Make Your Home in Hamilton

Apple Crumble Topping:1/2 cup GF flour mix*1/3 cup sugar1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold1/4 tsp fine sea salt1/2 tsp cinnamon Apples:2 Tbsp apple juice, lemon juice, or water4 tsp brown sugar4 cups crisp red apples, peeled, cored and cubed Whisk together flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon; cut butter into flour mixture using a pastry cutte...

Quinoa TabboulehThis is a great Gluten Free summer recipe.  My latest love is to make this with Red Quinoa.....delicious!  Give it a try! 2 cups water1 cup quinoa (rinsed)1 pinch salt1/4 cup olive oil1/2 tsp sea salt1/4 cup lemon juice3 tomatoes, diced1 cup fresh parsley,  chopped1 cucumber, diced2 bunches green onions, chopped2...

I didn't really go looking to be a Real Estate Assistant. I guess you could say the role began through a friendship with the Caton family. However, as a frequent cruiser of MLS listings, I guess Real Estate was running through my veins. A wife and mom to four kids, I am no stranger to organizing or hard work, and working with Andrew has been such a...

With the summer months behind us, moving with kids during the school year can be a little trickier.  However, regardless of the time of year, our kids are not immune to the stressors of moving into a new home, neighbourhood and school.  Here are a few suggestions for making your move go a little more smoothly.First and foremost, be open a...

Often times when I visit someone to list their property for sale, I'm asked "Should I paint?", or "Should I finish the basement?", or "Should I reno the kitchen?" before we sell. The seller is thinking that by doing these improvements they will be able to net a higher price. Unfortunately the answer isn't always as clear cut as "Yes" or "No". ...

This past May our family accomplished a huge goal - we paid off our mortgage!  I remember sitting in our lawyer's office 12 years ago and being dumbfounded when he said we could pay off our home in 12 years time.  I must admit, I was completely a skeptic - especially since we were living on one meager income.  Howevever, we ended up ...

Often times when I visit someone who is considering listing their property for sale, I'm asked "Should I paint", or "Should I finish the basement", or "Should I reno the kitchen" before we sell? The assumption is that by making these improvements they will be able to net a higher price. Unfortunately the answer isn't always as clear cut as "Yes" or...

August was another great month for owning Real Estate in Hamilton. Average sales increased 8% while average prices increased a little more than 5% year over year, according to the Realtors Association of Hamilton / Burlington. Hamilton still offers considerable value compared to other areas, specifically the GTA. Average sale prices were:Hamilton W...

A few years ago the office I was working for had a contract to sell homes that the bank had "reposessed". To list the home, I needed to take photos and then recommend the repairs that were needed to bring it up to selling standard. After visiting one such property, I decided that there wasn't that much that needed to be done ... just a few patches ...

 When I began in this business almost 10 years ago, I left a successful job managing I.T. for the Provincial Government in Toronto.  It was a great job, but I knew I was cut out to be an Entrepreneur....to have possibilities that were unlimited in front of me.  I was tired of working 80 hours a week for someone else and knew that if ...