During his fifteen years as a Calgary real estate agent, Len has established himself as a market leader selling hundreds of homes each year.  Len's extensive experience has helped him consistently rank in the top One Percent of Canadian RE/MAX realtors. His team are currently #1 in Calgary, with 96 million dollars in real estate sold in 2006.

Len and his team work hard to ensure that their clients benefit from the latest innovations in real estate technology. So if you have a Calgary home for sale, they will create a marketing strategy that will sell your home for the amount you deserve, in a professional and timely manner.

Contact Len:
www.calgaryhomesearch.com
(403)287-4888

About Realtor Spotlight

 

So you've decided to upgrade your property. You've heard how the value of your house or condo will go up by $50,000 if you sink in $10,000, a little time, and a lot of elbow grease (or someone else's!). Or you're just looking to improve your quality of life. So what now? Is it really worth it? What improvements create the most value for your home? Who are the professionals that can help, and will they be fair, or should you take on a home DIY project?

Lifestyle renovations: Home improvements. Ie. Sunroom, basement development, or attic space conversion.
Retrofit renovations: On your home's shell or mechanical systems. Ie. upgrading insulation, replacing your furnace, or putting on new siding.
Maintenance and repair renovations: Maintaining home's value. Ie. caulking windows, re-shingling your roof, or replacing eavestroughs.

Real estate renovations are costly and time consuming, even if you do it all yourself. First we'll give some pointers on what to look out for going into this project.

In case you're a DIYer realize your own limitations. If you're anything like us you'll dive in to a new home theatre setup without a thought for the assembly instructions until it won't turn on! The same applies for home DIY. Tearing out a wall may seem as easy as a sledge hammer and some new dry wall, but it's important to find out all the details first. Is the wall load-bearing, or does it hide a support? What cables are running through it, and where are they located? What kind of flooring is on either side, and will it be possible to extend? You get the picture. Do your homework and be realistic about whether or not it's something you can handle.

Time. It's important to realize that you are giving up much more than just your time to completion in order to renovate, you are also giving up the luxury of a finished home over that same period. An unfinished kitchen or bathroom can be an obvious hassle, but even a work in progress home office or family room can disrupt work and living habits and add unneeded stress. Even if you're comfortable with this going in double your expected time allotment, as time expectations are never a reality in the home improvement and home renovation industry.

What are the best bang-for-your-buck improvements you can make to your home to make it more sellable?

Outside:
Resurface your driveway and redo any walkways through your garden.
Put in a new front door with brass fixtures, then paint or stain the door frame to suit.
Replace or repaint the garage door and make sure it has an automatic opener.
Put in a new flower bed, green up the lawn, and replace any overgrown bushes in front (for more see our next section called Landscaping).
Power wash your siding and decks, and repaint the trim or, if needed, the whole house.
Replace your windows with double or triple-pane glass.
Add or upgrade porch and drive way light fixtures.
Re-shingle the roof and replace eavestroughs.

Inside:
Give your interior walls a fresh coat of paint in a neutral colour.
Reorganize and add shelves to your built in closets.
Replace switches, outlet plates and register vents with brass ones.
Install cable TV lines and an extra phone line to the home office.
Put in new carpets, linoleum, and ceramic flooring.
Refinish wood floors.
Redo the kitchen with new countertops and appliances, and consider replacing or re-facing your cabinets.
Replace bathroom lighting, toilet seats and medicine cabinets.
Update your home’s energy efficiency with a new furnace or additional insulation.
Buy new furniture that you plan on using in your new home, this is called "staging".

CMHC has a great resource here for getting started on your renovations. Now that you have a plan of attack it's time to decide which road to go down: DIY, or professional.
If you decide to use a professional here's a list of remodelers in Calgary we recommend:
Calgary Home Improvement
Good luck with the renos, and improving the value of your real estate!

Landscaping is a tough business in Calgary. With our harsh winters that often seem to last all year it is important that a yard looks as good under snow and when the rest of town is brown as it does during the summer. It's an important distinction to make when you're developing ideas and looking at the plans a developer or landscaper is putting in front of you.

After finishing his Finance degree at McGill University Chris obtained his mortgage brokering license here in Calgary. He has since worked with several of Canada's top brokers, and has quickly gained a reputation as the "go-to" agent for many of Calgary's realtors.

Chris attributes his ability to take complicated scenarios and turn them around in record time to the talented team he works with, and his relationships with over 40 different lenders. "If you have any questions on the current Calgary housing market, your ability to finance your next home, or just need a mortgage put together quickly at a great rate, give me a call!"

Contact Chris:
www.chrispope.ca
cpope@dominionlending.ca
(403)604-8939

About Mortgage Spotlight