Ipswich Real Estate Blog

Buying your first home is an exciting time but making a mistake could be costly. 

Here are the 5 most common mistakes made by first home buyers

1. They don’t ask enough questions of their lender and end up missing out on the best deal.

2. They don’t act quickly enough to make a decision and someone else buys the house.

3. They don’t find the right agent who’s willing to help them through the homebuying process.

4. They don’t do enough to make their offer look appealing to a seller.

5. They don’t think about resale before they buy. The average first-time buyer only stays in a home for four years.

An interesting story from news.com.au. Trying to tell a seller that their home is not the nest egg they thought can take some skill and diplomacy. 

Torny Jensen

April 19, 2008 12:00am

AGENTS are being forced to screen out “unrealistic” vendors who have not accepted that the housing boom has passed - at least for now.

Ray White agent Mikki Finlay said many vendors were placing high price-tags on houses despite a softening in the local property market.

“I think we had a huge shift in the market last year and combine that with an economic slowdown and the market had to correct,” she said.

Ms Finlay said she was being extra cautious before accepting clients to ensure vendors had realistic expectations of what their house would sell for.

“Because if they are not prepared to meet the market they are not prepared to sell,” she said.

Ms Finlay tomorrow will auction three houses at a mega-auction in Brisbane where an estimated $50 million worth of real estate will go under the hammer.

Auctioneer Phillip Parker said about 112 properties would be showcased at the event, to be held at the Brisbane Convention Centre from 10am.

The event has pushed up auction listings dramatically throughout the state this weekend.

Australian Property Monitors said that 134 properties would be up for auction in Brisbane, while 242 were listed to go under the hammer throughout the state.

APM reported auction clearance rates in Brisbane last weekend were down to just 35.7 per cent, a drop from 37.9 per cent the previous weekend.

Ray White Burleigh Waters agent Troy Dowker

will take historic house Alley Rock to auction on the Gold Coast at Bond University at 10am today.

The house, at 10 Murraba St in Currumbin, was built by Neumann Steel founder Alfred Neumann in 1932.

Mr Dowker said he preferred auctioning properties because the marketing process allowed for a better showcase of the product.

He said vendors who took their house to auction were also sending buyers a message that they were committed to a sale.

From a story on www.news.com.au

QUEENSLAND is home to a third of the nation’s top 15 locations for price growth.

And an RP Data analysis has revealed regional areas have continued to outperform Brisbane’s suburbs in percentage growth in the past year.

 The northern cane town of Ingham was the state’s best performer, and ranked seventh nationally after prices there grew by 46.9 per cent in the year to January to a median price of $235,000.

Overall, 11 Queensland locations made the top 50 list including Ebbw Vale and Riverview

Collinsville, near Bowen, ranked ninth, with prices having soared by 46.6 per cent to a median price of $212,500.

Fig Tree Pocket was the only Brisbane suburb to appear in the national top 15. Situated at number 12, it grew by 44.7 per cent to a price of $850,000.

Glen Eden and Calliope, both near Gladstone, were the other Queensland places to rank in the top 15.

With the majority of top Queensland suburbs located in coastal areas, RP Data national research director Tim Lawless said he predicted buyers would still be looking for a sea change when it came to securing high-growth property this year.

“With growth now slowing in most major markets, selecting locations for the best capital growth is about being more strategic,” Mr Lawless said.

“Solid research is becoming more important as buyers gain more leverage in the market and properties are taking longer to sell.”

He said city-based markets and resource-boom areas would continue to be buoyant.

The upmarket Mont Albert in Victoria was the nation’s number one hot spot, with the median price growing 50 per cent in the year to January to $1,035,000.

The top performing NSW suburb was Castlecrag, on Sydney’s north shore ($1.8 million, 49 per cent), while the pick in South Australia was Underdale ($455,000, 48 per cent).

Western Australia’s best performer was South Hedland ($380,000, 47.6 per cent).

 1. Decide what you can afford. Generally, you can afford a home equal in value to between two and four times your gross income.2. Develop your home wish list. Then, prioritize the features on your list.

3. Select where you want to live. Compile a list of three or four neighbourhoods you’d like to live in, taking into account items such as schools, recreational facilities, area expansion plans, and safety.

4. Start saving. Do you have enough money saved to qualify for a mortgage and cover your down payment?  Ideally, you should have 20 percent of the purchase price saved as a down payment. Also, don’t forget to factor in closing costs. Closing costs — including taxes, solicitor’s fee, and transfer fees — average between 2 and 7 percent of the home price.

5. Get your credit in order. Obtain a copy of your credit report to make sure it is accurate and to correct any errors immediately. A credit report provides a history of your credit, bad debts, and any late payments.
6. Determine your mortgage qualifications. How large of mortgage do you qualify for? Also, explore different loan options — such as 30-year or 15-year fixed mortgages and decide what’s best for you. 7. Get preapproved. Organize all the documentation a lender will need to preapprove you for a loan. You might need  copies of at least one pay stub, account numbers, and copies of two to four months of bank or credit union statements.

8. Weigh other sources of help with a down payment. Do you qualify for any special mortgage or down payment assistance programs? Check with your state and local government on down payment assistance programs for first-time buyers.

9. Calculate the costs of homeownership. This should include property taxes, insurance, maintenance and utilities, and association fees, if applicable.

10. Contact a Real Estate Agent. Find an experienced real estate agent who can help guide you through the process.

Smaller Floor Plans seem to be in Demand 

Australia’s appetite for big homes and over-sized furniture may be shrinking.

New-home buyers are asking builders  for smaller floor plans right after the collapse in subprime lending last year, and the tightening of credit..

The demand for a huge, high-ceilinged great room is giving way to the desire for special-purpose rooms, including media rooms and home offices.
In new sofa collections, manuacturers are offering “apartment size” sofas, which are about 10 inches shorter than full-sized ones. Citing a trend toward smaller homes.
Seems to me the penny has dropped.  We might see greener, smarter homes being built for Gen Y.

Here is a story from the states.  Frankly I think it does not have quite the effect they say:

Housing Slowdown Goes Beyond U.S.

Countries in the rest of the world are beginning to feel their own versions of the U.S. housing downturn.

In Ireland, Spain, Britain, and elsewhere, housing markets are returning to earth after soaring for decades. Experts worry that these countries could suffer the mortgage defaults and foreclosures that have been such a problem in California, Florida, and other U.S. states.

”The problems in the U.S. are being transmitted to Europe,” says Michael Ball, professor of urban and property economics at the University of Reading in Britain, who studies housing prices. ”What’s happening now is an awful lot more grief than we expected.”

The problem is most acute in Spain, where more than 4 million homes have been built in the last decade – more than in Germany, Britain, and France combined. Now property values have dropped more than 15 percent and mortgages are drying up.

Source: The New York Times, Mark Landler (04/14/2008)

I came across this article in www.news.com.au and though I normally share anything I endorse with my wife. This time I refrained.  If she saw me extolling the virtues of this guy she would probably send me to sleep on the couch.  I once thought of aiming for this title but I might let it slip by to the keeper.

(From the article)

FEW men would admit to it, but Paul Squires is proud of the title: he is Australia’s tightest man.

The penny-pincher advocates avoiding family gatherings, limiting your friends and ignoring Mother’s Day.

“I’m tight, but I’d like to think there are people out there much tighter,” Mr Squires, 43, said.

“There are times when my wife is even tighter than I am.”

In his new book, Wealthier Than You Think, the father-of-two promises to cut readers’ debt, and put as much as $50,000 back into consumers’ pockets over five years.

He believes many Australians are living beyond their means, and there is a “river of money slipping through people’s fingers every day”.

Among his strategies for a financial makeover are having a weekly blackout night, where no electricity is used.

“It not only saves on the power bill but also gives people ‘time out’ to reflect,” he said.

The multi-millionaire also recommends avoiding family get-togethers, particularly Christmas and Easter.

“There’s nothing but heavy stress, heavy drinking and, amongst some families, some deep-seated issues come up. You spend a lot of money to partake in it and seriously, without being too negative, people come out mentally scarred. The reality is, why do it?”

As for friends, Mr Squires believes people need to limit the number of mates they have, and reduce the amount of time spent with them.

“Invariably, catching up with friends involves spending money and, some of the people you socialise with you don’t like that much, anyway.”

Mr Squires, a real estate agent, rejects assertions his methods are “extreme”.

He concedes that some members of his family  “don’t understand what we are doing”.

Luckily, Mr Squires’ accountant wife of 16 years, Krystina, is equally frugal.

Mr Squires believes his book is particularly relevant in today’s climate of rising interest rates and spiralling debt levels.

“The driving force (behind the book) was seeing the level of debt and the amount of consumption out there. It just wasn’t logical.”

Top penny-pinching tips

*Avoid your family. Christmas and Easter gatherings are expensive and psychologically damaging.

*Limit your mates

*Ditch ‘friends’ who are living beyond their means

*Don’t fall for ’special day’ marketing such as Mother’s Day

*Don’t volunteer for committees. It can become a financial burden

*Don’t buy jewellery

*A weekly black-out night to save on electricity

*Settle for a basic barbecue rather than the latest outdoor kitchen

*Buy a standard TV not a home theatre package

*Dress your children in hand-me-downs

*Don’t buy toys for your children

*Avoid two-for-one deals

If you would like to make your open house experience great for you and better for the prospective buyer try doing this. 

THE ‘TO DO’ LIST

* Ensure open days do not coincide with a big celebration

* De-clutter every room in the house

* Make minor repairs to walls, floors, fixtures and fittings

* Spring clean, consider using a professional

* Clean the yard, cut lawn, clean pool, weed flowerbeds and trim edges

* Book pets into a kennel or leave them with friends

* Lock away any valuables

* Co-ordinate inspection times for when house looks best, eg when the sun is shining in

* Put the best linen on the beds and best towels in the bathroom

* Make yourself scarce.

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE LOOK

I tried it for about 2 hours.  Bought a new laptop with Vista Basic but soon headed to the computer shop for a copy of XP Pro.  Someone else seems to have had the same probs.  Watch this: