Choosing the Neighbourhood That's Right For You When buying a home, the neighbourhood you select will not only play a pivotal role in your family’s life, but in the resale value of the property. One person’s ideal neighbourhood however may vary greatly from another’s. But, regardless, there are some needs and wants that generally do not change. The distance from your new home to schools, churches and shopping, for example, will not only affect how you and your family settle into your new home, it will also draw or turn off a perspective buyer. A good first step is to enlist the services of a Realtor who works in the area you are thinking of moving. Realtors are very familiar with the communities in which they work and can answer many of the questions you will develop during your search. Check the lifestyle A home is a part of a larger community. And some are more desirable than others. Some communities are geared more to young families, others to older adults and still others to singles or an eclectic mix of residents. Never buy in an unfamiliar community or neighbourhood unless you have spent some time there both during the week and on weekends, day and night. Drive and walk around. Talk to store owners and people you meet on the street. Ask what they think of the neighbourhood. If there are vacant tracts of land where you plan to buy, check with local authorities to see what the proposed land use might be. The last thing most homeowners want is the development of a mall or a high-rise office building across the road from their newly-purchased property. Don’t let particular things in a home that appeal to you override its location and potential subsequent resale value. When analyzing a potential property, ask yourself if you can imagine living -- not just in this home -- but in this neighbourhood for quite a long time. Remember that someday you may have to sell your home to someone else and things that may not be important to you -- such as distance to schools, shopping, doctors and work -- may be important to other buyers. Location, location In addition to finding the right neighbourhood, consider the immediate homes around the particular property you want to buy. Are they well maintained and worth the same or more than the home you are considering? Is the location a quiet area or a major traffic thoroughfare? What kind of privacy does the backyard provide? Does it get the morning or afternoon sun? If there is no house behind you, who owns the property and how will it be developed? Homes located further away from the centre of an urban area are generally cheaper. Are you prepared to invest the time and money it takes to commute and how long of a commute are you prepared to commit to? Is there public transit and good access to major highways nearby? If you have kids in school, what kinds of schools and services are available? Will your kids have to be bused to their school? If a school is close by, will they have to cross any major intersections? Being close to a school, on the other hand, may have some drawbacks -- few owners want the noise and disturbance of being located right next door. Finding malls, grocery and specialty stores in urban, residential areas is rarely a problem. But in neighbourhoods further away from urban areas, you may need to drive to the nearest convenience store. And getting to the local grocery store, pharmacy and other support services may require an even longer trek. It’s great to be located near parks and recreational facilities, but few homeowners appreciate the high cast of tennis court lights beaming into their back yard. If the home you are considering backs onto such property, drive around the area and see how often the baseball diamonds, soccer fields, swimming pools and skating rinks are being used and when. More serious concerns are having such things as gas stations, airports, railway tracks, commercial developments, major highways and cemeteries very close by. Finally, if your heart is set on finding that one-of-a-kind 150-year old Georgian home, you’re not going to find it in a newer development. If you want large bedrooms and bathrooms, narrowing your search to an older part of town where homes are generally smaller, may prove disappointing. Before making any decisions, think of your lifestyle and how a particular location would enhance or detract from it. How to Host a Successful Yard Sale If your annual spring cleaning ritual has produced a mountain of unused and unwanted items, you may want to think twice before you simply toss them out. How about a yard sale to turn some of that “junk” into someone else’s “treasure?” Each weekend in spring and summer you’ll find yard sales popping up in neighbourhoods everywhere. And, where there are yard sales, there are yard sale “junkies.” For many people, scouring yard sales for a bargain on a Saturday morning is an art. Why not take advantage of that fact to make some cash off your cast-offs and have fun while you’re at it. The Ontario Real Estate Association and your local Realtor offer the following tips to host a successful yard sale: First, settle on a date and time for your sale. Weekends are virtually universal for yard sales, and most run from 8 or 9 a.m. until 4 or 5 p.m. You'll also need to set a rain date, usually the next day if your sale is on a Saturday, or the following weekend if your date is Sunday. Most sellers advertise by posting signs on lamp posts and hydro poles. This is a more effective way of letting people know you're open for business than you might suspect. Veteran buyers (see below for more) will scout a neighbourhood during the week looking for telltale flyers. Many of your customers will use this method. Have someone present at all times. Theft is unlikely, but many sellers have learned the hard way that it does happen. Placing valuable items closer to your sales desk is a good idea. Running out of change is also a problem that plagues many sales. As most of your transactions will involve small amounts, it never hurts to have $50 or more in small bills and loonies and twoonies at hand. Buyers will often stop at a bank machine before they come, so expect to get a lot of tens and twenties early in the day. Think like a yard sale buyer The ability to deliver the kind of goods and service that buyers want is perhaps the most important factor in the success of your sale. There are a number of items that are always in high demand: art, antiques (even distressed pieces), furniture, appliances, electronic equipment, tools, and lately, computer games and accessories. If you have goods in any of these categories, mention them in your flyer or ad. Surprisingly, many veteran yard salers are not interested in old clothing. Unless you've got something special to offer, you can expect to turn much of your old wardrobe over to charity. As to pricing your goods, nothing turns away a potential buyer more than a price that is too high. You can always expect haggling, but most won't even bother if you price an old lamp at $20, when similar items can be had for $5. The best plan of action is to attend a few sales the week before, and find out the going prices. How you physically place your goods can also make a big difference. Don't clutter up your yard, and make sure your items are separated by category. This is a great opportunity to be creative. For example, there is a mini?boom in memorabilia from the 50s, 60s and 70s. Believe it or not, the old Lava Lamp you consider trash, might be exactly what someone else is looking for. Another good tip that will help make a sale is to offer free coffee to your visitors. A friendly face and a free cup of java can do wonders. Or if you want to get the kids involved, have them set up an old-fashioned lemonade stand and charge five cents a cup. Depending on the type of items you're selling, you can expect to make as little as $20 or as much as a couple of hundred. Finally, the success of a yard sale is measured by the amount of additional space you have in your house after the yard sale is over, and the amount of money you make. Now you may be tempted to run out and purchase more items that will likely end up in your next yard sale. But, why not celebrate your success by spending the money on dinner at a nice restaurant for the family and whoever helped at the sale. Say It with Colour: Adding Appeal and Value to Your Home Even on the dullest winter day, colour fills our lives. Look around and you’ll see a thousand shades of greens and browns, violets, greys, golds and blues. Colour is also part of our language. Few of us will dispute that it affects our moods and how we feel -- red with anger, green with envy, yellow with fear. For these reasons, colour is also the decorator’s most powerful tool. No other design element has the quick impact or dramatic effect of colour. If you want to add appeal and value to your home, there is no faster and often cheaper way than by using colour. Whether it’s a quick, relatively inexpensive pick-me-up paint job, new window coverings, complimentary wallpaper borders, new carpets, floors or other interior/exterior home improvements, colour can transform any room, cupboard or furniture item. Before getting started, consider what you want to achieve. Do you want to make a room or window look larger or smaller, a ceiling higher or lower? Do you want the atmosphere to be lively or restful? Businesses, especially restaurants, often use colours such as bright, warm orange to enhance appetites. Manufacturers often use red to draw attention to packaging. Hospitals use restful colours like blue green to soothe people. Selecting colours Just as colours in clothing move in and out of fashion, so do colours in interior decoration. The past decade saw a swing back to bright, dark colours, including very popular greens and reds that reminded us of rich spices. It’s anyone’s guess what the next trend will be, but the neutral classics will always remain. Choosing colour combinations for your home isn’t that easy. It requires commitment. Whatever you do, you may have to live with it for a while. Also, if you have plans to sell your home, you want to consider colours that will also appeal to prospective buyers. When people view a home, they like to imagine how their own belongings will look in it. Purple walls or furnishings in your home may make it difficult. Colours also look different in combination with other colours and in different types of lighting. A red may appear cold under a fluorescent light, but much warmer in a room with lots of natural light. A deep blue may look bright and intense in a well-lit area, but cold and gloomy in a dark room. Beige may seem dull and boring, but add a little yellow, green or orange and it comes alive. The amount of colour also affects how you see it. An all-red interior is too stimulating for most homes. Red is best used as an accent to add drama and intrigue. But beware of high-contrast situations. Used in large areas of white or green, for example, red can also be trying to the eyes. Colours affect our emotions and perceptions. Red has been known to send the heart-rate up. Orange and peach are associated with comfort and security. Purple, through its association with religion, is often associated with mourning. Research suggests that blue not only has a calming affect on people, but may actually lower blood pressure. It is associated with purity and cleanliness and is at the top of the popularity chart for most adults. Green is considered the most peaceful colour. Some decorating tricks Warm colours like reds, pinks, yellows and oranges will generally make a room feel warmer, smaller and friendlier. Cool colours like greens and blues create a cooling, calming affect. They seem to push back the walls of a room and make small spaces appear bigger. Light, cool colours can make a small room look larger and brighter. Dark, warm colours can turn a large, cold room into something more inviting. Neutral shades make a room more flexible for any type of furniture. Raise a ceiling by painting it a lighter colour than the walls; lower it by painting it a darker colour, or by adding a darker border where the wall meets the ceiling. Shorten a long hallway by painting the end walls a darker, warmer colour. Use colour on furnishings to add brightness and drama. Pastel furnishings look smaller in a room, while deep, bright furnishings look bigger. Camouflage eyesores, such as old radiators, by painting them the same colour as the walls. Try to have a natural, complimentary flow of colour from one room to another. Get a Head Start on Spring Gardening Spring is in the air and the busy gardening season is just around the corner. Not only can gardening be personally satisfying, but well-placed trees, shrubs, flowering plants and an attractive lawn can increase the value of your property. While the earlier you start, the better off you’ll be, don’t be too eager to get things rolling. The ever-changing weather in many Ontario communities can trick even the most experienced gardeners. One of the key elements in growing luscious vegetables and gorgeous flowers are well-cultivated garden beds, dug several times over in early spring and enriched with nutrients. Success also depends on when you do the digging. Soil should not be worked until the time is right -- that’s when all frost is out of the ground and the soil is not at all waterlogged. To see if the soil is dry enough to work, squeeze a handful into a ball and drop it from shoulder height. If it shatters, the soil is dry enough. If the soil is too dry to form a ball, moisten it before digging. This is also the time to enrich the soil with old leaves, grass clippings, straw, compost, or other forms of organic materials. Garden centres sell alternatives such as peat moss and composted manure. All of these help to retain moisture and retard weed growth, eliminating the need to use chemical fertilizers. Digging and turning over the first 15 to 20 centimetres of soil in an established garden bed should be fairly easy. The soil should be prepared a few weeks before you plan to start planting so you can remove any weeds that germinate during that time. By monitoring the soil in your garden beds regularly, you’ll be able to dig just as soon as it’s ready. While keeping an eye on soil conditions, there are other garden chores to be done. But it’s best to wait until the time is right for these as well. Winter mulch Be sure the worst frosts have passed before you start to remove old leaves and other materials spread around plants as mulch over the winter. Some experienced gardeners will wait until the tulips show 10 centimetres of growth before removing any mulch. Since perennials such as tulips and crocuses will be popping up, be gentle when you rake old leaves and clear all leftover debris from fall. Raking too hard or too soon may also destroy the winter homes of good insects, leaving them out in the cold. Pruning Early spring is also one of the best times to prune fruit trees and many other deciduous trees and hedges. It’s less trauma for them and less leaf raking for you. Proper pruning not only keeps hedges and trees in shape, it also encourages new growth and crop production of fruit-bearing varieties. Coniferous trees and shrubs, however, are best pruned in the fall. Many trees will also benefit from a fertilizer applied in the form of a tree spike in early spring. These are nailed into the soil at the outer limits around the tree. They’re available at garden centres with information on how to apply them. Lawn care Early spring is also the time to aerate your lawn if you haven’t done so in a few years. The best and easiest way to do this is by renting a gas-powered aerator for half a day and quickly punching plugs out of the soil with it. At greater expense, you can also have a lawn care company come and do it for you. Aeration removes thousands of soil plugs from your lawn and deposits them on the surface to help break down the thatch layer. The holes allow air, water and fertilizer to penetrate and encourage new and deeper root growth. The soil expands into the holes to make it less compact. All these benefits combine to produce a thicker, greener, healthier lawn. In early spring, your lawn also needs a good fertilizer, preferably a slow-release one with a high nitrogen content. Be sure to give your lawn a good raking first to get rid of winter’s accumulation of leaves and other debris. Planting If you’re new at gardening, think big but start small. Limit the size of your flower beds and garden to an area you can easily handle. Consider your yard as a cluster of “outdoor” rooms, some for enjoying the sun, others for growing vegetables and others for appreciating the beauty of flowers, shrubs, trees and foliage plants. If you want continual color or growth from spring through fall, flower and vegetable beds need a lot of thought and planning. You may have to plant more than one kind of annual or vegetable in a particular location to accomplish this. Try to concentrate your garden vegetables in square or rectangular pieces of ground, rather than long rows. This will reduce the amount of time spent weeding and watering. You’ll also have to consider other factors such as sun, shade, heat, reflected light, drainage, winds and soil conditions. Plan ahead Garden centres and nurseries get crowded in spring. Be prepared before you get there. Draw up a plan or at least visualize what you want to see in your yard, taking into account all the factors noted above. This will help you determine, well in advance, the types and quantities of plants and shrubs needed to get your yard in gear. Does your home need a tune up? Just like you take a car for regular tune ups to ensure it continues to run smoothly, your home also needs some special attention. There’s a lot more to keeping up a house than cutting the grass and clearing snow from the driveway. Ensuring your home “looks” good and is in proper working order, not only makes it more attractive and comfortable, but it can also increase the market value of the property. Homeowners who plan to move within a few years are often reluctant to invest time and money on improvement projects that may not pay them back. But unless these improvements are very specialized, any project you choose — from fixing leaky faucets to installing new energy efficient windows — will start to pay you back in energy savings and comfort long before you sell. The wisest improvements you can make to any home are those that keep it running smoothly and bring it up to the standards of other homes in the immediate area. And these don’t need to break your budget. Easy maintenance, repairs Start with simple repairs that don’t cost a lot and you can do yourself: securing loose tiles, adjusting a door, installing a lock, repairing a leaky faucet or pipe, and so on. It’s also a good idea to locate and read your gas, electricity and water meters on a weekly or monthly basis. This will help you gain an understanding of seasonal increases and decreases in consumption and enable you to take measures to become more energy and water efficient. The savings could be substantial. You should have your furnace inspected and serviced annually to ensure there are no problems and change or clean the filter regularly. Also, inspect the smoke and carbon dioxide detectors around your home. You want to be certain that these will work in the event of a fire or other emergency. Bigger upgrades While replacing leaky faucets can drastically improve a bathroom’s appearance and cut down on water usage, sometimes it takes a lot more than that to bring an old bathroom, for example, to an acceptable standard. A bathroom tune up can pay big dividends. The first items to replace should be the fixtures -- the sink, faucets, vanity, bathtub, shower, and toilet. This is where you will add value and save money by opting for a water-efficient fixtures and energy-saving devices. The floors, walls and accessories are not an essential part of a bathroom tune-up, but you can save time and money when you do the complete overhaul at once, rather than one piece at a time. If the decor in your home is bothering you, don’t decide right away to rip everything out. All it may take to make your home look more attractive and in better repair are small improvements such as: refacing cabinets and counter tops, changing the colour scheme, repainting, hanging new wall coverings and installing new lighting. Other good major home improvements include replacing old carpets and flooring with new, more durable products; adding a garage or a carport if your home does not have one; installing central air conditioning; repairing or adding a fireplace; upgrading your basement space; replacing old windows with new energy-efficient ones; adding terraces, wooden decks and fences that add privacy; and investing in landscaping that adds value and is easy to maintain.