Moving Here

Are you looking for one of the Ottawa Moving Companies to help you? Are you all ready to pack up and move to another house? Some people are happy to gather up their friends & family and do it all themselves! That is definitely a way to save money.

For those that would prefer to hire someone else to do all the work (as we do) we have provided a few tips and a list of Ottawa moving companies that can help you out!

Here are a few tips that we would like to suggest to anyone who is going to move to another apartment or house:

• Shop around! You may end up hiring the first company that you spoke to but it is still a good idea to get a few quotes.
• Ask if they have an insurance program.
• Get an emergency number from them in case they don’t show up on moving day.
• Check if they have any specials for moving mid-month.
• Find out how they handle breakables and valuables (i.e. art).
• Ask if they are a member of the Better Business Bureau.
• Ask if they disassemble and reassemble your furniture.
• If you need your items stored, ask if they provide storage.
• Ask if they charge extra for gas/kilometres from where they are coming from?
• How many breaks are they supposed to have?
• Will they or can they accept a tip?

The following is a list of some of the Moving Companies in the Ottawa area:

First Rate Movers Inc.
613-260-0505

AMJ Campbell Van Lines
613-742-6178

AMJ Campbell Van Lines Inc.
613-744-1869

Abbotsford
613-836-3493

Access
613-822-4461

Allied Van Lines
613-831-6683

Bluebird Transportation Services
613-749-7497

Boyd
613-244-4444

Bye Bye
819-682-1429

Campbell
613-831-4734

Capital A-1
613-244-3404

City Transfer
613-523-1000

Claude Transport
819-561-1686

Doucet’s
613-742-7555

Gatineau Plus
819-561-4670

Heartland
613-599-6055

Intercontinental Van Lines
613-746-7747

Kavanagh
613-828-1057

Maximum
819-777-6683

Moving Boxes
613-822-6900

Parkway Van Lines
613-744-4781

Rideau Street Youth Enterprises
613-562-3864

Tri Services
613-371-5522

Two Small Men with Big Hearts
613-723-5557

VIP
613-837-1678

Good luck with your move! We hope everything goes smoothly. Enjoy your new house & your new neighbourhood.

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Here is the Moving Checklist that we used to keep ourselves organized when we moved into our new home. We have actually moved a few times since creating this list so we have continued to add to it. Depending on your situation, some of these may or may not apply to you:

• make a list of important addresses and phone numbers in your new neighbourhood (i.e. banks, schools, daycare, doctor’s office, hospitals etc.)
• create a file for all the necessary paperwork you will need on and before moving day (i.e. check for lawyer, contact information for movers etc.)
• set the date for moving
• book moving company
• book contractors (i.e. painters, plumbers)
• locate new doctor and/or dentist
• arrange for telephone hook up
• arrange for cable or satellite hook up
• arrange for water hook up
• arrange to change locks on doors
• arrange gas hook up for appliances
• book home inspector
• give new address to financial institutions, family, friends, schools, employers etc.
• start packing items you do not need (label boxes)
• have a garage sale to sell stuff you don’t need/want
• book elevator if you live in an apartment or are moving to an apartment
• get mail box key
• try to eat the perishable foods in the refrigerator
• arrange for someone to care for your children and/or pets on moving day
• pack the remainder of your items (label boxes)
• clean the new house from top to bottom (if time allows before moving – if not, this can be done before unpacking)
• MOVE!
• Sit back, enjoy & take in your new surroundings!

Hopefully this Moving Checklist has helped make your move easier. It has helped us on numerous occasions. There is just so much to remember. Good luck to you and welcome to your new neighbourhood!

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Have you decided if you want to buy a new or previously owned home in Ottawa? For some people this is a tough decision to make.

We had a difficult time deciding what to buy as well when we were buying our first home back in 2004. After putting a lot of thought into it we ended up choosing to build a home but there were many previously owned homes that we liked as well. We just weighed the pros and cons (for us) and we decided that brand new would suit our lifestyle best.

Fast forward to today (Feb 2016) and we have actually bought 4 homes in 10 years. We bought 2 brand new and 2 previously owned homes. There were a lot of things that we preferred over the brand new ones but we also had very good reasons for choosing the previously owned ones. We are now in a previously owned home and we hope to stay here for a long time. Anything that we want to do to update it can be done at our own leisure.

After talking with many family and friends we came up with a little list of some of the pros & cons of buying new vs. previously owned that may help you out. Remember though that it all depends on you & your lifestyle.

Pros of Buying a Brand New Home:

• you can make changes to layout & design
• you can choose your own colours (i.e. paint, carpet, wood)
• you can upgrade (i.e. hardwood floors) while the house is being built so you don’t have to do it later on
• virtually no maintenance
• great warranty
• there are a lot of Ottawa New Home Builders to choose from

Cons of Buying a Brand New Home:

• no fence (this can become a privacy issue as well as be an added expense later on)
• no landscaping (gardens, shrubs, sometimes grass etc.)
• no mature trees
• still construction going on in the area (some people feel like they are living in a construction zone)
• driveway may not be paved until after the first winter (depending on builder)
• there may not be public transportation yet

Pros of Buying a Previously Owned Home:

• landscaping & fencing completed (or at least started)
• mature trees
• established neighbourhood (public transportation, amenities)
• no construction

Cons of Buying a Previously Owned Home:

• living with colour choices that you may not like
• possible structural or maintenance issues
• extra expenses to re-paint or upgrade present features

These are just a few things that you may want to think about when making your decision about buying a new or previously owned home in Ottawa. It will definitely depend on what you can afford and what you prefer. Talk it out amongst yourselves, speak to family & friends and weigh the pros and cons.

Good luck with whatever you decide on. Either way, it is a very exciting journey ahead.

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There are a lot of Ottawa Home Builders who can build you a brand new home (there is an extensive list further down the page). Ottawa is constantly expanding and there are new homes and subdivisions being developed in all areas of the city.

We were in search for a home builder in Ottawa a couple years ago when we decided that we wanted to build a brand new home instead of buying a previously owned home. We used to go out on a regular basis to see different builders and their different models of homes. Honestly, we loved that part!

Here are a few tips that we recommend when shopping around for a new home builder in Ottawa:

• Do your homework. Go look at a lot of homes.
• Make a list of what you want and what you don’t want. You may get ideas when you see different models.
• Find out what is included in the price and what are upgrades. A lot of model homes are filled with upgrades so what you see is not necessarily what you get.
• Ask questions. The sales person is there to answer all of your questions. If you find that they are too busy with other potential buyers, go back for another visit or call them so you can have all of your questions answered.
• Ask friends, family & co-workers for their recommendations.
• Try to find reviews about your builder on the internet. Various forums and websites have reviews from homeowners.
• If there is no model for the home that you want then make sure that you get very detailed, specific information about your home. Builders will have floor plans of your home but make sure you know where everything is (i.e. windows, water heater, light switches) and dimensions of all the rooms.

Here is a list of some of the Ottawa Home Builders:

Antilia Homes
613-518-6488
www.antiliahomes.com

Talos Homes
613-270-0777
www.taloshomes.com

Ashcroft Homes Inc.
613-226-7266

Brigil
819-243-7392

Bulat
613-723-1008

Campanale
613-730-7000

Cardel
613-820-1959

Claridge
613-233-6030

Groupe Lépine
613-913-9555

Guildcrest
613-448-1190

Holitzner
613-831-3484

Homes by M.B.
613-314-7175

Land Ark Homes
613-836-9805

Lapointe Developments
613-443-5263

Mattamy
613-831-4115

Minto
613-230-7051

Monarch
613-692-8672

Muirfield Homes
613-748-3608

Olympia Homes
613-226-2424

Ottawa Carleton Construction
613-295-5253

Phoenix Homes
613-723-9227

Richcraft Homes
613-739-7111

Savvy Custom Builders
613-860-9895

Tamarack
613-739-2919

Tartan
613-238-2040

Urbandale
613-731-6331

Valecraft
613-837-1104

Happy house shopping with one of the Ottawa Home Builders! It can be a really fun experience.

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Are you looking for information on Ottawa mortgages for your new home or to re-mortgage your previous home?

We remember how confusing it all seemed when we bought our first home in Ottawa. Buying a home can be stressful enough on its own but then there is the added stress of trying to find the best mortgage rate too!

Do you get a variable or a fixed mortgage? What is the difference between the two?

Do you go with a financial institution like one of the major Canadian banks or with an Ottawa Mortgage Broker or Agent? Who will give you the best rate?

You will hear varying opinions from everyone you know. We asked friends and family who also live in Ottawa and they all had their own opinions based on their personal situation.

Keep in mind that we are not professional mortgage specialists. We are fellow Ottawa home owners who had to do a lot of research and leg work to find out as much as we could about Ottawa mortgages and where to go to get one. You will want to make sure to ask your financial institution or mortgage broker as many questions as you can.

Here are a few tips that we would like to share with you. We found that it made it a lot easier when shopping around for the best Ottawa mortgages:

• Familiarize yourself with the terms – A lot of websites have a glossary to explain the difference between a variable and a fixed mortgage or the explanation of the amortization period.
• Check out the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation website (www.cmhc.ca). It offers a lot of great tips and advice
• Check the financial institutions websites regularly to see what their posted interest rates are (check their websites or the daily newspaper)
• Fill out the online mortgage calculators to see what your approximate monthly payments will be – you can fill in your mortgage amount, your amortization period and the estimated interest rate and it will calculate your monthly mortgage payments
• Call around to a few Mortgage Brokers and see what they can offer you
• Read about the advantages of making bi-weekly payments as opposed to monthly
• Don’t be afraid to tell the Bank or the Broker what rates you are being offered. They want you as a customer so they will do whatever it takes to offer you the best rate (remember – even a 0.5% difference helps)
• You don’t have to stay with your regular Bank. You can still keep your accounts at one bank but your mortgage at another.

We are very happy with the mortgage rate we ended up with and with the financial institution that we used. Keep in mind though that what is good for one person will not necessarily be good for the other person. It all depends on your financial situation and what you are capable of paying each month.

The best way to find a mortgage broke is to ask friends, family & co-workers for recommendations. You can also check out the yellow pages in the phone book and call around. Meet with them and have a list of questions ready. Make sure you feel comfortable with the person you are dealing with.

We wish you the best of luck looking for Ottawa Mortgages. Shop around and do what you feel is best for you!

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Ottawa real estate agents (and brokers) can help you find the perfect home in this hot and growing market. If you are planning on buying a condo or home, you may want professional help. Hiring an agent gives you the peace of mind in dealing with someone who has expertise and knowledge in Ottawa real estate.

Your Ottawa Real Estate Agent (or Broker) will act as a buffer, showing your home to prospective buyers and negotiating the sale on your behalf. By choosing wisely, you will find yourself with an agent who has neighbourhood knowledge and who can brief you on market conditions and help you set a realistic asking price.

By listing with an agent in Ottawa, your home is listed on MLS (Multiple Listings Service) and the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB), which reaches a broader provincial audience. With their extensive network, agents can often sell a home before it even makes to the online listings.

We are pleased to present you with a list of experienced Real Estate Agents in Ottawa that can guide you through the home buying process. This list will continue to grow so make sure to come back and check them out!

Amy Haggerty
Sales Representative
Keller Williams, Ottawa Realty
613-369-5794 (Direct)
613-236-5959 (Office)
www.amyhaggerty.ca

Amy is an absolutely fantastic, personable and hard working agent.  She comes highly recommended.  For our next home purchase, we’ll use Amy for sure!

Diane & Jen (Diane Allingham and Jennifer Stewart)

Royal Lepage Performance Realty
165 Pretoria Avenue
613-238-2801

Joan Smith
Royal LePage Team Realty
484 Hazeldean Road
613-762-1226 (Direct)
613-592-6400 (Office)

John Spagnoli
Royal LePage Team Realty
613-592-6400

Kevin Coady Realty Inc. Brokerage
613-440-7653

Mark Melanson
Coldwell Banker
613-809-4195
613-596-4133 (office)

Shane Foley
Keller Williams Ottawa Realty Ltd.
613-788-2550

Chantal Lafontaine
Sales Representative Royal LePage Performance Realty
613-238-2801
165 Pretoria Ave

Sheila McLuskey
Remax Affiliates
5517 Hazeldean Road
613-601-7253

Ron Warwaruk
Remax
5582 Main Street, Manotick
613-720-9105

Carmen Brisson
Royal Lepage
165 Pretoria Street
613-402-1102

For those that live here, you more than likely know about most of the Ottawa neighbourhoods. You probably know what area you want to move to as well. If you are not from Ottawa, you may need a little help. Please check out our Ottawa Neighbourhoods page for an extensive list.

Our Ottawa Real Estate Agents section is a fairly new section so we will be updating it in the upcoming weeks. Please come back and see what is new!

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Our Ottawa Moving Information section was created to assist you in your upcoming move. It can be a stressful time trying to get everything planned, organized and in order. This section is here to help you.

We have moved numerous times around the city of Ottawa over the past 10 years. We have moved from apartment to house, from house to temporary accommodations (which meant we needed storage for our furniture), from temporary accommodations to another house etc. All this to say, we have a very good idea of what you are feeling right now with your upcoming move.

There is so much to think about so read on to find out more about moving companies, storage facilities and more.

Moving Companies:

Packing all of your belongings into boxes and moving furniture can be quite a tedious task. But if you are moving, it has to be done!

Have you enlisted the service of your friends to help you move on moving day? If so, don’t forget the pizza & beer.

If you haven’t though, you will want to call one of the many Ottawa Moving Companies to assist you.

Storage Companies:

If your situation is anything like ours was once, then you may need to use storage for some of your household items. We had 2 months between moving out of one home and into the next so we desperately needed somewhere to store our furniture. There are a lot of companies to choose from.

We will hopefully be expanding on our list of storage companies in the future but in the meantime, you can check out this Ottawa Storage Unit.

Moving Checklist:

One way that we stayed organized was by keeping a Moving Checklist. Whenever we thought of something that needed to be done we wrote it down on our list. When it was done, we checked it off. Pretty simple! There is just so much to do before you move, during the move and after you have settled in.

We will be adding more to our Ottawa Moving Information section so please check back. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Good luck with your move!

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Are you moving to Ottawa from another city or country? If so, welcome! There is so much to love about living here. We hope you will be proud to call it home (we sure are).

To all of you who are reading this we want to tell you that we understand from our own experience that this is a very exciting (and sometimes stressful) time. The excitement of the move can be awesome but the stress of organizing everything can be just as overwhelming.

Here is some information that we hope you will find useful and will be able to ease some of your stress:

Immigrating to Canada:

If you are moving to Ottawa from a new country then you are probably dealing right now with Immigration and you may be presently working on becoming a Permanent Resident of Canada.

Believe us, we know all about it. There is a lot of paperwork to fill out and a lot of waiting. Your future is in someone else’s hands throughout the entire process. It may seem like it will never end but it will eventually. We wish you the best of luck and we hope it goes smoothly for you!

Jobs in Ottawa:

If you are new to the area then you may be looking for a job in Ottawa. There are many different ways to find jobs. You can go through agencies, search websites, or check out one of the Ottawa newspapers.

We have also provided more information for you on our Ottawa Jobs page.

Real Estate, Homes and Apartments:

There are many real estate agents in Ottawa that can help you find a home. You can visit their offices or you can check out their listings on the internet. There are also some companies (i.e. Grapevine) in which you do the buying and selling without an agent.

As for apartments, there are listings in the Ottawa newspapers that list available apartments that are for rent.

Building a Brand New Home:

Have you decided to build a brand new home? This is exactly what we did (a few times). No, we didn’t build them ourselves – we went through a builder!! We had a lot of fun going around to different neighbourhoods and visiting all the various models. There is so much selection. Some questions to ask yourself:

• Do you know what Ottawa neighbourhood you want to live in?
• Do you know what style of home you are looking for?
• How many bedrooms?
• What size lot do you want?
• What upgrades you are willing to pay for (i.e. ceramic, hardwood etc).

Ready to get building? Check out our  list of builders in the area.

Moving Companies:

Don’t you just love packing? We don’t know of anyone that can honestly say that they enjoy packing all that they own into little boxes! It can be quite a tedious task. But alas, it has to be done (okay it doesn’t have to be but it would make for a VERY long day to move all of your pieces one by one)! You will want to call one of the many moving companies in Ottawa to assist you.

Check out some of our tips and also some names of Ottawa Moving Companies.

Storage Companies:

If you will be moving here before your house is ready to move into then you may need to use storage for some (or all) of your household items. We had 2 months between moving out of one home and into the next so we desperately needed somewhere to store our furniture. There are a lot of companies to choose from.

We will be expanding on our list of storage companies in the future.

Moving Checklist:

One way that we stayed organized was by keeping a Moving Checklist. Whenever we thought of something that needed to be done we wrote it down on our list. When it was done, we checked it off. Pretty simple! There is just so much to do before you move, during the move and after you have settled in. Feel free to use our list and add to it if you need to. We never moved to Ottawa FROM another city so your checklist may be much longer.

If you are moving to Ottawa and have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

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Are you planning on buying a home in Ottawa? Well, let us be one of the first to say Congratulations! In the past 10 years we have bought three homes in Ottawa (not at the same time, obviously) and we can understand what an exciting time this is for you.

You may want to try finding a home on your own or you may want to have an Ottawa Real Estate Agent help you in your search. If so, there are many knowledgeable real estate agents in Ottawa that can guide you.

There are a lot of online resources you can use to either search for homes or rental properties. A lot of sellers are now advertising online instead of the newspaper or other printed material as they can reach out to a bigger market.

Houses are usually the biggest purchase we will all make in our lives so it is important that you feel prepared and that you are comfortable with your decision. And we all know that there are so many decisions that you have to make. Try not to feel overwhelmed though.

We hope that the information that we provide to you will help to make your decision a bit easier.

Here are some of the questions you are going to want to answer before choosing a home in Ottawa. They are definitely questions we thought about while doing our search:

What Ottawa neighbourhood do we want to live in?

• Do you know in what area you want to live in?
• Do you know the different neighbourhoods in Ottawa that you can choose from?
• What amenities, schools etc do you want close by?

Do we want a brand new home or a previously owned home?
There are hundreds of Ottawa real estate agents to help you purchase a previously owned home. There are also many Ottawa new home builders who can build you a brand new home. The decision is yours to make. You will hear a lot of personal opinions from everyone around you about which is best. Check out our list of pros & cons of buying a new or previously owned home in Ottawa.

Do we know how much we can afford?
This should probably be one of your first priorities. Knowing how much you can afford in advance can help with your other decisions. For example, you may or may not be able to afford a certain style of house in the neighbourhood of your choice. You may be disappointed when you find out how much you are approved for through your financial institution or you may be pleasantly surprised. Do be careful, we have had friends tell us that they were approved for WAY more than they would feel comfortable spending each month. Remember that you don’t want to be “mortgage poor”.

Do we know what kind of house we want?

• How many bedrooms?
• How many bathrooms?
• Condo? Townhouse? Detached?

It is a very good to have an idea of what you want in advance. Make a list of the things that you can live with and those that you can live without. Prioritize! You may say that having a garage is something that you must have but having an ensuite bathroom isn’t a priority, it is just an added bonus if the house has one.

Do we know what kind of mortgage is best for us?
Looking for Ottawa Mortgages is a very important step in purchasing a home. You want to get the best mortgage rate possible and you want to make sure that it is affordable for you. Make sure to do your homework and check out the different mortgages that are available. You will also need to decide between going with one of the major financial institutions or with an Ottawa Mortgage Broker or Agent.

We would like to make it clear though that we are definitely not experts when it comes to purchasing a home. We can only speak from our personal experience when we bought our two homes as well as from those experiences of our friends and family. We strongly recommend that you do your homework and read articles, newspapers and other websites that cater to you, the home buyer.

And again – CONGRATULATIONS on buying a home in Ottawa! Try to have fun with the process and pat yourselves on the back for buying a home! What an amazing accomplishment!

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