Timberlea (Fort McMurray, AB)
By Patrick (Pat) Dardis
(RE/MAX Fort McMurray)
A guest of a resort hotel in a tourist area walked into the dining room where breakfast was being served.  Shortly after the guest sat down a waiter arrived to take his order.   "I would like two eggs, over easy, one with the yolk overcooked and rubbery and the other undercooked with the yolk broken and running out on the plate.  I would also like some sausage that has been grilled and set out on the plate to get cold, burnt toast that has also grown cold so that it crunches and crumbles into nothing at the first bite, butter that has been in the freezer so that it's impossible to spread, and a pot of coffee that is lukewarm and very weak."   The waiter busily scratched down the guest's order and said, "This is a very complicated order, sir.  It might be difficult to deliver it exactly ...
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By Patrick (Pat) Dardis
(RE/MAX Fort McMurray)
It should come as no surprise that between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, our excessiveness hits an annual high, especially where waste is concerned:  We throw out 25 percent more garbage than we do the rest of the year.  That's a million extra tons of garbage per week.   So this year consider some of the ideas below provided by The ULS (Use Less Stuff) Report.  Your planet will thank you!   •·        If every family saved and reused just two feet of ribbon per year, enough ribbon would be saved to tie a bow around the entire planet.  When unwrapping gifts, poke two holes in a paper plate and feed the ribbons through so they're easy to find and reuse later. •·        The more than two billion holiday cards sold in the United States each year could fill a football field 10 stories high...
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By Patrick (Pat) Dardis
(RE/MAX Fort McMurray)
  I invite you to experience an evolutionary online marketing technology for the Fort McMurray Real Estate Market, streaming HD web video tours. I offer high definition web video tours of your home when you list with me that are stream directly from my personal website www.McMurraysBestHomes.com  and including MLS®.   My web video tours are not only comprised of interior and exterior shots, but also include highlighting features to match feature sheets, a visual from Google Maps of the area, a community tours with landmarks and neighborhood shots.   Why Video? A real estate web video tour is the next best thing to an open house walk through. Nothing replaces this up close, in person visit, but a web video tour is the ultimate way to promote interest and prompt buyers to make a call to m...
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By Patrick (Pat) Dardis
(RE/MAX Fort McMurray)
Did you know that when working with a good mortgage broker, you will always be offered the best rate upfront? Manulife Financial Advisor, Greg MacPherson, says that banks "only reveal the lowest mortgage rate they will give you when you absolutely force them to by coming up with a better competing rate from across the street." This is the similar to negotiating the price of a souvenir in a third world country marketplace. They always want as much as they can get. You shouldn't have to go through that! The difference is that banks usually offer retail mortgage rates while brokers always offer wholesale mortgage rates.  Our lenders are offering some extremely low rates right now that are generating a lot of attention. If you are thinking of buying your first home, refinancing your existin...
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By Patrick (Pat) Dardis
(RE/MAX Fort McMurray)
There hasn't been a better time to buy in Fort McMurray in the past three years then right now. Since October 2008 we have watched the listing price of single family home drop. The number of sales each month has been in the 30's a compared to the 100's in the past few years. The average price is down about $40,000 over the same period last year, but still up from three years ago. March 2009 will be seen as the turning point in our market, the sales volume has incease to near normal levels for Fort McMurray at just under 100 unit for March. What has caused this change? Near record low interest rates, oil prices are around the $50 a barrel range. The recent news that Suncor is purchasing PetroCan and the fact that all the major oilsand players are still hiring staff position. Are all sign...
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By Patrick (Pat) Dardis
(RE/MAX Fort McMurray)
  Home Maintenance Checklist for Fall and Winter in Fort McMurray, Alberta. As the winter season approaches and the air become crisp, it's time to start thinking about preparing your house for the season. The winter season means spending more time indoors, hence roofs need to shed rain and snow, windows and doors need to reject the cold, and the heating system needs to keep rooms comfortable. If any of these components don't hold up, you might be faced with scrambling around in the wet, cold and dark to fix them. By handling these important yet reasonably easy tasks now, you can avoid considerable grief later. Outdoor Preparation Check the roof for cracked or missing shingles, bald spots on shingles, missing or damaged flashing, and other conditions that might allow leaks. Replace any ...
Comments 2
By Patrick (Pat) Dardis
(RE/MAX Fort McMurray)
There are many things a home owner can do to increase the value of their home. This can be done interior or exterior, from do-it-yourself for the smaller projects to hiring a contractor for the larger jobs. You can give your home a face lift a little at a time. Most home owners don't have the finances for a complete over haul done all at once. To most people, their home is their largest investment and they would like to keep it in prime condition. Although the price of your home is mostly determined by the current market conditions, there are several things you can do to maximize your homes value. 1. Decorative moldings can be used throughout the home for interior to exterior, to trim doors, floors, walls, windows, fire places and ceilings. These moldings can be found at practically al...
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Fort McMurray, AB Real Estate Professionals