Posts by curiousprojects

Considering Your Lifestyle When House Hunting

August 21, 2016 | Comments Off

Considering Your Lifestyle When House Hunting Buying a home is one of the biggest financial decisions you will ever make. As a result, making a smart and focused decision requires an analysis of your unique needs, allowing you to find a home that suits not only those needs but also your lifestyle. In addition to the physical attributes of a home, such as the number of bedrooms and total square footage, you should consider your lifestyle when choosing a home. Evaluate these factors on your next house-hunting adventure. Commute Time Your dream home might not be a dream if a
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Voice Control & Connected Devices Fuel Home Automation

August 15, 2016 | Comments Off

Connected devices hooked up to the Internet are advancing home automation in a way that helps you make your new home a clean, energy efficient and welcoming place. The key to controlling the devices can be a smartphone, tablet or computer. As you bring devices under your control and make your home a Smart Home, get them to interact with one another, you can also help them work together to improve your living environment even more. Voice automation, which involves controlling connected devices with your voice, makes it possible for you to direct many changes. Through a virtual assistant, the
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4 Helpful Tips for Purchasing Home Insurance for a New Homeowner

August 9, 2016 | Comments Off

An insurance policy is an asset for any home owner. Owning a home for the first time is incredibly exciting. After all, you have a space that is completely yours to decorate, spend time in and simply enjoy. However, with the rewards of homeownership also come the responsibilities, and people who are buying their first houses will discover that they suddenly have a whole slew of necessary to-dos. One of the most important things for a new homeowner? Buying a home insurance policy for the new house, which will not only protect the structure of the house, but also
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Market Snapshot July 2016 Ottawa Real Estate

August 5, 2016 | Comments Off

According to recently released statistics by the Ottawa Real Estate Board, Summer 2016 in real estate is still hot, continuing to outpace 2015. While inventory has dropped by 15% compared to this time last year the total number of sales are up and so are average sale prices, providing us with a Real Estate Market Snapshot July 2016. While these statistics are helpful in establishing trends there are many factors to consider when buying or selling that can affect market value in a specific neighbourhood, home or style of dwelling. Our sales team have access to the most up
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Housing Trends We are Seeing in the Canadian Real Estate Market

July 29, 2016 | Comments Off

The Canadian housing market is already in the news, thanks to the recent collaboration of Vancouver residents to form the #DontHave1Million campaign that went viral. This Twitter campaign was in response to the recent reports that the average home in Vancouver will set you back $1.27 million, which is more than double the average price of a home throughout the rest of the Canadian market. And, at the rate things are going, this trend shows no sign of slowing down. With this in mind, let’s see the other nine trends in the Canadian housing market to keep in mind in
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The Lowdown on Open House Etiquette for Home Buyers

July 27, 2016 | Comments Off

Open houses in Ottawa are an excellent opportunity for you to check out potential future homes. You do not need to have a real estate agent, nor is making an appointment necessary. You don’t even have to be an official home buyer. Instead, open houses can be a stress-free way for you to ease into buying a home. They may help you prioritize what you want, for example. That said, if you are new to open houses, you may be unsure how to act, so here are a few etiquette tips. Just Show Up You may feel odd attending open
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Ottawa Real Estate News | June 2016 sets record for the highest number of sales ever

July 11, 2016 | Comments Off

WOW what a month in Ottawa Real Estate! Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,985 residential properties in June 2016 through the Multiple Listing Service® setting a record for the highest sales in any month ever in the history of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. While average price dropped slightly in both residential (slight decrease of 1.3% over June 2015) and condominiums (slight decrease of 2.4% over June 2015) the market in Ottawa remains sure and steady. While these statistics are useful in establishing market trends they should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or
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8 Tips to help Prevent Break-ins Without Breaking the Bank

June 28, 2016 | Comments Off

Home Owners: Tips to Prevent Break-ins A recently published story by CBC June 28th, 2016 warned Ottawa residents that the number of residential break-ins has almost doubled in the first half of 2016 as compared to the first half of 2015. While Ottawa is considered a safe city, it’s always a good idea to be vigilant about home security. Here are a few quick tips that won’t break the bank. • Get to know your neighbours. Areas with a tight knit community tend to have a much lower number of break-ins. Suddenly that nosy neighbour might be good thing!
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What’s In a Name? Is your Street Name Desirable to Home Buyers?

June 16, 2016 | Comments Off

When you’re shopping for a new home, there’s a good chance you’ve got a long list of considerations that you will factor into your decision-making process: size, neighborhood, condition, etc. But have you ever considered a home’s street name to be a factor when you’re deciding whether or not you want to buy? It might surprise you, but for many home buyers the name of a house’s street can determine whether that house is desirable – or not – making addresses not just random labels for a property, but influential factors that could make or break a sale. The Origin of
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