Before viewing or listing a house it’s smart to have a well-thought-out strategy in place to help limit complications.

For this Kamloops realtor, it’s all about making dream homes come true for his clients.

New development condos are shiny and new, but its important to consider the potential risks. Presale and pre-construction condos seduce consumers with the promise of highly designed, sleek spaces but savvy home buyers need to assess the risks before they commit.

B.C. vacation-property owners are now subject to new rules and taxation when renting their property – but some say illegal rentals may dodge tax

For this Kamloops realtor, it’s all about making dream homes come true for his clients.

Here are 5 things to consider so you get the best deal for yourself and your community. 1. Start with the right valuation The big question: How much is my home worth under the new OCP? According to Darcy Schlechtleitner, founder of Rethink Real Estate Group, there are ways of working it out, but you need a realtor with experience and training in land assembly. “Values can be calculated based on comparable land sales for similar projects and what can be built, but you need someone who knows their numbers and has access to all the data,” says the long-time New West resident. She studied real estate at BCIT and has been working in the New West area ever since. The Land division at her brokerage focuses specifically on land assembly projects. “Make sure you’re asking the right questions of potential realtors: What’s your land assembly history? Have you done this before? What developers do you work with? What’s your understanding of contracts and contract law?” Schlechtleitner says.

Eating ants and other insects could soon be recommended to protect against cancer, and it is believed that us Westerners will be eating them very soon. Experiments have shown that many insects including grasshoppers and crickets – contain high concentrations of antioxidants, found in orange juice or olive oil. Extracts of grasshoppers, silkworm and crickets have the highest amounts of antioxidants – some five times more than orange juice. These antioxidants help reduce chemical reactions in the body that produce cancer causing free radicals also linked to cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Grasshoppers, ants and mealworms contain the highest levels of total polyphenols: micronutrients packed with antioxidants that help treat digestion issues, weight management difficulties, diabetes, neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases. Beetles are the most commonly consumed insect, followed by caterpillars, bees, wasps, ants, grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets.

Many homes do not have space for guest rooms, play areas and home theatres that are possible in homes with substantial square footage, but they may not be missing out at all. While large homes remain popular, many people are embracing the benefits of smaller residences. Small homes help homeowners save money, require less maintenance, have smaller environmental impact and reduce the temptation to accumulate “stuff.”

Looking for a dessert that is lactose-free and gluten-free? Try this delicious mango coconut mousse! This is a really easy dessert to make that is perfectly presentable on its own, or it can be used as a filling in other recipes, like a gluten-free and lactose-free Pavlova. You just need to keep one thing in mind: use only the solid coconut cream or fat component of the coconut milk for this recipe. Place the entire unopened can of coconut milk in the fridge for a few hours to help the coconut cream solidify. This will make it easy to separate the coconut cream you need, from the liquid that you can use for some other recipe. In terms of managing time, place the can of coconut cream in the refrigerator just before you start making the mango curd. That way, while your mango curd is setting in the refrigerator, so will the coconut cream!

A sweeping trend in health and wellness has recently set up shop in South Delta. Spa Bleu opened its doors last fall on 56th Street to offer flotation therapy – a treatment to relax, de-stress and feel free from pain.

For a business owner, collecting and remitting sales tax, both GST and PST, is annoying enough without discovering that you may have been inadvertently overpaying the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

While tree sellers conveniently stationed in store parking lots and artificial trees displayed in retailers have led fewer people to venture into the wilderness, the Christmas tree is still an important component of holiday celebrations. Germans who decorated trees inside of their homes are credited with starting Christian Christmas tree traditions during the 16th century. It took the popularity of England’s Queen Victoria and her German Prince Albert appearing around a decorated Christmas tree to eventually win over much of Europe, Canada and the United States.