Monthly Archives: March 2017

Homeowners

Remodeling 101: Placing the toilet in your bathroom renovation

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As many homeowners know, a bathroom renovation rarely entails just changing a few tiles and calling it a day. Even the simplest projects have many details and moving parts, creating a domino effect of one choice impacting another. One of the most important choices you can make during your renovation is one that can be easily overlooked: the toilet placement. And as if it’s not difficult enough, tile installation, vanity location and shower door choices can all influence your toilet placement. Use these tips to get your space construction ready.

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Homeowners

Spring cleaning: Optimize your cleaning time

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Optimize spring cleaning

According to The Maids, spring cleaning typically takes at least four hours per 1,000 square feet.

“You can clean virtually any house in about four hours a week. I learned this when I had a residential house cleaning business,” says Sherry Hewins. “The keys to being able to clean your house are organization and consistency.”

Although you don’t have to spring clean your home every weekend, getting organized and optimizing the task to make the process more efficient should help keep it as short and sweet as possible.

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Homeowners

How to secure your smart home devices

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smart house device illustration with app icons

Smart home devices are quickly becoming the norm, with IT research firm Gartner predicting consumers will have 5.2 billion internet-connected products in 2017 – an average of four devices per household.

“The connected home is coming to fruition and it’s coming now,” says Yonomi co-founder and CEO Kent Dickson.

We’re using smart devices to control the lighting, temperature and ambiance of our homes, to lock our doors and watch for intruders, to feed and play with our pets. There seems to be a smart device for every conceivable home need, but how secure are these devices?

“The biggest issue with smart devices in the home is that many can be accessed directly from the internet,” says Bruce Snell, Cybersecurity and Privacy Director at Intel Security, adding, “Securing the smart home requires that you think a little more about security than you may have in the past.”

What can you do to secure your smart home tech?

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Awards Spotlights

Realty Executives Saskatoon named “Brokerage of the Month” for February 2017

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Realty Executives International is pleased to announce Realty Executives Saskatoon in Saskatchewan has been named the Brokerage of the Month for February 2017. Realty Executives Saskatoon, together with their Broker/Owner Wayne Zuk and the Zuk family, kicked off their 2017 “giving back” efforts by gifting over $100,000 to help fund Merlis Belsher Place, a modern, twin-pad ice facility at the University of Saskatchewan.

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Executives in the News

Diana Bustamante: “The relationship is always more important than the sale”

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Diana Bustamante

Diana Bustamante has been working in the real estate industry for over 25 years. “My first semester in college, I started working part-time as a receptionist at a real estate office. The manager offered to pay for my classes to get a real estate license but I found the ‘sales job’ too difficult because of the time limitations,” she explains. “But when I graduated from college I couldn’t find a job that would pay what I wanted, so I decided to try real estate.”

She then went from being an agent to a Broker and a real estate instructor. She specializes in corporate, military and retirement relocation, as well as commercial and investment real estate.

“Every day is different. You get to meet new people all the time and some clients become great friends,” she shares.

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