Leaky Roof
That gentle spring rain is great for your garden, but it's not so nice when you're dealing with a leaky roof. If you've noticed peeling wallpaper, cracked paint, stains on the ceiling or actual drips that you have to catch in buckets or pots, you need to think about fixing your roof.

A few things you should know about roof repairs:

The best-case scenario is that a section of your roof will require patching or repair. The worst-case scenario is an expensive recovering or replacement of your entire roof. When determining which scenario applies to your roof, interview some quality roofing professionals and consider these facts:

- A roof needs to be replaced every 20 to 30 years, on average, depending on materials, installation, weather and maintenance.

- Finding the source of a leak can be challenging, even for roofing pros, and repairs can get pricey if you have to keep calling them back for additional fixes.

When a new roof is your only option

Your chosen roofing professional has advised you need a new roof. Now, you have a number of new questions to answer:

1. Replace or recover? Outright replacement means tearing off the roof and installing a new one. Recovering involves installing new shingles over an existing roof. Depending on building code in your area, you may not be allowed more than one roof recovering before a complete replacement is necessary.

2. What materials do you want to use? While most people choose cost-effective asphalt shingles, which come in a variety of grades and colours. You can also choose shingles made of wood, ceramic, slate, metal, or synthetics made to look like slate or wood.

3. How's your attic ventilation? Proper ventilation can save energy, prevent structural damage caused by moisture, prolong the life of your roof, and make your home more comfortable. Have your roofing professional check it out before any works begins.

Once your new roof is installed, maintain it diligently. Inspect it every spring and fall, as poor maintenance is the leading cause of damage and leaks. Replace damaged shingles and take note of sagging or other damage. Careful maintenance of a new roof will keep you and your family leak-free and happy - at least for the next 20 to 30 years.

Cheers
Dean Birks
www.DeanBirks.com

A great way to take the hassle out of renting a home.

Have you or your clients ever tried to rent out a home? Well if you have then most of the time, it is a lot of wasted time having prospective tenants call you and arrange a time for you to meet, you show up and they are not there. Why because they drove by and decided they did not like the location or something else and because they do not know you they have no problem just not showing up and leaving you sitting there wondering if they are coming.
The other one is they do show up and they look like they crawled out of a culvert and not to be discriminatory but the old needles and beer cans that fall out of their car as they attempt to introduce themselves can be quite un-nerving especially if the appointment to show the rental home is in the evening.
I think you could add a bunch more stories here but you get or know the idea.

So what to do?

A few years back when I had rental property I went through this a thought there had to be a better and more controlled way to rent out my homes so here is what I came up with that worked great.

1 - I would place an ad in the paper with full address and more detail than normal describing the home and that their will be a ‘Tenant open house’ this Sunday from 1 to 3:30 (whatever time I wanted) and also my contact phone #. This way when I got a phone call I could describe the home more. In most cases they would attempt to arrange an appointment and I would say sorry ‘no appointments’ but I do have an Open House and you can tour the home then. This way they can drive by the home and if they are still interested, they will be at the Open House.

2 - At the Open House I will have copies of the ‘Rental Agreement & Application’ as well as a separate highlight sheet noting the minimum amount of rent I want for the home and what is or is not included etc.

3- I would then state to each person that came to look at the home that I will not be making any decisions today. That after touring the home and your still interested, to fill out the application and make a note on the side of it the amount of rent they would pay (if it were more than my minimum) and then I will let them know on Tuesday if they got it or not.
(This stops someone from handing you a cash deposit right there and saying I will take the home, and then if you don’t they can claim discrimination)

4- Once the Open House is over, collect up all the applications from those interested and then pick your top 3 prospective tenants. Note the amount of rent they are willing to pay, as some will offer more than your stated minimum. Call the references but keep in mind the present landlord will always give a great referral just to get them out of their home if they are not good tenants, but I still call them.

5- Then on Tuesday (if that is the day you picked) drive up to the home of your #1 choice and knock on the door. When they open it up you can quickly look around to see if they run the type of home (clean or pig pen) that you want in a tenant. If it is an absolute garbage dump and that is not what you want then hand them back their application and say “ I am sorry that you were not picked but I wanted to personally thank you for your time and here is you application back’ (and move on and do the same thing with you #2 choice.) If they appear to be clean and the home condition looks like what your want in a tenant then say ‘Congratulations you got the home if you want it’.

I have found this to be a very positive way to find a good tenant without all the usual hassles that come along with it.

This is the kind of advice my clients get when dealing with me in Prince George BC. I hope it can help you out.

Cheers
Dean Birks - Realtor
Royal LePage Prince George
http://www.deanbirks.com/

Well it was another good year in 2007 and I am very optimistic about this year 2008. Prince George in general has diversified well over the last 5 years, the expanding PG Airport will bring alot of freight, refueling and service business here. The increased rail traffic will also bring small to medium manufacturing to Prince George in the years to come due to fast and cheaper transportation access to their markets. The $100 Million dollar cancer clinic to more and more retail all indicate that Prince George is well positioned to capitalize on becoming a very important distribution center.

If you would like more detail visit my website http://www.deanbirks.com/ and click on the "PG in the News" tab and then view 2007 News as well as Video Blog.

So in conclusion I want to wish you all the best in the new year and it goes without saying, if I can be of service either to yourself, friends or family for their real estate needs please give me a call or e-mail.
Thank you in advance for your referrals.

Best regards,

Dean Birks
"Your Realtor"