Markham Real Estate Today with Asif Khan

Can't stand your scary, cobwebby basement one more minute? Is it past time to replace the pink-and-aqua tiles and porcelain in the master bath? Maybe you're sick of the curling, chipped vinyl floor, the tacky cabinets, and cramped layout of your kitchen.  Perhaps you're trying to convince your partner that the siding is sad and stucco would be stupendous. But your partner wants to build a deck…

What are the best home improvement projects to undertake? It depends on your goals and plans. If you're trying to sell your property soon for the highest possible price, your priorities are likely somewhat different than if you're planning to stay for a few years and want to improve your family's quality of life.

If you're selling, focus on the renovations a buyer would be most likely to undertake, not those you're most itching to do. You might dream of putting French doors and a Juliet balcony in the master bedroom, but if your kitchen is twenty-five years old—or even fifteen—you're better off directing your home improvement dollars there. Buyers generally focus on kitchen and bathroom quality, along with overall living and storage space. Kitchen and bathroom remodeling projects are among the most disruptive undertakings, so buyers especially appreciate upgraded fixtures, appliances and décor in these rooms.

Here are ten worthwhile home improvement projects and the percentage of cost typically recouped at resale (in a seller's market):

1. Painting
If you're only going to do one thing, paint. Interior/exterior painting is one of the very few improvements on which you are likely to realize a profit—as long as you choose tasteful, current, neutral colours and the work is very professional.Payback: As much as 300%

2. Kitchen remodeling
Typically one of the most expensive improvement projects, and you can quickly run up a huge bill. Careful planning and shopping will help minimize costs here. When remodeling the kitchen, remember to keep the project in line with the style and quality of the rest of the house and neighbourhood.  Just as there's no point in putting a pricey granite countertop on dated-looking 1970s cabinets, there's no point in installing a $50,000 kitchen in a $200,000 house.  Payback: 68-120%.

3. Bathroom addition
If your home has only one bathroom and is meant to house more than two people, a bathroom addition should be one of your top priorities. If most homes in your neighbourhood have two, three or more bathrooms, and yours has just one or one-and-a-half, you will definitely increase your property value by adding a bath. Payback: 80-130%.

4. Bathroom remodeling
Upgrading a pokey bathroom will enhance the value of your home and add to your daily comfort and enjoyment. White porcelain is the safe, timeless choice here. Payback: 65-120%.

5. Finishing unfinished space
Whether it's an attic or a basement, by finishing these spaces you add significant value to your home, increasing square footage without having to build. Payback: 50-90%.

6. Window/door replacement
If your windows or doors are wasting energy or simply decrepit-looking, replacements can be an excellent use of your home improvement dollars. Stick to standard styles; odd shapes and highly customized arrangements do little for resale value.Payback: 50-90%.

7. Deck addition/improvement/expansion 
Decks are one of the few exterior improvements with any significant return, apart from painting. Payback: 65-90%.

8. Additions of bedrooms, family rooms, sunrooms, conservatories, garages, etc.
Increasing square footage is almost always an excellent use of remodeling dollars, but don't expand your home so much that there's little outdoor space left. Payback: 50-83%.

9. Home office remodeling
This project is becoming increasingly popular. Be sure to plan for plenty of electrical and cable outlets to accommodate all the required machines and gadgets. Payback:  60-73%.

10. Energy efficiency retrofits
If your primary concern is return on investment, proceed with caution. Some retrofits, like better insulation and high-efficiency furnaces, pay for themselves relatively quickly. Others, like solar panels, heat recovery ventilators, and tankless water heaters, may take years to pay for themselves. Payback: Highly variable.

Two projects that are unlikely to pay off at resale: swimming pools (which may even adversely affect your property value) and excessive landscaping (buyers may admire it but few will pay extra tens of thousands even if that's what you spent to improve the grounds). And remember that badly done remodeling/renovation projects will cost you in two ways. You won't pay just for labour and materials; you'll pay when buyers see a project that has to be redone.

http://contractorquotes.ca/article-ten-home-improvement.asp

For homeowners fantasizing about renovations they want to undertake this spring, eco-friendly upgrades likely aren’t at the top of their wish-lists.

But recent changes to the Ontario Building Code — higher energy-efficiency standards have been introduced in an effort to reduce the carbon footprint of homes — mean it’s a good time to make greening your home a top renovation priority.

A greener home saves you money over time through lower energy costs. It’s also a healthier place for you and your family, not to mention kinder to Mother Nature.

The scope of your green renovations depends on your budget, of course. You could completely gut your place and do the renos all in one go, or chip away at the upgrades over several years.

Either way, it’s vital you take time to determine your home’s needs and create a plan of attack.

You ought to audit

The first step is getting a home energy audit. This assessment — done by an independent certified evaluator for about $400 — will show how your home uses energy and, more importantly, where it’s being wasted.

“It will give you detailed information on how your home is operating and give you tips on how to best allocate your money,” says Brendan Charters, development manager with Eurodale Developments.

Find good help

Sourcing a qualified green contractor is key, particularly if you’re doing a substantial reno. Renomark.ca is a handy resource, offering a searchable contractor database.

“You go to your general physician when you have a cough and, if it’s something serious, he’ll send you to a specialist,” notes Charters. “I’d recommend the same thing with green renovations — bring in the specialist that lives and breathes these kinds of projects.”

Given the tendency for green washing — service providers claiming to be green when they’re not — you have to do your homework.

Check references and past jobs the contractor has done. Get quotes from several builders.

Envelope please

When it comes to the green renos themselves, nothing is more important to your home’s energy efficiency than the building envelope. So proper insulation must be a top priority.

“It’s definitely the first thing that comes up,” says David Males, owner of Northern Edge Construction Services. “Most of the older houses in Toronto have no insulation.”

The best method is to apply spray foam insulation on all exterior walls. This is a big, expensive job that requires removal of interior walls and/or exterior cladding material.

A less-invasive and cheaper approach involves poking holes in the walls and injecting foam into the space between the interior and exterior walls.

Be sure to insulate your attic and basement, areas through which enormous amounts of heat can be lost.

Replace older windows with new energy-efficient ones and check that newer windows have proper caulking and sealant around all openings.

“You want to look at the whole house as a working system,” Males says.

Blowing hot and cold

The home’s mechanical systems should be the next area of focus.

Upgrading heating and air-conditioning systems can set you back $10,000, but the cost savings over time and improved indoor air quality make them crucial green upgrades.

Charters recommends a two-stage gas furnace. “In Toronto, we live in minus 1, plus 1 temperatures, so you don’t necessarily need the full force of the furnace coming on every time,” he explains.

“A two-stage furnace fires lower in the first stage and ramps up when it’s 10 to 15 below, so it’s more efficient.”

Another upgrade option is a heat recovery ventilator system, or HRV, which uses hot air from inside the house to warm up incoming outside air, providing a constant supply of fresh air without extra heating costs.

“I’m a huge proponent of HRVs,” says Sandra Baldwin, owner of Lifetime Contractor. “The renovated home will be much more air-tight, so the ventilation of the house is important.”

Also address your hot-water situation. If your house has a gas-heated water tank, get a more efficient model. Or consider an electric-fired tankless water heater, which heats water on demand.

Let it rain

Water conservation must be part of any green renovation plan.

Installing more efficient plumbing fixtures and appliances — dual flush toilets, low-flow taps for example — can help cut consumption.

Baldwin swears by rainwater barrels, which collect water for use in gardening. “It’s not an expensive item, but it could really make a difference if everybody started to harvest rainwater in our city.”

Greater good

Green renovations can be costly: a complete gut job involving top-to-bottom insulation, mechanical system overhaul and new energy-saving infrastructure could set you back more than $150,000, Charters estimates.

There are simple and cheap eco-friendly improvements homeowners can make: switching to compact fluorescent, halogen or LED lights; installing a programmable thermostat and timer switches for lighting and electronics; or using low- or no-VOC paints and adhesives.

Unfortunately the government of Canada is ending its ecoENERGY Retrofit program — which provides grants up to $5,000 for homeowners to make their homes more energy-efficient — on March 31.

But Baldwin, who sits on BILD’s Green Leadership Committee, thinks we should be improving the energy efficiency of our homes for the greater good anyway.

“As a community, we have to do it for our environment, for our children and our grandchildren, not because we’re going to get a few bucks back at the end of the exercise.”

http://www.yourhome.ca/homes/repairsandrenovations/article/1163270--eco-friendly-renovations-make-your-home-healthier-and-more-affordable

As status symbols go, they don’t have as much flash as a sports car, but high-end househunters are looking for a different kind of luxury in Toronto’s top neighbourhoods these days — two laundry rooms.

The well-heeled are also seeking out swimming pools — no matter how tiny — as well as home-office/homework rooms where they can catch up on work while keeping an eye on the kids.

Wine cellars are being downsized, but not expectations, says Paul Maranger, senior vice president of sales for luxury realtor Sotheby’s International Canada.

“We’re seeing very charming but much smaller wine cellars. Most people still like wine,” Maranger said in an interview after speaking on a BMO Financial Group panel Thursday about the state of Canada’s housing market.

And in bigger homes, the basement laundry room is being augmented by a second — but not too close to the kids’ rooms because of the noise. Instead, they’re being tucked into closets or off the master bedroom.

“We’ve seen a significant uptick in sales over $2 million this year,” Maranger told the panel, noting that some 128 luxury properties have sold in Toronto during the first three months of this year, compared to 95 during the same period last year.

Increasingly the wealthy want to be close to subways so they can leave the Lexus in the driveway and walk to restaurants, schools and other amenities, he added.

“The difference with ‘luxury’ in Toronto now is that it’s not defined necessarily by size, but by appointments,” Maranger said in an interview.

“We’re seeing better and better appointments in smaller houses and greater demand for those. Oddly, in Toronto the luxury buyer is not looking for value, they are looking for convenience.”

That’s why higher-end buyers now seem willing to pay a substantial premium — he cited one home in the Summerhill area of central Toronto that recently sold for $370,000 over asking price — to be near the subway, and especially the Yonge St. line.

Maranger anticipates substantial renovations, retrofits and teardowns of older properties within walking distance of subway lines over the next few years as higher-end homeowners abandon luxurious suburban homes to ease their commute to downtown jobs but look to replicate the lifestyle they afforded.

It’s not unusual to see these homebuyers spend $125,000 to $250,000 on small, but elegant, backyard renovations to create an oasis in the city, he said.

One couple even installed an in-ground dipping pool that was just 4 feet by 4 feet by 5 feet deep and heated.

The high-end market, and condo sales in particular, continue to be driven by wealthy international buyers from China, the Middle East and elsewhere, looking to park capital in the city or take advantage of this “elite education hub.”

Many, like one Japanese couple who recently bought a high-end house, are looking for properties, usually condos, where their kids can live while going to private or post-secondary school here.

There are two luxury markets in the city, Maranger stressed — single family homes priced at $2 million-plus and condos, especially in the tony Yorkville area, that are selling for $1,200 per square foot and up.

The high-end condo market sales — newcomers include the Ritz-Carlton and Trump International and the soon-to-be-opened Shangri-La and Four Seasons Hotel properties — are softer so far this year than last, he noted.

http://www.moneyville.ca/article/1160685--toronto-luxury-real-estate-why-wine-cellars-are-downsized-but-not-expectations

OTTAWA—Statistics Canada says the price of a brand new house rose 0.3 per cent in February from the previous month, following a 0.1 per cent rise in January.

The agency says the increase in its new housing price index was powered by gains in Toronto and Oshawa, which were slightly offset by a decline in Vancouver.

On a year-over-year basis, the index was up 2.3 per cent in February, following a 2.4 per cent increase in January, with the gains again driven by prices in Toronto and Oshawa.

The largest year-over-year increases were recorded in Regina (up 5.9 per cent), Toronto and Oshawa (up 5.8 per cent) and Winnipeg (up 3.8 per cent).

The largest month-to-month increase came in Regina, where prices were up 2.4 per cent because of higher land development costs and higher costs for material and labour.

Prices were unchanged in five of the 21 metropolitan regions surveyed.

http://www.moneyville.ca/article/1160101--house-prices-edge-higher-in-toronto-oshawa-but-decline-in-vancouver

When it comes to home inspections, Bruce Cohen has seen the good and the bad.

He found the good as a seller, paying attention when a buyer's inspector gave his house a thorough going-over. Cohen was alert to the process because he'd been burned once before.

“It was only after taking possession that I identified major omissions and errors,” he says of his bad experience. “The inspector listed the electrical service as 100 amp when it was only 60. He failed to report the dining room and one bedroom had no heat.”

Cohen, a freelance writer, also learned that his century home near Toronto had badly rotted floors and an oil tank more than 15 years old, which meant nobody would deliver heating fuel for it.

But he fought back and won.

This makes him part of a tiny minority in Ontario. The home inspection industry is unregulated. Complainants rarely recover more than their fees.

Within days of sending the inspector a registered letter detailing the report's errors, including photos and a copy of repair invoices, Cohen got a certified cheque for about $5,000. He may have succeeded because he threatened to take matters to court and send copies of any favourable judgment to local media.

Although Cohen didn't need the courts, legal action or complaints to inspectors or their associations are the main recourse for victims of shoddy work in Ontario, and this angers industry veteran Rob Hermann.

“There may be as many unqualified inspectors cheating people out of their money as there are legitimate ones earning it,” says Hermann, who is gathering names at his website (homecore.ca) for a petition demanding the creation of a provincial regulator, with licensing powers and tough, uniform standards.

Among Hermann's credentials is “Registered Home Inspector,” issued by the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors.

Queen's Park sanctioned OAHI in 1994 as a self-regulating body, but Hermann says that's not enough, given the rise of competing associations, various certifications, uneven standards and the lack of a clear complaints mechanism.

“Even under the RHI umbrella, there's a vast difference among the quality of inspectors,” he says.

Aubrey LeBlanc of OAHI says his group and some smaller associations support the idea of a regulator. “But the devil is in the details of the model,” he says.

OAHI's biggest rival, the Ontario Association of Certified Home Inspectors (OntarioACHI), claims to represent 50 per cent of Ontario inspectors. It issues Certified Home Inspector designations.

In an email, Nick Gromicko, founder of Colorado-based InterNACHI, the parent of OntarioACHI, says he supports licensing, but warns that “licensing sets a very minimum bar that permits everyone to enter the industry. Being licensed is much like being up to code. It is so low of a standard that if you did anything less, it would be outright illegal.”

Cam Allen, a retired Kingston builder who has done inspections for 13 years, uses the word “ugly” to describe Ontario's market.

“There are excellent inspectors out there, but it's truly ‘Buyer beware!'

“If you own a flashlight, you can be a home inspector,” he says. “You can create any certification you want. Homes are the biggest investment most people ever make. The public puts their faith in this business, but how do they know whom to trust?

“I do know that all the best inspectors have serious experience as homebuilders.”

Allen also warns people to be careful about recommendations.

“There are lots of good, ethical real-estate agents, but conflicts of interest between inspectors and agents who only care about the sale are almost certainly common.”

A spokesperson for Minister of Consumer Services Margarett Best says Ontario “has no immediate plans to regulate in this area.” The Consumer Protection Branch got only three complaints about inspections in 2011.

Tips to follow

Do your homework: Ask savvy people for recommendations and settle on an inspector before getting caught up in the stress of buying or selling. Inspectors should have serious experience in the building trades, errors and omissions insurance, and, at the very least, Registered Home Inspector, National Certificate Holder or Certified Home Inspector credentials.

It's no warranty: Some have sued successfully when inspectors have been wildly inaccurate about a home's structure and mechanicals, and the costs of necessary repairs. But inspectors can't break holes in walls or peel shingles and siding from a house. A report is an analysis based on a largely visual examination. Read the contract carefully.

Who works for whom? Buyers should be wary of reports done for vendors and vice-versa. Inspectors should be impartial third parties, but it's an unregulated business. Some may be willing to sacrifice objectivity to help a sale. Some may have inappropriately close relationships with real-estate agents.

The big stuff: Demand a clear statement on the foundation and structural integrity and estimates of repair costs. Attic mould, signs of basement leakage, substandard wiring or insulation materials such as vermiculite, asbestos and urea formaldehyde can disqualify you from a mortgage or insurance. How long till the house needs a new roof, furnace or windows? Find out what costs to deduct from an offer.

Seller beware: Having your home inspected before listing it can head off untimely surprises. It can let you be up front with buyers or enable you to seek good contractors to get the work done at a fair price. Pre-listing inspections can also help vendors rebut dubious claims from buyers' inspectors.

The bottom line: A typical home should take two to three hours to inspect, covering 400 checks, and cost in the $400 to $600 range. Be leery of an inspector who offers discounts or to fix problems he finds.

http://www.moneyville.ca/article/1160068--having-a-home-inspection-done-here-s-what-you-need-to-know