When it comes to buying a new home, the majority of Canadians are sold on safe neighburhoods.

There's a lot to consider when looking for a new home besides the price and the features it has to offer.

In fact, a safe neighbourhood is the big sell for homebuyers, according to a survey by BMO Bank of Montreal.

How do you know you've found the right home? Well, it's love at first sight of course.

According to a new report by BMO Bank of Montreal, 80 per cent of prospective homebuyers are sold on a home when they first set eyes on it.

The Psychology of House Hunting report, conducted by Pollara, also found that while 80 per cent know right off the bat that it's the perfect home for them, another 68 per cent say they are willing to settle for a home that's less than perfect.

Most homebuyers shopping in a choppy market are taking their time. But, if you're in the minority of people who have a deadline - because of an impending birth or a new job - this environment offers both opportunities and challenges.

Some people who move too quickly are motivated by timing pressures related to relocation, while others worry they'll be living with their parents because they've sold their home a bit faster than expected.

But the bigger issue is often with stressed sellers who are simply too anxious to get out in a hurry.

When a homeowner is desperate to sell and a buyer is ready to fork over the cash, the truth about a house is often swept under the rug, experts suggest.

If you make a conscious effort to treat every day as Earth Day, you will be doing your part to save the planet and will save some money along the way.

There are some simple things you can do to help reduce energy consumption and reduce your household expenses. 

Here are some tips offered by BMO Bank of Montreal, a company dedicated to becoming a leader in environmental sustainability.

Smoking is not only bad for your health but it's also bad for your house.

According to a new survey, smoking in your home can lower it's resale value.

In fact, it can lower the property value by up to 29 per cent. And, based on an average Canadian house price of $378,532, that's a loss of over $109,000.

Is there an ideal price tag attached to the dream of home ownership?

Well, first-time homebuyers in Canada think so. In fact, they are zooming in on the $300,000 price range when looking for a new house.

And, they plan on putting down about 16 per cent ($48,000), according to a new BMO First-Time Home Buyer's Report.

For many Canadians, the dream of home ownership is just that -- a dream.

Buying your first home is probably one of the biggest financial decisions you will ever make.

So before you jump into making the dream a reality, it is important to do your research and find out the true costs of home ownership before you get trapped in a financial nightmare -- much like the movie Money Pit.

A lack of apartment building construction combined with a glut of new condo construction has given birth to a new kind of landlord who buys one or two condo units and rents them out, the Ottawa Citizen reports.

While rents may barely cover mortgage, tax and other expenses in certain markets, the hope is that the rental income evens things off bit until the unit increases in value.

Fair enough, but are you sure you want to be the one paying the rent? First off,  rents for condominium apartments are anywhere from 30% to 40% more than traditional rental apartment buildings -- in the GTA, at least.

You’ll likely get a newer (albeit smaller) unit and, in many cities, you’ll have better access to the downtown core. But tenants who rent a unit in a condominium complex and are used to the standard leases of traditional apartment buildings, may be in for a few surprises.

Although snow is still scarce, winter, along with rising heating bills, is definitely here. Can portable space heaters help you save some money, or are the claims just a lot of hype?

Although once notorious as energy hogs, today’s options include more energy efficient models. But it still depends on how you use them, experts say.

If your heater is equipped with a good thermostat and you don’t heat the room to a warmer-than-normal temperature, it seems you can probably save money by using one in a room you’re in and keeping the rest of the house a bit chillier.

But it all depends. The truth is that electrical heat is almost always the most expensive route overall but warming up one room in big house is a different matter.