How building a garage can dramatically increase your home value

Driving has always been a way of life for Calgarians, and given the ubiquity of cars in in the city, garages are a must for almost every home.

Whether looking to build a home for the first time or renovating an old one, detached or attached garages are the options most builders choose. However, special builds also exist and can even include underground parking or tunnels, at costs upwards of $35,000 for a triple-detached unit.

According to appraisers, a garage of any kind added to a home will increase its value. With the average garage cost in Calgary sitting around $23,000, adding a garage to a property at any point in a home’s life will increase property value, since the return…

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Stunning custom family home situated on 4 acres of land in Yankee Valley Estates, Airdrie. 2553 sq ft bungalow has hardwood flooring, 8ft doors, 9 & 10 ft ceilings+vaulted ceiling in great room & striking grand rock gas fireplace. Gourmet kitchen including high end cabinets/pot drawers, premium SS appliance package, granite countertops & large island+spacious eating area. Main floor has 3 generous sized bedrooms & a den. Beautiful master w/ walk-in closet & luxurious ensuite including steam shower. 2 other bedrooms have walk-in closets & a Jack/Jill bathroom. Huge mud room w/ lockers from floor to ceiling, large laundry room, walk thru pantry & 1/2 bath complete the main floor. 2229 sq ft of developed space in the basement- family rm, rec area, theatre rm,…

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Online shopping is growing by an average of 20 million new shoppers each year. That's a lot of people clicking and buying! You may be one of them. However, there's a cost to online shopping that's all too easy to overlook. Shipping fees. Imagine saving $10 on a luxury cookware set, only to be hit with a $15 delivery charge. Ouch. So how do you avoid those fees? First of all, always check the fine print on the checkout screen. Notice what the shipping cost (if any) will be before you click the final purchase button. Keep in mind that the base shipping fee shown may update — and become higher — once you've typed in your address. Some e-tailers offer free delivery for orders over a certain threshold amount; for example, $50. If there's more you can add to an…

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When it comes to design, throwing money at a project never hurts. But I'm far more impressed when people actually don't spend a small fortune on a room. I love hearing when high-end decorators have used IKEA and you'd never know it. Or where they found a piece on the side of a road and rehabbed it. I mean, you can't buy a storied past for a designer piece, am I right? But don't get me wrong—I'm all for a splurge. But lately I've found myself wondering what designers really don't find it at all worthwhile spending dough on, even if they or their clients have it by the boatload. And so I bring you a designer-approved laundry list of stuff not to go for broke on, because, well, there's no reason to.

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Have you noticed that with all the turmoil in the world that thing are getting a little crazy ?   Considering all the craziness in the worl.  Real estate still seams to be a pretty safe bet.
Prices have begun to back off a bit in recent months.  But Lethbridge has had only small fall backs in pricing.  But even these small rollbacks can have a positive benefit to the buyer.  And hopefully no negative effects on the seller.   

The new qualifying rules have put a lot of pressure on the first time home buyer and scarred the hell out of even the most seasoned home owners.  It makes it harder for the sellers to find approved buyers. And creates a stressful environment for the buyers.  Although it is meant to protect the market, and the people getting into the…

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You've probably heard about "home staging". As the name implies, it's all about arranging each room in your home in a way that will make the best impression on buyers. Here's what you need to know about staging if you're thinking of listing your property.

1. Staging can get you a higher price. On average, a fully-staged home tends to sell for 17% more than an un-staged home of the same type in the same local market. Depending on the current market value of your property, doing some staging in your home could put thousands of extra dollars in your pocket, post-sale.

2. It can speed up the sale. A study by the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) showed that fully staged homes spend an average of 90% less time on the market. So, if you need to sell quickly…

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