Finding a great real estate agent isn’t as easy as doing a Google search for local realtors and picking the top result. Buying or selling a home is a huge life event and it should be handled by someone who is capable of providing you the best experience possible. You need to interview between three and six real estate agents before you commit to signing a contract to work with one. Not sure what to ask? We have you covered! We’ve created a list of ten questions you should be asking every real estate agent to determine if they are the best agent for you.

(This is a continuation from Part 1 posted yesterday. You can find that post by clicking here.)

6. How will you keep me informed on what is happening?

If you are a seller, you need to know how

Finding a great real estate agent isn’t as easy as doing a Google search for local realtors and picking the top result. Buying or selling a home is a huge life event and it should be handled by someone who is capable of providing you the best experience possible. You need to interview between three and six real estate agents before you commit to signing a contract to work with one. Not sure what to ask? We have you covered! We’ve created a list of ten questions you should be asking every real estate agent to determine if they are the best agent for you.

(To make this post more manageable to read, we have the first 5 questions today and we’ll finish the next 5 tomorrow.)

1. What experience do you have?
This question isn’t just about the number of

This is a continuation from yesterday’s blog on living green in Edmonton (or anywhere really). Today we are talking about water consumption, landscaping and solar energy. This is really what conservation always comes down to, water and energy. Energy is used and greenhouse gases are produced in water treatment and not all energy is a renewable resource. So what can you do to lessen the burden on our environment? Here are a few ideas.

1. Lower your water consumption. Sure, conserving water helps to lessen the demand on the North Saskatchewan River and to reduce greenhouse gases but let’s talk about what people really care about - money. The average Edmonton homeowner could save up to $300 year just by making some simple, inexpensive changes.

The two

Green living is about making choices that contribute to the sustainability of our natural resources and it’s a growing trend to try to reduce the impact we have on our environment. You don’t have to go completely off the grid to have an effect though. Edmonton is a great city for adopting a more sustainable lifestyle. If you’ve been thinking about living a little greener but don’t know where to start, here are a few steps you can take that will make a difference.

1. Live close to work. By living close to where you work you’ll spend less time in your car so you will use less gas and put out fewer emissions. You may even be able to find a neighbour to carpool with to work.

2. Consider taking the bus, cycling or walking instead. A distance of 800

In a recent forecast report for emerging real estate trends in Canada in 2015, PwC and the Urban Land Institute stated that Edmonton is one of the strongest cities in western Canada for real estate investing, second only to Calgary. They cited Edmonton’s strong trend of job creation and increased development in the urban core of the city as factors making it a wise choice.

Edmonton has experienced robust growth in new home, retail and service sector development which they expect to continue for the next one to two years. The low interest rates are expected to stay steady with no real change until mid to late next year at the earliest which was also forecasted by the Bank of Canada in October. So what does all this mean?

It means that now is a great

I received a question on a Google+ post yesterday in reference to my blog “How to Get Started in Real Estate Investing.” I was asked what I thought about crowdfunding for real estate and I thought it would be good to share my response with everyone here on the blog. Crowfunding seems to be the hottest thing lately but really it’s just something old that is new again.


I have to admit that ‘crowdfunding’ is a new term but it sounded familiar to me. I wanted to make sure that it referred to the same thing I thought it did before commenting so I did some research and looked at a variety of websites that offer crowdfunding opportunities. Crowdfunding is the modern term for syndication. While I want to encourage anyone/everyone to participate in real estate

If you are looking to make an investment that can provide a good return on your money, you should consider investing in real estate. Owning investment property gives you rental opportunities which will provide ongoing income and cash flow plus potential tax benefits. Whether you purchase a single family home, condominium, or a multi-family dwelling, you can generate monthly income as well as property equity. So how do you get started? Here are a few things to consider first.

The first thing you need to do to get started in real estate investing is to create a financial plan.

• Check your credit history and make a plan to get it in shape if it’s not great. You can improve your credit score by making sure you pay all your bills on time every month,

The temperature is dropping rapidly and energy bills are rising just as quickly. There are things you can do to decrease costs that are easy. Ok, some tips aren’t exactly convenient, but if you are dedicated to keeping your bill manageable or helping to save resources at the same time you’ll find them to be worth the minor inconvenience. Here are 11 tips you can follow to cut your energy consumption this winter.

1. Adjust the thermostat by two degrees. Just this small change can save you up to $200 over the course of a year. In the winter make it two degrees colder than your normal setting and put on a sweater. In summer, make it two degrees warmer and opt for cooler clothing.

2. Use the dishwasher. Experts have found that dishwashers do a better

Winter isn’t the optimal time to sell a home but the fact is that sometimes you don’t have a choice when you are going to sell or buy a new house. There are definitely some challenges to selling your home in winter but don’t be discouraged by them. Address a few small issues and not only will you make a great impression on buyers but you’ll get your home sold more quickly too. Here are six tips to maximize the potential of a winter sale.

1. Make it easy to get to your home. Buyers have been known to turn away from viewing a home if it means they have to trudge through knee-deep snow just to get to the front door. You may enter your home through the garage but remember that visitors will come to your front door. Ensure that walkways are cleared of snow,

One of the wonderful things about Edmonton is the strong sense of community and how people readily stand behind a cause to help others in need. A great organization helping people here is Edmonton’s Food Bank. According to their website, “Each month, more than 13,000 people receive food hampers from Edmonton’s Food Bank. The Food Bank also distributes food to more than 350,000 meals and snacks each month through 211 agencies, churches or food depots with which we are affiliated. Approximately 40 per cent of clients served are children under 18.” (source)

Food banks serve people and families much like yours. You probably have friends, family or coworkers who receive hampers from the food bank but you just don’t know about it. There are times when people