As a responsible homeowner, making your property safe for young trick-or-treaters is essential. 

Everyone wants an accident-free Halloween in the neighborhood, so these few tips will ensure the local kids have a scary and super-fun night.

Clear paths

Little trick-or-treaters are excited and ususally run from house to house.  Tidy up the front yard, removing any garden tools or toys that might be left out to avoid tripping hazards.

Light it up

Turn on your exterior lights, especially if you have illuminated the edges of your garden path.

Flame-free

If you plan to decorate your home, it's a cool idea not to use anything flammable.

Animal Friendly Decor

Avoid using the faux spider web decor. These cobwebs are hard to remove after Halloween and birds often try to use it in nesting material come spring.  Although it's cozy, it's actually dangerous as it often tangles around the beaks and feet of both parents and babies in the nest.

Cable danger

If your Halloween installation needs electricity, please tape down extension cords and cables from where trick-or-treaters will walk.

Sweet treat 

If you're in the “treat brigade”, consider giving kids candy in reflective bags. Or offer gifts that are reflective, as these will help drivers see them as they move down your street.

Allergies

Don't include nuts or chocolate with nut content in your stash of treats. 

Check the candy

Sometimes treat wrappers aren't properly sealed when coming out of the box. It's a great idea to go through your candy stash to ensure everything is edible. Where wrappers are even slightly opened, discard the candy.

Be blunt

Many folks will use items like swords and wands to help dress the house so it's super-spooky. Please ensure these items are soft, and there's no possible way kids could come to any harm from them.

Brief neighbours

If you're planning a big Halloween party, it's a great idea to let the neighbors know.

Maintaining a garden makes a substantial difference to the value and desirability of your home when the time comes to sell.

Gardens can sway buyers, especially when reducing their short list of desirable properties.

These six tips will prime your garden for next spring and summer. 

Trees and shrubs

Only prune after they've dropped their leaves. It will be an excellent opportunity to reshape the plant if it has become a little unruly. Avoid heavy pruning as this may encourage growth just when it should be falling into dormancy for winter.

Fruit Trees

All pip trees, including apples and pears, should be pruned right now. Try to cut into the trees to open up the centers to improve the amount of air and sunlight that can penetrate. Remove dead and diseased branches. 

Lavender

A wonderful shrub that's everyone's favorite. But it's so easy to kill it when pruning. Only cut the new growth. Never cut it back to the wood. If you're too brutal with lavender, it will not survive.

Roses

A light prune is ideal at this time of year for hybrid tea roses. Again, look for dead or diseased canes. Remove canes that have grown in the wrong direction and will limit sunlight penetrating the plant.

Perennials

Wait until these have died back before getting out your secateurs. Resist the temptation to cut them back too hard, but it is an excellent opportunity to reshape the appearance of many of your flowerbeds.

Evergreens

A light pruning will be ideal for evergreens, and you should remove dead and damaged branches. If you want to cut hard, wait until spring so they have a chance to bounce back in the warmer weather.

Remember that the City Of Calgary encourages composting your yard waste:

Put all yard waste into your green cart for composting, including:

• Leaves
• Cones (all conifers - pine, spruce, etc.)
• Plants and flowers
• Branches, twigs, hedge prunings - must be less than 15 centimetres in diameter and 1.25 metres in length to fit in the green cart
• Grass clippings, sod
• Untreated mulch (including coloured/dyed)
• Hay
• Pine needles
• Tree fruits like crab apples
• Rhubarb leaves
• Tree trimmings
• Moss

• Special instructions

  Fill your green cart first. If your green cart is full:

  • Place yard waste in paper yard waste bags. Make sure bags are rolled up and can be easily lifted.
  • Set bags at least 0.5 m (2 ft) to the side of your green cart. Do not lean bags on the cart or on top of the cart lid.
  • For larger quantities of yard waste, take to a City landfill for composting. Charges may apply - learn more at calgary.ca/yardwaste​. Note: sod is not accepted for composting at City landfills.​

How to compost yard and garden waste (calgary.ca)

In many real estate advertisements you see the claim “close to good schools”, but does the proximity to education centers really affect a property's value?

The adage “location, location, location” is well known and refers to how a property's value benefits or suffers from the surrounding neighborhood.

Families looking to buy often prioritize the proximity to schools and the ease of access to transport systems. 

Naturally, sellers want to put a premium on such benefits.

Research from the National Bureau of Economic Research has recently linked property value to schools in a study: Using Market Valuation to Assess Public School Spending.

It claims that for every dollar spent on a local public school, the value of a home goes up $20. 

If you assume that funding is the determining factor of a good school, then property prices benefit from having well-financed education facilities nearby.

A 2016 study by property site realtor.com claimed property values were on average higher in top-performing school districts than the median real estate price. It used Duke University as an example, noting homes achieved an average of 52c per square foot more than homes outside the area. 

While there is no dispute about the impact of location on value, quantifying that benefit is not a perfect science. Each buyer will see different benefits to the location of a home.

These are some of the essential local amenities that today's buyers want nearby. When you decide to sell, ensure you maximize every location benefit you offer.

Essentials

Folks want to be near some of the most fundamental public services such as schools, universities, hospitals, transport systems and shopping centers.

Lifestyle

Sellers can place a premium on their property for amenities that make life fun, such as parks, cafes, restaurants, cinemas and theaters. 

Safety

Low crime rates, well-maintained neighborhoods and a strong community are seen as highly desirable by buyers, especially families and senior buyers. 

Nature

If you have great views, either of surf crashing onto the beach or rolling hills, you'll be able to demand a premium.

Jobs

Being close to centers of employment, or a CBD, is a significant tick-in-the-box for buyers who dread wasting hours every day on a long commute. Areas with strong employment growth play well, too.

History

Many folks love living in areas of cultural significance because these areas are so unique. Where you can, emphasize this benefit of “unique living”.

Future

Savvy sellers will also investigate the future plans for their neighborhood and emphasize these benefits. Additional infrastructure, such as a new hospital or train station, will bolster local prices.

Home-hunting can be a deeply frustrating experience if you approach the challenge without a plan.

As America confronts a shortage of homes for sale with sellers waiting out the recent spate of mortgage cost rises, you've got to be on your game as a buyer.

Finding the right property, negotiating successfully or being able to pick yourself back up when you miss out has never been more important.

These tried-and-tested methods have enabled buyers to find their dream homes in the toughest markets.

Be efficient

The first rule is to conserve your energy. Be selective about the properties you wish to view. You'll exhaust yourself if you try to walk through every house, apartment, duplex or condo that catches your eye.

Drive-by viewing

Before committing yourself to spending time inspecting an apartment or house, do a quick drive-by. Check out the exterior and get a first impression of the general maintenance of the property. 

Quick spin

Then, take a spin around the neighborhood to see if this is the type of area for you. Avoid wasting time making an inspection to then decide you don't like the area. Do it the other way around.

Limit inspections

Admittedly, this is a tough goal to set, especially as we're seeing fewer properties on the market than usual, a situation that's bound to change in the next few months. However, try to limit yourself to eight to 10 properties. So, choose carefully. 

Prioritize preferences

Selecting the homes to walk through will be easier if you have a clear idea of what you want. The attitude, “I'll know it when I see it”, is fine but it will take up your time. Only inspect a property if you like the price, location, condition and floorplan.

With all the excitement of purchasing your first property, you can be excused for feeling a little intimidated by the prospect of furnishing it to complete your dream of home ownership.

Naturally, you want everything to be perfect. 

Whether an apartment or house, this is your sanctuary. It's where you'll find respite from the pressures of daily life and invite friends and families over for social occasions. 

So, choosing the right furniture is not a small deal.

It's easy to be overwhelmed by the array of styles, such as Scandinavian, rustic, coastal or even minimalist. Or you just want to choose furniture you love, and ignore the principles of a particular style. These tips will help.

Find inspiration 

Go online and devour the wide range of home-styling magazines to find your perfect approach. Creating a mood board to capture furniture and layouts you love works a treat.

Color question 

Choosing furniture isn't just about size and comfort. Color is a significant factor. Decide on your color scheme before hitting the furniture shops. Consider the color of the walls and your flooring before deciding how to proceed.

Measure up

You should measure each of your rooms. One of the biggest mistakes to make is purchasing furniture that is too large for the intended room or living area. Mapping out your home will ensure you don't make this error.

Stay focused 

Pick your preferred styles and then research the approaches you can take within each style. If you adopt a scatter-gun approach, you'll likely end up with a mess of options.

Energy flow 

Your furniture will create a kind of “energy”. It's a great idea to use your mapping approach to decide the size of the furnishings and where they should be positioned. You want to ensure each room has a simple but efficient traffic flow. 

Eastern promise

Feng shui is the Chinese art of creating positive energy in your home. Its principles make a lot of sense. You may find it worthwhile checking out Feng shui and how it might help you.

The bottom line

It's common to gravitate towards furniture that we “absolutely must have” but is probably beyond our spending limit. It's fun to dream, but you need to keep your feet on the ground. Make a budget for each room to help pay attention to the dollars.

As we recover from the Holidays, it's hard to believe we need to start thinking about preparing our home for sale if we want to maximize its value in the spring selling season.

To capture the imagination of buyers who'll emerge from their hibernation this spring, you should start working now. 

Your efforts will return dividends: pristine properties are always the fastest to sell, no matter the market's mood. 

As an experienced agent in our neighborhood, I believe buyer confidence is likely to return as the winter chill gives way to the warmth and optimism of spring. 

It will be a new beginning, especially if the Federal Reserve eases back on the past 12 months of rate rises, as it has indicated.

For buyers, this could be an optimal time if they have an income to sustain the current mortgage costs. And as a seller, you know it only takes two competing buyers to push your sales price higher. 

Below are seven great ideas for preparing your home for a spring sale. 

Plan early

Make a realistic assessment of improvements required to get your property in tip-top condition. An agent should guide you on upgrades that attract buyer interest and those that won't. Don't waste money on work that buyers won't care about.

To-do list

Itemize each repair your home requires. You'll undoubtedly be able to do some of the jobs, but hire a contractor to undertake those requiring a certain skill level. Don't let amateur finishing undermine the value of your home at a critical time.

Major upgrades

Discuss with your agent whether it's worth investing in a new kitchen or remodeling your bathroom. While such renovations may push the price higher, will you get a return on investment? Your agent should help answer that question.

Deep clean

A significant undertaking, you may want to hire professional cleaners to go through your home from top to bottom. If you favor that course of action, book them so they'll complete the task just a few days before your property goes on the market. If you DIY, give yourself plenty of time.

Do a declutter

Ahead of the cleaning project, you should declutter like crazy. Buyers are looking for spacious living areas and bedrooms, and lots of storage space. If your home is full to the gills, now you have your excuse for a big throw-out.

Flower power

Remember, you're selling in spring, so make your garden a picture. Feed and mulch the flowerbeds to ensure your plants look their best. Consider buying colourful spring blooms to brighten the outside. Put your initial focus on the front yard to create a fabulous first impression.