Looking to Invest in Houses for Sale in Vancouver? Try False Creek

"It’s easy to realize that this is the opportune time to start investing in the area. If you’re looking to purchase Vancouver houses for sale as an investment, False Creek is the place to check. With the Concord Pacific’s project soon to be underway, False Creek’s future looks bright. First time investors should, however, take note of one extremely important thing before investing in the area: working with a local REALTOR® will pay dividends in the outcome of your deal. A REALTOR® with many years of experience in the business and knows the locale like the back of his or her hand will be good at negotiating, to get you the best price for the houses for sale in Vancouver you’re interested in."
http://www.remax-crest-vancouver-bc.com/looking-to-invest-in-houses-for-sale-in-vancouver-try-false-creek

Vancouver Condos for Sale: The Most Expensive, and For Good Reason

"Culture Vancouver is a melting pot of all sorts of cultures. It is home to a rich mixture of people from around the world—Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Italian, British, and even Aborigines. Wherever you go in Vancouver, you’ll find people from different parts of the world living together amicably. These reasons and more are why real estate costs in the city are at a record high, so if you’re thinking about purchasing a Vancouver condo or any other type of property, you’ll need a real estate firm such as RE/MAX Crest Realty Westside with a wide knowledge of the market."
http://www.remax-crest-vancouver-bc.com/vancouver-condos-for-sale-the-most-expensive-and-for-good-reason

Tips on Restoring Character Homes

A character home may need considerable upkeep every now and then to preserve its unique quality and retain its functionality. While a lot of Vancouver houses for sale are ready for teardown, character homes typically only need little tweaks to keep their antique features intact and to spruce up parts where time has taken a visible toll.<br>

Here are some restoration tips to consider:<br>

Update the utilities.

Hire licensed electricians, plumbers, and contractors to rewire, repair, and (in some cases) replace the home’s utilities. These professionals will make sure that your home’s electricity lines, plumbing, and HVAC are all in line with current building codes even while the home’s historic details are left untouched. You can also bring in new appliances to improve functionality.<br>

Patch up the roof.

Authentic roofs like Spanish or slate tile roofs have life expectancies of 100 years or more. Look for roofers who specialize in these materials and other aspects of character home restoration.<br>

Weather-strip the windows.

Save your windows, especially wooden ones. The materials used for the windows of character homes are usually highly durable. Instead of replacing them completely, see whether weather-stripping or caulking can make the windows more energy-efficient and versatile.<br>

Be patient when painting.

Gently clean the walls and other surfaces with natural cleansers. Removing the existing layers of paint can be time-consuming, so be patient. Make sure that you don’t damage the decades-old patina of the paint in the process. Repaint with colors that closely resemble the originals.

Yaletown: From Warehouses to "Wow" Houses

Yaletown is Vancouver's Cinderella story. Bordering False Creek, a vital harbor, this suburb in downtown Vancouver was once dotted with warehouses and marshalling yards. It was one of many areas of the city influenced by the growth of the train industry during the late 19th century. While it remained a major industrial sector in the 1970s, some professionals had other plans in mind.

Today, Yaletown is a sprawling district of modern conveniences, with remnants of its industrial past well preserved. The Vancouver Heritage Register accounts for 27 heritage sites in the area. One popular site is the Roundhouse Community Centre, a former hangar for locomotives. Today, the brick-and-mortar structure stands beside the steel-and-glass lobby.

Look at the whole of Yaletown from any high-rise condo and you can see traces of the drastic change. At first glance, it's as if Yaletown was never a marshalling yard in years past. Decades of development transformed this former industrial city into an entertainment hub filled with restaurants, cafes, and shops.

Yaletown's story is an inspiration not just to Canada but also to the world. Its transformation perfectly illustrates the sense in preserving vestiges of the past for the new generation to appreciate. The train itself was a revolution, a major player in shaping Canada's economy.