Maintaining Your Home

Maintaining Your Home is a time consuming, labour intensive and occasionally expensive exercise, however, there are a few specific things that you can do on an annual basis that can help to prolong the more expensive elements of your home. Certainly, four of the most expensive elements of your home to try to replace are:

Your Roof
Your Windows
Your Furnace
Your Foundation

There are simple, and inexpensive things you can do on an annual basis that will go a long way towards maintaining and extending the life of these elements of your home. Have you ever seen a roof with Moss all over it? This is caused by too much shade and moisture on your shingles – almost always a result of trees growing over top of your roof. One of the simplest (and cheapest) things you can to do maintain the integrity of your roof shingles is to get up and cut back those tree limbs. This helps with two things actually – it keeps the constant shade off your roof, eliminating moss, and also helps to keep your gutters clean – no more constant climbing up to get the sludge and leaves out! Your Windows are the portals out to the world, but you must remember that they are also where the world comes in to you! A quick walk around your home to check the seals, and even resealing or recaulking your windows, on an annual basis will ensure that you don’t get wind and water into places that you don’t want! Your Furnace is definitely something that you probably don’t want to take apart and maintain yourself – it is much better left to the professionals, but having your furnace checked once a year is a good idea – it is much better to see your furnace repair person for an hour in the fall than it is to get that bill after seeing them for a whole day in February! You can check with your preferred home heating company, or log onto our website – www.HOMESINHRM.com - to find links to companies that will do annual checkups on your furnace. One more thing… Having your ducts cleaned? Probably not worth the money unless you have done some major Reno’s in the last year! Save your money for a nice dinner! Finally, your foundation – by far the major point of concern with home buyers. To maintain your foundation is really a matter of maintaining the lay of the land around your home. You should have a negative grade (ground should be sloping away) from all sides of your home. After a good rainfall, take a quick walk around your home and make sure that there are no puddles of water sitting around your home next to your foundation. If there is, you should attempt to build up the ground near the home at that point so that rainwater runs off safely away from the Foundation. In fact, almost every basement leak can be fixed by simply getting the water away from the foundation with better grading.

All of these solutions put together will cost you less than $200 a year to do, and could save you tens of thousands of Dollars in the long term!

Myths about Mortgage Brokers

Time for a New Mortgage or a New Home Purchase? Maybe a Refinance? Take a few moments to talk to a mortgage Broker. Take a look at the following misconceptions about Mortgage brokers and then read on to find out how they simply save you time and money!

“Mortgage Brokers cost too much” – It costs you nothing as a consumer to use a mortgage broker. They will search for the best mortgage for you, and their payment comes from the lending companies that eventually set up mortgages for you.

“I am already dealing with a bank” – Whether you have visited your bank or not, you owe it to yourself to visit a mortgage broker to see if they can save you money every month. Wouldn’t you rather have it in your pocket?

“Mortgage brokers don’t do Refinancing” – Wrong. They do, and they can save you money here too!

“I Don’t have a Down Payment/good enough credit/enough money to buy a house” – There are a number of options for home buyers today, including No down payment options, help with closing costs from certain mortgages, 35 year mortgages to lower monthly payments, and if you have bad credit, a good mortgage broker will work with you to reestablish good enough credit to get your mortgage and get into a new home”.

“I can’t get a mortgage because I am self-employed/commission salesperson etc” – Mortgage Brokers can help you more than anyone! With dozens of lenders available, you are not limited to just the big 5 banks when you deal through a mortgage broker.

Above all, a mortgage broker is there to help you find the best rate, and terms, for your mortgage. They will consider your situation and make recommendations to you on different mortgage options that you can consider.

Condo Ownership in Halifax

I’m Not Old enough for a Condo!

First of all, Don’t be Silly. Condo’s are certainly not just the domain of the elderly anymore… in fact, the majority of today’s new construction Condo projects are being marketed at the Younger, urban professional crowd – those who want the convenience of being downtown, and certainly aren’t looking to spend their weekends cleaning out the gutter or shoveling the walkway. So what are the important parts to know about owning a condo? Read on my friends…

Condo’s come in all shapes and sizes – They look like apartments, townhouses, semidetached homes and even detached homes. The word Condo refers to the group of homeowners (typically) who manage the PUBLIC or COMMUNAL elements of the property.

In an apartment building, this is things like the laundry room, the garage, the grounds, the outside walls, windows, roof, siding etc.

In a townhome or detached home concept, this typically means all the streets in the complex, the grounds at the front of each property, the communal grounds, the parking lots, maybe the driveways and all the exterior walls, roof etc.

Each Condo will typically have a Condo Corporation with a board of directors who decide how the collective monies (condo fees) will be spent to maintain the building(s) each year.

You will have to pay Condo Fees to these people on a Monthly Basis. What you get for your money is:

Maintenance of the exterior of the building
Maintenance of the grounds
Snow Shovelling
Lawn Mowing
SOMETIMES – Heat, Hot Water, Lights or any combination of these (check with your realtor BEFORE you purchase)
SOMETIMES – a parking space (often times this will cost extra)
The Right to complain to these people!

You Still own your piece of the PIE! Although there are some bylaws that govern the usage of the units within the condo (often relating to things like Pets, the removal of walls or major renovations etc), you still own the inside of your unit! You may Paint, decorate, refinish, retile what ever you wish without the permission of a landlord as you would have as a renter. In fact, it is a good idea because you still control the price that you will eventually sell this condo for!

Want to Know More about Condo’s? Go to www.HOMESINHRM.com and click on CONDO to learn more about condo projects that are planned for the HRM in the next couple of years.

Building vs. Buying

Have you thought that you might be interested in building your own home?

Think Long and Hard, because it can be a difficult, time consuming and stressful procedure, but can ultimately result in you having that house that fits you just perfectly! Here are a few things to think about before you put down a hefty deposit.

Do I Have enough time to devote to this? Even if you are going with a Turn-key Package, you should still plan on devoting a bit of time each evening to answering questions for your new home…. What kind of Cabinets do we want? Do we really want that retaining wall now that we’ve seen the Backyard? BE READY to be called upon a lot!

Do I have 4-6 months to wait before I am in to a Home? Delays Happen – It’s a fact - like Death and Taxes.

Do I Like the Creative Design Process? As the builder of a home, you will look, relook, and look again at your designs, and change walls here and there like you are playing cut and paste. This is all part of the process and will take you to where you ultimately want to end up – however, can be very tense as you go along.

Maybe I should act as my Own General Contractor? – This is a good way to save a few bucks, and add a few thousand headaches. I wouldn’t recommend it if this is your first build.

Can I find an existing home that will fit all of my needs? – Ultimately, the result to building your home is simple – you will end up with exactly what you are looking for, newly built, with a warranty, and it is yours and only yours.

There are Dozens of other questions you should ask yourself and be comfortable with the answers to before you think about building. Go to www.HOMESINHRM.com to find out what they are, and to find some answers!

Home Reno's

Just finishing up some reno's on my home right now, as I am getting ready to put it on the market this week. Nice home out in Lake Echo on the water, and we have done a few things to fix it up. We have completely re-done the bathroom downstairs, and added in a full bathroom upstairs (something we should have done long ago!). Enjoyed the renovation process, although it can get frustrating at times.

It is definitely one of those things where I feel the pressure to "walk the walk", as we are always telling people that they have to do certain things to get their house ready, it is important to me that I am doing the same things. Hopefully this will help expediate our sale!

Arsenic in Drinking Water?

Halifax Real Estate

As a result of what I have discoved is a bit of an underdiscussed element of buying or selling a home here in Nova Scotia that happens to be on Well Water.
Arsenic exists in a number of wells here in Nova Scotia, and there are certain areas in the province that have higher concentrations than others. I am going to try to answer some of the more common questions that come up about arsenic as it pertains to a real estate transaction.

1. Is arsenic in my water dangerous?

The simple answer to this is, over the long term - yes. According to the Governement of Nova Scotia research, high concentrations of arsenic can cause sickness, diarrhea and muscle pain. Even in lower levels, concentration over the long term can cause cancer.

2. What are the accepted levels of Arsenic according to the Government standards?

The limit has recently been reduced, and now stands at 10 micrograms per litre. This reduction happened early in 2006, so there are some homes in NS which will have met the guidelines prior to 2006 (which was 25 micrograms per litre), but don't meet them any more. If you are at all concerned about your levels, you should have your water tested. Feel free to contact us for water bottles, and for help with the sampling and testing process.

3. Can arsenic hurt me if I don't drink it?

Arsenic is not well absorbed by the skin, and as a result, there minimum exposure due to showering or bathing. However, you should avoid having the kids drink the bath water - although it wouldn't be a significant health risk if they aren't doing it consistently.

4. Can Arsenic be treated?

Arsenic can be treated, through 3 different methods right now. Reverse Osmosis is the most common method, and involves a filter system being set up and having the water being forced through a membrane. Ultimately, the water passes through, and all the contents (including arsenic) are left behind on the membrane. This can be installed either at the point of entry (ie. where the water comes into the house) or a the point of use (on a drinking water tap). The single taps are much cheaper than the systems that cover the entire home, however, you are then using that tap only for you drinking water.

The anion exchange and distillation units are generally used as point of entry systems, and involve the removal of arsenic by passing it over a resin bed in the case of the anion exchange and of course - boiling to complete steam in the case of distillation.

Note - Arsenic can not be taken out of water by simply bringing it to a boil. It is not the same as bacteria and other minerals. Arsenic can also not be treated by filtering it through a canister system (ie. Brita). It must be treated with a system specifically designed to remove it.

Have more questions? Contact us at www.homesinhrm.com - or visit the Department of Environment and Labour.

Feb 07 Halifax Market Update

Despite the cold temperatures of January setting in, the Local housing market has already started to heat up! Already in February, over $28 million dollars worth of real estate has sold in the Halifax Region. People want to know what is moving these days, so here are some ideas of what the hottest areas of the market are, in terms of location, housing type and price!
So Far, through February 1st of this year, the average sale price of a home here in Halifax Region, is $187,387, and it has taken approximately 111 days to sell. There have been a total of 426 property transactions here in the region, which includes home sales, condo sales, vacant land, multi-unit (income property) and commercial properties. The average price that these properties have been listed at was $194,145, which give us an average list/sale ratio of about 97% (otherwise put - homes have been selling for about 97% of what they were listed at).

To break it down in terms of type of housing, it is interesting that the average price for a Condo in Halifax Region has now outpaced the average price for a single family home. The average condo this year has sold for $206,623, and they have sold in an average of 99 days, while the average single family home has had a price tag of $197,965. This includes townhouses and semi’s however. The average detached home still remains slightly higher at $209,054.

The highest price home to have sold this year was listed at $679,900, with the lowest price being $39,600. In terms of Condo’s, the highest has gone for $449,900, with the lowest being $85,900.

In terms of areas that have been moving lately, Sackville and Timberlea remain quite busy this time of year. Highly concentrated military presence can probably be accounting for this, as we come into posting seasons.
The most new listings were seen in the Clayton Park, Fairmount, Rockingham region, with a number of new construction projects on the go in Royale Hemlocks, as well as a number of condos coming on in Clayton Park West. Fairview has slowed down in terms of turnover greatly, with January seeing only 3 new listings, and 3 total sales in the area (as compared to 99 listings and 30 sales in Clayton Park). Look for Fairview to quicken as we come into the spring months however.

Want to know how the activity has been in your area? Drop us a line at www.homesinhrm.com and we would be happy to give you a full report!