currently Executive Director at eMERGE Guelph and the Chair of the Board for Guelph Renewable Energy Co-operative.

GRECo aims to bring ownership opportunities to "frustrated microfitters" as Evan refers to them. These individuals are interested in renewable energy but are unable to invest for any number of reasons - they don't own land or have access to viable rooftops or they don't have the capital invest in projects on their own.  The co-operative structure of GRECo allows these people to become actively and financially involved in the production of renewable energy in their communities.

GRECo works closely with Options for Green Energy, which acts as the development consultant for the co-operative.  GRECo has been working to get these two projects complete for at least 7 years and has been working with Options for the past 5.  It took a lot of people, many years to get these two projects up and running.  Evan and the rest of the board have been meeting twice a week (a meeting with team members from each project) to get the solar developments completed.  All that hard work has finally paid off with the first project being online.

The 300 kWp structure at 218 Silvercreek Parkway
Photo by: Evan Ferrari

Thirty-seven $5,000.00 bonds were sold to raise the $185,000.00 needed for construction to begin on the projects.  Promotion of the bonds was only to members of the co-operative and most individuals purchased one bond.  That way the financial returns from the production on energy on each site is spread to the maximum amount of the people.

The goal of GRECo from the beginning was to get more people financially engaged in the production of renewable energy.  The co-operative now consists of around 200 members and plans to build on the success of the first two projects to expand and to find more land/rooftops to build on.



To celebrate the completion and success of the first two projects Guelph Renewable Energy Co-op will be participating in Green Energy Doors Open on October 3rd.  The event will be a chance to celebrate the community ownership and distribution of energy and the widespread access to investment in renewable energy the co-op offers.

We will keep you posted when more details about the celebration become available.  In the meantime check out Green Energy Doors Open's website here: http://greenenergydoorsopen.ca/!

To learn more about GRECo and Options for Green Energy visit http://www.optionsforgreenenergy.ca/.

Danforth Village Estates has a Building Permit!!!!

We are thrilled to announce that after a lot of hard work by a lot of individuals we have officially secured a building permit for Danforth Village Estates!  Construction is expected to begin early this fall.

Danforth Village Estates is 80 sold and prices will be increasing in September! Don't miss your chance to own in this amazing community in Scarborough.  New in Homes, the Toronto Star's real estate blog, recently did a feature Danforth Village Estates.  You can read it here. 

Attend an Information Session

We have been receiving an overwhelming number of registrations and decided to host an addition information session in August.  The upcoming sessions will take place August 8 and August 22.  For more information or to register for an information session visit www.optionsforhomes.ca/register or give us a call at 416.867. 1501 ext. 221.   

Remember, purchasers can receive a referral fee of $200 if you refer a friend to Options. Contact us to learn more.

Options for Cars Member Testimonial

We love to get feedback from our clients.  Check out the testimonial below from Options for Cars member and the Village by Main Station resident Tom Brouard:

My name is Tom Brouard, I'm an owner of a unit in 61 Heintzman Street, the Options for Homes condo.  I heard about the car share service during a meeting before I moved in.  I was interested and joined Options for Cars as soon as the service became available in my building.  

Options for Cars appeals to my lifestyle because I do not own a car.  Options for Cars allows me the freedom to use a car whenever I need it, without the cost of owning one. IT was available in my building and therefore very convenient.  But if it was no, I would definitely consider it over the other car share companies because of its better rates.  

Options for Cars has positively affected my life because my mom lives in Burlington and I used to have to take the GO Train there before my dad passed away.  He would pick me up from the GO station and I could use his car while I was there.  My mom does not drive and thanks to Options for Vars, I can now drive to Burlington and do errands with her.  We both benefit from the service!

My best Options for Cars story is one day I was in the parking lot of the Galleria Shopping Centre with one of the Options cars, waiting for someone.  A cab driver pulls up to me and was looking at the writing on the side of the car.  He asked me to pull down my window and wanted to know what Options for Cars was. So I chatted with him for a few minutes and explained the whole concept of Options for Cars!

I would definitely recommend Options for Cars.  The service is easy to use, the cars are clean and reliable, and the rates are very good.  If there's a problem with a car, they are quick to address it. 

If you want to share your Options for Homes, Options for Cars or Options for Green story email Carly at events@optionsforhomes.ca.  We can't wait to hear from you!

Disclaimer: The views & opinions expressed in any guest blog featured on our site are those of the guest author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions & views of the Options Group of Companies community as a whole.