If you're a renter in Calgary thinking of testing the waters of homeownership, it might be time to take the plunge.

With lower prices and lots of choices, the current real estate market in Calgary has some people thinking now is the time to invest in a rental property.

In two short months, Sodo Residences has 31 per cent of its luxury rental apartments occupied and 40 per cent of the 305 units already leased.

While the common refrain that renting amounts to nothing more than "paying your landlord's mortgage" is a bit misguided, it does raise an interesting question: what kind of house can you afford with what you're currently paying in rent?

Five years after the tragic deaths of Kaiti Perras, Josh Hunter, Jordan Segura, Lawrence Hong and Zackariah Rathwell at a university party in Brentwood, their families are coming together to build a garden that honours their memories.

When it comes to deciding whether to rent or buy a home, discussions of pros and cons tend to centre around the financial considerations. However, the rent or buy dilemma is about far more than just money. Another important consideration is lifestyle – which option will allow you to live the life you want? That's a difficult question to answer, but we're here to help.

As spring starts to arrive in Calgary, homeowners might be looking ahead to the warmer months and the possibilities for home improvement or building something new on their property.

Many of the most popular projects involve fences, whether building new or breathing life into an old one. However, fence building can be fraught with frustrations: Who is responsible for fence construction between two properties? What are the costs? What should it be made of?

The vibrancy of Calgary's downtown office market is a good indicator of the health of the city's economy, and since the oil price collapse that started in the latter half of 2014, they've both been struggling.

Everything was overflowing everywhere, Jodie Tilley says, as she stands in the open-concept main floor of her 2,500-square-foot duplex in Richmond-Knob Hill.

"My life was unmanageable in this house," she said. "My dining table was a dumping ground, and lots of the house was unusable because of the clutter. It didn't feel like a home I could welcome people into."

Want to sell your house fast? Then add a little sizzle to your curb appeal, so potential buyers can see from the road how pretty your house is before they book a showing.