Real Estate Blog - September, 2014

Open House Tips & Tricks

The time is nigh! You have signed on with your amazing Realtor (Ken Richter is wonderful, isn’t he?), you have a big ‘FOR SALE’ sign on the front lawn, and the day of your open house is coming quickly. Your house may be beautiful just the way it is, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it some extra attention. You need to make an amazing impression on all open house attendees, after all.

First things first, do some touch-ups! Paint over the chips on the walls, fix the loose banister railing, replace that burnt-out light bulb—just generally mend all scrapes and bruises that need fixing. While some people enjoy a project, most are not interested in buying your fix-er-up.

Do some home staging! Put away all the things that make your home unique to…

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Fall Activities

The fall is here and summer is over, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the great outdoors! One of the best ways to do this is to join an organized sport, whether that be through your community sports association or your school! For those of you that have had enough of the great outdoors, there are plenty of indoor sports beginning this time of year, too.

The school sports starting this fall are mainly volleyball and football. Try out for your team and begin preparing for the season by eating healthier and getting active! Show your coach your dedication and confidence by introducing yourself to them and coming to the gym prepared and on time. Check your school’s website for tryout schedules. Good luck!

Community sports offer a plethora of…

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Preparing Your Home For Sale

September is here! It is a season of change as people head to new school semesters, new jobs, and in some cases new homes…

The fall is one of real estate’s busiest seasons as people are searching for a new home and seeking to put their existing one on the market. If you are one of those people who wish to sell their home, we have some tips for you!

Often times the notion of selling your home can be overwhelming because there are so many little things to accomplish and research. That is why having a real estate agent is so helpful—they can hold your hand and guide you seamlessly through the entire project.

First things first, set up a meeting with Ken Ritcher! While he specializes in the Bowness and Montgomery neighborhoods of Calgary, he has…

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Fall Market Forecast

The fall is officially here and with this new season comes changes in the real estate market that you should be aware of! We are here to give you some idea as to what has been going on in the market and what is likely to change so that you can continue to make informed decisions when it comes to property managing.

The end of 2013 and the first part of 2014 were highly productive, proving much more fruitful than what was originally predicted. Why is this? CREB’s chief economist, Ann-Marie Lurie had this to say about it: “Calgary is benefitting from growth in the energy sector. This has supported employment growth and helped attract record levels of net migrants to the area… These factors, combined with rising wages and low interest rates, produced…

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Fun Home Renovations

Close your eyes. We want you to imagine a place. A magical place. A place where your wallet produces unlimited one-hundred dollar bills. A place where contractors and physical limitations are non-existent. Imagine an empty building. A space untouched.

Now, dream.

What colors do you paint the walls? What kinds of levels do you add? Are there secret passageways and slides coming out every window that all funnel into one beautiful, crystal-clear pool? No? Imagine harder! Dream big!

It’s unreasonable; the first thing you probably thought of was, “that is completely, 100% implausible.” Perhaps that is true—especially if you’re a big dreamer. However, what if we were to tell you that sometimes those “crazy” and “implausible” additions you wish you…

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Getting Ready to Renovate

Renovations: they are a lot of work, but always worth it. Renovations are a great way to add financial and aesthetic value to your home. When some people think of renovations, they think of completely gutting a home and starting from scratch. However, a home renovation can be as simple as replacing a couple of door handles! Renovating can be simple updating, or completely adding something new to your home.

Whether your project is big or small, there are some very important things you need to get in order before the hands-on portion of the renovation begins.

The first thing you should do is get quotes. If you want to work with a contractor, get in touch with multiple and see what their rates are. Ask around and check online for reviews of work they…

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Your Painting Project

Sooner or later, whether it is today or thirty years from now, your home will require a fresh coat of paint. Multiple factors contribute to this need for a facelift: dents, sunspots, your toddlers latest permanent marker creation, etc. The list is extensive and inevitably unavoidable.

Do not fret—painting can be quite enjoyable if you know what your doing! Not only will it give aesthetic value to your property, but it will give you pride in your home and will be a great fresh start! You have worked hard to be able to own your own home, and now you get to do whatever you want with it! Remember when you were a child and you wanted to paint your walls an outrageous color that your mother would never allow? Now you can!

Ready to get painting? We have a…

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Winter Garden Care

After this month’s big freeze, all of us faithful Calgarians were shocked out of summer. If you are anything like us here at Team Richter, it took some time to accept the fact that more snow was not coming. The snow melted quickly and we had absolutely beautiful weather, after all!

Summer has finally had the chance to slowly transition into fall. The leaves are turning crispy and orange, the grass is turning golden, and flowers everywhere are blooming for the last time.

If you didn’t pack up your garden after the last snowstorm, now is the time to do so.  Temperatures are going to begin dropping, and when that happens you need to be prepared. Garden care doesn’t end the moment the first flower blooms. It’s an ongoing project that, if done…

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