Category Archives: Interest

8 products you need for your home safety

Theft and fire are 2 of the biggest risks that can affect our home safety.

While everyday possessions can easily be replaced, it’s those priceless items close to our heart – like family photos and home videos – that fill us with dread at the thought of losing them forever.   While nothing can totally eliminate the chance of a burglary or fire, there are some steps you can take to reduce the chances of it happening to you by making your home less of a target.

Here are 8 home safety products that can help reduce the risk of theft and fire to keep your possessions – and your loved ones – safe. Continue reading 8 products you need for your home safety

Are heritage homes harder to sell?

Heritage-listed property remain a contentious issue for home buyers.

Beautiful to look at and much-loved, they can also be a lot of work and cost to renovate or maintain.

Though many perceive period features as an asset for a property on the market, recent research suggests Australian buyers aren’t as wowed by ornate features as we may have thought, especially if there’s a heritage factor that complicates changing the property.

Only 12% said a heritage property would be a plus if they were looking to buy, while a whopping 60% said a listing would be a disadvantage. Continue reading Are heritage homes harder to sell?

Pet friendly properties a rare breed

Australians are a pet loving lot, but we haven’t reconciled that with our love of property.

The Animal Health Alliance reports that there are an estimated 25 million pets in Australia (2 million more paws than people), with 5 million of Australia’s 7.6 million households playing home to a critter of some kind. At 63%, Australia has one of the highest rates of pet ownership in the world. Continue reading Pet friendly properties a rare breed

How to Buy a Block of Land – Tips

Buying a block of land should be easy.  Unlike purchasing an existing home, there’s no construction quality issues to consider, no style to choose, and no decorating details to slow down the decision-making.   However, it’s not as simple as looking in the paper and picking a block out.  There are far more factors to consider as your choice of land is intrinsic to the success of your custom-built home… so here is a checklist with some of the more important considerations. Continue reading How to Buy a Block of Land – Tips

Appliance star energy ratings explained

The Energy Rating Label was first introduced in 1986 in NSW and Victoria, and is now mandatory in all Australian states and territories for electrical appliances to carry the label when they are offered for sale.

This includes:

  • Dishwashers
  • Refrigerators
  • Freezers
  • Clothes washers
  • Domestic televisions
  • Clothes dryers
  • Air-conditioners (single phase only)
  • Some three phase air conditioners and swimming pool pumps may carry an energy rating label if the supplier chooses to apply for one

On all these appliances, the label features a star rating between one and 10 stars – the greater the number of stars the higher the efficiency. Continue reading Appliance star energy ratings explained

Moving with Kids & Pets

 

A much overlooked topic when it comes to moving is kids and pets.  

Mention that you’re relocating and everyone has lots of advice about the best way to pack, and tips on what to do and what to look out for.

However, kids and pets are very often the overlooked topic even though they are probably the ones most affected on the day.

Moving Day can be traumatic for kids and pets so it’s important to make sure your little ones (two legged or four) are safe and sound while the movers pack and load your belongings.

Keep these tips in mind as you prepare them for moving day. Continue reading Moving with Kids & Pets

A first timer’s guide to moving out on your own

Whether you’re 18, 21, 30, or 50 – there will probably come a time in your life when you decide to move out of home and go it alone in the big wide world. Regardless of when it happens, or why, you’ll probably feel the same excitement and nerves in equal measure.

Here are some tips to help you fly out of the nest and not flee back again just as fast. Continue reading A first timer’s guide to moving out on your own

Federal Budget 2013: what’s in it for property?

In what many believe will be the Gillard government’s last budget, there were winners and losers, but you had to look hard to find anything that will affect the average person’s back pocket when it comes to buying and selling real estate.

Although there were no big surprises, considering it is an election year and one might have thought Treasurer Wayne Swan would throw in a few sweeteners to keep voters happy, very few sectors in the property life cycle will gain this year. Continue reading Federal Budget 2013: what’s in it for property?