Note: Following videos are to assist you in planning this project. You have to take all necessary precautions and we assume no responsibility for any damages, injuries or losses that occur as a result of using the information provided.

Here is a nice one going through the entire process:

Another one with an advt. but good to check out:

Here is one showing a assembly line kind of installation by a professional:

upgrading to higher efficiency appliances an gadgets, there is an online tool of this funny man who you can pull by the hand and click on stuff that will help him save energy. You have to drag him to different rooms and click on items consuming high energy and shut them off. Basically making the user aware of ways to conserve. Lovely 10/10 for a nice and usable consumer tool.

Energy Guy English | Energy Guy Français

Here is how you can reduce the amount of water you use in your home. Its surprising just how much water we waster:

1. In the bathroom, don`t leave the tap running while brushing your teeth or shaving.
2. In the kitchen, avoid excessive running of the tap while preparing food.
3. In the laundry room, only d a washing when there`s enough for a full load.

Repair: Don`t put off fixing leaking faucets. A leak of one drop  per second wastes 10,000 litres of water in a year. Most faucets are easy to fix with a  new washer that only costs 25 cents.

Retrofit: Many fixtures in the home, such as toilets and shower heads, can be adapted or replaced with more water efficient alternatives that use much less water.

Important Water conservation tips from Government of Canada for: Kitchen, Bathroom, Laundry, Outdoor, Planting, Car Washing, Pool, Rain Barrel.

Here are some hard hitting facts:

• 1.1 billion people: The number of people worldwide — 1 in every 6 — without access to clean water
• 50 percent: The number of people who don’t have access to the quality of water available to the citizens of Rome 2,000 years ago
• 1.8 million: The number of children who die every year from waterborne diseases – one every 15 seconds
• 40 billion: The number of hours spent each year in Africa due to the need to collect and haul water
• 5.3 billion: The number of people — two-thirds of the world’s population — who will suffer from water shortages by 2025

Photographers Rick Smolan[advisor] and Jennifer Erwitt have done a book to support the Blue Planet Run project. Blue planet is a project that intends to provide safe drinking water to billion people in need. Amazon offers this book in print as well as a free PDF in an unprecedented move to support this project. The book is a blends stunning photography, chilling revelations and most important, a call to action for us to bring change. Yes! we can bring change. There is enormous potential in a human being lets not sit at it.

Use the Mortgage Calculator to estimate the maximum mortgage you can afford. This calculation is based on two simple rules that lenders use to determine how much of a mortgage you can afford. The first rule is that your monthly housing costs should not exceed 32% of your gross monthly household income. Housing costs include monthly mortgage payments, taxes and heating expenses. If applicable, this sum should also include half of monthly condominium fees. Secondly, your entire monthly debt load should not be any more than 40% of your gross monthly income. This includes housing costs, and other debts such as car payments, personal loans, and credit card payments.

This very key piece of information will directly affect the location and kinds of homes available in your price range. By being prepared you can avoid any surprises and simplify your home buying experience. Experiment with numbers!

Read loudly: Yes I can !

It is imperative to recognize the reasons of the current mess started in the western world. It is greed, greed and greed!

Just a disclaimer that I am not a financial advisor but received seriously effective tips from some wise people and thought this might be helpful to many in the current market conditions. Follow these and you will be  free shortly.

1. Be Content: and happiness will follow

People in pursuit of comfort increase the necessities of life so much that a drop becomes a sea. Hoarding and shopping become a disease. People are ready and willing to stand in long lines with a slight drop of a commodity cost. Just walk around your home and look at the things you have not used in ages.

2. Shop only for what you need

Make a list of things you really need to buy and write them on paper. DO NOT go shopping without this list. While shopping stick to this list, there might be lot of tempting prices on the way but train your self to treat them as distractions to your freedom.

3. Pay Cash

Try this next time.  Compare the feeling that you really “feel like buying” something versus the feeling you get while buying on credit. Purchasing on credit is like buying free until we get the invoice. The good thing is you will only buy thing which you can pay for today. Beware that during such times crimes increase so be careful as not to carry too much cash.

4. Pull the plug

Make it a goal to cut the credit cards and recycle them to something useful. Most likely even the material of this evilness is useless. Start by paying off the high-interest cards first. Depending on how deep your credit, you will not be able to come out overnight.  The way the system works here, unfortunately, you will need a credit card to be credit worthy. Hold onto one low interest card and payoff before the payment date.

5. Invest

Have extra money? Investment is all about buying low and selling high. Find deals and deals are happening all over. In real estate for example March and April had a huge spike in activity in GTA.  Read here some of the reasons of this sales activity. To be financially successful in the future, you need to sow the seeds of investment now. Feel free to contact me for any of your real estate investment needs.

Appreciation
You may build equity if your home goes up in value. History is on the side of home ownership here.

Mortgage Reduction
Since a portion of your payment pays down the amount of the mortgage, eventually you will be mortgage free. Rent never goes away!

Improvements
You can decorate and improve your home to suit your taste and increase its value and enjoy owning your own home at the same time.

Stability vs Instability
As a home owner, you have complete control over when you move versus moving when you may not want to. You will also enjoy peace of mind living in your own home.

Retirement Fund and Savings Plan
A mortgage-free home is the best retirement fund. You get to live in and enjoy your investment.

Monthly Cost – Rent vs Buying
In most cases, the cost of owning your own home may be cheaper than renting. A handy payment calculator is coming soon that will help you compare rent vs owning.

5% Down Payment
First time home buyers, and many others renting, are entitled to the minimum down payment of 5%!

Cash Back Mortgage
Some banks are offering cash back incentives on mortgages to home buyers, versus extending the lowest mortgage rate, providing help with purchasing furniture, appliances, or even legal fees.

Tired of Renting?
If you would like more information on buying a home please do not hesitate to call me at 416-830 7200 or emial me at mahmudnaqvi [at] gmail.com to begin the process of finding your new home. You will receive a response promptly! I realize you’re only in the information-gathering stage right now. Please be assured that I’ll respect your privacy.

1. Make the Most of that First Impression: A well-manicured lawn, neatly trimmed shrubs and a clutter-free porch welcome prospects. So does a freshly painted – or at least freshly scrubbed – front door. If it’s autumn, rake the leaves. If it’s winter, shovel the walkways. The fewer obstacles between prospects and the true appeal of your home – the better. Find a landscaper or painter to help.
2. Invest a Few Hours for Future Dividends: Here’s your chance to clean up in real estate. Clean up the living room, the bathroom, the kitchen. If your woodwork is scuffed or the paint is fading, consider some minor redecoration. Fresh wallpaper adds charm and value to your property. If you’re worried about time, hire professional cleaners or painters to get your house ready. Remember, prospects would rather see how great your home really looks than hear how great it could look “with a little work.” Find a cleaning service or handyman to help.
3. Check Faucets and Bulbs: Dripping water rattles the nerves, discolors sinks, and suggests faulty or worn-out plumbing. Burned out bulbs or faulty wiring leave prospects in the dark. Dont let little problems detract from what’s right with your home. Find a plumber, electrician or general contractor to help.
4. Don’t Shut Out a Sale: If cabinets or closet doors stick in your home, you can be sure they will also stick in a prospect’s mind. Don’t try to explain away sticky situations when you can easily plane them away. A little effort on your part can smooth the way toward a closing. Find a handyman to help.
5. Think Safety: Homeowners learn to live with all kinds of self-set booby traps: roller skates on the stairs, festooned extension cords, slippery throw rugs and low hanging overhead lights. Make your residence as non-perilous as possible for uninitiated visitors.
6. Make Room for Space: Remember, potential buyers are looking for more than just comfortable living space. They’re looking for storage space, too. Make sure your attic and basement are clean and free of unnecessary items. Find a contractor to help.
7. Consider Your Closets: The better organized a closet, the larger it appears. Now’s the time to box up those unwanted clothes and donate them to charity.
8. Make Your Bathroom Sparkle: Bathrooms sell homes, so let them shine. Check and repair damaged or unsightly caulking in the tubs and showers. For added allure, display your best towels, mats, and shower curtains. Find a contractor to help.
9. Create Dream Bedrooms: Wake up prospects to the cozy comforts of your bedrooms. For a spacious look, get rid of excess furniture. Colorful bedspreads and fresh curtains are a must.
10. Open up in the Daytime: Let the sun shine in! Pull back your curtains and drapes so prospects can see how bright and cheery your home is!

As with most things in real estate, planning is critical to your success. Check your calendar and pick a date that won’t conflict with other events that could divert your potential visitors. You won’t get many home browsers on Super Bowl Sunday or Mother’s Day! Ask your real estate professional for advice on how to showcase your home to its best advantage. Remember, when it comes to showing appealless is more. You want to create an atmosphere of spaciousness. Get rid of the clutter to maximize your space. Have a garage sale, empty the closets and take the time to give those things away to charity. Besides making your home look great for showing, it’ll give you less to do on moving day.

Remember that a home that looks well kept will create favorable impression. Make sure you cut the grass or shovel the sidewalk as the season requires. Plan on doing a little spot painting to perk up problem areas, oil squeaking hinges, tighten loose screws, and all the other little things that show a home is cared for.

Then it’s time to start promoting. Your real estate professional is the expert here, and can advise you what marketing techniques will be used to promote your event. Whether its direct mail, advertising in Home Guides or the newspaper, or web-site promotion, your representative will effectively promote your event. However, you can add to the process by partnering in the promotion too. Post notices on bulletin boards in supermarkets, libraries or community centers. Anyway that you can spread the word will add to the process.

For your Open House day, your representative will also counsel you on how to present your home to its best advantage. Leaving on all the lights, having a fire burning in the fireplace, soft background music playing, and coffee brewing all add to the ambience and make a welcoming impression. But as any real estate professional will tell you, the best thing that you can do to make your open house a success is to get out and stay out! All joking aside, you’ll get better results when your visitors feel free to poke about, linger, and ask very direct questions of your real estate agent. If you’re present, they’ll feel more constrained, and your sales representative may not even get an opportunity to identify any concerns they may have, and attempt to offer them options and solutions. So pack up the dog and the kids, and enjoy your day away trust your real estate professional to do the job right. After all, they’re the experts!

RE/MAX has done extensive research with homeowners, to better understand what makes them tick. This enables us to help you in many ways. First, knowing your preferences is invaluable when it comes to finding that perfect home. Open concept or traditional? Lofty or intimate?

As a home owner, you are likely to re-sell at some point and should consider the benefits of the neighbourhood. Remember, choices you make regarding improvements or renovations can drastically influence your home’s market value.

Our research has led to the development of a smart tool that can actually show you just what renovations generate the highest return on investment, based on the type of home you currently live in.

For more information on selling your home do not hesitate to call or simply complete the form below. Also, please take advantage of a Free Home Evaluation.

The RE/MAX Return on Reno Index is a proprietary tool to help you get the most value out of every renovating dollar you spend. We took an exhaustive look at the various renovations people commonly do on their homes and judged their return on investment based on a variety of criteria. The findings were nothing short of enlightening.

Once you’ve achieved a realistic sales price, you can count on your property being professionally marketed and promoted to bring more buyers to your door. You can also expect to sell your home for the best possible price in the lease amount of time.

The Benefits of Pricing Right

1. Your property sells faster, because it is exposed to more qualified buyers.
2. Your home doesn’t lose its “marketability.”
3. The closer to market value, the higher the offers.
4. A well-priced property can generate competing offers.
5. Real Estate Professionals will be enthusiastic about presenting your property to buyers.