SOLD
SOLD
Sold our house and have the following for sale:- Large dining table: $380
98″x38.5″ with leaf, sit 8+ people
solid pine with clear coat, bevelled edge and leg details
- Larger framed mirror: $90
56″x40″, cherry word frame and with bevelled edge details on both the mirror and the frameSOLD
SOLD
I read about and investigated a great site for ideas and sourcing plans on outdoor design.
Each summer my home grows by about 70′ x 120′ as I move outside and enjoy my lawnspace. I live for those hot summer days when I can work on my laptop with my cordless phone in the largest office space on earth! The outdoors!! It is still my dream to have an outdoor space where I can work on less than perfect days. Rain is inspiring! I will let you know if my wish ever comes true.
It is kind of an ugly commercial corner, so when I read that a new Marriott Hotel has been approved for the Walkley Rd. near Bank St. area it was a pleasant surprise. Yesterday’s Ottawa Citizen bore a fairly significant article on how local community groups were involved in the process, having met 5 times and giving an overwhelming vote of approval to the hotel. Fountains and beautiful grounds will help improve the not-so-beautiful- now area of town that is conveniently located near the airport and public transit as well as commercial locations.
Today’s Citizen, in an article buried on Pg 7 of the City Section, lauds the approval of the Hotel by Ottawa City Hall. It also makes mention of the fact that some area residents would increase property values and increase taxes, increase traffic and pollution levels.
Let’s see how it all goes. Change once again rears its ugly head.
If you are renovating or planning on renovating a bathroom in your home, you will definitely want to consider participating in the City of Ottawa’s Toilet Replacement Program. http://ottawa.ca/city_services/water/waterwise/programs/toilets/index_en.htmlThere are 2 levels of rebate: a $60 rebate will be processed for single-flush 6L and dual flush 3/6L toilets and a$75 rebate will be processed for high-efficiency toilets that flush with 4.8L or less.
There are restrictions on which toilets qualify for the rebate, so be sure to check out the website for the criteria BEFORE you purchase your new toilet.
Remember……..green is good when it comes to resale. (and I do not mean the colour!!)
Approximately one in three of my clients purchases a property with a heat recovery unit (HRV). You can just imagine how my ears perked up when it was announced on the CBC radio news that owners of particular models of heat recovery units (HRV) manufactured by the company Venmar are being warned that “It has come to Venmar’s attention that an unlikely series of circumstances could lead to a motor overheating in certain HRV models, that may result in a potential fire hazard.”
To find out if your model is affected and if so what to do, please go to the following site http://www.venmar.ca/suppresentation.aspx
I love it when a positive comes from something so negative….such as the mistakes made in the Carp River development studies. The public’s access to information was very limited.
The city’s reaction has been a definite +. You can now log on to the City of Ottawa website, punch in “development application search” and get any and all information for all current development applications and supporting studies for everything from zoning changes that allow taller buildings to site-plan applications that show exactly how a building project will be laid out. http://app01.ottawa.ca/postingplans/home.jsf?lang=en
When a developer makes application for development of any type they must also file an electronic application too. Note though that online information is only available for development applications submitted on or after February 1, 2008, so you must still contact the City of Ottawa directly for ones made prior to that 613-580-2424.
Qudos to the City of Ottawa for this response.
Don’t you love it when you see your name on a list….particularly when it is at the top!!According to a study conducted by the magazine MoneySense, the following are ranked as Canada’s top cities to live in in Canada:
(by the way…….I have lived in three of these cities- Fredericton, Moncton & now Ottawa…so perhaps I bring good luck!)
For the complete list: http://list.canadianbusiness.com/rankings/bestplacestolive/2008/prosperity/Default.aspx?sp2=1&d1=a&sc1=6&sub=n1&df=bestcities
“….Ottawa benefits from a major employee that’s never going to go out of business: the federal government. Household income is quite high, housing is very affordable, crime is low, lots of doctors compared to the rest of the country, low unemployment rate and so on”.
“People earning the average income would need 2.93 times their annual salaries to cover the sticker prices of homes in the nation’s capitol while Toronto buyers would need 4.94 times the average annual income.”
For a list of prices of housing throughout Canada & how long it would take you to save to buy one: http://list.canadianbusiness.com/rankings/bestplacestolive/2008/housing/Default.aspx?sub=n2&df=bestcities&sc1=3&d1=a&sp2=1&eh=ch
For the full article and methodology go to http://list.canadianbusiness.com/rankings/bestplacestolive/2008/Default.aspx?sp2=1&d1=a&sc1=6
Just be glad if you are not a first-time home buyer out on the streets now! It is tough not having the equity built up in an existing home to use to obtain financing. And it is only going to get tougher as prices of houses go up (& they ARE going to be going up).
I get asked the question a lot as to “whether I should wait”.To get the answer one only has to do the math and look at the rate at which house prices are going up in the particular area that you are looking at. Is some miracle going to offset the increase in prices?
Read this Saturday’s Ottawa Citizen article in which I was interviewed about breaking into the market. http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/homes/story.html?id=7620929f-313b-4ddc-9bad-96e43fbfd120
Earlier this week the Ottawa Citizen had a piece commenting on the presence of grow houses in the city.
Another good reason why buyers should use a real estate agent. I have gotten to know now how to recognize a potential grow house just from the mls listing itself. Certain factors just jump off of the page at me. There have been times though that it has not been until I went through the house that I realized that it was a grow house operation. (it is an experience sometimes and makes for great conversation!!).
Then there is the history of the house, which is also invaluable!
So….if you hear of any friends looking directly at houses not on mls (a house on mls means that you have an agent with obligations of disclosure) warn them that they need to be aware of the presence of many grow houses.
Words of wisdom!
It seems like yesterday that I had my two boys home, and this time of year meant, besides the obligatory raking of lawns and buying seeds etc, the planning of “free-time” in the summer. What an oxymoron as the time they spent certainly was not FREE.
Planning & registration time is here though and one can get started by downloading the “Summer Camps” guide at: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/pdf/oc_summer_camp08.pdf
July 14, 2008
