A recent change to the Condominium Property Act in Alberta could be good news for condo owners who might otherwise face a huge expense thanks to building damage caused by a problem in their unit.

The mortgage-approval process can be a time of uncertainty, one that often ends with many bankers suggesting mortgage protection through their creditor insurance. Buyer beware – the product has come under scrutiny by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) for incentivized sales and consumer risk.

Six tips for a stress-free moving day

As exciting as it is to buy a home, it also brings with it the reality of moving day, and the hassles that come along with that process.

To take the guess work out of the big move, we talked to the experts to get their tips for planning a stress-free move: Barry Byman, sales manager and partner with AMJ Campbell International in Calgary, and Vince Kirton, regional manager with Sentinel Storage.

Golf-course homeowners have several tools at their disposal to protect their property from errant golf balls

For people living along golf courses, glass damage from errant golf balls is no laughing matter. While the problem isn't large in terms of total homes affected, it's a big deal for the few that do live in the line of fire.

"Only a small percentage of courses have homes bordering them," said Slade King, COO of Play Golf Calgary, which runs five courses in and around the city.

"Within all of the Calgary courses, only a few holes have issues, so out of 30,000 golfers who play that course in a year, you may have 10 incidents of golf-ball damage to houses."

New-gen systems offer sophisticated safety

Randy Larkam sits at his desk in southeast Calgary looking at the sunny backyard of his vacation home in Arizona. The image on his computer screen is overlaid with several transparent tinted rectangles

As we watch, a caretaker enters the frame and checks the pool and surrounding patio.

"There she is," said Larkam. "Right on time, too."

The coloured areas on-screen show the motion detection fields of the cameras that monitor the yard. They can be adjusted in real time just by clicking and dragging.

This ain't your dad's burglar alarm.

Tips on who is responsible and for what

The smoke continues to clear from the devastating wildfire in Fort McMurray, which, at one point, was estimated to be three times the size of Edmonton.

While it could still be weeks or even months before resident are able to return to the city, landlords and tenants will have questions before then. The Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta (CPLEA) is offering these five tips:

Alberta registration changes are another story*

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) recently announced it would be implementing  higher premiums for borrowers who have less than a 10 per cent down payment.

The move means Canadians seeking a mortgage with a loan-to-value ratio of up to 95 per cent will see their premiums jump about 15 per cent from 3.15 to 3.6 per cent. For those with a loan-to-value ratio from 90.01 to 95 per cent, their premiums will climb from 3.35 to 3.85 per cent.

The Crown corporation's move, which takes effect June 1, has since been matched by private-sector insurer Genworth Canada. Canada Guaranty, the country's third main mortgage insurer, had not made an announcement as of press time.