Attending an auction, with the intention to bid, can be a nerve racking experience to say the least. You’re about to compete, in public and at a cost; however, the ultimate cost is at your own discretion. Bidding is an art, and if perfected, can see you outdo the guy who rolled up in the shiny Merc and tripled the first bid.
Image source: Your Property Hound
Have your finances pre-approved: Secure a loan package with a competitive interest rate – and do so beforehand so you know your budget and can bid with confidence (and not just emotion) when you rock up on auction day.
Bid in odd numbers: a simple trick that can be extremely effective. Typically bids will go up in even increments. If bids begin to falter at $500,000, then bid $503,000. You could just manage to win the auction at a fraction of your foreseen cost by avoiding round numbers.
Have three prices in mind: A price you believe would be an absolute bargain to pick up the property, another you consider to be the true value, and a final that would be the absolute maximum you could afford. Auctioneers fuel off overbearing emotions. By dissecting the value, you’re effectively allowing yourself to participate in the auction from a stable and sensible position.
Be an alternate-bidder: If the bid is increasing in $5,000 or $10,000 increments, try to slow bidding by going up by only $1,000 or $2,000; likewise, if bidding has slowed down and is going up in only small increments, try to blow the other bidders out of the water with one last powerful bid. Either way, you’re breaking the pattern and by doing so, manipulating the process to your advantage.
Remain cool and confident: Ask the auctioneer or selling agent questions that might deter the hesitant, auction-novice. Mention the body-corporate fees, or ask for an update on the local capital works. Expressing your knowledge could be the difference between leaving with a new property or leaving without. Make calm eye contact with other bidders, transmit your confidence through your body language even if inside you’re as nervous as the rest of them!
–Bessie writes for finder.com.au, one of Australia’s largest comparison websites. She is passionate about real estate, renovating, and helping Australians find better.
Spring has always been the darling season on the property sales calendar, but summer is hot for sales too—if the timing’s right.
When is the best time to sell a property? Many people assume it’s spring, but the answer is not a season. The best time to sell is when there’s not much stock on the market. The best sales results are achieved when your property is selling in isolation, not competition.
Summer then, is a great time to sell property, but you need to get your timing right. A lot of ‘new year’ stock comes on the market in February after everyone has had a break and has finally gotten around to talking to an agent. The best time to sell in summer is therefore January, before everyone lists their property.
There’s a myth that there aren’t as many buyers during summer but, the truth is, buyers are always looking. On a lazy summer’s day people browse property listings and start dreaming of a new life and plenty of new year’s resolutions centre on finding a new place to live. Sellers should take advantage of this.
Want to sell in summer? Follow this schedule:
December
If you’re going to sell in December, the first two weeks is the best window you have before everyone (including most agencies) take a break over Christmas and new year. Buyers will still be looking during the holidays but very few agencies will show a property during this time.
Otherwise, December is the best time to prepare your property, especially the garden. Lawns need a decent lead time to look their best, so cut and treat the grass so it looks lush by January. Clean the gutters, give the property a lick of paint and declutter. When you retrieve the Christmas tree from storage, it’s a great time to look around and see what you can sell or throw away.
Talk to your agent in December and have photos taken after sprucing up the place but before the holidays so you are ready to list the property in January.
January
List the property and get ready for inspections. If your house tends to heat up, consider scheduling showings for the morning or evening. A sunset viewing when the days are longer is one advantage summer has over other seasons.
While it may be too hot for baking bread or burning a candle, seasonal scents from fresh flowers or fruit can set a good mood. Have fresh cold water or lemonade on hand to give to visitors.
Summer showings are also an excellent time to play up any appealing outdoor area your property may feature. Set up your deck, courtyard or balcony as an inviting space so buyers can instantly see it as a place for friends and family to gather. Highlight other warm weather features such as breezeways and, if you have one, your pool—which you have cleaned, of course.
February
If all has gone well, you’ll have exchanged contracts by February. If your property is still on the market, however, rest assured that you don’t have to compete for tradespeople and painters and agents to get your property ready.
If you’re selling at auction, book the auctioneer for late January or early February, giving you enough time to show in January but closing the sale before the rush in February.
In my experience, the best times to sell are before the rush periods. For me that’s August, before the spring listings, and January, before lots of stock comes on the market in February. With a bit of planning, you can get the jump on the summer sales period by listing in January, making it a very happy new year indeed.
If you’re planning a renovation, just finished one, or you’re right in the thick of one, you may well be re-evaluating your mortgage options. And if you are, you are also probably asking yourself the question: “Should I fix my loan rate?”
There are always questions around fixed and variable rates, because people really want to know what they should do!
Some people take the crystal ball perspective – they try and predict what’s going to happen in the future, but to be honest, it’s a bit like being at the casino table and trying to figure out whether the ball is going to drop on a red or black number. Banks employ rooms full of economists who try to figure this out every day and they still get it wrong!
The most accurate (and there’s still plenty of room for error) approach is probably the rear vision mirror view, which is to look backwards at what has happened with rates historically.
At the moment, interest rates are at an almost-60-year interest rate low, which is great for buyers right now. But if you speak to people who were buying houses in the ’80s, they’ll be able to talk to you about the pain of borrowing on rates of 18%. I’m 35 and in my ten-year borrowing life I’ve seen a big fluctuation with rates. One of my first loans sat in the 8 or 9% range and now we are seeing them halve to sit in the 4% range.
With all of that in mind, what looking in the rear vision mirror tells us is that right now interest rates are incredibly low and if it suits you, it is probably a great time to lock in a fixed low rate.
The third approach to take is to have a good look at your plans for the next few years and see what is on the radar that may dictate or limit the choices you make about whether or not to fix your rates.
Statistics show that every three years people adjust their home loan. And that’s usually because they are doing something in their life that requires them to make changes to their loan – they are renovating, getting married, divorced, having a baby, moving house etc.
For some people, the certainty of knowing what they will be paying out for their loan every month and that their rates won’t change over the term of their loan suits them perfectly. But for others – especially when you bear in mind the three-year average loan adjustment – locking into a loan may not be the way to go.
You might be planning on flipping the house and buying again, you may want to renovate, you may be planning on having another baby. For whatever reason, locking into a fixed loan might not suit your life at the moment.
If you do settle on a fixed rate and then decide to change things, the bank will charge you for breaking the contract of your loan. This is called a fixed-rate break cost and it is set at a rate that covers what the bank will lose out on by you breaking the contract.
Something else to keep in mind when thinking about a fixed rate is while you do have the certainty of knowing what you’ll be paying on your mortgage for the term of your loan, a fixed rate means that you will not have the flexibility of a variable loan.
And that means you cannot pay extra off the loan. You can only make the scheduled payments over the life of the loan (although some do give you a capped additional amount, usually around $10,000).
So if you get a bonus at work, or you come in to an inheritance etc, you will be penalised with a fixed-rate break cost if you pay a lump sum into your loan.
But the good news is, you can have your cake and eat it too!
You can do this by fixing a proportion of your loan and leaving the balance on a variable rate. That way, whichever way rates move, one half of your loan is always winning. If you are going to do this, have a really good look at what you have planned in the next few years to ascertain the best proportion of fixed to variable.
The final thing to consider once you have decided to fix all of your loan – or just a proportion – is how long you want to fix it for. This is the million-dollar question. Different terms will have different costs – sometimes the longer the term, the cheaper the rate, while at other times, the shorter the term, the cheaper the rate.
Your plans will be a good guide to the length of your term as well. If you plan on flipping your property and buying again, you don’t want to be locked in to a loan and incur a break cost when you sell.
On the other hand, if you plan on renovating and holding on to the property as an investment or as an owner-occupier for a few years, now is probably a great time to lock down a loan at historic low rates, keep your repayments low and maybe even use some of the extra cash you are saving to buy yourself a second property.
— Paul is the director of CVG Finance, a leading brokerage offering financial services across all areas.
Just when you were pulling your hair out over the impending spending of Christmas, the banks come along and hike home loan rates, effectively jacking up your monthly expenses for the next 30 years. But why have they come now, will they cause fewer presents under the tree and, if possible, how can you avoid them?
The banks need to hold more money – and you may too
Financial institutions have pushed up their variable rates out of cycle after being told by financial regulator group APRA that they need to hold more risk weight capital against their loans. But what does a rate hike look like in terms of your wallet?
If you had a $400,000 home loan and experienced a hike, say from 5.45% to 5.6%, the extra monthly amount you’d have to fork out would be $37.69 a month. While this means the number of presents under the Christmas tree this year may not be affected too severely, it does mean that over 30 years you can expect to shell out an additional $13,569.23. When painted in this light, unsuspecting rate hikes can bludgeon your bank account.
Unlike your last new year’s resolution, you can make a positive change
Home loans, like all financial products, should be treated as a strategic agreement. The laws of probability state that, for the multitude of loans on the market, there’s probably one with a lower rate than your own. There’s also a key process to follow when looking for a better rate.
Firstly, you’re going to want to approach your lender’s customer retention team with a calm, civil smile. These are the people who are directly responsible for keeping customers happy, so it’s in their best interests to make sure you’re content with your home loan. Have an understanding of the lowest rates in the market (so you know your bargaining power) and ask for a price match – or at least a significant decrease. If you have the stats of lower rates handy, you have an informed and weighted request they’ll need to take seriously.
If your provider won’t listen, find someone who will
They may not have capacity to offer you the best deal on the market – or they may simply not want to.
Whatever the case, some providers will turn a firm, cold shoulder to your rate requests, and there’s usually not much you can do in this case. Or, at least, not much within the same loan. It could be time to refinance.
First, find the lowest possible variable rate in the market – that’s currently 3.79 percent. Then, work your way backwards until you’ve found a loan with the home loan features and LVR levels that you consider essential. You can beat the banks and even find a cushier home loan – you just won’t see the full benefits until Christmas in 30 years time.
— Bessie writes for finder.com.au, one of Australia’s largest comparison websites. She’s passionate about real estate, renovating, and helping Australians find better.
While the apartment was a far cry from perfect — with its dim lighting, strange reclaimed boiler room with very low ceiling and a whole lot of mess, for Michael Casten, it was well worth the gamble.
Before: kitchenAfter: kitchen
Situated in the desirable Sydney location of Elizabeth Bay, Michael purchased it for $500,000 in July 2014. A year later he sold it for a figure in the high $600,000s, not a bad effort considering he spent just $40,000 on the reno. “I did most of the work myself to keep costs down,” explains Michael. “Though I did have a lot of help from one of my best mates who also happens to be my neighbour!”
Before: bathroomAfter: bathroom
Tackling one room at a time (Block style!), some were simple, like repainting the bedroom and retiling the kitchen and bathroom, whilst others, like the boiler room and stairs, were much more extensive. “My proudest accomplishment was building the stairs and bookcase which was a two month labour of love. As there’s a structural beam running the width of the living room, originally when you walked up the stairs you would need to duck underneath it! So I pushed the stairs back behind the beam to avoid this. I then installed two new walls in the old boiler room/dining room and the black bi-fold doors that can be used to close off the room should you want to house guests. The tiles were removed and replaced by polished concrete. I then ripped down the false ceiling to expose the concrete ceiling and ran copper pipes to the light fitting to maximise the head height.”
Before: livingAfter: living
Once his least favourite space, the old boiler room come dining room now house two new rooms, one a walk in wardrobe/storage space and the other a dining room with bifold doors. “I love having a separate dining room. It’s certainly my favourite space as it’s such a luxury to have in inner city apartments.”
Before: dining/boiler roomAfter: dining
Mixing a lot of off the shelf Bunnings and Ikea hardware with statement pieces to try to keep costs down, such as the budget subway tiles mixed with Carrara marble benchtops, one place Michael did decide to spend big on was the lights. “Moving all the lighting from track lights on the wall to the ceiling totally removed the dim, depressing mood of the place. It’s made the biggest difference to the home.”
Before: bedroomAfter: bedroom
With the property marking Michael’s third reno — he splits his time between working as a medical advisor, running his side project A.M. Homewares and renovating — he wouldn’t hesitate to do it all over again! “The space you live in has such a big impact on your mood so if you don’t like something, change it. Just remember to keep track of the budget! I had an excel document permanently open on my laptop tracking every cent.”
The Block judge Darren Palmer’s Sydney home is up for sale and letting the world see behind the doors is as nerve wracking as you might think! As if being an interior designer isn’t reason enough to fear people judging your design efforts, being a judge on a reality TV show watched by more than a million people can’t help! And before you ask, yes of course there’s some grasscloth wallpaper in there!
“All the way through this reno I was just thinking ‘don’t mess it up’. There’s pressure being the ‘expert’ to get everything perfect but at the end of the day nothing ever is perfect!” says Darren. “I’m proud of the result and hopefully the right people will walk in and fall in love with the house just like we did when we first saw it.”
Having visited when Darren and husband Olivier had just moved in a couple of years ago, I can vouch that this is a serious transformation and the end result is very impressive. Although pre-reno, the home was still very charming with some lovely character features, especially the ceilings, which I immediately loved! I’m so pleased to see these features have been kept and in some cases, restored.
It’s also in a delightful, tree-lined street and enviable location. “When we first saw the place we thought it was sweet,” Darren says. “It was a fairly spacious layout, all open plan downstairs. It needed a lot of work with creamy coloured paint and lacquered pine floors. The back yard was a non event and there was not much light.”
He had to stick with the original floor plan so Darren removed the bathroom and laundry to open up the back of the house to the rear courtyard and the middle of the house to some light. “I relocated the downstairs bathroom to our son’s old bedroom and made two rooms out of the large open space at the front of the house that I used to use as a home office and sitting room. Upstairs was a simple refit of the existing space with better layout and inclusions in the bathroom.”
Post reno, Darren thinks the house feels fresh, sweet and stylish. “It’s respectful of the house and period. We’ve restored some of the period features back to as new and added every modern convenience whilst also increasing the living space and amenity in the home.”
As Block viewers will know, there are challenges with every project but Darren says his building team did a stellar job (got to keep those trades happy, right?). “The biggest issue most probably was that I treated it in a far less structured way that I would a project for a client, with some things being done on the fly and some things being changed as circumstances changed. Needless to say it cost more and took more time than I planned.” But isn’t that the case with almost every reno?!
The busy interior designer, TV personality and family man, loves the end result though. “I think it turned out beautifully and it’s a really massive improvement. The previous owner came through on the weekend during the open for inspections and was blown away. She gave it a big tick, thankfully! I think the best thing about the house is that the interior suits the exterior and works perfectly in the quiet little family street. It feels fresh and quaint and elegant which is just what I wanted.”
Darren, who has since moved closer to the beach and bought in Bondi, loved the convenience of living here. “I love the area and I loved being in a completely freestanding house in a row of freestanding houses. There’s a real community, family vibe in the street and events like Halloween or Christmas get celebrated together. It also has a kids’ play park at the end of the street, a big park and sports field right next to it and it’s two blocks from Rushcutters Bay Park. It’s literally got everything you’d want within five minutes. Edgecliff Station and shopping centre is a quick walk away through bushland and the cross city tunnel entrance is right nextdoor too so you can drive anywhere in town swiftly. If it wasn’t for Bondi calling us to the beach, we’d happily stay.”
Darren sees the next owners as a young family who have the occasional visitor to stay. “Two small kids could easily share the front room, the parents’ retreat upstairs has everything you want and the third bedroom gets closed off from the rest of the home when guests come. You can also see by what the neighbours on both sides have done that there’s still development potential in the house with the easy addition of two more bedrooms and a bathroom being possible. I had much bigger plans for the house and have them all sorted in my head but decided to keep some value in the house for the next people to realise.”
Unable to resist the lure of another reno, Darren will have plenty to keep him busy in the new house, but is happy to take his time: “We work hard and we don’t do much else except hang out as a family so we decided that the beach was where we wanted to be on our down time.We found a great house in Bondi and we love it and have more space to live in and another project to focus on – eventually.”
21 Walker Avenue, Edgecliff is due to go for auction on 1 December and is open for inspection on Thursdays and Saturdays from 2-2.45pm.
Renovating your property and preparing it for a sale means you want to add maximum value for the least amount of money. And whilst we’re all familiar with the usual makeover tips, we go a little further, revealing not only what to do but also how to do it so you can get bang for your buck!
Not just a lick of paint but the right colour
We’ve heard it many times over; a lick of paint will do wonders for your makeover. Indeed it will but it is important to know what hues to use to maximise the aesthetic potential of your property.
For exteriors we recommend dark hues because they hide imperfections and can accentuate the architectural appeal of your home. A 1950s oval tin shed that would normally need replacing can look remarkably beautiful painted in a dark exterior colour. For a fresh, contrasting look complete it by replacing old worn out doors and windows with new white ones, and you’ve just saved yourself the cost of a new shed!
Create the illusion of space
For a few hundred dollars, you could be adding thousands to your sale price by knocking down a non-structural wall. Buyers are looking for open, airy spaces and open plan living is on the top of their agenda and lifestyle. Can you knock down the wall that’s joining the living room and the tiny kitchen? Great, go ahead and do it and you’ll reap the rewards at sale time.
A good clean up of the garden is a given, but a good prune is something most sellers don’t pay attention to. How do you feel when you get your haircut? Exactly our point!
We recommend pruning your trees and plants and giving them a generous ‘haircut’ at least eight weeks before sale time. This will not only aid your garden clean up but will help promote new growth just in time for your sale, making everything look vibrant and lush. Selling in a hurry? Get rid of any leggy growth or dead wood and tip prune your plants for an equally effective result.
Front door appeal
Much like dating, first impressions count and you’ll have potential buyers saying: “You had me at hello!” if you put a little more love and attention into your front door area.
Start by eliminating any clutter from your entrance to allow the energy to flow through your front door (this is a feng shui must). Make sure your front door is functional and in perfect working order. Rust on screen doors is a turn off for buyers and so are wooden doors that have had extended exposure to harsh elements like sand, wind and sun.
Repair or and repaint immediately and why not have some fun updating your front door with a fresh new colour. For as little as $80 and an afternoon’s labour you could be adding a few thousand dollars to your sale price.
Add the shiny things
Let’s face it, people are like magpies; they are attracted to shiny things!
Add some affordable bling to your home by replacing your old worn out taps with shiny, new chrome ones. Replace a plain tiled feature wall with contemporary tiles that offer textural reflection and lustre. Light switch panels can tend to go yellow over time, replace them with new ones or even opt for a completely new and contemporary light switch panel. Adding large inexpensive mirrors to bring in the light will also amplify your interiors. Finally, finish off by styling your property with luxe accessories which you can take with you after the sale, like copper, mirror, glass or chrome vases, trays and floor lamps.
Change buyers’ perceived value of your property
Small cracks, dents and damages that you think may not be noticed can in fact play a major role at sale time. As your potential buyers inspect the property these insignificant imperfections, although not major, can still be noticed subconsciously therefore shaping any buyers’ perceived value of what your property is worth. Attention to detail is a must, so make sure that during the makeover you inspect your property with fresh eyes just like your buyer will.
Flooring rule: less is more
With flooring always remember that less is more. Strip back that aged carpet to reveal the natural wooden floor boards underneath; not only will it freshen up your interiors but it will also create the illusion of space by having one type of flooring seamlessly featured throughout the entire home. If you are replacing your flooring opt for simple floorboards, or carpet (if you must). Unless it’s a bespoke property with exceptional quality materials, your flooring should never be the showstopper!
Ask a professional
For the affordable investment of a consultation session, you can have all the guesswork removed and save hours of laborious planning if you get the advice of a professional. Makeover blind spots are easy to miss, but with a pair of fresh, expert eyes you can be on your way to maximising the value of your property.
Number crunching is one of the less exciting parts of renovating – but unfortunately it’s also one of the most important. Whether you are turning over an investment property or renovating your home as a long-term nest for your family, it makes sense to know you are not overcapitalising and the money you are spending is adding value in the long-term. What’s more, the scope of the work can often determine the best type of finance you need to put in place.
This is the third part in a series about steps to take to ensure the hard work you put into your renovation pays off financially.
So you’ve finished your reno and your house is on the market. But what do you do when you find the next house of your dreams but you have not sold your original one yet?
You have a few options, all of which have their pros and cons.
The first is taking some of the equity out of the home you have on the market to put down a deposit on the home you want to buy.
For example, the house you are selling is worth $500,000. You owe $200,000 and have $300,000 equity, so to procure the home you want to buy you can transfer some of this equity to use as a deposit.
Pros:
You can secure the house now and either move in or get started on your new reno;
You’re buying your new home at today’s prices;
You can shop around for a better loan for your new home as you have a deposit for a completely new transaction and will be able to pay out your existing loan once you’ve sold; and
You don’t risk losing the house of your dreams.
Cons:
You’re holding two mortgages which need to be serviced, because in effect, you have borrowed 100% of the cost of the new house on top of the loan you already have;
You have two houses to maintain; and
You are sweating on selling!
The second option is a bridging loan. These are useful when you don’t really have enough equity in the house you are selling to make it worthwhile pulling money out of your existing loan for a deposit on the new house.
Bridging finance is no longer as expensive as it used to be and if you have the means to service a bridging loan, most lenders should negotiate with you on a rate that is usually pretty well in line with the current home loan offering.
Pros:
You can secure the house now and either move in or get started on your next reno;
You’re buying your new home at today’s prices; and
You don’t risk losing the house of your dreams.
Cons
It can be expensive to set up;
You usually have to stick with the lender you are already with which means you can’t shop around for a better deal;
You need to service two home loans until you sell your existing home; and
You are putting yourself under financial pressure which may entice you to sell your home for less than it is actually worth just to ease the stress.
Your third option comes in to play when you simply don’t have the funds to service two loans and you need to sell your place first to free up the money to buy the next one.
But if you really want to secure the house of your dreams, this is when you can start working with your solicitor to put some clauses into the purchase contract that make it possible, but give yourself some breathing space and some outs in case yours does not sell.
There are clauses that can be set up for a delayed exchange on a purchase. This means you’ll pay a small holding deposit initially, but exchange can be subject to either the sale of your home or finance.
Your solicitor could also negotiate a six-month settlement that will allow you to secure the house with a holding deposit, but give you some time to sell yours. This one’s not for the faint-hearted because you are really putting yourself in the pressure cooker to offload your place within the six months.
Again, the pros are:
You aren’t tied to the lender you are already with because the sale is not linked financially to the purchase. This means you can shop around for a better loan for your new home because you’ve given yourself time to sell your own house and organise finance on the new one;
You secure the house now and you can either move in or get started on your next reno;
You’re buying your new home at today’s prices; and
You don’t risk losing the house of your dreams.
But the cons:
Sometimes you’ll come up against a seller who is reluctant to give you time to sell, especially if it’s a seller’s market or a hotspot, such as certain suburbs in Sydney; and
You will lose the house if yours doesn’t sell.
So the short answer to the question is yes; you can buy again before you sell your existing home, and there are number of ways you can make it happen — you just have to decide which best suits your circumstance and will work in your favour financially.
— Paul is the Director of CVG Finance, a leading brokerage offering financial services across all areas.
There’s an art to property renovation, particularly when your focus is on maximising value (which it should be). With most things in the modern age, sometimes you simply don’t have the time or resources to become a master – but there’s nothing stopping you from faking it till you make it. So, if you have a fast-approaching deadline and need to see dollars soon, here are four key considerations that can up your property value without also increasing your wait-time.
1. Create space
We know that a higher ceiling can rake in a few extra dollars when it comes time to put your property under the hammer, but going for the visually opening abilities of white walls can also add to making the room feel more expansive – it also allows you to mix-up the colour scheme while not setting you back as much time during the renovating process. Mirrors also assist with creating the illusion of space; enlarging an area is a great way to create atmosphere, as well as value.
If working with oddly shaped rooms or spaces, avoid large pieces of furniture that may make the area appear cluttered, and accessorise with asymmetrical rugs and rounded furnishings.
2. Be practical and functional
Take a quick glance at that spare room: how quickly can you turn it into another bedroom? Buying a secondhand mattress and shifting a few ornaments into the new space could add hundreds to your overall value – after all, a three bedroom home is always going to be worth more than a two bedroom + study.
This is only the case if the space room already exists and only needs a few minor tweaks – if you don’t have this potential, focus your efforts on the key rooms in the building instead. The bathroom and kitchen are the rooms that are most likely to see a return. This doesn’t mean replacing your current kitchen with a brand new one – instead, get quotes to change-up your benchtops or replace the cabinet doors only for a brand-new look for less.
3. Be strategic with your upgrades
If you’re contemplating a new full-length window, take a deep breath and assess the alternatives. While some upgrades – such as a whole wall of glass – can be flashy, they might not actually be the smartest when viewed in terms of utility and value. A discreet, quiet and hidden air conditioning unit might actually achieve the same outcomes you were hoping for in the massive window, it will likely cost you far less and doesn’t have to change the entire vibe of the room. Similarly, ripping up worn carpet and polishing the original floorboards is cheaper than getting brand new ones, and exponentially quicker than knocking down a wall in an attempt to provide more space.
4. Pay attention to the outside, too
If you want some extra eyeballs when it comes to auction day, make sure you’ve ‘curled the ribbons’ on your property – get some extra mulch, make sure the lawn is short and have your plants in order. It sounds niggly, but if potential buyers know you’re attentive to the little things they’ll trust anything bigger has been resolved. Besides, first impressions can make or break a deal.
Happy renovating, and good luck when it comes to auction time!
— Bessie is a property commentator at finder.com.au, one of Australia’s largest comparison websites. She’s passionate about real estate, renovating and helping Australians find better.
If you’re not reading this out of curiosity (fetching title, isn’t it), then you’re probably either looking at buying a property with a cloudy history, or have already bought one and you’re just finding out about it now. In any case, could purchasing a property that’s been home to a murder kill your property value too?
The short answer to this murder-mystery is yes, at least in the short-term.
This series of The Block is being filmed at the Hotel Saville where a crime scene once took place
If someone has taken a hit in your local area recently, your potential property value is likely to as well, according to research by finder.com.au. A 2014 study by the University of Technology, Sydney, revealed that properties within a 300 metre radius experienced a 3.9% price drop the year after a murder or sex offence. To give you a ballpark figure, this means a $504,000 property could see nearly $20,000 ($19,600 to be exact) shaved off it’s value following one of these tragic events.
This isn’t the only consideration, either – the second things get real on the streets of your neighbourhood a few key things also happen:
The local crime rate increases, which is never a good thing.
Your ‘walk-score’ may decrease as a result.
Some residents in the area may be spooked and look to sell their property – increasing competition if you just happen to be selling also.
These are all aspects local property owners – or potential owners – need to factor into their property options. You know that your property value is likely to take a hit. So what can you do to brace or adjust for this change?
The Block contestants
If you haven’t yet bought in the area, but still want to:
You’ve decided to stick with a place in the local area? No problem, just look at ways to improve the property to balance out any potential negatives. Some ideas include:
Renovate one of your ‘power rooms’, such as the kitchen, main bathroom or living area
Assess your landscaping options: could levelling out that scraggly back lawn provide a new summer entertaining area?
Turn the spare room into a studio to let: the rent earned could easily offset the sub-four percent you might lose from the recent loss of life.
The other bonus here is that, by law, real estate agents need to inform you if there’s been a death in your property – this has been the case since 2004. Rest assured you won’t walk into a death-trap unawares.
If you’ve been spooked:
The thought of resting your head where someone lost theirs may be a bit much, and that’s also understandable. A key consideration here is to look at the property regardless and determine exactly what it was that initially drew you to it. Detail what you love about the property and the neighbourhood – and just as importantly, the property prices in the area – and try to aim for a similar set of aesthetic compliments in a nearby location. A bit of flexibility in your house hunting journey can go a long way, and save you money (and headache) in the long run.
— Bessie is a property commentator at finder.com.au, one of Australia’s largest comparison websites. She’s passionate about real estate, renovating and helping Australians find better.
“For first homebuyers, you need to consider your personal position. If you take a long-term view you will always build equity over time, riding out the peaks and troughs in the market. You can then draw on your equity to invest in more property so you are building wealth through real estate,” says Mark.
But if you are looking for a short-term cash cow, buying is definitely not the wisest move. “We have seen 20 to 30 per cent growth in the inner city and outer suburbs of Sydney over the past couple of years, and the likelihood of seeing the same growth again soon is slim,” says Mark.
It’s good news for many first homebuyers though. “If you are a first timer and you are looking at a long term investment, and by this I mean seven to ten years, you can buy at any time as you’ll ride out the fluctuations in the market,” says Mark.
One of Mark’s recently sold properties. Photo credit: Belle Property
The wise renter
For those who may be saving for a deposit or simply can’t afford to buy, there are smarter ways to rent. “My advice would be to go for a shared rental. Rent a two bedroom apartment so you can share the costs but still get decent living accommodation,” says Mark who has been surprised by the cost of one-bedroom apartments of late – they often approach that of two bedroom abodes. “I guess it suits the demographic. Single people or couples that are willing to share small spaces seem to have pushed up the price of one-bedders,” he says.
And it may sound odd, but winter is the best time to take out a lease – wait until then if you can. “There are fewer changeovers in winter with more stock on the market. You can generally negotiate a better deal and you won’t be competing with 20 or 30 others,” says Mark.
One of Mark’s recently sold properties. Photo credit: Belle Property
Advice for first-time buyers While it is far from glamorous, Mark is a big advocate of saving in order to get a foothold on the property ladder. “Save, save save! Don’t go out to restaurants and really set out a budget as to how you are going to spend your money. You’ve got to be wise when saving for a deposit and if this means taking your lunch to work, or catching a bus instead of a taxi, there are many small ways you can cost cuts. It’s what our parents did,” says Mark who sees credit cards as the enemy of savings. “I would advise against a credit card as if you don’t have a credit card you don’t have the money therefore you won’t spend it,” he says.
One of Mark’s recently sold properties. Photo credit: Belle Property
Buying & renting: a mixed approach If lifestyle is important to you, there is a definite argument to be made for buying an investment property in a suburb that you can afford, while renting in a more desirable area. “In my view, you really want to get in and start somewhere so you can build financial wealth and security. The first property is always the hardest but once you have secured that you can sit on it for five years before thinking about pulling out the equity to buy another,” says Mark of a trend that has been widespread over the past few years.
If you are going to look further afield when it comes to purchasing an investment property, just make sure to consider infrastructure. “If you can’t buy in the inner-city, try and buy along the train line as most people work in the city,” says Mark.
One of Mark’s recently sold properties. Photo credit: Belle Property
Real estate vs shares While investing in property isn’t the only way to make money, it offers relative certainty when compared to other investment types such as super or shares. “Real estate is tangible and that’s why people like it. Stocks and shares can be lucrative and worthwhile if you know how to buy and sell them and you follow the market daily but real estate is always a good long-term hold,” says Mark.
And with interest rates at historic lows, Mark sees it as a great time to get into property. “Take advantage of the rates if you can and lock them in for a three or four year period,” says Mark who favours a fixed interest rate in times such as now. “They provide a lot of certainty as you can do up a budget and know exactly what your outgoings will be for the next few years,” he says.
Anyone with even a vague interest in styling will have heard of Sibella Court and The Society Inc. so there is bound to me much excitement at the news that her former shop in Sydney’s exclusive Paddington has been listed for sale this week. Always thought you’d love to live inside the pages of one her books? Well, now you kinda can… if you have a spare $1.6million.
The terrace at 27 Alexander Street was the part-time home and former shop of the celebrity stylist, known the world over for her eclectic style. Having recently moved to a much larger warehouse space for her work in St Peters, listing the Paddington property on Air BnB for a short while, it is now up for sale.
The space is Sibella through and through and personally I would love to see it bought by someone who embraces that rather than renovates it into something slick and new-looking! But as I’m not in a position to buy the two-bedroom, one-bathroom home set over two floors, I’ll have to let the lucky buyer decide!
It’s in a lovely, leafy, quiet corner of sought after Paddington (on a block that straddles the address of 18 Stewart) and open inspections take place tomorrow (Saturday 12 September) from 11.30am-to-12 noon. It is being shown to buyers decked out in quintessential Sibella vintage finds and collectibles from her travels and will appeal to those who love her quirky look. Frankly, it would have been criminal to clear out this magical space and stage it for sale in the mainstream way.
The Victorian high ceilings are strung with old naval rope and ladders, while the floors and staircase are painted to brilliant effect (no doubt with colours from her own range for Murobond). Those who relish found pebbles and driftwood will adore the designer bathroom, which feels ‘live’ from the pages of one of Sibella’s many design books.
Outside there’s private a courtyard, laundry terrace and on the street, garden beds planted with strawberries, geraniums, nasturtiums, and blossom.
I am full of envy for whoever snaps up this enviable, unique pad in a wonderful Sydney location!
As well as being an interior stylist and author, Sibella, who became a mum last year, is also a product designer, historian and creative director. Her hospitality spaces include Hotel Palisade, Old Joe’s, The Pines, Mr Wong, Palmer & Co, El Loco, MsG’s & The Fish Shop. Last week, her new television show, Restoration Australia, aired on ABC.
Sibella has spent much of her life exploring the globe for inspiration. Formerly a homewares stylist in New York, she has a knack for discovering new artists, designers and products for her much loved shop, The Society Inc. (now in St Peters). Her wanderlust can be seen in all the personal spaces she inhabits and in her many things accumulated over 20 years of shopping!
27 Alexander Street is being sold by Shannan Whitney and Darren Pearce of BresicWhitney, a lifestyle property group that responds to the energy and emotion of inner Sydney. Over the last five years, it has sought to break the mold as a residential property group, by welcoming a new conversation about inner-city living.
Kitchen with Island, Sink, Cabinetrs, and Hardwood Floors
Number crunching is one of the less exciting parts of renovating – but unfortunately it’s also one of the most important. Whether you are turning over an investment property or renovating your home as a long-term nest for your family, it makes sense to know you are not overcapitalising and the money you are spending is adding value in the long-term. What’s more, the scope of the work can often determine the best type of finance you need to put in place.
This is the first part in a series about steps to take to ensure the hard work you put into your renovation pays off financially.
Know where you stand – valuations matter!
Start with the end in mind – is the work you are planning going to add more value to your property?
Even if you plan to stay in your home for the foreseeable future, it’s important the work you undertake not only improves your lifestyle, but that it’s work that actually adds to the value of the house and you know where you stand financially up front.
In my work as a broker, I always advise clients to get two valuations. Having your house valued by both a real estate agent and a registered valuer is one of the most beneficial steps you can take. It’s best to have valuations from both, because the two tend to look at property values differently. Real estate agents look forward to what people will pay in the future, while valuers look in the rear vision mirror at what people have already paid for similar properties.
Show them your plans and ask them what they think your property will be worth when the work is completed. A good rule of thumb with valuations from real estate agents and valuers is to work with a number somewhere in the middle of both estimations – agents tend to be optimistic and valuers conservative.
Once you have an idea of what your home is currently worth, what it’s estimated to be worth on completion and how much the work you are planning is actually going to cost, it will become apparent whether or not your renovation is going to add value.
Ask the real estate agent what buyers are looking for in your area and how your house compares. For example, if they tell you swimming pools are turning people off buying, you may need to reconsider your plans to install one, especially if your budget is going to be tight. It may make more sense to use your pool money to install another bathroom or an extra bedroom.
As well as obtaining professional valuations, make sure you do some legwork yourself. Go to as many open houses in your area as you can to get a feel for what’s on the market and how much it’s fetching.
Use your valuations to guide your design choices. If your house has already significantly increased in value thanks to its location, it is less likely you will spend more than the value you’ll add in the long-term and you would probably do well to upgrade the finishes you install. Look at the kitchens and bathrooms in similar houses that are on the market and use them as a guide as to what buyers are expecting. Similarly with floor plans and soft furnishings.
Your valuations can also steer you in the right direction when it comes to how you are going to finance the work. If you are planning a major renovation that’s going to add significantly to the value of your home, you may choose to leave more of the work in the hands of a builder and take out a construction loan that is paid directly to your contractor.
For a smaller DIY reno that is going to enhance your lifestyle more than the value of your home, a personal loan could be the way to go, while a renovation you plan to complete in a few stages may be best serviced by leveraging the value of your home as work progresses.
Arming yourself with a thorough knowledge of the market before you begin is a solid foundation for any reno, especially one that’s close to your heart!
— Paul is the Director of CVG Finance, a leading brokerage offering financial services across all areas.
Whether you’re gearing up to sell your home, or thinking about long-term improvements for your own enjoyment, these simple upgrades can boost the overall look of your home – and property value. The best bit? They’re inexpensive and easy.
Let’s be honest. Nobody likes a dark, dingy home and there’s no faster way to drain value from a property than a gloomy room. Make your home immediately appear brighter and larger by painting the walls white and welcoming in light with the help of additional windows, skylights or bi-folds. The right skylight in the right place can instantly brighten a home and turn even the dingiest room into a bright space. Skylights are also relatively inexpensive, so are a good place to start.
2. Refresh the kitchen and bathroom
You don’t have to go all out with a full-scale renovation to make a huge difference in the kitchen and bathroom. Opt for a more affordable option and simply replace the cabinet doors or just add new cabinet handles, modernise the kitchen splashback, install new tapware or add a statement mirror in the bathroom. Extra storage in the bathroom is always a winner, but keep it simple to save money – some floating shelves or woven baskets look great filled with rolled-up bath towels.
They let in sunlight and welcomed breezes in the warmer months, but windows are often ignored as a cosmetic feature of the home. Keeping the glass panes sparkling clean can instantly make them more attractive, but adding new blinds or curtains can transform the look of a room. For a modern but cozy style, use plantation shutters or timber venetian blinds, and add an extra touch of luxury with curtains.
Don’t limit your efforts to the home’s interior. Real estate agents talk about kerb appeal for a reason – the external appearance of your home is the first thing people see and even those of us with the best intentions often end up judging a book by its cover. You’d be surprised what a difference a freshly painted front door (perhaps in bold red or yellow) and a scattering of pot plants can make. And while you’re there, why not paint the fence and replace any wonky guttering?
Aussies love the great outdoors and a home with a deck that can be used as an extra entertaining area, or a spot to unwind after a hard day’s work, is a surefire way to add value to any property. Done right, it’s like adding another room to the house and with the right additions, it can be used all year round. Consider installing an outdoor heater and a retractable awning, and your indoor-outdoor experience will be complete.
— Bessie writes for finder.com.au, one of Australia’s largest comparison websites. She is passionate about real estate, renovating, and helping Australians find better.
This video interview with the always straightforward Andrew Winter from Selling Houses Australia is absolutely packed full of seriously great expert advice on selling your home.
Andrew Winter. Image courtesy of Selling Houses Australia
When’s the best time to sell, when to renovate, when to use an auction and what work’s worth doing, plus his top tip for Interiors Addicts.
When selecting a real estate agent it’s all about choosing the person who can best influence the price of your property upwards. You need to ask yourself: who can achieve the best result and how are they going to do it?
Mark Foy of Belle Property Surry Hills
Finding that perfect agent can be hard, and there’s no way around the fact that you have to do your due diligence. So visit your potential agent, go to some of their open homes and auctions and check them off against the below checklist. If they get seven big ticks, then I think you’ve found the one!
1. Buyer relationships and access to buyers
What properties does your agent have on the market in your local area and do they have an extensive network across the country? Select an agent who does a lot of sales in the area but also has a broader network, because more buyers equals more dollars. It’s that simple.
2. Negotiation skills
What quality of questions do they ask the buyers and will they always go back and ask for more money?
One of Mark’s recently sold properties. Photo credit: Belle Property
3. Superior local market knowledge
Your agent should be well aware of the buyers in the market place and the properties you are competing against. They should know what properties your buyer has bided on in the past, because then they will know how much money they have to play with.
4. Auctioneer
There’s no point having a good agent if you don’t have a good auctioneer selling your property. It’s so important that the auctioneer is able to keep the auction flowing and build momentum. Make sure you watch the auctioneer in action before deciding to go with them.
One of Mark’s recently sold properties. Photo credit: Belle Property
5. Editorial
What reach does your agent have to promote your property in the media? Free editorial makes a big difference and puts you a cut above the rest. It’s going to influence the price upwards and will help get more people through the door.
6. Team operations, customer service and buyer experience
It’s not just your agent that’s representing you, but their team. What’s the dynamic? Who handles the buyers? How many people work your open home? How long has everyone been in the industry?
One of Mark’s recently sold properties. Photo credit: Belle Property
7. Presentation
How does your agent present your property? Real estate is about finding that feeling, and when you walk into a property you either get it or you don’t. There’s only one first impression. So does your agent have good access to stylists? Do they know what time of day shows your property in the best light? Do they know when bin night is? All these little things make a huge difference when it comes to showcasing your home’s maximum potential.
When just a few months ago we took a look inside the amazing first reno by best friends Lana Taylor, Bonnie Hindmarsh and Erin Cayless, we knew we had not only stumbled upon a trio that had impeccable taste, but one that seriously knew how to renovate for profit. Their first reno, under their boutique business Three Birds Renovations, made a staggering $155,000 profit in just two and a half months (read all about it here), and their second? $230,000 in two months!
Before – FacadeAfter – Facade
Situated in Sydney’s Castle Hill, the four-bedroom, two-storey house was purchased for $975,000 in January and sold for $1.32 million in March. With the renovation taking six weeks and costing $115,000, when it came to transforming the property the girls had three goals in mind. “With this renovation we wanted to transform ugly into beautiful, closed-off into connected and dark into light,” explains Lana. “It’s a cliché, but we wanted to create the house of our dreams.”
Before – BathroomAfter – Bathroom
While the home was certainly livable prior to its renovation, the interiors lacked flow — with endless rooms and a tiny master suite, the exterior was beige and bland and outside housed an area said to be an alfresco zone but was really a random brick room that looked like a garage and led to nowhere! “We saw the potential straight away and knew it could be completely transformed,” says Lana. “Our main job was making the layout of the home open, open, open – even the shower screens have no doors! We tried (and we think succeeded!) to create a breezy, open-plan living style designed specifically for indoor/outdoor entertaining.”
Before – AlfrescoAfter – Alfresco
To achieve this look, the girls removed several walls and moved the kitchen from the centre of the home up to the far end. This made the kitchen a destination rather than a thoroughfare and enabled them to connect it directly with the new alfresco area via a custom-built breakfast bar and gas strut window. Upstairs they converted four bedrooms down to three, which allowed them to deliver a large, luxury master suite that reflected the resort-style living they had created downstairs.
Before – MasterAfter – Master
“Probably my biggest learning on this renovation was that you must make a master suite big,” explains Lana. “At first we tried to work within the original dimensions, but eventually the penny dropped and we decided to rip out the dividing wall with the bedroom next door and combine the two to create a proper parents’ retreat. As a result we had to build a new fourth bedroom downstairs and in hindsight this was a masterstroke because it provided a great guest or teenager’s room as it was located away from the other bedrooms. Most importantly, this change in floor plan allowed the master suite to truly live up to its name.”
Before – KitchenAfter – Kitchen
Marking the luxury master as the home’s biggest change, the girls are also huge fans of the alfresco area and kitchen. “A kitchen needs to be an open, breezy space that invites people to take a seat, so by moving it to the end of the long room we created a new alfresco zone directly off the kitchen. Our finishing touch was to add a pair of French doors directly out to the pool giving mum the perfect view of the kids whilst preparing an early summer dinner.”
Before – backyardAfter – backyard
Now onto their third renovation, the girls of Three Birds Renovation are absolutely in their element. So what advice to they have for any newbie renovators? ” Firstly, don’t do it alone – grab a friend or two to share the load and build ideas. Secondly, be organised and plan, plan, plan – the devil is in the detail. And lastly you can achieve beauty on a budget – try not to spend more than 10-to-12% of the purchase price (or current value of your home).”
This real reno for profit was completed by our resident expert Naomi Findlay in Newcastle NSW. I’ve had the pleasure of looking around it myself so I can vouch for what a beautiful and clever job she did!
This four-bedroom brick and tile home transformation took the serial renovator and her team six weeks with a budget of $110,000. To look at it now, you’d never know what a challenge it was: “It had an impossible layout and floorplan with disproportioned spaces and rooms with far too many doors,” says Naomi. But of course, she saw the potential. It wasn’t straightforward; the whole place had to be rewired and pretty much re-plumbed.
After: kitchen
Before: kitchen
The floorplan changes were complex but as you can see, more than worth it!
I’d agree with Naomi that creating the master suite (a bedroom large enough for a lounge area with the benefit of having a deck off it, and an en suite so generous most people would be delighted to have it as the main bathroom!) made the biggest impact. Not surprisingly, it’s also her favourite part of the reno, along with the main bathroom.
The new master suite
Before: master suiteThe impressive en suiteBefore: en suite
Creating the large deck area brought the yard and the house together and Naomi says the best bargains were the locally made timber vanity tops and above bench bowls.
After: deckBefore: exterior
“The biggest learning was to keep it simple. Good design does not have to be tricky but instead simple and clever.”
Before: bedroomAfter: bedroom
As a true reno addict there’s no question of Naomi doing it all over again!
Her advice for would-be renovators:
Have a plan from the get go
Have a budget and a healthy buffer
Be surrounded by a team you trust
Be proactive and assume nothing when it comes to communication. Comms are key!
