You’ve dog-eared magazines, spent countless weekends at display villages and finally made the bold decision to build rather than buy a home. While choosing where and what to build are exciting and giant steps, you might not feel as enthusiastic about the necessary building contracts and approvals. But knowing your legal rights and responsibilities will help protect your investment and remove potential pain points in the construction process.
It’s a perennial question when it comes to real estate: should you sell at auction or via private treaty? Some sellers prefer the predictability of setting a price, while others are prepared to let their property go to the highest bidder.
If you have seen the movie Money Pit, in which Tom Hanks and Shelley Long play a hapless couple whose home renovations plummet from bad to disastrous with every swing of the hammer, it’s easy to see why buyers should be beware.
Switching home loans could help pay down your mortgage sooner, providing you are refinancing for the right reasons and understand what’s involved. Here’s our guide to refinancing to help you make the right move when the time comes.
Recent changes by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) have led to significant tightening of investment lending criteria by the major lenders.
By the time we save for our first home, upgrade to a bigger or better one, earn enough money to pay the mortgage and bills and live life in between, it’s not surprising many of us don’t contemplate investing in property until we are middle-aged or beyond.
They claim you don’t really know anyone until you live with them – and the same could be said for tenants. You won’t really know what they’re like until they move in.
After 18 months of record low interest rates, many Australians are wondering what’s in store for 2015. With the official cash rate so low, is it a case of what goes down, must go up? Or can we expect the interest savings to continue into the year?
Limited cash flow and equity mean many first-time property investors feel the need to chase down a bargain to enter the market. But, like most things in life, you usually get what you pay for, which – in the case of property – can mean unrealised returns or even losses. While there’s nothing wrong with paying less in the hope of making more, investors need to understand when a cheap property is truly a bargain and when they could be selling (or rather buying) themselves short.
Your home is likely to be the biggest purchase you make, so it’s something you want to get right. Mistakes can be stressful and costly. Here are the biggest ones buyers make and some tips to help you avoid them.