It is vital that landlords understand the level of cover offered to them by insurances such as landlord and strata as well as standard building and contents policies.
When it comes to building, strata and landlord insurance, how do you find your way through the maze?
Standard Building & Contents Insurance
Standard building and contents insurance is primarily designed for owner occupiers and is the type of policy that most people have to … Read the full post »
The Berowra Woodchop was a day for the whole community in the surrounding suburbs of Berowra to enjoy and take part in. The atmosphere at the event was full of excitement. There was a huge variety of stalls from craft stalls, cake stalls, local banks, a display by the Rural Fire Service, The Lions Club, organic vegetable growers and plenty of tasty food stalls.
John Pye Real Estate offered free appraisals … Read the full post »
Here are some helpful tips to consider when applying for a rental property:
1. Turn up to the inspection on time so that you won’t have to rush though the property.
2. Treat the property with respect when visiting. Do not slam doors or push anything open with your feet.
3. Submit a neat application. Quite often we receive application forms that are messy, torn, crumpled or have pages / sections missing and … Read the full post »
From the latest results of RP Data’s Property Pulse, 2011 is likely to be remembered as the year of the million dollar property.
Despite below average sales volumes during 2010, the number of suburbs with a median price at or in excess of $1 million increased to 212 suburbs nationwide. The December quarter report showed that over 2010 the number of suburbs with a $1 million price tag nationwide grew by … Read the full post »
When I look at a property, one of the first things I look for is whether there is a floor plan. I am a visual person and like to be able to visualise the space available in a property. Does this sound like you too? There’s a good chance it does. The majority of buyers today want to see a floor plan before they even consider if the property suits … Read the full post »
Australia’s first-home buyers are now six years older than four decades ago, with new research showing average borrowers wait until their 30s before taking on large amounts of debt.
Underscoring the nation’s problem with housing affordability, a new survey of home owners and aspiring first-home buyers shows one in five first-home buyers used more than 50 per cent of their income to service their debt.
The survey, conducted by mortgage insurance provider … Read the full post »
With so many people now turning to the internet to do their house hunting, professional property photography has become the standard in property marketing. Buyers expect to see visual content when searching for their dream home. When people look at the property photos in a listing, they imagine themselves living in that space. Will potential buyers imagine themselves in the house that an agent has snapped on his 2 megapixel … Read the full post »
The end of another financial year is almost upon us and that means its tax time again! We all know that this time of year means we need to go through the process of working out our taxable income and calculating our tax bill. Here are some handy end-of-financial-year tips on maximising your tax benefits, and tax traps to avoid if you own an investment property. We recommend you keep … Read the full post »
In these times of lower auction results, and tales abounding of property bargains galore it might seem a bit unbelievable to be talking about a housing supply issue.
Many vendors are probably thinking that the only supply issue they have right now is that there’s too many properties on the market. But behind the scenes there’s still plenty of talk about how we’re not building enough houses by number crunchers who … Read the full post »
Often when an agent goes to a property to conduct a periodic inspection, they notice repairs that the tenant had not informed them about. We then ask the question “Why are tenants so afraid to ask for repairs?”
Research suggests that it is for fear of rent increases or being labelled a problem tenant. This is not a good thing for either the tenant or the landlord. If the tenant attempts … Read the full post »
There are opportunities and dangers when surrendering your cooling off period.
In the heat of the moment, the exhilaration of finding and snaring a jewel in the real estate market can be a buyer’s natural adrenalin. But then you sleep on it. And you start to think… Maybe the place will need a bit more work than expected. And how many extra dollars will that cost?
The timber floors seemed a bit … Read the full post »
An alarming number of children present to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead each year as a result of falling from windows and Balcony. Children may fall out of a window which is open more than 10cm, even if a fly screen is present.
How common are these injuries?
Over the past 10 years there have been 91 children admitted to the Children’s Hospital at Westmead after falling from windows. Almost all of … Read the full post »
Granny flats are becoming increasingly popular in NSW with high cost rents forcing more and more adult children to remain at home.
Applications to NSW councils for new granny flats increased to 1521 in 2009/10 compared to 1365 in 2008/09.
The figures, released by NSW Planning’s Local Development Performance Monitoring Report, show a growing trend across the State.
Climbing rents, particularly in Sydney, are forcing adult children to stay longer in the family … Read the full post »
For a number of years, the Real Estate Institute of NSW has been lobbying the NSW Government to extend the principal place of residence stamp duty exemption to ‘seniors’ between 55 and 65 years of age. Currently, the exemption is only available to persons who are 65 years of age or older.
REINSW’s Retirement Assistance Purchase Plan (RAPP) seeks an exemption from stamp duty for empty nesters wishing to relocate to … Read the full post »
You will recall that on 1 July 2010 the former NSW Labor Government introduced the Torrens Assurance Levy, which is an ad valorem tax payable on the registration of a transfer of NSW property where the purchase price is more than $500,000. The greater the purchase price, the higher the levy payable. By way of example, the tax amounts to $204 on a property with a price of $600,000, and … Read the full post »
Sydney suburbs are dominating when it comes to rental returns, new research has revealed.
According to RP Data, Sydney regions accounted for 23 of the 35 best performing capital city rental markets over the past 12 months.
Woollahra in Sydney’s highly coveted Eastern Suburbs topped the list recording a 22.2 per cent increase in the median advertised rental price for houses from $900 in March 2010 to $1,100 in March 2011.
Burwood houses … Read the full post »
Spruce up the yard. Get rid of trash and yard waste. Keep your lawn in good condition and mow it. This includes using a weed whacker to get in the tight corners and along the edges of sidewalks and the house. Trim the hedges, get rid of weeds, and mulch the flower beds. If you don’t have much to work with, plant some flowers or install some landscaping appropriate for … Read the full post »
We hope you have found our Strata Scheme series helpful. If you missed any of the previous posts, you can read them here – Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.
To conclude the series, we have listed some of the questions that we are frequently asked by owners and tenants. If you have any to add, comment below and we’ll answer them for you!
Can I keep a … Read the full post »
Maintenance Responsibilities – Owner or Owners Corporation?
One of the most confusing aspects of owning a lot within a strata scheme is understanding who is responsible for the maintenance of certain elements within the lot. This can become even more confusing because not every strata plan is the same and some owners corporations may pass specific By-Laws, which change or absolve the owners corporation’s maintenance responsibilities. This will be discussed in … Read the full post »
If so, we have the perfect rental for you! The whole principality of Liechtenstein is now available for rent from $US70,000 a night. This tiny, historic and picturesque patch of Europe is made up of just 11 villages and has about 33,000 inhabitants. They get to stay, by the way.
The starting price of $US70,000 a night, is for two nights’ minimum and for up to 150 people. That includes catering, … Read the full post »