Posts Tagged ‘Glenelg Real Estate Agents’

Adjustable Mortgage: Where the interest rate is adjusted periodically by the lender. Some people prefer a fixed rate as the maximum amount payable can be budgeted for. Also known as a variable mortgage.

Amortisation: Where the loan is paid off in equal periodic payments, calculated to pay off the debt (principal and interest as well) at the end of a pre-determined period.

Body Corporate: The legal entity which represents the apartment owners when dealing with matters of the common areas of the apartment block in which they own apartments. The Body Corporate funds costs associated with the common areas through a quarterly levy on the apartment owners.

Buyers’ Agent: An agent who is paid a fee by a would-be purchaser to act exclusively for that buyer in their property search and subsequent purchase. Very few buyers utilise the services of a Buyers’ agent but it’s worth remembering that the selling agent represents the seller of the property rather than the buyer.

Certificate of Title: A page of the Register book specifying the ownership of a defined land parcel, and the lodged or registered interests or claims (encumbrances) against that ownership.

Chattels: Items that can be moved and are not considered to be part of the structure of the dwelling, for example: dishwasher, clothes dryer, microwave, mats and pot plants. If there is any confusion between the buyer and the seller about what stays and what goes, these can be identified as a special condition in the offer and acceptance document.

Cooling off period: In some places cooling off period doesn’t exist. But where it does exist, it refers to a designated period – usually a few days – after the contract has been signed, where buyers have time to reconsider their choice and change their mind without penalty.

Depreciation: The decline in value of a property due to either wear and tear on the property itself or changes in the value of the area (e.g a block of units being built and overshadowing a house or street widening that increases traffic noise).

Discharge fee: The discharge fee is a one-time payment charged on the final payout of a loan.

Encroachment: The physical intrusion by a structure on the property of another person.

Encumbrance: An encumbrance is a lodged or registered interest in land by a person who is not the registered owner.

Encumbrances – Caveat: ‘Caveat’ means ‘beware’. This term is a warning to prospective buyers that another party has registered some form of right or interest in the property. Details of a caveat are written on a property’s Certificate of Title (such as money is owing on a property that is for sale).

Encumbrances – Easement: Gives a person or a company ‘rights of use or engagement’ over land owned by another. Usual easements are rights of way, easements for the flow of water over and through another’s land and easements of support (for example, Water Corporation, Western Power, Main Roads WA, telecommunication companies).

Encumbrances – Restrictive covenant: This places some type of restriction on the use of the land. For example, to build a certain height or the land must be landscaped or buildings to be constructed only of brick. For the covenant to be lifted, consent must be obtained from the party named in the covenant or by a court order.

Encumbrances – Right of way: This means a section or strip of the property is for use either by the general public, or a restricted section of the community. It may be created by subdivision, specific transfer, or continued use over a period of years.

Establishment Fee: This fee covers the basic costs in setting up loan from initial interview to loan drawdown.

Exit Fee: This fee is imposed by some lenders when the borrower refinances with another lender in the first few years of the loan. Some exit fees can be high, so make sure to research whether there is an exit fee for your chosen home loan.

F- M Next Week

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

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

It angered pundits and mortgage holders alike, but Angus Raine, CEO of Raine & Horne, says the decision by the big banks to hike up variable interest rate mortgages is not the end of the world for the Australian real estate market.

“There is still more than enough good news around for the Australian real estate market,” says Mr Raine. “A rate rise is never good news for those with a mortgage or aspiring first home buyers.”

“However market sentiment is stronger than this time last year and as a consequence we’re seeing more homeowners in some markets across Australia listing their homes for sale.” At the same time, Mr Raine confirms that buyer and investor enquiry is also stronger than this time last year.

Moreover Mr Raine advises that the full benefits of the Reserve Bank’s decision to cut interest rates in November and December 2011 are yet to filter through to the property market. “The property market is a slow moving boat and it takes time for macroeconomic factors such as interest rates to flow through,” he said.

In an interesting twist, leading financial comparison website www.ratecity.com.au is urging borrowers to demand their own personal rate cut from their lender. Damian Smith, RateCity’s CEO, said borrowers could trim more than 1% off their variable home loan rate if they asked for a discount. “We’re seeing lenders offering discounts of up to 1% off their standard variable rates for basic home loans and many lenders – including the big four banks – have said they are willing to negotiate to retain their share of the home loan market,” said Mr Smith.

Away from interest rates, and owners of premium properties should take note that increasing numbers of the world’s expatriates are looking to head Down Under than anywhere else in the world. According to the world’s largest survey of expatriates, the HSBC Expat Explorer, more expats are attracted by Australia’s healthy outdoor lifestyle, friendliness and work/life balance. And once in Australia, HSBC states that expatriates are more likely to lengthen their stay or settle permanently.

Despite the earning potential being less in Australia, expatriates around the world selected Australia as the top destination for their next assignment, out-ranking other markets including the US, Singapore, Hong Kong and Canada. Of those surveyed, 71% chose Australia because it was perceived to offer a better quality of life compared to expatriates who chose the US and UK based on the perceived financial gain (54% and 55% respectively).

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

It angered pundits and mortgage holders alike, but Angus Raine, CEO of Raine & Horne, says the decision by the big banks to hike up variable interest rate mortgages is not the end of the world for the Australian real estate market.

“There is still more than enough good news around for the Australian real estate market,” says Mr Raine. “A rate rise is never good news for those with a mortgage or aspiring first home buyers.”

“However market sentiment is stronger than this time last year and as a consequence we’re seeing more homeowners in some markets across Australia listing their homes for sale.” At the same time, Mr Raine confirms that buyer and investor enquiry is also stronger than this time last year.

Moreover Mr Raine advises that the full benefits of the Reserve Bank’s decision to cut interest rates in November and December 2011 are yet to filter through to the property market. “The property market is a slow moving boat and it takes time for macroeconomic factors such as interest rates to flow through,” he said.

In an interesting twist, leading financial comparison website www.ratecity.com.au is urging borrowers to demand their own personal rate cut from their lender. Damian Smith, RateCity’s CEO, said borrowers could trim more than 1% off their variable home loan rate if they asked for a discount. “We’re seeing lenders offering discounts of up to 1% off their standard variable rates for basic home loans and many lenders – including the big four banks – have said they are willing to negotiate to retain their share of the home loan market,” said Mr Smith.
Away from interest rates, and owners of premium properties should take note that increasing numbers of the world’s expatriates are looking to head Down Under than anywhere else in the world. According to the world’s largest survey of expatriates, the HSBC Expat Explorer, more expats are attracted by Australia’s healthy outdoor lifestyle, friendliness and work/life balance. And once in Australia, HSBC states that expatriates are more likely to lengthen their stay or settle permanently.

Despite the earning potential being less in Australia, expatriates around the world selected Australia as the top destination for their next assignment, out-ranking other markets including the US, Singapore, Hong Kong and Canada. Of those surveyed, 71% chose Australia because it was perceived to offer a better quality of life compared to expatriates who chose the US and UK based on the perceived financial gain (54% and 55% respectively).

This blog post is brought to you by Raine & Horne Glenelg your Glenelg Real Estate Agent and Glenelg Property Management Expert.

Moving inter-state or from country to country is harder than moving round the corner in the same suburb, or to another suburb in the same town, which is one of the reasons most people don’t move far when they move house.

Some people lose money, especially if they move from an upwardly mobile area to one where prices don’t change much, and find themselves unable to buy back into their original location if they change their minds. What steps can they take to make this process more financially secure?

Many people like to buy their new place of residence before they make the transfer. This way they experience a smooth transition from one home to another – with the emphasis on ownership and avoidance of renting at all costs. They see no problem arising from selling their old home and cutting their ties with their old life.

While such a strategy may be organised and efficient in the short term, it doesn’t always turn out to be the most successful in the long run. Many people find it hard to carry out property inspections when they live far away. Often they give themselves too little time to find a new home. They forget that moving round the corner means that a lot of the market knowledge they need is already taken for granted. (Busy roads, proximity of services, exposure to adverse season-dependent weather conditions to name a few.) Many find that the property they bought to start with seems less desirable as their local knowledge deepens.
Others find it harder to settle into a new life than they anticipated. The schools aren’t as good as the old ones, clubs and other networks don’t exist or simply don’t seem as familiar as what they left behind, the weather is too windy, wet, hot, cold – or any of the hundreds of reasons people find for not settling into a new place that is simply not “home”.

Those who have no choice – the ones who have to stay because they have been transferred and are under contract – eventually settle in, but just as many are in a position to change their minds and many of those wish they had kept their options open.

Those who decide to move back to where they came from could have reduced the financial cost of moving by not selling their home and buying another one – only to do it all over again when they return to where they came from. In hindsight, many realise that they could have chosen to rent temporarily while they explored their new territory.

Selling up before moving becomes especially likely to cause heartache if the area left is an area of greater capital growth than the area of re-location. Buying back in becomes difficult if prices go up faster in the original location than in the new one.

Naturally, not everyone decides to move back to where they came from. Some simply realise that in the hurry to get settled they chose the wrong house or the wrong area in which to buy, that round the corner or in the next suburb would have been more convenient, more appealing, more likely to go up in price.

Of course, retaining a home, renting it out and eventually selling it at a distance poses its own set of challenges. But many people find it’s the conservative option – the one more likely to maximise financial success and offer the greatest number of options further down the track.

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

Quick… watch this Youtube video and be the first to inspect before it’s open to the public…

Come and inspect this stunning three bedroom two story residence executive residence at 45 High Street, Glenelg. Situated in the heart of thriving Glenelg. This residence offers smart, sleek & exceptional living just a few steps away from Jetty Road &, Glenelg Beach.

This property is presented by Monika Bonet, Principal of Raine & Horne Glenelg, your Glenelg Real Estate Agent

Raine & Horne South Australia CEO, Kevin Magee answers the top real estate questions every month including “HOW’S THE MARKET?” in South Australia and “WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR ME?” in the process identifying real estate opportunities, clarifying trends and providing property market tips for Raine & Horne members, Buyers, Sellers, Investors (Landlords) & Tenants.

For ongoing & concise property updates, media scoops and tips follow Kevin on Twitter @rhSA_CEO or contact Raine & Horne Glenelg, your Glenelg Real Estate Agents and Glenelg Property Management Experts.

Many Glenelg homeowners are holding off from putting their property on the market as the media continue to report a market downtown and uncertain financial times. But the ‘best time to sell’ is often not what it seems. 

Some people sell to retire and buy something smaller. This blog post does not refer to them. But the majority of sellers at any given time are trading up to a bigger property to house their growing family or reflect their increasing wealth. These home owners will pay more for their next home, than they will get for the one they are selling ….and actually do better when the market is on the decline. The fact that they are spending more money second time round gives them an opportunity to make money on the transaction.

If the reason they think it’s ‘not a good time to sell’ is because they ‘will not get a good enough price’ for their home, then the logical next step is to realise that if the market prevents them from getting the price they want, it will also affect the sellers of the property they are trading up to…and the bottomline net gain remains with the person who is trading up. If you get $603,000 for your home in a cheaper suburb (which has been valued at $670,000), you may feel you are ‘losing’ $67,000 or around 10% of the value of your asset.

But if you (say) buy a more expensive home in a more expensive suburb such as Glenelg, which is (say) valued at $850,000 in the same market. Then the owners of that home will also ‘lose’ 10%, as you also will not be paying more than the current declining market value.

In paying 10% less for the Glenelg Property you will pay $765,000, ‘saving’ $85,000 – thereby ‘making’ $18,000 on the transaction. In other words you ‘saved’  more on the next transaction, than you ‘lost’ on the sale of your current home, so you are ahead by $18,000.

In fact, there are other advantages to trading up in a buyers’ market.

Because prices are stable and properties often take longer to sell, once vendors have sold their original property there is no rush to buy. They can take their time choosing and negotiating their next purchase without having to watch the gap between the price they got for their original property and the price they have to pay for their next one increasing at an alarming rate.

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

Adelaide renters are paying $15 a week more compared with this time last year and can expect further rises.

Real Estate Institute of SA figures show the median weekly rent in Adelaide hit $310 in the December quarter, up 5.1 per cent on the $295 weekly median from the 2009 December quarter.

Industry experts attributed the increasing rents to a tight market and interest rate rises.

The rise in weekly rent came despite a 5.5 per cent increase during the past year in the number of properties available for lease.

REISA president Greg Nybo said the rises were to be expected in Adelaide’s rental market, where the vacancy rate had hovered at or below 1 per cent for much of the past year.

“What we are now starting to see is the reality of a very, very tight rental market,” Mr Nybo said.

“When you have so many people looking for a limited product, rents are going to go up accordingly.

“A lot of landlords have also adjusted their rents with increases in interest rates and ongoing price rises for utilities.”

Statewide, the median weekly rent increased 5.5 per cent during the past year to $290. Mr Nybo said the larger statewide increase could be reflective of the state’s expanding mining sector and a mostly strong year for farmers.

“If the job is there and people are moving to the country for employment in mining or agriculture, it’s going to make for limited stock, which again means higher rents,” he said.

Mr Nybo said that with interest rate rises forecast for this year and no sign of demand letting up, similar increases in rent could be expected in 2011.

 Property Investors: Are you getting the right rent for your property in this market?  Find out what rent you should be getting…

Simply enter your property details and we will email you a free appraisal as to what your Glenelg or Western Coastal investment property should be renting for.

 Click here for an appraisal form

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

Source: Adelaide Now

Watch this Video to hear from Raine & Horne SA’s CEO Kevin Magee, to find out what is happening in the SA Real Estate Market in December 2010.

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