There are many great reasons to love this town, it's not limited to this list of course, but it's worth a read if you’re looking for a great reason to live here!

1. Water - A common thing among southern Alberta towns is a water restriction during some months, High River has fewer of these (due in part, to the High River we have).

2. Great downtown - Might be a touch controversial, but I like the layout of downtown. Everything is easy to get to from one parking spot, and there are a lot of great businesses to visit (see #10). The controversial part is that after the 2013 floods, the town had downtown renovated to have a more walkable feel and fewer parking spots, this left a lot of people upset. There is still plenty of parking along 1st Street, you just may need to walk a touch longer, and the few stalls we do have left on the avenues are accessible enough for folks with mobility issues. 

3. Affordable homes - Affordable being a spectrum of course, but when compared to surrounding areas, for all the amenities and home design diversity, it's a pretty darn great place to get a home!

4. Our hospital - Such a great hospital! You can find parking easily, its small enough to get around easily, and everyone there is so incredibly nice. Either for welcoming a newborn or providing care for already established families, the hospital here in town is amazing. It is where my daughter was born, I know I had the easy part of the whole birthing process, but the team there was absolutely amazing. Some of the beds you see on the 2nd and 3rd floor are a little more dated, but that is easily made up for by amazing staff and the attention to detail that they provide. 

5. Small town vibe, big town amenities - High River is quite easy to traverse from one end to the other, whether you walk, bike, or drive. Being that easy to traverse, usually means that you lack amenities, however, in this case we have just about everything you need, groceries, convenience stores, cafes, food, and shops! 

6. Quiet - so so quiet, I love it here. I can bike around and at times rarely see a car, and parking is always available if I need to drive, and being able to hang out outside without hearing much road noise is a massive plus. 

7. Incredibly supportive community and town spirit - lots of towns support their small businesses, High River thrives around them! On our Rant and Rave Facebook pages, you will also see so much excitement for new businesses, and afterwards constant posts raving about them. Local businesses are not a passive thing however, you do need to support and nourish them (even if it is just sharing their post, or occasionally stopping in for a coffee). 

8. Public events - there is always something to do! Whether you go to the library for one of their events, a local business for a craft day, or one of the many repeating events around town! 

9. Accessibility and welcoming for everyone - When we moved here, we were almost immediately accepted into the community. Our neighbour was standing at the base of our driveway saying “Hi!” before we even got the first box into the door, and where else can you have a genuine conversation with the folks at the grocery store? Among that as well, we have some great Accessibility programs (such as Inclusion Foothills, who strive for accessibility for all).

10. Diversity in small business - Lots of towns have small businesses, so do most cities, however for density of selection, High River is hard to beat. We have tons of selection, from One Stop Shops, to Bookstores, bakeries, a shop to get pop culture stuff, cafes, candy shops, all within a few minute walk of each other. 

If you still don’t see a great reason for you to live here, give me a call, and I will talk your ear off about some of the other great stuff this town can offer! And if I have convinced you to move here, drop me a line and I’d love to make that dream a reality!

As much as we may want to delay it, the end of summer is nigh. Best to take care of a few housekeeping items before it gets too cold outside. Here is a quick list of things you can do to prepare your home for the winter (your future self will thank you!). 

Cleaning

Cleaning the small stuff now will help your spring and winter go better. 

• Clean out your Air Conditioner (gently!). A leaf blower or a garden hose should be all you need to get the fins all cleaned off. Don’t forget to cover it when you are done so all your hard work isn’t for naught. 

• Gutters. Clean them out to allow good flow of meltwater off your roof, double check that your downspout extensions work and are not threatening to fall off. 

• Shut off and drain your outside lines if you can, this will help prevent them from freezing up. 

• Trim up the plants outside so that they are ready for the winter nap. 
  

Repairs and Maintenance

Don’t let home issues get too big! Stuff is easy and cheap to fix when it is caught early. 

• Weather-stripping. Cheap, easy to replace, and keeps your home cooler! Check your doors, garage door, windows, make sure there are no sizeable gaps. Might as well check your attic hatch while you’re at it. 

• Have your furnace professionally serviced. You don’t want this crapping out in the dead of winter. Stock up on filters too! 

• Test your thermostat, and give it some fresh batteries if it uses them.

• Caulking. Make sure that the caulking around any exterior penetrations is up to snuff, if the caulking is torn, it can let heat out, or moisture in, neither are ideal. 

Shopping and Preparation

Time to stock up! 

• Sand or Snow Melt (quick note on snow melt, avoid using it on concrete steps and patios, it can lead to that ugly chipping and cracking you sometimes see)

• Are your shovels going to susrvive the winter? Check on them

• Furnace Filters

Prefer an easy to use checklist? Download your Fall Home Maintenance Checklist below!

Need some know-how to get this all done? I’ve got a playlist for most of your home maintenance needs right here!

Hope this helps! Got questions? Reach out to me below! 

Nick Salmon

403-472-8325

soldbysalmon@gmail.com

Well, here comes the cold again! 

Wait? What do you mean we still have time? Why am I typing this blog post instead of doing something? Oh right, so I can help folks out with their summer plans. 

I hope you’ve been enjoying summer so far! Beautiful things don’t last, and neither will our weather, so here are some things to do in and around High River before the summer season is over. 

• Splash Park: Our pool is still closed, so this may be your best option to have fun in the water this summer! It is a great place to cool off, tire the kids out, and get some sun. 

• Pump Track:  Tired of hollering at the kids to stay on the bike path or sidewalk? The pump track will be a great place for them to burn off some of that wild energy, and as long as everyone is going the direction of traffic, collisions are unlikely to happen. 

• Brian Chipchase Sr Memorial Car Show, September 27: One of the largest car shows in Alberta, if you are a gearhead (like yours truly), you have to check it out. Also, they section off one of the streets in town the day before to have a BURNOUT competition. I hear you, “But Nick, isn’t September already past the end of summer?” Yes, yes it is, in my time going to the car show, we’ve only been snowed out once! Pack for the car show like you pack for a day trip to the mountains, zip-off pants that can be used as shorts, wool sweater, breatheable T-Shirt, and a Toque that double as a sun hat. 

• George Lane Park: The flexibility of this park constantly amazes me, they will set up a Car Show here one day, have live music in the gazebo another, and always have it looking immaculate. There is also a massive playground for your kids, I was a free range child, and the height on some of these had me going “woah”. If you want to go camping close to home (or if you are visiting, and if you are, Hi! Welcome to town!), they have a campground set up and ready to work as your launchpad to our beautiful downtown. 

  • Here is where you can find some details on the Music in the Park! 

• Heritage Day Celebration at Sheppard Family Park: A great way to spend the day outdoors, you can see some live music, walk the greenspace, watch a blacksmith forge a horseshoe, enjoy lunch. 

• High River Book Bike: Every summer, the High River Library runs the book bike around town to help bring books closer to folks, and make the library more accessible on those hot days you do not want to leave the house. 

• Hitchin Post: Enjoy a burger and milkshake while you do some people (or car) watching at this High River Icon. They usually close late December, so you have plenty of time to check them out! 

• Walk, Run, or Bike the Happy Trails: Our 19km pathway system around town, it will take you just about anywhere in town, and is lovely to walk along.  

• High River Half Marathon September 12: With all proceeds going towards FAIM (Foothills Advocacy In Motion), this is a great excuse to dust off the running shoes for a good cause. There are options for a kids run, 5K, 10K, and the Half Marathon. See you there! 

• High River Farmer’s Market: Every Thursday until September 17th. Great place to pick up some local produce, or grab artisan goods from local artists and makers. 

• Fishing: Want to tell a tale about a fish that was “THIS BIG!”? High River has some fantastic fishing spots, with both river and lake options. Emerson Lake is a stocked lake. Not sure where to get started? Visit Flys Etc. in High River for all your fishing needs!

• Golfing at the Highwood Golf Course! I don’t have much experience golfing, so here is a fun tangental story: My brothers and I built a potato cannon when we were younger. We were trying to be safe about it while we held it like a bazooka, so we had to figure out a way to warn the neighbours and each other that we were about to fire it. So we settled on yelling “FORE” before pressing the BBQ Sparker. 

By no means is this an exhaustive list, there are a few other places you can find what is going on, see below! 

High River Online Community Events Calendar

Town Of High River Events Calendar

What is Happening in High River | Facebook Page

Love what you read here, and want to move to High River? Reach out to me here! 

Just curious about what is for sale in High River? You can take a look below:

Detached Homes

Semi Detached Homes

Townhomes and Apartments

What is my home worth?

So, you’ve decided to get into the market, whatever your situation, renting, leaving home, finding a new city, you will probably need a place to live. Maybe you aren’t looking to rent this time? How do you enter the market with limited finances? We will take a look at a few of your options below! This is by no means all encompassing or cut and dry, your situation may differ, but these are just some quick ideas for you. 

There is no silver bullet to affording a home, it is a lot of little things that will add up in the end. 

1. Think smaller; Rome wasn’t built in a day, your dream home probably won’t be either. There is also something liberating about a smaller space, less to clean, less to keep warm or cool, and therefore, less to pay for. There are a lot of great 1 or 2 bedroom options out there, usually they will come as part of a condominium, so those fees are automatically used for some insurance, improvements, and utilities, potentially saving you some money. 

2. What do you need in a Condo? Try to avoid condos that offer bells and whistles, pools and gyms are expensive to maintain, so your fees will be higher as a result. Make sure you know exactly what your condo fees cover as well, if they are suspiciously low, make sure you review the condo docs and/or get a condo document review. Maybe the condo doesn’t cover exterior maintenance, and that is where they found cost savings? 

3. Saving Up: 

   1. The Latte Factor; Hasn’t been relevant in some time, assuming you have a large latte from the Seattle Company every day, that costs $6 a day, roughly $2,100 a year. For a down payment alone, you need 5%, let’s assume you are looking at a $250K condo, your down payment needs to be $12,500, plus closing costs. You’d have to go nearly 6 years without your traditional morning latte to work. However, constantly eating your meals out will tank your ability to purchase, best case scenario you’re spending $10 a meal, that $10-$30 a day is better spent grabbing ingredients for meals. All that being said, save where you can, and support a local coffee roaster for $18 for a 454g bag of coffee that will last you 2 weeks. 

   2. Staying home for as long as you can: Assuming your family doesn’t charge you rent, or if they do give you a good deal, you are going to save a lot of money. Put the money that you’d be otherwise spending on rent into savings for your down payment. 

   3. Chat with your bank, maybe pitch that money you’re saving from not eating out into a savings account. A financial advisor is going to be able to help you out, usually, your bank will allow you to chat with one for free. Financial advisors at banks are more like financial salespeople, they are going to try to get you into an account, which depending on your situation can be a good idea. If you want to go to an outside-of-the-bank advisor, you will have to pay for a chat and advice, but they may not try to sell you something. 

4. Close Friends or Partners: Got someone you want to move in with? This might be a great reason to do just that, pool your resources to nab a slightly larger place to accommodate you both. It may not be best to have you both on as purchasers, depending on financial situation, credit scores, etc. One of you may be better to be the purchaser, and the other, the tenant. Basically renting out a room to your bestie. 

5. No Money Down Mortgages: These do not exist anymore, they were banned in 2008, I suggest reading up on the 2008 Financial Crisis for why. Why did I mention them if they aren’t a thing? Because if I don’t mention it, someone may give you outdated information about them. 
   

Will all of these tips work for you? Probably not, everyone has a different situation going on, so I won’t pretend that it’s going to be all peaches and unicorns saving up for your first place, you may have to give up on a few hobbies or luxuries to help this next step along. No matter your situation, there is help and advice out there that will work for you, it is up to you to take on that next step.

So you’ve accepted an offer with a home inspection, what’s next? Time to get ready and have your home put it’s best foot forward! In a perfect world, this was all done before listing, but we live in a world where Firefly only got one season, so here we are. 

A lot of these fixes seem tiny, but this is all about optics. The scariest home inspection reports are the long ones, buyers start fretting about every item (rightfully), and see the scope of work that needs done to make the home right again. It’s death by a thousand cuts, except it’s the home you’re trying to sell. Compared to the inspections that have only a couple of big items, these long lists can be intimidating. 

By making this segmented, hopefully it helps provide you with an achievable to do list that can be done relatively quick. I’m going to break it down by price, so that depending on the situation you have a better idea about what can or cannot be done.

Before taking any of these on however, it is important that you do a little self-evaluation; is this something you can, or want to do? Will your unwillingness to do this impact the quality of your work? If you don’t know how to do something, you can either learn to do it, or hire someone. A lot of these are pretty straightforward, however, there is nothing wrong with hiring someone. It will cost you a little bit more, but you will save time, and usually have a higher quality product at the end. 

Just something to consider. 

Under $200

Under $200

The cheap and easy, these are my favourite repairs. 

Price isn’t everything, these relatively cheap fixes will help your home show better. Buyers will be more attracted to a home that is obviously well maintained. It is unlikely these items will get negotiated on, however, if the buyer sees these items and the more expensive one, they may just want a bulk price reduction.

1. Replace your Furnace Filter. In most cases, no higher than MERV 8, higher than that can cause undue stress on your system. $13 (2 pack)

2. Windows and Screen. Make sure your windows all open and close, repair any torn bug screens $6 (patch kit)

3. Caulking. Dryrotten or torn caulking gets caught by just about every home inspector. $15 for Caulk, $9 for scraper/spreader, $10 for the caulk gun. This is the one task I will usually hire out for my own home. 

4.  Receptacle and switch face plates. Make sure they’re all protected. $2-$10

5. Smoke Detectors. If this is expired, you should replace it anyways for safety. $40 each

6. Clogged Drains. You can snake them, or hire someone to do that, because it can be nasty. $19 for a Drain Snake (tool)

7. Leaky Shower Heads. Sometimes it is as simple as tightening the screw, or taking the head off and applying some plumbers tape. Worst case scenario, you have to replace it. $2-$50

Under $500

Little pricier, little bit more of a important part. These items may get flagged as something the buyer should do sooner rather than later, so can impact negotiations.

1. Duct Cleaning - this is different from furnace cleaning, duct cleaning is for the ducts and clears out dust, pet dander, and any toys dropped in the ducts. Furnace cleaning is for the mechanical portion of the furnace. $200+

2. Have your furnace and fireplace serviced. $200 for the Technician’s time, sometimes $200 for parts (most of the fixes I’ve seen done were around $70 for the part). If they find out you need a new furnace, this cost will obviously balloon into the thousands. It is better to find out about it now, rather than scare off the buyer. 

3. Hire a handyman to do all of the under $200 items

4. Electrical. Got some broken or loose plugs, maybe an exterior light that had a high-speed interaction with a basketball? Get them fixed! 

5. Sump Pump. Does it work? Less important, but helpful when the inspector catches it - do you have a spare pump ready to install? 

Under $5,000

These are the big items that buyers may negotiate on.

Woah big price jump! Homes are a bit of an all or nothing when it comes to time and money, it’s either a cheap fix, or not. Because these can also vary a lot more, I won’t be adding prices, sorry! 

1. Exterior Repairs. Now is the time to fix that loose piece of siding, or the soffit that flew away. 

2. Grading. Your home doesn’t need new weeping tile and latest water control technology to control the water around your home, you need to fix the grading so the water flows away from the home. 

3. Windows. Do you see condensation in your window? Maybe a big ugly crack? Might be time to replace it. 

4. Roofing. Is it due to be replaced? Maybe some shingles need reaffixed. 

If this seems like a lot of work, that’s because it is. It is better to spread these items out over the span of a couple months (ideally, as soon as they become a problem, or in the months before you list your home). You’ll notice that a lot of these items would be a pain to get done before the possession date, so these are way better to get done before you even list. It will help your home stand out against the competition.