You’ve bought your perfect rural home, which ticks every one of your boxes. You’re loving the peace, quiet and scenery and watching your kids and pets enjoy the great outdoors. What can you do to ensure this dream lifestyle doesn’t fail? Here are some ideas for you. Preparation is key It looks gorgeous now but your acreage won’t always stay that way. Just like your former metropolitan home, it will need regular maintenance and upkeep, particularly so if you plan…
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Your children have left home and they’re now hell-bent on living their own exciting lives. The once noisy family house where you’ve lived for 20-odd years shrieks with memories of kids playing and arguing – while simultaneously featuring echoingly empty rooms and extraordinary silence. Yes, it’s the time of your life you never thought would come: downsizing to a smaller place, and possibly a smaller town. But this move doesn’t necessarily have to be scary and sad. Firstly…. Three important…
Full ArticleThe auction to sell your house is around the corner and you’re struggling to set the perfect reserve price. But setting this price isn’t a simple process so take a deep breath and ensure you have plenty of time to manage this decision. It could mean the difference between selling your property under the hammer – or not. Let's start at the very beginning.... Your reserve is the lowest price at which you’re prepared to sell your property. You’re looking…
Full ArticleAs you hunt down houses and chat to lenders, you could bump into interest-only (IO) home loans. They sound nifty and are certainly an alternative to regular mortgages. But are these loans the way to go for you? Interest-only loans explained Basically, IO loans come down to less repayments now – usually for about three to five years, depending on your lender – but much more repayments later, when the loan expires. As the name suggests, IO loans see buyers…
Full ArticleWhether you live in Brisbane’s flood plain setting, or are surrounded by thick, drought-prone bushland, natural disaster zones can be both beautiful and hazardous. And never more so than in summer, now just a few months away. But you can protect your house and even enjoy great price growth and sales while enjoying life in our land of droughts and flooding rains, bushfires, storms and cyclones. Disaster tests Homes in risk-prone places can still sell for high prices, with many…
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