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Harry Potter trio turn property wizards

Rupert Grint may be the poorest of the three Harry Potter stars (who attended the world premiere of their latest film last week), worth a mere £20 million to Daniel Radcliffe’s £42 million and Emma Watson’s £22 million, but he owns almost as much property as Daniel. His £9.2 million portfolio includes two Hertfordshire mansions he shares with his parents and a central London flat he rarely visits. “Leave home? It’s quite a scary thought,” muses this son of a Formula 1 memorabilia dealer.

Literary agent’s son Daniel lives most of the time at his Fulham family home. But in New York he owns a five-bedroom 19th-century West Village brownstone, a fifth-floor SoHo rental apartment and a second apartment overlooking the Hudson, worth a total of £10 million.

Meanwhile, lawyer’s daughter Emma owns a £1 million-plus French ski chalet in Méribel and a £3 million Hampstead house for when she visits from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where she is a student.

Homes & Property

Rent Jessica Alba's Beverly Hills Home!

Actress Jessica Alba is trying to lease out her 3,035-square-foot Beverly Hills home for $8,950 a month. The listing is here.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Kelly Clarkson Lists Her Nashville Home

The Real Estalker alerted us to the fact that Kelly Clarkson, the first American Idol winner, is on the move. Clarkson has listed the Nashville home she bought in 2007 for $1.49 million. The Real Estalker covered this home in April 2008 so we can do a little compare and contrast with the listing pictures. It looks like, given the current very staged decor, Clarkson has already moved on but not before she changed some of the landscaping, added white plantation shutters, darkened the hardwood floors and went a little crazy with the paint selections. Practically every room is a different vivid color. Clarkson also upgraded the kitchen with green cabinets and new stainless steel appliances. Clarkson has listed the home for $1.449 million which means she will take a loss on the home.

Credit:Luxist Image credit

See and download the full gallery on posterous

How to get real estate prospects on Facebook

Facebook is huge right now and most of us are there, but few real estate agents are using it appropriately or to their best advantage.

I will try not to judge you if you are on Facebook playing games like Farmville, but you really need to rethink if this is the highest and best use of the largest network you have access to on any given day.

Instead of farming in Farmville, how about farming for prospective clients? 

Few tools have been as effective in my marketing as Facebook. I find it to be uniquely handy at staying in touch with a large number of people in a low key and fun way. It is also a wonderful way to keep reminding my sphere that I am in real estate…but careful here, we don’t want to be spammy about it!

So turn off the games and start using Facebook to plant the seeds for future business. Here are a few tips for the real estate agent who is looking to learn how to tailor their marketing to Facebook.

Read more at Agent Genius

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Housing supply crisis worsens

The Australian property market is currently recording about 4.1 months of effective housing supply, new data has found.

According to RP Data's latest research, Australia is currently in the midst of a terrible housing shortage, with Melbourne the worst sufferer.

RP Data's research analyst Cameron Kusher found Melbourne has the lowest current effective supply at 2.8 months, while Perth and Brisbane have the greatest effective supply recorded at 9.0 and 5.9 months respectively.

The Perth results indicate that this market remains consistent and has recorded the greatest effective supply amongst all of the capital cities since the beginning of 2007.

According to Mr Kusher, the Perth market has been recording a poor market performance for much of the period following the significant surge in property values recorded in the city between 2005 and 2007.

He said that since that time, sales volumes have become sluggish and clearly, a significant volume of properties have been available for sale which has resulted in an elevated level of effective supply.

The soft market conditions within the city are reflected by the fact that on average there was 7.6 months of effective supply in the Perth market - property values increased by 4.4 per cent since the beginning of 2007.

"Melbourne on the other hand has the lowest effective supply amongst major capital cities (2.8 months) and recorded one of the strongest levels of growth in values between the start of 2007 and August 2010 increasing by a total of 51.2 per cent; the strong market conditions over this timeframe have resulted in increasing demand for properties and as a result, those listed for sale have been being rapidly consumed by the market," Mr Kusher said.

Credit:Rebonline

RP Data Property Pulse Release

Total property sales in Australia to July 2010 amount to $213 billion

Curious about just how much property has been sold in dollar terms in Australia over the past 12months?  In the rpdata.com weekly Property Pulse released today, analyst Cameron Kusher analyses those suburbs which have had the greatest total value in sales.  Surprisingly, it’s not the premium markets that are recording the highest gross value of home sales as one might expect.

Today’s results show that the total value of dwelling sales across the country was an impressive $213 billion for the year to July 2010.  As a comparative benchmark - just five years ago the total value of sales across the country equated to more than $165.5 billion – this equates to healthful increase of 30 per cent.

Across the country, the suburb to record the greatest total value of sales during the year was Sydney’s Mosman which now holds a median price of $2.1 million.  Mosman had 329 house sales during the last year which accounted to almost $851 million worth of property transactions - less than 0.5 per cent of the total value of property transacted during the last 12 months. 

Assuming an average agents commission of 2.5 per cent, this equates to almost $21.3 million worth of commission within the suburb. 

When conducting today’s national sales analysis,  Mr Kusher said it was interesting to see a trend across those suburbs that have recorded the greatest total value of sales for houses; only one of the top five performers in each state has recorded a fall in median price over the last 12 months and that was Mosman Park in Perth.

Credit:Mitch Koper Download PDF file for the full report of this media release here.

Building time cut in half on Government stimulus project

Credit:Architecture & Design

An economic stimulus project in Melbourne is taking shape, using a cutting-edge modular construction method to build 199 apartments in half the usual time.

The new development is in Melbourne’s north, on Nicholson Street in East Coburg.

The Nation Building-Economic Stimulus Plan project has apartments being constructed at the Unitised Builders factory, rolled onto trucks using castors and driven to the site.

Once on site they are stacked like Lego and bolted together. The end result is apartments built to the exact same standard as any other Australian home, but with much less waste and twice as fast.

The apartments, some of which are already completed at the factory, are environmentally sustainable, featuring energy efficient appliances and gas heating. The building is stepped to increase natural light and ventilation and features a common vegetable garden.

The site will be managed by Urban Communities, a registered not-for-profit organisation dedicated to developing a strong, integrated and mixed community will be home to a mix of social housing tenants, private owner-occupiers and National Rental Affordability Scheme tenants paying 20 per cent below market rent, and employ social enterprises to ensure a healthy community.

The development will be completed by the end of June 2011.

More details are available on the initiative at www.economicstimulusplan.gov.au

Credit:Architecture & Design

Consumption outstrips Earth's production

Credit: Adam Morton

HUMANS are churning through the Earth's resources at 1.5 times the rate that nature can replace them - and the over-consumption rate is worsening.

The Living Planet Report, by environment group WWF, estimates that the Earth has enough productive land and sea for each person to use 1.8 hectares to draw the resources they need. In 2007, the average person used 2.7 hectares.

Scientists call this a state of ''ecological overshoot'' - extracting resources at a faster rate than the natural world can replace them.

The average Australian had an ecological footprint of 6.8 hectares, making Australia the eighth most destructive country on a per capita basis. Only the residents of United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Denmark, Belgium, the US, Estonia and Canada consumed more.

The report says it is possible to over-consume - for example, to log more wood from a forest than re-grows each year, or harvest more fish from an ocean than can be replenished - but only for so long.

''The analogy I like to use is that if this is a bank we are not living off the interest that the Earth is providing us, we are drawing down on the principal,'' says WWF Australia chief executive Dermot O'Gorman.

''That is undermining not just the environmental sustainability of this planet, but the economic and emotional sustainability of the planet in the short-term.''

The largest chunk of the global ecological footprint is greenhouse gas emissions, which have increased 35 per cent since the first Living Planet Report in 1998.

The 2010 report says local exhaustion of natural resources was already happening in some places, citing Newfoundland's collapse of cod stocks.

It says although people can shift to new areas when a natural resource is spent, current consumption rates mean those resources will eventually also run out.

On current projections for population growth, consumption and climate change, the world will be using the equivalent of two planets' renewable resources a year by 2030.

Produced with the Zoological Society of London and the Global Footprint Network, the report includes three main indicators to monitor the state of the planet.

The Living Planet Index, which tracks nearly 8000 populations of more than 2500 animal species, found a decline in biodiversity of nearly 30 per cent between 1970 and 2007. Biodiversity loss was most severe in the tropics and in poorer countries.

The Water Footprint of Production index found 71 countries were experiencing water stress.

Credit: Adam Morton

First-timers oblivious to home saver plan

MANY Australians haven't even heard of a Federal Government scheme that's supposed to help first time buyers into the housing market, let alone joined it, a survey has found.

An online poll by mortgage broker Loan Market found 46 per cent of respondents weren't aware of the $1.2 billion First Home Saver Accounts (FHSA) scheme that was launched two years ago to help young people save for a home deposit.

The scheme was set up to assist more than 700,000 people within the first four year years of its launch in October 2008, but fewer than 20,000 accounts have been opened, according to Loan Market chief operating officer Dean Rushton.

"Clearly this scheme has not been as successful as hoped," Mr Rushton said.

"Despite the 2010 budget announcement by the Federal Government of draft laws to boost the flexibility of the scheme, it clear from our survey results that prospective home-buyers are unaware of the FHSA or still find it too complicated."

Latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed that just 15.5 per cent of new home loans that were committed in August were for first home buyers, the smallest proportion since July 2004.

Under the FHSA, the Government contributes 17 per cent on the first $5500 of individual contributions made each year.

Savings are required to be kept in the scheme for four years.

The survey found that of the 400 respondents, 29 per cent thought the four-year time-frame was too long, 18 per cent said the scheme lacked flexibility and 7 per cent said it was too complicated.

"It's time to admit that the First Home Saver Account has failed and needs some significant panel beating," Mr Rushton said.

Credit: News.com.au Image credit: Google

HAVE YOUR SAY: North Melbourne graffiti crackdown

Credit: Melbourne Leader

SOCIAL media websites have been blamed for turning North Melbourne into a graffiti hot-spot attracting under-age taggers from across the state.

Sergeant Monique Kelley said some local traders were believed to be selling spray-cans to the youths, which is illegal if the buyer is under 18.

And she said it was likely the sales were being promoted online, as kids were travelling from as far afield as Echuca.

“Word of mouth can’t travel this well. They (the businesses) must be advertising on Facebook or another social site,” Sgt Kelley told Melbourne Leader.

The increase in the amount of tagging in the suburb has prompted police to launch Operation Blackwood at and around North Melbourne train station.

Police have swarmed the precinct twice in the past month and issued seven $587 on-the-spot fines for possession of spray cans without a valid excuse.

Officers have also confiscated 120 aerosol cans, including one car-load containing 70 cans.

Sgt Kelley said as the operation was ongoing, police were unable to release the names of traders suspected of selling spray cans to youths.

In another effort to put the clamps on inner-city taggers, Melbourne Council has launched two new mobile graffiti removal vans. The vans, which are costing ratepayers $600,000, will patrol the streets looking for tagging on private property.

The council workers will have the power to remove graffiti on the spot, provided they have the permission of building owners.

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle, when announcing the scheme, said graffiti was frustrating for traders and residents who were forced to repeatedly clean it off their buildings.

The free service will patrol five days a week during daylight hours and will focus on busy pedestrian areas including the CBD, Lygon St, Rathdowne St, Errol St, Domain Rd, Macaulay Rd and Belair St. The vans will also be available for emergency call-outs after hours and on weekends.

Councillor Jennifer Kanis said the council supported legal street art in renowned hubs such as Hosier Lane.

But she said the organisation was adopting a zero-tolerance approach to tagging with no artistic merit.

Is graffiti a major problem in the area you live? Tell us below

Credit: Melbourne Leader

Mortgage pain hurts more in Sydney than in London or New York

• Sydney families spend most on mortgage
• Average repayment is $4123 a month
• Dream of homeownership is more distant

SYDNEYSIDERS spend more on their mortgage than families in London and even New York.

A survey of global cities put Sydney at the top when it came to the percentage of income spent on mortgages.

The median Sydney house price is $626,444, with mortgage repayments of $4123 a month - three quarters the average monthly income.

In Los Angeles and Toronto, just a third of the monthly income goes on mortgages, while in Dublin and New York it is less than half and in London or Auckland less than two thirds, the comparative survey revealed.

The high price of housing here has more than 80 per cent of potential buyers now believing the dream of home ownership is becoming more distant, a realestate.com.au survey revealed, with 60 per cent blaming house prices rising faster than salaries.

The survey of more than 8000 people looking to buy in NSW found saving a deposit forced families into poverty.

Another survey, by Australian Property Monitors, found 46 per cent of homebuyers were worse off financially since buying.

However, just 6 per cent regretted the home purchase because it offered security, Australia Property Monitors head of research Yvonne Chan said.

First-home buyers were again being priced out, with finance for them at long-term lows, she said.

"We don't have the supply they do in the US, our lending criteria is more strict and the interest rate rises have priced out buyers," she said.

Property expert Margaret Lomas said buyers should rent in their preferred location and buy an investment property in an up-and-coming suburb.

"The great Aussie dream isn't lost. There are still opportunities for people to buy property and build substantial property portfolios by becoming a landlord rather than an owner-occupier," she said.

"Anyone wanting to get on to the property ladder in NSW should consider areas with strong infrastructure planning, population growth and a healthy demand from tenants to ensure great yields.

"My favourite hotspots are Nowra, Wollongong, Wagga, Granville, Bathurst, Orange and Queanbeyan."

Gavin Hirst, who rents in Lindfield, is looking for a home to buy in the northern suburbs of Sydney.

Already a landlord, Mr Hirst owns an investment property in Alexandria but said he wanted a family home with a backyard for his children to play in and which was close to good schools.

"It depends what you want to enter the property market for - capital gains or a cash flow," he said.

Credit: News.com.au

 

Top traps for first-time property investors

THERE are plenty of pitfalls the first-time real estate investor needs to avoid, writes Anthony Keane. Here's a list of the most common errors and how to avoid them.

Getting your foot in the door of property investment can be a scary proposition.

It's not every day you sign up for hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt for something you are not living in.

History has shown that, for long-term investors, the rewards are usually worth the risks, but there are plenty of traps the first-timers need to avoid.

Tax, interest rates, tenants, property agents, renovations and insurance are among the key areas where mistakes can cost investors big money, or at least deny them some of the profits they seek.

Today, Your Money examines some of the traps for first-time property investors.

Seminars that bite

University lecturer, author and investor Peter Koulizos warns about so-called "property education" seminars that are really just sales seminars designed to flog overpriced property to pumped-up investors.

But I would encourage people to try to see lots of seminars just leave your chequebook at home," he says.

"You get different perspectives and you can get good information, but just go with your eyes wide open."

Where's the research?

"Some people spend more time researching the plasma TV they are going to buy, rather than the property they are going to buy," says Koulizos, who wrote The Property Professor's Top Australian Suburbs.

These days we are spoilt for choice, with a wealth of information about property prices, trends, hot and cold suburbs, tips, traps and warnings in the print media and online.

Buying for tax purposes

Koulizos says many people look at property investing as a way to get a bigger tax refund.

"But you are only getting a refund because you made a loss," he says.

This practice is known as negative gearing, but seasoned investors know that a positively-geared investment where the property pays you a profit is the ultimate aim.

First-time investors are usually negatively geared in their approach, so they may as well get their tax refund back sooner.

Louise Carr, a property strategist with investment group Ironfish, says completing an income tax variation form can help smooth out your cashflow rather than get a lump sum refund.

"This way you can organise to get your tax back on a weekly or fortnightly basis with your pay," she says.

Depreciation debacles

One of the best tax benefits from property investment is being able to claim a deduction for depreciation of items within the property and the building cost of the property.

You don't physically pay these costs, so effectively it's free money coming back through your tax return.

However, many investors don't understand depreciation, Carr says.

"Deductions for new homes can be up to $15,000 a year.

"We often find that some accountants don't make people aware of it. We recommend going to an accountant who owns property themselves, so they know the advantages and are aware of tax legislation."

A depreciation schedule will list all your depreciation deductions. They typically cost $500-$600 and are available through a quantity surveyor, are tax-deductible themselves, and are available through a quantity surveyor.

Read More:News.com.au

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban rent in the Bahamas.

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Nicole Kidman and her husband, country music star Keith Urban recently rented a beachside villa in the Bahamas. The three-bedroom Kamalame Cay property is for sale for $2.1 million.

Kidman met her second husband, country singer Keith Urban at G'Day LA, an event honouring Australians in January 2005. They married on 25 June 2006, at Cardinal Cerretti Memorial Chapel in the grounds of St Patrick's Estate, Manly in Sydney. They maintain homes in Sydney, Sutton Forest, Los Angeles and Nashville, Tennessee. In March 2008, they bought mansions in Los Angeles and Nashville within days.

In June this year, it was announced that Kidman and Clive Owen will star in an HBO film about Ernest Hemingway and his relationship with Martha Gellhorn entitled Hemingway & Gellhorn. She has also signed on to the Adam Sandler/Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy Just Go With It.

Credit: Luxist & Wikipedia Image Credit:Country Music is Love

Katy Perry and Lady Gaga might be New York City neighbours!

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Katy Perry and Lady Gaga might be New York City neighbours in TriBeCa. Perry and fiancé Russell Brand recently bought a $2.7 million penthouse duplex on North Moore Street in TriBeCa, and Lady Gaga, who's been on an extensive downtown apartment search, just visited a $14.95 million TriBeCa penthouse at 33 Vestry St.

Credit:Luxist.com Image credit: Photobucket

Obama to add solar panels to White House

Credit:BBC News

US President Barack Obama is to install solar panels on the White House roof, a move lauded by climate activists as symbolic of the nation's energy future.

The panels will heat the Obamas' water and provide some electric power.

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter installed solar panels later removed by Ronald Reagan. George W Bush put panels elsewhere on the White House grounds.

Mr Obama is a supporter of renewable energy but legislation aimed at cutting carbon emissions died in the Senate.

The solar panels are to be installed by the spring.

"Solar panels on one house, even this house, won't save the climate, of course," global warming activists 350.org wrote on their website. "But they're a powerful symbol to the whole nation about where the future lies."

The move was announced by US Energy Secretary Steven Chu at a conference in Washington on ways for the federal government to improve its environmental performance.

Credit:BBC News

Exclusive buyers are spoiled for choice

Credit:Majella Corrigan

FOR those aspiring to live in the top suburbs in our capital cities, there are still choices to be made.

Even in exclusive suburbs particular streets are favoured and can command higher prices.

One of the best known is Wolseley Road in Sydney's Point Piper. It's considered our most exclusive and expensive street, making it into WealthBulletin.com's 10 most expensive streets in the world last year. And this year it cemented its position with a $52 million sale when recruitment entrepreneur Andrew Banks and his wife Andrea sold Villa Veneto.

The attraction of such streets may not be so much who lives there but their views, privacy, exclusivity and a certainty that there will always be a buyer for your street.

Across the harbour in Mosman, Hopetoun Avenue, which winds along the cliff tops of Wyargine Point and adjoins Burran Avenue, is just 750m from Balmoral Beach and referred to locally as the Golden Mile.

Hopetoun Avenue is home to many high-profile executive families, is highly sought after and tightly held.

The latest property to hit the market in the street is 5A Hopetoun Avenue, home of Roger and Heather Wood, founders of the Newslink newsagency group. They are downsizing and plan to spend more time at their country home. Belle Property agent Tim Foote expects more than $8m when expressions of interest close on October 19.

The Susan Rothwell-designed house has Middle Harbour views, three terraces and opens to an in-ground pool with views across the harbour. It is 100m from Chinaman's Beach, and 300m to Balmoral Beach.

Through the years owners have shored up their holdings in the street by buying neighbouring properties.

The street's top price of $22.5m is also a record for Mosman and was paid by property developer Albert Bertini in 2007 for Karawa, the former home of L.J. Hooker founder Les Hooker, who bought the property in 1940 and whose ashes are buried in the garden.

Artist Ken Done owns a Glenn Murcutt-designed house in Hopetoun Avenue. Other residents include Surfection founder Chris Athas and archeologist John Tidmarsh.

Being close to the water is also a focus for Melburnians, with the Golden Mile in bayside Brighton.

But leafy and urbane Toorak holds sway as the most expensive, with a couple of $20m-plus sales earlier this year. Its prime streets include Albany, St Georges, Clendon and Hopetoun roads, and all regularly have multi-million-dollar sales.

Earlier this year the Inge family sold a house in St Georges Road, reportedly to developer Harry Stamoulis, for nearly $25m.

However, Brighton, with its access to the bay, has some big price tags, too. A waterfront house at 1 Bay St has recently come on the market and will achieve about $15m, says Kay and Burton agent Ian Jackson.

Some of Brighton's best streets include Seacombe Grove, St Ninians Road, Moule Avenue, where a house recently changed hands for close to $7m, and Glyndon Avenue, where there was a $15.6m sale last year.

Beachfront prices in the Golden Mile are about $10,000 a square metre and in non-beachfront streets more than $5000/sqm.

In Brisbane one of the top streets is Garfield Drive in Paddington, according to Place Estate agent Andrew Degn , because it is the highest point and has city views. Prices there are in the mid-$5m range, with one sale in a nearby street reaching $10m. Other top streets are Windermere Road in Ascot and Laurel Avenue in Chelmer .

These obviously aren't the only top locations, as what people really want when looking for highly priced property is a personal choice. The best street is a bit like beauty, in the eye and wallet size of the beholder.

Credit:Majella Corrigan

Director of Outnet.com has sold her Greenwich Village home for $985,000!

Credit: The NY Observer

Vogue's one-time PR queen has sold her Greenwich Village pad for $985,000. Stephanie Phair is now the director of Outnet.com, a website that allows you to buy glamorous designer goods at steep discounts. Alas, there's no previous listing for Ms. Phair's apartment, so we can't tell you if that's, in fact, what happened with her spot at 26 East 10th Street.

Credit: The NY Observer Image:The Independent

Auctions power on, footy or not!

Credit:Barry Plant Bundoora

MELBOURNE'S auction market yesterday posted one of its strongest performances in months, despite the disruption caused by the grand final rematch.

The auction clearance rate hit 74 per cent, well above the average of about 69 per cent seen in August and September, according to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria.

The rise was fuelled in large part by a drop-off in the number of properties up for sale as vendors rushed to postpone auctions after last weekend's grand final draw. An unusually large number of properties were also snapped up before auction.

Almost 20 per cent of auctions originally set to take place yesterday were rescheduled over the next fortnight - 115 out of 585.

REIV spokesman Robert Larocca said vendors who decided to hold their auctions regardless of the grand final would feel relieved and vindicated. "It was an impressive result given all of the stress and concern this week for many vendors."

Yesterday's strong result - based on 426 auctions, with the results of another 82 still unknown - comes despite signs property values are easing across Melbourne. Analyst RP Data-Rismark reported last week that house values dropped 2 per cent in the three months to August.

Crowd numbers were strong at yesterday's auctions, only dropping off as the grand final started. The REIV estimates half a dozen auctions were held around the city after the 2.30 opening bounce, of which four sold.

Catherine Cashmore of JPP Buyer Advocates said: "If anything, it just spurred things on. There was a real feeling of excitement with lots of people coming out in grand final gear."

Credit:Barry Plant Bundoora

Buying a property

• Step 1 - Do your research
• Step 2 - How much can you afford?
• Step 3 - Find a lender
• Step 4 - The buying process 

Owning property has always been the great Australian dream, and the right planning can help to turn that dream into reality.

Step 1 - Do your research

Whether you are a first-timer or an experienced homebuyer, you need to ask yourself why you want to buy. Will you want to live in it or are you buying it as an investment to rent it out and pay it off? Do you want a house or apartment, large or small, townhouse or land to build?

Whatever your answer, the more real estate market research you do, the more likely you are to effectively define your goals and understand what's affordable.

Narrow your search, then get onto mailing lists and develop good relationships with real estate agents in the area in which you are looking. Keep in regular contact with them. They can alert you to properties about to come onto the market in your price range.

Step 2 - Work out how much you can afford

Calculate how much of your income you can afford to spend on loan repayments. Note that "mortgage stress" is commonly defined as households who pay more than 30% of their gross household income in housing costs, so when considering a mortgage you should ideally be calculating the loan repayments on one third or less of your pre-tax income. If you haven't already, use our budget planner to work out what is realistically affordable for you.

You may need a deposit of 10 per cent or more of the initial purchase price (see our ‘Save for Set Goals' guide) and you will also need to factor in some initial upfront expenses such as legal fees, loan establishment fees, government charges, property and pest inspection fees, moving costs and building and contents insurance.

First home buyers may be eligible for grants and exemptions on stamp duty. See our ‘First Homebuyers Guide' information or log on to www.firsthome.gov.au.

Step 3 - Find a lender

Preferably, start looking for your loan before you start looking for a property.

Your current bank should be your first port of call, to see what they can offer. And do some research online to see who is offering the best mortgage interest rates. Canstar.com.au and infochoice.com.au are both great places to start; choice.com.au often runs good comparison reports.

Once you have targeted one of two banks, approach them in person to get approval "in principle" for your loan. This way, if you decide that you want to buy at auction, you have the money organised ahead of time.

There are many loans on offer, so you will need to do more research to understand the terms. See our ‘Choosing a Home Loan' guide for more information.

Step 4 - The buying process

You've found the property you want to buy and arranged building or pest inspections. They are good, you make an offer, negotiate the price and the final offer is accepted.

Contact your solicitor to do title or body corporate searches, draw up a contract, then arrange to exchange it with the seller.

Once you exchange contracts you are legally bound to go ahead with the purchase. This is also when you pay your deposit of around 10 per cent of the purchase price.

Sign the contract if you and your solicitor are satisfied that everything is in order. Often there may be between four weeks and three months between exchange and settlement. During this time, you can arrange building and contents insurance on the property, and income protection insurance for yourself.

On the day you are due to settle, before your solicitor passes over the final cheque (or makes the transfer online) you should ask to inspect the property. You need to check that no damage has been done to it in the intervening period and that all fixtures and fittings that appear in the contract are still in place.

You don't have to settle on the property until all these conditions have been met.

Credit:News.com.au

If Tim marries Julia...what a cute listing we found today!

21 Thurbon Avenue Peakhurst

close

It Tim marries Julia

• Bedrooms: 5
• Bathrooms:3
• Carspaces:2

offers over $880 000

If my son Tim marries Julia, this is the perfect neighbourhood to start a family. Here the homes and lawns are well -kept; neighbour greets each other and children playing and laughing in the front lawn on the weekends.

Upstairs are for Tim and Julia. The master room with deluxe granite and porcelain tiled ensuite is the perfect getaway for them after a long day work. The three good size bedrooms with built-ins are for my grandkids, half a dozen ,I hope. The 3 way bathroom solves the problem during the rush hour. The sitting area outside the bedrooms is the best place for a family meeting. For time out, the balcony overlooking the neighbourhood is the ideal place to find the inner peace.

For me, the wing downstairs is good enough. Wake up smiling with morning sun fill up my huge bedroom overlooking the garden and pool, waltzing smoothly with hubby around this gleaming porcelain tiled home; have a dip in the spa pool and making breakfast in the kitchen you dreamed about is a delight. What a beautiful day it is....

Check out the listing!

Social Housing Finds Common Ground

Housing for the homeless has started construction in Camperdown, Sydney.

The Common Ground project is being partly funded through the 'A Place to Call Home' - a joint Commonwealth-State initiative where homeless people and those at risk of homelessness are moved directly into long term supported housing – rather than into crisishousing.

The project comprises a six-storey residential building located in the inner city suburb of Camperdown, between Pyrmont Bridge Road, Lyons Road, Lambert Street and Layton Street.

It will contain 104 self contained studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments, plus space for on-site support services on the ground floor.

The design includes communal gardens and a 24/7 concierge who will provide security for the tenants.

"Half the units will be tenanted by former rough sleepers, while the remainder will be used for affordable rental housing to enable a social mix, another key characteristic of the Common Ground model," Verity Firth says, Member for Balmain.

The Common Ground model has been a successful model in substantially reducing street homelessness and helping people achieve and sustain long term and stable accommodation.

Grocon (NSW) has been working closely with Housing NSW, architect HASSELL, structural engineer Meinhardt, services engineer NDY and heritage consultant Godden Mackay Logan on the design of the building.

Grocon will employ two formerly homeless people on the project and retain them as part of its full-time workforce beyond the completion of the project and encourage subcontractors to do the same.

Grocon also has an Aboriginal employment protocol and is working with the Redfern Waterloo Authority to implement this. The project is scheduled for completion in October 2011.

Credit:Architechture&Design

Tune Up Canberra: calling all building owners!

The ACT Government is calling for more building owners to apply for funding to help make their buildings more energy and water efficient. 

Tune Up Canberra is a $2 million dollar-for-dollar ACT Government grants program offering financial incentives to commercial office building owners to make their buildings more efficient.

Under the two stage program, owners of Class 5 commercial properties with more than 500m2 in gross floor area can apply for Stage 1 funding to prepare a Tune Up report identifiying strategies to become more efficient or Stage 2 funding for the implementation of the report.

There are five rounds of grant funding. Following a slow start in Round 1, there has been a significant increase in application numbers for Round 2, which closed last week.

The ACT Government still has funds available and encourages interested building owners to find out more about the program. For more information, go to www.actpla.act.gov.au/tuneupcanberra

Delhi games venues designed by Aussie firm

Credit:Architecture & Design

Several Commonwealth Games venues have been designed by Melbourne-based architectural firm Peddle Thorp.

Peddle Thorp designed the Thyagaraj Stadium, the Rugby Sevens Venue at Delhi University, the Siri Fort Sports Complex and the Yamuna Sports Complex for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.

"Obviously there are some challenges with working in India. We believe we have worked well with the Indians to produce some good buildings. There are some issues with design and fittings, but these are minor ones. Our concerns are based on the appearance of the buildings," says Carlo Corallo, director at Peddle Thorp.

The company built on its experience in sports architecture, having designed the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre for the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

The Thyagaraj Stadium for the Delhi Commonwealth Games has high performance glazing for thermal control to water conserving plumbing.

Built from scratch at a cost of $77 million, it is the most celebrated venue for the October 3-14 event. Built over three years, the multidisciplinary games stadium spans an area of 2.55 hectares with a seating capacity of 5,000.

The stadium also has a competitor track for athletics, three tennis clay courts and two grass courts. The Rugby Sevens venue is a 2,500 seat permanent stand that is the centrepiece of a 10,000 seat venue for the games situated in the Delhi University Campus.

Siri Fort Sports Complex is a combined badminton and squash stadium with seven badminton courts and one squash show court. Several squash practice courts will support a future club for the local community after the Commonwealth Games.

Sitting adjacent to the historic Siri Fort ruins, the complex adopts an urban design concept that creates functional landscaped space which emphasises public engagement.

The Yamuna Sports Complex is the official table tennis venue for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games and features a 5,000 seat capacity show court, 10 practice courts and a multipurpose hall.

Credit:Architecture & Design

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Boyfriend Sells!

Marc Blucas, who was on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" as Buffy's boyfriend, Riley, has listed two houses for sale in Brentwood. He is also well known for his role as the Basketball Hero in Pleasantville (1998) and starred alongside Mel Gibson and Chris Klein in “We Were Soldiers”(2002). You might also recognize him from his leading roles in “Thr3e” (2006) and “The Killing Floor” (2007).

The first estate is a true work of art, including a master bedroom, den, office, living room, kitchen and two bathrooms with a further two bedrooms.

The second has a hot tub outside on the deck and offers two bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Credit: Luxist

The AFL Grand Final puts a dampener on Spring Selling Season

With the start of the spring selling season upon us, what will the draw in the AFL mean for Melbourne auctions this coming weekend?

Since the election weekend the number of auctions each week has been at least 600, but this weekend it dropped to just 65 to avoid grand final fever. Will this weekend hit a new low?

With about 580 auctions planned for the weekend, a lot of auction times are set to shift, affecting a lot of afternoon auctions.

Crowds will be down in numbers, but those who are really looking to buy property will surely attend. Will they be the lucky ones and pick up a bargain?

What do you think? Will you be attending auctions or watching the game? Will the game mean there will be more bargains this weekend?