Prime Edmonton Real Estate Blog

Real Estate Tips I Learned From My Grandparents Pt. 3 -How to Create Secondary Income

My grandpa, on my dad's side, owns a farm up in Northwestern Alberta. He is a hard-working man who was still farming and calving into his early 80's. I try to get up there once or twice a year for a visit.

I certainly didn't expect to get real estate tips from him. However, by observing what he was doing as he got older, I was able to do just that. The key thing that he taught me was how to create secondary income within the property that you own.

So how did he do it?

Well, as he got into his 60's and 70's, he was getting a little too tired to be able to farm full time. So rather than sell his farm he decided to lease the land out to his neighbors and others in the community, under a condition. He mandated in the lease, he was allowed to work for as…

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Real Estate Lessons I Learned From My Grandpa Pt. 2 : Supply and Demand

When we were kids, we knew nothing about real estate. The only thing we needed was a place to rest our head at the end of a long day and hopefully a neighborhood that had a lot of kids our age that we could play with.

I always thought that my first childhood home would be the house we would live in until I was old enough to move out and buy my own. I never knew the concept of moving from one house to another. Until I was 5 years old and my grandpa decided to sell is acreage.

When he sold his acreage, he taught me a great lesson about the importance of supply and demand in real estate.

The city of Edmonton had decided to expand the LRT system.  A bridge needed to be built over top of my grandpa's acreage to help ease the driving traffic that would…

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Real Estate Lessons I Learned from My Grandpa (Part 1)

Prime Edmonton Real Estate - You know, a lot of us learn things when we are little that we don't realize the importance of until we get older. For me, this is especially true of lessons learned from both my grandfathers. Over the next couple of blogs, I am going to talk about a couple of key things that my grandfathers taught me about real estate that have really impacted me as an adult. There are two main reasons for my focus. First, I think that their advice, or the way that they lived 50 years ago or more, contain lessons that people can still learn from today. Second, is that it's a nice way to be able to honor them, as we all should honor our grandparents. Today, I want to touch on a very simple but effective way that my grandpa taught my…

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Smart Home Buying in Today's Edmonton Real Estate Market

Home buying in Edmonton has become a lot more challenging over the past 18 months or so. The combination of the change in our economy as well as rising interest rates and federal guideline changes to mortgages have caused many house hunters in Edmonton to reconsider the type of home they are purchasing. Whether it is a small apartment for revenue income, a first-time home purchase for a young couple or family, or a retirement property with low maintenance, home buyers are looking at their purchase differently today. However, there are some things that stay true in the home-buying process no matter what the market is or the situation of the buyer.


There are three timeless tips that will help you buy smarter today and in the future.

1.  Make sure that…

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Innovation in New Edmonton Communities

Prime Edmonton Real Estate - As Edmonton has seen developers build in the outskirts of the city, one of the complaints has been the lack of community space and space to enjoy the outdoors. In the past, communities were built with both larger lots for people to enjoy backyard space as well as the odd playground and community league for recreation and community based activities.

Through the late 1990's and into the 2000's, as developers stock more houses on smaller lots, the need for that communal recreation space has increased.

Summerside, in South Edmonton, responded by creating something special.

If you go through the community of Summerside today, you will see numerous lakes, walking paths, tons of small playground areas for small children…

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Edmonton Beverly Heights Home For Sale - 4625 - 117 Ave - Basement Suite

Prime Edmonton Real Estate - One of my latest Edmonton homes for sale at 4625 - 117 Ave comes with a legal basement suite - which is something that is becoming a much more popular choice for many home owners. Why? Because it is a great mortgage helper.

Let's do the math - A mortgage on a home like this is usually about $2000/month including mortgage principal, interest, and taxes. This basement suite was last rented for $1200/month - leaving home owners with only a $800 mortgage payment each month for an upgraded 3 bedroom home with a yard and a double garage. The really cool thing that I like about this property is that not only is there a double garage for the home owner, but a single garage as well for the tenant and/or for someone to rent out. This…

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Newton Home For Sale - 5616 124A Avenue

Prime Edmonton Real Estate - I am very happy to tell you about one of my latest listings in Newton, located at 5616 - 124A Avenue in Northeast Edmonton. Although the highlight sheet already has a good description of the home, I thought I would give you as a home buyer a better sense as to what I like about it. This home has a very open, sunny vibe to it - thanks to the large windows, natural light, and vaulted ceilings at the entrance and in the front living room/dining room. The kitchen area opens up to another living room complete with fireplace - and windows line across the wall to continue that open feel. The area is perfect for keeping an eye on the kids playing while you cook! The main floor also has a den which is great for getting some…

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Entering The Busy Season in Edmonton Real Estate

Prime Edmonton Real Estate - As the weather warms, more people make the big decision to buy and or sell their home and make a change. There are plenty of good reasons to move during this time of year. It is an easier physical move in the warmer climates, there is an easier transition for schooling if you have kids in school, and there are opportunities to transition easier during a traditional vacation season. Things are even more busy if you are buying in areas like Edmonton Highlands or an Ice District condo.

Here are 3 quick things to keep in mind when you are going to move during the busy season:

1. Be prepared - Have all of your documents prepared before you start the listing or buying process. For buyers that means being preapproved,…

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January 2017 Edmonton Home Sales

Prime Edmonton Real Estate - The Realtors Association of Edmonton recently released the real estate sales statistics for the Edmonton area for the month of January, and as always there is some very interesting data to be found. Here's the down and dirty facts:

OVERALL RESIDENTIAL SALES: Listings down (-6%), Sales up (+12.75%), avg. sale price up (+7.6%)

SINGLE FAMILY HOMES: Listings down (-13.8%), Sales up (+11.8%), avg. sale price up (+1.75%)

CONDO SALES: Listings up (+4.3%), Sales down (-11.5%), avg. sales price up(+8.24%)

DUPLEX/ROWHOUSE SALES: Listings down (-9.6%), Sales up(+21.6%), avg. sale price up (+10%)

So what does this all mean?

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A Visit to the Edmonton Home Renovation Show

Prime Edmonton Real Estate - This past weekend I visited the Edmonton Home Renovation Show at the Northlands Expo Center. I'm not sure if you've ever gone, but it is 2 of the main halls of the Expo Center filled with everything to do with home improvement (and a few things that have nothing to do with it at all). Tickets are fairly inexpensive, and I was happy to also give away a pair on my Twitter page Saturday morning to a lucky follower.

What can you expect at a show like this? There are three main areas for people to come and learn more about: 1) Contractors who have new products or services that are cutting edge(for example - new styles of siding product, home security systems, or home maintenance products), 2) A place where manufacturers of…

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