Have you been thinking of doing some renovating before you sell?  You might want to think again. 

Renovating when you living in a place for your enjoyement is one thing, but renovations just to make the sale could possibly cost you more than it's worth. 

Most renovations do not payback the full amount of the renos in appraisal value but some types of renos are better than others.  

Would you like to know that statistics for various Ottawa neighbourhoods.  The City of Ottawa keeps track of statistics on each neighbourhood consisting of the following topics and makes them available online.

• Age and Marital Status
• Language
• Religion
• Mobility
• Citizenship, Places of Birth, Period and Age of Immigration
• Ethnicity
• Visible Minorities and Aboriginal Population
• Education
• Labour Force Activity
• Labour Force - Class of Worker and Industry Type
• Labour Force - Occupation
• Labour Force - Place of Work and Mode of Travel
• Population - Unpaid Work
• Population - Income
• Income - Household and Family
• Income - Low Income Cut-Offs (LICO), Shelter Costs
• Family and Household - Characteristics
• Dwelling - Type, Tenure, Condition, Period of Construction

Click on the link below to visit the city map of neighbourhoods and click on the neighbourhood you wish statistics for.  Note that the area codes on the map to not relate to the mls codes.  Moving your mouse over the area number will give you the neighbourhood name. 

Ontario announced revised plans on June 1st for the widening of the Queensway ( Hwy 417 ) in Ottawa.

The new plan will see the widening of Ottawa's main artery and will involve construction at various locations from the 416 interchange in the west end to the Anderson Road exit in the east end.

More than 70 bridges will be re-constructed or modified and at least 5 of the major ramps would be modified enough that land and houses are beign expropriated for the cause.  The time table is not set but is expected to take around 10 years and cost in the neighbourhood of $150 million.  Public consultations are being scheduled for June 20 to the 22nd.

Remaining objective can be a difficult task when viewing an open house. It is easy to fall in love with a home''s appearance, blind to problems that may make it unsuitable. While aesthetics can be an important consideration, it is necessary to look beyond window-dressing. A qualified home inspector should be hired before purchasing a home, but there are areas that consumers can examine on their own. This will shorten your list of potential homes and reduce the likelihood that a home inspector will reject it as unsafe or unsuitable.