Thursday, February 9th 2012
Articles | Archives
The castle as a bank vault
BY Mal James 28th July 2010
Investing in your family home means you can avoid, perfectly legally, the tax the government wants you to pay on an investment property.
“Why not live in your money?” one wily auctioneer suggested at a crisp winter morning auction in Melbourne recently.
Why not indeed?
As a buyers’ agent of million-dollar-plus homes in Melbourne, I see people buying [...]
The 4 key risks in Off-plan purchases
BY James Home Ratings 24th July 2010
Some people think buying off the plan is an easy way to buy property and a fast way to make money. You put down 10 per cent now or, in some cases, as low as 5 per cent, with the balance payable in six, 12 or 24 months. This gives you additional time to save and the [...]
Risk v Reward
BY Mal James 20th July 2010
In much of our homebuying discussion, we often mention the supposed opposing forces of Risk v Reward.
We mention them because a lot of homebuyers don’t act with any level of risk v reward consciousness in the homebuying process – in other words, they often make decisions without considering that, for every [...]
Learning Fees
BY Mal James 24th June 2010
As we are now firmly into a new market, we thought it time to have a stab at one of the most perplexing concepts confronting inexperienced buyers in high-end real estate - the “Learning Fee”.
The “Learning” Fee is the amount you as a Do-It-Yourself buyer can end up paying extra for the home you buy, [...]
The Importance of the Sun
BY Adam Woledge 21st June 2010
Shortest day of the year today – June 21 is the winter solstice, which means the shortest amount of daylight hours.
In Melbourne this also means one of the coldest days as well.
When assessing property, one of the most important criteria I believe is rear orientation. Due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis, in Australia [...]
Nathan Waterson, Bennison Mackinnon
BY James Buyer Advocates 3rd June 2010
Nathan Waterson – Focusing on Stonnington
Kristen: Hi Nathan.
Nathan: Hi Kristen. How are you?
Kristen: Good thank you. I’m here today with Nathan Waterson one of the partners at Bennison Mackinnon, he’s been there for five years now. We are just going to have a bit of a chat about the market and what’s [...]
Sam Wilkinson, Kay & Burton
BY James Buyer Advocates 17th May 2010
Kristen: Hi, I’m Kristen Hatt.
Mal: I’m Mal James and welcome Sam Wilkinson from Kay & Burton. How are you?
Sam: Very well Mal, nice to see you. Hi Kristen.
Kristen: Sam, good to see you.
Sam: And you.
Kristen: We’re going to start straight away with questions. The first one that I’ve noticed is that buyers are talking about [...]
Concept 104 – 3 Orrong Crescent Camberwell
BY Adam Woledge 19th April 2010
Here is a property that prospective buyers will be thinking long and hard about – and they need to. Although livable it is need of serious renovation – the original house / facade must remain as this is protected by a statutory planning department Heritage Overlay.
Golf Links Estate is a much loved [...]
House Ceiling Heights – high or low?
BY Adam Woledge 28th March 2010
Are ceiling heights important? Most people would agree that they are very important, for a variety of reasons.
Generally, most marketing campaigns for houses for sale will highlight tall ceilings and for good reason: quite simply, the rooms are more spacious and feel better. Tall ceiling heights are nearly always found in old period or high-quality [...]
The Truth about BOOM! Suburbs
BY James Home Ratings 25th March 2010
There is always a great deal of talk about “Boom” suburbs!
The media love it, some so-called property experts love it, and it is a hot topic at dinner parties.
“Where are property prices going to BOOM next? ”
The word “boom” creates a buzz and gets everyone’s attention
Unfortunately, a ” boom suburb ” can be like a [...]
Concept 104 – 21 Howard Street Kew
BY Adam Woledge 21st March 2010
If you are a lover of the English Architectural style (which suits leafy Kew quite well), then you will be drawn to this house, built in 1934. Architect Victor Dumbrell got the facade proportions right here and it has stood the test of time. This is a very pretty house from the street and it is timeless.
Howard [...]
The million dollar-plus view
BY Mal James 16th March 2010
This article was written in The Age, Business Day section. http://www.theage.com.au/business/property/the-million-dollarplus-view-20100314-q62r.html
AS BUYER advocates, my colleagues and I attend 30 to 50 auctions a week and 100 or so open for inspections of properties in inner Melbourne’s million-dollar-plus residential market.
We are regularly asked what’s happening in the million-dollar-plus market, what’s driving this market, [...]
Let’s debate Land v Apartments and the age-old myth that land ALWAYS appreciates faster than units or apartments.
BY James Home Ratings 15th March 2010
It is of concern to me that this type thinking is so ingrained into people’s minds that you cannot even suggest an alternative view.
What I am here to tell you is that land does NOT go up faster than apartments in all instances.
I would like to make my first point very quickly. If you have [...]
Concept 103 – 8 Moorhouse Street Camberwell
BY Adam Woledge 12th March 2010
Here is a property that prospective buyers will be thinking long and hard about – and they need to. Although livable it is need of serious renovation – the original house / facade must remain as this is protected by a statutory planning department Heritage Overlay.
Moorhouse Street is one of Camberwell’s best – close to [...]
Concept 102 – 33 James Street Surrey Hills
BY Adam Woledge 28th February 2010
33 James Street Surrey Hills is a property that may not immedidately impress you - in fact, you might walk straight in and then straight out. But give this one a chance: it does have a lot going for it and it would suit a young family very well.
Big pluses here are that it is [...]
Concept 101 – 35 Essex Road Surrey Hills
BY Adam Woledge 19th February 2010
Generous land size and a home with and genuine house charm.
That is what is on offer here at 35 Essex Road Surrey Hills. Listing agent Clayton Smith of Jellis Craig suggested a lot could be done with this – moving the carport forward will make use of some dead driveway space and extending on a [...]
Not only do we report on the state of the Melbourne Real Estate market, we are also government licensed Buyer Advocates. We only work for buyers, so think of us as the opposite of selling agents.
Find out more about who we are and what we do.
Find out more about who we are and what we do.
Melbourne Real Estate Market
Where you need to be & what we buy.We outline in detail where we find the best places are to buy in Melbourne.
Find out Melbourne's best locations.
BUYER TESTIMONIAL
Kristen, you have been unfailing and so professional in helping us through the process and never, for a second, showed signs of giving up. Adam, we have really appreciated your honesty. It really helped us. Learning when to say no to seems more important than what to say yes, and you helped us figure that out. Thanks for finding the extra time to give us your valued opinions too. ...
Tanya & Campbell
hampton
Tanya & Campbell
hampton
Buyer Masterclass
THE RISKS OF CHASING A HOUSEBUYING REWARD...
BY Mal James
Negotiating on a property is all about balancing the risks with the rewards. In your quest for the reward of buying your dream home, you might run the...
Read the full article
Join us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Share on digg
Subscribe to RSS feed
