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D2 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday.December 29, 1999 Oakville Beaver - Real Estate Today's future-savvy house hunters FRANCES WEDLAKE ne hundred years ago, electrici ty in a home was quite the sell ing feature. N ow adays, "All M od C ons" m eans a lot m ore than basic u tilities and a w ashing m achine. Canadian hom e ow ners in the new cen tury face an inform ation-hungry world o f dw in d lin g natural reso u rces and increasingly expensive energy. Homes that have been built, restored and reno vated to reflect these changes are more likely to find a ready m arket. Some buyers are already getting future-savvy and are asking these question: O H ow wired are you ? This has become an essential question for any home-hunter. Being "connected" is going to be part of human existence from now on. Potential buyers used to look in kitchens to see if there were sufficient electrical outlets. Now they want to see where they can plug in their computers. With a generation of com put er-raised kids coming o f age, buyers are going to be looking for new century homes that have electrical, phone and cable outlets in alm ost every room. W hat are y o u r recycling fa cilities like? Garbage disposal in the new century will be focused on one activity: recycling. With speculation that fees may be imposed for dom estic garbage collection, it will be in every household e r's interest to reduce the volume o f their garbage and to increase the am ount o f recyclable m aterials they put out for col lection. Recycling should be easy, so look for a home that has sufficient space to easily store paper, glass, aluminum and plas tic items prior to being picked up or taken to a central recycling location. If you are looking for a home with a garden, bear in mind that alm ost all food waste is suitable for disposal in a composter. Some m unicipalities even provide odourless indoor compost kits in which worms do all the work by reducing food waste to nutritious mulch suitable for indoor plants! Do yo u have any solar panels? A home with solar panels can mean significantly lower energy bills, so d o n 't hesitate to ask current homeowners about their m onthly expenses. Using solar power as an alternative energy source is not ju st for tropical climates. Solar panels can be used effectively year round in Canada to augm ent existing sources o f power. Flexible solar pan els are now so technologically advanced that they can har ness pow er from the sun and from any available light on cloudy days. Solar panels are expensive, but as energy costs for your hom e are likely to increase in the future, these panels are becom ing increasingly cost-effective. Solar w ater heating panels are also a worthwhile addition to a new hom e. They com prise row s o f thin tubes that can be placed on a south-facing wall or roof for maximum exposure to light and solar heat. These panels use a heat exchange process to concentrate solar radiation into ther mal energy which is then transferred to the heating coil in your w ater system . Like solar pow er panels, they will eventually pay for them selves. How good is your w ater supply and how m uch do you use? W ater quality and w ater conservation will gain increasing attention at the start o f the new century. The popularity of bottled w ater indicates that many hom eow ners are already unhappy with the quality o f the drinking w ater supplied by their local utility. Ask if the seller uses a filter on their faucet or if there is a built-in w ater filtration system attached to the drinking w ater supply pipe or tank. Utilitysupplied w ater is likely to becom e increasingly expensive so check show erheads, the w ashing m achine and water closets to find out if they are designed to use water eco nomically. If you are looking for a hom e today, be forward-looking and keep these features in m ind - they may be ju st what \ o u need in the near future. W hen you sit down with your real estate agent to determ ine what you want in a home, think ahead and add a few item s to your checklist of requirem ents. "All M od C ons" has a whole new meaning! Every effort has been m ade to ensure the accuracy of this article. However, the inform ation provided is general in nature and those with specific questions should seek pro fessional advice that m eets their particular requirements. Francis W edlake is a sales representative with Royal LePage Lakeshore Road office. She can be reached at (905) 845-4267, or em ail sales@ rlsouth.re.net. About Your Home FOR ROYAL LEPAGE IN CANADA #2 IN OAKVILLE CALL DIRECT royal Le p a g e Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Broker FEATURE HOME DESIRABLE W EST OAK L Ring in the New Millennium with my sincere thanks! Happy New Year to all my clients, friends 8 family! I look forward to serving you far into the new century! $259,900. Absolutely stunning, better than new home with all the most desirable upgrades! Gleaming hardwood floors in living room, dining room, family room, kitchen & master bedroom! Vinyl clad windows with California shutters and wooden blinds, C/A, C/V + security. Terrific white kitchen w/breakfast bar & walk out to yard! KATE* 849-3357 $404,900. Exquisite 2 bdrm condo! Elegant decor, approx. 1627 sq.ft, with 2 terraces to capture the view of harbour, lake & escarpment! "The Granary is Oakville's most prestigious condominiuir and the unit has plenty to offer. B/l app& ances, French doors, ceramics, marbje A a fireplace! 2 parking spots. * ,p i Winterize a sunroom (MASI)-Enclosing a porch or sun room for year-round use makes a lot of sense because the room is already under roof. Many porches offer conversion possibilities that expand liv ing space. Depending on the condition of the porch you might have to hire a contractor to do part of the job. KATE* 849-3357 Planning the job FOR OVER IN LESS THAN ONE WEEK! RATE* 849-3357 Check out the foundation underneath the porch to appraise its construction and condition. Use a flashlight and make a sketch of what's down there. Note the size and direction and spacing between floor joists and the spans of main beams which bear the full load of the floor joists. Code specifica tions vary but 2x6 floor joists on 16-inch centers should be considered minimum. Also, check the location of key foot ings and posts and look for signs of wood rot or pest damage which will require repair and replacement work. If the struc ture is questionable, call in an engineer or contractor for advice. Look for electric lines and heating ducts running from the basement or crawl space adjacent to the porch. If these lines are in the vicinity of the porch, the conver sion will be easier and less costly. Rough construction im r Empty the space of any furnishings and pull down the ceiling and walls using a pry bar to expose the wall and ceiling fram ing. Add fiberglass insulation between the ceding and wall framing. Replace old porch windows with new vinyl-clad insulated glass double-hung win dows. Tuck insu lation scraps around the new window frames. Hire an electrician to install about 10 feet of electric baseboard heat. Finish the porch with 1/2-inch drywall on the ceiling and walls. Decorate with paint and wallpa per and wall-towall carpeting of your choice. For more valuable house mainte nance advice, log on to www.housenet.com. GREATVALUE! 5 level split with large principal rooms. 2 full baths, 2 powder roonrLS 3 + 2 bed. Home is fin ished on all 5 levels. Great nanny suite! All new windows, laundiy on main level. Quiet location, backing onto park, good size yard. Walking dlistance to both schools. Call Helen Danko today! HELEN DANKO Sales Representative IT HAS ALL YOU NEED Absolutely beautiful executive home in Wedgewood Creek on 66x173' fully private lot with inground heated pool. 9 principal rooms, professionally decorated and in HELEN & immaculate condition. Many extra features. VICTOR SARIC Associate Brokers A pleasure to show. Call Helen or Victor. N E W LISTING - OLD OAKVILLE Fabulous 100'xl52' treed lot within 5 min. walk to downtown. Ideal location to do reno or build your own dream home. Immediate K O R R IE -S U E possession. New survey. Large bungalow M A RSH A LL with lower level walkout. Call Korrie-Sue. Sales Representative ROYAL LEPAGE REAL ESTATE SERVICES LTD. 845-4267 H RE/MAX ABOUTOWNE REALTY CORP. 842-7000 H RE/MAX ABOUTOWNE REALTY CORP. 338-9000 _____________ _ _____ _ _________ _ OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY 2-4 MM WM 2 166 ADAIR 2166 im a m : Hr# - 1 **~*»?£&**w®u A" w J R S5 2B 00 $ » ..B »0 NEARLY N E W SEMI 1 yr old, approx. 1,700 S.F. 3 bdrm s, full ensuite, fireplace, C/Air, fenced. For a free audio to u r call BOB W ATSON Sales Representative EAST OAKVILLE Desirable East Oakville location, inground pool, new cedar deck, private yard. 4 bedrooms, large principal rooms, new kitchen tiles, new main bath, rec room study and exercises room in basement, nanny or in-law suite. 30 day closing. R O N N IE M IL L S Sales Representative PARK LIKE LOT · · · · Cozy 3 bdrm hom e on quiet street Huge, m ature 60x158 lot Close to schools, tran sit & am enities Call Kris Saric today at 842-7000 K R IS S A R IC Sales Representative 1-800-288-8897 Ext. 3300 33*1 I ' m 0