Real Estate Blog - Home Care

Preparing for an Emergency

Calgary is a great city for so many reasons. The people here are hardworking and kind, and the city itself is clean and welcoming. Most importantly--especially to those of us in the real estate industry--the location is incredible. After all, you know what they say: location is everything.

Nestled right between the prairies and the mountains, Calgary is ideal if you like beautiful views and experiencing all four seasons. Another perk of this city's location is that it remains relatively untouched by natural disasters. It is too close to the mountains to get tornadoes, and too far from the sea to get hurricanes. It is not significantly affected by earthquakes, and is not in a hot bed for forest fires. Albeit a little too much snow some winters, Calgary…

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Staging Your Home To Sell With Curb Appeal

The first thing prospective buyers will notice about your home for sale is its curb appeal.

Curb appeal is all about making a great first impression. A home with great curb appeal can stop traffic. It can entice people to look a little more closely at the “For Sale” sign on the front lawn. It is what gets potential buyers out of their vehicles and onto your property.

Even the plainest properties can be eye-catching; it’s all about staging. Try these simple, cost-effective ways to give your curb appeal a boost during the listing of your home.

Make your front door a statement piece. Install a beautiful wood door, or paint the existing one a fun colour. If you don’t want to change the door itself, consider dressing it up with a seasonal wreath…

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Maximizing Small Home Spaces

Tiny houses are all the rage right now, with people living in little spaces no bigger than the bed of a pick up truck. To save money many people are turning to smaller and smaller properties to live small while they pay of student loans, save up for a new vehicle, put extra money towards their retirement fund, etc. While many people cannot imagine living that way, most who do swear by it.

Living small has a lot of benefits, but you have to do it effectively or it will feel like you’re living in a hoarders closet. You don’t want to feel claustrophobic. So, if you are living in a small space, how can you maximize it to contain everything you need but still feel spacious?

1). Be frugal. Do you need five mixing bowls? No you don’t. Only keep the…

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Inexpensive Ways to Go Green

Scientists around the world may not agree on everything, but the one thing they are sure of is that we need to make significant changes if we want this planet to sustain human life in the future. For years now we have been warned of climate change, a nasty side effect of human's ecological footprint on this earth. While some people say we are already doomed, the reality is that we have the power to help this planet thrive so long as we are willing to act now.

Owning a home has a big ecological footprint. The space your home sits on is no longer a natural habitat, the structure itself is built of cut down trees and products that will not biodegrade, oil and gas are needed to keep the space warm during the cold winter months, water is used to wash your…

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The Value of Your Home Insurance

Home insurance in Calgary, Alberta is one of those things that is extremely misunderstood, but extremely important to understand. Why? Because it is not finite. It will need to change and adapt to the value of your home so that you aren’t covering more than necessary or covering less than necessary.

Here’s the deal: your home is not insured based on what it would cost to buy it if it was up for sale again. Market value has nothing to do with home insurance. What matters is replacement value. Thus, your home is insured based on what it would cost to replace your home if it was damaged.

Home insurance is designed to cover the value of rebuilding your home the exact way it is now if the absolute worst were to happen, such as your home being burned to…

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Winterizing Your House

Temperatures are dropping...

With the arrival of winter comes the need to prepare for the dark, snowy days ahead. It's time to get that dusty box out of the basement and unload your sweaters, long-johns, toques, mittens and fuzzy socks. Lawn chairs need to be replaced with shovels as flower pots get swapped out for snowmen. Hot soup is about to become your best friend, an electric car starter your most prized possession.

As you prepare yourself for winter, make sure that you also prepare your home for winter. Winterizing your property is incredibly important in making sure that it successfully survives the cold. If you neglect to properly winterize your home, it can get seriously damaged and won't help you stay warm, either. Here are some tips on…

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Home Renovations This Fall

Winter is coming.

With snow arriving and more to come, it is officially time to do all the little projects you have been neglecting so far this autumn. After all, no one likes to do hard labour in the freezing cold. The weather is going to reach a high of 16 degrees on Saturday, giving you the perfect day to complete everything on your to-do list!

Autumn is a great time for finishing renovation projects you started in the spring/summer and beginning new ones to prepare your home for winter. Remember that home renovations are an important part of keeping your property up to date and in the best condition possible. They may cost you upfront, but they add incredible value to your property. We highly recommend taking regular stock of your home and…

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Winterizing Your Garden

There is no denying it, autumn has arrived and it is time to start preparing for winter. With warm weather expected this weekend, now is the perfect time to prepare your property for the long, snowy months ahead (don't get too sad, Calgary is a great place to live in the wintertime! But more on that later). We're going to miss green grass and leaves, but the autumn colors are beautiful--so lets protect them. 

Winter can wreak havoc on your lawn if you do not prepare it properly. What your lawn needs most in the wintertime is Potassium so it can stay strong, just like us. Today's Homeowner writes, "Potassium is a very important nutrient in overall plant health. It works at the cellular level to strengthen and harden plants from top to bottom, making…

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Decorating With White

The color white is making a major comeback. 

As more people embrace minimalism and seek naturally-lit spaces, white has become the perfect color to accent design and keep rooms bright all year round. Pinterest and Instagram are dominated by photos featuring a white, luminous aesthetic. In many new homes, white cabinets, countertops and walls reign. If you look through the brand new infill homes for sale we have listed, you will see that home designers are embracing the color  white and using it to craft modern, minimalist, high-end homes. 

While white has become a hot trend in design, using it as not as simple as buying a can of pure eggshell-white paint. All-white everything is not a good idea. Even minimalist spaces need a touch of color and…

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What Actually Are Good Bones?

We have all heard the phrase "this house has good bones." Those of us who watch HGTV know that a house having "good bones" is often used as a way to convince buyers that the property could be something wonderful, even though it is in need of a major makeover. A couple will walk into a derelict home, the wall paper stripped, ceiling beams exposed, stepping around holes in the floor, and their HGTV expert will say, "I know, I know. But it has good bones!"

The reality is that most houses that look like a mess are a mess. Not every decrepit home has "good bones"; in fact, not every nice home has good bones! Rarely will you be able to tell what kind of bones a home has without the eye of a home inspector. These professionals see through the grime and…

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