Landscaping to Add Curb Appeal and Marketability of your Home

When we analyse the pros and cons of the various options in improvements we can make to our properties, we usually see kitchens and bathrooms listed first in terms of the best return on investment (ROI), especially if you can do some or all of the work yourself.

But despite their promising ROI, kitchen and bath reno projects can be very costly. But most Canadians don’t have the knowledge and skills needed to do these renovation themselves, so must pay professionals to do the job – no chance for the homeowner to provide any ‘sweat equity’.

If you are itching to be involved in adding value to your home, consider landscaping. Landscaping projects can vary greatly in cost, while offering a better opportunity for anxious homeowners to manage part or all of the project themselves – dramatically increasing the ROI.

Plus, if you are considering selling your home, you will want good curb appeal. A well-landscaped home will give would-be purchasers that good first impression that can lead to a quicker sale – before they even see the kitchen or bath.

Consider these simple inexpensive landscaping projects;

Flowers – whether improving an existing flower bed or creating a new one, flowers bring colour to your yard, add a pleasant fragrance to the air, and attract birds and butterflies.

Discuss your thoughts, budget and site factors (light and soil conditions) with a local nursery to find out what will work best.

Mulch – possibly the simplest, least-expensive way to make a big impact to your property. Mulch is a more eco-friendly choice than grass/lawn and can define spaces, add colour and texture, save you time and dramatically change the overall look of your yard.

Lawns – another easily improved aspect of landscaping. From simple over-seeding to thicken the grass to filling in patches to resodding, improving your lawn often involves labour that you can provide yourself.

Edging – easy, no or low-cost way to make an improvement – gives garden areas more definition and a more polished look. While you have your shovel or edger in hand, consider enlarging your gardens, thus reducing your lawn surface – an eco-friendly move.

Shrubs and Trees – can totally change the look of your home. Trees and shrubs can add colour and texture, and even help block out unsightly neighbouring homes or yards. This can be one of the more costly landscaping projects, so careful consideration and planning are recommended to ensure the best bang for your buck.

Efflorescence

Are you troubled by efflorescence? Efflorescence is a white residue found on the surface of concrete and bricks. It can take the form of a crystal-like deposit or appear as a fluffy/fuzzy looking growth. But a growth it is not.

Sometimes mistaken for mould, efflorescence is caused when water seeps through the material (concrete, bricks, tile, etc.) and brings dissolved salts and minerals from within to the surface. When the water evaporates, the white stain appears.

Should you be worried? That depends on the situation. If you are bothered by unsightly stains on the exterior of your home, often found in new homes, simply wash the problem away. (Check out these helpful cleaning tips.)

But if the problem recurs regularly, it may be a sign that you have an underlying problem; a leaky eaves trough or downspout that needs attention, or that the direction of an automatic sprinkler head needs to be adjusted.

More of a concern is when efflorescence appears on an interior surface of your home. This may be a sign of poor water drainage on the other side of the affected wall or surface. Clean the area well, then watch for signs of the efflorescence reappearing. Consult a basement/concrete specialist if it does.

Thanks to John Arnott from Welcome Home Inspections for this info! www.welcomehomeinspections.ca

Homeowner Tips for Winter’s End

If you’re like me, you’re eagerly awaiting the arrival of spring and all the activities that come along with it. But as we wait for the days to grow longer and the temperatures to improve, there are still some tasks on your home’s interior that need your attention. Here are a few household maintenance tips that will help your home run at tip-top efficiency: 

• Remember to clean or replace the air filters in your furnace, and also in your range hood for top efficiency. If you have a forced air system with an air humidifier, clean out those filters too. It’s a good idea to do this every month.
• You can also help optimize your furnace’s performance by keeping your air ducts clean. Remove the register covers and vacuum inside the ducts whenever you do your carpets.
• Check the batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.
• While your windows are still closed tight from winter’s stormy blasts, it’s a good time to inspect them to see if there’s any condensation or leakage on the inside. Caulk any seams or edges that may be letting cold air or moisture in.
• If you’ve been enjoying fires in your wood burning fireplace or wood stove, you’re probably due for a chimney cleaning. This is a task that’s best left to the ‘pros’, so plan on booking a cleaning for after your last fire of the season.

If you’d like more homeowner tips, or have some of your own to share…let me know!

How to make an appealing offer

When the time comes to make an offer on a property, every transaction is different. However, whether it’s a hot market or a challenging one, there are some tips to keep in mind that will help your offer appeal to the seller.

Your first step is advance preparation. When you’re ready to buy a home, get your finances in order first. Make sure all your credit card and loan payments are up to date, and your credit rating is spotless. Then, get pre-approved for your mortgage loan, so you’ll know in advance how much you can afford, and what your monthly payments will be. If you need help, I can assist you in this process. Going into negotiations with a pre-approved mortgage shows you’re a stable, prepared, dependable buyer. That makes your offer appealing too — especially if your competition isn’t so well prepared!

Another way to make your offer appealing is by accommodating the seller’s terms as much as possible. Remember, there are many things that may have value to the seller aside from the price. For example, if the seller wants a different closing date than you’d prefer, consider its importance against the value of presenting a clean offer, with little in it for the seller to object to. You may be surprised to learn that what may be a minor consideration to you has great importance to the seller.

It’s particularly important when you remember that if any aspect of an offer is rejected or revised, then the whole offer is refused. That means everything can come back up for negotiation again, including the price. There’s a lot to consider when buying a home…Let me know if you have any other questions!

Guelph’s Official Plan

So, every 5 years, the city gets a chance to tweak the official plan for the future. It provides a framework for new growth and development and gives a good overview of the direction the city is taking. I went to the meeting last night where the proposed changes were being presented and discussed and was quite interested in what I heard…both from the panel of city staff who are charged with putting this together and from the interested citizens in attendance. The official plan lays out the what, where and how overview for the next 25 years…I am happy to see that the overall plan is for a Guelph that is focused on balancing living and working.

Here are some highlights that I found interesting…

• The growth targets for Guelph have been modified from the original 210,000 set by the province to be 175,000 residents by 2031 (we have about 118,000 now)
• All growth will be within existing city boundaries…I am really happy to see this one! They will achieve this by intensifying existing built-up areas and special focus is on the downtown core as well as ‘mixed-use nodes and corridors’ throughout the city
• The city will be allowing coach houses and garden suites (separate residential units on one lot) and targeting the addition of 90 accessory apartments each year
• Emphasis on affordable housing…defined as owned homes under $237,000 (based on the 60th percentile of household incomes) and rental units under $833 (the current average in Guelph).
• Urban design will focus on aesthetically pleasing facades, encouraging walk-able neighbourhoods and make it easy to implement transit routes in the future
• In areas that currently have a lot of commercial development, there will be a push to incorporate medium and high density residential
• Encouraging ‘green’ development in all sectors

That is just a glimpse of what was covered! Overall, it painted a nice picture of the city that I think would be a beacon to people wanting to live in a progressive, sustainable place. The cynic in me has to mention that it will not affect the recent and pending developments that have already been approved which don’t fit this ideal, and we run the risk of scaring away developers who may not want to follow the guidelines that the city is putting forth. That said, I don’t think that is justification for not setting a high standard for this city…I think the chances are just as great that we will draw to us developers who will want to be seen as being a partner with this great city of ours!

I’d love to hear what you think!

Guelph. Remastered

That’s what they’re calling it…25 infrastructure projects in one year!

I just visited an info session about the bike lanes planned for Stone and Gordon. While it will definitely affect my drive to the office, I think it is a good thing…quite a few areas here are not all that conducive to cyclists. My only regret is that there apparently isn’t enough money to re-pave the stretch on Stone from Gordon to Victoria…hopefully that will change, because it is pretty bad now!

Check out the site and let me know what you think!  http://guelph.ca/remastered/

Insurance Concerns for Buyers

Sounds kind of scary, doesn’t it? Not to worry though…with proper advanced knowledge and awareness of what’s going on out there with insurance companies, you can protect yourself.

I attended a seminar on this topic and want to share some key points.

1. insurance companies are being more wary when it comes to insuring properties, and there are a number of things that they will deny coverage for
2. that said, any property can be insured…at a price
3. mortgage companies require proof of insurance on a property before they will forward funds
4. insurance companies look at you too, not just the home you’re buying
5. don’s forget, insurance companies make money by NOT paying claims

What are some of the things that are making insurance companies say ‘hold on a second’?

• knob and tube wiring – pre 1950′s wiring
• aluminum wiring – used in the late 1960′s to mid 1970′s when copper was really expensive, problems usually occur when the wrong receptacles, switches, etc. are used
• 60 amp service – overloading the service is pretty easy in this case (newer homes have 100 amp or higher service)
• galvanized steel plumbing – common pre 1950s, can corrode from the inside out so it is hard to see if there is a problem until it leaks
• cast iron waste pipe – often in the same homes with galvanized plumbing, rust and corrosion is a risk here too
• old roofs – these can leak and cause leaks (leading to claims)
• oil tanks – particularly those buried underground, they can rust out and leach fuel oil into the ground leading to large cleanup costs
• mould – it’s everywhere, but major issues can lead to structural damage (think of grow houses)
• wood stoves – if not installed properly, can be a fire hazard
• old furnaces – again, a fire hazard risk, as well as a risk if it breaks down in the winter and pipes freeze and burst
• grow houses – damage due to mould, renos to accommodate the plants, electrical and plumbing jerry-rigging all affects the houses overall integrity
• asbestos – sometimes used as insulation on hot water pipes in older homes
• vermiculite insulation – some out there came from a mine in the US contaminated with asbestos
• income properties – the more people in a house over time, the higher the risk of a claim
• home business – increased traffic means increased risk for insurance claims (i.e. slip and fall)
• expensive cottages on private roads – can be hard to access if on fire, particularly in the winter if the road is not maintained
• vacant homes  – again, higher risk of something happening to the home when no one is around

Seems like a lot, doesn’t it! Most of these are addressed simply by letting the insurance company know…it may increase your premiums a little, but at least you’ll be covered! Sometimes the insurance company will give you insurance with a caveat…i.e. you have 6 days to upgrade the electrical panel from 60 to 100 amps.

The best thing to do is to get your insurance sorted out long before you take possession…they will not extend actual coverage until closing, but at least you will know if there could be any hiccups before money changes hands.

I hope that info is helpful…let me know if you have any questions or comments on your experiences with your insurance company!

Hello world!

As a further extension of my online foray…here is my new blog! I will add comments, commentaries and info for all to see and share with others. For this to be any fun at all…I need your help! Please post your comments and questions, and let others know about it!

Cheers, Kristi