Edmonton Real Estate Blog

Great,  exceptionally clean, 2 storey apartment conveniently located in the west end with great access to Whitemud Freeway,Anthony Henday, Meadowlark and West Edmonton Mall. This well maintained home features laminate flooring through out and new oak kitchen cabinets. The building has a new roof, windows, siding and interior paint.

Click here to view more pics and info.

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www.EdmontonHomesforSale.biz

Seating for a kitchen island is a popular design feature that lets your counter space do double duty. While an overhang on the back of the island supported by cabinets is the most common arrangement, it doesn’t afford the best legroom. Who hasn’t banged their knees while scooting onto a kitchen island stool? Islands designed with an integrated dining table at one end fare a little better, but you still must have the right table base for maximum leg comfort. Here’s what to consider.

This simple metal base adds another modern element to the room. The open design, with a base that’s set back from the sides and ends, creates a lot of legroom and is visually lightweight to match the thin profile of the countertop. Another diner could probably be placed on the end.

Allow 24 inches for each chair width and a minimum table width of 30 inches for comfortable seating.

Here’s another base that’s set back from the end and the sides. This arrangement provides legroom for diners sitting across from each other, as well as for a diner or two on the end. The slab design of the base here matches the heft of the countertop better than an open, lightweight design would have.

A square kitchen with a symmetrical contemporary look demands the same in an island. Here that island was designed as a table, without any cabinets. The heavy corner legs give the island visual weight and definition, but they also mean diners won’t bump knees. This dining island is probably at least 60 inches per side, an arrangement that allows two diners per side.

Look closely and you can see that this wood countertop is supported by a mirrored base. The size and construction of any base depends on the size and weight of the countertop. Mirroring a base makes it virtually disappear.

This traditional kitchen has a round, bar-height dining table with a furniture-style pedestal base. You can find a pedestal base in any style. A pedestal allows diners to easily gather around the table without bumping into the base or one another.

The base of this dining table matches the cabinetry, but the prow shape makes it lighter than a boxy cabinet would have looked. Because the base follows the curve of the countertop, knee space is retained for each diner, making the entire length of the countertop usable. This is also a good way to visually lighten the size of a big table area.

When you are planning your kitchen, remember that a very heavy surface material, such as the marble shown here, will require heavy support underneath. Be sure to calculate the width of the base into the total width of the tabletop. Too wide? Reconsider the material and the base design.

A waterfall design creates a beautiful and simple support for the top here. Make sure you have as much length as you need for chairs on each side with something like this, since the flush end is not usable for seating.

The beautiful custom wood base of this island serves as a sculptural element as well as a functional support. The slender V-shape base provides good countertop support but also allows for plentiful knee space.

When is a table base not a table base? When the piece is cantilevered. This dining area can welcome a big crew, as well as Fido comfortably sprawled under the table.

Source: Houzz.com

Although it would be nice to just pay your mortgage whenever you feel like it, you’ll need to decide on a payment frequency. This means how often (not how much) you pay your lender, however, it can have an effect on how quickly you’re able to pay off your mortgage.

In Canada, the most common forms of payment frequency offered by lenders are monthly, bi-weekly, and accelerated bi-weekly. However, some lenders will offer a weekly or accelerated weekly option.

The Difference between Accelerated and Regular Payments

There’s a long-term advantage to the accelerated options, due to the difference in the way a bi-weekly and accelerated bi-weekly payment are calculated. Even though your number of payments per year remains the same, your accelerated bi-weekly amount would be slightly higher than your regular bi-weekly one. With an accelerated payment option, you end up making roughly one extra payment a year, allowing you to pay off your mortgage faster. Although an accelerated payment frequency might cost you more on a monthly basis, it will save you thousands in interest in the long run. By plugging some numbers into a mortgage payment calculator, you can see how the various payment frequency options might affect your monthly, and annual, payments.

Prepayment Options

In addition to these regular payment options, your mortgage will come with terms and conditions about prepayment: or how often you can make extra payments above and beyond your regularly scheduled ones.

Most lenders will allow you to make the occasional lump sum payment towards your mortgage, or increase your monthly payment amount, however there are rules around by how much you may increase a payment or how frequently. You can’t simply pay off your entire mortgage without hefty penalties from the bank.

If paying your mortgage off quickly is important to you, you might want to consider an accelerated payment frequency to help speed things along.

Source: theloop.ca

The residential home inventory on the Edmonton Multiple Listing Service® (MLS® System) rose 16% in January. Typically just over 1,800 homes in the Edmonton CMA (census metropolitan area) come onto the market in January. Last month’s listings of 1,842 were higher than the 783 listed in December. Sales figures (adjusted) of 885 properties (820 reported) were higher than a typical January and higher than sales in December and January 2013. The increased inventory of 3,537 (up from 3,049 in December), kept prices stable in all housing categories.

Compared to December, the all-residential average3 price of $347,847 was down just $1,226 or
-0.16%. Single family detached (SFD) home prices were down 1.5% at $416,344. Condominiums were priced on average3 at $230,463 (down 1.5%) and duplex/rowhouses showed the biggest movement and were down 5.3% at $336,220.

“Price stability and more property available for sale results in a balanced market,” said REALTORS® Association of Edmonton, President Greg Steele. “Right now both buyers and sellers have time to consider all their options and housing needs. More homes are listed every day and your REALTOR® can advise you of a suitable property as soon as it comes available.”

The residential sales-to-listing ratio was 45% and the average days-on-market was 61 days in January compared to 73 days in January 2013. There have been four property sales over a $1 million already this year but half of the SFDs sold in January were sold at or below the median price of $385,000.

“Strong economic indicators such as low unemployment, higher hourly wages and positive in-migration all support an optimistic view of the Edmonton and area housing market,” said Steele. “Consumers are confident in their economic future and prepared to risk a first-time or move-up purchase. Low rental vacancies and the potential for higher rental rates are also attracting investors into the market.”

There are 3,200 REALTOR® members of the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton. Consumers can view all the properties listed on the Edmonton MLS® System at www.EdmontonHomesForSale.biz and review advertised properties in the Real Estate Weekly.

I’ll admit it: I have an expensive juicer that’s still in its box in my kitchen cabinet. It’s been there for months and cost close to $400. (We paid for it using wedding gift cards.) It’s our fourth one. But that’s because the other three (all the same model) failed within days. By the time we got a different brand and model, my wife and I had lost interest in the constant upkeep and chopping of an entire garden and orchard to get only one glass of juice for each of us.

Of course, I’ve suggested we return the juicer in exchange for something (or many somethings) that we’ll actually use, but my wife refuses to hear it. She plans to use it next week. She promises.

In the same cabinet, we have a large Crock Pot that we never use, another juicer we bought at a garage sale (never use) and some electric chopper thing, also still in its box. If only I had thought about my actual cooking habits rather than give in to a fantasy about what my life might be like if only I had the right gadget, I would have saved a lot of space and money.

In a recent Houzz discussion about the worst home gadget, users pretty much echoed my dilemma. Popcorn makers, ice cream makers, waffle makers, rice makers (think before buying something with the word “maker” in it, by the way) — they all get used once and end up collecting dust in a cabinet.

So I decided to put together some questions we can all ask ourselves the next time we have the impulse to buy yet another bulky, complex, promises-to-make-my-life-easier home gadget. You might find that a good sharp knife and rearranging your busy schedule to allow just a little more prep time in the kitchen are all you need.

Can you use your hands? Cooking is a hands-on process, and that’s the way it should be. For most of us, it’s relaxing and therapeutic. There’s a subtle joy in chopping vegetables, measuring ingredients and working with your hands and simple tools. Once you take that out of the equation and surrender that control to a hulking, electric, ear-splitting gadget, you’ve relinquished the soul that goes into making good food.

And face it: You’re not ever likely to cook a meal for a hundred on a Friday night. That means you probably won’t get much use out of large appliances and gadgets meant to do a simple task at a high volume.

Do you have space? If you’ve got the space — and money and need — to store every new gadget on the market, then by all means, have at it. But the majority of homeowners are very tight on space in the kitchen.

So before you buy, survey your cabinet space and take measurements. Where will the gadget or appliance go? If you have space only up high, how will you reach it? Will you need a step stool or ladder? And how heavy is the appliance? Do you have dishwasher space to accommodate the parts? A large enough sink to wash the machine in? The disruption this new gadget will cause in your life might just outweigh the perceived benefits.

Do you have time? A big complaint with appliances is that they take a long time to clean. Most of them can’t go in the dishwasher, and even if some parts do, it takes time to disassemble the appliance, wipe it down and reassemble it.

Also, have you ever made your own pasta? It takes a long time. So maybe a pasta maker is not something you need on a regular basis.

What can you use it for? Avoid appliances or gadgets that offer to do one simple task just a little bit better: a garlic peeler, a lemon zester etc. Most of the time, you’ll find that a good kitchen knife will do the trick; plus it’s easier to clean and more empowering.

Also avoid gadgets that promise to do too many things. A multiuse gadget will likely do 10 tasks poorly, while 10 solid hand tools will perform great.

What will you use it for? If you made a pureed soup one time last year and thought maybe a handheld blender would make your life easier, maybe you should reconsider. Having a gadget that you take out only once or twice a year isn’t very efficient. Similarly, you probably don’t need a stand mixer if you bake only every so often.

Spend the money elsewhere. I can’t express strongly enough how important and useful a good set of kitchen knives is. One sharp knife can do the work of all those Slap Chops and multipart dicers. Plus, there will be less to clean up. And nothing beats a sturdy, handheld can opener.

Sleep on it. Never give in to a late-night infomercial or cooking demonstration on the spot. With any investment — no matter what the cost — give yourself time to really think about how important the gadget will be to you. Ask yourself the aforementioned questions first.

User 574steele has a great tip: “Before purchasing a gadget, check out the local thrift shops. If they have a zillion electric yogurt makers, they probably aren’t worth buying.”

And please, don’t give people gimmicky gadgets as gifts. If you don’t use one, chances are they won’t either.

Source: Houzz.com

EDMONTON – The Alberta government will build three schools in Edmonton — in the rapidly growing Summerside, Ambleside and Lewis Farms neighbourhoods — along with expanding the existing Lillian Osborne High School.

“One of the cornerstones of our Building Alberta Plan is education and preparing our kids for their future,” Premier Alison Redford said Monday in a news release. “Last spring, I committed to building 50 schools and modernizing 70 others and that is exactly what we are doing. Before the month is over, all of those projects will be underway.”

The new schools — to address enrolment pressures in growing communities — will create more than 3100 new student spaces. The projects include:

– new kindergarten to Grade 9 school for Summerside, benefiting as many as 750 Edmonton Catholic Separate School District students;

– a new kindergarten to Grade 9 school in Windermere (in Ambleside), benefiting as many as 900 Edmonton Public School District students;

– a new junior high school in Lewis Farms, benefiting as many as 900 Edmonton Public School District students; and,

– a new 600-student space expansion to Lillian Osborne High School in southwest Edmonton.

“Our commitment to build state-of-the-art schools in communities across Alberta is critical to achieving the goals of Inspiring Education,” Education Minister Jeff Johnson said in the release. “We are putting students first by making smart and strategic investments in their education. These new schools will help ensure that every student can reach their full potential.”

Source: EdmontonJournal.com

During the process of buying or selling a home, your clients often learn about recommended or required repairs and upgrades. This can happen as a result of the home inspection as well as your expert knowledge of your market and comparable homes. Of course, the first thing homeowners want to know is, “How much will that cost?”

Pillar to Post is pleased to offer our Residential Construction and Remodeling Estimates cost guide, which provides estimated cost ranges for repair and/or replacement of the major systems and components in a home. It also includes general guidelines for the life expectancies of those systems. This information can help your clients make informed decisions when they’re considering home repairs or improvements, and is especially valued by homeowners before their property is listed. Below is just a sampling of our list of estimated costs for hundreds of repairs/upgrades.

These estimates reflect the average basic costs for supplies and installation of building materials in United States and Canada. Costs may vary depending on regions, upgrades, complexity, and disposal fees.

Source: Pillar to Post Newsletter

Electricity in the home is so commonplace that it’s easy to forget how dangerous it can be. According to the American Institute for Preventive Medicine, an electrical shock can knock you unconscious, cause a serious burn, or even stop your heartbeat.

Fortunately, there are some simple things you can do to reduce the risk.

• Install safety plugs in outlets that young children can reach.

• Never plug in anything with a frayed or otherwise damaged power cord.

• Never use a plugged-in computer, hair dryer, or other electrically-powered item near a filled sink or bathtub. This includes phones with power cords.

• Never touch anything electrical with wet hands or while standing in water. (Water is a remarkably efficient conductor of electricity.)

• Always turn off the appropriate breaker before doing any electrical work, such as installing a new light fixture.

• When replacing a broken light bulb, turn off the breaker first. Although the glass is broken, the filament may still be conducting electricity.

Finally, unless you’re an expert or an electrician, never do any major electrical work on your own. Hire a professional.

Unless you’re a real estate expert, you probably look at the market and think things are pretty confusing. Even a bit crazy! You hear news about “bubbles bursting”, “higher or lower home sales in a particular month”, “new home starts” that are up or down, and on and on it goes.

It’s a lot of news and a lot of jargon.

If you’re thinking of selling your home within the next year or two, you will want to understand what’s happening in the market so you can make the right decisions and get a clear sense of what to expect. So, how do you make sense of it all?

That’s where a good REALTOR® can help.

Even if you don’t have any definite plans to move in the near future, a REALTOR® who is an expert in the local marketplace can help you understand what homes in a particular neighbourhood are selling for, and what you can expect to get should you decide to list your property.

Getting to know a REALTOR® also means you’ll have a trusted expert to talk to from time to time, when you have real estate-related questions.

You’ll have someone you can think of as “Your REALTOR®”.

Plus, when the time comes to sell your property, you won’t have to deal with a stranger. Instead, you’ll be able to work with a REALTOR® that you know well — and who knows YOU. Overall, that will make the buying and selling process go more smoothly and more successfully.

Looking for a good REALTOR® who wants to get to know you? Call today!

Some agents think the sky is not the limit when it comes to serving their clients. Those agents defy gravity with remote-controlled drones outfitted with cameras, which deliver stunning aerial photography ordinary marketing materials can’t offer.

Scott Gerami, a Hall of Famer with RE/MAX Professionals Select in Naperville, Ill., is among the early adopters of these small, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which are commonly referred to as drones.

His drone soars 400 feet above clients’ homes, and its camera captures images of rooflines, aerial views of landscaping, neighboring properties and a bird’s-eye view of nearby landmarks.

“The drone provides amazing video and pictures other agents don’t have,” Gerami says. “Using it shows clients that I’m on top of the latest trends and technology to market their homes better.”

Client response has been “overwhelmingly positive,” Gerami says, but it’s still too early to say whether drones have had a tangible impact on his business.

“Up until this point, I used drone photography as a value-added service on select properties,” he says. “But I plan on promoting it heavily going forward.”

Drones come in all sizes and price ranges – some cost as little as $500 – but Gerami went the DIY route. He has designed and built his own drones.

In fact, Gerami is so excited about the technology that he’s working to set up a live, online video chat in collaboration with Mad Lab Industries, a local tech company that helped him build his drones. Now Gerami wants to partner with the company to teach other professionals how to get the most from these little marvels.

Broker/Owner Mark Cooper is also an avid fan of drones. He just started experimenting with the cutting-edge technology at his aptly named brokerage, RE/MAX Edge in O’Fallon, Mo. And like Gerami, he’s sold.

VIEW FROM THE TOP Mark Cooper’s aerial drone photography is his
newest, and most impressive, marketing tool.

He firmly believes drone photography will become a recruiting tool to attract innovative agents – and new clients.

“The client with the $2 million house to sell will look at my aerials and say, ‘Hey, I want that drone view, too,’ and give his business to me and not the competition,” Cooper says.

Using drones is a time and money commitment, Cooper notes. It can get pricy – Cooper says he’s invested about $2,000 so far – and producing drone videos can take up to eight hours for a single listing.

That’s why Cooper thinks he’ll use the drones to market luxury homes or large properties, which are harder to fully photograph. But he agrees with those who say that this technology and its real estate applications are here to stay.

“There are so many ways drones can be used in our industry,” Cooper says. “Roof inspections, property surveys and even up-to-date street views. If you’re selling a farm or a lot of acreage, you no longer have to trek a mile with a buyer to see the land. You can offer them an overview shot the day before – or maybe even live!”

Source: REMAX.com