Edmonton Real Estate Blog

To View & Search All MLS Listed Houses for Sale Visit Us At:
www.EdmontonHomesforSale.biz

Serge Bourgoin
Senior Managing Partner
Team Leading Edge
RE/MAX ELITE
780-995-6520

So you’ve decided to get hardwood floors. Easy enough, right? Pick a wood and be done with it.

Not so fast. There are a lot of factors that will determine what kind of hardwood floor your home can accommodate, and what will look best with your existing or planned furnishings and decor.

You have some basic options: solid wood and engineered wood. Solid wood is what you generally think of as a hardwood floor: thick, solid planks of wood. Engineered wood is made of a veneer layer that sits atop a core of plywood. This construction deals with moisture a bit better and is recommended for concrete slab subfloors. Which brings up another point. The construction of the floor you’re working with pretty much will dictate what kind of wood you can use.

Here’s how to prepare yourself for choosing a hardwood floor for your home.

1. Where will the wood be going?

Installing hardwood floors on a second story is much different than doing so in a basement. A space beneath ground level is what’s known as below grade. A floor that’s even with the outside ground level is on grade, and any floors above this are above grade. Where you’re installing the wood will limit your recommended options.

“For example, you’re not supposed to put solid wood below grade, because the moisture coming up through the ground can cause problems,” says Bob Hagen, who owns Magnus Anderson Hardwood. “So an engineered wood is recommended.”

2. What is the subfloor made of?

Find out what kind of subfloor you have. The three most common types are concrete slab, plywood and particleboard. This will help you determine whether you can install solid wood floors, or if an engineered wood would be best.

Concrete. “If you have a concrete slab floor, you’re pretty much limited to engineered wood,” says Andrew Zheng, manager of Unique Wood Floors, which specializes in and ships prefinished hardwood. But don’t fret. You can still get any type of wood in an engineered format. And the thickness of the veneer on engineered wood varies. Higher-end engineered woods “are no less than solid woods in performance and price,” Zheng says.

(Note: Even the hardest woods, such as Brazilian cherry and hard maple, will ding on an engineered floor if the plywood onto which they are veneered is soft, like lauan, which is a commonly used base.)

Another option is to install plywood over the concrete, but you’ll have to pay for the additional plywood, insulation and labor. “Most people just choose to stick with what they have,” Zheng says.

If you’re still not sold on the engineered product, Hagen says there’s a way to still have solid wood on a concrete slab (as long as it’s on grade). It just needs to be glued down, preferably by an experienced professional.

The downsides are that you need completely flat boards (hard to come by in longer lengths), and the glue is so strong that there’s a permanency to it. “If you have a leak or a flood, getting the material up is incredibly difficult,” Hagen says. “You’ll also want to check the VOCs [volatile organic compounds, which are toxic] in the product. And we ask clients about any chemical sensitivities.”

Plywood. This is probably the most common subfloor and allows for the most versatility with hardwood floors. You can nail solid wood on top or use engineered wood.

Particleboard. This material was commonly used under carpet in homes built in the 1970s. It’s basically a cheaper version of plywood. For hardwood floors, you’ll need to replace the particleboard with plywood. Then you can add engineered or solid wood.

In real estate it is always location, location, location and this Rideau Park home has it. This bungalow offers almost 4,000 sq.ft of developed living space. Conveniently located close to schools, Southgate mall, Whitemud freeway, and LRT. How often are you going to find a large bungalow like this with 5 bedrooms, fully finished basement, 2 fireplaces, 2 family rooms, a games room area, large double garage, nice size back yard with a covered deck accessible from both the kitchen eating area, and sliding doors from the master bedroom bay window. Don’t miss out on everything this home has to offer. Back yard backs onto walking path. Hot water tank was replaced 1 year ago, and the stainless counter top stove, fridge and dishwasher were recently replaced. For more information visit realtors website.

Click here to view more info or call today to view in person! 780-634-8151

To View & Search All MLS Listed Houses for Sale Visit Us At:
www.EdmontonHomesforSale.biz

Serge Bourgoin
Senior Managing Partner
Team Leading Edge
RE/MAX ELITE
780-995-6520

n real estate it is always location, location, location and this Rideau Park home has it. This bungalow offers almost 4,000 sq.ft of developed living space. Conveniently located close to schools, Southgate mall, Whitemud freeway, and LRT. How often are you going to find a large bungalow like this with 5 bedrooms, fully finished basement, 2 fireplaces, 2 family rooms, a games room area, large double garage, nice size back yard with a covered deck accessible from both the kitchen eating area, and sliding doors from the master bedroom bay window. Don’t miss out on everything this home has to offer. Back yard backs onto walking path. Hot water tank was replaced 1 year ago, and the stainless counter top stove, fridge and dishwasher were recently replaced. For more information visit realtors website.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4fNAFq7lVE&feature=youtu.be

Click here to view more info or call today to see in person! 780-634-8151

To View & Search All MLS Listed Houses for Sale Visit Us At:
www.EdmontonHomesforSale.biz

Serge Bourgoin
Senior Managing Partner
Team Leading Edge
RE/MAX ELITE
780-995-6520

Cooler days are here and I wanted to share with you tips that help lower your energy bills even in cold weather. Take the eco-challenge for a chance to win new appliances!

Plus, see how you can personalize your home financing plan using the STEP strategy.

Lillian Le

Home Financing Advisor
lillian.le@scotiabank.com
780-668-6811

In real estate is always location, location, location and this Rideau Park home
has it. This bungalow offers almost 4,000 sq.ft of developed living space.
Conveniently located close to schools, Southgate mall, Whitemud freeway, and
LRT. How often are you going to find a large bunglow like this with 5 bedrooms,
fully finished basement, 2 fireplaces, 2 family rooms, a games room area, large
double garage, nice size back yard with a covered deck accessable from both the
kitchen eating area and the sliding doors the the master bedroom bay window.
Don’t miss out on everything this home has to offer. Back yard backs onto
walking path. Hot water tank was replace 1 year ago, and the stainless counter
top stove, fridge and dishwasher were recently replaced.

For more information on this property visit: http://www.edmontonhomesforsale.biz/listing/edmonton/rideau-park-edmo/e3355547-4104-110-st

To view and search all Edmonton and Area MLS listed homes for sale visit us at: www.EdmontonHomesForSale.biz

Many Canadians are pleased to receive a tax refund each spring, but what if you had that money to spend each month when you really needed it and were able to contribute more to your annual RRSP contribution at the same time? The concept of Dollar Cost Averaging has been around for many years. Essentially, investors who practice this investment strategy make fixed dollar investments on a regular basis. If used for regular monthly RRSP investments, this strategy can translate into potentially better returns, increased ability to save and a boost in take-home pay.

Feel free to contact me or visit my website for more information.

Rising mortgage rates are fuelling home sales. They also appear to be curbing price growth as buyers drive tougher bargains.

The number of existing homes that changed hands across the country last month rose 18.2 per cent from a year earlier, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Tuesday. September’s sales were slightly above the long-term average for that month, an indication that the market has fully recovered from the steep slump after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty tightened the mortgage insurance rules in the summer of 2012.

While sales were up just 0.8 per cent from August, the rise topped some economists’ expectations and marked the seventh consecutive month-to-month gain.

But many experts claim that the increase in mortgage rates that has occurred since the spring, and the prospect of higher rates down the road, is providing a sales boost that will prove to be temporary.

Mortgage rates are up about three-quarters of a percentage point since May, with five-year fixed rates having risen to 3.39 per cent from 2.64 per cent, according to Alyssa Richard, chief executive of RateHub.ca.

With buyers facing higher rates, the market could lose steam in the months ahead.

“We expect home resales to stabilize near the current levels, although some modest pullback may occur later this year or early next as payback for sales that may have been advanced during the rush to lock-in lower rates,” Royal Bank economist Robert Hogue said in a research note.

Greg Twinney, a senior executive at the e-book company Kobo, says mortgage rates played a large factor in his role to move his family from downtown Toronto to Caledon, north of Mississauga, this fall. He had been planning to move there some time in the next five years, but the combination of finding a property he liked and a lack of clarity over how much rates will rise spurred him to buy a house there last month.

“Given where interest rates are, you’re able to get in to a home now and lock in interest rates and know what you’re paying for the next five years and it’s affordable,” he said.

The banking regulator, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, has long been considering tightening the country’s mortgage underwriting rules, and could still take action.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce economist Benjamin Tal has said recently that he suspects the housing market is currently too strong for the government’s liking. But if the current momentum in sales does prove temporary, that could ease any fears that Mr. Flaherty might have.

Jim Murphy, the head of the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals, met with Mr. Flaherty last month, partly in an effort to present the association’s case that the market is in balance and no further tightening is required. “I think he’s comfortable with where the market’s at,” Mr. Murphy said Tuesday.

Much of the concern that policy makers have had about the housing market in recent years has stemmed from rising consumer debt levels and home prices.

While the average price of homes that changed hands over the Multiple Listing Service last month was up 8.8 per cent from a year earlier, to $385,906, that’s in large part because pricey cities, such as Toronto and Vancouver, were in the midst of steep sales declines a year ago.

The Teranet-National Bank home price index for September, released Tuesday, hadn’t budged from August. The index normally picks up 0.2 per cent from August to September as buyers return from summer vacations.

“Price behaviour seems to be at odds with the recent pickup in resale activity,” National Bank economist Marc Pinsonneault wrote in a research note. “It looks that households are willing to buy, but they are now bargaining harder on prices to compensate for higher mortgage rates.”

Toronto-Dominion Bank economist Diana Petramala pointed out that a rising stock of unsold condos is also weighing on price growth. “Prices were down in Montreal and Ottawa where a growing overhang of condos on the market is keeping prices low.”

Meanwhile, consumers who are wondering where mortgage rates will go next should look to Washington, says TD chief economist Craig Alexander.

Five-year fixed mortgage rates tend to follow the yields on five-year government of Canada bonds, because those influence banks’ funding costs. Canadian bond yields tend to mirror those in the U.S. because the market views the securities as alternatives to one another. Mortgage rates rose over the summer as bond yields rose, largely because of expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would soon begin tapering its quantitative easing program.

That hasn’t happened, and bond yields have edged down a bit recently as a result. But banks tend to change their mortgage rates only when they think yield changes will be relatively long-lasting, Mr. Alexander said.

“Over the entire course of next year, I expect the five-year yield to go from 2.05 to 2.55 per cent, so I think the balance of risks are that, in 2014, fixed mortgage rates will creep up a little bit,” he said.

Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com

Dividend and interest income are two common sources used to satisfy an investor’s cash flow needs. The Investors Dividend Fund (IDF) aims to provide above-average income yield, protect the value of its investments and achieve long-term  capital appreciation. The objective for a GIC is generally to preserve capital while distributing interest income at a fixed rate. Determining which investment alternative is the right fit should be consistent with your comfort level with market
risk and your after-tax income objectives.

Feel free to contact me or visit my website for more information.

A house is the biggest asset that the majority of Americans will ever own. But while most of us delude ourselves into thinking that we actually know something about real estate, the truth is that few of us have any idea what we’re talking about.

It’s for this reason that I solicited the advice of several highly respected real estate professionals to help our readers navigate the process of both buying and selling their homes. What follows, in turn, are five things that most homebuyers should know, but don’t.

1. When you buy a home, you’re making two purchases
Of all the advice that I came across, this was probably the most insightful: “When you buy a home, you actually are making two purchases,” Dave Ness of Denver’s Thrive Real Estate Group told me. “You are buying the home, and you are buying the money to buy the home.”

It’s tempting for homeowners to think of a mortgage as an incidental expense. But the reality is that the loan itself may be the most significant piece of the transaction.

“For every 1% rise in interest rates, home prices must fall by 10% in order for you to maintain the same monthly mortgage payment,” Ness says. “And at the end of the day, that’s what matters, the monthly payment. So take advantage of low rates; they add much more buying power to your purchase than low prices.”

2. Homes are like people — they all have problems
This was a point multiple real estate professionals that I spoke with made. “All houses have issues,” Hilary Bourassa of Portland’s Oregon First Real Estate told me. “Some just have more than others.”

The shock generally comes when prospective buyers get their inspection reports back. “Inspectors are professional pessimists, which is why we love them,” Bourassa said. “But many issues only require simple and/or inexpensive fixes.”

Along the same lines, Ness analogized the experience to “when someone knocks over the DJ table at a wedding and the music stops.” All of a sudden, the bliss from going under contract goes away.

“Most inspection reports will be 40 to 50 pages long, and most inspectors will take close-up, HD photos of problems,” Ness went on to note. “So while the actual listing shows gorgeous pictures of granite countertops, the inspection report will show awful pictures of a cracked driveway. By the end of the report you’ll be thinking, ‘This house is a total and complete lemon.'”

3. Your real estate agent is a partner, not a salesman
My industry sources were obviously biased on this point, but there’s a lot of truth to what they said.

“Your Realtor should be focused on helping you find a great property, not selling you something,” Bourassa advises. Before settling on one, she urges homebuyers to “interview at least a few in order to find the fight match.”

The flipside of the coin is that you, too, are a partner in the relationship. And that means knowing and respecting the boundaries.

“Sometimes clients forget (particularly first-time buyers) that Realtors have other clients and lives outside of work,” Ness says. The key is to make sure that both parties have a clear understanding of communication expectations.

“What is their normal response time? How much lead time do they need to arrange showings? What medium of communication is best — text, call, email, or something else?” These are the types of questions that Ness encourages homebuyers and real estate agents to settle at the outset.

4. HGTV does not resemble reality
My wife and I love to watch cooking shows. We’ve watched so many, in fact, that we’ve deceived ourselves into believing that we could actually compete on them. Of course, given the opportunity, we would most certainly — and I do mean “most certainly” — crash and burn in the most humiliating fashion.

And the same can be said about the proliferation of “realty” television shows on real estate — think HouseHunters, Flip That House, Holmes on Homes, Property Virgins, and Property Brothers, among others.

“The reality is, hundreds of hours or footage is shot and edited down to a 16-minute show (when you take out the Lowe’s commercials),” Ness pointed out. “Yes, they’re real buyers, but you don’t see the half of it. So don’t think you’re going to waltz into your market and find the perfect house right away, beat out all the other offers, and then walk into the sunset with your significant other. Finding a home can be tough, and take time.”

Ness’ advice? “Gear up for the homebuying process. It’s worth it, but it ain’t Hollywood!”

5. Always think about resale
This final piece is something that all people buying assets should always keep in mind: At some point you’re going to resell it and will want to maximize what you eventually get.

“When you’re buying your home, you’re probably not thinking of the day that you will have to sell it,” Bourassa said, “but you will be thanking yourself one day if you remember three little things … location, location, location!”

The bottom line
Most if not all of us will buy at least one house in our lives. With that in mind, you should save yourself the trouble of making the same mistakes that most of your peers will. Take these five pieces of information into consideration. You’ll be doing yourself a favor if you do.

Source: Wikimedia Commons