Category: Around the house
Readying your garden for the cooler months
If you’re like me, it can be hard to find the motivation to go outside and work on your garden when the weather turns cold. But by the time spring rolls around, this winter neglect often means that I have a badly damaged garden and must start work from scratch, sometimes even replanting large sections of outside areas. But this could be totally unnecessary by taking some simple steps to prepare your garden for the cooler months. Not only will this allow you to have a...Read complete post
Are your pets suffering in the heat?
The past couple of weeks have seen soaring temperatures in different areas right around Australia. If you’re like me, you’ve been doing whatever you can to stay cool – operating fans and airconditioning units around the home and office, wearing lightweight clothing, staying in the shade when it becomes necessary to venture outside, and so on and so forth. But what do you do when it comes to your pets? How can you ensure that you have taken all measures to keep your animals in...Read complete post
The benefits of knowing your neighbours
These days, I think it is fair to say that there is less of a neighbourhood culture than there has been in the past. I suppose this isn’t a surprising progression – people tend to lead busier lives, there are not as many people at home during the day and with the increase in apartment living there is less of that familiarity you get between people seeing each other out on the street on a daily basis. While not unexpected I still think it is a bit of a shame that people aren’t as ‘n...Read complete post
What to renovate - Kitchens and Bathrooms
It is not uncommon for people to renovate, or ‘spruce up’, a property before selling it. However, the dilemma that many sellers come across when doing so is determining which areas of the home to invest in so as to add enough value and come out ahead in the increased sales price that you achieve.Over the years that I have worked in the real estate industry, I have seen a number of methods used to determine the best areas of the home to work on before selling. One of the...
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More Australians are going solar
Over the years that I have been involved in the real estate industry, I have seen a great number of property trends and changes evolve before me. These have involved the colours people are using to decorate with, the popularity of certain rooms over others and many more. But one movement that has caught my attention and pleases me greatly is that of the increasing residential use of solar power. And according to the Clean Energy Australia 2010 Report, released in December 2010...Read complete post
Smart new painting technology
As opposed to going away on holiday, people often take some time off over summer simply to stay at home, perhaps enjoying local attractions or just relaxing. This extended time in the house over daytime hours sometimes sees people consider their homes in a different light – perhaps noticing an overgrown garden or an ageing interior theme. It is therefore common during this time for new renovating projects or decorating ideas to spring to life. Many of these are started...Read complete post
Ways to cool your home without spending a fortune
For most parts of our country, the Australian summer is usually a hot one. And while many of us spend our days (if we’re lucky enough to have some time off work) enjoying the warmer weather at the beach or in the pool, remaining cool at home can often be a challenge. With the price of electricity on the rise, using air conditioning to combat the heat can often result in significant expense. So what can you do to lower your costs while staying cool at the same time? For...Read complete post
Ensuring your home is safe for Children
As parents and responsible home owners, we do everything we can to make sure our homes are safe for our children. Even if you do not have kids, it remains important to ensure that your property will not pose a threat to any young visitors. After all, there is nothing worse than having an accident occur in your home (whether life threatening or not) that could have been easily prevented. The Australian Institute of Architects and Kidsafe have a safety checklist that is quite...Read complete post
House Trends - How the great aussie dream is changing
The housing market, like any market, sees trends and preferences which change over time. Obviously these trends can have quite an impact on the types of properties that people buy, as well as on how we as real estate agents market and sell our listings. I read quite an interesting article by Martin Kelly in The Australian newspaper last week entitled ‘How big is my castle?’. The piece considered residential property across Australia and the preferences of home owners when it...Read complete post
Getting the most out of your garage space
An interesting irony exists in Australia’s residential property sector. Many home buyers are hesitant to purchase a property without a garage or some form of parking space, however it is not unusual for those who already own a residence with a garage to have crammed in so many possessions in need of storage that it no longer functions effectively as a space to park a car. For those in this predicament, what can be done? Over the years I have come to realise that with some clever...Read complete post