Real Estate Blog - homeowners

Set Up a Backyard Movie Night

During those beautiful summer nights, it doesn’t matter where you are in Canada, you want to be outside. It’s natural, and let’s face it, the past few years have driven many to upgrade their own backyard retreats, so you’ve got a good reason to be out and about in your own space. 

Upcycling and repurpose trends show no sign of abating, and we’ve already seen signs of the backyard undergoing radical redesigns, adding features like pizza ovens, outdoor kitchens, and bars. Why not extend that idea and bring your home theatre outside? What says summer better than a drive-in (or walk-in) movie night? In the  spirit of the popular staycation trend, let’s look at how you can set up a backyard movie night. 

The scale is up to you. It can be as simple as…

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Environmental Upgrades That Can Save You Money (INFOGRAPHIC)

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Owning Is More Affordable Than Renting in Most of Canada

Is it better to buy or rent a home in today’s sizzling real estate market?

Because the barrier to entry in Canada’s housing sector has intensified over the last couple of years, many prospective homeowners have given up on the dream of homeownership, choosing to maintain their renter status. Even when they save enough for a down payment, the minimum threshold rises because of how rapid price growth is in this environment.

Remember, the national average price for a home in Canada is approximately $820,000.

As a result, many Canadians do not have a choice but to continue renting an apartment from a corporation or leasing a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house from private individuals.

But is this throwing money down the…

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Easy DIY Wood Pallet Projects to Tackle in a Weekend

Did you know your next DIY project could (and should!) help recycle waste material? The wood pallet is a versatile building block that can be turned into many useful indoor and outdoor items. To get you started with your first or next DIY wood pallet project, Jeff Richard, a recently retired homeowner who’s been building home projects for more than 30 years,  and Shaun Crawford, an avid DIYer, graciously offered up their pallet wisdom. 

Finding wood pallets

The first step to any DIY wood pallet project is the pallet itself. Richard finds most of his in the outdoor lumber area of hardware stores. 

“It’s usually very clear which pallets you can and can’t take,” says Richard. “Pallets that aren’t for removal are…

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Rub-A-Dub-Dub: How to Choose Your Ideal Bathtub

You’ve probably heard the term “self-care” a lot in the past few years. The World Health Organization offers a broad definition, but at its core, self-care is about “the individual person who acts to preserve health.”

Everyone’s version of self-care will differ, but taking a luxurious bath is a popular choice—and one that’s scientifically backed. Baths can help with sleep, mood regulation, and easing muscle tension, and one Lakehead University researcher is even conducting a study into how a warm bath could help with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD. On a lighter scale, baths can help your overall mental state–a quiet space with relaxing scents and softer lighting can help ease your mind–and, if it’s your thing, promote meditation.

If…

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7 Ways to Deter Burglars While You’re on Vacation

The airline tickets are booked, the bags are packed and your family is finally about to head out on a much-needed, long-anticipated vacation, but that doesn’t mean you can forget about home sweet home just yet. Take a bit of time to follow these tips to deter a potential break-in and avoid home heartbreak.

Lighting

Deterring a potential intruder can be as simple as flicking on a switch. Mimic your daily routine by putting the interior house lights on a timer, that way from the outside it looks like business as usual inside. Installing external motion-detector lights also means sneaking up on the house is not an option.

Notes

While leaving notes on the backdoor (or on the counter that can be clearly seen from a…

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How Sellers Win When Housing Inventory is Low

A recent report from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) revealed that two-thirds of the nation’s housing markets are slanted in favour of sellers. With supply failing to keep up with demand, this could be the top trend for the foreseeable future.

For years, housing development has been tepid, resulting in supply falling short of demand levels. This imbalance might be more intense in more-populous markets such as Toronto and Vancouver, but this trend is prevalent throughout Canada, leading to accelerating home prices.

Under current conditions, sellers who bought even five years ago would benefit from this tight housing market. Here’s how sellers win when housing inventory is low.

How Sellers Win When Housing…

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What Is a Reverse Mortgage?

Typically, when tapping into your home’s equity, one uses a home equity line of credit (HELOC) or refinances their mortgage. What if we told you this was not the only way to free up home equity for other purposes? While a traditional mortgage is a loan secured by a home or property, the borrower must pay back the loan each month with interest throughout the loan lifetime. A reverse mortgage is the opposite. So, what is a reverse mortgage anyway?

A reverse mortgage is exclusive to Canadians over the age of 55. In a reverse mortgage situation, the homeowner can borrow as much as 55 per cent of the current home’s value. In other words, they are borrowing against the equity in the home. The borrower receives the money and does not have to make any…

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Get Creative with a DIY Wooden Laundry Countertop

Walk into your typical Canadian household laundry room and you’re likely to find a high-efficiency (HE) front-loading washing machine. It only seems fitting these laundry station spaces be used in a similarly efficient way, which leads us to a great intermediate DIY opportunity—a laundry room countertop! Let’s run through key considerations, steps, and hacks that’ll get you all set up to build and install your own beautifully functional laundry counter.

Using your machine tops as a make-shift counter may be fine for the short term, but a purpose-built countertop ensures more space and stability–so you can avoid items vibrating off during wash cycles. A countertop provides a sturdy surface to separate, fold, and steam your laundry without having to…

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How You Can Make Home Renovation Tax Credits Work for You

Home renovation projects have become quite common throughout the Canadian real estate market. Whether because people are staying home more now or they want to be more environmentally friendly, people are jumping on the renovation bandwagon. Whether indoors or out, there are many things you can do to revitalize your home. In an environment of historically low interest rates, and plenty of homeowners cashing in on their equity to fix up their humble abodes, more families are choosing to build up and build out, revitalizing their bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchens. Moreover, many homeowners are greening their properties and making their homes smarter. In other words, homeowners are putting their money to work. But did you know that…

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