Replenish. recharge. refresh: three words that have become increasingly more important over the past year when faced with the pandemic, its’ lockdowns and the many restrictions.

Replenish your energy levels.

Recharge your soul.

Refresh your mind.

Finding ways to nurture these elements within the confines of your own home has been the mandate of late. Luckily, the warmer days are increasing (and hopefully going to stick around) so it is the perfect time to start thinking about extending our living to the great outdoors and spending as many days as possible enjoying our outdoor spaces.

Bring the Indoors Out
Backyards, porches, decks are now part of everyday life: outdoor home office, outdoor dining, outdoor entertaining spaces, you name it. Consider what you love about your indoor space. Reflect that indoor vibe outdoors with playful colour (see Let’s Talk About…Colour), inviting furnishings, tantalizing textures and maybe even modern conveniences (outdoor TV, anyone?).

But maybe it’s time to step it up a notch further.

Define Your Deck
A straight-forward upgrade like redoing a deck can dramatically improve yard aesthetics by creating definition amongst the wilds of nature. Take a page out of nature’s book and slow down a little; create the perfect look of luxurious serenity or a bold, modern retreat. With many choices of wood materials, the aesthetic you’ve been visualizing can easily come to life. However, with the price of lumber at the moment, composite materials are a viable and affordable. Composite doesn’t have the same natural look wood does but will provide a stylish, low maintenance and durable option.

Rhatigan Ridge Deck and Pergola

Create Your Oasis
A pergola is something else to consider. A simple yet striking structure, this adds to back (or front!) yard appeal but it also provides the practical use of protection from the elements. Adding greenery such as climbing flowers and leafy plants overhead can create a dense covering that could result in a serene sanctuary providing peacefulness and the warming comfort that we’re all seeking these days.

There are so many options to optimize the space in your backyard, front yard and even side yard. By creating distinct outdoor areas, these spaces can serve different purposes: relaxing, dining, entertaining (socially distanced, of course) and if you’ve got kids, a play area!

Sherwood Path Front Deck and Pergola (Photo: Archive Client)

Sherwood Park Backyard Basketball Court (Photo: Archive Client)

Once upon a time, the idea of ‘indoor/outdoor living’ was a something you’d see on HGTV. It became a slow moving trend but has gained popularity over the years. Homeowners have realized there were many benefits that optimizing outdoor living spaces can bring: a quicker, more economical way to enhance a home without a huge renovation or addition and increased the value of the home to name a few. But it cannot be denied that spending more time outdoors provides enormous benefits to our health and well-being which is something that we all need in these uncertain times.

For that reason alone, are you ready to upgrade your outdoor living space?

With a booming real estate market, low-interest rates and the rise of the home improvement trend, we decided to start a new blog series to help navigate this unprecedented time. Wading through a plethora of information can be overwhelming, we know! So we’ve asked Mortgage Consultant Meghann of The Mortgage Minds Inc. to walk us through various options when it comes to homeownership and home renovations.

Our first sit-down (virtual, of course) resulted in chatting about a good option for first-time homebuyers, or even as a buyer purchasing a secondary property as an investment or rental property. Enjoy our first foray into what we are now calling our Mortgage Moment.

Photo by Jacquie Troy Carter

The sunnier days of Spring may very well be here….or it could be Fool’s Spring….who knows in this Edmonton climate.

We know that with Spring, the real estate market usually starts to gain momentum. However, this year it’s already been hot for some time now, even in the face of a global pandemic.

Because of the pandemic and its lockdowns, industry restrictions and increased ‘work from home’ scenarios, we’re all forced to evaluate our living space and surrounding areas. Need more space? Want an outdoor retreat? Have you been driving around your ideal neighbourhood looking at inventory? Has your HGTV binge-watching fuelled the need to take on a construction project?

Whatever the motivation, it’s a seller’s market out there these days. More buyers are looking to buy than there is inventory to sell, which means the competition in the marketplace has increased.

This demand puts pressure on housing prices resulting in homes being:

• on the market for fewer days,

• going for above the asking price, and

• in some cases, facing a multiple offer situation.

That’s a tight real estate market. And because the demand is far outweighing the supply, it’s a fast market too. As if the idea of buying a home isn’t stressful enough, right?

Well, there’s good news. Mortgage interest rates are at historic lows across the country. So what does this mean? If you are looking to move and can afford to, now’s the time to take the plunge into the real estate market and lock in a reasonable rate.

The idea of purchasing can be intimidating (especially for first-time homebuyers). Still, there’s one way to ease the situation and get what you want: which is to purchase a house with potential in an ideal neighbourhood and turn it into your dream home.

Archive Project: Rhatigan Ridge Bathroom Renovation

How?
With a Purchase Plus Improvements mortgage.

What’s that?
The Purchase Plus Improvements program allows qualified home buyers to renovate their new home and include the improvements into their mortgage. Improvements can be up to $40,000 or 10% of the purchase price, whichever is greater.

Where can it be used?
New homebuyers can use this money for several renovations. However, they have to remain with the property.

This can include:

• a new kitchen or bathroom install,

• windows and doors upgrade,

• a flooring upgrade, or

• basement refinishing.

Archive Project: Holyrood Basement Development

Who does the work?
You must obtain a quote from a qualified contractor (this is where Archive comes in!) and provide it upfront with the Offer to Purchase. Once your mortgage lender approves the work, they will commit those funds to you at the same rate as your mortgage.

Is there a timeline?
Typically the work needs to be completed 90 days after the day of possession.

When do I get the money?
When the work is complete…which means you have to figure out how to pay for the improvements up front. In other words, only after the job is finished and an appraisal performed are the funds released.


More info please…
You probably have a lot of questions, so this is where we hand it off to the expert. Meghann is more than willing to talk about options. She can easily be reached on both Facebook and Instagram (@wendellmortgages) and is ready to answer all of your burning mortgage questions.

There IS one glaring question that we will answer in an upcoming blog post, though: What if I don’t want to move but want to improve? 

Don’t miss our April Mortgage Moment, where we tackle the options surrounding how to finance home improvements for current homeowners.

Pantone 17-5104 Ultimate Gray and 13-0647 Illuminating - if those names and numbers hold any significance to you, that means you are up to date on Pantone’s Colour of the Year for 2021.

Every year in December Pantone, a company who created a universal language around colour, announces their Colour of the Year. A tradition for over 20 years, this influences design decisions in colour conscious industries such as textiles, apparel, beauty, interiors and architectural and industrial design.

This year, the Ultimate Gray and Illuminating combination highlights how elements can come together to support one another while sending a message of strength and possibility. The grey is natural, assuring, thoughtful and reliable while the yellow is cheery, friendly and full of promise.

This message encompasses hopefulness which is rather fitting given the pandemic year we’ve all been faced with. It can also represent the approaching days of Spring: the reflection of new beginnings, progress and a blossoming of sorts with the image of earth slowly emerging and coming back to life again after a winter slumber (us humans are feeling that too, right?). This combination can inspire to move ahead with new possibilities.

As stated from Pantone: “as people look for ways to fortify themselves with energy, clarity, and hope to overcome the continuing uncertainty, spirited and emboldening shades satisfy our quest for vitality”.

Photo by Fabian Mardi on Unsplash

Because we’ve all been spending A LOT more time indoors this year, it has become increasingly apparent that the quality of our environment plays an essential part in our physical and mental health. Perhaps it has put a new perspective on how space is used and provided ample time to plan on how to make new improvements to either home or office space. To start, by bringing these colours in as simple accents, it can reinvigorate a room without investing too much time or money. After all, colour is the easiest way to transform a space.

But really, the Colour of the Year isn’t meant to be taken as gospel or even a prediction, it is meant as an aspiration.

If you’re a small business owner, these colours could embellish your connection to nature and inspire you to take steps to bring more room and more light into your working quarters. This idea can provide momentum in bringing more natural elements into the space, address concerns of sustainability or allow you to focus on better energy efficiency. These health conscious ideas are no longer niche and can be applied to any space.

If you’re a homeowner, eco-friendly design principles can help reimagine your home and breath new life into a space you’ve gotten to know extremely well over the last year. Or maybe you’re taking the plunge into the HOT real estate market right now where these ideas could help transform a house with potential into the home of your dreams.

Whichever situation you find yourself in, there are many options for home or tenant improvements that allow the safety, security and wellness that has become increasingly important throughout this pandemic. This colour combination for 2021 is just a springboard for inspiration and to quote Pantone, “whose ties to insight, innovation and intuition, and respect for wisdom, experience, and intelligence inspires regeneration, pressing us forward toward new ways of thinking and concepts”.