Timothy R. Groulx, FRI CRA
After returning home from university, Tim started working with his dad, Wilf Groulx, who had founded Lakewood Realty Limited in 1965 as a real estate brokerage firm that also offered general insurance and real estate appraisal services. Wilf retired in 1978 and Tim took over Lakewood. Soon Lakewood added mortgage brokerage to its real estate sales and appraisal services.
In 1979 Tim was named a Fellow of the Real Estate Institute of Canada (FRI). In 1980, he was elected the president of the Thunder Bay Real Estate Board, a position Wilf had held before him. Tim is still a broker member and past-president of the Board. The Appraisal Institute of Canada designated Tim a Canadian Residential Appraiser (CRA) in 1985.
Also in 1985, Lakewood's other activities were closed and the firm concentrated on residential and recreational real estate appraisals in the City of Thunder Bay and eventually across Northwestern Ontario.
Tim taught the Introduction to Real Estate Appraisal course throughout Northwestern Ontario for the Ontario Real Estate Association for 11 years. He continues to offer a series of workshops, some of which have been presented to the Thunder Bay Law Association, legal firms, private groups and individuals. These workshops include: Real Estate Appraisers and Appraisals, which is an introduction to what is an appraisal, who are appraisers and how to read an appraisal report; Appraising a Real Estate Appraisal, this presentation is aimed at litigators who retain a real estate value expert in anticipation of litigation and need to decide if the expert's report is creditable, and; Real Estate Appraisals for Capital Gains Tax. This presentation covers the issues that arise from Capital Gains calculations which need to be reflected in the instructions to the appraiser asked to prepare the estimates of value and forewarns the potential client of the difficulties that will be faced by the appraiser in preparing those estimates which may affect the client's instructions. This presentation is appropriate for property owners, financial advisors and legal counsels.
Mr. Groulx has appeared as an expert witness in the Superior Court of Ontario on a number of occasions and has been before Ontario's Assessment Review Board both as an expert and as an advocate. Two cases that Mr. Groulx testified in were:
Fraser v. Fraser and Olson v. Olson. The links for theses cases will take you to the respective judgements on the Canadian Legal Information Institute's ( CanLII ) web site.
Tim Groulx had been appointed by the City Council of Thunder Bay as a member of the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee ( now known as the City's Heritage Committee ) and currently holds Council's appointment as one of the three members of the Property Standards Committee.
Tim, like his father Wilf, has a long record of community service including 15 years as an Army Reserve officer, 25 years a member of Rotary, as well as being a member of St. John Ambulance, the Order of St. Lazarus and numerous other local organizations. Among other awards Tim has been presented in recognition of his service, the Governor General has awarded Tim the Canadian Forces Decoration, the Anniversary of Confederation Medal, the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medals and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal.
Debra Groulx
Debra has over 35 years of experience in construction, has been a real estate salesperson and has taken the AIC courses for a residential real estate appraiser. While not an appraiser and no longer a real estate agent, Debra is the logistics coordinator and the co-driver for Lakewood's long-range assignments and acts as the supervisor for the most junior member of Lakewood's team who you will meet next.
Aurora, Blueshire's Duchess of Lappe
The youngest member of the Lakewood team ( but then, dogs age more quickly than humans, don't they? ) Aurora, who as a duchess is sometimes addressed as, "Your Grace", acts as the long-range navigator on road trips across Northwestern Ontario and as a community outreach specialist in the smaller communities of the Region.
Aurora is the third Old English Sheepdog to fill this role for Lakewood, following in the paw prints of her predecessors: Kama and Vesta. Watch for Aurora on the highways and byways of the Northwest and feel free to greet Her Grace should you be lucky enough to meet her.