Home Insurance Replacement Value Canada

Prairie teams enjoy early success at The Dominion Curling Club Championship

Not only did he emerge 2-0 in men’s play in Richmond, B.C., he also had ice that was to his liking.

“It was awesome,” said Bibby, who polished off Nunavut’s Ed Sattelberger 8-2 in the second round Tuesday to hit the pillow at night as one of four 2-0 teams in the men’s division. “The conditions were just the way I like them — super fast and plenty of curl.”

The Dominion Curling Club Championship is an annual event for men’s and women’s curling teams that have won their respective local club championships.

Bibby was joined at 2-0 atop the Blue Group with Ontario’s Greg Balsdon of Richmond Hill, while Alberta’s Wade Thurber of Red Deer, and Manitoba’s Barry Mandryk of Winnipeg are alone in first in the Grey Group at 2-0.

New Brunswick’s Barry Lewis (Grey), Newfoundland and Labrador’s Paul Harvey (Blue) and Donald Clarey of Prince Edward Island (Blue) won their only games of the day.

Baldson jumped into a 7-2 lead over Nova Scotia’s Andrew Atherton after three ends and cruised to a 10-5 victory, Turber thumped Northern Ontario’s Dale Dubinsky 8-6, and Mandryk disposed of Yukon’s Scott Hamilton 4-1.

Balsdon admitted he was thrilled to be unbeaten after a so-so performance in his first draw earlier in the day. He emerged with a 5-3 win over Sattelberger, but says he could have been sharper.

“We had a battle this morning and we weren’t firing on all cylinders and they were playing very well, so it was a battle,” said Balsdon. “But we played a lot better this afternoon.

“It’s always nice to get off to a good start. It makes you feel a little more comfortable going through the week. We’re feeling pretty good.”

Balsdon’s team also had another bit of good fortune Tuesday. Just 15 minutes before the opening draw, Ontario third Jordan Keon discovered the sole of his curling shoe had completely ripped apart, leaving him hobbling around the club in his socks looking for an emergency repair or replacement. Up stepped volunteer Tom McKay, who just happened to have the same shoe as Keon, and the same size shoe. Keon interchanged his sliders onto McKay’s, and was good to go.

Energy upgrades help homeowners save some green

When the cold weather strikes and you notice drafty windows and increasing utility bills, it may be time to think green.  Upgrades to improve your home’s energy consumption can give you immediate savings, add significant value to your home, and help reduce the strain on our planet.

If you are thinking green at your house, consider the following tips for making those improvements payoff:

1. Take advantage of energy-saving incentive programs. Until March 31, 2012, you could receive up to $5,000 in rebates to make your home more energy-efficient as part of the federal government’s ecoEnergy Retrofit program. Visit www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca to learn all the details. Be sure to also check out the list of provincial and municipal incentives that might also apply to your project.

2. Get a rebate on your mortgage insurance.  New homebuyers and existing homeowners may qualify for a 10 per cent mortgage insurance refund through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and Genworth Financial. Let’s say you’re looking at a home valued at $350,000, and you make a downpayment of 5%, paying $9,144 in mortgage insurance premiums (2.75%). You then undertake several renovations that improve your home’s energy efficiency by the required amount, which may qualify you for a cash refund of $914.  In addition, if you extended your amortization to 30 years, you can have the longer amortization premium waived. For example, the usual premium of .20% for a 30- year amortization would give you a savings of $700 on a $350,000 mortgage.

3. Consider your resale value. When deciding what improvements to focus on, keep in mind that some renovations add more to the resale value of your home. According to the Appraisal Institute of Canada, a furnace or heating system upgrade can deliver a payback range of between 50 and 75 per cent of the reno costs. Meanwhile, a roof shingle replacement would likely add less value with a range of 25 to 75 per cent.

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