Prime Edmonton Real Estate Blog

Home Reno Diary Part 7 - Creating the Right Framework

Prime Edmonton Real Estate – Making sure that you have a good clean slate to renovate your home on is vital to maximizing efficiency. It’s a fine balance – a home renovator must make sure that they are stripping away enough of the old without wasting components that could have stayed, wasting time, energy, and money to replace. In our latest renovation project we faced the exact situation – and had some unexpected surprises in doings so.

For our project, we thought that it was pretty straight forward – strip everything. A lot of this decision had to do with the fact that we had asbestos throughout the home – it was the insulation in the attic, the glue AND the flooring in a lot of locations in the home, and throughout a lot of the ductwork in the…

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Home Reno Diary Part 6 - What to Save

Prime Edmonton Real Estate - The home renovation process was very fun - but is also a series of very serious decisions that can make or lose home owners thousands of dollars. This is especially true when renovating an old home with issues such as asbestos. Our home demo and reno last year had such a series of decisions, where we tried to save some things and demo or junk other things. I was surprised what was reused, and a little disappointed about what we couldn't save.

There were quite a few things that we knew were going to be kept and sold to antiques dealers to use in other homes. Some of these things included the antique doors, glass doorknobs and hardware. We also had a very cool looking bar that was made locally here in Edmonton in the 1950's…

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Home Reno Diary Part 5 - Demo With Friends

Prime Edmonton Real Estate - The demolition part of any home renovation is always interesting - and our latest was no exception. As usual, we had a lot of people who were willing to come and help out (for a few hours at a time, anyways) as well as a lot of neighbors who wanted to snoop around while we were trying to get work done.

We always put the call out to family and friends who have time, energy, and possibly anger issues, to come and helping us break walls and move stuff out. It is a fascinating thing to watch different people go through demo in various ways. Some will just swing, stomp, and kick and worry about cleanup afterwards, and some want to hand remove each light switch cover and baseboard separately in neat and organized manner. I…

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5 Frugal Fixes for Your Home's Exterior

Prime Edmonton Real Estate - the exterior of most homes are now considered low maintenance. Gone are the days of having to paint or stain the wood siding every 2 or 3 years now that stucco and vinyl siding are the predominant forms of cladding. However, low maintenance does not mean no maintenance, and it is very common to see these low maintenance exteriors looking, well, quite shabby.

So what are some things you can do to spruce up and update your home's exterior without breaking the bank? Here are 5 great ideas for you to consider:

1. Wash the Age Away - It never ceases to amaze me what a simply wash of a home's exterior can do to make it look better. A pressure washer (which can be rented at a very affordable rate,) and exterior cleaner can be…

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Home Reno Diary Part 4 - Possession Day

Prime Edmonton Real Estate - There is nothing more exciting than possession day in real estate. The anticipation of a new beginning, the excitement of finally getting into a new home - it's fantastic! It's a little different when you are renovating the home, however. The same excitement and anticipation is there, but there is also some underlying dread of 2 things: 1) how sore and tired you're going to get over the next few weeks/months, and 2) worry about what unexpected issues may pop up once demo starts.

We had all of these feelings on that bright, sunny, morning last July when I got the call that keys were released and we were officially owners of the home. There was no doubt that I was excited, planned, and prepared, but we had A LOT of work to…

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What Makes Acreage Living Different?

Prime Edmonton Real Estate - For many it is a lifelong dream to own an acreage in and around the Edmonton area. Having a quiet place to live where nature is around you, there is plenty of room to roam, to have farm animals, or maybe just a little piece of solitude. And with a lot of these new HGTV shows promoting the 'back to nature' concept, such as tiny homes, cabins, and acreage living, it is no wonder that you might be longing for a quiter lifestyle. Coming from a farming family, I can tell you that every time I am out on an acreage, things just feel....better.

Many people believe that a transition from city life to country life is an easy one - but it's not. There are a ton of differences between these two types of home ownership. Some make…

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April 2016 Edmonton Home Sales

Prime Edmonton Real Estate - Today the Realtors Association of Edmonton released the home sales numbers for April 2016, and there are many surprising numbers within that. For those in the market who thought that the sky was falling, think again!

What isn't a surprise is that the overall number of sales are down about 11% over April of 2015. These decreases are fairly spread out over single family home sales, duplex/rowhouse sales, and condominium sales.

Now here's where it gets interesting.

The average residential property sold in Edmonton and area in April of 2016 actually went up over this time last year. Now, this is an extremely small amount, equalling less than .05%, but the facts support the reality that Edmonton's housing market prices…

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What's the Greatest Part of Living in Edmonton?

Prime Edmonton Real Estate - Edmonton consistently ranks high as one of the best places to live in Canada. It has ranked on numerous international lists lately, including a recent top 10 ranking as one of the best cities to get a slice of pizza. Other rankings have us ranking high in the areas of city festivals, amount of daylight per year, quantity of green areas per person, dedication to reducing and recycling, # of restaurants and golf courses per capita, and other contributors to residents' daily quality of life.

But what is the greatest part of living in Edmonton? Here are some leading candidates:

• World Famous River Valley - not just a great photo opp, the abundance of river valley access and usage is one of the things that make Edmonton…

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Home Renovation Diaries Part 3 - The Importance of the Home Inspection

Prime Edmonton Real Estate - A home inspection is always an important part of the home buying process, but when someone buys a home that needs a lot of work, it becomes even more important. In the case of our most recent home purchase for renovation, it proved to be priceless.

We had chosen to purchase a home that had a lot of updating to be done. We knew that we would have to remove the old plaster walls and ceilings, redo the plumbing and upgrade the electrical, replace the kitchen and bathrooms, and replace the windows. We had taken this into account when we desired to put an offer on the home. What we found out later is that we had a much bigger issue at hand.

During the inspection it was discovered right away that we had vermiculite in the…

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Asbestos and Your Home - What to Know

Prime Edmonton Real Estate - There are few things that strike fear into home buyers and home owners than the word asbestos. This compound has been known for years as a severe health hazard, with many people who have worked with it suffering from cancer and respiratory issues later on in life . It has delayed redevelopment of older buildings like the Charles Camsell Hospital and old  Northlands Coliseum, and caused other redevelopments to stop altogether. But what is this substance, and what can you do to protect yourself from it?

Asbestos was a product that was used beginning in the first part of the 20th century for a variety of purposes, due to it's durability, insulating traits, and fibrous nature. It was used in everything from insulation…

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