Watch your home while you vacay.

It's now mid January. We have just been through a few days of extremely cold temperatures, and now a massive snow storm is coming through, yet again. Thankfully, you have that big vacay planned out, and in just a few weeks you'll be maxing and relaxing on the beach sipping a bevy out of a coconut. Thats all fine and dandy but how about your home back in the Ice Coast of Canada? Vacation time is the perfect time for burglaries! Here are a few tips to help protect your home while you are away.

Stop All Deliveries - Alert the post office that you will be away, and have them hold your mail until you return. Having mail and packages piling up at your door is a green light for any robber to come on in, nobody home.

Alert your Neighbors - Speak with your neighbors and let them know that you will be out of town. Provide them with an emergency number and maybe even have them take out your garbage, perhaps shovel or snowblow your driveway, or if in the summer, water and mow your lawn(sorry neighbors). Anything that you can think of to make it appear that you are home.

Make it look like you are home - Park a car in the driveway, turn the ringers off on your home phone, and most importantly install some timers for your lights and your TV. Timers are inexpensive and most have multiple time settings to make it appear as though you're home.

Secure all entry ways - Deadbolt your doors and secure all the windows. In other words, don't make it too easy for them to come right on in.

Remove Valuables, and that extra key - I know you got it "hidden" out there. Under the flower pot, the front door mat, the stairs, by the light. Let's face it, there's only so many places that one can hide a key, someone else can find it too. After they do, don't give them what they want and have your valuables hidden away at a friend or family members.

Well hopefully this all helps. Enjoy your vacation and come back to your home the same way as you left it.

If you need any other helpful hints on protecting your home, home maintenace or preparing your home for sale in the upcoming spring, please feel free to contact me.

Buying a home in the Winter

It's December now and with winter coming on and Christmas fast approaching, many people give up on searching for their home now until spring time.

DON'T! You will be selling yourself short, and might miss out on a great opportunity. I'll give you a few great reasons why:

NO COMPETITION - Many buyers were thinking like yourself and decided to duck out. Unlike in the spring, you have less of a chance of getting into a multiple offer situation which in turn saves you money!

SELLER's MOTIVATED - Sellers begin to feel the market slowing down a bit. They see less people coming through their home and begin to get discouraged and think that they might not be able to sell their property. Could lead you to a lower price.

BANKS GET DESPERATE - One of the best times of the year to be purchasing a property being sold under power of sale or a foreclosed property, is in December. The banks fiscal year end is JAN 1st and they HATE to see properties sit in their inventory. They also know that the market is a bit slower in the winter months and will take any reasonable offer seriously.

EFFICIENCY OF HOME - Ottawa is the coldest captital city in the world. Keeping the heat in your home, and money in your pocket is very important. Imagine this, There was just a huge dump of snow and all the homes on the street have snow covered roofs. Except the one that you are looking at? Odds are the insulation up there isn't to great, and you have a heat loss problem. Also, the windows are full of condensation inside the glass? Seals are done and the windows should be probably be replaced. Floors are just freezing in the bedroom above the garage, or somewhere else in the home. There are many more problems one can notice in the winter months and this being Ottawa, its a good idea to know what to look for.

Please feel free to contact me if you or anyone you know is thinking of buying or selling. I'll make sure that we get you a great deal on the property that you are buying, and you will be confident knowing you are not getting screwed buying something that is not worth the money you are paying.

Sincerely,

Andrew Miller
Sales Representative
Keller Williams Ottawa Realty Ltd.
Brokerage, Independently Owned and Operated
610 Bronson Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario K1S 4E6
Office: (613) 236-5959
Direct: (613) 447-7669
Fax: (613) 235-1515
Email: amiller@kwottawa.ca

Tax Free Savings Accounts

In order to help make your dreams become a Reality, it's not only important that I assist you in finding an exceptional home, or sell your home for top dollar amount; sometimes much can be gained by knowing a bit more about what to do to prepare you for the next step. Here's some great advice on how Tax Free Savings Accounts can help you accomplish some of your goals, and get you that much closer to making your dreams become a Reality.

Even though the Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) is a “no-brainer” tax-shelter, not every Canadian yet has one. In fact, a shocking 13% don’t know what it is and 37% still don’t understand how they work, according to a survey from ING Direct.

The Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) provides Canadian investors with an exciting opportunity to earn tax-free income and to more easily meet lifetime savings needs.

Facts on a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) :

- Tax-free investment income earned in a TFSA
- Tax-free withdrawals from a TFSA
- Can contribute up to $5,000.00 annually to a TFSA if you are a Canadian resident age 18 or older
- Unused TFSA contribution room is carried forward and accumulates in future years
- Can deposit back any amount of withdrawals into the TFSA in future years. However, any over-contribution amount will be subject to a penalty tax.
- Contributions are not tax-deductible
- Examples of investment options: Mutual funds, Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs) and Bonds
- TFSA assets can generally be transferred to a spouse or common-law partner upon death
- Can invest in your TFSA with funds given from your spouse or common-law partner


There are a variety of ways the TFSA can be used. You might use yours to supplement your retirement savings, save for a down payment, renovate your home — even take a family vacation. In all cases, your savings will benefit from tax-free growth.

This information has been supplied by one of my many exceptional mortgage specialists Susanna Penning at Oriana Financial 613-371-8076.

How about saving some money this winter?

If you've been reading my blogs at all over the years, you know the one thing that I harp on is the efficency of your home. Right about now most of you are starting to pull out your Canada Goose jackets, the ugly Christmas sweaters, and that old warm quilt your grandma made for you. How about prepping your home for the winter as well. In my last blog I gave you a good overview of winterizing your home. Now its time to take it a little bit further and spend a few dollars to save a bundle more.

Give your furnace some lovin! Many people don't realize that a furnace should be maintained once a year. A furnace is like a car, the better maintained it is, the longer it will last you and the more efficient it will run. Enbridge has some great service plans, look into it. Also, it may be time to change that filter again. I try to change mine 4 times a year at the change of every season. Dirty filters will make your furnace run a little harder. Don't forget to clean your duct work as well. There are a ton of deals these days for duct cleaning through dealfind, groupon, koopon etc.

Programmable Thermostat. $50-$200. and it will save you about 15% a month on your bill. Here's the catch though people, you HAVE to use it! In about 70% of the homes I see, the programmable thermostat is never running on a program. Take the time, read the manual if you have to(guys I know we won't read it) and set the programming features to turn down the heat when you don't need it cranked up.

Heat only the rooms that you use. The guest room that you never use, the extra bathroom, storage areas etc. All of these rooms that aren't really used that often should have the vents closed or if electric heat, turn the baseboards off. If you have a fireplace and spend most your time in there in the evenings, turn the furnace off or down for those hours, and let the fireplace heat for you.

Check for Drafts!!! Windows and doors are the devil. The majority of heat loss in a home will come from the doors and windows. In a previous blog I talked about wrapping your windows properly and I will repost that sometime soon as well. In short, ensure all weather stripping is intact and if older windows, consider upgrading the windows, and/or check for upgrading insulation around windows.

Energy Audit? I'm sure you have heard of them already and probably had someone you know have an energy audit performed. If know some people that do them and if you need a reference please let me know. Have an energy audit done on your home, and upgrade where you can. The government probably has some great rebates that you aren't aware of and you can retreive some of the money spent. Local, provincial, and federal governments frequently offer tax breaks or rebates for energy-saving upgrades, as do many utility companies.

Take the time, make the changes. Not only are you doing your part to help the environment, but you will finish off the winter with more money in your pocket. Win win.

FALL IS HERE AND WINTER IS NEAR

Well its getting near that time of the year. Many of us are cutting the lawns for the last time. Thinking of putting on the winter tires. Putting away all of the summer things, and preparing for another wonderful winter in Ottawa. Well here are a few tips to prepare your home for the coming winter months.

Lawn and gardens: Be sure to apply some winterguard to your lawn now. I'm sure you have all seen the commercials, well they don't lie! The best time to nurture that lawn of yours to ensure its up to par next year, is to apply some nutrients now to last it through the winter and grow some deep roots. Within your gardens, pull out any excessive weeds that you forgot about in the last few months, save the hassel in the spring, so you can get right to planting.

Furnace and A/C: Air conditioners! Why should I even be mentioning that you ask. Well it is important to cover up that A/C unit outside to shield it from the elements. No don't use that crappy vinyl cover that they gave you when you purchased it. That is great for more southern climates, but here in Canada it will trap in moisture, then it freezes, no good. It's also a hotel for mice! Simply place a sheet of plywood over top of the unit and stabilize it with a brick on top. Next I want you to head to your electrical panel, and flip the breaker so that no one accidentally trys to turn it on in the dead of winter, as this will pretty much destroy your unit.
As for the Furnace, change that filter if you haven't done so already. This should be done every 3 months, especially if you have pets or allergies, not expensive to do, and will ensure that your furnace can breath a bit better and it will be more efficient. Perhaps get the duct work cleaned as well if you haven't done so in over a year.

Exterior hoses - When you are brining in your hoses from outside, be sure to also turn off the exterior water source from the interior of the home. This will prevent water from staying in the pipes to close to the outside and freezing over during the winter.

Windows - Some people like to put plastic wraps over the windows to help with heat loss during the cold winters. Be sure to do this properly though, otherwise you are wasting your time. Ensure that you cover over the trim of the window a few inches at least on each side. Its not just through the cracks of the window frame that the cold can come through but also the wooden trim around the window as well. Use a blow dryer to heat and tighten the plastic after application to ensure that it gets a nice smooth finish.

Fireplaces: Be sure to get your chimney swept clean before use each year. Also shovel out all of last years soot and ashes, better now then when its -30 and you want to build your fire. For gas fireplaces, ensure that the flame is burning a nice blue flame. The bluer the flame, then cleaner it is burning.

Calibrate your home for consistent temperature: everyones comfort level is different and playing with that thermostat will really crank up the costs of heating your home. Be sure to get a programable thermostat, and use its features. Next you are going to close off all of the vents on the upper level of your home, and open all of the vents on the lower levels. (hopefully the opposite of what you did before the summer) Hot air rises, and in about 24 hours or so, the whole house should be at the same temperature. If you don't have a ceiling fan at the top of your stairway, not a bad idea to get one installed to assist in the process of pulling up some of the warmer air from downstairs.(vise versa in summer, reverse the setting to have it blow down the cooler air.)

Follow these tips and you should save yourself a bit of cash and headaches. In the meantime, enjoy the beautiful fall colours, and remember if you know of anyone thinking of buying or selling in the Ottawa area, please feel free to pass along my information!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Just wanted to wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving this year.

Myself, I am very thankful for all of your business in helping me have one of my most successful years to date.

I'm also thankful that the real estate market here in Ottawa, and Canada as a whole is doing just great and has now begun to level off a bit.

If you are thinking of buying a new home, you can rest assured that you will no longer be paying the inflated prices that we saw this past spring and summer. There are some great deals out there right now, and with rates still at an all time low, there's no better time to buy.

If you were thinking of selling, there are still plenty of buyers out there looking to take advantage of the historically low interest rates that we still have. So lets get that home ready for sale!

Feel free to contact me at anytime if you have any questions at all about the real estate market here in Ottawa and its surrounding areas.

Have a great thanksgiving!





Sincerely,

Andrew Miller
Sales Representative
Keller Williams Ottawa Realty Ltd.
Brokerage, Independently Owned and Operated
610 Bronson Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario K1S 4E6
Office: (613) 236-5959
Direct: (613) 447-7669
Fax: (613) 235-1515
Email: amiller@kwottawa.ca

Water damage and how to prevent it.

Water damage can come from a variety of different sources and is one of the number one problems that buyers run scared from when viewing a property. Broken water pipes, small leaks, big storms, leaky washing machines, wherever there is water, there is potential problems. Water can do more than just create mold and odor problems. If severe enough it can create potential structural issues, which is something you definitely want to avoid.

Whether you are currently preparing your home for sale or not,I strongly suggest having a dry free home both for future sale, and for the health and safety of your own family. Here are a few preventative measures to help you along the way.

- Hot water tanks are probably one of the main sources of water leaks that I have noticed when in homes. These water tanks can begin leaking over time as the older they get the bottoms begin to rust out a bit. One should install and overflow valve which will route the water outside, or into an appropriate floor drain.

- Washing machines and dishwashers. Basically anything in the home with a water supply feeding into it can and most likely will begin to leak at some point in time. Be sure to check all hoses and connections on a regular basis to avoid any serious issues. Even small drips can cause damage over time so when you see it beginning to happen, take care of it immediately.

- Toilets. First do NOT caulk around the bottom of your toilet. Sure it may feel like a rocking chair at times but caulking is not the way to fix that problem. Simply tighten the bowl with the two bolts on the bottom of the toilet, if still rocking use a shim under the bowl to steady it. If you caulk around the bowl and water begins leaking, you won't notice it until it starts coming through your dining room or living room ceiling below, and then you have a handful of problems.

- Windows. Keep your eyes open around your window sills, the drywall directly under the window, and the edge of the framing. The forces of nature can and probably will get to your windows over time.

- Eavestroughs and gutters should be cleaned regularily to ensure they are operating effectively. Have all of your downspouts directing water as far away from your foundation as possible. Ideally 6ft at least. If you have a downspout going directly into the ground beside your foundation wall, during the next storm take a look and ensure that it isn't gurgling and burping back up all that water. If it is it may be clogged and should be fixed.

- Ice makers. Check the hoses that feed water to them. Ensure that it is off or in no risk of pumping out ice for a week when you head out to Florida for vacation, only to come home to a new indoor pool.(It's happened before)

Pipes can burst and leak inside walls and ceilings(especially with cold winter months coming) and may not be detected for sometime. Look for staining on ceilings and walls. Water leak detectors can be purchased and installed at relatively inexpensive costs and can be placed near water sources to avoid issues.

If you have any questions or concerns about water leakage or anything else in your home, please don't hesitate to contact me.