Calgary, Red Deer & Edmonton…these are all beautiful cities to make home-base, don’t get me wrong.  But I grew up in small-town Alberta and spent a ton of time on acreages as a result of having most of my friends live out there.  I spent my summers THERE…rural Alberta in all its scorching glory &  winters in all its Alberta blizzard chaos:  Those memories I would not trade for the world.  Yeah, we did teen stuff, gossip, painting nails, talking about boys, even out in the middle of nowhere…but summers out in the country giggling & riding horses & up to no good are a LOT different than being up to no-good in the city.  But up to no good in rural Alberta kept me out of trouble city-life would have… that is guaranteed.  I enjoyed the lazy hot days of summer jumping on friends’ trampolines, riding bikes on gravel roads, sleepovers in tents & hay-bales (which isn’t a good idea bye the way).  Something about being surrounded by golden wheat fields or bright yellow canola fields or being able to get through the troubled teen years with no means of transportation to the city (pre-licence age), are memories that are amongst my most treasured.  Winters spent snow-mobiling, skating on acreage ponds & just plain learning to be comfortable in my own skin when I got bored (pre-texting/cell phone/Internet age, well… it just IS a different way of life.  There is no better time than now to raise children out in the country, away from the temptations & stress of city-life.  Oh sure…a teen will find trouble anywhere…but it takes more creativity to GET to the trouble & a lot more embarrassment afterwards to get OUT of it too (every neighbour between your place & the Rockies knows too).  There is also a natural progression of respect for the land, the animals, the food, the work; values I argue we are so quickly losing in our culture of technology & fast-paced 9-5 jobs.

There are so many acreages between Calgary, Didsbury, Red Deer & Leduc as we travel North along Highway 2 from Calgary.  If you’re looking for an escape from the rat race…there is something for everyone and any budget.  Our equestrian community is strong and once you get a taste of country-life (or even a small 2 acre acreage), living in the confines of a city…is just claustrophobic & downright crazy.  In a recent opinion poll I took of people’s life on acreages, here were the results.

WHY MOVE TO THE COUNTRY OPINION POLL (thanks to Kijiji!! And the many responses from this question posted)

“Raising kids to respect nature, responsibility & self sufficiency …that’s what we have all learned since moving to our Cochrane acreage.  There’s a rule that all phones/ipods/ipads/iwhatevers need to be turned into a bin by 9pm nightly.  This keeps my teen boys from straying to Internet sites they need avoid (boys will be boys) & keeps me realizing, that our move to the acreage was worth the conveniences of Calgary.  Their friends are even asking to come here to hang out here instead of in town (they go to school in Cochrane).  Fine by me, so long as all the chores are done & there’s no swearing“                 Jim & Darlene Smithwyck, Cochrane, AB

“ I moved because I was stressed out with my lifestyle where I worked in downtown Calgary, got off at 5, meandered my way towards the Deerfoot just to creep along at a snails pace to my home I couldn’t afford in the suburbs an hour (if I was lucky) later, just to make dinner go to bed, wake up drop kids off at the day home, and do it all over again.  I asked my boss if there was a way to work from home. He said yes.  I phoned my realtor & put my house on the market.  I did the most irrational & irresponsible thing and bought a 4 acre property outside Beiseker & have never regretted it.  It was 50,000 cheaper than my home & we decided to cut things we don’t need for a year to see if we could catch up on debt. We paid off all credit cards/no cable/started growing our veggies in the summer, and now after things are financially fine…my son said he doesn’t miss the tv channels anyhow.  HOW COOL IS THAT?!”            Sandy P, Beiseker, AB

“My daughter was invited to a 4H club event with a friend from school (i was newly divorced).  Then came riding lessons. Then came having to meet the other parents at 4H (I am a born & raised city-girl) and newly divorced, they opened their hearts to us, like I had never experienced & very much needed at that difficult time. They were a different kind of people, and I felt cared for & made life-long friends at 4H. Country families are more generous with their time & hearts and within 2 years I sold our Edgemont home in NW Calgary & moved to a High River acreage where we spent so much time anyhow.  Wish I had done it sooner.” – Cindy F., High River, AB

“I am born & raised a farm-girl, but married a city boy.  He wouldn’t move to the farm & I had no interest in taking over my Dad’s ranch, so we compromised with a small acreage in Didsbury (well about 10 mins outside of town). I have 2 little girls that have never eaten store-bought vegetables or fruit and we teach them to respect the resources that we can save or recycle or grow.  We grow it all.  They respect animals & the work it takes as part of the enjoyment of them. My city-boy loves our acreage too and we aren’t too far from Calgary that we can’t go into enjoy the bigger amenities of it”       S. Holdt, Didsbury, AB

“My son was being bullied in our Calgary area school & he found comfort in his weekly riding lesson out in Airdrie, just being with the horse.  This was the only time he seemed to truly love his life without being conscientious about being teased.  We are a middle-class family & thought that moving to an acreage would be costly, however we budgeted the things that were important and were able to sell our home in Cranston and move to a small acreage in Balzac.  My son turned 16 last January & got a job at an Airdrie grocery store and bought his own horse last month with his savings.  We have agreed to pay for the boarding costs if he bought his own horse(as this is his only activity) & he is thriving and home-schooled.  Rural living does not have to mean farm living…my husband still works downtown Calgary & is able to catch up on his favorite pod-casts on the 30 min drive home.  PS…thanks for this opinion poll…!!.”     A & K Lovas, Balzac, AB

This featured rural property is a small acreage outside of Didsbury (about 15 mins east), it is a nicely renovated 2 storey home situated on 7.81 acres of land complete with paddocks & shelters.  Perfect place for the family wanting to buy a few horses & escape the city.  The buyer can enjoy not only the use of their own land for riding, but that of the remainder quarter section of land that is owned by a central Alberta-based cattle rancher, who does not use the land much of the year.  For more details, please go here: http://ronaelepound.com/listing/starter-acreage/

Joelle Roy-Flynn                                                                                               jroyflynn@mortgagealliance.com

http://www.cmhc.ca/en/co/prfinas/prfinas_003.cfm

CANWEST ELEVATORS & LIFTS      www.canwestelevators.com                                       403-203-3244

MOTION SPECIALTIES                       www.themotiongroup.com                                         403-247-2222

MEDICHAIR                                            www.medichair.com                                                    403-252-5366

1. Short sale/pre-foreclosure:

The owner is issued a warning, because they are late on payments. If the owner can sell the property-it is called “short sale” and their credit score is not affected.  Websites like www.realtytrac.com advertise short sale homes or you will see them in the local papers.  If you have the guts to approach an owner in this phase, take him out for a nice coffee, and tell him you are interested in buying his home and NOT kicking his family out, which he knows will happen anyhow if he can’t repay his default.  This way he can rent it (and you can do an inspection, unlike in the Bank Auction phase below).  Obviously approaching someone going into foreclosure is a feat for the brave, and if he doesn’t throw his coffee at you, you may be able to work out a deal. This will be something to consider if you want to go into an investment to rent the home anyhow…and remember, the bank still needs to approve the short sale, which can be months in the making.  Plus, tax on rent is 30% gross rent income, and 15% of your monthly rental income will automatically be withheld…so beware…your monthly CASHFLOW is affected!!

2. Bank Auction (approx. 30% savings from market value):

if it doesn’t sell in short sale time, it goes here: done at the county courthouse or outside the home itself.  Buyers pay cash or cashiers cheque from US Bank.

a)    There could be multiple mortgage/liens on the property (DO A TITLE SEARCH!!!)

b)    The bank sets a starting bid, which is considered the 1^st bid.  This way if the home has no other bids thereafter, it is sold back to the bank and goes on to the next phase (REO).  For those who are savvy in foreclosure investments know this can be a lucrative investment, HOWEVER…bidding on a home in this phase has its down side. Not only can the home be in bad shape, but the laws surrounding who can renovate that home can complicate your plans.

**Remember…homes in this phase are “AS IS WHERE IS (get title insurance!!), and you are not allowed to do an inspection before you purchase so before you bid…think…think…think…then think again!

3. REO:  Once the home is here, the bank has 2 choices…

a)    Chances are the homes that are sitting in this phase are NOT going to be any lower priced than those on the local market…but there are exceptions. The nice thing here though, is the bank will clean up the title, maybe fix the home & put it on the MLS.

b)    Send it to an auction house (NOTE): this auction is different than a bank auction, because the house has a clean title & potential buyers are allowed to see inside the house, do an inspection (etc).  Often, you will notice there are open houses in this phase.

c)    Mortgage can be arranged, and Canadians should work with a Canadian Bank in the US or things can get really complicated.

TIPS:

*Study the laws of the state you are purchasing in!!! They are not all the same.  I advise people to hire a cross-border tax advisor.

* Have a plan.  Know the purpose of your investment.

-JUST A SECOND HOME: only property taxes to worry about. The catch is, when you sell, capital gains tax is hefty & maximum US tax rate (after 12 months ownership) is…yikes…15%!  There are rules around lowering this, but this is a whole other blog, so consult your accountant…

-RENTING IT OUT: US taxes are 30% on gross rent income. You need to hire a property manager if you are not American to renovate & manage the rental. So much as driving a nail into a wall can cause you considerable trouble so account for this before you purchase. In addition 15% of the monthly income will be withheld for year-end tax purposes, so your cash flow WILL BE AFFECTED!!!

*Get your title insurance policy & have your Canadian tax advisor review it. If you need a referral to local cross-border accountants, just holler!!

* GO SEE PROPERTIES IN PERSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Internet picture is not the whole story.  If the entire street has been riddled in foreclosure homes & they are vacant, you have issues: (property value, condition of the home, squatters etc). No research in the world can compare to actually being able to see the property in person & touch brick & mortar with your own 2 hands.  Trust NO ONE except you! Be prepared to take a plane trip.  On the bright side…what Canadian doesn’t want to do THAT in mid-winter right?

• Staging – something to consider if it is in the budget. I am HUGE on home staging especially for vacant homes. The cost of home staging by a professional more often than not pays for itself in cutting the amount of time the home generally stays on the market.
• PAINTING –patch wall gouges & nicks: then a fresh neutral coat of paint on walls/baseboards.
• PROFESSIONAL RUG CLEANING – this will rid the house of most pet odour, as well as bring a sparkle to the carpet you long forgot it had.

Besides the fact that I will urge a deep clean & de-clutter of the home to set your home up for a successful sale, here are a few extra tips to consider. I will be giving you a thorough list of recommendations on staging, cleaning & de-cluttering when we meet firsthand.

Wash baseboards with soap & water. If white, use bleach (if you did not repaint them)

Wash under baseboards with a skinny envelope opener & wet soapy cloth

Windex® the windows (in & out), between window panes & sliders

Windex® light fixtures/chandeliers

Wash down kitchen & bathroom cabinets. If your cabinets are white, use a small amount of bleach.

Artificial Plants (wash off leaves with soapy water) hose them down if you can

Family pictures OFF the walls & out of sight.

Small appliances (kitchen toaster/blenders/coffee maker’s) put away in cupboards, replace with one central focal point (plant/flowers). Nothing on the counters!!

Wash off the top of the fridge

Take all magnets & papers off the fridge & put away. Wash exterior of the fridge.

Clean out closets. Now would be a good time to purge the clothes you haven’t worn in years. Nice decorative boxes to line the top shelves, and put all extra odds & ends that are lying around from other rooms.

Litter & other pet paraphernalia: put away in garage or basement, if possible!!

**a cleaning service to help out might be something to consider**