If you’re shopping for a new home, you’ll likely be looking for a property that has been well cared for by its owners. A home that is in a good state of repair and may even be “move-in ready,” can ultimately save you time and money.

A well looked after property often has the following characteristics:

• No scuffs and dents on walls that look like they’ve been there for years.
• Major appliances are in good working order.
• Caulking around the bathroom tub or shower looks solid with no cracks, breaks or yellowing from water infiltration.
• The flooring looks clean and well-maintained. (If there is carpeting, it looks like it has been regularly vacuumed.)
• Proper lighting is installed and working in all areas.
• Seals around windows look good with no sign of air infiltration.
• Exterior landscaping is well groomed.

Besides those traits, a well-maintained property will tend to make a great impression. In some cases, you’ll think, “Wow, the owner really took care of this place.” Trust that instinct. It’s probably true!

When you’re shopping for a home, you never want to find out that a great property, within your price range, just sold – and you didn’t even know about the listing! How did you miss it?

After all, aren’t all homes listed for sale easily found online?

While it’s true that most listings are on MLS, it’s still possible to miss out on a home for any number of reasons. Here are just a couple:

• A home in a popular neighbourhood goes up for sale and there are interested buyers even before the listing appears on MLS.

• There are many homes for sale in an area and, while sifting through all the listings, you miss one that turns out to be a gem.

It can be frustrating, even heart breaking, to miss out on a property that could have been ideal for you. So, when you’re looking for your next dream home, arrange to be alerted immediately to new listings that match your criteria.

We can set that up for you! Send us a message to Get Started!

*Morris Marketing*

If you’re searching for a new home within a tight time frame or searching for an out-of-town property, you may not have time to make multiple visits. In fact, you might only get a chance to view a property once before deciding whether or not to make an offer. In that case, you’ll need to be sure to get all the information you need from that one viewing. The trick is to be prepared.

Before viewing a property, make a list of all the things you want to know about the home. If it’s an older home for example, you may want to know about possible maintenance issues. So, you’ll have questions about when you should expect that the roof, furnace or air conditioner will need to be replaced. If you’re concerned about bedroom space, you’ll want to bring a measuring tape and confirm the dimensions of those rooms.

Then, when you schedule the viewing, make it clear to the seller that you may need more time than the average buyer. Depending on the property, you may need an extra 30 minutes to an hour. During the viewing, spend time exploring each of the rooms, especially those that are most important to you. Bring a notebook or use your smartphone to make notes.

And, don’t forget to ask all of your questions.

*Morris Marketing*

The risks and benefits of data collection may be incomprehensible to most children, but it’s important for them to know that information about them is constantly being collected from their smartphones. Therefore, even children need to be thoughtful about what facts and images they choose to share, as they build a digital footprint throughout the course of their lives.

In other words, they need to know that data collection is about more than tracking their progress when they play their favourite games. The choices, interests and “likes” kids express on their smartphones will be used to predict their behaviour, and ultimately entice them to buy things, even when they don’t need them.

They will be bated with cleverly masked offers that seem completely legitimate. What starts with a simple pop-culture reference can eventually become a “phishing” scheme to collect personal information about a user, and eventually create a phoney persona that can actually ruin a child’s credit rating.

Surprisingly, this can be difficult to reverse. So, if kids are old enough to use a smartphone, they must be old enough to establish strong passwords, and to practice cyber-safety 24/7.

It can be disheartening to discover that the average lifespan of some major home appliances are actually shrinking, despite great technological advances. Of course, such statistics are relative, with certain brands outperforming others, but it’s worth taking a look at why this trend may continue.

To begin with, today’s consumers tend to expect modern conveniences and energy savings. But, these features often come at the expense of reliable long-lasting performance because they are costly to develop and newer technology is constantly coming to market. As a result, manufacturers are not inclined to invest heavily in order to make them more durable. Secondly, an important part of the new technology involves lighter and smaller parts which by nature tend to have a less robust lifespan.

Nonetheless, the newer time and energy saving appliances do offer many benefits. So, one way to counteract the possibility of having to replace one before you were planning to invest again – is through an extended warranty. But, don’t buy one hastily. Your retailer may already provide a satisfaction guarantee or product warranty, or you maybe automatically covered by using a specific credit card. In fact, some utility providers offer comprehensive “blanket coverage” for a myriad of household equipment for a single monthly fee.

So, before you make a decision on your next appliance purchase, give considerable thought to how you will manage its long-term cost effectiveness and your performance expectations.

*Morris Marketing*

All homeowners deserve to be confident in the quality of their household drinking water, but verifying its integrity may require some initiative. In fact, even if you rely on a municipal water system that is heavily regulated and frequently tested, you could still end up with questionable water in your home if there is corrosion of the pipes within your own walls.

Likewise, fresh well water may be compromised by polluted run-off, leaching of toxic chemicals, or animal contamination in the water table. Some consumers consider bottled water or cooler services to be the safest choice, but in fact, those suppliers may not be obligated to test the water as thoroughly as municipalities do.

If you are ever concerned about the quality of your drinking water, ask your public health department about getting it tested. Questionable results may prompt you to consider filtering your supply as you draw it from your faucet(s), or installing a whole-home system that purifies your water at its point of entry into your property (presuming your internal plumbing is not compromised).

*Morris Marketing*