Real Estate Blog - Ken Richter

Outdoor Deterioration

Even the best built home filled with the fanciest appliances will experience normal wear and tear as the years go on. How quickly this happens depends on a number of factors, such as materials, installation, climate, use, etc.. This is completely natural and should be expected. The problem is most homeowners do not expect it–or, they forget about it and then are hit with unexpected and bank account altering issues.

By taking preventative measures and really caring for every part of your home, you can make it last much longer without the hardship of replacing things. Here are some areas outside of the home with things you can do now to prevent damage to them:

Roof: Spring and summer are the perfect time to do roof maintenance since it is so nice…

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May 2016 Statistics

In May inventory levels continued to rise as more homes were put on the market. Meanwhile, sales activity slowed to one-thousand nine-hundred twenty-three units being sold. CREB® explains this development in their monthly housing summary for May. An in-depth report with specific statistics can can be found at their website, www.creb.com, but here are some of the major highlights:

Why did the market play out the way it did in May?

“While recent oil price gains may have some feeling optimistic, weakness in the labour market continues to impact housing demand,” says CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “Job losses are spreading into other sectors, wages are declining and unemployment levels remain high. At the same time, we’re seeing housing supply…

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Home Staging: Deck Edition

Home staging is all about helping put your home’s best foot forward. It is a way to not only make your house more desirable to potential buyers, but it enables you to to add financial and aesthetic value to the property. While your house itself needs to be fully staged, do not forget about the rest of the property. Specifically, your deck.

Deck’s fall victim to nature’s vicious ways more than most other parts of your property. Paint peels, furniture gets blown away, barbecues lay dormant and crusty. Rather than merely straightening the chairs and table before people arrive at your open house, consider doing some of the following things:

Re-varnish your deck: A fresh coat of varnish or paint can be done inexpensively and makes a massive difference.…

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DIY Indoor Herb Garden

What is the hottest trend for this spring and summer? Do-it-yourself indoor herb gardens. One need not look far on Pinterest or in home decorating magazines to see that the herb garden craze is blowing up this season. Why? Because herb gardens are useful in every single way imaginable.

First off, herb gardens are extremely cheap to make. Later on in this article we will walk you through how to make your own. Herb gardens are extra cost effective because it will prevent you from ever having to purchase herbs from the store. Furthermore, indoor herb gardens make homes look fresh, the liven up bland living spaces and they make the room they are in smell amazing.

There are so many benefits to making your own indoor herb garden! So, here is how you can…

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Getting A Mortgage With a Student Loan

University is over for students across the globe. Some will be resting over the summer break before hitting the books again in the fall while others have graduated and get to move on to new and exciting pursuits. Either way, students everywhere are desperate for a job.

Tuition is very expensive, averaging approximately $10,000 per year for classes alone. This number does not include living expenses, textbooks or transportation. This is why during the summer months, students work hard to save enough money to pay for their upcoming school year.

Despite this, even if a person works 40+ hours a week in the four months leading up to the new school year, many still do not have enough to cover tuition. This is why students turn to student loans. The…

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April Statistics

At the start of every month we go over what happened in the world of the Calgary real estate market in the previous month. This enables you as a buyer, seller, investor, renter, leaser, etc. to stay up to date on exactly what is happening.

Market conditions are constantly shifting and evolving. They provide crucial information regarding a sector that involves major financial decisions. Keep yourself informed so you can be educated and informed!

So, what did the market look like in April? We’re turning to the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB®) to find out.

The market is finally starting to shift. Inventory remains high, but prices are starting to decline as sellers become more realistic about the market they are in. Prices have been slowly falling…

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2 Tips for Landlords

The Calgary real estate market has been suffering ever since the fall of oil last January. While the economy has been slowly regaining its footing, the housing market continues to be seriously affected. With so many job loses, people are leaving the city, leading to high inventory levels. These inventory levels have not significantly affected pricing of homes as stubborn sellers hold onto hope that the market will turn back in their favour. This leads to high prices and high vacancy rates.

These market conditions put landlords in a tough situation, as many are left with great properties that are going unrented. So, what can be done when vacancy rates continue to rise? There are two major things you need to do: you need to be tough on yourself and you…

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New Inner-City Businesses

With today’s economy many people are shying away from brand new start-ups and business endeavours. However, that hasn’t stopped some from putting it all on the line to bring Calgary a new business. Luckily, their courage has paid off and now Calgary has a great new establishment to enjoy. In today’s post, we will be outlining some of the fantastic new businesses that have come to inner-city YYC. With the weather so nice, now is the perfect time to check out some new favourite spots.

The Beltliner: If you like breakfast and brunch, this is the perfect place for you. They have a wide variety of food and cafe options, from your classic eggs and bacon to new and exciting dishes. Located in the heart of downtown, they are quickly becoming a Calgary hot…

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Hosting A Good Open House

Spring is here and with the budding trees comes the start of a busy open house season. With the weather so gorgeous it is the perfect opportunity for taking a lazy Saturday, getting a coffee and browsing through some of the beautiful properties on the market.

When you’re preparing to host your own open house, there is a lot you can do to make a good first impression. Today we go through how you can captivate each sense of potential buyers. Hosting an open house is more than having a property to offer, after all,

Sight: Captivate people’s sight by making a good first impression. Your front yard should be trimmed and taken care off, the sidewalk clean and the entryway free of clutter. The indoors should be just was well kept. Check out our past blog…

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March 2016 Statistics

April is here, much to the delight and surprise of many. It seems as though March flew by with the help of the beautiful weather and so many special events.

With the beginning of April comes the ability to see what happened in March as a whole. This is what CREB (the Calgary Real Estate Board) does: they look back on everything that happened in March, then summarize it and record the data so overall trends can be discovered. Every month we take the CREB summary and give you the highlights. If you want more detailed information, go to their website HERE. They are a fantastic resources for buyers, sellers, investors and anyone else wondering what is going on in the real estate market.

Without further ado, here are the CREB March housing summary…

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