December is the perfect month in Ontario and most of Canada for cutting back trees.  It is cold and the leaves have fallen so the crew can see all of the branches that need trimming. The sap flow has slowed so the branches are denser and easier on the chain saw.  It is hard physical labour so the crew is not at risk of passing out from the heat and not so cold that they need to wear their heaviest and warmest clothes. 

Our neighbour has a wonderful yard full of trees.  One tree has a limb that seriously overhangs the roof of our house.  We have discussed what to do about that limb.  The neighbour is a great guy, very responsible and very neighbourly.  Today, a whole crew showed up to trim back his trees and remove the huge branch that overhangs our roof.  Apparently a crane will be coming this afternoon to do the proper job of removing the big branches.  Right now, there are three guys, a chipper and their equipment truck.  I cannot wait for the real action this afternoon when the crane arrives. 

Doing this work is not cheap.  We have also asked this company to trim the branches of two small trees in our backyard.  No cranes needed and it can be done by hand.  This will cost just over $100,  I can only imagine that the work our neighbour is having done will be in the thousands. What is the cost of peace of mind – for us – with that huge branch removed.  Immeasurable. 

If you are thinking of selling your home in the next 12 to 24 months and have trees that need some work, now is the perfect time to get the job done.  

Good fences make good neighbours as do well trimmed trees. 

This work was done by:  Joe Trudeau, Premier-Treeservice.com   Cell:  613-880-5233 

Photo Credit:  Taken from the second floor window, Nikon D90

I wanted to make something fun for my Open House last Sunday.   I normally have a small bowl of lifesaver mints (individually wrapped) and some packets of Red Zinger tea.  Just a bit boring.  I found a recipe for cookie hamburgers.  Basically, a box of Nilla cookies, a can of icing, red and green food colouring, big shreds of coconut and some little chocolate chocolate-chip cookies.   What took me the most time – finding the right little ‘hamburger” cookies. 

Hand to the good book (Paula Deen’s cookbook where the basic ingredient of EVERY recipe is butter or cream or both), I have never bought a can of icing in my life.  Can’t say I would do it again but this was for fun and for others so…. 

This photo is close to how my hamburgers looked – I omitted the sesame seeds and didn’t make the mustard icing – just used the plain vanilla to make it look like mayo. 

I ended up with 40 cookies.  I then individually wrapped each cookie in parchment paper.  I live with someone who will not eat food made by unknown sources (except of course in restaurants).  An aside – he will not nibble at Price Club nor will he buy all those terrific jams, jellies, candies, etc at the big craft sales. 

I digress:  The hamburgers were a hit.  I think it helped when I said that they were actually cookies – they looked like the real thing – AND that I had made them.  At least the visitors had met the ‘cook’.  Of course you got the cookie on the way out.  I did not want bits of coconut scattered about the house with a trail of crumbs where the visitors walked.

It helps to have some fun while you work.  Hamburgers at an Open House was fun to do.

Photo credit:  burgers

Last Tuesday was a wonderful sunny and warm day. I went for a walk with my camera to try to capture some of my favourite spring flowers. There were: magnolia buds on a tree; tulips (so late this year but what an opportunity to photograph them); iris flowers just starting to appear; lilacs with that wonderful lilac smell that is so sweet but cannot be photographed; a big headed poppy, peonies and, finally, a lawn ornament that needed to be caged for this collage.

If you are having as much rain as we are today, I hope you enjoy this collage and the reminder of all that spring that be.

I just read that there are 119,000 federal government jobs in the Ottawa Gatineau region.  Well, that has made up for some pretty steady employment figures in the area.   But, being the Capital of Canada, is not all about government.  I have been here for almost 15 years and these are some of the things that I have notices and, in most cases, learned to love:

• Public transportation is used by everyone – from the store clerk to the Assistant Deputy Ministers in federal departments.   As long as the buses run, people will use them.  People – not me.
• Someone holding a small brown paper bag is not hiding a mickey of gin but eating a bag of french fries.  I guess the bag keeps them hot longer.
• There are miles / kilometers of bike paths and running trails and Ottawans  likes to be outside.
• Ottawa is at the border of Ontario and Quebec.  There is a very large French speaking population and a large public service population exercising their right to use both official languages.
• Ottawa is old and in love with bricks.  The architecture is interesting.   You have to go out to the suburbs to find stucco.
• Canada Day (July 1st) is HUGE in Ottawa.  It is an all day event on Parliament Hill.  We love to celebrate Canada’s Birthday.
• It only takes 2 hours to be in downtown Montreal – shopping heaven.
• Ottawa is a safe city.  With all of those embassies and ambassadors, the level of security from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is very high.
• Finally, Old Dutch Potato Chips are available in Ottawa.
• The humidex in the summer could knock you out.   The weather is extreme in winter and in summer.
• The mosquitoes here are humidity drunk.  It takes them a while to decide to bite you – unlike Manitoba mosquitoes that are stealth bomber biters.
• The Laurentian mountains are not too far away but having been to the Rockies, well, say no more.
• Snowbirds here go to Florida.  In the prairies, they go to Arizona.
• You have to have 2 license plates for your car – front and back – or risk a ticket.
• I am finally used to east coast salmon but, really, Pacific salmon is so much better. 

Finally, it doesn’t matter where you live if you have friends and belong to the community.  East or west, north or south, cold or hot, snow or rain -

Home is where the heart is. 

Photo credit:  Parliament  I chose this photo because it shows the tops of the Parliament Buildings, a bridge, a little bit of the Art Gallery AND tulips.   This is the last weekend of the Tulip Festival and today is going to be a gorgeous day to see tulips.

Attending My First House Auction (edit/delete) There is always a first time for everything. Yesterday, I attended my first house auction. Now, I could be tempted to buy things but buying a house at an auction wasn’t on my or any of my clients’ list. A colleague asked me if I wanted to see the fun of an auction so off I went. Here is what happened:

• The auction started at 10:00 AM on a Saturday
• The auctioneer was William Joynt from Smith Falls, Ontario (along with his crew)
• Anyone wishing to bid on the house or the household effects had to sign in and get a number
• You could pay for things with cash or recognized credit cards but payment had to be made right away
• You could take things with you or, if not able to lug home the furniture, the auctioneer and estate manager was willing to make arrangements for pick-up later in the day or week.
• Unlike some rural auctions where the land goes first, in this case all of the household effects were sold first.
• Do you know that some things are not worth even a dollar?  When no one would bit, the auctioneer added another box of things.
• Very few things went for over a few dollars except some of the furniture and a couple of antique glass items.
• The house was going up for bid after 12 noon so about that time a few men showed up that looked like Realtors or property developers. 
• The man sitting next to me on the retaining wall had given an early CMA on the property.  We started to chat and he missed getting the listing by a few days.  Sigh for him.  
• I told him that I thought the reserved bid would be around $400,000 but that the place could go as high as $600,000.   It was my own wag (wild a– guess).
• There was very little bidding as the auctioneer started at an extremely high price.  He kept going down until he got to around $600,000.  I believe there were one or two bids.  The successful bidder got the home and land (corner lot 100′ X 90′) for under $650,000. 
• This was not a sale through a real estate brokerage.  No commission was going to be paid to agents with buyers.  I bet, if I drive by that location in 18 months, there will be three or four townhomes built on the property and each will be selling for around $800,000.  Why?  The house was in a VERY desirable neighbourhood and the home sitting on the property was very old and in very bad shape.  The sale was for the land and the highest and best use is multiple units. 

What fun!!!  You don’t have to buy to live vicariously. 

Now, for the next auction, I might just sign in and get a paddle or number. 

My company, Royal LePage, is one of the sponsors of this year’s Movies on the Beach & In the Park Under the Stars. 

The schedule is as follows:

• June 24th – Kanata Walter Baker Park
• July 8th – Westboro Beach
• July 22nd – Petrie Island
• August 5th – South Nepean Park (Barrhaven)
• August 19th – Mooney’s Bay        

On average, over 1,000 people come out to each event to watch a movie under the stars!

The movie is choosen by the radio listeners to the hosting radio stations, BOB FM and Majic 100.  It is a fun event, the right price and a way to get out and enjoy the Ottawa summer. 

Mark your calendars!  Bring a blanket and popcorn.

Have Fun!!!

Before buying your house along a river find out the history of flooding on that section of the river.  Most rivers, with residential property on the banks, have a conservation authority that established building rules (such as proximity to the bank, type of construction and plantings).  Go to the Authority and find out the flooding history.

Don’t get sandbagged into buying the wrong property. 

Photo credit: 090325-F-0681L-066

In 1997 I lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  The Red River flows north through the city up from Fargo and Grand Forks, North Dakota.  What a river!!!  Because it is situated on the prairies there is flat land all along the this northern part of the river.  Flooding is an annual concern.  In 1997, there were devastating floods.  Downtown Fargo was under water.  Millions of dollars was spent saving lives and livestock.  The military in both countries came to the rescue.  Sandbagging, that hard back breaking work, was carried on day and night. 

It is my hope is that the snowmaggedon of winter 2010/2011 will not result in a repeat of the flooding.

Right now there are 1,716 units available.  They are located throughout the Ottawa Real Estate Board MLS areas. 

There are:

• 201 – 1 1/2 Story Homes      
• 503 – 2 storey
•    27 – 3 storey
• 630 – bungalows
•     7  – Side X Sides
•    10 – Duplex Up and Down
• 137  – High Ranch
•    75 – Mobiles homes
•     16 – other (??)
•   110 – Split level homes

640 homes cost between $250,000 and $300,000.

360 homes were built in Year 2000 or later.

1,278 homes had 3 or fewer bedrooms. 

Buying in Ottawa is about budget, location and condition. 

Then the next day, at about the same time the street was back to normal.