Posts Tagged ‘Glenelg Real Estate Agents’

Indoor/outdoor spaces have been identified as one of the current major renovation trends in the eastern statates paticularly Sydney with its sub tropical balmy weather .

It seems clear that with our longer spring-summer-autumn warm weather these days, and with backyards getting smaller as people are selling off their backyards in beach suburbs like Glenelg, and renovations and new buildings  creeping to the very edges of allotments, those people lucky enough to have outdoor spaces are trying to maximise their enjoyment of them as much as possible.

Constructed outdoor spaces like verandahs, pergolas and porches have always been popular in Adelaide – but these new outdoor spaces are something different. Sometimes described in property advertising as “outdoor rooms”, these new areas are taking a number of forms, including indoor/outdoor entertaining and living spaces, outdoor kitchens and even outdoor bathrooms.

A bigger range of furniture and lighting suitable for external household use exists than ever before. Technological advances are playing a hand in this: things like mechanised retractable awnings and outdoor heaters are available to make these spaces more comfortable. Domestic outdoor televisions are even available in Australia now. They don’t come cheap: but think of the bragging value!

Watch this Raine & Horne property video for a superb example of indoor/outdoor living…

Indoor/outdoor entertaining spaces
The beauty of this kind of outdoor “room” is that it can be as elaborate or as simple as your budget or your preferences dictate. A popular way of continuing an existing entertaining or living space outside of a home’s walls is by installing bifold doors that span the entire outside wall. When opened, these literally extend a room out to the great outdoors.

These new outdoor entertaining and living areas aren’t always extensions of the internal living space, however. will typically include “podium recreation decks”.

Indoor/outdoor rooms designed well can be used all year round, the outdoor areas should include an outdoor shelter structure with two walls and a roof for shelter and privacy, outdoor fireplaces for warmth in the colder months and light fittings to illuminate the areas in the evening: “Typically what you’d picture a loungeroom to look like, but bringing it into the outdoors,” Monika Bonet – Principal of Raine & Horne Glenelg said said when describing the spaces. Ms Bonet further noted; “The idea of the outdoor room is for it to have a cafe-type atmosphere, to help make the space as appealing as possible. A great example of this is the Mediterranean Cafe on the Broadway at Glenelg South, which features indoor/outdoor dining 365 days a year and can easily be the template for homeowners to adapt to their own homes”.

The outdoor kitchen
Forget a home-built BBQ that burns wood in the corner of the backyard; the outdoor cooking area has evolved a long way since those primeval days. Preferably complete with a fridge, a sink and a gas mains connection, this new outdoor room revolves around the modern BBQ.

So high-tech that your kiss-the-chef apron will hide in embarrassment, these new “outdoor cooking solutions” come in a huge range, depending on the user’s needs: from little ones that can be bundled up and taken elsewhere, to others that can handle the most unusual and complicated items that you could want to cook, to slimline, trendy things that are incorporated completely into a bench.

The outdoor bathroom
The outdoor shower has had a new lease of life (blame Jamie Durie, he always seems to be going on about them), but some renovators are going even further, creating entire indoor/outdoor bathrooms with retractable walls reminiscent of a garage door which when installed allows the bathroom to be opened up to the backyard when desired.

Owners today want to make the home’s bathroom something to relax in and enjoy, rather than go the traditional route of hiding it; to create a room of leisure rather than of bald utility. And isn’t that what indoor/outdoor space is all about?

This blog post has been brought to you by Raine & Horne Glenelg your Glenelg Real Estate Agents and Glenelg Property Management Experts.

Most experienced investors understand that getting $450 a week for fifty two weeks a year means more money in their pocket, than getting $500 a week with several weeks of vacancy during the year. It’s just common sense and simple arithmetic, according to Monika Bonet; Principal of Raine & Horne Glenelg.

So if maximising income from rental property investment comes from keeping properties occupied, then why do some landlords charge such high rent that creates vacancy?

“It is a fact of life that some investors fail to see the big picture and only look at the money in their pocket “right now’” said Ms Bonet.

Ms Bonet added that; “Novice Investors are blind to the possibility of rent loss down the track and don’t see that they might create dissatisfied tenants who move on early, when they find a cheaper rental, thereby leaving landlords stranded with a vacant property and creating a cycle of  high turnover and increased vacancy.”

But the problems don’t stop there…

It’s a fact that most experienced Investors know that if a property represent ‘good  rental value’ in the market, then they will get more tenant enquiry and therefore receive more tenant applications to select a tenant from. This affords those experienced Landlord with more opportunity of selecting the “best tenant” when deciding who will rent their property.

Whilst those less experienced Landlords asking over-priced rents get fewer tenant applications which result in getting less well-referenced applicants to choose from. We call this the “John West” principle of finding tenants, i.e. landlords asking over-priced rents only get those tenants that most Property Managers reject.

Ms Bonet further explained; “We often see other Property Manager’s advertising over-priced rental properties that sit vacant for long periods of time, only to be rent adjusted down to finally attract a tenant. Worse than the extended vacancy, we then see that these poor landlords are so desperate that they accept the same tenants that we’ve rejected due to patchy tenant references.”

This of-course, only means that these landlords increase their exposure to tenants with a greater likelihood of getting behind with the rent, or damaging their property.

New investors can avoid a lot of tenancy mistakes by making use of the expertise of their Property Manager, unfortunately many novice investors don’t listen to their Property Manager’s advice or opinion until something goes wrong.

Bottom-line is when you select a Property Manager to manage your property, only select a Property manager who is prepared to give you the “tough love” truth about the balance between getting the best rent and minimizing your vacancy exposure.

This blog post is brought to you by Raine & Horne Glenelg, your Glenelg Real Estate Agents and Glenelg Property Management experts.

After a challenging 2012, Australian house prices are set to enjoy a relatively healthy 2013, according to Angus Raine, CEO Raine & Horne.

 The prediction, by Mr Raine, is grounded in some part on the assumption that the Reserve Bank of Australia will dish up more interest rate cuts in 2013, “which should aid more home sales and push up property values.”

 “Throw in for good measure the chronic shortage of new residential property, coupled with net population growth, and the fundamentals are in place for property market growth,” said Mr Raine.

 Yet there will continue to be some global challenges, according to Shane Oliver, Head of Investment Strategy and Chief Economist, AMP Capital. “The main risks going forwards relate to the US budget and debt problems, a relapse in Europe, slow growth in Australia and a sharp back-up in bond yields if investors get more confident,” said Dr Oliver. However the AMP economist added that China looks like it’s on track with growth around 7.5%, “while Asia, Brazil and India should also stabilise and begin to improve.”

As for Australian house prices in 2013, Dr Oliver is tipping a modest bounce of 4-5% on the back of lower mortgage rates, while Mr Raine believes that those ‘battlefield suburbs’, where first home buyers shape up to investors, will prove the star turns. “In other words, suburbs in Sydney such as St Marys, Adelaide’s Semaphore, as well as North Melbourne, Ascot Vale, Brunswick and Footscray in Melbourne are set to benefit as investors compete with first timers for quality homes,” said Mr Raine. Across the continent, Mr Raine is tipping that the ‘forgotten suburbs’ of inner Perth, such as Embleton and Ashfield, will enjoy some growth as investors and first time buyers muscle up.

 While the battle lines between investors and first home buyers will be intriguing this year, Mr Raine said that upgraders and downsizers will also play a part in generating more real estate transactions and “do their bit to force up real estate values across most price points in our major capital cities and regional towns.” He added, “It’s also fair to expect to see continued growth in the values of apartments, units and townhouses in 2013, across our major east coast capital cities, as well as Perth and Darwin. This is a result of growing demand for higher density housing close to excellent amenities in capital cities.”

 This blog post is brought to you by Raine & Horne Glenelg, your Glenelg Real Estate Agents and Glenelg Property Management experts.

This fabulous Townhouse is brought to you by Raine & Horne Glenelg, your Glenelg Real Estate Agents and Glenelg Property Management Experts.

This real estate market update is brought to you by Raine & Horne Glenelg, your Glenelg Real Estate Agents and Glenelg Property Management Experts

The South Australian parliament has introduced new laws that aim to make the process of buying a new home at auction more transparent for prospective buyers.

The Statutes Amendment (Real Estate Reform Review and Other Matters) Bill 2012 addresses the issue of “bait pricing”, a tactic used by some real estate agents to unfairly draw in prospective home buyers.

If enacted, any reserve price set for an auction cannot exceed ten per cent of any advertised price, and importantly cannot be revised upwards at any time throughout the course of the auction marketing campaign.

Similarly, no vendor bids can be made in excess of any resulting reserve price. Further, the new laws will require comparative sales data to be included in the Sales Agency Agreement with the Vendor.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Business Services and Consumers John Rau said:
“The government believes that the most effective way of eliminating the practice of bait pricing is to create a nexus between the price sought by, or acceptable to, the vendor and marketing a property based on that price.”

Mr Rau added: “The expectations of the purchaser will be realistically met when the auction of a property is based on advertising that reflects the genuine selling price of the vendor.”

The Minister also rejected the notion that the laws might be unfair to home sellers.

“Market forces will always determine the price of a property. These laws are about making the rules transparent for everyone.” Mr Rau concluded.

This post is brought to you by Raine & Horne Glenelg, your Glenelg Real Estate Agents and Glenelg Property Management Experts

Watch Raine & Horne SA CEO; Kevin Magee’s latest video of South Australian residential housing figures for August.

See what happened to property values in South Australia last month…

This video is brought to you by Raine & Horne Glenelg, your Glenelg Real Estate Agents and Glenelg Property Mangement Experts.

Adelaide property sales and rental growth is lagging in the last quarter, watch this video to see the national trends;

This post is brought to you by Raine & Horne Glenelg, your Glenelg Real Estate Agents and Glenelg Property Management Experts.

Have you ever watched the Super Nanny on TV?

Wouldn’t Landlords like to know that their Property Manager is just like a Super Nanny…. conscientious, efficient, professional, enthusiastic, tireless and committed to making your tenants behave well?

“Landlords are in fact employers,” Monika Bonet, Principal of Raine & Horne Glenelg said. “And when they employ a property manager like a “super nanny”, they expect their property manager to look after the most significant financial investment that they are ever likely to undertake.”

“Yet many Landlords have nothing little to go on when selecting a Property Manager, other than an Agency’s self- promoting hype and promises.” said Ms Bonet.

According to Ms Bonet most employers insist on both verbal and written references when taking on someone new.

“Would you employ a Nanny to look after your child, without first obtaining reference checks?” Ms Bonet said. “After all, you’re handing over the greatest emotional responsibility you are ever likely to undertake.”

“Then it’s beyond me why many Landlords hand over the keys to a Property Manager without first checking the Property Manager’s references” said Ms Bonet.

“Unfortunately the single biggest growth in our property management portfolio comes from disgruntled landlords who come to us after a bad property management experience elsewhere” said Ms Bonet. “More than often these same landlords admit that they selected their previous property manager on the lowest fee without checking references, and then inherit property problems like property damage through poor tenant selection, vacancy, rental arrears and unsuccessful tribunal hearings.”

According to Ms Bonet the more professional property management firms like Raine & Horne Glenelg provide written testimonials from clients for whom they manage property.

After all, professional and successful property managers are used to hearing the complaints of landlords disappointed with the service provided by their previous property manager,” Ms Bonet said. “People say “Oh, we had our property vacant for three months, and only three rental inspections during the entire three months without any feedback at all, or they say their property was damaged by tenants and the condition inspection reports were inadequate to recover the cost of the tenant damages.”

Ms Bonet said intending landlords can avoid joining the list of the unsatisfied by thinking of themselves as employers, and doing the appropriate reference checks before making the decision about which property manager to employ.

Ms Bonet concluded; “Increase your likelihood of enjoying a successful and low stress property investment experience by listing with the agent who has the references”.

To find out more and discover what the most frequently asked questions by landlords are?…more

This blog article is brought to you by Raine & Horne Glenelg, your Glenelg Real Estate Agent and Glenelg Property Management Experts

Congratulations Cornesy… you deserve to be a hall or famer on behalf of Glenelg and SA Football. We’re proud to have had your endorsement of Raine & Horne Glenelg.

See extract of article in today’s Advertiser about Graham, by Michelangelo Rucci..

“GRAHAM Cornes entered the Australian Football Hall of Fame last night admitting he was overwhelmed and overcome by guilt. A long-standing critic of halls of fame, saying they are “exclusive while our game is inclusive”, Cornes became the 33rd South Australian to be honoured.

“I left the game,” said Cornes of his exit in 1994, “not wanting to be bitter. I wanted to be proud of my involvement.”

This blog post is brought to you by Raine & Horne Glenelg, your Glenelg Real Estate Agents and Glenelg Property Management Experts.