All Blog Entries by Justin Havre

Providing professional real estate services for people looking to buy and sell real estate in Calgary and surrounding areas. Proven marketing plan that sells properties. Call for your free home evaluation today and have your home listed tomorrow.

Found 161 blog entries published by Justin Havre.

What to Know Before Buying A Fixer UpperBuying a fixer upper home can be a big commitment. When a home needs major renovations, the owner needs to decide if they will do improvements themselves or hire contractors, and both involve careful budgeting of both time and money. Doing research before taking the plunge can help prospective homeowners decide if the home they would like to buy is right for them. These tips will help make the decision easier.

Get A Home Inspection

Home inspections help home buyers go into the purchase with eyes wide open. Start by looking for a good home inspector who will be able to thoroughly go over the house and point out the most noticeable or expensive repairs. Some good ways to find a home inspector include:

  • Asking for referrals from people who
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How to Show Your Home For The Best Buyer AppealPreparing a home for the selling process often is overwhelming, a daunting task with seemingly endless lists of things to do, particularly the home showing. More than 500,000 residential Canadian properties were sold in 2016, a record-breaking housing market, reports The Globe and Mail. For sellers looking to attract the right buyer, it's essential to prepare the home properly. In a busy housing market, sellers need to show off their home to the best of their ability.

Declutter

Even a spacious home can feel small if it's filled with clutter. Even before the home is listed, begin cleaning and decluttering—these two tasks go hand-in-hand. Consider storing countertop appliances like the blender and slow cooker in a cabinet out of sight. Hallways

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The Importance of Painting Before SellingHomeowners thinking about selling their property usually take on a number of improvement projects before listing their home for sale. Making basic home improvements when it's time to sell can attract buyers and can distinguish a home from other properties in the area. Painting the exterior of a home is a project that is especially helpful for sellers. Painting your house before putting it on the market can help refresh the beauty of the property and can make the home more desirable overall.

Benefits of Painting Your Home Before Selling

There are many reasons that homeowners choose to paint their property before selling. Some of the benefits of exterior painting include:

  • Opportunity to choose a buyer-friendly color. Home buyers tend to
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How to DIY Your Own Outdoor Living SpaceWhether you've just moved into a new home or you've been in your current place for years, you may be thinking about doing something different with your yard or other outdoor area. One of the options worth considering is to create an outdoor living space, so you can spend more time outside and really be comfortable. Some people like to barbecue, and others might want to swim, sunbathe, garden, have a fire pit, or just enjoy sitting outdoors on cool evenings, during warm days, or even when the whether is unsettled. There are a lot of different choices to consider.

What Can You Do With Your Space?

Depending on the size of your space and the actual layout of what you already have, there may be a lot you can do. Even small spaces have options, too,

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Home Repairs That can be Done By Home OwnersWhen you own a home, there are inevitable upgrades and repairs that need to be made as systems go out of date and various appliances break or fall into disrepair Doing home repairs yourself can save you money and can help keep your home in good shape. Whether you're a first-time homeowner or have owned your home for the last two decades, knowing how to do the following DIY repairs can prove to be a valuable skill.

Unclog Drains

Many homeowners turn to chemical drain cleaners to get rid of their clogs, but there are better tools to get the job done. For slow drains, pour baking soda into the drain and then follow it with vinegar. After the bubbling stops, chase it with hot (not boiling) water. Do this several times until the drain is running

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Questions to Ask the Home InspectorA good home inspection can help home buyers identify problems with their new home and can also help them negotiate a good deal for the ideal Northeast Calgary property they want to buy. This article will cover some of the most frequently asked questions about home inspections.

Should the Buyer be Present?

Home buyers don't have to be present for the home inspection, but it's still a good idea. Being present for the inspection gives home buyers a chance to ask questions about the inspector's findings. In addition, home inspectors can show buyers how to work various appliances, give tips for maintaining the systems of the house and show buyers how to make small repairs.

How to Pick a Good Inspector

Buyers can find a home inspector in much

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How Landscaping Can Improve Curb Appeal and Attract BuyersCurb appeal has always been a critical factor in selling a home, but with today's focus on digital marketing, landscaping becomes even more of an important factor. Today's prospective buyers usually get their first glimpse of a home online, and what they see depicted in a digital photo or web tour can determine whether they will want to proceed with viewing the home or whether they will simply lose interest and move on to the next available listing. Homeowners who are preparing their homes for sale and want to maximize their curb appeal should start by making sure their landscaping is doing its share to make their home attractive, more valuable, and more inviting to both prospective buyers and real estate agents.

Start With the Hardscape

While

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Summer Staging Advice for Home SellingDuring the summer months, high temperatures can stress the plants on the lawn while also making the inside of the house less comfortable. An important part of staging during the summer involves keeping the lawn healthy and making the house more comfortable, which can make a home more appealing to buyers. No matter whether your home is in a hot real estate market like North Calgary, or elsewhere, Home sellers who achieve this goal will find it easier to make a good impression with potential buyers.

Keep Grass Healthy

Grass struggles to stay healthy in summer, especially when the temperatures soar and the weather turns dry. Dry, dead grass can make your home seem as if it’s not well maintained, and can also cut back on your home’s curb appeal.

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Buy Second HomeFrom the great Coast Mountains along the western shore to the eastern cities of Toronto, Quebec, and Ottawa, and everywhere in between, Canada has something special to offer citizens and visitors alike. While all this variety can make it easy to plan exciting vacations year after year, it can also make it much more difficult when trying to decide on a location for purchasing a vacation home. Those considering the purchase of a vacation home and wanting to make sure they are choosing the best possible location and home for their needs, the following points will help ensure the purchase is a smart one.

Does the Property’s Location Fit the Expected Usage?

Purchasing a vacation home may not be wise if the location is too far away to enjoy using it

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Buying an Unfinished Home While Navigating RisksWhen preparing to buy a home, sometimes it's possible to find properties that were started but never completed. If one seems perfect, take your time to investigate what halted its progress, to make sure purchasing it is a wise investment. These four questions help to figure out the condition of a property, and what it will take to finish it.

Why Is the Home Unfinished?

The first question you should ask provides a necessary sanity check to the whole process. Sometimes homes are sold when they are incomplete, and there are a variety of reasons for it. It may be that the owners ran out of money for the kind of upgrade they planned to do, or they were unable to secure additional funding after construction had begun. In other cases, there may be

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