Is a kitchen the heart of a Home?

Kitchens are where many people spend much of there time and most of that is with our families.

It's the room where we eat, play games and talk.

Kitchens are great for entertaining and with the open floor plans, they're connected to the family rooms.

Kitchens play such an important role in the buying and selling process.

This one room is the showpiece of the house. You'll see it every day and your guests will see it during most visits.

This means buyers are looking for homes with up-to-date kitchens.

Buyers who want a home with an up-to-date kitchen aren't willing to tackle a renovation project. Most buyers

want a kitchen that is ready for when they move in.

A kitchen can sell a home. Do a little research and find out what your kitchen needs

to make it competitive with area listings.

The first chapter of In Flanders Fields and Other Poems (a 1919 collection of poems by John McCrae)

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Wood Stoves – Good Supplemental Heat Source or Not?

Can a wood stove be an efficient and cost-effective heating source? It can, but it depends largely on your individual situation and needs.
The Drawbacks of a Wood Stove
 
• First, as is the case when burning any solid fuel, using a wood stove produces smoke. The possible adverse effects of this smoke on the environment have been debated, and some cities and other local governments have placed bans and restrictions on burning wood, so be sure to check local laws before purchasing a stove.
• Secondly, wood can be a labor intensive heating source, as the wood needs to be chopped and split to size, stacked for storage, and hauled inside. Alternatively, you can buy wood that is already chopped and split, and pay someone to deliver and stack it, but that may offset the gains of supplementing your heating system to begin with.
The Benefits of a Wood Stove

 
• Depending on the size and type you choose, a wood stove can heat areas up to five thousand square feet, and they are relatively cheap, starting at around $800. As long as you have access to an affordable source of firewood, this initial investment can pay for itself in savings on your heating bill.
• Wood is also a renewable energy source, so it helps to sustain the environment and conserve precious fossil fuel resources. Plus, a wood stove provides the added benefit of that crackling fire sound, which can create a calming ambience in your home.

There are a few types of stove to choose from. The right choice for you – standard versus decorative, indoor versus outdoor – will depend on the size and physical layout of your home, your heating needs and individual preference. Whichever you choose, heating with wood is an excellent option for reducing your heating bill without sacrificing comfort.

Thank you Greg for letting me share this information with your readers today! For more advice about heating installation and repair in the Greater Toronto Area,

visit my blog at http://www.advantageairtech.com/blog/

Many people would like to start building equity in their own home, but are held back by concerns about cost. In fact, the Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation estimates that 40 per cent of renters in Canada today can afford to buy their own home.

If affordable housing options are available to nearly half of all renters, what's holding them back?

Sometimes the media reports of housing prices can give a misleading impression about the cost of home-ownership. The media typically reports median or average prices without explaining the distribution of home prices behind those figures.

A median is that price at which half the homes sold for more while half sold for less. That means that there are just as many homes that sold at a price lower than the median than those that sold at prices higher than the median price. The median price doesn't give any indication of the spread of these prices. Many properties are sold for much lower - or higher, of course - than the median price.

An average price is the total dollar volume of homes sold for a particular period, divided by the number of units sold. Average prices are typically reported for the sales activity in a given area for a given month, quarter or year, and provide a snapshot of past activity. Average prices of properties sold in the past give only a limited indication of what housing inventory for sale is priced at today. An understanding of the housing in a particular community is needed to put average prices into perspective. For example, sales of a new sub-division or townhouse project of larger, upscale homes at higher prices will bring the overall average price up, giving the impression that all housing prices have risen. In reality, prices for the older, smaller housing units in the community may not have changed, or they may have even dropped.

A better measurement technique is the housing price index (HPI), which tracks the price of a typical, or benchmark property. HPI statistics can often provide a new depth of interpretation to average and median statistics. Ask your REALTOR® whether this technique is used in the area where you wish to purchase your home.

A REALTOR® with experience in the community in which you're interested in buying can provide a knowledgeable market analysis and show you what is available within your budget.

5 low-cost ways to update your decor

Add style and charm to your home without spending a lot of cash. You can borrow from today’s hottest paint colours and trendy expert ideas and, with a bit of your own ingenuity, give a tired room a designer’s touch. Here are five ideas to update your look:

Get the picture.

Hang and display your photos in dramatic or distinctive configurations. Idea: Unite the look of different images by painting all the frames the same colour.

Brush it up.

Adopt one of this year’s hottest colours for a fresh palette on your walls: blue-green, acid yellow, and shades of ocean blue. Don’t skip the prep work (filling cracks, sanding, cleaning, and priming), since these fixes can make any paint job look better and last longer.

Look underfoot.

Instead of using carpeting, consider natural fibre weaves. Sisal, coir, jute, bamboo, cork, and rush are fashionable floor coverings that can be as easy on the eyes as on the environment.

Box in your storage.

Today’s top design experts recommend turning tired-looking storage space into fabulous built-ins. Paint the back wall of your shelving units a bold colour, or install floating glass ledges on a wall or alcove.

Reinvent your furniture.

Get brave and sand and repaint your old dining chairs and table with black semi-gloss paint. For durability, add three coats of polyurethane.

Curb appeal is so important, If people don’t like the outside they may not even bother with the inside.

This is the first impression of your home and we want every potential buyer to walk through the front door with a positive attitude.
This time of year it’s a must to stage the outside of your home as well as the inside.

Plant flowers, most garden centers are having sales for the end of the season. Put in some new cedar chips and tidy up the gardens and walkways, it will make a big difference.

 Put furniture out back, again everything is on clearance. Set up the deck. Hang some flower baskets and put out some potted plants. Summer is here but Fall is right around the corner, a perfect time for cool evening on the patio, make it look inviting.

Toronto MLS has changed the

District Map

This has made it easier to communicate areas of interest for purchasing.

Before when we searched for a property in Whitby we would type in E15, now you have many options such as:

• Taunton North
• Rolling Oaks
• Blue Grass Meadows
• Williamsburg
• Pringle Creek
• Lynde Creek
• Downtown Whitby
• Port Whitby
• Whitby Industrial
• Brooklin

This helps to be more specific, especialy if there is a school, church, or friends and family you want to live closer to.

I am in the process of building a network of business in the Whitby community. These companies are posted on my site on the left menu.

These companies are offering anyone who presents my business card or news letter a Greg Brown discount.

These are the companies so far:

How to pay off your mortgage sooner

How many years from now do you want to own your home free and clear?

As you may already know, paying your mortgage off the traditional way takes 25 to 30 years and costs about TWICE the purchase price of your home.

 
Here are some effective ways to pay off your mortgage sooner, build equity faster

 and save thousands in interest.

          Change your payments. Simply increasing your payment frequency to bi-weekly or weekly costs nothing and can save thousands of dollars over the life of your mortgage. If you can afford to pay a little extra, consider accelerated bi-weekly or weekly payments--these are equivalent to making one extra monthly payment per year which results in substantial savings. Or you can make a lump sum payment which can realize savings several times as great over the life of your mortgage. By the way you can do both, meaning change your payment to accelerated and also pay lump sum amount.

Dr. Robert Thornton Memorial Cairn, 1959

At the corner of Kendalwood and Dundas

The monument was erected to commemorate the centennial of the arrival of Dr. Robert Thornton in Whitby Township and was erected on the site of his first church. The sculptor was Emmanuel Hahn. The monument was unveiled on 22 October 1933 by Josephine Thornton and Mrs. Cowan.

Dr. Robert Thornton was the first Presbyterian minister in Whitby Township. Upon his arrival to the area in 1833, he established a church on Kendalwood Rd. The church, built around 1825, was destroyed in a storm in April 1855. In 1837, he constructed a brick church and school in Union Cemetery. He also established churches at Columbus, Pickering, Dunbarton and Claremont.

Thornton was Superintendent of Education in Whitby Township from the 1840s until his death. In 1861 he took over St. Andrew's congregation in Oshawa, where he died on February 11, 1875. Reverend Thornton is buried at Union Cemetery, Oshawa.