Archive for May, 2008

Saskatoon Property Tax Increase Approved

Wednesday, May 7th, 2008

On Monday night, the city of Saskatoon council approved the city operating budget.  The new budget will result in a 5.44% increase to all Saskatoon real estate owners property tax bills.  This is lower than the projected 8% increase the city first proposed.  The reason for the slight reduction is partly due to the provincial government putting forward 1.5 million dollars to the city budget.  The city has stated one of the biggest reasons for the tax increase is to cover the costs for the city expanding.  The city of Saskatoon is currently developing several existing neighbourhoods such as Willowgrove as well will be developing several new ones.  Both the public and catholic school boards increased their annual taxes as well which adds to the total increase.  For a more in depth story about the Saskatoon property tax increase be sure to visit the Saskatoon Star Phoenix website

Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd.

Saskatoon Webcams

Monday, May 5th, 2008

The city of Saskatoon is a beautiful city with tons to offer its residents and visitors.  One of my biggest passions in life is traveling and whenever I travel people ask about where I am from and what it is like there.  For those of you who are unfamilair with Saskatoon or else may be a resident but interested in seeing something different, I have compiled a list of available Saskatoon webcams. 

All 3 webcams provide different angles of the city.  The CBC is a shot of downtown Saskatoon with the other 2 being shots at the University of Saskatchewan.  If you are interested in visiting Saskatoon or even looking at getting involved into the Saskatoon real estate market check out the webcams.  If you are looking to relocate to Saskatoon or interested in getting involved in the Saskatoon real estate market be sure to contact me and I will be more than happy to help you anyway I can.

Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd.

Hampton Village Teen Care Home Under Protest

Friday, May 2nd, 2008

Awhile ago I wrote a blog about a teen care home in Hampton Village.  Recently a group of homeowners in the Hampton Village neighbourhood came forward to protest the teen care home saying their children would be endangered by the presence of two teen care homes.  Many of the neighbours are coming together and putting together a formal campaign.  Already west-side city councillors have been going door to door to residents in Hampton Village getting signatures for a petition against the teen care homes.  Last reported they already had approximately 100 signatures.  Among some of the complaints people are stating are the safety for their children and also the potential affect on their Saskatoon property value.  This would be the 5th and 6th home in Saskatoon as part of this program.  The city of Saskatoon stated that it has not received any complaints about the existing 3rd and 4th home in the city.  One of these are already located in Hampton Village and the other is located in Dundonald

To read more about this story be sure to visit the Star Phoenix article.

Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Saskatoon

Saskatoon Utilities Could Increase Eventually

Friday, May 2nd, 2008

The Saskatchewan Crownsthis year have recorded record earnings however the promise made by the NDP government that Saskatchewan residents would have the lowest bundled utilities across Canada could end in the near future.  The SaskParty has said in news paper articles that they won’t up hold this promise to Saskatchewan residents as it was a campaign promise made by the NDP.  I for one enjoy the fact that our utilities are cheaper than the rest of Canada and I believe it’s one of the many benefits of being a resident in Saskatchewan.  A potential increase for utilities in the province of Saskatchewan could have a huge affect on home owners.  With the sudden increase of real estate prices across our province, affordable utilities are something that everyone needs.

It will be interesting to see what happens down the road especially considering Saskatchewan Crown Corporations are reporting record profits.  I am hoping the SaskParty government will realize and keep the cost of utilities down for all residents.  As a Saskatoon real estate owner myself, higher increases in utilities will have a big affect on what people can afford down the road.

Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd.

Grass Fire Threaten Saskatoon Homes

Friday, May 2nd, 2008

On Tuesday, April 29th a dozen homes were threatened by grass fires in the Riverside Estatesarea.  Luckily no homes were destroyed by the fires that were started accidentally.  When fire officials arrived many Saskatoon residents were trying to fight the fires themselves.  The fire crews were able to safely put out all of the fires without any damage to property or people.

On the same day a grass fire was started near the Saskatoon Regional Psychiatric Centre right.  This is located next to Silverspring but luckily the fire was a bit further north and did not harm any buildings.  As the weather starts to warm up the ground dries up, Saskatoon residents need to ensure they take property precaution when starting fires.  Grass fires can be extremely dangerous and cause a lot of damage to real estate.

Read the full article on the cbcnews.ca website.

Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd.

Saskatoon Stolen TV Scam

Friday, May 2nd, 2008

The Saskatoon Police have announced a scam that has been happening around Saskatoon recently.  Apparently someone has been calling individuals as well been visiting local Saskatoon pubs and lounges offering people new stolen plasma TV’s for extremely cheap.  People have been taking this bait and showing up to a specified location to meet this individual and paying them money first.  The individual then leaves and never returns so the people are out their money without their stolen TV.  I am actually quite surprised people would even fall for this scam.  First off, it is illegal to purchase stolen goods and second off, who trusts a guy randomly calling you or coming up to you in a lounge or pub with a deal that is too good to be true?  This isn’t the first time I have heard a story similar to the “it’s too good to be true”.  I’ve dealt with many people in the Saskatoon real estate market who have had experiences of people looking at houses in Saskatoon that were being sold privately only to find out that there were major things wrong with the house that the person selling did not disclose.  This is one of the many important reasons its critical to work with a Saskatoon real estate agent.  By working with a Saskatoon Realtor you have access to additional information that people buying privately don’t.  A Saskatoon real estate agent can be sure that you ask all the right questions and get the answers you need before you make one of the biggest purchases of your life.  The last thing you want to happen is find out that the home you thought you got an incredible deal on was actually a lemon.  If you are looking to get involved in the Saskatoon real estate market be sure to contact me.

Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd.