Calgary Real Estate Blog

So our lame spring this year had another side effect besides delaying our kids’ soccer season by a couple weeks: the unusually lengthy period Calgary lawns were snow-covered this year created an ideal habitat for vole infestation. Voles – which look like little round, fat mice – love to chew on the roots of grass and trees in Calgary suburbs under the cover of snow, and some residents have been finding their lawns destroyed by telltale s-shaped tracks. Every year some suburban yards and parks fall victim to hungry voles, but this has been a banner season for the little suckers.

According to pest control experts, periodic chinooks usually melt the snow and disrupt the habitat, keeping populations under control, but since the snow stuck around for months at a time this past winter, the voles partied like it was 1999. Or, you know, however voles party.

The options for dealing with a vole infestation are varied: put out traps, use poison in the holes, get some cats. Nothing’s without consequences, though, especially when you have other pets or children using the yard, so your best bet is to consult with a pest control professional. Whatever you do, don’t start seeding your lawn before taking care of the vole problem: apparently voles really like grass seed.

To prevent the little critters from visiting your yard next winter, put commercially-available tree guards around the base of your trees, extending beneath the soll, and pick up any unharvested food sources from your garden. Use only rodent-proof bird seed feeders, and if you plan on putting mulch over strawberry plants or other annuals, wait until after the ground freezes.  Then keep your fingers crossed for a winter with more chinooks and less snow.

Have you or your neighbours had vole problems this year or in the past? Comment below.

Ordinarily I can get a little annoyed by people posting on Facebook about the weather: yes we all have windows, we’re aware that it’s unseasonable in some way, this is not brand new information to anybody. Sure, it’s a Canadian tradition to be obsessed about forecasts – things can change drastically day-to-day around here, unlike, say, Mexico, where it’s pretty much always sunny and beautiful and where I’d like to be right now – but it just seems unnecessary to broadcast one’s limited opinion on the weather to friends and family. Still, I can hardly blame anyone for expressing their frustration with our latest batch of snow in any way they can. I mean, seriously: it was 20 degrees last Wednesday, and looked like mid-December by Saturday? Not cool.

What’re you gonna do, though, besides put off removing the winter tires for a couple extra weeks? One thing you can do with this extra indoor time is to make a list of maintenance projects your home needs, and get cracking. Paint door jambs, change your furnace filter, check the hot water tank, and so on. Maybe you’re due for some new appliances, and now’s a great time to research and shop. Doing these little jobs as they come up doesn’t take a whole lot of time, but staying on top of minor maintenance keeps you from having an indomitable to-do list a couple years from now.

As for the snow, be careful with the shovelling – it’s wet and heavy, after all – and keep an eye out in your basement for signs of water leaking in. Then close your curtains and pretend you’re in Mexico.

Finally, finally, the last of the snow in Calgary is melting off lawns; the only downside being what an ugly, matted mess front yards across the city now look like. It’s time to get to work.

• Use a sturdy metal rake to get rid of as much thatch and other debris as possible. This in itself will go a long way toward sprucing up your curb appeal.

• Spread fertilizer, using a lower nitrogen concentration for the spring than in the fall (or start your Nutri-lawn service).

• Mow your lawn frequently to strengthen roots for the summer.

• Begin your watering routine, using an upside down frisbee to gauge when you’ve sprinkled enough.

Eventually you’ll need to start taking care of weeds, and letting the grass grow a little longer to survive the summer months, but for now these simple steps will make you proud to bring visitors in the front door again.

As the temperature continues to dip into the minus twenties and below, and spring break quickly approaches, for many of us thoughts turn to tropical vacations. Whether it’s Mexico, Cuba, California, Jamaica, Hawaii, or a cruise, a week someplace warm can be just the ticket for conquering those Canadian winter blues. Before heading to the airport, though, you need to make sure your home is safely secured both for your own peace of mind and to keep your insurance valid should anything happen.

Let’s start with insurance: first of all, make sure you have enough of it. Most banks require homeowners insurance as a condition of extending a mortgage, but it’s your responsibility to be certain your policy covers everything you own. Talk to your broker to review your coverage, especially if you have any especially valuable jewelry or collections – these may require specific riders to be covered at their full value. Once the policy is in place, take a video camera (or your phone) and walk throughout your home documenting everything in it: should you be broken into, this will help you discover if anything is missing, and also acts as proof of an item’s existence to the insurance company. Just don’t keep the only copy of this footage on your home computer, as that’ll probably be stolen if you were broken into; put a copy on Dropbox, Google Drive, or a similar cloud storage solution.

Also related to insurance is the need to have someone look in on your home regularly while you’re away. Most homeowners policies require someone check on your house at least every three days; read your policy documents to find out what your obligation is. If you’re away for an extended period and something happens to your house that doesn’t get discovered until you return, you may not be covered.

Otherwise, you simply need to ensure your home is as secure as possible, and that all essential systems are working properly. Have your furnace inspected annually, as if it decides to conk out during a cold snap while you’re away you may return to burst pipes and flooded property. Check the condition of your front and back doors and their locks, along with those of your garage if you have one. Lock all of your windows, pull the blinds, and put your lights on a timer if you can. Even if he won’t be the one physically checking on your home while you’re away, let a neighbour know you’re leaving; the more eyes looking out for suspicious activity, the better. Handyman and ‘doing it right’ guru Mike Holmes penned a good article in the National Post last year that has some additional tips.

Knowing your home is secure and your property is safe will be a huge load off your mind, and will help you truly relax on that beach, margarita in hand, without a thought of the Hoth-like temperatures awaiting your return. Have a great trip.

People have often speculated on when exactly the best time to buy a house might be – what combination of a bountiful market and a scarcity of buyers will lead to the best deal on a great home. Charts and graphs have been studied, deep thinkers have thought deep thoughts.

Well, there’s definitely a right answer, but it’s hardly scientific.

The best time to buy a home is when you’re ready to buy a home.

Okay, maybe that’s a little anticlimactic, and a touch glib, but the truth is a buyer’s preparedness is the most important factor in making a successful purchase. If you’re thinking of selling and moving up to something larger, bear in mind that the high tide raises all boats: waiting for your property to go up in value is also waiting for your future home to get more expensive too. Maybe there can be an advantage to be found on this front when it comes to downsizing, but generally if we’re in a market that’s raising prices, it’s because there are an increased number of buyers at all levels, and so everything becomes more valuable.

Low interest rates are sometimes cited as a driving factor for more sales, but for the majority of us the purchase of a home requires a long term mortgage that will weather potentially massive fluctuations due to the health of our economy; the early 1980s saw rates as high as 22 percent, which dropped to around eight percent by the mid ‘90s. So, sure, today’s low rates can certainly make entry into the market easier, but they shouldn’t be the only reason to buy a home right now.

No, there’s no external factor that should shove a potential homebuyer who’s sitting on the fence into the market. Instead, look inward and examine your family’s financial position, anticipate upcoming expenditures and cash flow boosts, come up with a list of reasons to move and another of reasons to stay put, and have candid conversations with your family. Then, when you’re ready, get pre-qualified on a mortgage, spruce up your present dwelling, call a great Realtor, and, most of all, have fun shopping for that dream house. Good luck!

The frigid temperatures and ridiculous amount of snowfall has forced many of us to spend a lot more time ensconced indoors than usual. Looking around your house, you might start to daydream about  things you’d like to change: the flooring, light fixtures, paint, maybe even knock down a wall. It’s no coincidence that the Calgary Home and Garden Show is scheduled in February each year, after we’ve spent a couple months fantasizing about home improvements. By the time the Show rolls around, many people are ready to make decisions and get started; no dummies, those organizers.

While pretty much any upgrade will contribute to your and your family’s greater personal enjoyment of your home, which ones also add value when it’s time to sell?

The obvious starting points are the kitchen and the bathrooms. Everyone likes a bright, spacious kitchen with plenty of counter and cupboard space, modern fixtures, and a logical layout, so renovations that make your kitchen more welcoming are always going to have an immediate impact on people viewing your property. Bathrooms, too, are an area where buyers place a premium on cleanliness and modernization. That said, going overboard on the highest-end fixtures and rarest countertops may be counterproductive if these upgrades are out of place in your home or neighbourhood.

Other smart ways to upgrade are adding a deck, tasteful landscaping to improve curb appeal, finishing the basement, and building a garage.

On the flip side, the Globe and Mail published a good article recently listing six renovations that don’t add value, citing swimming pools, elaborate landscaping projects, and wall-to-wall carpeting as upgrades that won’t really pay off when it comes time to sell. Click through to read the article, it’s worth your time.

So, as I mentioned, the Calgary Home and Garden Show is just a couple of months away, and I’m sharing a coupon code that’ll give you 2-for-1 tickets. Just click here to buy your tickets with the discount (valid until Dec 24th). I go every year to stay current with the newest and best trends, and I hope to see you there too!

It’s that time of year again, when homeowners wait for a relatively mild weekend to climb ladders and engineer elaborate plug-in management, all in the name of putting on a light show for neighbours and passerby. It’s one of my favourite parts of the season: even in the most blustery snowstorm, colourfully lit houses shine through as beacons of Christmas cheer.

Here are a few tips to help make your light-stringing a little bit safer, easier, and less expensive.

• Make a plan for where you want lights, and how you want to install them, so that you can use the right equipment for the job.

• Make sure you choose extension cords rated for outdoor use – indoor ones are less insulated and generally too wimpy to put up with mother nature.

• Check for frayed or broken wires, and discard strings of lights where these are found.

• Test your lights before you hang them.

• As you replace or add to your lighting package, choose LED lights over standard bulbs. While more expensive up-front, LEDs use just a fraction of the power and last for years.

• Use a timer to turn your lights on and off, for both convenience and power savings.

• Use an A-frame stepladder, or have someone hold the ladder as you install lights up high.

• Don’t plug too many strings together – check the packaging on your lights for recommended maximums.

• Think about the entire exterior of your house, not just the eavestroughs and railings – trees, shrubs, and other landscaping features are great places to decorate too.

• Let the kids help! While many of your decorations will end up three feet off the ground, the good memories will outlast the season.

Whether you’re going for elaborate, Griswold-esque designs that force your neighbours to pull down the blinds, or a tasteful holiday accent to your home’s decor, plan your design, execute it safely, and celebrate with an eggnog afterward.

After the absolutely devastating flood that hit Calgary, the title of this post may seem self-explanatory, and indeed, it is: the unforeseen happens, property can be wiped out with little warning and even less that you can do about it, and rebuilding is expensive. Yet, so many people have less insurance coverage than they should on their home and contents.

A standard homeowner’s policy will insure the cost of the home (not the cost you paid for it – that included the price of the land – but the amount to rebuild the property) and the contents within. It is important, however, to conduct an inventory to be sure, should the worst case scenario happen, you have sufficient coverage, rather than just assuming the standard amount will be fine. Have an extensive collection of something, or some specialized equipment? Make sure it’s covered. Bumping up the amount of coverage often incurs an insignificant increase in premiums, even when increasing by thousands of dollars.

Same goes for personal liability, which covers you and your family for property damage or injury inadvertently caused against others. Most insurance brokerages will only write policies with at least $500,000 in coverage, and $1 million is the standard low-end recommended. In this day and age, though, $1 million wouldn’t go that far in the event of a serious lawsuit or major accident. Increasing liability coverage to $2 million, $3 million, even $5 million, will hardly affect your monthly premiums while giving much greater protection.

Homeowners insurance policies can range from comprehensive (the most coverage, with the highest premiums) to ‘no frills’ (the least coverage, with the lowest premiums). Compare all of your options, and shop around. Some insurance companies offer additional perks, like emergency babysitting services or legal assistance, while others are bare bones. If we’ve learned anything recently, it’s that disaster can indeed strike, and unexpectedly. For your and your family’s sake, review your policy and be sure it will protect you when you need it most.

Painting your home is the do-it-yourself renovation that carries perhaps the biggest bang for your buck – not just come resale time, but in terms of adding to your overall enjoyment of your living spaces. Whether it’s developing a unified scheme that pulls together the decor, designating a boldly coloured feature wall to jazz things up, or simply putting up a fresh coat of whatever’s on there already, you can make your home feel like new for a relatively small investment in both time and money. There are a few considerations, however, that might not be immediately obvious.

First, think about the mood and energy level implications of the colours you choose. There’s plenty of information on online that can help you make your rooms’ colours match their purposes, so do your research. Orange, for example, is a cheery, energizing choice that might, at first, seem perfect for your kids’ bedroom; at bedtime, though, the last thing you need is something giving the youngsters extra energy. Maybe green – a tranquil, calm colour – would be a better choice, and save the orange for a play area.

Another consideration is the way people will look in a space painted a certain colour. A light green theme throughout a home, for example, may look beautiful, but might also make guests look perpetually unwell thanks to the light reflecting from the walls, so use moderation.

Finally, remember that rich shades of dark colours could need many, many coats of both tinted primer and paint to achieve the desired effect, and if you ever want to go back to something significantly lighter, it’ll be even more work.

If you have the means, interior designers can be a great asset for ensuring your newly painted home is everything you want it to be, and that you don’t put tones side-by-side that’ll drive you slowly crazy.  On your own, though, you can still get great, satisfying results with a little forethought and planning.

According to a just-released Harris/Decima poll, 47 percent of Albertans would take a fixed-rate mortgage if they were applying for one today, as opposed to just 26 percent preferring the variable-rate alternative. That’s pretty close to the national number – 45 percent favouring fixed – and not really that surprising. People tend to like predictability, and are often willing to spend a bit more to get it; the popularity of gas and electricity contracts, in a time when both are pretty inexpensive, is another example of this.

There are plenty of reasons to go fixed, and plenty to go variable. The Globe and Mail reported in December that variable-rate mortgages have been cheaper than their fixed counterparts some 90 percent of the time over the past 25 years, meaning those who rode out market fluctuations came out significantly ahead. On the other hand, right now fixed-rate mortgages are being offered for within one percent of variable rates, meaning the premium paid for stability is lower than it has been in the past.

Ultimately, buyers must make their own decisions based on their immediate circumstances, plans for the future, and tolerance for risk. I know some great experts that can help sort through the choices, and am happy to refer my clients to them, but a hard look at one’s own financial goals is key to setting up a mortgage that won’t lead to any lost sleep.