After Living In The Same Area For 17 years.....

After Living In The Same Area For 17 years.....
This is what I have learnt.

Living in Courtenay BC has been very good for me. It is a small enough town where you can be anywhere in 15 minutes, but big enough to have the variety of small businesses and big box stores.

I bought my house on top of Ryan Road Hill.  Ryan Road was basically a thru way for people getting to the Base from other parts of Courtenay.  There was lots of bush to walk through and lots of deer to see.

Looking out my window, I noticed, I now have a mountain view. In the winter when all the trees had no leaves on them, I had mountain glimpses if the winds were blowing the right way. With  all the building down the hill on the left side of Ryan Road, it gave me a view. Bonus when I sell.

 I now can walk to stores within 5 minutes. This part of Courtenay has built up- not in a fast pace though but none the less I have almost anything I need in walking distance now.  Across the street we have the College and Swimming Pool.  Down the street  Home Depot, Costco and soon to be Thrifty's.  Our bus system has been updated, now they do not do the round Courtenay and Comox circuit. Any time I used to use the bus it would take a hour to get where I was going and a 20 minute walk to not use the bus. I usually chose the walk unless I had heavy items I did not want to lug.

 I chose my house in a good area and luckily it continues to be a good area. It was not skill, it was by chance. Unfortunately, other people who chose their houses were not so lucky.  Even though they knew industrial type of building would happen I believe they thought there would be more of a area between their houses and the businesses. All night long they listen to either Home Depot trucks or Costco Trucks and soon to be Thrifty's Foods trucks. Lots of complaints to City Hall. In the day time people behind the College listen to the trades building all day.  Welding, hammering and the likes, can be very hard to drown out. These houses were there before the businesses and they were not cheap.  While the businesses have bent over backwards to cut down on the noise, there is still noise in the middle of the night. 

I am lucky, except for some increased traffic on Ryan Road, everything built up here is a bonus when I sell my house. None of them are in my back yard.  Mountain views, short walking distance to College, Pool, Grocery Stores, Golfing, Home Depot and Costco, Church services at the College or School on Sundays.

So the important lesson I learned when choosing my next home is when buying a home be careful especially if the area is not built up already.  In all cases check with the city to see what zoning  is around the area of your home-to-be, check for long term plans, or you may  get a Costco or Thirfty's  literally in your back yard.


Angela Kroemer, AMP
Mortgage Professional
TMG The Mortgage Group Canada Inc.
TMG Sharie Marie Mortgage Team
1.250.650.4182
akroemer@mortgagegroup.com
www.KroemerMortgages.com
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More Storage Ideas For Your Home

Weather you are thinking about up sizing, down sizing or just staying put, new storage ideas are always welcome and needed. They have a few more inventions at our local Building stores that can make any house organized.
This article has some great ideas on how your home can be made clutterfree.

Your home has a place for everything; you just need to find it

Calgary HeraldNovember 17, 2011

BY JACQUELINE LOUIE, FOR HOME RENOS

Whether it’s under the deck or above the garage, companies are finding unique ways to help homeowners store their stuff.

“Good organization is the best use of space,” says Don Fetherstonhaugh, president of The Garage Store, a company that focuses “every inch of space inside a garage, to make it more useful and more attractive.”

He says in a normal household, the garage is usually the largest space. “But it is also usually the most under utilized space in the house,” says Fetherstonhaugh.

Typically, garages become an overgrown closet for junk, he says.

Because of people’s busy day-to-day lives, the first thing they see in the morning when heading off to work, is usually the garage. It is also the first thing they see when they return from a hard day’s work.

An unorganized garage sets the whole day in motion, says Fetherstonhaugh.

By spending time sorting through storage solutions, homeowners can be shown how to double or triple the storage space by properly utilizing wall and ceiling air space, he adds.


WALL SPACE

Manufacturers have introduced a series of flat PVC polymer wall storage systems that come with hundreds of different accessories to hang items such as golf bags, fishing rods, bicycles, rakes, hoses, electrical cords and miscellaneous tools.


UPPER AIR SPACE

“We take a look at the ceiling and try to adapt a storage system to the individual ceiling space,” Fetherstonhaugh says.

“That storage can be massive. For example, you can have a large unit that will hold 40 or more large rubber plastic containers for a nice, neat storage nook.”

There are also motorized storage devices that will allow you to lift items up to a storage platform.

The latest gadget, is a four-by-eight storage system called a motorized rack. You press a button and the entire rack comes down to the floor; you load it up with your things, and motorize it back up into place again.

Bicycles are one of the more difficult things to store in a garage, because when stored “they are gangly devices.”

However, motorized storage devices can take bikes two at a time and lay them flat onto the ceiling of the garage, says Fetherstonhaugh.


TRUSSES

Homeowners can also utilize the expertise of a contractor or renovation company to custom build storage solutions and make the most of any living area.

Using custom designs and fabricated specialty truss systems, Star Building Materials is able to include storage space in the truss when building a garage, giving the homeowner immediate bonus storage space.

“They are eight-foot two-inches wide and three-feet high and allow you to utilize all the space up top,” says Star Building Materials sales manager Lorrie Wood. “It uses a space in the garage which would otherwise be useless.

“You’re able to store all kinds of things like Christmas trees, empty boxes, seasonal items and other household items.”


UNDER DECK

While most homeowners find the space under their decks are catch-alls for stray balls, dog toys and grass clippings, it can also be used to store seasonal items.

In fact, Star Building Materials under-deck storage kit featuring a two-by-four foot drawer that can be used to store such things as toys and seasonal items.

“It puts it in a nice neat box — like a children’s toy box,” Wood says.


JUST ASK

The bottom line is if you can’t think of where to store your stuff, just ask. Home building stores and renovation companies have numerous ideas when it comes to storage options, whether it is closet organizers, storage under the stairs or in the rafters.

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald



Thank you
Angela Kroemer, AMP
Mortgage Professional
1.888.679.0190
akroemer@mortgagegroup.com
www.ComoxValleyMortgagesToday.com
TMG The Mortgage Group Canada Inc.