Calgary Real Estate Blog - Calgary Home Buyers Blog

Things To Do When Moving Into A New House

It’s totally understandable to be excited if you’re moving into a new house. However, take a moment to think about what to do before moving into a new house. For your own safety, security and  peace of mind, it’s well worth taking care of a few things before you start your move.

Here’s a list of things to do when moving into a new house:

1. Get to know your circuit breaker box and main water valve

When the power goes out or you blow a fuse, you’ll want to know which breakers correspond to what areas in your home. You can test this by having one person stand at the breaker box and the other checking to see if turning circuit breakers on or off changes anything throughout the house. 

You’ll also want to know where your main water valve is if you…

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Calgary Real Estate Statistics August 2021

August 2021 Calgary Real Estate Statistics Recap

The Calgary market continues to trend towards being more balanced after a major kick off at the beginning of the year. 

Year over year trends are seeing major increases in areas like sales, new listings, and prices (across the board for all property types) it is important to note that we're coming off a COVID 2020 real estate year which did bring the market to a bit of pause for many buyers and sellers, this pent up demand has translated into a hot market for 2021. 

“Sales have far exceeded expectations throughout most of the pandemic, driven mostly by demand for detached homes. At the same time, supply could not keep pace and conditions shifted to favor the seller, something that has not happened…

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Top 10 Questions About 2nd Story Additions

There’s no doubt about it: building a second story addition to your home is a challenge. Many homeowners don’t actually realize the magnitude of such a job, but seasoned professionals know what’s involved. Of course if it’s done right, it can be well worth it. Often times you can nearly double your home’s square footage with a second story addition.

If you ask a professional contractor about adding a second story to your home by yourself, most will caution against it. They have seen what headaches such a process can cause for a homeowner. It can turn into a nightmare very quickly. 

That’s why hiring a contractor with experience and knowledge about second story additions is crucial. This is simply not a good choice for a DIY project. Contractors who…

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How Much Does It Cost to Demolish a House?

If you’re looking to establish reliable, long-term wealth, there’s nothing quite like real estate. People have been using real estate assets to accumulate wealth for a very long time. 

However, sometimes in order to build, you must demolish. You can’t renovate every property, so there comes a time when demolition is the smart option. If you’re thinking about demolishing a property, you need to know how much it costs to demolish it, understand the difference between deconstruction and demolition, and think about a few other factors before you begin the project.

What does demolishing a house mean?

Demolition is the act of tearing down an existing house. You can do it by hand, or with specialized equipment like bulldozers, cranes and excavators. A…

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Housewarming Gifts for First-Time Homebuyers

Gifts To Buy First Time Home Buyers 

It can be daunting moving into your house as a first-time homeowner. There is so much to think about and so much to buy that it can become overwhelming. So how can you help make the transition easier for the recent homeowner in your life? We’ve got a handful of suggestions for housewarming gifts people actually want or will need! 

Home Depot or Lowes Gift Card

Chances are, as soon as they move in, they will probably wish they had stocks in Home Depot or Lowes! Between renovations and general maintenance, they’ll find themselves forever walking the aisles of home improvement stores and spending more money than they care to. Gift cards never go out of style and they can truly be the best gifts, as it takes the…

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Construction Financing In Calgary

There are really 2 ways to make construction financing come together for a new home purchase.  A completion mortgage and a draw mortgage.  If you’re purchasing a new home, your builder will likely have requirements for what type of mortgage they expect you to have.

Completion Mortgages

Many production builders, like Streetside Developments, Shane Homes, , Homes by Avi or others, will expect you to have a “Completion Mortgage.”  This means that you  provide your 5% down payment funds at the time that you write the offer and then the rest of the funds at closing. 

If you’re purchasing a new build, rental property, the builder may require that you put 20% down payment down at the time of the offer and the rest at “closing.”  In this context, closing…

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New to Canada Mortgages

Cracking the Code on New to Canada Mortgages 

Despite immigration slowing due to closed borders during the pandemic, the Canadian housing market has shown unprecedented strength. Rolling into the back end of the pandemic, the "endemic," we expect to see  maximum numbers of new immigrants arriving in Canada. The Canadian government had approved many applications, and those candidates are now able to arrive. It will be more important than ever that New to Canada borrowers understand their mortgage options so that they can secure housing in their new home.  

Mortgages for newcomers to Canada

If you or your family are planning on arriving in Canada in 2021 or 2022, it's important to reach out to a mortgage broker and figure out what the mortgage…

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Calgary Parks Best Kept Secrets

The Best Kept Secrets of Calgary’s Parks

Calgary is full of beautiful parks and pathways, and you’d be hard pressed to find a seasoned Calgarian who isn’t aware of the top five favourites: Fish Creek, Nose Hill, Glenmore Reservoir, Confederation, and Bowness. But  with a city as vast as Calgary—and over 10,000 hectares of parkland and natural areas—it’s easy to miss all the hidden gems nestled between our urban and suburban communities. If parks and pathways are an important aspect of your home-buying decision, you absolutely need to keep reading!

Partnering with Kelsey Woods of Parks of Calgary, (All photo credit to Kelsey Woods below) we’re sharing her favourite hidden gem parks in each quadrant, so you can explore more of where you live (or hope…

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Your Step-by-step Guide to a Kitchen Remodel

Remodeling your kitchen is one of the easiest (and best) ways to add value to your home. If you are thinking of undertaking a kitchen remodel yourself, you might be asking: what does it actually involve? Where do I start? 

Taking on a kitchen remodel as a DIY project is doable, but you have to plan properly or else you could run into trouble. Even then, most DIY'ers will most likely need the help of trained professionals for certain parts of the process. Plumbing and electrical, for example, can be tricky and in a lot of situations should really be left to the experts. 

If you prefer to leave your kitchen remodel entirely up to the professionals, you’re not alone. Most people would opt for that course of action. However, hiring contractors won’t…

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The Hidden Costs Of Home Ownership

When you move from renting or living at home with your family, to owning, things change. Home ownership requires more responsibility, and there are costs that can sometimes be overlooked by future home buyers.

At the Real Estate Partners team with RE/MAX FIRST we believe that clarity and transparency are key components to a successful and rewarding home purchase for our clients, this blog covers some of the most important hidden costs of home ownership in Calgary whether you're looking to buy a condominium, townhome, or detached single family home. 

As a renter, you're typically not responsible for much (if any) maintenance in a home, your lease may reflect basic yard work, switching out lights, etc but when it comes to owning, there's a number…

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