Posts Tagged ‘Selling Real Estate’

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.

“It’s sometimes hard to work out when interviewing a new Glenelg Landlord, why they may feel vaguely dissatisfied with their incumbent property management service” said Ms Bonet Principal – Raine & Horne Glenelg.

“When you sart talking to them you know straight away it’s not working for them, but you can’t put your finger on why?”

“Our experience with our Glenelg Property Management business is that most property investors want to communicate with one person for their day-to-day needs” said Ms Bonet. ”They don’t want different jobs to be managed by different personnel (task management); they want their whole portfolio to be looked after (whether they own one property or several) by one person who is responsible for all tasks relating to their properties – arrears, re-letting, repairs and so on”.

When it comes to hiring a property manager, here is a checklist you can run through to reassure yourself that your agent is doing the best thing by your investment. Here’s a checklist thatall Property Investors should ask themself;

1. Does your property manager talk to you on the phone or does he/she send emails or text messages? Most landlords are baby boomers and prefer to discuss things directly when there is a problem so if you feel your property manager is hiding behind emails or text messages when you need to talk, let them know.  
    
2. Do they respond to your requests quickly? Property managers who take longer than half a day to respond to phone calls and emails are letting you down.
    
3. Most landlords prefer minimal vacancy; it’s obvious that even a week’s vacancy is money that will never be recouped.  If your property is vacant, don’t let your property manager ‘give it another week to see how we go’. If it isn’t rented in 10 days, it’s time to drop the rent by 10%.
    
4. Are you getting the best referenced tenants? Keeping the rent at 95% of market value minimises arrears, vacancies and maintenance – and therefore increases net return although the rent is slightly below market. Landlords who go for the highest rent lose money in vacancies and repairs – so check that your agent isn’t setting the rent too high.
    
5. Does your property manager keep you informed about further ‘good’ investments? This could be via an email with links to their website and properties for sale.

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

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 January 2011.

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

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 November 2010.

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

Watch this video … to get the latest in the South Australian Property Market Updates

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

Read the latest comments from Angus Raine CEO of Raine & Horne about the hike in interest rates…

The decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to increase the official cash rate by 25 basis points proved the major talking point for the property market in October.

The increase pushes the central bank’s cash rate to 3.25 per cent and the RBA governor Glenn Stevens said the increase was as a result of Australia’s continuing growth.

Raine & Horne CEO Angus Raine says the increase was the market’s worst kept secret, given the regular snippets of more favourable economic news coupled with the fact interest rates remain at historic low levels.

Nevertheless with the financial markets pricing in more rate rises by Christmas, the Raine & Horne chief is not convinced home owners can stomach more increases, especially as the Federal Government is also phasing out the First Home Owners Grant Boost (FHOB).

To this end, the Real Estate Institute of Australia says when a similar stimulus package was phased out in July 2002, the presence of first home buyers in the market fell by around 38% from 13,000 to 8,000 per month.

See what John Symonds of Aussie Homes has to say…

However Mr Angus Raine remains cautiously optimistic for the property market despite the challenges. “After an interest rate hike, people usually go back to the drawing board and work out what they can afford. There’s usually a time lag of a few weeks and then they’ll go out hunting again.”

REIA President David Airey is squarely in Mr Raine’s camp, and says caution is required regarding further decisions on rates.

“While the economic indicators suggest that Australia is on the way to recovering from the impact of the global financial crisis, these are early and tentative signs and we should be wary not to slow economic growth by increasing interest rates prematurely,” said Mr Airey.

PriceFinder Chief Operating Officer Kent Lardner, says, most home buyers need to be aware of inter­est rate movements, and urges them to allow for a servicing buffer for loan repayments of up to 3%.

 “The rise in interest rates is a positive sign of a strengthening economy. From PriceFinder’s perspective, our biggest concern over the last 12 months has been jobs losses and the effect that could have on property markets.”

 “The good news on the job front to-date will continue to help buyer confidence and even with the expected interest rate rises in the coming 12 months, our rates will still be relatively low,” adds Mr Lardner.

This article was republished from Raine & Horne Terraine October 2009.

Watch this Youtube Video about how Raine & Horne Glenelg can help you with all of your investment needs…

Monika Bonet is the Principal of Raine & Horne Glenelg, your Glenelg Real Estate Agent and Property Management expert.

Monika Bonet, Principal of Raine & Horne Glenelg offers these tips how to bid successfully at Auction;

 1.     Attend Similar Auctions Prior

Attend as many similar auctions as you can in the weeks leading up to your auction. This will allow you to better understand the system and observe your Auctioneer in action. It’s not in your best interests to be a complete novice at the auction, during which you plan to make a purchase commitment.

 2.     Check out the Venue

If the auction is to be conducted ‘in-rooms’, locate the venue and any transport or parking facilities well prior to the auction date. This may avoid a last minute panic and the possibility of missing out on the property that you’re interested in purchasing. 

 3.     Arrive Early

Arrive early and get comfortable. If you need help, bring along a friend or an agent to bid on your behalf. In this instance your proxy bidder must register or otherwise your bid could be thrown out. Also by arriving early you can strategically locate yourself so you ca clearly see the Auctioneers and the other bidders.

4.     Establish Your Financial Limit

Establish a limit of how much you’re willing to spend on a property, and be prepared to walk away when (or if) the bidding exceeds your limit.

 5.     Understand the Bidding Process

Get a feel for the bidding process before you start. If you’re not sure get a Licensed Land Agent to bid on your behalf.

 6.     Start Bidding When Bids Are in Your Price Range

Start bidding when the figure is below or within your price range. Don’t be shy about opening the bid at a figure to suit you, and don’t hang back until the last bid. You should participate within your price range or you could miss out.

 7.     Observe the Bidding Increments

The Auctioneer will generally set the bidding increments, depending on the price of the property and the pace of the bidding.  Bid in these increments and don’t be too eager to raise the price unnecessarily.

8.     Know What’s Happening Around You

Know what’s happening around you. Don’t hide otherwise the Auctioneer may miss your bid.

 9.     Bid Strongly

 Bid strongly with confidence! This shows people that you’re serious about buying.

 10.  Bid Quickly

 Bid quickly in the later stages of the auction when the bidding slows down and there are only a few bidders remaining. If you hesitate, others think it’s your last bid, and this encourages them to keep going. (Likewise, underbidders should realise that others bidding quickly and aggressively are trying to scare you off).

 11.  Don’t wait until it’s declared ‘On The Market’

 If you have been advised not to bid until the Auctioneer announces that the property is ‘on the market’, you may have been badly advised. Most professional auctioneers won’t say this as the terminology is false. After all, the property has been on the market since the day the signboard has been erected and the first advertisements appeared either electronically or in print.

 12.  What happens just before the hammer falls “SOLD”?

When the bidding slows or stops at a figure acceptable to he vendor, the auctioneer will announce that the property is to be sold. As a precaution and to assist underbidders and any ‘last minute’ bidders, the Auctioneer will give the first call and repeat the price, then a second call repeating it again, and finally, a third and final confirming that the property is sold. The Auctioneer then brings the hammer down “SOLD”!

 13.  What’s the difference between a property being “Passed In”, compared to “Held Over”?

When the Auctioneer closes an auction and announces that the property is “Passed In”, this means that the last auction bid has not met the Vendor’s expectations, and the auction is closed. This is very different to when the Auctioneer announces that the auction is “Held Over”, in this instance the Auctioneer is only suspending the auction, whilst negotiations continue between the highest bidder and the Vendor can take place. If a successful outcome can be reached the Auctioneer will then re-open the bidding later in the day, and the bidder will be able to make another bid (and if acceptable to the Vendor) the Auctioneer will give the first call and repeat the price, then a second call repeating it again, and finally, a third and final confirming that the property is sold. The Auctioneer then brings the hammer down “SOLD”! This means the property can be SOLD under Auction Conditions.

 14.  What Do You Need To Do Before You Bid At Auction?

 Prior to bidding at auction you should;

• Have your finance approved.
• Have any building or pest inspections carried out on the property.
• Have your deposit accessible, (usually 10% of the purchase price) as you will have to sign the contract and pay the deposit if you are the successful purchaser.

 15.  Do You Need Further Help?

 If you’re not confident of bidding or you need the confidentiality of bidding, call Monika Bonet of Raine & Horne Glenelg, we can bid on behalf of you as a professional service.

Should I sell by Auction… which method of sale should I use?… read more

Watch this Youtube Video about how Raine & Horne can help you at Auction…

 

Monika Bonet is the Principal of Raine & Horne Glenelg, your Glenelg Real Estate Agent and Property Management expert.