Viewing by month: July 2010
Dealing with your mortgage to avoid stress
After six interest rate rises since October last year, the past couple of months have been somewhat of a relief for mortgage holders, with the Reserve Bank of Australia keeping interest rates on hold at 4.5 per cent. But rates won’t stay on hold forever and the RBA has already said that it will lift rates in August if it is uncomfortable with inflation levels. For those of you dealing with a mortgage, such uncertain conditions can often be tricky and usually require some forward...Read complete post
What's in a (street) name?
A very interesting study came across my desk the other day that I thought was worth sharing. Apparently, in the UK, living on a ‘street’ isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. A study by the UK property website Zoopla looked at the average property values for each of the 858,000 residential locations in the UK. It found that properties located on ‘Hills’ and ‘Lanes’ are worth more than the national average, while ‘Streets’ and ‘Terraces’ have the lowest average property values. ...Read complete post
The best season to buy or sell property?
I always find interesting the perceptions that people often hold about the timing of buying and selling real estate. I know of many people who equate cold winter months to a cooler property market and are thus afraid to put their home up for sale, or those buyers who don’t even bother looking. And then there’s the hype that usually surrounds the Spring Selling Season, where both buyers and sellers gear up for action. It’s true that in spring there is a certain buzz in the...Read complete post
The benefits of being a property investor at tax time
Well it’s that time of year again. June 30 has now passed and it is time for all tax payers to get their tax returns in order. I like to use this time of year to talk about the tax benefits of owning property for investors; it always surprises me how many people, even current property investors, don’t understand the impact of property ownership on their tax bills. One of the main benefits for property investors to consider is the handling of expenses; investors can claim some...Read complete post
Easing the strain on your home energy bills
I’m beginning to realise that a technologically enhanced lifestyle doesn’t necessarily benefit our electricity bills. And the electricity price changes set by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal which came into effect at the beginning of July are not going to help matters. Given that these changes will see the cost of electricity rise between seven to 13 per cent, it may be worth considering the little alterations that can be made on a day-to-day basis to help reduce...Read complete post
Some reasons to consider owning over renting
We’ve been hearing a lot in the media lately about housing affordability worsening and the preference of many to rent as opposed to buying property. Buying a home is a significant investment; for those used to renting it can sometimes be difficult to comprehend the financial outlay involved in making such a purchase. Many people I have come across are uncertain about the direction of interest rates, and worry about landing themselves in an expensive mortgage. Some would rather...Read complete post