Barn doors bring an interesting rustic touch to your home. The sliding door is a space-saving alternative to traditional doors and is perfect for your home office, laundry, or bathrooms. Here are some creative barn door designs;

Poor indoor air quality can lead to serious health problems for you and your family. Your home air quality matches the cleanliness of your house. Keeping your home clean and tidy goes a long way to improving your indoor air quality. Aside from regular dusting, washing, and cleaning, here are some tips that will help improve the air in your home:

Keep Pollutants Out – It's easier to keep your home air clean by keeping the pollutants out. Remove outdoor shoes at the door, repair air leaks, put walk off mats at entrances, and avoid activities indoors that uses varnish, paint, glue, and other similar substances.

Invest in a Good Vacuum – Choose a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter. This traps allergens, airborne pollutants, and smaller particles regular vacuums can miss. Buy one with rotating brushes and strong suction.

Regularly bathe and Groom Pets – Pets are adorable and improve quality of life. Sadly, keeping animals in the house has a downside to the quality of your indoor air. Minimize the smell and air pollutants by regularly bathing and grooming pets and cleaning pet paraphernalia.

Ventilate and Circulate – Ventilation and air circulation is crucial to keeping indoor air fresh. Open windows as much as you can. Use exhaust fans, attic fans, or run window AC with open vent control to remove air contaminants.

Change Filters Often – AC, vacuum, air purifiers and heater filters can easily get clogged with filtered pollutants and particles. The dirty build-up will compromise the performance or your AC or heater, and will eventually contaminate the air you're trying to clean.

Minimize Moisture – Damp areas encourage mould and mildew growth. Prevent the proliferation of dust mites, mould, mildew, and other harmful microbes in your home with proper ventilation and keeping humidity level below 50%. You might need a dehumidifier to achieve this.

Keep up with the Laundry – Don't stack dirty clothes for too long. Also, regularly change and launder beddings, towels, curtains, and upholstery.

Watch your Smoke – Smoke releases pollutants into the air. Candles, wood-burning fireplaces, cigars, and cigarettes all contribute to poor indoor air. Minimize the effect by using non-toxic candles, dried wood, and banning indoor smoking.

Bring in Plants – Plants are natural air purifiers and fresheners. The best plant choices to bring in for their air freshening qualities are English Ivy, Peace Lily, Boston Fern, the Spider plant, Dracaena, Ficus or Weeping Fig, and Aloe Vera.

The Canadian real estate industry is highly organized and regulated by different government bodies. There are several real estate organizations tasked to serve consumers and regulate realtor and broker licenses. The main objective is to ensure real estate professionals are serving consumers well.

A huge amount of resources are spent to create useful guides, tools, and content to educate the public about the process of buying and selling a home, but they are often overlooked. Here are some useful websites and resources available to anyone considering buying a home in Alberta.

REALTOR.ca (https://www.realtor.ca/)

REALTOR.ca is Canada's most popular and trusted real estate platform displaying residential and commercial listings from REALTORS® across the country. Buyers, sellers, and real estate investors use REALTOR.ca to find, share, and compare trustworthy listings, search professionals, and research statistical demographic data in specific neighbourhoods.

Home Buyers’ Roadmap
https://www.realtor.ca/Resource/en-ca/homebuyers_road_map.pdf
Mortgage Calculator
https://www.realtor.ca/Residential/calculator.aspx

RECA.ca (https://www.reca.ca/)

RECA or Real Estate Council Alberta is the independent governing authority that sets, regulates and enforces standards for real estate brokerage, mortgage brokerage, property management and real estate appraisal professionals in Alberta.

Buyer Brochure
https://www.reca.ca/consumers/information/PDF/Buyer_Brochure_08.pdf
Buying a House or Condo
https://www.reca.ca/consumers/information/buying-a-house-or-condo.htm

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/)

CMHC has helped millions of Canadians meet their housing needs. CMHC provides mortgage loan insurance that enables you to buy a home sooner with a minimum down payment starting at 5%. CMHC provides valuable information to walk you through the process before, during and after your home purchase.

Home Buying Step by Step
https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/buho/hostst/index.cfm
The Buying Process
https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/buho/hostst/hostst_004.cfm

HowRealtorsHelp.ca (http://howrealtorshelp.ca/)

When you enlist the help of an expert REALTOR®, you're not just gaining support to buy or sell a house – you're gaining an ally who'll help you make the most out of your home. REALTORS® can guide you through every step of the process, explain the current market, help navigate complex paperwork and offer invaluable advice. When you're ready to make a move, get a REALTOR®.

Your Dream Home Checklist
http://howrealtorshelp.ca/pdf/Dream_Home_Checklist.pdf
Planning you Finances

- Edmonton French Film Festival – Saturday, March 5 – Tuesday, March 22

- Edmonton Boat and Sportsmen's Show – Thursday, March 10 – Sunday, March 13

- Adopt a Block Program Registration – Saturday, March 12

- St.Patrick's Day Trail Run – Sunday, March 13

- Edmonton Cat Show – Saturday, March 19 – Sunday, March 20

- Hop to it! Easter Monday at the Edmonton Valley Zoo – Monday, March 28

- The Sustainable Living Show – Wednesday, March 30

Links

- Edmonton French Film Festival

http://www.af.ca/edmonton/french-film-festival/

- Edmonton Boat and Sportsmen's Show

http://www.edmontonboatandsportshow.ca/

- Adopt a Block Program Registration

http://www.edmonton.ca/programs_services/graffiti_litter/adopt-a-block.aspx

- St.Patrick's Day Trail Run

https://www.events.runningroom.com/site/?raceId=12633

- Edmonton Cat Show

http://www.edmontoncat.com/

- Hop to it! Easter Monday at the Edmonton Valley Zoo

http://www.edmonton.ca/attractions_events/schedule_festivals_events/events-calendar.aspx?trumbaEmbed=eventid%3D117504895%26view%3Devent%26-childview%3D

- The Sustainable Living Show

http://www.global-sustainable.com/

Edmonton, March 2, 2016: Residential inventory saw another significant increase in February, surpassing 6,000 listings on the market, ending the month with 6,681 properties for sale on the MLS® System for the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA). That’s a 16.17% increase over last month, and 33.41% more homes listed for sale than February 2015. Sales for February were up 36.54% month-over-month at 837 compared to 618 in January, but 10.1% lower than the 931 properties that sold during the same time last year.

“Sales numbers are increasing consistent with seasonal trends,” REALTOR® Association of Edmonton Chair Steve Sedgwick explains. “Relative to 2015, potential buyers have more inventory to choose from. Despite this inventory growth, prices have moderated only slightly compared to last year, so home owners and sellers can maintain some confidence that housing prices are remaining stable.”
February brought strength back to the average all-residential selling price, ending the month at $363,266, which is 6.93% higher month-over-month and virtually on par with this same time last year. Prices in all categories saw an increase in the Edmonton CMA market compared to just one month ago. Single family house prices averaged $419,940, virtually flat to last month (up 0.24%) but down 2.79% year-over-year (YoY). Condo properties sold for an average of $247,090, up 8.83% over last month, and down just 1.32% YoY. The biggest average price gain came in the duplex/rowhouse category, with the price in February finishing at $354,386, up 8.41% and 1.24% compared to January 2016 and February 2015, respectively.
February’s average days-on-market for all housing types dropped to 57, down from 71 in January but up from 48 YoY. On average, condos sold in 57 days last month, that’s down significantly from the 85 days it took in January, but still higher than the 49 days in February 2015.
“Buyers are still taking their time to consider all of their options before purchasing a new home,” Sedgwick said. “But with warmer weather just around the corner, clients are reaching out to their REALTOR® for support as the busy spring buying season approaches.”

Fun cat furniture your cats would adore, and it still looks stylish in your home

Our furry or feathered friends are lovable and very much a part of our families. When it comes to selling your home, pets can sometimes inconvenience or even hinder the selling process. There are a few extra steps you can take to ensure the process is a little easier on you, your pet and a potential buyer.

Preparing your Home to Sell

- Freshen the Air ñ You may not know or have become used to it, but pet homes tend to smell. Pet smell is a major turn-off. Freshen up the air with a thorough clean up. Replace or have the carpets professionally cleaned. Remove stained pet beds and litter boxes. Neutralise the air with natural air fresheners such as flowers, bowls of fruits, aromatic spices like nutmeg and cinnamon, or freshly baked goodies. Using neutralizing essential oils and diffuser is also a great way to eliminate odours.

- Repair pet destruction ñ Scratched doors or posts, scuffed floors, damaged furniture, and chewed off carpets should be repaired or replaced.
- Clean up the fur ñ Many people are allergic to pet fur and dander. Be sure to vacuum, sweep and launder anything with traces of fur.
- Tidy pet clutter ñ Remove all pet evidence from the house. Pet bowls, water fountains, beds, litter boxes, carriers, and toys can add to the clutter.
Clean the yard ñPatches of yellowed grass, droppings, dug holes, damaged plants, and abandoned toys can be taken as signs of neglect.

Showing

- Relocate pets ñ Arrange for a friend or family to look after your pet during a showing. Relocating your pet for few days or weeks will help keep the house clean and minimize maintenance.
- Remove pets from the house ñ If relocation is not an option, make sure to remove your pet during showings. Hide all pet paraphernalia like pet bowls and beds away from plain sight.
- Quickly run the vacuum or sweep before showings.

You should have received your Annual Assessment Notices from the City of Edmonton by now. This is the assessed value of your property, which substantiates how much tax you have to pay on it. Simply speaking, the assessment places a dollar value on your home for tax reasons.

It is not possible for the City of Edmonton to physically appraise each house, so assessments are based on the fair market value of the property. A number of key factors such as age, size, layout, traffic noise, proximity to establishments like schools, parks, restaurants, etc. help determine the assessment amount.

Your property assessment should manifest the overall market of the previous year; for example, the assessed value of your property will most likely decrease if houses in your neighbourhood didn't sell as well as they did the year before. Alternatively, the assessed value of your property may increase if either renovations or upgrades have been done and you registered these improvements with the City via permits and/or a revised Real Property Report.

There is a secure website that enables you as a property owner in Edmonton to obtain assessment information specific to your property. Sign in information is located on your most recent City of Edmonton property assessment notice. Review a full report of your assessment here.

Following the mailing date of the Assessment Notices on January 04, 2016, a property assessment review period is held until March 11, 2016 wherein you can arrange to speak with an assessor concerning any disagreement you may have with the assessed value of your property.

However, if you still disagree with the assessed value, you may file a complaint with theAssessment Review Board. The formal complaint must be filed prior to the deadline on March 11, 2016 in order for the Board to review your case. Regardless if a formal complaint has been filed, you still need to pay your taxes on time or you'll be penalized.

Property tax bills are mailed out May 24th and are due June 30th. The City allows you to pay in multiple ways; in person, online banking, credit card or cheque. If you don't want to have the financial burden of paying all at once, you can set up a Property Tax Monthly Payment Plan. You can request enrolment in the plan here.