Protect Your Investment

A home inspection is about protecting your investment. Buying a home without getting a proper home inspection is taking a risk you may very well regret later. Buyers must take responsibility to check for major and minor defects in a home as they may not be protected if they discover problems after closing. The home inspector is a valuable educational resource. He or she can suggest specific tips on how to maintain the home ultimately saving you thousands of dollars in the long term. After all, this is one of the most important decisions you will ever make so why not protect your investment?

Contact No 1 Home Inspections for Peace of Mind when purchasing a Home in the Halifax or Darmouth area.  Read more….

Protect Your Investment

A home inspection is about protecting your investment. Buying a home without getting a proper home inspection is taking a risk you may very well regret later. Buyers must take responsibility to check for major and minor defects in a home as they may not be protected if they discover problems after closing. The home inspector is a valuable educational resource. He or she can suggest specific tips on how to maintain the home ultimately saving you thousands of dollars in the long term. After all, this is one of the most important decisions you will ever make so why not protect your investment?

Contact No 1 Home Inspections for Peace of Mind when purchasing a Home in the Halifax or Darmouth area.  Read more….

Radon Gas Testing

Radon is the second most common cause of lung cancer in Canada. We at Inside Edge are trained in the proper method of gathering radon data with a long term test (minimum 1 month, ideally 3-12 months) and work with an independent laboratory to provide detailed reports. We can analyze that data to advise whether steps to mitigate radon are necessary. While the Nova Scotia Government has a radon map that indicates areas of high radon concentration, it is important to note these are general trends. Radon levels not only vary by community, but even individual homes next to each other can have radically different radon levels! The only way to know what the radon levels in a home are an acceptable limit (while there is no established safe limit, the Government of Canada has guidelines for acceptable levels) is to do a long term test.

Please note as short term (48 hour) tests are not a reliable or accurate method of measuring radon, and can provide a false sense of security.

We are constantly upgrading our knowledge and skills by participating in Continuing Education Courses.

Why You Need a Home Inspection

The purpose of an inspection isn’t just to find problems with the house; It’s also about making sure that you don’t buy something that will cost more than you think, or cause other headaches down the road. If you’re planning on purchasing a brand-new home, then hiring a home inspector could save you thousands of dollars. It will also help you understand the property you want to buy and the possible defects. A home inspection can improve your confidence as a buyer or a real estate agent.

Benefits:

1. Identification of potential safety hazards: A home inspection can reveal potential hazards such as faulty electrical wiring, gas leaks, and structural issues that could pose a danger to the inhabitants of the home.
2. Detection of costly repairs: An inspector can identify issues that could lead to expensive repairs down the line, such as a leaky roof or a malfunctioning HVAC system.
3. Peace of mind: Knowing the condition of a home before making a purchase can provide peace of mind and help buyers make a more informed decision.
4. Negotiation tool: If issues are identified during an inspection, buyers can use this information to negotiate the price of the home or ask the seller to make repairs.
5. Condition of the home: A home inspection can give buyers a comprehensive understanding of the condition of the home, including the condition of major systems such as plumbing, electrical, and HVAC, as well as the overall condition of the home’s structure and foundation.

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2022, it is estimated that the population of the Halifax CMA was 480,582, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The regional municipality consists of four former municipalities that were amalgamated in 1996: Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford, and Halifax County.

Halifax is an economic centre of Atlantic Canada, home to a concentration of government offices and private companies. Major employers include the Department of National Defence, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Saint Mary’s University, the Halifax Shipyard, various levels of government, and the Port of Halifax. Resource industries found in rural areas of the municipality include agriculture, fishing, mining, forestry, and natural gas extraction.

History

The Mi’kmaq name for Halifax is Kjipuktuk, pronounced “che-book-took”. The name means “Great Harbour” in the Mi’kmaq language.

The first permanent European settlement in the region was on the Halifax Peninsula. The establishment of the Town of Halifax, named after the 2nd Earl of Halifax, in 1749 led to the colonial capital being transferred from Annapolis Royal.

The establishment of Halifax marked the beginning of Father Le Loutre’s War. The war began when Edward Cornwallis arrived to establish Halifax with 13 transports and a sloop of war on June 21, 1749.  By unilaterally establishing Halifax, the British were violating earlier treaties with the Mi’kmaq (1726), which were signed after Father Rale’s War.  Cornwallis brought along 1,176 settlers and their families. To guard against Mi’kmaq, Acadian and French attacks on the new Protestant settlements, British fortifications were erected in Halifax (Citadel Hill) (1749), Bedford (Fort Sackville) (1749), Dartmouth (1750), and Lawrencetown (1754), all areas within the modern-day Regional Municipality. St. Margaret’s Bay was first settled by French-speaking Foreign Protestants at French Village, Nova Scotia who migrated from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia during the American Revolution.

December 6, 1917 saw one of the great disasters in Canadian history, when the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship carrying munitions, collided with the Belgian Relief vessel SS Imo in “The Narrows” between upper Halifax Harbour and Bedford Basin. The resulting explosion, the Halifax Explosion, devastated the Richmond District in the North End of Halifax, killing approximately 2,000 people and injuring nearly 9,000 others.  The blast was the largest artificial explosion before the development of nuclear weapons.  Significant aid came from Boston, strengthening the bond between the two coastal cities.

The four municipalities in the Halifax urban area had been coordinating delivery of some services through the Metropolitan Authority since the late 1970s, but remained independent towns and cities until April 1, 1996, when the provincial government amalgamated all municipal governments within Halifax County to create the Halifax Regional Municipality. The municipal boundary thus now includes all of Halifax County except for several First Nation reserves.

Since amalgamation, the region has officially been known as the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), although “Halifax” has remained in common usage for brevity. On April 15, 2014, regional council approved the implementation of a new branding campaign for the municipality. The campaign would see the region referred to in promotional materials simply as “Halifax”, although “Halifax Regional Municipality” would remain the region’s official name.