Hillview is a residential neighbourhood in the Woodvale area of Mill Woods area of south Edmonton. It was mostly developed during the 1970s and early 1980s – that’s when just under 90% of the homes were built. Hillview is bounded on the west by 66 Street, on the east by 50 Street, on the south by 34 Avenue, and on the north by 38 Avenue.

It’s a popular area for families, with more than half the households containing more than two people and a third of households having four or more people. There are two schools, as well as a community hospital in Hillview. Other amenities include daycares, shopping, a recreation centre and walking paths.

Accent walls have been making a come-back recently and, suddenly, it seems like everyone is posting about their new, popping décor. An accent wall is a wall, usually on the interior but can also be on the exterior, that has a different color, shade, design or material from the other walls around it.

It can be a great way to totally change the look of a room with relatively little effort and it offers great flexibility. The first thing to think about when considering an accent wall is whether you want the painted wall to be the main visual element in the room or if you prefer to draw the eye to something else like artwork, furniture or a view. Accent walls tend to work best in rooms with neutral furnishings.

When choosing which wall to paint, make sure to take into account where the eye is naturally drawn to in the room and account for symmetry of the overall look at the end.

There are a few ways to go about choosing a look for your accent wall. You can be subtle and choose something monochromatic that blends with the rest of the walls. You can be bold and pick a colour that really “pops”: turquoise, navy, and deep greens have been popular lately. And don’t limit yourself to solid colours. You can also play with textures, stripes, other shapes and patterns, or specialty paint finishes like metallic.

Whatever you choose, your room is sure to look unique with an accent wall!

The wildfires burning across parts of Western Canada this summer are horrendous for countless reasons: the loss of property, impact on the environment, and stress on those forced to evacuate.

But there is also one other impact that is often missed – the impact on home insurance. This holds true for other natural disasters, not just wildfires. It could be floods, landslides, snowstorms, hail storms, tornadoes, and other such acts of nature.

Most home insurance policies do cover damage from forest fires or wildfires (although some may include a clause about whether the fire originated on your property). That means most of the victims in the devastating wildfires in Lytton, B.C. should be compensated as long as they had insurance.

But there are a few considerations. If you live in a wildfire zone, your premiums are likely to be higher due to the higher risk. That’s true for anyone living in an area with known natural risks and is just one of many considerations insurance companies make when assessing a new customer.

The problem arises when you try to purchase a new home insurance policy in an active wildfire zone. By the time an area is put under evacuation notice, it is too late. When a region is already on fire, the risk of property damage or loss becomes an almost certainty that no company wants to take on. Some insurance companies won’t finalize a policy if there are active fires within a certain distance – one company, for example, doesn’t offer wildfire protection if there is a fire within a 50-kilometer radius. In British Columbia this summer, that excluded many homeowners.

There is a well-known story of a woman in Okanagan, B.C. who was trying to set up condo insurance, but was delayed for weeks due to ongoing wildfires. An hour after the woman signed her new policy, another fire started. If she had delayed at all before signing, she would not have been able to get insurance.

The lesson here is to make sure you have the right policy in place protecting your home as soon as you can – delaying can cost you.

A beautiful, fresh coat of paint on the exterior of your house can give you major first impression points. In fact, a study by Consumer Reports found that exterior paint, including touch-ups, can boost the value of your home by up to 5 percent.

The main area to focus on if you have a small budget is the easy fixes: sections where the trim or molding is rotten or the paint has been chipped off. Small details make a big difference and pay dividends.

If you are planning to do a total redo, though, there are a few things to keep in mind. One way to think about it is following the 60-30-10 rule where a maximum of three different paint colours are used: 60 percent is the body of the house, (like stucco or brick), 30 percent is the garage doors and trim, and the last 10 percent is a pop of colour on the front door and shutters.

And if you’re debating what colour to paint your front door, choose black. According a Zillow Paint Color Analysis report which looked at photos of 135,000 homes to see how paint colours impacted sales, a black front door could increase the price of your home by 2.9 percent – they found that houses with dark charcoal, smoky black or jet black doors sell for an average of $6,271 more than expected.

On the flip side, that same study found that homes painted yellow on the outside sold for an average of $3,408 less than other homes. Play it safe with a solid neutral colour or, for the more adventurous, match the colour to the architectural style and era of the house.

There are a lot of different paths to financial freedom but one of the most tried-and-true is property ownership – and now, more than ever.

The first step, of course, is to own a property that you can rent out that is cash-flow positive. If you have a loft above a garage or an in-law suite in your garden (or the space to build one), perfect! If not, consider what type of AirBnB property you would be best suited to run – a cabin at a local ski resort? A waterfront property with lovely views? Executive stop-overs close to the city centre? Consider the profit potential, location and accessibility, and make sure to scope out the competition.

Once you have your property and the guests are starting to trickle in, there are a few things you can do to add value to your property and charge more per stay:

• Create an experience for guests: Be more than just a bed to sleep in and you will have guests flocking to you. Create a unique experience with fun things like having a mural painted on a blank wall for Instagram photos, a large hammock in the garden to relax in, a hot tub with a view, and other memorable draws.
• Add amenities: This doesn’t need to be costly. Small, thoughtful touches like a well-stocked cabinet with coffee and tea, hotel-size toiletries, a USD multi-charger, an iron, a hair dryer, and other must-haves add significant value. Don’t forget to advertise them!
• Make entertainment accessible: A Netflix subscription will go a long way to keeping your guests entertained while they relax. Board games, books, magazines, and a sound system are always good bets, too.
• Add a self-check in option: Many customers filter for this option so, if you don’t have it, you’ll be missing out. It requires installing a smart lock or a lock box, and a little bit of extra communication.
• Be creative: You can always list creative alternatives like a well-set up camper van or Airstream in your garden, a luxurious treehouse, or a converted boxcar – all of which are currently listed and usually fully-booked on Airbnb!

Remember to double check and follow all local guidelines and laws regarding short-term rentals before listing your property. Many places, for example, require a business license to operate an AirBnB.

Britannia Youngstown is a residential neighbourhood in west Edmonton that is bounded on the west by Mayfield Road, on the north by 107 Avenue, on the east by 156 Street, and on the south by Stony Plain Road.

It became part of Edmonton in 1964 when the Town of Jasper Place was annexed by growing Edmonton. Although most of the building was done in the 1950s, the neighbourhood has undergone considerable change in the form of commercial and residential development and intensification. It has a community hall, basketball courts, outdoor rink and a tennis court.

Inflation is on the rise in Canada. In May 2021, according to Statistics Canada, the rate of inflation hit 3.6% which is the highest level in a decade.

On the one hand, that means the cost of living is going up – housing, gas, food, consumer goods and all the other necessities of life will cost more relative to income.

But for investors, there is another layer of concerns to fear.

High inflation, if it continues, could require the Bank of Canada to act decisively to contain it. The Bank of Canada Governor recently requested more authority from the Prime Minister to run the economy hot.

The Governor may focus on labor-market metrics or putting more emphasis on the Bank of Canada’s allowable range for inflation beyond the 2% target. That could give him some more flexibility to address under-performance in the economy at a time when other central banks are doing the same.

The options that the Bank of Canada could be considering include: maintaining the status quo – keeping prices stable and keeping inflation within a range of 1% to 3% as much as possible – or adding explicit labour-market metrics or language into the mandate to shift the focus to a full labour-market recovery.

Any changes along those lines could mean the end of the low interest rates that have supported the purchase and investment in stocks, bonds and property.

The future of inflation is currently unclear. Most experts continue to say there is nothing to worry about and point to the fact that central banks have consistently over-forecast inflation and under-shot their inflation targets over the past decade. Jumps in inflation are usually transitory.

But, on the other hand, the rising rate of inflation is without doubt something for investors to keep an eye on as it will have reverberating impacts on borrowing rates and investing options.

If there’s one good thing the pandemic has left us with is a newfound appreciation of outdoor spaces – a must, in the time of social distancing – and that is shifting residential trends. Canadians don’t just want to hang out in parks and other public places, although those have skyrocketed in popularity since COVID-19. They want privacy, but outside.

A place to cook, eat, exercise and hang out. And with travel down because of the pandemic, people are spending more time in their homes which fuels their desire the make it a pleasant pace to be.

A recent study by Fixer interviewed 48 top experts in the home construction industry. Eighty-five percent of them said that homeowners are more willing to invest in outdoor living spaces than before the pandemic.

Personal, private outdoor spaces like yards and patios are IN right now. Here are some of the hottest trends for outdoor living spaces.

Outdoor kitchens are the most desired addition to outdoor living spaces in 2021. COVID-19 brought a renewed interest to both cooking and outdoor spaces, which is why purchases like barbeques have shot up. For those chefs really invested in a backyard kitchen, the options are endless from islands to countertops to topnotch grill set-ups.

Fire pits follow in close second for the most popular trends of 2021. They make a great focal point of a gathering, bringing warmth and light on those slightly chillier nights, and create a cozy atmosphere. Options range from gas or propone fueled, electric, or wood burning.

Covered patios are the third most popular choice this summer, according to the experts interviewed. That’s because it’s versatile, protecting the inhabitants from both the harsh sun and rainy, damp days.

In terms of design, having both a patio and a porch is the most popular set-up right now. Almost half of the experts interviewed listed this as the perfect combination compared to other options like a patio and a deck, or just a deck, or just a patio. That’s because with a patio and a porch, you get both curb appeal and privacy.

And, finally, three quarters of those surveyed said that the best way to connect indoor and outdoor spaces is with a sliding or folding door. It gives the illusion of more space from inside your home and creates a seamless experience between the two locations.