Ice dams form at the edge of a roof and prevent the water of melting snow from draining off the roof. Instead of flowing into the eavestrough, the water backs up behind the dam and seeps under the shingles and into a home - damaging ceilings and walls. If ice dams have been an issue, the first step is to seal the attic from warm air leaks. Add more insulation and be sure there's proper ventil...Read More

Engineered wood flooring has many benefits, but depending on the brand, it can also be a hazard. That's because some brands manufactured outside of Canada contain high amounts of Formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is used as a cheap glue in the making of laminate and engineered wood floors. The toxin, which can release into the air from flooring, is known to cause nose and throat cancer, trouble breat...Read More

While there may be less buyers out there, people who look for a home during the holidays are serious … they are ready to buy!   There are fewer homes for buyers to look at during the holidays which means less competition for you … less competition equals more money! After the holidays the supply of listings increases substantially which lowers the demand for your home &...Read More

There's no better way to lose a friend You and your friend (or relative) get along well for a reason but even if someone is a lovely person socially they may be very different in a business context. When mixing friendship and business the potential for disagreements (or worse arguments) is never far away. The process of buying and/or selling a home is an emotional one, and when we're emoti...Read More

Along with the market value of a home, two other methods of valuation are assessed value and appraised value. Assessed value is used for property taxation purposes. Appraised value is used by lenders when evaluating a home loan application. The appraised value acts to protect a lender from artificially high home prices. Apprraised value is often used when applealing a property tax assessment. The ...Read More

Want to water your lawn only when it hasn't rained? Connect to a meteorologist. Local weather changes have day-today implications on how much water is needed for a healthy lawn. Now there's no more guesswork - Skydrop interprets real time weather data to intelligently water the lawn and save water and money. THere's no rooftop weather system needed, the Skydrop controler only needs an...Read More

  Imagine the diswasher leaking in the kitchen .... a burst washing machine hose ... or an overflowing bathtub .... How long would it take to discover the leak? And how much damage would there be? Sure, there are complicated systems that can be connected with home monitoring. Now, there are water leak alarms that can be inconspicuously placed anywhere that could experience water flow if a l...Read More

Make sure your Realtor includes a contingency to have a pre-closing inspection. The reason for a pre-closing inspection is to ensure the property is in the same condition as it was when you agreed to buy it, to prevent unwanted surprises on moving day and having time to address potential issues. To avoid getting burned schedule the walk through just before your actual closing date, generally withi...Read More

Get pre-approved and get it in writing. This will allow you to make a make a stronger offer that's more likely to be accepted. You can often lock in "today's" rate for several months, meaning that if rates go up you'll get a better deal and if rates go down you can take advantage of that when making your offer. You will find out exactly how much you can afford and not waste ...Read More