“Our research indicates that Canadians don’t stay in one home too long,” says Farhaneh Haque, Director, Mortgage Advice, TD Canada Trust. “Before making the decision to move, explore all your options and ensure that your new home will suit your changing needs and lifestyle.  It might be more affordable to renovate and make your current home work for you.”

The top five features that Canadians felt they compromised on when they purchased their previous home that they are not willing to budge on this time are price (34%), layout of home (33%), features of home (31%), garage or sheltered parking (30%) and number of bedrooms (28%).

“If you are dissatisfied with something like the layout or features of your home, a renovation can be a convenient option to save the hassle and expense of moving. A Home Equity Line of Credit will allow you to use the equity you’ve built up in your home to finance the renovation.  Further, if you do ultimately decide to sell, the renovation could increase your resale value,” says Haque.

Fifty percent of repeat buyers considered a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) and are just as likely to say they would like to have it simply as a cushion (46%) as for the purposes of a renovation (45%). Thirty percent would use the line of credit for investment purposes.

Timing is everything: Canadians think it’s a good time to buy – and to sell

In this year’s survey, Canadians were more likely to say that investment opportunities and market conditions played a factor in their decision to buy another home (both at 21% versus 15% in 2010). The large majority (82%) plan to sell their current home and of those who are selling, four in five expect to sell at or above asking price (78% versus 66% in 2010).

Among those who have purchased a second home and do not plan to sell their previous home, 42% will keep the first home as a rental property.  More buyers this year than last indicated that they will stay in their current home and the new home they purchase will be a rental property (32% versus 20% in 2010).

Interestingly, there was a big increase this year in the number of buyers who said that rather than selling their current home, a family member will move into it (12% versus 4% in 2010).

“Buyers should keep in mind that if they are expecting to sell above asking price, it’s likely they will need to also buy at above asking price,” says Haque. “A home is, obviously, a very big purchase – especially if you will not be selling your previous home to put towards the cost. A mortgage expert at your bank can walk you through your financing options and show you strategies and products that may save you money and provide flexibility over the course of your mortgage.”

Canadians are savvier sellers than last year

The report showed that 63% of Canadians have a mortgage on the home they are moving from and 69% will take out a mortgage on their new home.

In 2010, nearly three in ten Canadians (27%) who planned to sell their home didn’t know they had options when it came to their mortgage.  This year, that number decreased to only 9%.  Thirty-eight percent of sellers say they will bring their mortgage with them and 14% say they will use it as a selling feature. Although they say they are aware of the options, 39% haven’t considered what they will do.

“It’s just as important to consider your mortgage options as a seller as when you are buying. You may be overlooking your mortgage as an important selling feature of your home or you may be able to save money by keeping your low rate and bringing your mortgage terms with you. Talk to an expert to find out what option might work for you,” says Haque.

Three-dimensional entertainment is the hottest trend, both at home and in theaters, and it doesn’t show signs of abating any time soon. If you’ve already decided to make the commitment to a 3-D TV, it probably makes sense to create an optimum viewing environment so you can get the most enjoyment out of your investment.

Whether you’re creating a 3-D home theater from scratch or upgrading an existing home theater to 3-D, you should keep a few considerations in mind. The home entertainment furnishing and accessories experts at Sanus offer some advice for your 3-D home theater:

Bigger is better

While advances in high-definition viewing mean you can now get a great image on virtually any size set, when it comes to 3-D viewing a larger screen will provide optimum enjoyment. Choose the largest screen you can afford and that you have space for. You’ll also need to arrange seating to allow more distance between the larger 3-D TV and your eyes, to help minimize eye strain. Sanus recommends positioning a TV so your eyes are level with the middle of the screen. For most people, this is between 40 and 60 inches off the ground.

A wall mount that provides a full range of motion, like the VLF311 Super Slim, will make it easier to achieve the proper distance and viewing angle for your 3-D TV. Plus, wall mounting a flat screen more closely evokes the movie theater experience.

Dark is desirable

Minimizing light is important for any home theater, but even more so for 3-D viewing. No matter how good your 3-D set is, if the room is too bright your enjoyment of the images will suffer; 3-D images are significantly less bright than 2-D ones. If you’re lucky enough to have a dedicated home theater room, paint the walls in dark colors. Use carpeting to eliminate reflection off floors, and room-darkening blinds or drapes to cover windows.

Be aware of items in the room that might create reflections such as glass or lights near the screen. Move items away from the screen that might distract your vision. For example, if you choose to wall mount your 3-D TV above a fireplace, remove everything from the mantel beneath it and cover the glass fireplace screen with something nonreflective.

Functional furnishings

After spending the money on a 3-D TV, it would really drag down your home theater experience to have components like your 3-D Blu-ray player sitting on the floor. Furnishings made to house components not only create a neat, orderly environment, they can help protect and preserve expensive electronic equipment.

You can find a wide variety of home theater furniture, from speaker stands to devices that mount components on the wall, at sanus. Finally, don’t forget to include a dedicated place to store and charge your 3-D glasses. These costly, delicate devices are essential for 3-D viewing, and it will be more cost-effective in the long run to spend a little bit of money creating a safe spot in which to house them, than it will be to keep replacing lost or damaged ones.

Original article ARAContent

The Right Cut: Starting off with a quality steak is the first step. You don’t have to spend a fortune, but you do want the best you can get for what you can afford. Talk to a butcher or visit a farmer’s market and take advantage of their knowledge.

Ready For The Heat: Let the meat come to room temperature and then rub it with olive oil. If you’re using a less-tender cut, you can marinate it ahead of time to tenderize the meat. Many cooks prefer to save the seasoning until the meat has cooked, while other lightly season before it hits the grill.

Grill Time: Get the barbecue very hot with the lid closed, but cook the steak with the lid open. When the barbecue is hot, put the steaks on. A quarter-turn after a few minutes will result in attractive cross-hatched grill marks. Flip only once during cooking, when the grill-side of the meat is about 75% cooked. This is usually when juices begin to bubble up on the red top. With experience, you’ll learn when a steak is reaching your desired level of doneness, but a meat thermometer can help until you get there.

Rest Period: Once your steak is nearly done, remove from the grill and tent with foil. Let it rest for five minutes so juices are reabsorbed into the meat. Serve and enjoy.

Original article via newscanada.com

Composting is not only good for the garden; it’s good for the environment. Roughly one-third of household waste is made up of organic material which can be composted. By diverting kitchen scraps and lawn and garden clippings from your regular household waste stream, you can make a significant reduction in the amount of garbage going to local landfill sites.

How it Works

A rich, dark, soil-like material, compost is formed when microscopic bacteria which live in soil and wastes begin to eat away at organic matter, causing the compost pile to heat up. Once enough heat is generated, the wastes start to break down.

The amount of time it takes for compost to form depends on what’s in the pile and how regularly it’s turned. It’s very important to keep the pile moist, but not wet.

The material should be turned every two or three weeks or when it becomes compacted or develops an odour.

Compost Material

Things you can compost include leaves, wood ash from fireplaces or woodstoves, coffee grounds, tea bags, nut and egg shells, lawn and garden clippings, fruit and vegetable wastes and leaves.

Be sure not to put in materials like pet wastes, charcoal or coal ashes, dairy products, fats, oils or oily foods, meats, bones or fat. It’s also a good idea to steer clear of throwing mature weeds in your compost pile because they could contaminate the compost and, eventually, your soil.

Your compost heap can be as simple as a small, three-sided bin, or as fancy as a covered, multiple-bin unit. You can make your own composter quite easily with some lumber as seen in the photo.

Getting Started

To start with, make sure you place your compost bin in a well-drained area of your property. When starting your compost heap, put down a layer of kitchen and yard wastes first, then add some soil, along with some commercial compost or manure to give the process a little extra help in getting started. Once these initial layers are formed, continue to add organic material, along with shovelfuls of soil.

Be sure to turn the pile so that everything decomposes. Turning the pile on a regular basis ensures that air is circulating, and that the pile is not overly moist or dry. You can avoid compost odors by always covering wastes with a layer of soil about one inch in thickness. Experts also suggest that no layer of material exceed a depth of four to six inches.

Also keep in mind that it takes longer for large pieces of material in a compost heap to break down. Try to restrict pieces of waste to one inch or less in size; these are ideal.

When your compost is ready to be used, it will be crumbly and soil-like in appearance. You may want to use a screen to sift out any large pieces of material which haven’t fully decayed.

Applications

Compost can be used to prepare garden beds before planting. It can also be used around trees and shrubs. As well, you can make a nutrient-rich solution for your garden plants out of compost and water. You can spread it over your veggie garden, like this one located close to the composter. A fenced-in garden keeps away woodland critters that may munch away your prized veggies.

This fenced garden and timber edged-composter is located in Marmora, at a rural log home and chalet on 1.5 acres. The estate is listed for sale at $699,900.

REALTOR® is a registered trademark of REALTOR Canada Inc., a company owned equally by The Canadian Real Estate Association and the National Association of REALTORS® and refers to registered real estate practitioners who are members of The Canadian Real Estate Association. Used under license. Source: Ontario Real Estate Association.

Providing a food source is the way to lure them to your sight lines to enjoy their antics and beauty.

Landscaping for wildlife is gardening with food sources that attract various species of birds, squirrels and other mammals in mind. Native plants require the least amount of care, and are a good source of fruits, seeds and nectar.  Birds play an important part in planning your natural habitat garden. Study the various bird species in your area, and what types of food source they prefer. This way you can select a variety of shrubs and even perennials that can attract the bird species you enjoy observing.

You will end up creating a naturally sustainable environment since natural scarification of seeds birds have eaten occurs during digestion. The seeds are passed in excrement, landing where it will surly grow to produce fruit and nectar for the next generation.  It is your choice to keep the new plants or treat them as weeds.  You may transplant them once they have started growing if you don’t like where the birds planted them. Berry-bearing native vines are another plant you may see sprouting up in your habitat.

The wildlife part of you landscape may appear a little rugged, compared to traditional clipped lawns and manicured flower beds. You can designate a section of your garden design to be the “wildflower” or “natural habitat” garden.  Edge it with rockery to define the edges, or create a pond, or timber fencing or create a “gateway” with trellises and vines to make a transition to your personal nature reserve.

If you have a sunny open area, wildflowers that attract butterflies can produce a magnificent display of monarchs and other species.  Six hours of full sunlight daily is generally listed as one of the requirements for most annuals and perennials that butterflies prefer as a nectar source. The butterflies also favor sunny locations.

Consider adding a birdbath or butterfly hibernation box to your butterfly garden. These are additions that are both useful and pleasing to the eye. Butterflies need water, especially on hot summer days. A flat rock placed in the middle of a birdbath gives butterflies a place to drink. Hibernation boxes provide some shelter from the elements even though very few species of butterflies actually hibernate. Popular also among butterflies are large, dark, flat rocks placed about the garden for sunning.

Other elements to add to your wildlife garden are bird feeders with various seed types to attract the different bird species. A humming bird feeder with a water/sugar mix to attract the tiny elusive humming bird. And for country estates where you can have the magnificent deer browse through, there are bags of deer feed available to scatter out to invite them to dine at your own back window.

Remember, if you start a feeding program, these animals will begin to become dependent on you. If you leave for a winter holiday for an extended period of time, make sure you make arrangements not to interrupt your established refill schedule of seeds and feed!

Here is a home set on its own wildlife refuge: 5.95 acres on the shores of Belmont Lake. Expect visiting fauna such as red squirrels, deer, otters and varieties of waterfowl at the waterfront.The back gardens harbour several bird feeders that attract Chickadees, Blue Jays, Cardinals and a friendly Red Squirrel. The nature boardwalk was built across wetlands where nesting Wooducks, Mallards and even a Loon can be seen out in the open waters upon approach to the deeper lake waters.  This home set in its own nature retreat is available for $509,900.

source: www.backyardwildlifehabitat.info