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Moving to a new home is stressful at the best of times but try and spare a thought for the planet and make your move as green as you can.
While most of us are now making sustainable choices in many areas of our lives, moving house can involve a great deal of waste. So how do we keep the whole operation more environmentally friendly?
Here are some tips for environmentally responsible and economic packaging:
Try to buy or borrow used cardboard boxes and return them or sell them back when you’re done.
- Start collecting packing materials to reuse well in advance of the move.
- Recycle cardboard boxes, corrugated paper, bubble-wrap and packing peanuts.
- Wrap delicate items in clothes, towels, face-cloths, old sheets and tea-towels. Fill the corners of boxes with soft toys and rolls of thick socks.
- Pack small fragile items in egg-boxes.
- Crumpled-up newspaper may leak a little ink, but it’s free and effective.
Use green bags for non-fragile items; they’re light and easy to pack and carry.
Locking in a fixed rate or switching your home loan altogether is top of mind for Australian borrowers as lenders slash fixed interest rates and continue to bring out special product offers.
The average three-year fixed term interest rate home loan (the most popular type) is the lowest it’s been low since October 2009 and new home loan deals are being released every other week.
Home loan lenders are reacting to changes to their funding costs, subdued home loan demand and uncertain economic conditions by repricing fixed rate home loans and continuing to bring out attractive home loan offers in the hope of boosting the flow of customers walking through their doors.
The key message to confused mortgage holders considering switching their home loan and/ or lenders is – the interest rate should not be the driving force in your decision. You should also consider exit fees for the current mortgage and compare all other aspects of the new home loan such as initial and recurring costs, ability to make extra repayments and redraw, flexibility, lender service and how long it will take to be approved.
If choosing a fixed rate home loan, investigate rate lock fees for securing today’s offers and be aware of possible break costs if you decide to switch again during the fixed period. Also consider how you will feel if you lock in and then watch interest rates fall down the track.
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AUSTRALIA’S housing market is unlikely to suffer a “structural collapse” on the scale of America’s property rout, a new report says.
This is despite deep household vulnerability to further rate rises.
But the two-speed economy is a “serious problem” for the market, with confidence sliding as weak demand buffets employers in the retail, manufacturing and tourism sectors.
The report, by investment research group Morningstar, comes as Housing Industry Association data reveals that sales of new homes in April were down 10 per cent on the same month a year ago.
About 7700 new homes were sold nationwide – up 0.2 per cent on the March sales, but down from about 8600 a year earlier.
HIA chief economist Harley Dale said the rate of new unit sales was about half the long-term average, while new home sales were more than 20 per cent below long-term figures.
“That profile is an unfortunate indictment of the weak new home building conditions … but it’s nothing compared to what we’ll see if another rate hike bullet is fired,” Mr Dale said.
In research on the outlook for the banking sector, Morningstar’s analysts said uncertainty in share markets was also sapping confidence in the property market at a time when households were already highly geared.
But despite softening house prices, there was “no cause for alarm” for the banking sector, the Morningstar report said.
It comes amid speculation that professional investors are short-selling Australian banks as a means of betting that house prices will fall.
Short sellers effectively gamble on falling stock prices by borrowing shares and selling them, hoping to buy them back at a lower price.
Shares in all four major banks fell heavily last week and lost further ground yesterday.
The Morningstar research team, led by head of Australian banking research David Ellis, urged investors holding shares in the major banks “to be patient”.
“Despite widespread coverage and speculation we do not see sufficient pressure on the sector to change our positive view.”
The report nominated the banks’ reliance on wholesale funding borrowed from international investors as a “structural weakness, but one that is slowly becoming less important”.
A major slowdown in Chinese economic activity would put downward pressure on bank share prices, it said.
It’s getting to be the hottest time of the year and as the sun comes out, so do the hats, cold drinks and backyard barbeques.
Summer is the season that most Australians long for all year and a season where many prospective buyers are braving the heat to look for their next home. Here are a few tips to make your home more summer-friendly to prospective buyers which will enhance the chance of that dream sale.
1. Using the right colours can add that fresh and cool look to your home.You don’t have to spend lots of money on repainting the walls – investing in bright, summery cushions and décor, fresh fruit and bright flowers will give your home that fresh, appealing edge.
2. Open your windows and sliding doors. Although air-conditioning feels great, some buyers don’t jump at the chance of having to deal with huge electricity bills to keep the house cool. The design of some homes may not allow for this, but allowing natural airflow through open windows and screens, with fans turned on at a low speed, can really enhance that cool, fresh feeling to your property.
3. Make sure the grass and garden is tidy. You may not know it, but unkempt grass and gardens can add a claustrophobic and shabby feel to your property. In hotter climates, maintaining a clean, low-density garden can add appeal for those buyers looking to escape the heat. The best tip for selling this summer is to put on your ‘buyers shoes’ and take a look around your house as if you were inspecting it for the first time on a hot, sunny day.
Whether you’re holidaying on the other side of the world or simply at the beach down the road, if you’re leaving your home for the annual summer break, it can become a target for thieves.
There are a few tips and tricks which can make a huge difference in protecting your biggest asset and safeguarding your home against thieves this summer.
• Check the locks and if necessary refit new ones, such as deadlocks and bolts, on doors and windows
• Keep an up-to-date list of any valuables such as jewellery, antiques andartwork. Take a photo of each item to keep on file and ensure your insurancecompany also has a copy. This will make the claim process easier if something were to happen
• Don’t leave house keys hidden outside, as experienced thieves will know where to look. Instead, leave a set of keys with neighbours or friends
• Lock away garden tools and ladders as they could help a would-be thief gain access
• Use automatic timer switches for lamps, TVs or stereos to come on then turn off each night. This will give the illusion that someone is occupying your home and will deter potential thieves
• Arrange to have you letterbox emptied daily. Nothing is a bigger signal to thieves than an overflowing letterbox
• For longer holiday breaks, arrange to have the lawn mown and laundry occasionally hung on your line
• Don’t leave a message on your phone indicating that you are away. Either arrange to have your messages cleared every couple of days or clear them yourself from you holiday base
• If possible, ask a trusted friend or family member to be your house sitter
source rebonline.com.au
The Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) has called on the state government to introduce more secure documentation methods, after a recent fraud scam rocked the industry.
Last month, a Perth man discovered that his Karrinyup property was sold without his knowledge or consent, due to a fake certificate of title being registered with Landgate – WA’s lands office.
REIWA chief executive Anne Arnold said the scam had conned several people and organisations including the owner, the real estate agency, the settlement agent and Landgate, which ultimately registered the title transfer to the new owner.
“This has been a ‘perfect storm’ of events by a very sophisticated outfit which seemed to have a great deal of knowledge about this owner, his property, his overseas movements, and the legal process in WA for selling homes,” Mrs Arnold said.
“The Certificate of Title is a tradable commodity, just like cash, so it’s probably time for Landgate to look at more sophisticated security measures on the actual document, such as a microchip as we have on our passports,” she said.
Under the existing property laws, agents are required to search the title at the time of listing a property, but the bona fides of the seller are not required to be checked. In most cases, agents are dealing with clients that they know so it’s not an issue.
However, Mrs Arnold said that REIWA would be working closely with the Real Estate and Business Agents Supervisory Board to review current protocols.
Mrs Arnold said as agents were increasingly selling properties online, there is little or no face-to-face interaction with sellers.
“While these methods are very convenient for interstate and overseas buyers and sellers, it is now more important that everyone involved in the transaction takes steps to authenticate the process and, in particular, the seller’s ownership of the property,” she said.
Source REIQ
The Building and Other Legislation Amendment Bill (No.2) 2010 was passed in Parliament yesterday and is the final stage of reform to pool safety laws.
The legislation introduces mandatory pool safety inspections triggered by the sale and lease of properties with pools, and applies to both shared pools (such as in apartment complexes) and non-shared pools (typically houses).
A commencement date is yet to be proclaimed. However, it is hoped that a reasonable time frame will be allowed in order for the necessary resources to be made available.
The REIQ will shortly release fact sheets to ensure members fully understand the requirements of this legislation.
Interest rates will remain on hold for the rest of the year, NAB chief economist Alan Oster has said.
According to NAB’s latest global and Australian forecasts, the RBA is expected to keep the official cash rate on hold at 4.5 per cent until 2011, when rates will ultimately rise and peak at 5.5 per cent.
Mr Oster said while the RBA won’t look to lift rates until the new year, there is still the risk of a ‘November trigger’, where a bad CPI result in the September quarter could force the Reserve Bank to hike rates sooner rather than later.
If this is avoided, Mr Oster said he expects the RBA to lift rates by 25 basis points each quarter in 2011.
“We continue to see the RBA as starting the tightening cycle in February 2011 with rate rises of 25 points per quarter bringing the peak to an unchanged 5.5 per cent by late 2011,” Mr Oster said.
“However given the strong growth expected and tight labour markets we now expect cash rates to remain at 5.5 per cent during 2012 – where previously we had expected to see rates ease back towards 5 per cent.
“Despite slightly weaker near term growth we still see pressures on inflation with tighter labour markets being important. Thus we still expect to see core inflation around 2.75 per cent by end 2010 (same as the RBA) and remaining around the 3 per cent mark through most of 2011.”
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- Tide turns as beachfront homes await sale February 4, 2012THE dream of owning a beach shack is still alive with a wave of run-down old beachfront homes sitting on the market waiting for the next tide of new owners. […]
- It cost $2.5m to build, it's on sale for $1.5m February 4, 2012FORMER used car salesman selling his five bedroom double-story beachfront mansion cheap. Interested? […]
- Online scam leaves renters out of pocket February 2, 2012POTENTIAL renters are being warned of an online scam that could cost them thousands of dollars. […]
- Building approvals continue to decline February 2, 2012ECONOMISTS expect the housing sector to remain soft for a while longer after new data showed building approvals continue to decline. […]
