If you’re eager to lower your carbon footprint and also save on energy bills, equipping your home for solar power is a great option.

There are several things to consider in the quest to go green:

How does solar power work?

Solar power is generated by thin silicon panels, divided into photovoltaic cells, which act as semiconductors. When sunlight hits the cells, it excites the electrons and produces a direct electrical current.  To generate power for your home, the panels are either installed on your rooftop or angle mounted on your property. Most urban users favour a rooftop set-up so they won’t have to sacrifice valuable backyard real estate, but it’s not unusual to see a freestanding panel in rural areas where properties are generally

As many have said, renovations can be a lot like giving birth!

They’re painful, they make you want to scream, and cause you to ask yourself why you’re bearing the brunt of all the work. And yet, you love the result and often end up repeating the whole thing.

Houzz.com’s Remodeling & Relationships Survey of Canadian users, conducted online this past December and January, found a number of issues that caused pain, including the fact that:

• 18% made a significant design decision without telling their partner
• 8% snuck away to catch a break
• 9% neglected to mention the price of something.

Those are the little white lies of the fixer-upper set, but in a number of cases, things got even worse:

• 5% admitted to secretly throwing

The two most important elements of selling a home have always been 1.) Price and 2.) Condition but maybe today there is a third factor.

MARKETING can be equally -and sometimes more- important when selling a home as price and condition. Professional marketing is the secret sauce that sells homes! There are more options to market a home than ever before. The way a home is marketed online determines how much attention it gets as in cases where homes that were priced too high end up in multiple offer situations due to impressive marketing presentations online. On the opposite side there are homes that sell for less than they are worth due to poor marketing efforts.  When people start to sell their home most of the time they haven't thought much about the

So you want to get started investing. Now is the best time to set yourself up for a comfortable financial future, but there are a few tasks you should tackle before putting your money to work for you. These tips apply to any investment, whether it’s in real estate, tax liens, or the stock market.

5 Financial Steps to Take Before You Invest in Real Estate

1. Fill Your Emergency Fund

Your emergency fund is a pool of savings you set aside to pay for emergencies. It’s self insurance for things you can’t insure.

Whether it’s a major car repair, unexpected medical bill, or the loss of a job, having an emergency fund can help bridge the the financial gap. Instead of turning to high interest credit cards for funding, you can turn to your emergency

This controversial real estate move is leaving some homeowners feeling scammed

Imagine your realtor sold your home for $500,000 more than the price you agreed to — but you didn't see a penny of that extra cash. That's the situation for some Vancouverites, as exposed in a Globe and Mail feature Saturday February 6th 2016.

A controversial sales technique called "shadow flipping" allows unscrupulous Realtors to score two or even three times their standard commission on a single house by reassigning the sale to different owners at ever higher prices. But it's a practice that has left the original sellers feeling scammed and justifiably so.

How does it work?

An increasing number of real estate transactions in the Vancouver region feature what's

Province focuses affordability towards Canadian buyers of new homes, paid for by hiked luxury home tax;also promises collection of data on overseas buyers

It doesn’t matter if you’re a first-time buyer or not – the province is focusing the much-needed affordability measures in its 2016 BC Budget towards buyers of newly built entry-level homes, Finance Minister Mike de Jong announced February 16.

In an unexpected move, which had been widely predicted to be a cut in Property Transfer Tax (PTT) specifically for first-time buyers, de Jong announced that buyers of new homes up to $750,000 in value will no longer have to pay PTT (although GST still applies), effective February 17. This exemption is available to Canadian citizens and permanent residents

This is it! This is where I want to live. I'm home suite home. Why? Because this master suite is perfect. It's sweeter than all the other suites.

Just look at the cove ceilings, the quarter sawn oak floors, the fabulous panelled and architecturally detailed wall treatments. It is gorgeous, clean, organized, but warm and inviting. The antique glass doors are sensational. There are curved walls and niches designed for display.

And in the bathroom are sleek and sophisticated tiles and sconces. The floors are heated so that I can step out of a piping hot shower and still be oblivious to -15C weather outside. Not to mention, it looks like hardwood but is actually grey textured porcelain. But back to that shower; it looks divine - a glass steam shower with

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

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

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