Courtesy of Ryan Torris

HOME YOUR Your Good Neighbour. Your Real Estate Concierge.

R yan T orris Real Estate Agent, 1forAl l Charity Contributor, SRES ® , REALTOR ® TOP PRODUCER 403.710. SOLD (7653) concierge@blackrockre.ca www.blackrockre.ca @blackrockre

Volume 14 | Number 11

TIPS FOR A SPEEDY HOME BUYING EXPERIENCE The home-buying process can be lengthy – but it doesn’t have to be! Here are a few things you can do to make finding and buying a new property go smoothly and be timely.

First up, ask any questions you have early. If you aren’t sure about something – let your real estate agent know. The answer can guide you in the right direction sooner than if you hadn’t asked at all. Next, get pre-approved for a mortgage. Pre- approval means that once you find a home, the financial side of things can move along much more quickly. Lastly, be more choosy about the homes you view. While it can be important to keep an open-mind when viewing properties, visiting every single potential home – even if it doesn’t meet your criteria – can slow the process down.

HOMEMADE PEACH CRISP Courtesy of www.ehow.com

1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp + 1 tsp cinnamon, divided 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats 1/2 cup butter, softened

INGREDIENTS : 4 large peaches (about 3 pounds), sliced 2 tsp lemon juice 1/4 cup white sugar 2 tbsp plus 2/3 cup flour, divided 1 tbsp cornstarch

DIRECTIONS: 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Add the peach slices, lemon juice, white sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, cornstarch, salt, and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon to a mixing bowl. Toss to coat. 2. Spray an 8 x 8 pan with cooking spray. Add the peaches in an even layer. 3. Add the remaining 2/3 cup flour, cinnamon, brown sugar, oats and butter to a bowl. Mix until well combined. 4. Add the topping to the peaches in an even layer. Bake in the oven for 35 to 45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

THREE AREAS TO FOCUS ON WHEN READYING YOUR HOME FOR SALE There are so many things to do when readying your home for sale. Focus primarily on these three areas to keep feelings of overwhelm at bay. 1. The first area – and often the most important – is your home’s exterior. You could have the most beautiful interior space in the world, but if the outside isn’t up to par, potential buyers may say no before they’ve even had a chance to walk through the doors. Grass should be cut – or snow shovelled – and overgrown hedges and trees should be pruned. The siding and roofing should be clean and in good repair. Consider adding a fresh coat of paint to jazz up the front door. 2. Next up – the interior space. The often overlooked key to interior staging is “less is more.” " James Cameron was born August 16, 1954 and is a Canadian filmmaker. He is known for making science fiction and epic films like The Terminator, Aliens, Avatar and Titanic. His films have grossed approximately 6 billion dollars worldwide. He has also contributed to underwater filming and remote vehicle technologies. In 2012 he was the first person to do a solo descent to the bottom of Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the ocean. If you set your goals ridiculously high and it's a failure, you will fail above everyone else's success. -James Cameron

This means you’ll likely want to remove things from your home rather than add them. Make sure counters, desktops and shelves are clean and uncluttered. If your rooms feel crowded due to multiple furniture pieces you should remove all but a few. For example, a bedroom only needs the bed, small nightstands and a dresser if the space permits. 3. The last thing you should focus on when selling your home is making sure it is spotless for any viewing. No dog food in a bowl in the corner. No laundry piled up on top of the dryer. Remember, buyers want to picture themselves in your house. After all, the goal is to make it their home!

WHAT IS IDENTITY THEFT AND HOW DO YOU PROTECT YOURSELF FROM IT?

Identity theft is a crime in which a third party obtains your personal information with the intention to commit fraud. This personal information can include you driver ’s license, social insurance number, banking information and credit card information. With this information, someone can withdraw from your bank accounts, rack up credit expenses, apply for loans in your name and more. Signs that you’re the victim of identity theft may be unexplained expenses on your credit card bills, a creditor informs you they’ve received an application that you never sent, a bank informs you they’ve declined a loan you never applied for, et cetera. Thankfully, reputable banks and creditors have systems in place to stop or catch identify theft quickly, and most often you won’t have to pay for purchases made using stolen information. However there are still several things you should do to protect yourself. Here are seven steps you can take to minimize the risk of having your personal information stolen.

1. Don’t carry your social insurance number, passport, birth certificate, or other such documents unless necessary. 2. Review your bank and credit card statements regularly so you can catch any unexplainable purchases. 3. Limit the amount of credit cards you have and cancel any inactive accounts. 4. Don’t give any personal information over the phone unless you have verified the caller, and avoid any offer that sounds too good to be true as it most likely is. 5. Don’t write passwords down. If you have trouble remembering them, get an encrypting app that only you can access. 6. Shred, or rip up, any documentation that has your name, address, birthday and social insurance number on it. 7. Avoid easy to guess passwords and pins such as birth years and names of family members.

KAKURO Fill in the grid with the digits from 1 to 9. Each group of digits must add up to the number that is just to the left or above it. No group can repeat the same digit twice. You may repeat a digit within a column or row. There is no requirement to use all of the digits.

Answers:

Courtesy of www.puzzles-to-print.com

City of Calgary, October 1, 2021 – There were 2,186 sales in October, a record high for the month and over 35 per cent higher than longer-term averages. Year to-date sales are on pace to hit new record highs and are currently 61 per cent higher than average activity recorded over the past five years and 42 per cent higher than 10-year averages. “Moving into the four th quar ter, the pace of housing demand continues to exceed expectations in the city,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “Much of the persistent strength is l ikely related to improving confidence in future economic prospects, as wel l as a sense of urgency among consumers to take advantage of the low-lending-rate envi ronment.” Persistently tight market conditions did cause some benchmark price gains this month. The benchmark price in October reached $460,100, sl ightly higher than last month and nearly nine percent higher than the $422,600 recorded last October. Source: CREB ® MARKET CONTINUES TO FAVOUR THE SELLER IN OCTOBER

CALGARY

AIRDRIE

BENCHMARK PRICE Current: $460,100 Last Mo.: 0.48 % Last Yr.: 8.87 %

BENCHMARK PRICE Current: $395,300 Last Mo.: 1.44% Last Yr.: 14.5%

DAYS ON MARKET

DAYS ON MARKET

43

38

NEW LISTINGS

NEW LISTINGS

2,500

154

ACTIVE LISTINGS

ACTIVE LISTINGS

4,870

193

SOLD LISTINGS

SOLD LISTINGS

2,186

179

Stats Reflective of October 2021 Source: CREB ®

Stats Reflective of October 2021 Source: CREB ®

Market values stated are of the average of Calgary. Individual home market values will vary and are affected by factors such as location, size, interior and exterior condition. Please call to get an up-to-date evaluation of your home.

Market values stated are of the average of Airdrie. Individual home market values will vary and are affected by factors such as location, size, interior and exterior condition. Please call to get an up-to-date evaluation of your home.

Please spread the word! Have friends or family moving? Don’t hesitate to pass them my info. P.S. I always take good care of my referring clients!

R yan T orris Real Estate Agent, 1forAl l Charity Contributor, SRES ® , REALTOR ® TOP PRODUCER 403.710. SOLD (7653) concierge@blackrockre.ca www.blackrockre.ca @blackrockre

201, 120 2nd Ave NE Airdrie, AB T4B 2N2

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