Property News Australia.com.au

This fabulous property is located just 5 minutes from the highway in a very pretty and private location.

Two lovely homes each of 3 bedrooms with timber floors, open plan living areas, verandahs to catch the evening breezes both in excellent condition, plus sparkling above ground pool.

Set on 56 acres of gently undulating country, approx 15 acres creek flats, divided into 5 paddocks, 4 have shelters, with plain and electric fencing plus 6 smaller paddocks. 90% cleared with selected shade trees, 4 dams, 2 creeks and the advantage of town water. 40m x 20m dressage arena, 12m x 6m shed with undercover crush adjoining the yards and race. Fabulous 22m x 10m shed set up with 4 loose boxes and day yards plus tack room/feed room. 4 bay shed and several chook pens/aviaries.

This exceptional property will suit 2 families or extended family wanting to run a horse stud/dressage enthusiasts/cutting clinics. >>>READ MORE

The Top 10 Mistakes to Avoid When Buying Property

Buying a good home or investment property can be a fantastic financial asset for you and your family. Patrick Bright shows you how you can avoid making costly mistakes when buying your property

1. Lack of research
Before you can decide whether you’re getting a good deal or not you need to do some detailed research to work out the market value of the property. The process is called comparative market analysis and it’s extremely powerful when you’re trying to negotiate the best possible price.

You need to select a maximum of three suburbs and see as many properties as you can in preferably a 6-12 week time frame as 2-3 months is a long time in real estate and prices can move quite substantially. As a general rule I would advise you to inspect at least one hundred properties within that time frame and document all relevant features.

If you’re serious about getting a good deal and saving yourself thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars then you will be prepared to invest the time. If not, then the selling agent will certainly have the upper hand when negotiating the price with you!

2. Thinking Selling Agents are there to help you, the ‘buyer’
To put it bluntly, the Selling Agents are NOT there to help you get a good deal. They are working for the seller, NOT the buyer. Selling Agents will tell you what they want you to know about the property and they can be very persuasive especially when they’re using negotiation and influencing tactics. If you want to really know important details about the property, then you need to ask the right questions and do your own research.

Some good questions to ask when doing your research are:
* How did you come to the asking price?
* Are there any recent sales in the street or surrounding streets that are comparable to this home? If yes, make sure the selling agent can show you the evidence of this.
* What are the offers so far on the property?
* How long has it been on the market?

These questions will assist you in gathering important information when trying to establish a property’s market value and the vendor’s likely flexibility on price.

3. Searching without finance approval
Another common mistake is searching without finance approval. The last thing you want to do is to watch the home of your dreams slip through your fingers while someone else is exchanging contracts, especially while you’re trying to arrange an interview with a mortgage broker or your local bank. It can be a very emotionally draining experience. Don’t waste your time and put yourself on an emotional roller coaster ride. Make sure you know how much you can borrow before you start your search.

4. Overstretching your finances
We’re currently seeing the heartache of thousands of people across Australia who have financially committed well beyond their means. Don’t repeat their mistakes.

I have two rules that if you follow you shouldn’t get yourself into trouble.
1. Despite what the bank says, make sure your repayments are no more than 25% of your total household net income.
2. Don’t borrow more than 80% of the property’s value. That way, you avoid paying mortgage insurance and you actually have some equity in your property in case there is a down turn in the market.

These days, you can obtain loans for 90, 95 or even 100% of the purchase price. Why would you want to put this sort of financial pressure on you and your family? I believe that if you don’t have a 20% deposit, then you can’t afford to buy that property. Remember, it is much better to be able to sleep well at night in a smaller house, than to be at the mercy of a bank and constantly worried about having your home sold from under you.

5. Ignoring inspections
Termite infestations, dodgy wiring, sub-standard renovations… there are many potential problems with any home that you’re not likely to pick up yourself. Most solicitors I speak with tell me that only about 30 - 40% of their clients obtain all the appropriate inspections.

For your peace of mind just get the inspections done. I have seen first hand many homes that are riddled with termites. It’s simply not worth the risk!

6. Not factoring in running costs
Unfortunately the price you pay for your home or investment property is only the first in a series of home ownership expenses. Before you rush off and make an offer on a property you should determine whether you can afford the running costs on top of the mortgage such as council rates, water rates, land tax etc.

If you’re buying an apartment, find out how much the strata fees are and how much money is in the sinking fund. Strata fees typically range from $500 to $2,500 a quarter, sometimes more.

7. Being influenced by rental guarantees
Personally I would steer well clear of anything that comes with a rental guarantee. In my opinion a good property doesn’t need one. From my experience often properties marketed with rental guarantees won’t achieve the rental figure that is being guaranteed in today’s market. In addition, the inflated rental figure pushes the return on investment up against the yield (the ROI / Yield) and allows the seller to put a higher price on the property and still maintaining a yield of say 5%. A rental guarantee is a form of insurance and you always pay a premium for insurance. As the saying goes - anything that’s too good to be true probably is!

8. Buying property sight unseen
Buying property sight unseen is a recipe for disaster. Sure you can do virtual tours on the web etc but how many times have you read the ad, looked at the photos, the virtual tour and then upon physical inspection the property looks nothing like your expectations. It may look out over a car park, into a brick wall, face a busy road etc. This goes for buying off the plan as well.

Unless you do a site inspection yourself or have an exclusive Buyer’s Agent acting for you, who knows exactly what you want, then I would suggest you are being foolish. You’re parting with hundreds of thousands of dollars - surely you can take the time to inspect it.

9. Limiting your selection choice
A lot of people come to me for help with buying a property but they don’t want to go through the auction experience. They perceive it as too stressful, emotional and out of their control. The problem with this perception is that they are significantly reducing their property selection pool and automatically cutting out potentially good buys because they are not comfortable with the method of sale.

My advice is to again do your research. Go to a number of auctions and see how it works. Do your research so that you know the value of the property. Set yourself an auction plan including a maximum bid price and stick to it.

Be honest with yourself. If you know you are likely to get carried away in the auction hype, then hire yourself an expert to bid for you. Auctions are growing in popularity as the sales method of choice nationally. You can no longer ignore them if you want access to the entire market.

10. Listening to too many people

Everyone’s an expert when it comes to real estate. Family, friends, work colleagues will all offer you advice - some with strings attached and some without. The only way that you will know whether you have secured a good property at a good price is if you put in the necessary hours and do the research. If you don’t have time, then I recommend that you find a Buyer’s Agent to do the work for you, a good one will save you thousands.

Article courtesy of
Your Mortgage Magazine

Unique Lifestyle Property On Norfolk Island

Iwii Paradise is Pure Paradise in Norfolk Island.

This freehold property also has significant historical value to Norfolk Island as we draw to a “World Heritage” status based on the convict colonial era.

The property is earning an income of around 8% plus and climbing each year, and is a tax haven to the resident.

Property has great potential for future expansion or as a boutique style property, with Government Planning Approval for up to 15 (fifteen) individual business outlets and executive residential cottage, or owner/operator/live in Artist Retreat and Galleries or Health and Wellbeing Centre.

The choice is yours!!

This property has too many outstanding features to list.

VIEW THIS PROPERTY

Tax Free Living In Retirement Paradise

The extensively renovated home is situated on 8 acres of freehold land.  Over 150 subtropical fruit trees set amongst lawns and palms. Organic orchard and garden.  Secure and private.  Bounded by forest of trees.  Automatic front gates.

25,000 gallon water tanks service the home and reticulated well water for the gardens.

VIEW THIS PROPERTY

HISTORY

European Discovery

Norfolk island is a small volcanic island 8×5kms lying in the Pacific Ocean about 1,600km of Sydney Australia. There are 2 small islands to the South, Nepean (a limestone islet approx 4 hectares in extent) and Philip, a volcanic island 2 kms long.

Captain Cook discovered Norfolk Island on 10 October 1774 on his second voyage around the world on the HMS Resolution. He described the island as “paradise” and named it Norfolk Isle, in honour of that Noble family. Part of Cook’s diary ” we found the island uninhabited and near a kin to New Zealand, the flax plant, many other plants and trees common to that country was found here but the chief produce of the isle is spruce pines which grow here in vast abundance and vast size, different sort to those in New Calendonia and also to those in New Zealand and for Masts, Yards &ca superior to both”

Polynesian Settlement

Over 1000 years ago, there is now some evidence that Norfolk was settled by Polynesian people, sailing the Pacific, and who lived on the island prior to Cook’s discovery. Excavation work was carried out near to Emily Bay during 1995-1999 and materials such as tools were discovered.

Convict Era’s
In 1786 Lord Sydney, Secretary of the Home Office advised that because of over crowding in the English gaols it had been decided to rid that country immediately of prisoners under sentence or order of transportation. On the 6 March 1788 Phillip Gidley King Superintendent and commandant arrived on Norfolk Island on the Supply to begin the first European settlement. There were 7 free men, 9 male and 6 female convicts with six month’s provisions. The group set about clearing the land, building houses, sowing crops and husbanding livestock. When King finally departed Norfolk island in 1796 he reported a population of 887, of whom many were free and land holders.This settlement closed in 1814 and it was eleven years later when in 1825 Captain Richard Turton established what was to be Britain’s harshest Penal Settlement. Floggings, hangings and torture was part of the every day life. In 1855 this settlement was disbanded and many of the convicts were shipped off to Van Diemen’s Land.
Arrival of the Pitcairn Islanders

In 1788 HMAV Bounty arrived at Matavai Bay in Tahiti under the command of William Bligh, bound for the West Indies with a boat full of bread fruit for the slaves. On the 28th April 1789, Captain Bligh was awakened and bound by the sailors, thus began the saga of the Mutiny on the Bounty. 28 persons landed on Pitcairn in January 1790, nine Europeans, six Tahitian men, 12 Tahitian women and a baby girl. The mutineers were Edward Young, William McCoy, William Brown, Matthew Quintal, Alexander Smith (John Adams) John Williams and Isaac Martin. 3 other Engishmen settled on Pitcairn a few years later, John Buffett, John Evans and George Hunn Nobbs.

The Pitcairners were the descendants of the Bounty mutineers (and late settlers Buffett, Evans and Nobbs) who under the command of Fletcher Christian had settled Pitcairn Island in 1790. By the 1850’s Pitcairn had out grown their tiny island and Queen Victoria agreed to relocate the islanders to Norfolk Island. 193 men, woman and children arrived to Norfolk on 8 June 1856. The settling of the Pitcairners on Norfolk Island marked a complete break from the island’s convict past, establishing new patterns of life, including unique traditions and culture such as the local language, weaving and cooking.

Population
Norfolk has approximately 2,000 citizens with roughly equal numbers of Pitcairn descendants, Australians and New Zealanders.

Language
The language spoken on Norfolk Island is English, but you’ll hear the Islanders speaking Norfolk, a unique language derived from the speech of the Bounty Mutineers and their Tahitian wives and companions who settled Pitcairn Island in 1790.

Geographical Location
Norfolk Island is 1610kms ENE of Sydney, 1456kms ESE of Brisbane, 1063kms NNW of Auckland and 772kms SE of Noumea. Norfolk Island is a volcanic outcrop 8km long and 5km wide. Two smaller uninhabited islands, Nepean and Phillip, lie to the south at a distance of 1km and 6km respectively. Norfolk Island is 3855ha.

Climate
Subtropical. Average rainfall 1328mm per year. Lovely summer days from 24 degrees but not exceeding 28.4 degrees, nights 19-21 degrees. Idylic days mid-winter, with temperatures ranging from 12 at night to 19-21 degrees during the day.

Source
norfolkisland.com.au/pages.asp?code=500

With housing affordability improving across Australia, a Commonwealth Bank report has found it’s cheaper to buy then rent in 94 suburbs around the nation.

But property experts are warning that it’s the quick or the left-behind at this stage of the cycle, as first home buyers start pushing up the prices of cheaper suburbs and make prices rise.

The Commonwealth Bank report found that the number of suburbs in which it has become cheaper to service a monthly mortgage payment than a rental bill had increased from 74 to 94 in the six months to July, a rise of 27 per cent.

“The case to buy is looking stronger,” the report says. “Property values fell through most of 2008 however, the market has recovered virtually all those losses through the first five months of 2009, interest rats have fallen to a 49-year low and weekly rents have recorded several years of dramatic growth.”

The affordability figures improve further after factoring in the $14,000 first home buyer’s grant, with the number of suburbs where it was cheaper to buy than rent more than doubling to 203.

The report based its methodology on borrowing 85 per cent of a home’s median value at the current variable interest rate of 5.74 per cent per annum over a 30-year term. The buying cost was compared with monthly rental payments based on the median advertised rental for the suburb.

“Within the metro areas, almost without exception, it is units rather than houses that are more affordable to buy than rent,” the Commonwealth report says.

On a state-by-state basis, the report finds that the majority of suburbs identified as being cheaper to buy in than rent were located in Queensland, accounting for 26 of the 94 suburbs. NSW had the second-highest number of suburbs where it was more affordable to buy than rent.

Source

onthehouse.yahoo.com.au