March 25, 2015

Accountability

How accountable should we be?  Well, in everything we do, or in some cases don’t do, we should all be accountable for our actions!  We make so many decisions every day - about work, life, etc.  These decisions and actions can assist us achieve great successes, and give such joy it becomes infectious, while others are not so good and can lead to negativity.  Either way, they help build us into the people we are.
 
When it comes to property, home owners are accountable for the disclosure of information about any renovations, additions, building work, decks etc that has been done to their home.  Once the decision to sell has been made, the owners should gather all the evidence or supporting documentation they need to cover themselves should eg, plans, approvals etc.  They should inform their selling agent of this information and make it available for perusal to any potential buyer.  This is an open, honest and transparent transaction! 

If a seller decides not to disclosure such information to their selling agent, who do you think is accountable for the non-disclosure - the seller or the agent?  Unfortunately, the majority of buyers will always blame the agent!  This is an unfair assumption that is another issue altogether.  Whatever disclosure, or non‑disclosure, a seller decides to make – they should also be conscious of the future negative outcome their actions may have on a buyer.  No one would like to be left in an unpleasant situation. 

March 10, 2015

OMG!

Is this the turning point for property?  How long can prices continue to go up?  These are just some of the questions being asked.

In Sydney for instance, a small brick cottage on a medium size block recently sold for over $3m in Marrickville.  Now, it may take some time before our area ever catches up to Sydney prices, but really what are people thinking!  There are a lot of southerners living in our community and they would know and appreciate that the Marrickville equivalent in Brisbane would only achieve the mid $500K.  There is such an imbalance in the property market from state to state!

It would be a miracle for a small cottage in our local community to sell for over $3m, or it would have to have an oil field on it to achieve this price, but we can never say never!

But there is a bit of a lull in our local market at the moment with very few homes being listed for sale.  Buyers are eagerly waiting, but they will only wait for so long!

Obviously, from an agent’s point of view, property is still the best investment that anyone can make!  So, if you need any help or just ideas, please let us know!