Protect, Maintain and Enhance the value of your home with HouseLogic

February 19, 2010 · Filed Under First Time Buyers, Home Maintenance, Real Estate Articles and Tips for Selling your Home · Comment 

Interested in ways to seal air leaks around the house to lower your heating bill?  How about saving energy with home lighting?  Planning on redoing the kitchen or bathroom?  Enter HouseLogic, a comprehensive website aimed to assist you in 100’s of home remodeling, energy saving tips.  Best of all….it’s FREE!

Earlier this week, the National Association of REALTORS (American version of CREA) launched a new website, entitled HouseLogic.  This web site is designed to help home owners make smart decisions to maintain, protect, and increase the value of their homes. HouseLogic will help consumers take responsible actions pertaining to what is likely the largest investment of their lives.

With content covering home improvement, maintenance, taxes, finance, insurance, and even ways you can get involved in and enrich your community, HouseLogic can help you increase and protect the value of your home by helping you make confident decisions.  (remember this is an American site so the taxes and finances, insurance may not be applicable here in Canada)

Create to-do lists, and set project reminders, get costs estimates on various renos and home improvements (in USD). A very informative website that has it all.  Be sure to check it out.

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4 Simple Ways to make your home irressistible

February 8, 2010 · Filed Under Home Maintenance and Tips for Selling your Home · Comment 

There are dozens of ways to make your property more enticing to potential buyers.  For example, you can invest in  getting your home professionally “staged”, which involves making it look a little like a model home.  Or, you can do a major renovation to improve your home‘s look and value.

But what if you don’t have a lot of time and are on a limited budget? What can you do today to make your home irresistible to buyers tomorrow?  Here are some ideas:

1. Paint
It doesn’t cost much to paint key areas of your home, like the foyer, kitchen or master bedroom.  Yet the impression it makes on buyers is significant. In fact, compared to most other types of home improvement projects, painting gives you the highest payback when you sell.

2. Create space
Homes naturally get cluttered over the years.  Even a double car garage can seem claustrophobic if there are a lot of boxes, equipment and other items stored in it.  Go through each room of your home and do a major decluttering.  It will  make your property seem more attractive and, when you sell, make moving easier too!

3. Clean and tidy
Obviously, you’re going to make sure your home is clean for viewings. But you’d be surprised what a homeowner can miss and a buyer notices. Closets, laundry rooms, side yard, basement furnace room and all other nooks and crannies should be as tidy and clean as possible.

4. Roll out the red carpet
Not an actual red carpet! But you do want the entrance way to your front door and into the foyer to make the best impression possible.  After all, those are the areas that a buyer sees first. Make sure walkways are clear and clean. Ensure that when a buyer opens the front door and walks in, the impression he or she gets is that of a great looking place to live.

These four tips don’t take much time or money to implement. Yet, they can all help make your home even more irresistible to buyers than it is today.

Want more tips on preparing your home for sale?  Curious to know the value of your home? Contact Fraser and Stephen Winters today for a FREE home market evaluation.

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Newfoundland Temperatures getting colder! Time to explore ecoENERGY Retrofit and Home Renovation Tax Credit programs

September 9, 2009 · Filed Under Energuide Info and Home Maintenance · 3 Comments 

What a great summer we are having (or is it had).  Unfortunately you can feel the Newfoundland nights getting colder.  On that note, it might be a great time to think of ways to make your home more energy-efficient AND receive grants through the ecoENERGY Retrofit Program. There you can find a list of improvements and retrofits that are eligible under the ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes program and the corresponding grant amounts. The maximum grant you can receive for a home is $5,000.  Don’t forget the Home Renovation Tax Credit.  You can claim a non-refundable tax credit on your 2009 income tax return based on eligible expenses incurred for work performed or goods acquired after January 27, 2009, and before February 1, 2010 resulting in a maximum tax credit of $1,350.

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Possible Tax Credit for Home Renovations in Jan 27 budget

January 15, 2009 · Filed Under Home Maintenance and Real Estate Canada · Comment 

In 12 days the government is set to release the details of the budget and is  expected to deliver up to $30-billion in stimulus to soften an economic downturn.  Among the items on the agenda is the potential to offer a tax credit for home renovations.

Still in the infant stages they are toying with this idea and whether to offer a tax credit for home renovation in general, or merely for retrofits and upgrades that increase energy efficiency.

A few of the negative drawbacks we can expect to see for a national program  such as this reno tax credit is that they are typically difficult to administer, hard to monitor and susceptible to fraud.

Personally I thought this would be accepted with open arms, but after reading some of the comments left on the Globe and Mail article opinions are quite mixed.

Read the full article in the Globe And Mail – Plan offers tax credit for home renovations

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September Newfoundland Real Estate Stats

October 2, 2008 · Filed Under First Time Buyers, Home Maintenance, Monthly MLS Stats, Mount Pearl Real Estate and St. John's Real Estate · Comment 

The monthly Newfoundland Real Estate MLS housing price break down is showing an increase of 6% in listings this month and an increase of 27% in home purchases.  Year to date, listings are up 1% and sales up 13% compared to this time last year.  Properties sold in St. John’s in the $180,000 to $350, 000 range have doubled in number of units sold.

Total # of New MLS Listings [Sept] = 834

Total # of Sales [Sept] = 606

Number of Active Listings in the NLAR MLS System = 2587

The average price of a home in the St. John’s Real Estate market is now $183,929 year to date for 2008.  Compared to $165,813 9YTD) for 2007.  Remember this is for ALL Newfoundland (nlar.ca)  Prices are closer to the $200,000 average in St. John’s, Mount Pearl and surrounding areas.

Here is a break down by area for the month of September for single family homes

St. John’s Real Estate: Listings = 178 Sales = 122 Sales/Listings Ratio = 67%

Average Sale Price: $192,575

Mount Pearl Real Estate: Listings = 21 Sales = 24 Sales/Listings Ratio = 114%

Average Sale Price: $177,445

Paradise Real Estate: Listings =52 Sales = 32 Sales/Listings Ratio = 61%

Average Sale Price: $210,327

East Extern Real Estate: Listings = 43 Sales = 25   Sales/Listings Ratio = 54%

Average Sale Price: $219,413

Conception Bay Real Estate: Listings = 41   Sales = 41  Sales/Listings Ratio = 100%

Average Sale Price: $197,360

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Basement subfloor – Platon, Truwall or DRIcore

September 23, 2008 · Filed Under Home Maintenance · 5 Comments 

It’s the time of year to think insulation and how to keep the heat inside during the upcoming winter season. With that in mind I have FINALLY gotten around to installing a basement subfloor.  So off I go to The Home Depot for some pricing. (Jump to the bottom for updated results for what I used and how it preformed)

The rec room portion of my basement I want to sub floor is approx 24′ x 24′ or 576 sqft. I was familiar with the “normal” process of strapping my floor with 1″ x 3″ on the Truwall and nailing/screwing 5/8″ plywood on top, but a friend of mine mentioned to me he just installed Platon. So along with the two previously mentioned methods, I decided to toss DRIcore panels in the mix and compare price, functionality and installation ease for each product.

DRIcore


DRIcore are 2″ x 2″ engineered tongue and grove panels, 7/8″ in height (~$7 per panel). The bottom portion of the panels is made of a high density polyethylene moisture barrier bonded to the underside of the Random Wafer Board (RWB). The moisture barrier is molded with “dual wall cleats” that act as a raised moisture barrier.

This “appears” to be the easiest method. Lay them down, and click into the adjacent ones.
Even though they say 2″ x 2″ they are smaller then that. (closer to 23 1/4″ x 23 1/4″) On the display pamphlet is said total square footage divided by 3.3. So 576/3.3 = 175 panels. This is approx $1400 with taxes.

Platon

From the website Platon is “a tough, durable, double dimpled, high-density polyethylene air gap membrane”. Found in rolls 6′ wide by 66′ long. (~$115 per roll) The Platon looks VERY similar to the bottom side of the DRIcore panels. Doesn’t appear to be as sturdy.
The concept behind Platon, is roll it out, over lap the edges and seal with Tuct Tape or Chaulking. This creates the raised air gap / moisture barrier. On top of the Platon you have to install 4′ x 8′ plywood sheets. I chose 5/8″ thickness. (~$30 per sheet) For my area I would need about 18 sheets + 2 extra. So 20 sheets * $30 = $600. Plus the 2 rolls of Platon.
Note: in this method you would need concrete nails or my personal favorite, my 22 caliber single shot Hammer Tool. Cost for 100 inch and a half nails = $15 and about $10 for the 100 shots. Grand total for this method is approx $1000.

Truwall, strapping, and plywood method

This method is by far the most time consuming. You have to first layout your Truwall (complete with strapping grooves). You then have to lay the 1″ x 3 ” strapping in the grooves and while using your trusty 22 cal hammer tool, fix to the concrete. On top of this you then lay your plywood. Again, using 5/8″ thickness. At this point I would screw the plywood to the strapping holding it firmly in place.
4′ x 8′ (1 1/2″ thickness) Truwall = $16 (Need 20)
4′ x 8′ x 5/8″ Plywood = $30 (Need 20)
1″ x 3″ x 8′ strapping = $1.50 a piece (Need 60)
100 1 1/2″ nails = $15
100 22 cal shot = $10
1 1/2″ screws = $30
Grand total = $1200

Conclusion

I opted for the DRIcore Panels.  For the extra cash I hope they are as easy to install as they say they are. (100sqft per hour)  I opted for the panels for the overall funcationality.  I also liked the ease to access my floor drain and my main sewer clean out pipe incase of an emergency.

UPDATE: As an update I did buy and install the DRIcore panels.  Man…..the easiest thing to use.  You can install them wearing a shirt and tie and not even break a sweat.  HIGHLY recommend them.  The slight difference in price was well worth it in “man hours”.  I installed 12mm laminate flooring over it and it’s was a perfect combination.  And on the feet….perfect.  Nice and firm and toasty on the feet. ( Of course laminate in a basement will appear “cool” to the feet anyways)

Would I use it again?  Absolutely.  Even convinced 2 other friends finishing their basements to use it, and from the results I’m sure they will be referring it to others.

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Basement renovations Tips

September 12, 2008 · Filed Under Energuide Info, Home Maintenance and St. John's General · Comment 

Although it’s the middle of September and the temperature is quite comfortable, winter will soon be here.  Fall is normally the time of year to start inside home renovations, particularly basement renovations. By making a few changes, you can create a cozy space to spend time with guests during the holidays. By adding insulation to your exterior walls, installing a sub floor, you’ll notice some big changes in both your heat bills and the condition of your property.  I personally insulated my basement last year before the winter arrived and notice a huge change.

These tips are curiosity of the Home Depot.

• Turn up the heat

Basements are the coldest areas in the home, yet with the potential of becoming the most inviting.  A fireplace will instantly add warmth to this cool area, providing direct heat into the room. There are several different styles available ranging in price range and total square footage it covers.

• If these walls could talk

New paint on walls is like an instant facelift for your basement. Painting is an effective and quick way to change the look and feel of the room – making it a more inviting place to spend time. There are also several different styles of wallpaper available at The Home Depot that will help give your basement a fresh and updated look.

• Walk this way

Keep your toes warm and toasty by installing subflooring on top of the cold basement floor. Once installed, cover it with carpet, wood, laminate or tile – whatever suits your style.

• Let there be light

Many basements have little or no available natural light, which can make the room gloomy.  Consider installing pot lights or track lighting across the ceiling.  These types of light fixtures will instantly brighten the room by giving it a warm glow.

Credit: www.newscanada.com

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