Jamieson Place is in the west of Edmonton, bounded to the north by Callingwood Road, to the east by 184th Street, and to the southeast by Lessard Road. It’s a relatively new area with construction beginning a few decades ago in the early 1980s and steadily continuing since then. Jamieson Place was named after Frederick Charles Jamieson (1875–1966), a prominent lawyer and politician who arrived in the Edmonton area in 1895.

Nearly 95% of the residential units here are single-detached homes, with a series of loops and cul-de-sacs linking it all together. Almost all of those units are owner-occupied, with only about 3% being rental units. It’s a lovely place to settle down and raise a family.

When you are busy packing and planning for your holiday, burglars are preparing for one of their busiest seasons, too: the long summer months when residents leave their homes empty for extended periods of time while on vacation.

Don’t be the next target. And don’t do these tell-tale things that signal to burglars that your home is empty.

• Don't draw all the curtains tightly closed. Instead, leave your home looking natural and as it would usually on a summer afternoon. If you live on a ground floor and are concerned about burglars peering in, consider using privacy curtains instead of full blinds.
• Mow the lawn and have someone collect your mail. In the same vein, don’t let an overgrown garden or pile of mail on the porch indicate that no one has been around in days.
• Don't leave extra keys outside. Anywhere that you hide an extra key, a burglar can find it. Every year in Canada, thousands of burglaries happen because the thief has easy access to a home from a spare key. Leave it with a neighbour, if you must have a spare.
• Fix weak doors and windows. Replace or reinforce any entrances that are easy to break in through – like a weak door or an unsecure window – to make sure that a desperate burglar can’t easily enter.
• Set up an alarm system. If you have an alarm system, make sure you set it before you leave. If you don’t yet have one, now is a good time to get a system. A quality alarm system is one of the best defenses against burglaries.
• Be cautious with social media. Don’t post about your holiday plans and updates until you are back. If you must share daily photos of your trip, do so only with a select group of family and friends that you trust. Save the public photos for later.

The biggest take-away is to make sure your home is secured, with no easy ways to break in, and that you have not announced to the world that you’re not home. Rest easy on your vacation without worrying about what’s happening at home!

A “walk score” is a numerical value that is assigned to neighbourhoods or areas based on how easily assessible amenities are by foot. It’s an important consideration because it has ties to public health, community building and urban planning, environmental concerns and personal happiness.

The most commonly referenced organization that looks at walkability in Canadian cities in Walk Score, which is now owned by the real estate company RedFin. Walk Score assigns a number between 0 to 100 as a measure of walkability, with the following breakdown:

• 90-100 = Walker’s Paradise (Daily errands do not require a car)
• 70-89 = Very Walkable (Most errands can be accomplished on foot)
• 50-69 = Somewhat walkable (Some amenities within walking distance)
• 25 – 49 = Car-dependent (A few amenities within walking distance)
• 0-24 = Car-dependent (Almost all errands require a car)

Walkability is tied to better health, with the average resident who lives in a walkable area weighing up to 10 pounds less than those who live in car-dependent neighbourhoods and having better cardiovascular health. It’s also good for the environment, as more than 85% of CO2 emissions come from burning fossil fuels – walking is the perfect zero-pollution transportation! An area that’s known to be walkable also tends to have a great sense of community and is linked to higher levels of arts and culture organizations.

So, what does this mean for the value of your home?

One point of Walk Score is worth up to $3,250 of value for your property, according to recent research. That’s because the homes are considered more desirable, based on the aforementioned reasons. Around two per cent of active listings in major cities are considered the highest level “walker’s paradise” but more than half of millennials and 46% of baby boomers indicate that they prefer to live in a walkable area.

If you are curious about the walk score your neighbourhood or area you are looking to purchase in, you can type the address into Walk Score’s search bar and find out the number.

The most walkable neighbourhoods in Edmonton are: McCauley, Downtown and Alberta Avenue.

Athlone is a residential neighbourhood in north west Edmonton, with a majority single-family dwellings as well as row houses and duplexes.
Athlone had been a large parcel of land north of the Canadian National Rail Line but was annexed to the City of Edmonton in 1913. The neighbourhood was named after Alexander Augustus, Earl of Athlone, who was Canada’s Governor General from 1940 to 1946.

Now, it’s a quiet and family-friendly area to live with plenty of community facilities such as a community league, an elementary school, and two junior high schools.

Spring has sprung and gardening plans are all the rage. You’ve got the seeds, you’ve got visions of a bountiful harvest … now it’s just a matter of finding enough room for all those plants.

For those of us without backyard and full-size gardens, it can seem tricky to figure out where to squeeze in those hydrangeas and fresh herbs. But, with a little creativity, that won’t be a problem. Check out some of these ideas for a vertical garden!

Vertical gardens come in many different shapes, sizes and prices but are becoming increasingly popular. As the name suggests, they are multi-tiered gardens that have an upright format and can be put either indoors or outdoors, depending on the plants.

The benefit is that the gardens take up much less space than a traditional garden because they go up, instead of spreading out! Vertical gardens can be a beautiful feature to add to any living space and there are countless different ways to do-it-yourself as well as purchasing pre-made structures.

Traditional Vertical Garden
Some people hang their vertical gardens on a wall whereas others have them as freestanding structures. The most traditional way is to have a simple shelving unit to hold the various plants.

Hanging Planters
If you have lots of dead space in a room, a hanging planter may be the way to go. These plants can be hung up at any height from the ceiling to showcase a vast array of colours. Keep in mind that you will need to have relatively easy access in order to water the plants.

Floating Shelves
This is a great option if you have an empty wall that needs sprucing up. The shelves get fixed to the wall in a spaced-out fashion and gives a very clean, modern look to household plants.

Wire Garden
For plants that naturally tend to grow upwards, a wire garden is perfect. When you lay the seedlings, plop in some wires or cages – the plant will creep up the wire as it grows.

Tin Can Fence Garden
Spray recycled tin cans and hang them on a side of your fence with some seeds – an adorable and affordable way of doing it! Don’t forget to punch a hole at the bottom of the can for drainage.

Canvas Wall Pocket Garden
In it’s most basic form, a wall pocket garden essentially looks like a hanging shoe organizer – a large piece of fabric with various pockets where, instead of shoes, you put soil and seeds. Just make sure that the surface behind the canvas doesn’t get damaged from moisture.

Let the type of sun exposure determine what kinds of plants you grow and, if you want to get really sophisticated, set up a drip system for irrigation. Vertical gardens are a great way to maximize space!

Earlier in the spring, some of the top banking regulators in Canada had proposed raising the mortgage stress test level which will make it harder for hopeful homebuyers to qualify for a mortgage.

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) has confirmed that it will be applying those tighter rules, effective June 1, 2021.

The new qualifying rate for an uninsured mortgage – where borrowers have at least a 20 per cent down payment – will rise to either the mortgage contract rate plus 200 basis points or 5.25 per cent, whichever is higher.

That’s compared to the previous average mortgage stress test rate which was 4.79 per cent at Canada's biggest lenders. Would-be buyers wishing to borrow money to purchase a home now need to prove that they can pay the loan at a higher interest rate – regardless of the rate they actually get with their mortgage.

The difference in rates may seem small on paper but it can add up on practice – in some cases, reducing how much a household can borrow by more than $100,000.

Let’s say, for example, a homeowner currently has a 25-year mortgage of $300,000 at two per cent (the rate they may actually get from the bank) – their monthly payment is $1,270 a month.

At 4.79 per cent (where the big bank posted rates already are), that same monthly payment jumps up to $1,709. At 5.25 per cent (the new proposed stress test rate), the monthly payment would jump to $1,788 a month. So, the difference between what someone may be paying monthly versus what they need to qualify for with the stress test is significant – more than $500 a month.

If the borrower can’t prove that they could financially withstand the rate hike, the bank can’t lend them the money.

The first iteration of the stress test was introduced in early 2018 as a way to “cool down” the housing market by making it harder to qualify for a home loan and thus shrinking the pool of qualified borrowers.

The current proposal for a higher stress test is not completely unexpected. There had been talk of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) raising the rate before COVID-19 but the pandemic paused those plans.

The qualifying rate will be reviewed at least once a year, in December. The OSFI says that timing allows regulators to adjust the regulatory conditions ahead of the busy spring selling season.

Westmount, is a small residential neighbourhood located just west of downtown Edmonton. It is bounded by 111 Avenue to the north, Groat Road to the west, the North Saskatchewan River valley to the south and Stony Plain Road to the east.

Construction of Westmount dates back to 1910 when it was a professional neighbourhood catering to young people. Nearly one thousand homes were built right before the end of World War II and the area then doubled in size by the 1960s.

It continued growing over the following decades. Westmount is now known for being a tightknit and very friendly neighbourhood with all the perks of being near the city’s core.

Spending a weekend afternoon pulling leaves out of a gutter or scrubbing the patio is low on the list of what most of us would consider a good time. But since your home is such a big investment, it pays off to keep on top of home maintenance.Like all other parts of life - from health check ups to oil changes - following a regular schedule is key to successful home maintenance. No matter the size of your home, following the natural arc of the seasons is the easiest way to prevent costly troubles before they arise. Winter is for hunkering down and, as we enter into April, spring is for renewing and reviving.Use this home maintenance checklist to help schedule your seasonal updates, repairs, and cleaning.

Start in your outdoor areas – whether that’s a garden, patio or deck – and sweep away the remnants of winter.
Rake up any leaves and scrub away any plant mulch left over from winter. A power washer can do wonders (although be cautious using it on more delicate materials or facades).If you have large trees, have a certified arborist check them for decay or damage as a safety precaution.
Inspect the outside of your home for signs of wear and tear. That includes checking for cracks, peeling or chipped paint, signs of water pooling, clogged gutters and broken shingles on your roof.Give your home a good scrub, particularly the outside of windows. Over time, dirt can damage the masonry and paint.

Go over your plumbing and piping to ensure there are no leaks or clogging. Don’t forget to check under sinks, up on the ceilings for signs of water damage and faucets for dripping. This is also a good time to check that sinks and tubs are draining properly.Double check that your fire alarm and carbon monoxide detectors are working.

Inspect electrical cords for wear
If you have a boiler, drain it to clear any accumulate sediment.For homes with central heating or air conditioning, have an HVAC technician inspect your systems for signs of damage and regular servicing.For those with garbage disposals, grind ice cubes followed by warm water and baking soda, or lemon juice, to keep it running smoothly.Give your house a good clean by shampooing carpets, scrubbing windows and screens, sweeping out cupboards and cabinets, and dusting all those hard to reach places that are usually neglected.

For best results, save this checklist and revisit it every spring.If you are in the market to buy in the coming months, this list serves as a good guide to what maintenance you should expect to see kept up at whatever homes you are considering.