Buyers agents articles & tips

What you need to know when increasing your rent

Laws differ from state to state around rental increases, however the reasons for rent increases are similar across every state and Territory throughout Australia. Rent reviews and increases should be revised at least annually, if not at every 6 month interval. The common times to do so are January or February, when most landlords are looking at the...

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Top 153 Unit Hotspots

Just like many hot button issues, the debate on whether houses make better investments compares to units continues to divide investors. Whether you prefer to invest in houses rather than units, the reality is that units are no longer the laggard they once were, thanks to soaring demands from homebuyers. While houses are still the dominant force, i...

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Perth suburbs star

This time, the new season of Location Location Location Australia brings Bryce back to Perth. The West Australian has taken this opportunity to interview him on his most recent purchase. Here's a snippet of the article: "As the Perth-raised co-host of Location Location Location Australia, Bryce Holdaway is often quizzed by WA viewers as to why the...

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Pros and Cons of Buying Off the Plan Apartments

The Pros There's lots of reasons to consider why you should buy an off the plan purchase because there's nothing that can replace that sort of brand new feeling. You're the first person to actually move into the property. There's got shiny taps, it has got beautiful clean tiles, the carpet smells fresh and its got that really nice cozy feeling abou...

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Uniformity for Buyers Advocate License

>> Play Audio here   In this podcast, Kevin Turner from Real Estate Talk interviews Ben and asked him about the issue that we have in our property industry across Australia: The lack of a uniform Buyers Advocate license. Here's a snippet of the interview: "Kevin: I want to take this subject one step further. I’m talking now to t...

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7 Ways to Get your Kids on the Property Ladder Sooner

With the question on affordability always on the mind of those looking to get on the property ladder, Ben Kingsley will share with you seven potential ways to help accelerate your kids dream of property ownership. This presentation at the Melbourne Home Buyer and Property Investor Show will look at ways in which family members can help the Gen X...

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When should you do a Building and Pest inspection?

So the question is when should you get a building and pest inspection done on a property that you looking to purchase and in my view, you should always get it done prior to entering into a contract when you're actually in a position when you can do that. But I'm also aware that in some cases you just can't, so for example if it's a really fast movi...

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Top 5 Aspects to Look at during a Property Inspection

If you are in the process of finding a property and if you are attending inspections quite regularly, you need to know what to look for. A good inspection will lead to a better understanding on the property and hence, can save you a lot of time, energy and even money. But the question remains: what should you pay attention to? Here are the top 5 as...

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5 Easy Ways to Add Value to an Investment Property

Let us for this exercise look at a typical investment type property being a 1960’s built 2 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment within a two storey block of 10 similar apartments with one car space on title located within a 10 kilometre radius of the Melbourne CBD. The value of purchase is between $300,000 & $400,000 which is very similar to the t...

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Why should you do a Contract Review?

Look in my view, you should absolutely get the contract reviewed by a solicitor or a conveyancer prior to entering into a contract but definitely before you go unconditional on a property. Because let's be honest it's a big decision you're about to make and you going to spend a lot of money and there's a reason why lawyers and solicitors drive arou...

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Sometimes bidding at auction can really pay off

Many buyers like to shy away from auctions altogether, eliminating even the potential for securing that particular asset. It’s fair to say that most buyers tremble at the thought of having to fight it out in a public place, where agent ‘spin’ and underquoting can confuse even the most organised of buyers. But the reality is that most VENDORS ...

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Auction: A Love Hate Relationship

Understanding why there's such a love-hate relationship in why buyers and sellers don't really like the auction process but the real estate agents do is really understanding what's in it for the real estate agent and the first thing is basically, vendor paid advertising for them personally and their business's brand. They've got the big billboards ...

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Are One Bedroom Apartments still the Poor Cousins?

Ask a baby Boomer what they think the great Australian dream looks like and chances are they will say a detached house on a quarter acre block surrounded by a garden with a BBQ and a hills hoist. Ask the same question to a Gen Y and they are likely to say an apartment in the suburb where their café culture lifestyle is… usually the inner city su...

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