You’ve been thinking about it for a few years, but you wanted to make sure you were well prepared before making such a major investment. If you’re ready to become a homeowner, you have several options. For first-time home buyers or those who have gone more than five years without owning a home,[1] one option is the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP).

What is the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP)?

The Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) is an attractive solution for assembling a down payment. This federal government program lets you withdraw money from your registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) for the sole purpose of buying or building a home for yourself or for a relative with a disability, whether they are your spouse, child, or other member of your family. The program allows you to withdraw up to $25,000.

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What happens next? [……]

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As we explained in the article Refinement and Elegance, Art Deco took off after the Great War (1914-1918). To give people hope, an illusion of happiness and prosperity had to be created. It had to be seen everywhere, even on skyscrapers with their heads in the clouds.

Art Deco buildings give the illusion that they are higher than they actually are. It’s because the windows are high and the guidelines of the façade are vertical. Keep in mind that this is the late 20s and early 30s. The Great War crushed the human spirit. Verticality symbolizes momentum towards a new life and prosperity. Human beings were picking themselves up.[……]

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Renovation and restoration, two words that go together. Especially if you have a fun project where you can combine the useful and the pleasant.

Antique shops are often good places to find material that was previously used in a house. Most of the time it can be had at very little cost. The problem is finding the quantity you need to complete a project.

Here’s an idea that consists in recycling old wooden shutters into big pot holders or flower boxes to decorate your yard in summer.[……]

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Do you like comfort, order and elegance? Take an Art Deco tour. You will find yourself in a world of luxury and prestige and you will come back with a head full of ideas.

A little history. The Great War (1914-1918) just ended. So much blood, so much death! Europe is traumatized. People need their spirits uplifted. They have to be convinced that happiness is coming.

In France, hundreds of thousands of homes destroyed by the war must be rebuilt. The ones that are still standing need a lot of work. Everything has to be redone. During this time, thousands of farmers are leaving the devastated countryside to live in Paris. Things have to be done fast, but what to do?

Industrials and artists at the time focus on a style that was born just before the war: Art Deco. It also lends itself well to new technologies and mass production in factories.[……]

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A growing number of Canadians are buying a second a home. Given the current state of affairs at the global level, many people who live in the city are dreaming of getting away from it all in a more peaceful setting, while others who live far from the lights of the big city are looking for a place closer to the action.

Even though a second home is often referred to simply as a vacation property, the decision to buy should never be taken lightly because there are some major factors to consider.

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Downpayment is only the beginning

Buying a property means that your borrowing capacity will have to be evaluated and you will need to draw up a detailed budget. There are a number of other factors to take into account when buying a second home. After all, you’ll probably be spending less time in your second home than in your primary residence but you’ll still be faced with the maintenance costs and other expenses associated with home ownership. For example, you have to cover taxes, insurance, heating, electricity, water as well as possible renovations, seasonal upkeep and transportation. All of those expenses are in addition to what you’re already spending on your primary residence!

As you can see, before you start looking for the ideal location or the property of your dreams, you should take a close look at your budget to see whether you can afford all the costs that will be involved in owning a second home.

Here are some important budget items to think about:[……]

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How would you feel about adding a family member? All you have to do is adopt it. It’s a small robot with amazing capabilities that will proudly provide you with service at home. You can operate it using a remote control, your iPhone or digital tablet. Utopia and an old promise from the 60s? Read the following story. Your owner imagination will probably take off.

Once upon a time there was a small robot called a drone. It was an airplane without a human pilot that could be remotely controlled from the ground or by a flight program on the ground. The drone became known around the world for its military use. The Americans use many of them in their wars. They are nicknamed Barack Obama’s drones.

Visionaries zeroed in on the drone’s capabilities in civilian life. The little robot was already taking aerial photos. Real estate brokers use the drone to photograph deluxe homes in Los Angeles and Toronto. Practitioners of extreme sports will soon be able to film their exploits with a drone behind them that can fly up to 70 km/hour.

Drones do inspection and evaluation work in fields for farmers. Drainage drones will save Canadian municipalities thousands of dollars to renovate infrastructures.

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Sylvie enjoyed the lounge style. She wore coloured clothing that reflected the ambient light. It was like a thousand lights reflecting off a plastic surface. She also had a weakness for vinyl handbags. They also reflected a thousand shimmering lights.

Sylvie liked lounges. Not just for the decor, but also for the ambience and the easy listening music. A renter, given her age, Sylvie promised herself that she would have a lounge in her first house. The living room, the bedroom, the kitchen, the bathroom—it didn’t matter which one.

To create a lounge atmosphere worthy of a bar, it has to be soft, cool, relaxed. It has to make you feel like sitting back, relaxing and talking.

There is lounge glamour, highlighted by classic elegance, as seen in movies of the 40s and 50s with Humphrey Bogart and Ava Gardner. Piano bar, dark colours, deluxe decor.

The ludic lounge appeared in the 60s. It’s almost science fiction decor. Bright colours, odd shapes, omnipresent light. Everything is flashy and chic.[……]

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