Winnipeg Realtor and Real Estate Blog

Anyone who owns carpet has likely had this issue – you move a piece of furniture and it leaves behind dents where the piece sat.  Or you decide to get rid of an old piece of furniture, only to have it leave its footprints behind for years on end.  Though not the end of the world, they can certainly be unsightly and may even prevent you from moving your furniture at all.  As realtors, we often give staging advice to our clients, where we have used a quick and easy solution to get rid of these furniture footprints!  All you have to do is give the dent a few squirts of water from a water bottle, or moisten the area with a damp cloth.  Then pull out your trusty old hair dryer, and a spoon (really any utensil will work).  Blow dry the footprint and while you are drying the area, rake or rub the dent all over in every direction with the edge of the spoon.  The dent should disappear as the carpet dries.  If it doesn’t completely disappear on the first try, simply wet, and repeat the process.  Voila, no more carpet dents!  You can redecorate your room to your heart’s content!

Do you have an outdoor patio space that you like to spend lots of time relaxing and/or entertaining in?   Well concrete and brick can get dirty too, so we thought we would share an excellent way to clean it up for summer.

Firstly, hose down your patio.  You can use a pressure washer if you have access to one.  Next, grab some dish soap and apply it directly to the wet concrete.  As with dishes, use it sparingly unless you want to be rinsing bubbles from your patio for the next year!  Once you have sparingly put dish soap on the concrete, take a broom (whatever you might use to sweep your patio – can be a normal kitchen broom, or an industrial push broom), and work the soap suds into the concrete.  This would be a great job for the kids to do!  Once you have ‘swept’ the whole patio, simply rinse off the suds with your garden hose or pressure washer.  Dish soap is a good cleaning agent for your patio because it won’t harm your grass or surrounding vegetation.

Now, if some stubborn stains remain, here is a formula that tends to work excellent.  (Please keep in mind, the white vinegar in this formula WILL KILL YOUR GRASS, so it’s best to just spot clean with this formula.  If your patio is nowhere near any vegetation, go ahead and use this formula on your whole patio as vinegar is one of the best cleaners and disinfectants out there!  And not only will it clean your concrete, it will help control your weeds as it kills the vegetation).

Use an empty spray bottle, and fill it with a solution of 50% white vinegar, and 50% water.  Spray it on the more stubborn stains, and let it sit for 10 minutes.  After the 10 minute mark, you may want to put a little bit of elbow grease into it and scrub with a brush.  Then simply rinse it off, and you should be left with a nice, clean, inviting space to spend your summer!

Did you know that dryers can cause fires if they are not properly maintained and cleaned?  Yes, we clean the lint trap on a regular basis – but at least once a year it is recommended that you go beyond the lint trap, and clean out your dryer hose as well to prevent possible fire.  Though you can hire a professional to do this, it is quite easy to do yourself!  There are 3 easy steps.

1.  Clean out your lint trap, but then also clean out the area below the lint trap as best as you can.  If you have a long, thin brush, go ahead and stick that in the space below the vent, and break loose as much as the lint captured down there as you can.  Then simply vacuum up any loose lint you were able to bring to the surface.
2. Next, pull your dryer away from the wall, and disconnect the exhaust duct tube.  They can be connected in different ways, some may need a screwdriver in order to disconnect it.  Then simply slide the tube off of the dryer and the hole in the wall.  Then use your vacuum to vacuum out both ports – the one leading into the dryer and the one in the wall.  You can also use your vacuum to clean the actual tube itself – but if you find this tedious or difficult you can always purchase one from your local hardware store (they are very cheap) and just replace it.  Note – if you have an older style vinyl tube – it is important that you replace it with a foil one as the vinyl ones can be fire hazards.  Also throw your brush attachment onto your vacuum, and just run it over the whole rear of the dryer picking up any lint stored there in any nooks and crannies.  Then simply re-attach the exhaust tube.  Also remember, when you push your dryer back to the wall, be sure you are not crushing the exhaust tube.
3. Thirdly, if it is in your reach, just give the dryer vent on the exterior of your home a quick cleaning.  Make sure there is no debris blocking the vent.

And there you have it!  3 easy steps to ensure your safety and peace of mind.

Do you own a ceiling fan?  While the most common use for a ceiling fan is to cool you down, the air circulation a ceiling fan provides also contributes to the indoor air quality of your home.  With homes coming to be more and more energy efficient through being more air sealed and well insulated, this may reduce ventilation which can make the air in your home stagnant.  Saying this, it is definitely beneficial to use your ceiling fan in the winter as well.  Think it will make you cold?  Think again – by simply switching the direction that the fan blows, you can avoid having cold air blown on you all winter long.  Most all ceiling fans will have the option to change direction, older fans will probably have a switch somewhere hidden on top of the motor, while newer ones are easier to locate.  In the summer, your ceiling fan should be turning counter clockwise.  This will give you the ‘cooling effect’ forcing the air in the room down on you creating that wind chill effect.  In the winter, your ceiling fan should be turning clockwise at a low speed.  This will gently draw the room air up towards the ceiling, and force the warm air down and out towards the walls avoiding blowing right on you and giving you the wind chill effect.  And there you have it – you now know you can keep your air circulating all year long!

Do you have an old wood burning fireplace?  Has it been updated along with the rest of your home?  Many people don’t attempt to update or redecorate their fireplace.  This can then create somewhat of an eyesore when having visitors over, or when wanting to sell your home.  Here are a few ways you can update your fireplace:

1. Paint the old brick.  In this day and age, we no longer have to use guesswork when wanting to paint anything, as there seems to be special paint types for every project you are willing to undertake, and brick paint is no exception.  You can buy paint especially made to paint over bricks, such as Behr Interior/Exterior Masonry , Stucco & Brick Paint, so you will get the best coverage and long lasting results.
2. Add a mantle.  This is a great way to add some character to your fireplace.  The possibilities are endless on whatever look you want to create, from ornate woodworking to sleek stone.  You can add just a shelf, or go with something that surrounds your whole fireplace.  You can buy them premade, or create one yourself!
3. Convert it to a gas or an electric fireplace.  If you are not a fan of your wood burning fireplace, if you find it messy or don’t like the irritants, you do have the option to change it to gas or electric.  Not only is it much cleaner in every sense, but while a wood burning fireplace is mostly for ambience, as most heat it produces exits straight out of the chimney, a gas or electric fireplace will actually heat your home on those cold winter nights.  You can purchase a gas fireplace insert for your wood burning fireplace, or if that is too much you even have the option of purchasing natural gas fireplace logs instead.

Voila – you just changed your dated and/or unused fireplace from an eyesore to a focal point!

A big factor to consider when buying a new home is the area you are going to live in.  We have put together a few items to take into consideration when choosing the ideal area:

1. Staying close to friends and family. This is a major factor for many clients.  Having all of your friends and family on the opposite side of the city can, and most likely will, affect the amount of time you see them on a regular basis.
2. Neighbourhoods – every neighbourhood in the city offers different things to homeowners – from the types of community activities, to different schools, amenities and services.  Is your favorite hairdresser or your kids’ school going to end up on the opposite end of the city?  Culture is also a consideration, do you prefer the family oriented area with a big house and a yard?  Or do you prefer being close to hotspots and popular culture, preferring something along the lines of the Corydon strip or Osborne Village? 
3. Commute – take into consideration the commute to your workplace.  If you take the bus, is there a direct route?  If you drive, how is rush hour going to affect your work commute?
4. Lastly, cheaper isn’t always better.  You may notice similar homes in different areas cost less.  Remember, usually there is a reason homes are cheaper in different areas.  Of course safety is a major concern, higher crime neighbourhoods will most likely have cheaper real estate.  But other things such as lot size, landscaping such as manmade lakes and walking/biking paths, distance to certain amenities, and also country living can factor in the pricing of houses as well.  Sure, living a half hour outside of the city may save you some money on the home, but think about the gas, winter highway conditions, distance from friends and family as well as amenities etc. that go along with country living. 

So these are just a few considerations to take into account when thinking about moving.  If something doesn’t pop up in your desired area right away, it may be worth it to hold off, inevitably the right house will come along, and you will be left with no regrets! 

Tis the season! Time for putting up decorations and getting in the festive mood – but how can you be sure to keep your home safe this holiday season? House fires increase significantly during the month of December. Think about it, especially if you have gone out and picked that perfect fresh Christmas tree to bring home and decorate – there can be fire hazards all around. Some things to watch out for during the holiday season:

1. Check all of your string lights. Ensure there are no empty sockets or frayed wires. And be sure to always turn off your lights when leaving your home or going to bed.

2. Have 12 strings of lights, stereo for your ambient Christmas music, phone charger and curling iron to plug into the same outlet? Just because you have a power bar with room for 10 plugs, it does not mean it is always safe to do so. It all depends on the amount of AMPS going through your outlets, and hopefully if you have too much going through, the breaker will trip instead of causing a fire, but this is not always the case. Always pay attention to how much you are plugging into one outlet – buy an extension cord and spread your plug in items around to other outlets to avoid a possible fire hazard.

3. Ensure your real tree is watered regularly, and does not become too dry. Pine needles falling off everywhere? Not only is this a nuisance, but this is an indication that your tree is too dry. It won't take much for your dry tree to be engulfed in flames should it catch fire.

4. Who doesn't love the smell of a fragrant gingerbread candle at Christmas? Christmas is the time for burning candles too, and of course these can be a danger on their own, but can be an extra danger if they are burning close to your extra dry Christmas tree. Or even in the same area as your tree – what happens when Frisky starts getting frisky with your tree and knocks it over into your burning candle?

5. Have outdoor lights to get you into the spirit? Any outdoor decorations that need to be plugged in should always be plugged into circuits protected by ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI's).

So there you have it – keep yourself and your home safe this holiday season with these safety tips – and HAPPY DECORATING!!!

Many home owners think they know the value of their home. We get it, you may have raised 3 kids in this home, it holds many fond memories. You have probably done many of the home improvements yourself, and know its value to YOU. But what about its value to the average home buyer? When selling your house, it most definitely matters what your house is listed at. Listing it too high will eliminate tons of potential buyers for your home. Going in at top dollar is not advised, as the more fairly it is priced the more showings and offers you are likely to get on your home. A Realtor will have further knowledge on what similar homes in your area are going for, because yes, a home in one neighborhood does not necessarily go for the same amount in another neighborhood. There can actually be a significant difference for the same house in different areas of the same city. You may know that John Doe down the street sold his home for X amount, so you automatically think that is what you will get for yours. Not always the case! First off, different styles of homes (bungalow, two storey, bi-level) will demand price differentiations. The square footage, number of bedrooms, and whether or not there is a garage are examples of a main factor in price. And of course, there are updates in your home. The average home buyer is mostly concerned with energy efficient upgrades – so besides such things as a high efficiency furnace or new shingles, a home buyer may not care, or rather not be willing to pay more if you have a state of the art kitchen faucet or lighting imported from Europe. There can be upgrades in which you are not going to get your money back on. You don't want your home sitting on the market too long either, because there can also be a stigma on a home that has been on the market for too long - making people think “well obviously something is wrong with it”.

So knowing what to price your house at, and not making the mistake of pricing your property too high, is just one of the benefits of hiring an experienced Realtor.  

As summer is slowly coming to an end, and cooler temperatures are on there way here, it is probably nearing the time where we shut off our central air until next spring/summer. In order to keep your central air working at maximum capacity, there are two things you can do in order to prolong the effectiveness and the longevity of your unit.

Firstly, it is a good idea to clean the outside unit. You can simply open up the unit, and spray down the fan blades and coils with your garden hose. Of course, setting your hose setting to a jet stream or something with a little more power will do a better job of lifting off the dust and debris.

Secondly, an excellent way to extend the life and performance of your unit is to purchase a waterproof cover. During the fall, wet leaves, dust and debris can easily get into the unit which could cause rusting and freezing of the internal components of your air conditioner, which of course can lead to ineffectiveness, costly repairs or replacements.

So by cleaning and then protecting your unit, it should be in tip top shape for next spring/summer when its time to turn it back on!

Summer is here! We all try to make the most of our short summers, and many of us plan summer vacations. Many of us are also lucky enough to experience the cottage life. In this day and age with social media, we feel the constant need to share the exciting (and sometimes even not exciting) events in our lives with everybody on our social media lists. It may seem like a no-brainer, that when you are away on vacation, NOT to advertise it through Facebook and Twitter. But I personally can't believe how many people do this! You are advertising to everyone on social media that you are currently out of town, and chances are, a high percentage of the people you are advertising this to will know exactly where you live. In a perfect world, it would be wonderful to assume that all of your 'friends' on your subscribed social media sites would never dream of taking advantage of you and breaking into your home while you are away, but in reality how well do you know everyone on your friends list? And if a friend comments on your picture or status update, depending on your privacy settings, how many of their friends are then getting the broadcast that you are away on vacation? We are not saying not to share your adventures through social media, but we strongly suggest not posting pictures or status' about it until AFTER you have returned. Giving everyone an itinerary of where you are going and how long you will be gone doesn't seem like a good preventative measure for the safety of your home and your belongings. So please, think twice before posting anything in regards to an upcoming vacation, or posting anything during your leave, and save it for when you are back home, and then by all means, let us all know how wonderful your holiday was!

Aeration seems to be coming up more and more, and I'm not sure about anyone else, but we have had more door to door aeration specialists knock on our front door in the past two years than ever before. So what exactly is aeration, and how do you know if you need it?

Simply put, over time, the soil on your lawn gets compacted. If the soil is compacted, it makes it much more difficult for grass seed, fertilizer, and even water to be absorbed properly. This can lead to a less than beautiful lawn that may procure brown spots and be more susceptible to weeds. So what aeration does, is basically pokes holes in your lawn, which then allows air and water to penetrate the grass roots much more effectively, making your lawn healthy once again.

The best time to aerate is early spring or late fall, as this is when your lawn is growing most actively so will reap the most benefits, but can certainly be done throughout the summer months as well. By no means do you have to aerate every year either, you can go many years between aerating if your lawn is healthy.

The last tip about aerating your lawn, whether you do it yourself or hire a company to do it for you, is to be aware of the 2 different types of aerators. One type will simply poke holes in your lawn with large spikes. The other will actually REMOVE a small 'plug' of soil from your lawn. The plugs eventually work their way back into your lawn – no need to remove them from the property! Though both types can be effective, the aerator that actually removes the plug of soil from your lawn seems to be much more effective.

So if you have a mature lawn that susceptible to weeds and brown spots, aeration is definitely a good option to try and beautify it back to its former glory, and amp up that curb appeal in the process!    

Yes, there are in fact two different types of smoke detectors – the ionization smoke detector, and the photoelectric smoke detector. Which kind do you have in your home? Most homes have ionization smoke detectors installed. Check the labeling on your smoke detector, if you see the word “radiation”, you likely have an ionization detector. If you see the letter “P”, you likely have a photoelectric detector. They both use different technologies to warn you of possible smoke/fire. So which one should you use in your home? The newer technology of photoelectric smoke detectors claims to be able to detect smoldering fires MUCH sooner, and create less false alarms. Ionization detectors, however, claim to be able to detect fast flaming fires a little bit sooner than photoelectric detectors. Studies show that a huge problem with ionization detectors is that many people disable them because of false alarms (such as burning your toast) and they disable the smoke detector to quiet it - and never hook it back up, which of course can be VERY dangerous. So which type should you choose? That decision is completely up to you. No matter which type you choose, you should always have working smoke detectors in your home. For getting the most protection, smoke alarm manufacturers suggest you use BOTH kinds – that way you have both types of technology on your side.