All Blog Entries by Steve Harmer

How can you make money from your home?

Interesting article from the United Kingdom.

In simpler times, people threw Tupperware parties or took in lodgers. Now they run pop-up supper clubs or rent out spare rooms on Airbnb. Some do it for fun - there’s nothing like cooking for strangers or doing a bit of towel art on Egyptian cotton duvets - but most people do it for the money.

There is a growing sense that home is not just an appreciating asset, but a means to make ends meet, part of the global “sharing economy” that allows us to trade our private spaces as easily as selling collectables on eBay.

But first you need the right house: with an eye on income potential, you might look for extra guest rooms with en suite bathrooms, outhouses (perfect

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Secondary suites are a form of rental housing that is typically affordable, ground-oriented and market-based.

Secondary suites, a common feature of larger, older homes in several Canadian municipalities, have been in existence for many years but became illegal in some jurisdictions when zoning bylaws set stringent requirements for the type of housing that could be accommodated in low-density areas. Since the 1980s, secondary suites have been recognized by policy makers as one of the most cost-effective ways of providing affordable rental housing and are an important part of the Canadian housing stock, especially in urban areas. Secondary suites make up close to a fifth of the rental stock in Vancouver and Edmonton. They are also an important source of

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Before embarking on an expensive move, consider renovating instead?

Move to a larger, more suitable home in your neighbourhood or stay put and renovate what you have? Finish the basement or build an addition? And most importantly, what would each scenario cost?

There are many Canadian's faced with the choice between moving or improving to increase usable square footage. Back in 2012, Canada Post released numbers indicating that of the 850,000 people who changed addresses, 37% moved to upgrade their home for family reasons. More recently, Altus Group measured the boom in Canadian residential home renovation spending, valuing it at $68 billion in 2014, roughly $20 billion more than what was spent on new builds.

Families grow, possessions multiply,

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Renting property can be a lucrative way to make money but make sure you know the rules..

In Toronto, in 2012, apartments rented for approximately $25 to $35 per square meter, and in Montreal, $21 to $28 per square meter, according to Global Property Guide. However, rental income can also be as simple as renting the spare room in your personal residence. “Even if you’re renting your basement apartment to a student, this is considered rental income, and it must be declared,” Caroline Thompson, president of Thompson Accounting and Tax Inc., explains. “However, you don’t need to charge the goods and services tax. It only applies to commercial property.”

Share of Ownership

Before you can determine how much of the rental income to declare, you need

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Prices may see minimal impact due to the narrow reach of new rules

TORONTO – Homebuyers in Canada now face larger down payment requirements for properties over $500,000. The changes are intended to temper some of Canada’s heated real estate markets. Here are five things to know about the new rules:

Who’s affected: Primarily those shopping for a home in Toronto and Vancouver. First-time buyers in those cities will feel the pinch since they’ll be required to put down bigger down payments to get into the market. Those selling their homes in order to size up, especially in cities with hot housing markets, likely won’t feel the pain since they’ve built up equity in those properties.

Dollars and cents: For someone purchasing a $700,000 home — a common

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Hardwood flooring has been around forever, in both cottages and castles.

Whether rough, hand-hewn planks, or elaborately laid parquet, wood has always been dependable as a durable surface with a host of other benefits. Today’s modern hardwood flooring maintains its durability, is easier than ever to care for, and is available to enhance every architectural and decorating scheme.

See the article on our Blog that lists the Top20 keywords for listing a house in Canada

If you’ve bought a house without wood floors, or are refurbishing a home you’ve lived in for years with carpeting or other flooring that has seen better days, it’s time to consider hardwood. Here are some of the reasons:

1. Durability

Real wood lasts for lifetimes. If a plank is

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Your home may very well be beautiful, but if you describe it as such to potential buyers, you're hardly being original.

According to data compiled online, "hardwood floors" is the most common word or short phrase used in Canadian real estate listings, followed by "beautiful" and "stainless steel appliances."

Point2Homes scanned its approximately 40,000 Canadian home listings to discover which words are used most often to attract buyers to properties, creating a snapshot of the features they felt are most important - whether they appeal to our aesthetic or aspirational senses, or to more mundane concerns such as appliances and location.

The company also released provincial and regional breakdowns to the National Post, highlighting different

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A simple welcome mat and a mailbox bearing your name just won't cut it.

Making your home's entryway both hospitable and a clear statement of who lives inside means starting at the walkway or even the curb, proceeding to the porch, carrying through the front door and continuing all the way into the foyer.

This movement from public toward private space prepares visitors, albeit subconsciously, for who and what to expect inside. So, how do you manage those expectations?

WALKWAY AND PLANTINGS

When planning your front yard, start with the walkway, says Mary-Anne Schmitz of Gardening by Design (gardeningbydesign.ca). Making it wide enough to allow two people to walk side by side (meaning 4½ to six feet) makes visitors feel welcome.

"If you

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You'd buy a sweater on impulse, but when it comes to buying a home it's all about calm deliberation, right?

You might be surprised.

Price, square footage, location: "All that can be trumped by the visceral reaction of seeing a home," says June Cotte, who teaches marketing at Western University's Ivey Business School.

"Smells, colours, sounds you can hear inside or from the outside - you might not be aware of them, but they can have an influence."

The layout may even subliminally remind you of the home of a former boyfriend, says Cotte. That can have a positive or negative emotional impact on how you perceive a home that's for sale.

In fact, a study published in the Journal of Advertising Research in 2002 said emotions can be twice as

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The spring housing market, despite the best efforts of weather gods, is budding.

A new crop of sellers is preparing for a crowd of eager buyers. Benignly neglected imperfections - a wayward cable cord, the wine stain that never fully came out of the carpet, holes in the wall where the kid gate used to be - shout out accusingly: You should have fixed me a long time ago! A perfectly serviceable kitchen, updated only yesterday, suddenly looks like a set from The Golden Girls. That basement bathroom may scare small children.  

Time to quit fantasizing about all the money to be made on a bidding war and start to think about how much to spend.

While there are no hard and fast formulas, a good realtor will be able to take a look and make

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