3 Tips on Buying the Right Home

Buying a home is an investment which will enable you to accrue assets at a steady and reliable rate. Finding a good buyers agent in Sydney will enable you to find the home of your dreams and be sure that it will fulfil your every need. A real estate agent should have a solid knowledge of the area in which you hope to buy and they need to be skilled at both negotiation and communication throughout the sale. This brief article will suggest some of the areas you should consider with your agent when buying a new home.

Location of the Property
The location of the property will play a huge bearing on the price you will have to pay for your home. Houses on the North Shore of Sydney are much more expensive than buildings in the Western Suburbs of Sydney. Each area and suburb has its benefits and will offer a different experience of life as a Sydney Sider. The proximity of amenities will have a large baring on your lifestyle once you are settled in your new home, so it is important to note how well provided for the area is. Some things to consider with regards to the location of your property are:

· House prices
· Local schools
· Entertainment facilities
· Access to hospitals
· Proximity to main roads
· Public transport networks
· Flight paths of planes overhead

All of these factors will have a direct bearing on the experiences you have in your new home. It is always worth thinking of the future and considering the possibility of additional family members being born so that you may invest for the future when buying a home. Travelling a long distance to work every day will take its toll on you and your family so be sure that your property is in an accessible place where you can meet your obligations and achieve happiness at home.

Condition of the propertyThe condition of the property will have an effect on the price but it will have a greater effect on your experiences living in the home. Whilst home repairs do increase the value of a home at times, they do not usually add value to the property greater than the investment. When moving into a new home it is essential to understand what you are buying and what costs will be involved in refitting any areas in need of improvement. Make sure you seek quotes for any repairs that need completing and consider these costs within your budget.

Utilising a mortgageWhen buying a property you have the added benefit of being able to borrow money from the bank to help with your purchase. This means that you are able to make much larger investments than you would be able to if you were investing in other markets. It is important to get the balance of mortgages right. If you take too large a loan then you may find yourself with negative equity on your house. What this means is that the value of your debt is greater than the value of your assets and such a situation could cause you to lose more than just your home if you are unable to meet the repayments. Make sure that you are able to meet your mortgage repayments before committing to a purchase and remember that owning one property outright will enable further investment in the future.

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Every Good Move Deserves a Housewarming

Moving into a new house can be a time consuming process of settling your removalist fees, unpacking boxes, reconnecting your utilities, updating your home insurance policy and redecorating. But before you get lost in all the drudgery, don’t forget that it’s also an excellent excuse to throw a big bash. Yes that’s right, a housewarming party!

A housewarming party is a great opportunity to celebrate moving into your new place with family and friends. Some people will be inclined to wait until they have the house in picture perfect condition, while others will be happier to hold it sooner rather than later, relying on the laurels of, “We only just moved in”.

While you can rest on these laurels, it is important to ensure that your house is fairly presentable and clean. Yes, this means putting all of your furniture in its intended space and moving any unpacked boxes to one room.

Getting a guest list together is the first step to organising your party. Because housewarmings are typically informal occasions, you’ll find that your guests will often arrive with a partner, friend or family member in tow. The good thing is you won’t really need to worry about seating or catering too much because guests will be too busy taking tours of your new place to really concentrate on where to sit or what to eat.

While you are throwing the doors open to your friends and family, why not get your new neighbours around? It’s a great way to get to know them.

In this day and age, there are plenty of ways to spread the word that you are having a bash. You can do this digitally over a social networking site like Facebook or email; or more traditionally with printed invitations sent by good old snail mail. Whichever way you choose, make sure you get a little creative and incorporate photos of you and your family in the new place and include a map plus helpful driving instructions.

Some people prefer to be extra organised and allocate a start and finish time for their housewarming, while others are more flexible and happy to open up their doors to the ‘world’ for a whole afternoon and evening. This is your party so choose whatever format you are happy with.

If you choose to have a relaxed open door policy to your party, you should choose food and drink that will withstand the elements and still look appetizing for guests that drop in late. Because you have just moved in and are still getting use to the appliances in the new house, this is not the time to be experimenting with tricky oven baked goods so swap the show-stopping recipes for some simple crowd pleasers. Think antipastos, cheese and crackers, chips and dips and mini quiches or better yet, if it’s a sunny day, bring on the BBQ.

When it comes to drinks, you need to be well-stocked with all the faves - think beer, wine, champagne and soft drink. If the oldies are coming along it’s also a good idea to have coffee and tea available.

While decorations are generally kept to a minimum at housewarming parties, some leave a guest book out so that their guests can leave fond messages. It’s a great conversation starter and a fantastic way to document your event. You can buy a traditional guest book from a department store or the alike or opt for a plain scrapbook – either way, it’s a nice touch.

Ways You Can Lower Your Power Bills

When planning your household budget you need to put towards the electricity bill. With the ever increasing cost of electricity you will soon need to put aside even more. There are a lot of things in your home powered by electricity, such as your appliances, lights and heating and cooling systems. We can't avoid our power bill as electricity is something we use everyday. Choosing the right electrical services can help save you money as well as having an electrician come in to check that your appliances are running efficiently and not wasting power.

Switch off appliances

You can save electricity by simply switching off appliances at the wall when they are not in use. Don't just turn off you television with the remote, or at the button on the television, but switch it off at the wall at the end of the day once you have finished with it. Don't leave your microwave switched on at the wall either. Once you have heated up your meal switch it off at the power point. You will find that there are other appliances you need not leave switched on when they aren't in use, such as the computer or printer.

Energy saving appliances

When buying your appliances go for those that have a high energy saving rating. You can buy everything from fridges, washing machines, dishwashers and dryers, all with very different energy ratings. Most new appliances will have a sticker on them in the store with a number of stars on it. Basically the more stars on the ticket the better the energy rating. When shopping for things like a dishwasher or washing machine you can also choose brands that use less water. You may find that you pay a little more for more efficient items but in the long run you are going to save money by having lower power bills.

Lights

Don't forget to turn off your lights. Make sure that when you leave a room that you switch the lights off and don't have them on during the day if you don't need to. It is a waste of electricity to have lights on in unoccupied rooms or if there is enough natural light coming in through the windows. Instead of switching on lights just open up your curtains. If your home is dark, even during the day, you could install a skylight.

Heating and cooling

Your heating and cooling system can use a lot of electricity particularly if you over use them. Switch off your heater or air conditioner when you go out and turn them off at night. Keep warm by putting extra blankets on your bed, wearing warmer pyjamas or taking a hot water bottle to bed. If you want to keep your children's rooms warmer get a bar heater and heat only their rooms. Have your heater and cooling system running more efficiently by shutting the vents in rooms that you aren't occupying so the heat or cool air is being blown into these rooms. You will save a lot of power.

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5 Important Things to Check When Buying a New Home

Buying a new home can be a stressful time because as well as organising finance and finding the right home you also need to check a few things about the home before you decide to purchase it. As well as going through your check list you also need to do some research into home insurance and find a good removalist to move your furniture and possessions into your new home.

Building Structurally Sound

If you are buying a home, particularly an older home, you will need to check that the building itself is structurally sound. It can be a good idea to have a fully qualified builder come and go through the building for you to check that it doesn't need major work done to it, like re-stumping or that it needs all the electrics re-wired. A builder will be able to let you know whether any parts of the home needs renovation and should be able to give you an estimate of what that would cost you. Any repairs need to be factored in to the total cost of the purchase of the property.

Pests
Before you buy a property you also need to make sure that it is not infested with pests, such as termites. These sorts of pests can be extremely destructive to a building and if the house is infested it could require huge sections to be demolished and replaced or you could find the framework of the home is beyond repair.

Vacant Block Next Door

If the home you are interested in has a vacant block next door you might want to find out who owns the property for several reasons. You may need to erect a fence, which is a shared cost between you and your neighbour. Depending on where you live a vacant block could be used for all manner of things, including apartments or even more commercial structures like a car park or shopping centre. It would be a good idea to contact the council and find out who owns the land and if they can tell you if there are any building plans in place for the block. If you have the choice you might not want to live next door to a shopping centre.

Location
As well as liking the look of the house you have to be happy with the location. A home needs to be close to shops, the right school if you have children, public transport and be easily accessible to your place of work. There might be other things that you want in your neighbourhood, like easy access to cafes and restaurants, you might want to be a walk to the beach or be near plenty of park land.

Will it Suit Your Lifestyle?

The home will also need to suit your lifestyle. It will need to be big enough to house your entire family comfortably. You may be retiring and looking for a smaller home to down size to. You might entertain a lot so need large open rooms and an area for an outdoor kitchen in your back garden. Some couples are very career focused and prefer a property without a garden so they don't have to do much maintenance on their property, or a family could want a garden for their kids and pets.

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Yellow Flower

Captured inside Nusantara Flower Park (Cipanas, West Java, Indonesia)

Little Fire

Little fire
little light
little warm

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