Starting – Page 7 – A New House

The Housebuyer’s Handbook- A How-to for Home Hunters

Guest Post by Hubert Dwight

If you are looking to buy your first home or even taking another step on the property ladder, the whole process can seem daunting and not a little terrifying.

The key to making the process as smooth and painless as possible is to be armed with as much information as you can find.

Below we have tried to break down the process into a basic step by step guide to follow for those looking to purchase through private sale.

Step 1. Approach a Lender

Do this now so you can get an idea of:

How much you will need save
How much you can borrow based on your income/s and factoring in fees and charges you may not have thought of (see below)
What your repayments would be

Step 2. Work out your Budget

When working out your budget don’t forget the hidden costs associated with your purchase – these can be substantial.

Stamp duty, conveyancers, building inspections and a myriad of other cost can eat into your budget, so it pays to be forewarned.

Step 3. Write out your Checklist

Sit down and discuss what you NEED in a property and what you WANT.

Decide whether you want a new build or an existing property.

Remember new builds may save you on stamp duty, but may not have the infrastructure you require or desire.

Occasionally, you can find surprisingly well placed new developments close to the city.

I recently came across Yarra Bend which is one of these new developments surrounded by long established infrastructure.

Step 4. Do your Research

If you are thinking of moving to a location outside your comfort zone, it is wise to do a bit of research to prepare you for any surprises.

Crime rate statistics are probably a good place to start if you don’t know the area very well.

Investigate sold prices published on online real estate sites, so you can get a feel for what you will get for your money, and what represents good value.

Step 5. Inspect, Inspect, Inspect

Even before you have done all the above it, pays to get a feel for the market.

Comparing properties and prices can give you an idea of where the best value for your dollar can be bought, and helps you narrow down what you’re really looking for.

Step 6. Find a Conveyancer

Even in the early stages of house hunting, it is a good idea to select a conveyancer.

Once you find one give them a call, introduce yourself, and let them know that you will be purchasing a house at some stage and will be making use of their services.

A good conveyancer will manage things behind the scenes, such as reviewing the Section 32, to make sure there are no anomalies along with the legal side of the transfer of ownership.

Step 7. Doing your Due Diligence

Property buying is a lot like falling in love.

Don’t be fooled though, what looks pretty on the outside may be hiding some ugly secrets.

Make sure the first thing you do with any property you are interested in is ask for the Section 32.

Once you have that forward a copy onto your conveyancer and then sit down and actually read through it, looking for things such as easements which may run through the property and impede future development.

Your conveyancer is best equipped to guide you through this.

Step 8. Making an Offer

When you have found your property and decided on a figure, your offer will then be written up by the agent to be presented to the vendor.

A deposit will then be taken, and legal documentation signed to make it official.

Things such as a settlement can also be negotiated at this time.

It is important to make your offer subject to any building and pest inspections, and also subject to finance.

This is crucial as new rule changes may have altered your borrowing capacity.You will be given 10 – 14 days to arrange inspections and get finance approval from your provider.

Step 9. Final Inspection

Should your offer be accepted, then both your lender and conveyancer will be notified of the transfer date and all you have to do is make your preparations to move.

About a week before the transfer, you should be allowed the opportunity to make a final inspection of the property to ensure everything is as it should be.

This would be a good time to get your insurances sorted out if you haven’t already done so.

Hopefully this brief summary has given you an overview of the process from start to finish.

Purchasing a property can seem like a confusing maze but taking your time, doing your research and choosing knowledgeable and experienced professionals is the best way to ensure your journey is a success.

5 Considerations When Buying Your First Home

Guest post by Hubert Dwight

For most of us, buying our first home is the biggest decision we ever make and there are so many things that are important to consider.

We have compiled a list of five things we believe are essential to those considerations

Location, Location, Location!

This is an obvious first step but truly it is essential to understand the area that you are buying into.

Is it a growing area?
Is there enough public transport?
Are there good schools near by?
Are there any big developmental plans taking pace in the near future?

All of these things and more can affect the value of a home and you need to consider the future you would like to have in this location.

Is it realistic to buy here? Places like Brighton are always easy to sell, in fact Marshall White in Brighton has houses for sale right now.

Some suburbs are very difficult to purchase and sell in, and have places on the market for months and months.
Where can you work, do you want children?

If you are a city lover don’t move to the country just because it is more affordable, property is a long term investment.

If you don’t want to have to begin the process over again you need to know that you have made a good decision the first time around.

Whether your goal is to keep the same home until you die or as a stepping stone on the way to bigger and better things, the best way to maximise your emotional and monetary profits are to pick an affordable home in a growing neighborhood so that you can feel as secure as possible.

$$$

The next thing on your list is finances, this is where you ask yourself the more finicky questions;

Are you buying alone or with a partner?
What bank or service to you take out a loan with?
How much do you want to pay as a deposit?
What is your maximum?

This is the hard part, and while you need to be able to ensure you can afford your repayments and upkeep, there are also rates and insurance to consider.

The best position to be in is to have good amount of savings and a fairly secure work life and if you intend to make the purchase with someone you should be sure you want them in your life and can trust them financially for a long time.

Size Matters

When you think about a property are you envisioning a house with a yard, an apartment, a high rise?

How much space do you need?
Do you have a family, or will you in the future?

The size and layout of your home are expensive and complicated things to change, so when you buy you want to know that it is already close to your ideal.

How close do you want to be to your neighbors? . . . Are you okay with sharing walls or do they need to be an acre down the road!

You want your home to fit all of your passions so when you have figured out the top three on the list it’s time to consider design and age!

Old or New?

The age of your property can have a huge impact on how it looks and functions so the the next thing to consider is how modern of a property do you want.

The first part of this question is how old is too old and what costs might this bring up in future.

Whilst an older property may have grace and beauty and you have fallen for the high ceilings and windows, you need to also consider how much it might cost to heat the old place, and what potential repairs might be needed.

Old houses often have issues like piping or electricals that need updating, old rotting wood in places you can’t see, etc.

So you need to decide what age is good for you.

For those of us that love the ultra modern that means you may need to compromise on space a little or deal with the price tag of something hardly lived in.

Design

Now that you have figured out what you can afford and what you want, it’s the fun part!

What kind of space do you want to live in?

Design includes all the elements of the old and new debate, plus the amount of light you want in your home, what kind of feeling you like.

You don’t need to love the tiles or the wall colour yet because those things are easy to change.

What is important here is the bones, are there enough windows, do you enjoy and open plan? Questions like that.

Good luck with your search! and stay open to new things, you may fall in love with the opposite of what you expected, so see as many places as possible before you settle on a home!

Caveats

You may be asked “Do you want a Caveat” before you buy land for your new house.

I think it depends on what sort of land you are buying:

If I was buying a block on a new large sub division I wouldn’t bother.
However If I was looking at an existing property to knock down and rebuild I think having a caveat would be worthwhile.

I would be very reluctant to get involved in any property that has a caveat lodged on it.

Definitions

Caveat means beware, A caveat is a written warning on the ‘Title’ to anyone who wants to deal with the property that someone else’s interest already has priority.

The Caveator is the person having an interest in the property who must be notified of any attempted dealing in the property.

A Caveatable Interest allows you to lodge a caveat. The interest is acquired once a contract for purchase is signed.

Lodgement

Lodgement should be done as soon as possible.

I think that it’s best to use a lawyer to lodge a caveat to check whether:

There is a caveatable interest
If there are any contractual restrictions on having a caveat,
The caveat is lodged correctly.

What are the costs?

It will depend on your lawyer/conveyoncers fees but I would expect that the costs will be around $500-$1000.

Why is an existing caveat a problem?

Well it may be difficult to complete a purchase due to the many reasons including the following three:

Someone else has already signed a contract to buy the property and they have priority.
A financial institution may have been allowed to lodge a caveat by the existing owner to secure a loan.
A creditor may have a court order allowing for the lodging of a caveat.
Other rights. There are numerous other rights that may give rise to a “caveatable interest”.

This is not a professional legal opinion and you should consult your legal representative before making any decisions.

Don’t Forget The Carpet Cleaning

There are lots of reasons to think about professional carpet cleaning:

Moving to your new house from a rented place you will want to make sure you get the bond back!
Selling your existing home and wanting to make sure it look at its best.
Or just a clean up after a big party!

In our case we have been in our current place for around 4 years and the carpets needed a bit more work than our Dyson could deliver.

We used a Melbourne based family business called Wizard Cleaning.

They turned up on time, worked quickly and left the carpets looking 100% better.

At $60 to get carpets in 3 room cleaned why would you look at hiring a machine and doing it yourself?

Wizard also offer a range of other services such as

Duct cleaning
Tile and Grout Cleaning
Upholstery Cleaning

If you live in Melbourne why not give them a try?

Their phone number is 03 9323 1474

Disclaimer; I was provided with a complementary clean to help my evaluate the service

9 Important Home Building Trends for 2016 and Beyond

Guest post by Andre Smith

Are you wondering where home buying trends are headed now that the first quarter of 2016 is well behind us?

We’ve put some brainpower into analysing the current home buying market, and put together a trend forecast with our thoughts on what the next big things will be as we finish out 2016 and head into 2017.

These are our predictions for 9 of the most important home building trends for 2016 and beyond.

1. Increased Demand for New Homes Will Create Growth for the Home Building Industry in Australia

According to the Department of Planning and Environment website, the Australian government plans to focus significant attention on meeting housing demands created by projected future population growth.

They anticipate that more than half a million additional homes will be necessary to accommodate the growing population over the next 20 years.

The vast majority of this housing will be new homes, and the home building industry in Australia is poised for outstanding growth opportunities.

2. New Housing Developments Will Increase the Population Density in Existing Cities

The Department of Planning and Environment has communicated plans to create increased housing inventory closer to jobs.

As one of Australia’s thriving economic centres, Sydney is poised to be one of the main beneficiaries of the upcoming housing boom.

3. Demand for New Homes Will Be Strongest Near Airports and Transportation Hubs

With the Australian government’s stated plans to focus on strengthening economic development around transportation gateways and strategic centres, we can infer that populations and development projects will naturally gravitate to these areas.

Look for new development opportunities around Sydney Airport, Port Botany and Badgery’s Creek Airport.

At the Forbes.com website, author Wade Shepard makes a good case for the lucrative investment potential of airport-accessible real estate in an article called ‘Why You Should Want to Live Right Next to an Airport‘.

4. Interest in Home Building Franchises Will Increase

Along with the increased demand for new housing, there’s opportunity for a proliferation of new home builders.

However, home buyers will be looking to work with trusted builders who already have a reputation for building high-value homes, for example GJ Gardner Homes in Point Cook.

The solution is obvious; everyone wins when franchise relationships arise between existing home builders and new business owners.

5. Designers Will Get Increasingly Creative In Designing Homes For Small And Oddly-Shaped Lots

They aren’t making any more land, so it’s getting increasingly more important to make use of the real estate parcels that are still available.

Small and odd-sized lots that home builders once shunned are now getting snapped up for future development.

6. Demand For Demolition Services Will Increase

Along the same lines, we’re seeing an increase in homeowners who wish to demolish their existing homes and rebuild new ones on the same block rather than relocate.

7. First-Time Home Buyers Will Face Challenges

Real estate prices in Sydney are soaring, with most of the available land being priced well out of reach for first-time home buyers.

There has also been a reduction in funding through the First Home Owner’s Grant, which also adds to the challenge.

8. Demand For Multi-Generational Housing Will Remain Strong

With the population aging, and housing becoming increasingly out of reach for young people, mother-in- law suites, attic bedrooms and other multi-generational housing units are in high demand.

9. The Market Is Shifting in Search of Alternative Building Materials

Between the high costs for brick and the high costs of labour for employing bricklayers, many home builders are seeking lower cost building materials.

Now you’re updated on 9 of the most important current home building trends for 2016.

We hope this information will help you make educated decisions when planning any future real estate investments.

Buying a Display Home

Builders often look to sell new ‘Display Homes’ and then rent them back for a couple of years, , , , so should you buy one?

Here are a few things to consider.

Why Do They Sell

Being a builder needs a lot of cash flow.

Owning a house and land uses a lot of cash which increases the borrowings that the builder needs to make to operate their business.

By selling the display home the builder releases the cash and makes the running of the business easier.

The builder can also claim the cost of rent as a business expense.

Advantages

You can see exactly what you are getting.
You are likely to be getting top of the line appliances and fittings.
The quality of construction is likely to be better (I know of tradies who often work on display homes but don’t get other work because they are too expensive)
You get a guaranteed rental income for a couple of years.
The house will come with extensive landscaping.
One area that is forgotten in many display homes is adequate power socket provision.
Usually include a security system.

Disadvantages

The floor covering will have taken a beating.
Heating and cooling will have been well used. (having visited many display homes I find that patio doors are open all year round and the heating/cooling systems are running at full power to compensate)
You are likely to be buying one of the most expensive houses on the development, which may make it harder to realise the investment when you sell.
The house is likely to lack privacy (Large open plan layouts make the house appear spacious but mean that having your own quiet space becomes difficult)

Other Considerations

Many display homes will front a main road making it noisy.
Think about how the property will look when fences are in place. Builders usually don’t initially erect fences as this makes the gardens appear larger.
Check what the sales contract requires the builder to do following the end of the lease. (erect side fencing. remove front fencing, restore garage area, etc)

I’m not saying don’t buy a display home, I know people who have done so and been well satisfied, just consider all the implications,

Extra Rooms

Over the years I have seen many builders put up many reasons for making houses bigger and more expensive.

Here are some of the additions that you wouldn’t have found in many houses 30-40 years ago.

En-Suite
Walk in Robe
Rumpus Room
Study
Breakfast Room
Theatre Room
Parents Retreat
Butlers Pantry
Al-Fresco

Whether you ‘Need’ these rooms, or think they will improve your life is up to you. . . . just remember that for every extra room that puts up the cost of your house.

AHD or TBM

Some a site plan will say the levels relate to AHD and other times the levels will relate to a TBM . .. but what is the difference?

AHD – Australian Height Datum

Between 1966 and 1968 sea level was measured at 30 sites around Australia.

Based on these measurements a Mean Sea Level was assigned for each point.

From the individual points a mean sea level for Australia was established for Australia and given the level 0.000m AHD.

This has allowed the establishment of levels at thousands of points across Australia. (The photo shows a typical survey marker)

All surveys which are available to the public (For example: Flood Level Predictions, must show levels based on AHD)

Interestingly the sea level can vary considerably from AHD depending where you are in Australia.

An example would be the Gold Coast where the following applies:

Mean Sea Level 0.850m AHD
High tide 1.890m AHD (Mean High Water Springs)
Low tide 0,23m AHD (Mean Low Water Springs)

TBM – Temporary Bench Mark

There is an expense in transferring a level from a survey point to your block so your block can be surveyed with AHD levels and contours.

This will vary from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars depending on how close the block is to a survey marker.

Unless the survey company is aware of the need for the survey to be based on AHD levels they will base their survey on a TBM to save you money.

They will normally assign a level to the corner of a drain grate or inspection cover frame. Typically this will be a round number such as 10.00m or 100.00m.

If you need the levels changed to AHD at a later stage they can extend the survey to calculate the AHD level at the TBM and then adjust the levels.

Mistakes To Avoid When Hiring A Real Estate Agent.

Guest Post by Hubert Dwight

Most of us are involved in selling our existing house to finance our new home build.

The sales process during a property sale can be a challenging one.

You need to minimise any hitches when dealing with banks, property lawyers and buyers.

Many property sellers make their an error when selecting their real estate agent, which puts them on the back foot from the outset.

To ensure you are on the front foot when it comes to the sale of your property,we recommend the following tips to avoid making a costly mistake.

Do your own research to find the value for your home.

There are many statistical factors that estimate what your home should be worth.

It is best to conduct our own research on other similar properties in your area to get an understanding of the price range for your type of property.

Your research will help you understand how the property needs to appeal to the desires of the prospective buyers and help drive up the demand for your property.

The more demand there is, the more valuable your home will be.

A good agent will have good experience with maximising this demand among your property’s prospective buyers.

Don’t get blinded by money.

You want to get as much as you can for your property, but don’t get blinded by real estate agencies that promise you a large sales figure amount, only to sell your property far less than you expected.

You want to hire an agent that will give you good value for money.

They are in it for the real estate agent’s fees (commission) on the sale. . . . You are in it for the best sale price that you can get for your property.

From your research you will know whether the agent is providing an accurate guide or an inflated estimate to win your business

Take emotion out of the equation

One of the worst things you can do is let emotion dictate the perceived value for your property.

When too much emotion is invested into your decision-making process, it can cloud your judgement.

Your emotional and financial needs have no impact for the buyer.

The desire to sell at a higher price can cause you to choose an agent that will over promise and put you in a position where you will receive a service that is under delivered.

Many agents leverage people’s emotions to choose them as their property’s agent.

Instead, make a decision based on the agent’s track record and by conducting your own market research so you have realistic expectations for your property.

Hire an agent based on skill, not just likeability.

You want to hire an expert that will sell your property for the price that you want.

It is fine to hire someone that is more likable, but ultimately, you want to hire a person that has the skill to sell your property at the price that you desire.

Compare agents and check that they have strong negotiation skills and a buyer market reach to stimulate demand for your property.

You want to ensure that the price of your property doesn’t fall, thus making you lose money on your property.

Make sure the agent uses the latest marketing techniques

Some real estate agents are stuck in the past with their selling techniques.

Traditional methods whereby placing ads in newspapers are less relevant as newspaper circulation has been in a steady decline for over a decade.

More interaction occurs on the web via computers and smartphones.

Additionally, the expectation of the attention to detail with buyers is higher than it has ever been.

Compare real estate agents to see if they can meet and exceed your expectations.

Additionally, the reputation of the agent is crucial. Online reviews and credibility will make or break their success.

Sites like LocalAgentFinder that showcases the track record of agents, turning real estate selection into a buyers market.

Half Price Guide!

Still over 80 pages of advice and checklists to help you buy right block for your new house. . . . . but now only $2.

Many buyers tell me my ANEWHOUSE GUIDES are worth much more to them than the four dollars I normally charge.

To find out why, check out these reviews on Houzz.com.au

Why Reduce the Price

I originally set up this website to help Australians avoid the common mistakes when having a new house built.

Although I have sold over 2,500 ANEWHOUSE GUIDES the vast majority are for my PCI Guide which checks the final quality.

Rather than just help people in the final stages in their build I would rather help them at every stage of the process.

I have therefore decided to reduced the price of this guide to help people get started on planning their new home . . . . and introduce them to the Guides.

Interested? . . . .Go the Sale Page