DIY packing tips & tricks

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Moving house or office can be painful, but putting your life’s contents into boxes and hoping it will reach its new home in the same condition? Oh boy that is alot to do.. 

But really, it doesn’t have to be difficult. Rather than getting caught up and panicking over the amount you need to clean, pack and then unpack! Break it down into smaller steps and then create a plan. Here are some useful tips to make your life easier!

First things first

GET RID OF UNNECESSARY POSSESSIONS!!
This way you will have less to pack, less to relocate and ultimately, less to handle! Decluttering is a great way to release stress and it will save you so much time and money. If you have the time, maybe even have a garage sale?

You get what you pay for

If you opt for the throw away recyclable boxes from the supermarket for packing you will increase the risk of your belongings ending up in broken pieces on the floor. Instead, use quality boxes that are designed for the moving process. Most removals companies will offer boxes as part of the package.

An ideal box should be rigid, able to be sealed shut, and in good condition without rips, tears, punctures or damaged corners.

Materials for packing success

What you will need:

• Ample boxes – better to have too many than not enough

• Packing tape

• Textas or markers

• Bubble wrap

• Packaging paper – While newspaper works well for cushioning, don’t use it to wrap items. The ink can permanently stain china, porcelain and clothing

• Scissors

Our top packing tips

Now you have the essential equipment, it’s time to get packing. Here's my top tips.

• Use packing tape to reinforce boxes – this is especially important for heavy or breakable items

• Layer items according to weight and size – heavy items in first followed by lighter items on top

• Don’t leave empty space in boxes – make sure items can’t move around in boxes with space fillers like tea towels, packing paper or bubble wrap

• Be mindful of the weight of boxes – heavy boxes are not only difficult to lift, they are also prone to tearing or giving out at the bottom

• Close and seal all boxes – make sure items fit securely inside the box, with nothing protruding out of the top

• Label all boxes – this helps with the unpacking process as the removalist knows where the boxes need to be stored. Add ‘FRAGILE’ to boxes with breakable items

Map out the destination

The goal is to be unpacked in your new home with all of your bits and pieces in their correct place in a timely fashion. We all know this can be stretched out as you grapple to find space for every item. Make sure you avoid this mess by properly assessing your new location before moving day. Map out where things should go so you're not flying blind. Create diagrams or notes that you can carry around on paper or your tablet. It'll take hours off your move if you know right where things have to land. And you can always move them around once you're settled if you change your mind.

Hopefully this helps!! Here's the link of this article and for more DIY tips.

Tax tips for property investors

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Tax time shouldn't be a burden.. Let's do this to make sure everything's in order to reap the maximum rewards of having an investment property =D

Documentation

It’s time to rustle through that empty shoe box of cheque book stubs, credit card receipts and bank statements to ensure you claim for all of your expenses.
There might be some expenses you're not aware of.. here's where a good accountant steps in!

Depreciation

Probably the most forgotten claim (and in some cases, the most beneficial), is the opportunity to claim depreciation of your assets. You should have a quantity surveyor finalise a depreciation schedule for you.

Most investors think that you should have a depreciation schedule only if you own new property. However, older properties can have significant depreciation benefits, especially if renovations have been undertaken in the last 10 years or so.

Travel

Travel expenses can be particularly beneficial if you own an investment property a long way from home or interstate.

But be careful! If you own a property on the Gold Coast, you can’t claim 100% of the expenses for your two week family holiday to the Gold Coast. You can only claim a proportion of the expenses, depending on the circumstances. Your accountant should know what you can and what can’t claim for.

Capital Gains Tax (CGT)

The timing of a sale of property can determine when you pay your capital gains tax (assuming you made a capital gain).

If you finalise a contract to sell a property on 30 June, your capital gains will be calculated in addition to any other income you’ve earned and will be payable in that financial year.
However, if you finalise the sales contract on 1 July, just one day later, capital gains tax will be incorporated into the new financial year’s accounts and you can possibly delay the payment of your CGT by more than 12 months.

PAYG variation

Did you know that you could receive the benefits of your annual tax return on a weekly basis?

Instead of waiting to get your tax refund, you can submit an application form to the ATO to vary your income tax. For example, instead of waiting to lodge your tax return to get back $5,200, you can lodge a form and have $100 less tax taken out every week. It works out to be the same money but $100 per week extra for 52 weeks in your account can greatly help with your cash flow, especially if you have a negatively geared property.

Accountant

If you own investment property, you should find yourself a good accountant that understands property. When looking for an accountant, one of the first questions you ask should be "Do you personally own property?".
If the answer is no, keep looking!

Rail lines lift home prices by almost $50,000 in Melbourne

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The figure tracks as high as an average $105,000 more for a house in Melbourne's east that has a train line in the same suburb compared with those without a station, $59,500 in the northern suburbs and $40,000 for median prices in western suburbs with train access.


Generation Y typically value:
- easy access to the city lifestyle via public transport over homes with large backyards or the facilities to raise a family
- no-fuss, low-maintenance properties that were affordable (though no same effect for units)

 

This could be due to the fact ready access to public transport became more important to people in Melbourne's outer suburbs, which typically had more houses available than units. He expected all modes of public transport to become more important.

For full article, click here

Interior design ideas!

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Just sharing some brilliant ideas and interior design to manify your creativity juices. For more idea, click here

Bali-nese styled. LOVE IT! Modern yet culturally inspiring

What an entrance! So grand yet not over the top. WOW

Glass house in the wildnerness

Modern Japanese styled home

Beautiful alfresco! Great place to have guests around

Feels like a tropical resort....

Some Kitchen Ideas

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Abit more home-y feel. Imagine the smell of choc chip cookies coming out of the oven

 

 

Island themed kitchen - spacious, clean, relaxing.

Shoestring savings to home ownership - First Home Buyers!

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If you go to a lender informed, with a purposeful deposit technique in mind, and an understanding of how much you can borrow — home ownership can transform from dream to reality.

Rule of thumb : you’ll need at least a 10% of the purchase price of your future home as a deposit to qualify for a 95% Loan to Value Ratio loan.

This allows for the often overlooked upfront costs of Lenders Mortgage Insurance (a once-off payment which allows you to borrow more than 80%, and stamp duty, a state government tax on property purchases, to be capitalised on to the principal of your loan) 


NOTE: QLD, NT and WA don’t have stamp duty (reduces upfront costs). Everywhere but QLD and NSW have first home buyer grants for established properties.

• Get over the 10% deposit threshold by adding your local first home buyer grant to your savings then you should have enough deposit to get into home ownership

• Rural home lenders are often unwilling to lend anywhere close to 95% of the purchase price. Lenders seem to be more comfortable with a loan amount somewhere in the 60-80% region.

How can I get a home loan without the minimum deposit?

1. There are a small selection of guarantor loans on the market that enable first home buyers to borrow from 97 to 120% of the purchase price.
2. Some loans also allow upfront costs to be tacked on as well - relying on a family member financially guaranteeing the loan.

Can I just get my parents to stump up the entire deposit?

1. "From a lenders perspective, we want to see that you really understand what's involved in getting a loan. You're going to have to pay off this loan for a long time. So what we want to see is that you've made a commitment to the process yourself, and that commitment's come from you creating your own pot of genuine savings."

How much do I need to prove 'genuine savings'?

1. Genuine savings means that you've put away a minimum of 5% of the deposit amount over no less than three months. That money should come from regular deposits like salary. So we don't want to see that your 5% savings are from lump sums like tax refunds or gifts. Or face higher interest rates!!
2. As a first home buyer, you need to show a lender you're diligent in terms of putting away the pennies yourself for a period of time." 

NSW: New life to old suburbs is all part of the plan

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The living area of a typical 2-bedroom apartment at Como

''Land is cheaper and development in the inner ring of suburbs is rippling out to other areas''  

One of those areas to the south is Riverwood in the Canterbury-Bankstown district. The first private building, Como, with 197 apartments over 10 levels, is now being sold off the plan, with prices starting at $295,000.

What makes it attractive??

- closer to the city, at 15 kilometres, than some of the other new communities in the west and south-west

- Next to the community centre, near upgraded train station and new sports centre and it fronts on to fantastic reserves.

- There is a market square, retail precinct and library... AND more than 32 hectares of parkland and waterways

In short, don't underestimate less popular suburbs! The strong demand for apartment high-density living is driving new development and these developments need land!!  

Whilst there is still strong demand in both VIC and NSW for apartments, there is a clear oversupply of apartments in VIC and shortage in NSW! Those in NSW, don't worry! 6000 due for completion over the next 18 months. Sydney's building boom would produce the highest number of apartments for almost a decade. WOW!!

''In Sydney, we're at the beginning rather than the end of that cycle,'' he said, adding that new apartment projects in the inner city were now at ''the leading edge of housing recovery in Sydney''

Remember: People of all generations and ages in both Victoria and NSW have two criterias - Convenience at the tip of their fingers and somewhere they can relax and unwind after a busy hectic day at work.

VIC: Grollo family proposes pencil-thin tower for CBD

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Dubbed by some as the pencil-thin tower, it would feature one continuous structure of reinforced concrete and look like cutting edge buildings in cities such as New York and Hong Kong.

Thought this very unique pencil-thin tower was too intelligent an idea not to share!

The tower will house about 150 high-end apartments and 13 levels of premium office space.The facade of an existing Edwardian-era building will be incorporated - innovative ways to optimise space!!

SYD: City's destiny is high density

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It's on for young and old in the Sydney of the future, as baby boomers and first-time buyers drive demand for urban centres that have it all.....

 

Developers are targeting old industrial sites along the foreshores of the Parramatta River, west of Sydney, in suburbs along the Cooks River and Woolooware Bay, to the south.

Buyers don't just want apartments - they want shops, public spaces and a sense of community!

The state government has released a draft Metropolitan Plan for Sydney for 2031 and it is clear more high-density urban centres will be needed for 1.3 million more people - they will require 545,000 new homes and 625,000 new jobs.

 ''People want infrastructure, they want community space, they want retail and health and education all nearby''

 

For full article, click here

A picture is worth a thousand words

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''Location may be the most important factor for buyers when determining price, but it is the photos that help entice them to the open house''

"You want someone who will respect the fact that in many cases you're putting your most valuable asset on the market and this represents not only a financial but an emotional transaction"

* Hide all TV revotes

 "Sell on emotion and if you can get that emotional connection on a property the price becomes secondary''

"At dusk there is warmth - it makes a huge difference. Apartments can look pretty ordinary in the cold, hard light of day''

PRE-PHOTOSHOOT CHECKLIST

KITCHEN AND MEALS AREAS
* Clear all benches of clutter
* Remove and hide all appliances (kettle, toaster, etc)
* Remove all fridge magnets and photos
* Clean all appliances (rangehoods, stoves, etc)
* Hide loose electrical leads
* Hide tea towels
* Set table with good cutlery and plates
* Add table centrepiece

LIVING AND FAMILY ROOMS

Even small boutique apartments like this can be attractive!!

* Turn TVs off
* Remove magazines and newspapers
* Remove gym equipment
* Hide loose home-theatre cables
* Clear clutter from shelves and coffee tables
* Arrange furniture to make the room look larger

 BATHROOMS AND ENSUITES
* Remove toothbrushes and shavers
* Remove soap from showers
* Remove kids toys from bath
* Clean mirrors and benches
* Set out best towels and present the room


 
BEDROOMS
* Remove any clothes and clutter from floors
* Hide personal items
* Make all beds and straighten pillows
* Remove items from bedside tables
* Remove baby cribs if applicable
* Check globes in bedside lamps

OUTSIDE
* Move vehicles from driveway and front
* Remove rubbish
* Mow and edge grass
* Trim trees and bushes
* Sweep cuttings and leaves
* Put away kids toys, bikes, etc
* Make sure outside lights work


FINAL PREPARATIONS
* Turn on lights and lamps
* Open curtains
* Close toilet lids
* Lock pets in the garage
* Park cars in garage or off-site
* Take the family out while photos are taken.

Real estate agents' tricks now open for inspection

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You've probably experienced a situation where you may feel like you have been "fooled" by agents who speak up properties and then..... turns out to be way off your expectations. Here's some lines used by real estate agents and their translations! Get to know them and get the property YOU want :) What is the true meaning of the words used....

Estate agent speak "The property has excellent transport links"
Translation "There's a motorway and or busy railway line right next to it"

Estate agent speak "In need of modernisation"
Translation "This property hasn't been updated since the 1970s and needs a complete refit"

Estate agent speak "An ideal purchase as your first three-bedroom home"
Translation "You can barely fit a bed into the third bedroom"

Estate agent speak "Set within a purpose-built residential development"
Translation "This property is in the middle of a large housing estate"

Estate agent speak "Easy-to-maintain living space"
Translation "It's really incredibly small"

Estate agent speak "Conveniently located"
Translation "Next door to a busy main road and above a take away"

Estate agent speak "Unexpectedly re-available"
Translation "The previous buyer pulled out at the last minute due to major problems or the surveyor revealed that the property was vastly overpriced"

Estate agent speak "Reduced"
Translation "Desperate"

Estate agent speak "Within easy reach of local schools"
Translation "Kids will congregate outside your house at lunchtime and drop litter all over your driveway."

Estate agent speak "Ideal for the first-time buyer or as a buy-to-let investment"
Translation "The property's small and in a terrible area"

Estate agent speak "Tremendous scope for improvement. A real blank canvas"
Translation "Derelict"

Estate agent speak "In need of some updating and offered with no onward chain"
Translation "An old lady has recently died in the house and it hasn't been decorated since she originally moved in 50 years ago"

Estate agent speak "A garden flat"
Translation "A dark and most probably damp basement flat"

Estate agent speak "The property has many character features"
Translation "The ceilings are extremely low"

Estate agent speak "Low maintenance rear garden"
Translation "The garden is concrete"

Estate agent speak "Situated in a stamp duty exempt area"
Translation "Situated in a deprived part of town"

Estate agent speak "New price!"
Translation "This property was massively overpriced in the first place"

Estate agent speak " Character…."
Translation "Dilapidated"

Hope that was of great help to you!!

Victoria's property market gaining strength

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Victorian Valuer-General figures confirm that state's property market is gaining strength!

• The median Melbourne house gained $22,500, or 4.8 per cent, and rose to $495,000 between September and December
• The data released this week also showed solid improvement for units in Melbourne, which rose by $8600, 2 per cent, in the same time frame
• In country Victoria house values remained steady with a $280,000 median, while units rose $5000, 2.2 per cent, to a new median of $235,000.
• Bendigo enjoyed a boom, with the median house price rising 23.4 per cent to $377,500 from $306,000.
• But.... Wonthaggi suffered a 36.1 per cent hit to median values, which fell to $182,000 at the end of the December quarter from $285,000 a year prior.
  
  

  Slight drop in home values in April and May but overall... OUR MARKET HAS ENTERED A RECOVERY!! :D

  
  

  For full article, click here

VIC: Renovating promised greater protection from dodgy builders in State Government reform

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"The changes outlined in the Victorian Domestic Building Consumer Protection Reform Strategy are intended to lead to fairer, quicker and cheaper dispute resolution for people whose home construction or renovations hit snags."

"These reforms recognise that the current system is not working as well as it should for either consumers or for builders,'' Mr Attorney-General Robert Clark said.

 

The major reform:

- Builder regulation and domestic building consumer protection will become a 'one-stop-shop' under the Victorian Building Authority;
- Inspectors will now give rulings after on-site inspections;
- Insurance cover will be made more accessible; and,
- Builders will face stronger standards, oversight and disciplinary action for poor performance;
- Greater scrutiny of building surveyors and the building permit system.

"Informing consumers about these reforms will be a key part of the reforms, so that consumers can know their rights and know where to get help if a dispute arises with a builder,"

The proposed strategy will undergo further consultation with consumers and industry stakeholders before it is implemented progressively across 2013 and 2014.

A step in the right direction....

For full article, click here