The ice princess Choosing to love it or list it Julie barnes Most real estate viewings don’t begin with kicking open a door to gain entry, but this wasn’t your typical listing. Kaitlyn and Brad Blair, the owners of Spruce Homes, were there to assess if the 1960s Queen Elizabeth home had flip potential. “We couldn’t get in because
all the doors were frozen shut,” says Kaitlyn. “The windows were open, so we could see there was frost everywhere.” Once inside—having gained permission to force open a door—they got a better look at the damage. The walls and window frames were sheathed in ice and the
door handles were covered in frost. Paint peeled off the walls in large chunks. “We could only stay in the house for so long because it was colder inside than it was outside,” says Kaitlyn. “We’d come in and take a look and then go back to the car to warm up before going back in again.”
Scott Prokop Kaitlyn and Brad heard four conflicting stories about what may have led to the home freezing over, but from what they discovered, they gather that the house was vacant, listed for sale, and had an out-of-town owner. The heat was turned off, but not the water. When winter Saskatoon HOME fall 2019 | 29