Your First Home In Time For The Holidays

Never are the joys of home ownership as sweet as around the holidays. Friends and family gather to share food and gifts, usually in someone’s house, celebrating their blessings by fellowshipping together and making new memories.
And if you’re hoping to own your property someday, these are the dreams pushing you forward as you save money for a down payment, research neighborhoods and plan for the future.
Think of the experiences you will enjoy in your own home: painting the rooms to your specifications, hanging framed photos of your loved ones, setting the dining room table for company, cooking up festive gourmet meals, hosting overnight and out-of-town friends, celebrating important firsts like Baby’s first steps or your big promotion at work. Around the holidays, you can decorate your property with twinkling lights and other seasonal accents, creating your own distinguishing curb appeal for everyone who passes by.
As you celebrate this up and coming holiday season, picture yourself experiencing the next in your own home!
Now’s the time to make your move.

What a Lawyer can do to Help!

Buying a home involves piles of legal documents. You need someone to translate the ‘legalese’ and ensure your best interests are protected.Finding a good lawyer

There are lots of good lawyers out there. Ask your friends or people at work. REALTORS® will happily give you the names of several good lawyers. They can’t legally recommend just one, but they’ll only refer lawyers experienced in real estate. Be sure you ask how they structure their fees, and get an estimate of the other legal costs you can expect.

How your lawyer will help

There are many, many legal steps to transferring ownership of land from one person to another. Even if pitfalls like fraud, government legislation, zoning issues or unpaid taxes don’t come up, your lawyer will more than earn their pay by making the legal transfer of the home a smooth one.

Don’t be scared of your lawyer

They are here to help you. Ask questions if you don’t understand anything. Explaining legal jargon in plain language is a big part of their job.

Submitting the Offer

You’ve signed on the dotted line and your REALTOR® has whisked your offer to the seller’s REALTOR®. This process works best when you don’t meet the seller in person.The seller can accept your offer, Fantastic, when do you move in?
The seller can reject your offer It’s not common for an offer to be completely rejected. Your REALTOR® will likely investigate, to see if there was some sort of misunderstanding.
The seller can ‘sign back’ or counter your offer, The seller wants to alter ‘some part’ of your offer. It’s almost always the price. The seller will cross out the price on your offer and write a higher number. Now it’s your turn to sign back, and see if you can bring that number down. It can feel a bit like a ping-pong match. Emotions can run high, so both sides will be reminded that a little flexibility goes a long way. Good luck!

The Perfect Backyard BBQ

When inviting others over for a barbecue, make sure you have a lot of variety. While you don’t want to deprive them of their all-time favorites, why not put a fun spin on the usual BBQ fare? Tropical burgers, kabobs and creative twists on chicken and steak will make your backyard barbecue the talk of the neighbourhood.Before you fire up the grill, take a moment to organize your party ideas, so you can enjoy the barbecue along with your guests instead of running interference due to poor planning.

Plan your menu
Once you have your guest list think about how much food you’ll need. It’s a good idea to have a few different main course options, including a non-meat option. Here are some ideas to help you plan your next backyard party.

Tropical Burgers
Turn up the flavour meter on regular burgers with a Pineapple Hawaiian Marinade . Simply marinate your beef patties, toss on the grill and top with a grilled pineapple ring. A tropical delight in minutes.

Kabobs
Kabobs are easy to eat and allow you to customize to specific tastes. While some guests enjoy Beef & Shiitake Kabobs , those who don’t eat meat can have grilled vegetable kabobs.

Steak
There’s nothing like a juicy steak at a barbecue. For a real treat, choose a spicy steak sauce. Slice meat between 1-1/4 to 2 -1/4 inches thick-any thinner, and the meat won’t grill well. For safety reasons, be sure to cook steaks until the inside reads 170° F on a meat thermometer.

Chicken
Surprise your guests with festive Buffalo Chicken Tacos or Baja Chipotle Drumsticks . Place your chicken in a resealable plastic bag with Piri piri Portugese Marinade and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Toss them on the grill and you’ll have a new crowd pleaser.

Or, make chicken “burgers”. After grilling chicken patties, top with barbecue sauce and place between sourdough buns for an easy-to-eat dish. For a little extra kick, sprinkle the chicken patties with Seasoned Salt before placing on the grill.

Beverages
Lots of cold beverages are the key to a successful barbecue. Make sure you have enough or your party will be over before dinner is served. Keep self-contained beverages in coolers with ice, and drinks like lemonade and iced tea available in pitchersyour party will be over before dinner is served. Keep self-contained beverages in coolers with ice, and drinks like lemonade and iced tea available in pitchers.

Getting That Patio Ready For Summer

After a long wet,cold winter the warm weather has arrived. You stir  up a nice cold drink walk out to the back and your deck reveals what old man winter left behind! Faded, rough, peeled paint and weathered its time to do some repair and revive it.

First step would be to sand the whole surface, using an orbit sander with around 80 grit paper. This will allow you to smooth down to “new wood” without harming the wood. You don’t want sand to hard because you will get a uneven finish with no smoothness.

If your smoothing away flaking paint, make sure you remove as much ass possible. Always make sure the surface is 100% cleaned of any debris. Try using a power washer and use it with a sweeping motion, but don’t get the nozzle too close to the surface you may damage it.

Once smooth and all cracks and splinters are gone, you must seal the wood properly. At your local hardware store look for keywords that go beyond “exterior durability”, decks need more than an ordinary external finish. Follow instructions on the label in terms of how to apply the solution.

Once sealed you can sit back and enjoy a nice Pina Colada while watching the sun set!