UNIQUELY QUALIFIED
Hal’s knowledge and experience allow him to provide his clients with a level of service and piece of mind that is truly unique.

ROOTS
Hal grew up in a family of five children in Weyburn, Saskatchewan. He attended the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, where he obtained his law degree. After graduating from Law School in the top quarter of his class, he was invited to join law firms in a number of provinces. Hal chose the Bennett Jones firm of Calgary, Alberta, one of Canada's top law firms. Hal’s notable partners included Peter Lougheed, former Premier of Alberta.

REAL ESTATE LAWYER
During his 11 years at Bennett Jones, Hal specialized in real estate law as a member of the Real Property Department. He acted on behalf of hundreds of home purchasers and sellers and also on behalf of clients buying, selling, financing and leasing virtually every type of property including major office buildings, regional shopping centres, apartment buildings and commercial sites.

Hal’s clients ranged from the largest corporations in the country to individuals and couples starting their very first businesses and buying their first homes.

VICTORIA BECKONS AND LIFE CHANGES
A few trips to Victoria for sailing weekends introduced Hal to this amazing corner of the world. He was hooked. Hal knew that he would end up here. Within a year, Hal had completely changed his life. He resigned as a partner of Bennett Jones, moved to Victoria and married his wife, Donna (who had also been a lawyer in Calgary).

RESTORATIONS, RENOVATIONS AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Hal and Donna bought and restored a 1912 character home in Fairfield and operated a B&B. They soon had their first child, so the B&B became impractical. However, they both fell in love with restoring the home and ended up buying, restoring, renovating, renting out and and selling numerous homes. They found this work to be both creatively and financially rewarding.

During this period, Hal was also engaged as project manager by people who saw what he had done to his own homes and asked that he do the same for them. Hal developed the ability to walk through a house, determine what “works” and what doesn’t and ballpark the costs of various improvements.

FINE ART AND OTHER CREATIONS
Along the way, Hal acted as manager in launching Donna's fine art career. Donna's paintings are now in collections across Canada, the USA and in Europe.

Hal and Donna currently live in Oak Bay with their two children, Ilaina (15) and Sean (13).

NEWPORT REALTY
Hal is with Newport Realty, one of Victoria’s most highly regarded real estate firms.

HAL’S APPROACH
Hal is sensitive to the fact that each of his clients has their own particular needs.

He believes in taking as much time as is required to make sure that each of his clients gets the attention they deserve.

WORKING FOR YOU
Whether you are buying or selling, Hal’s years of restoration and renovation experience will prove invaluable to you. Add to that, Hal’s years of legal experience and negotiations and you have a realtor with an amazing set of skills working for you.