source: iStockphoto

Fresh water is a precious resource. Even though Canada seems to have ample supplies, it accounts for only 7% of the planet’s renewable fresh water reserves. And just because those reserves are renewable, it doesn’t mean they’ll last forever. If we want our children, grandchildren and future generations to be able to benefit from this natural wealth, each of us has to do our share.

At home, there are many actions you can take to reduce how much water you use.

Indoors

The bathroom is the place in the home where the most water is used. Taking showers or baths and flushing toilets account for 65% of our consumption. It’s easy to cut down the quantity of water used in the bathroom by following these tips:

• Take showers instead of baths. A quick shower uses 50% less hot water, saving on both water and electricity!
• Turn the tap off while you’re brushing your teeth or shaving.
• Repair dripping faucets, which can waste up to 9,000 litres of water … in a single year!
• Don’t use the toilet bowl as a garbage disposal. Facial tissues, cigarettes and other debris should never be thrown into the toilet.
• Install a low-flow shower head.
• Place a bottle filled with water in the toilet tank to reduce the volume of water used for each flush.
• When replacing a toilet, opt for a model that uses only 6 litres per flush.

Kitchens are also culprits when it comes to wasting water. Consider these steps to reduce your consumption:

• Keep a jug of water in the fridge instead of letting the tap run until the water gets cold.
• Wash fruits and vegetables in a bowl or sink filled with water.
• Run the dishwasher only when it’s full.
• Let saucepans soak before washing them by hand.
• Install a low-flow tap aerator.

Outdoors

Sometimes it doesn’t take much to make a big difference. Saving fresh water outdoors is easy if you change a few of your habits.

• Water plants less often. Studies have shown that 50% of the water used for the lawn and outdoor plants is wasted. Plant material needs only about 2 to 3 cm of water per week.
• Spread a 5 to 7 cm layer of organic mulch in your flowerbeds.  The soil will remain more humid, requiring less watering.
• Set up a barrel under the eavestrough downspouts to recover rainwater, which is the best water for plants.
• Start grasscycling. By leaving your grass clippings on the ground after mowing your lawn, you’ll enable the ground to retain much of its humidity and provide 30% of its essential minerals.
• Don’t use a sprayer to clean up the yard. A good broom will do the job just fine!

Every Canadian uses an average of 329 litres of water every day but that quantity can be reduced considerably by avoiding waste. If you’d like to determine your actual water consumption, use the water use calculator from Environment Canada.

source: iStockphoto

Roger wonders how best to use his home renovation budget this year. He’d like to install a pool in the backyard with new landscaping and up-to-date garden furniture on a chic new patio. He thinks that would surely increase the resale value of his house, in addition to improving his family’s quality of life. After all, you only live once!

However, relaxing in his bathtub, he notices that the bathroom could use a makeover too. What should he do? If increasing the resale value of your home is an important consideration for you, installing a pool has no positive result. In fact, it can sometimes have the opposite effect.

According to CAA Quebec, kitchen and bathroom renovations yield the best return on investment. Same finding from the Association provinciale des constructeurs d’habitations du Québec.

The RENOVA study by the Appraisal Institute of Canada (AIC), cited by CAA Quebec, informs us that energy efficiency is an increasingly important factor in renovations with a high return on investment rate. Energy efficient doors and windows, a quality heating system and insulation meeting high standards are all profitable.

Your judgment is also a good guide. If the roof leaks, it’s best to prioritize its repair, even if that’s less profitable. The future buyer will appreciate a well-maintained home, even if the bathroom is less modern. It’s reassuring to see that the previous owner took care of his home, and by doing so, avoided problems and surprises that negligence could have caused.

So make sure that the electric, plumbing and heating systems work well and that basic structures such as the porch, steps and siding are in good shape.

Renovations like adding a garage, finishing the basement, new flooring and installing a fireplace also have an impact on a property’s resale value.

For more information, visit the CAA Quebec and APCHQ websites.

Amber Room by Jeanyvan (Wikipedia Commons)

We laughed at Indiana Jones at the time. It’s only a movie, we said, watching Raiders of the Lost Ark. Treasure hunters no longer exist. Archeologists searching for the Ark of the Covenant are pure fiction.

First off, it’s true that some archeologists still hope to get hold of the Ark of the Covenant—unless it was destroyed. They look for it without lassos or guns, but they still look for it.

Second, treasure hunters do indeed exist. And one of the most coveted treasures is the Amber Room. Why? Because six tonnes of rare amber covered the walls. What’s more, the amber panels were backed by gold leaf and mirrors.

Let’s travel back to the time of the Russian tsars. In 1701, a Prussian king ordered construction of the room for the Charlottenberg Palace. In 1716, as a political move, he gave it as a gift to Tsar Peter the Great, who decided to increase the splendor of the room with additional work. Finished in 1755, the Amber Room was moved from the winter palace to the summer palace, near Saint Petersburg.

The Amber Room was so lavish and luxurious that a British ambassador in Russia described it as the eighth wonder of the world. The room became one of the country’s treasures, and Russians were very proud of it.

The October Revolution rocked the country in 1917, but the Amber Room remained intact despite much looting. During World War ll, the Soviets, aware of the Nazi appetite for art, tried to dismantle the 55 square metres of panels before the Nazis arrived in 1941. The task was impossible however because the dry amber had started to crumble. The Soviets then hid the amber behind wallpaper, but the subterfuge didn’t work. Hitler ordered his men to remove the room’s panels, an operation which required 36 hours. The Amber Room was moved to the Königsberg Castle in Germany, where it was the subject of an exhibition.

Toward the end of the war, the Soviets crossed into Germany and attacked the Nazis in Königsberg. Of course they wanted to recover the walls of their famous room. During the intense fighting and shelling, the Soviets entered the castle and discovered that the Amber Room was gone. One of the world’s singular treasures had vanished!

Soviets, treasure hunters and historians all began searching for the room. At various times it was believed to be found in a castle in the Saxony region of Germany, in a salt mine in Poland and in a shipwreck in the Baltic Sea.  All for naught: debris was found, but not the panels.

Tired of searching, the Russians began reconstructing the room from photographs, drawings and watercolours. The colossal undertaking was completed in 2003 after a quarter of a century. The facing photo shows the reconstructed Amber Room.

Investigative journalists Catherine Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy conducted a lengthy investigation into the possible whereabouts of the room. Their conclusion was that the Amber Room was destroyed in a fire in the Königsberg Castle after the Germans surrendered. All the same, some still dream of finding it, even if the possibility is practically nil.

Note: Amber is a fossilized plant resin; it is not a mineral (from the ground).

References:

Le saviez-vous? Sélection du Reader’s Digest, Mille et une histoires vraies et insolites 1992, 384 pages.

Wikipedia: Amber Room

Thriller de Jérôme Bucy, La chambre d’ambre, Belfond, 286 pages, Paris 2008.

Photo: Jeanyfan (Wikipedia Commons)

source: iStockphoto

Did you notice the many drawers in the lower cabinets? The European trend toward horizontal lines is increasingly popular in Quebec. There are more drawers for storage, whether as cabinets or inside a pantry. This increases storage and provides access to the drawer’s contents at a single glance. No more looking for a plastic container lid in a low cabinet. Your back and your knees will thank you!  

Horizontal cabinets can be used everywhere or for select spaces. You can choose to keep vertical doors for upper cabinets and drawers for lower ones, like in the photo. If you go for a horizontal look for the top, there are doors that give the impression that there are two horizontal doors when really there’s only one, which can be folded up. They give easy access to a cabinet’s contents. Moreover, it’s easy to unfold them when they’re raised.

Door and drawer handles, applied crosswise, reinforce the horizontal look. A ceramic backsplash can also work in the same sense. In a rectangular form, it contributes to the whole by giving the feeling of height. The tiles can be a single colour or stand out through a colour accent inserted in a straight line within a more neutral colour. With the impression of space that your kitchen gives off, you may be more inclined to pass from the horizontal lines of your bedroom to those of your kitchen!

Photo : iStockphoto LP

References: Décormag et Canal Vie

Source: iStockphoto LP

The first thing that comes to mind when you think of pre-finished panelling are the brown-groove imitation-wood panels that still cover many walls. Vestige of a bygone era? What do you do with it? Remove it? Reuse it?

Walls that are finished with this material use grooves, wood or plastic baseboards and door and window frames.

If you want to reuse this panelling, be careful when removing the nails (dry wood breaks easily). Then it’s up to you to decide if you want to reuse them in a pantry or other fairly hidden space.

You are now ready to remove the prefinished panels.

Handle the panels with care and wear work gloves: the edges of this material make excellent slivers.

Once you remove them, make sure no finishing nails were left behind on the studs that make up the framework.

In some cases, it’s the perfect opportunity to improve the insulation and make sure the vapour barrier is airtight on the outside walls.

Now that the walls have been stripped, you can now refinish them with plaster board or any other material.

But to save money or our environment: reuse!

There are several ways to reuse prefinished panelling.

Paint it, by following three easy steps:

• Sand the surface to improve adherence
• Wash the surface to remove the dust
• Apply an alkyd primer

If you want to eliminate the grooves that give the panelling an uneven look, you can either fill in the grooves or turn the panels around so that the grooves face the wall.

• Fill in the grooves

Using good wood filler, a plaster spatula and a lot of patience, you can easily even out the surface by filing in the grooves. Once the product is dry, sand the entire surface using fine-grain sandpaper. Then paint it (preferably with oil-based paint for better adherence).

• Turn the panels around

With a little more work, this is option is just as good since you can reuse the panels without having to do any mudding. Simply remove the panels and turn them around so that the flat surface is facing you. A good sanding will make the surface ready to paint. At worst, you may have to do a bit of mudding.

In any case, regardless of the solution, prefinished panels are completely reusable.

Photo: iStockphoto LP

Today, in addition to higher quality wallpaper, the choice of patterns and textures is endless. So what are the trends for 2013?

According to Chatelaine, there’s a return to murals. This is an entire wall covered by a landscape or an image, such as a view of the earth taken from a space shuttle. They’re ideal for giving depth to a room with less light or a lower ceiling, writes Josée Hivon (La Presse).

Graphic designs are also much sought after. They may recall the 1950s with their curves, squares or other geometric shapes, or take us back to the ‘70s with a little psychedelic element in the pattern. Vivid colours are trendy too. If you prefer more sober colours, black and white is very popular.

Source: iStockphoto LP

Wallpaper with the appearance of feline fur or crocodile skin is among the trends. It may even have raised patterns to make it seem more realistic. Colour-wise, natural hues create a chic atmosphere while original tones like red or blue pack more punch.

Source: iStockphoto LP

Traditional patterns like flowers and stripes are modernized by using updated colours. There are also plenty of metallic inserts in stripes, such as gold and silver. Paisley, the well-loved arabesque pattern, nearly timeless, is found in many catalogues in chic or in vibrant colours. The trend is to add inlays of mother of pearl or crystal.

What’s really amazing is wallpaper with a padded appearance! Its three-dimensional aspect is very realistic and adds great effect to a headboard or on a door. You’ll reach out your hand to make sure it’s not an optical illusion.

Among patterns inspired by nature, wallpaper imitating silk adds lightness to a room, whereas wallpaper that simulates leather, stone or metal creates a more contemporary atmosphere. Bamboo is also represented and can be charming due to its natural and textured aspect.

Given all these possibilities, you’ll be spoiled for choice—like a kid in a candy store.

References : Châtelaine ; La Presse

Photos: iStockphoto LP

Source: iStockphoto LP

The construction of intergenerational homes has not experienced its expected popularity. Condominiums have mesmerized investors in recent years, at the expense of rental properties. However, senior citizens are omnipresent, and numerous. And do you know what? Their numbers are increasing every year. We haven’t seen anything yet.

Are you thinking of investing in real estate? The senior citizen housing market is a prime category. But you have to know the preferences of retirees and future retirees and how to adapt to them.

The needs of a senior couple living in a rural area are certainly not the same as those of a couple living in a big city like Montreal or Quebec. The couple in the countryside live in a homogenous environment with limited public services. Their needs are therefore elementary. The urban couple has a multitude of choices for locations and services. The question is, what exactly do they want?

In addition, most baby boomers don’t want to live in senior citizen residences. They want to live at home as long as possible. Of course, they’ll have to move to a senior’s centre if they lose their autonomy one day. In the meantime, they need to make adjustments to their own homes. Savvy investors will be there to meet these needs.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has just updated its Housing for Older Canadians: The Definitive Guide to the Over-55 Market publication. The first volume of a series is now available, entitled Understanding the Market. For investors, this is an extremely useful guide.

What’s particularly interesting about the document is that the CMHC emphasizes cultural communities. Canada is a country made up of immigrants, and that’s not about to change given the low birth rate. So investors have to take into account the preferences of immigrants.

For example, do investors know that certain immigrants prefer living downtown? Others however like suburbs. The CMHC advises investors to join community organizations in order to understand immigrants’ needs and preferences.

Other CMHC volumes deal with market analysis, planning and designing projects for senior housing, and services and amenities that investors need to consider.

Interested? You can download the document at www.cmhc.ca

Photo: iStockphoto LP

All of that thanks to construction on stilts (piles).

Carole and her daughter Catherine, a future anthropologist, returned from their trip to Kenya totally amazed. They brought back this photo of Sarova Salt Lick Game Lodge where they stayed during their trip to Africa. Do you know who built this unusual hotel? Hilton International—back in 1972!

Built on wood piles, the hotel allows tourists to observe the comings-and-goings of African animals without having to go on safari. The animals come to drink from a source located nearby. No harm is caused to the wildlife because the hotel does not block the natural migration routes.

Source: Casarazzi

The region visited by Carole and Catherine is called Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary. It’s southeast of Kenya, some 200 kilometres from the Indian Ocean and not far from the border of Tanzania. Kilimanjaro rises on the horizon.

The technique of construction on stilts was originally designed to allow human beings to be free from danger: wild animals, natural disasters, spongy soil. It dates back to prehistoric times. In recent times, the tourism industry quickly understood the commercial potential of this ancestral technique. Buildings on stilts flourish everywhere in the world for tourism operations, especially on lakeshores.

If bungalows on wood stilts allow you to enjoy the ocean in all its glory in Bora Bora, what’s it like to rise above the ground to fully savour Africa? Perhaps you have to live the experience to really feel it.

To give us a glimmer of the sensation, author Pattie Boyd describes the memory of her childhood years in Africa: I loved Kenya. I loved the vast sky, the scenery that had no beginning or end, the incredible sensation of space and the sky, at night, full of stars that looked so close you could almost touch them. Lying on my bed, I listened to the night sounds… But what enchants me most about Africa is the smell. The smell of peppers, wild herbs, heat and dust. The combination is unforgettable. Every time I return to Kenya—something I do often as an adult—the smell I breathe in takes me back to my childhood.

References:

Majestueux Kenya, collection Club Méditerranée, Michel and Christine Denis-Huot, Éditions Atlas, 127 pages. Paris.

Wikipedia: Sarova Salt Lick Game Lodge

Wikipedia (French) for the article on stilts (piles).

Boyd, Pattie; Junor, Penny (2007). Wonderful Today: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me. Headline Publishing Group

Photo: Casarazzi.

George Harrison. Photo : Steve Mathieson (Wikipedia)

We’ve often heard of filmmakers and producers who mortgage their homes to complete their oft-dreamed-about movie. Financing is a chronic problem in the art world. But for a musician to mortgage his home to see a movie that an experienced producer declares a big risk? Pretty rare indeed!

Here’s the story.

Perhaps you recognized him.  It’s George Harrison, of the Beatles.

At the beginning of the 70s, a group of comedians is all the rage in England. They’re called Monty Python. The humour is caustic, absurd and satiric—in short, typical British humour. George Harrison loves them. He even developed friendships with some of them.

These comedians become known through a television show: Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Then the group forays into the cinema, and they’re a big success.

The first films were well received. In 1978, Monty Python finishes writing the screenplay of their most recent movie, Life of Brian. The production cost comes to several million dollars.

The financial backers read the scenario and start to panic. They think the comedians went too far in their satire of religion, since the screenplay attacks religious beliefs. They break their promise to finance the film—and shooting is scheduled to begin the following week!

Monty Python is in the lurch.

When he finds out, George Harrison comes to their assistance. There’s no question of stopping everything! He wants to see this movie. He creates a company called Handmade Films and decides to mortgage his house. Not only to help his friends, but also because he wanted to see the movie—whatever the cost may be.

Monty Python comedian Terry Jones says: “It’s surely the most expensive movie ticket in all of the history of cinema.”

Source: iStockphoto LP

Harrison’s act was even more astonishing given that he had devoted over four years of his life—and millions of dollars—to restoring his immense property: Friar Park in Henley County. The musician set up a cutting edge recording studio and many gardens that he lovingly tended to.

The Monty Python movie was an international success, despite the fact it was censored in certain countries and criticized by many religious movements.

Harrison later financed other films, including more from Monty Python.

References : Entertainment.time.com ; Independent.co.uk ; Wikipedia articles Life of Brian and George Harrisson.

Photos : iStockphoto LP and Steve Mathieson (Wikipedia – Wikimedia Commons. Permission: CC-BY-SA)

Source: iStockphoto LP

The Tax-Free Savings Account (TSFA) is frequently recommended to young people as the savings vehicle of choice if they earn a low income at the start of their careers. As a result, these young people have a low deduction rate for an RRSP contribution, so it is better for them to contribute to a TFSA. Later, when they are earning more, it will be more advantageous for them to transfer the money from their TFSA to an RRSP.

But when it comes to buying a home, should these young people transfer the money they have accumulated in their TFSA to an RRSP[1] and use the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) strategy?

A number of options when buying a home

Imagine the following situation of Vincent. He has accumulated a TFSA worth $16,250. When it comes time to buy a home, Vincent will have to make a choice between borrowing a certain amount of money or using the money he invested in his TFSA and putting it into an RRSP to then use it for the HBP.

In all cases, Vincent has an annual budget of $2,364 that he can allocate between the loan repayment, HBP repayment and a TFSA contribution, depending on the choice he makes.

The following table summarizes three possible scenarios:

Assumption: The tax rate is 35%. We have assumed a 4% rate of return and a 5% borrowing rate. Each scenario is based on an amount of $25,000 over a 15-year period.

In the first scenario, Vincent chooses to not use his TFSA to buy his home. He thus borrows $25,000. Over a 15-year period, the amount represents an annual mortgage payment of $2,364.

In the second scenario, Vincent decides to use the money in his TFSA to buy a home and borrows the remaining balance of $8,750 (in order to get to the full amount of $25,000 as illustrated in the example).

Over a 15-year period, the loan represents an annual mortgage repayment of $828. He can also contribute $1,536 to his TFSA.

In the third scenario, Vincent opts to withdraw the money in his TFSA and transfer it to an RRSP. By reinvesting the tax refund at a 35% rate, his initial contribution of $16,250 will allow him to accumulate $25,000 in his RRSP. After a 90-day wait period, he can use his RRSP for the HBP.

Over a 15-year period, Vincent does not have to make any mortgage repayment (since he did not take out a loan to make up the $25,000). He must repay his HBP at a rate of $1,667 a year. The money left over in his budget –$697– can be invested in a TFSA.

The chart below illustrates the accumulated savings after the 15^th year (at the end of the HBP repayment period).

Remember that in the first scenario Vincent’s choice did not allow him to invest each year, but the $16,250 that was invested in the TFSA has grown.

In the second scenario, Vincent was able to invest $1,536 annually in his TFSA for 15 years, which has also increased in value.

In the third scenario, Vincent was able to invest $1,667 annually in his RRSP for 15 years (to repay his HBP) as well as make 15 contributions of $697 to his TFSA each year.

The chart thus shows that the third scenario is the most attractive, made possible by the creation of the TFSA.

Speak with your advisor

Of course, the best person to advise you on the various strategies when it comes time to become a homeowner is your advisor. Do not hesitate to make an appointment. He or she will help you see the big picture!

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