Buying a home / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

...astes, or has its appearance changed little over the decades?  A little effort makes a big difference in how long your home sits on the market. Homes with lapsed maintenance and outdated features sell more slowly and for less than modern, updated homes. A quick sale is important when you're buying and selling at the sa...

...A market study by AVID Ratings Canada for the Canadian Home Builders' Association (CHBA) surveyed 12,000 homebuyers across Canada to see what Canadians are looking for when they go house shopping. We were pleased but not at all surprised by the results - here they are: The top 10 assets that homebuyers value: 1. Walk-i...

...at's a cost you should factor into an offer price. Bathroom water damage: Does it have wood around wet areas? Are there signs of water damage anywhere? Are the faucets leaking (and how easy are they to fix?) Are toilets and faucets modern low-flow models? If appliances come with it, take out your phone again and take a...

...and cons of buying a fixer upper, a move-in ready or a new home. Now you know about what to look for when shopping for a home. Find more about home maintenance and renovations in the Ecohome Green Building Guide and in the following pages: See LEED and Passive House ready prefab eco homes For Canada and the US  ...

...are fairly self-explanatory, other topics will be explored at greater depth in other articles. And just because a home you like doesn't score an A+ on all the above criteria doesn't mean you shouldn't buy it. Just be sure you know what you are buying, and that you have the funds to pay for any improvements, certainly a...