January, 2012 (Advice for Home Owners)

If you own a home or you are thinking of owning a home, you are on the property ladder. As you move up or down the ladder you will need advice and that’s where I come in. As your REALTOR® you have my real estate experience, loyalty, honesty and my commitment to helping you make the right real estate decisions.
The Property Ladder News delivers information through three columns. I keep you up to date with the industry through “Market Temperature”, offer knowledge to buyers and sellers through the “Home Advisor” column and provide advice about keeping up with your house as an investment through “Home Maintenance”.
I write my own articles and the information contained within is my own opinion. If you have questions or wish to comment on anything I have written, feel free to use the comment section on my website blog at www.jimperks.ca cal or email me.
In This Edition
Market Temperatue: Your 2012 Property Tax Assessment
Home Advisor: The Jewel Box Phenomenon
Home Maintenance: 13 todos with 10 minutes or less

Market Temperature
*Please Note, The City Assessed value is not the current market value of your property.

Your 2012 Calgary Property Tax Assessments
On January 3rd The City of Calgary mailed out the Property and Business 2012 Assessment Notices and the Assessment 2012 Customer Review Period is from January 3rd to March 05, 2012. The 2012 Property Assessment values are based on a July 01, 2011 market valuation and December 31, 2011 physical condition.
Here are some of the key findings in this assessment:
2012 median single family residential assessment is $400,000 compared to $410,000 in 2011.
2012 median residential condominium assessment is $240,000 compared to $250,000 in 2011.
Total number of accounts on the 2012 Property Assessment Roll is 456,000.
Total value of the 2012 Property Assessment Roll is 232 billion A 1 Billion increase over last year. The previous year saw a 13 billion increase
The typical market value residential property assessment change is down3% between 2011 and 2012.
93% of the residential properties’ revenue neutral taxes will be within ± 10% of last year’s taxes.
62% of residential properties will see a revenue neutral tax decrease due to the 2012 assessment.
38% of residential properties will see a revenue neutral tax increase due to the 2012 assessment.

Home Advisor
The Jewel Box Phenomenon
There is an interesting phenomenon taking place in the real estate market place. Although I would not say it is a trend, there is a definite indication that buyers attitudes are starting to change. The jewel box is a smaller home, usually about 1600 sq ft or less that is full of amenities and light on space. The home appeals across a wide demographic from young urban professionals looking for quality of life to empty nesters looking to downsize but not wanting to compromise on their amenities.
Typically, buying a smaller home means buying builder quality finishing in a cookie cutter neighbourhood full of first time buyers. In fact, most of the new home product in these smaller sized homes still fits this description, but there seem to be a growing number of buyers who are happy with less space. They are not looking for builder grade finishes. They want gourmet kitchens with stone countertops and top of the line appliances, high end fixtures throughout the home and quality flooring materials like hardwood and stone. They want theatre sound and built in technology to make their home run more efficiently. They want the uncompromised finishes that come in a large luxury home, but they want it in less space and a more affordable package.
There is a growing movement for the Jewel Box Home. On the internet, websites and blogs are dedicated to this movement:
http://thejewelboxhome.blogspot.com/
http://www.thejewelboxhome.com/
Here you can find home plans dedicated to The Jewl Box Home:
http://www.familyhomeplans.com/small-jewel-box-house-plans
There are many more places where you can find information on living large in a smaller space. Whether this phenomenon becomes a trend remains to be seen, but given the changes that have taken place in our economy over the past few years and the age of baby boomers, it all make sense, doesn’t it?

Home Maintenance
13 Todos with 10 minutes or lass
You’ll love these ideas. They only take 10 minutes, but they are things you need to cross off your list. If you don’t have a list, make one! I kept it to 13, a lucky number.
1. Vacuum the condenser coils at the back of your fridge.
2. Replace your furnace filters.
3. Polish your natural wood front door. If painted, surface wash it.
4. Clean the air conditioner grill and register.
5. Dust and test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
6. Replace the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
7. Self-clean the oven (Yes, this takes hours, but it only takes a the push of a few buttons to set it up).
8. Check your water heater for signs of leakage or rust.
9. Look for worn extension cords. Replace them.
10. Inspect your furnace. Any signs of rust or scale? Any weird noises? If so, book a professional inspection.
11. Pick a ground fault circuit interrupter outlet (GFCI) and test it. Push the Test button, check that this has popped out the Reset button and that anything hooked up to the outlet will no longer power on. Push Reset and you’re good to go. Test a different GFCI outlet next time.
12. Conduct a garage door safety check. Put it into manual mode and lift it: it should glide smoothly and stay open on its own three feet from the ground. Put a pet- or child-size object under the door and close it. It should pop up as soon as it meets the obstacle. If not, call a pro. Do not use real children for this experiment!
13. Check your emergency flashlight. Do the batteries work? If not, replace them, or consider upgrading to a non-battery powered, manual wind-up model.
I hope you enjoyed this edition of The Property Ladder News. As always, your comments and feedback are welcome. If you have any questions about real estate or there is a topic you would like me to cover here in The Property Ladder News, let me know.
Jim Perks
The Property Ladder Guy
403 660 6239