Derrick Penner, The Vancouver Sun, November 12, 2002
There are at least three buyers anxious to take the famed Douglas Lake Ranch off the hands of bankrupt American telecom giant WorldCom Inc. now that the company appears to have seized control of the property from Bernard Ebbers, said Vancouver real-estate consultant Rudy Nielsen.
“I’ve got three buyers who have been looking at it really seriously,” said Nielsen, owner of the property firm NIHO Land and Cattle Co.
Wendy Stueck, Globe & Mail, September 16, 2002
VANCOUVER — For years, British Columbia in general and Vancouver especially have attracted foreign real estate investors.
But if the buzz once focused on Asian speculators snapping up downtown condos before the units were even built, today it centres on Americans — drawn to B.C. by a low Canadian dollar, relative accessibility and in some cases, a desire for a safe haven in troubled times.
Peter Mitham, Business in Vancouver, July 15, 2002
The market for B.C. recreational properties is beginning to follow the broader residential market upwards, with realtors noting more interest and higher prices across the province.
The market swung upwards last October after three slack years, said Rudy Nielsen of Landquest Realty Corp. in New Westminster.
“People weren’t buying any recreational lands. The American and the German markets were kind of quiet,”
Wyng Chow, The Vancouver Sun, May 1, 2002
As Edmonton-born telecommunications tycoon Bernie Ebbers tries to extract himself from his personal and his company’s financial woes, look for him to sell his flagship British Columbia property — the famed Douglas Lake Ranch.
While the sprawling 66,371 hectare (164,000 acres) ranch isn’t officially on the market, it is known that Ebbers, the towering, charismatic CEO in cowboy boots, has been testing the waters as he liquidates assets to cover debts running in the hundreds of million dollars.
M.P. Dunleavy, MSN Money Online, April 8, 2002
So if you’re thinking of investing in a second home, why not buy your own island in the Bahamas for just $75,000? It’s a full acre in size with “a rocky shoreline and dense foliage,” according to the listing at Private Islands Online. There’s also a private dock on the island so you can visit your rocks and foliage. Best of all is the name: Carrion Crow Cay.
Alan Daniels, The Vancouver Sun, March 28, 2002
One of British Columbia’s most spectacular privately-owned properties, the 1,000-acre Firlands Ranch, overlooking the Columbia Valley Wetlands near Radium Hot Springs, goes on the auction block Friday.
The main residence is a 4,000 square feet, five-bedroom log house built three years ago at a cost of more than $1 million. The beauty is in the details: a built-in wine bar made from 100-year-old barn wood;