New Year, New Me - Declutter Time!

New Year, New Me. - We say it every year, but let’s say it again.

It’s been a tough year and whilst most of us have had lots of downtime to declutter and spruce up our homes, life has almost returned to normal and so the clutter has started building up again. Especially after the holiday season. The unwanted gifts - and possibly guests :) - and all the time we couldn’t find to keep our homes clean.

It makes the New Year the perfect time for us to clear out all the clutter and get a fresh start.

When you follow the simple steps below, you can make decluttering your home painless so you can easily continue your New Year’s resolution of keeping your home clean and free from unwanted mess. 

As Marie Kondo says, ‘Does it spark Joy’ . If your answer is no them put it into a relevant pile. (Trash, donate, sell, keep)

1.  Make a list of all the areas of your home to be decluttered, start with areas you use the most - your kitchen, bathroom, living room and make your way around.

2.  Decide how much time you’re going to commit to decluttering and stick with it. It could be 15 minutes a day or 1 hour every Saturday. Be realistic about how much time you can spend.

3.  Set completion dates - make yourself accountable for each area to be decluttered.

4.  When you have trouble deciding what to do with an item, if it doesn’t have sentimental value and you haven’t used it in the last year, get rid of it.

5.  Set up 4 boxes to put your unneeded clutter in and label them “Recycle,” “Donate,” “Sell,” and “Tip.”

6.  Make sure everything you keep has a place to live in your home. If it doesn’t have a designated place, then maybe it should be in one of the unneeded boxes.

7.  If the expiration date on any food, spices, medication, toiletries, etc has passed, throw them out and make a mental note to not buy them again as clearly you didn’t need it.

We also have made a handy checklist for you stick on your fridge to help keep you on track.

30 Day Declutter Challenge Print Out

Exploring the Positives of Downsizing for Retirement

When you are young, you may enjoy owning a large home big enough to entertain friends and family while giving you space for your many different hobbies and lifestyle interests. But as life goes on, it is normal to begin to understand that having a large home with many rooms and a lot of space becomes a burden, especially as children grow up and begin moving out. This leads to large empty spaces with nothing in them, or rooms that just become storage spaces that you rarely if ever venture into. You may begin to realise that your home will need to change to continue to suit your family's needs and requirements. In this manner, you may decide to move towards downsizing before retirement. Let’s go through some positives and benefits of downsizing your home at or before the time of retirement while living on the Sunshine Coast.

5 benefits of downsizing your home for retirement

• Increased cashflow

Downsizing your home could provide a much more positive cashflow by reducing your mortgage debt thereby allowing you to pay off the debt quicker, invest in other areas or just give you more disposable income to spend on other things. 

• Lower insurance and utility costs

The fact that you are insuring a smaller space and structure will incur much smaller insurance costs, as well as lowering potential electricity bills as there won’t be extra lights and appliances running. Both of these benefits will lead straight into number 1 and your ability to increase cashflow

• More organised and easier to maintain

At the point when you move into a more modest home, it helps you to eliminate the mess. You will realise that you had rooms that you never went into that just stored things that you never even used. It can be a lot more time consuming and involve a lot more effort keeping a large property clean. What is the point of all the extra upkeep when these spaces aren’t even used? You may find downsizing will free up time from cleaning and help you de-clutter some useless items that have just been collecting dust.

• Able to obtain a home that suits your needs

As people age, things like stairs can become barriers being hard to climb while increasing the risk of falls and injuries. Also, the ability to drive can become more of a hassle, especially if you live far away from shops or family. By choosing to downsize, you can decide upon a home that suits your specific needs and requirements rather than continuing to put up with something that you’ve had for years that doesn’t have the accessibility or convenience that you need. 

• You Acquire Time for Yourself

With fewer rooms, more modest spaces and a location that suits your needs, you'll invest less time and energy in maintaining your home and other responsibilities and increase your ability to pursue other areas of interest. 

Some Costs to consider when downsizing include:

• Buying and selling in the same market

• Real estate agent fees

• Stamp duty

• Legal fees; and

• Furniture removal

You may look for a luxury lifestyle during retirement, or maybe just a simpler one. As children move away and the need for a large home becomes less valuable, choosing a small house can reduce large associated costs that could be a severe detriment to your retirement plan. These few advantages could help you maintain a comfortable lifestyle in the later stages of life. We can provide the assistance required to downsize properly so you can enjoy these benefits to their absolute fullest.

Housing Prices on the Rise as Borders Open Up.

Queensland could soon be the largest beneficiary of a property boom unlike anything that has been seen since 2007. Warmer climates and a lower total cost of living than either of the usual suspects Sydney and Melbourne have increasingly bathed Queensland in a new light with property prices expected to skyrocket as people choose to move to the Sunshine State from elsewhere in Australia.

With home loan pauses being resumed, government payments such as JobKeeper and JobSeeker either shortly coming to an end or being significantly reduced and our economy falling into recession, it is no stretch of the imagination to expect that house prices could fall due to the fact that unfortunately some people will no longer be able to service their home loans. This could cause as influx of property to hit the market to be snapped up by prospective homeowners and investors. However, as of yet, this influx is nowhere to be seen. Currently, the demand for housing far exceeds the amount of property for sale. This is a great indicator that housing prices will indeed largely grow as supply is much lower than the current demand.

Housing prices in Queensland sit at an average of $500,000, whereas Sydney has an average house price of over $900,000. This increased affordability along with rock bottom interest rates is obviously being perceived by many to be opportunity of a lifetime. Experts are saying that the boom will be nationwide excluding Sydney and Melbourne. The trend was already apparent before the COVID-19 Pandemic, with Queensland leading the charge, and is now increasing exponentially because of it due to entire state lockdowns and many people being forced to work from home.

Many people are now even being offered permanent work from home positions as some businesses are realising the benefit it can bring for their business and their employees. Now that people are home more, it is becoming increasingly important to love where you live. Places such as the Sunshine Coast is already a popular location for holiday living as it’s close to some of the country’s best beaches. If you’re going to work from home more often, the tempting allure of doing it by the beach or somewhere with an amazing mountain view becomes very important pretty quickly.

This boom is materialising before our very eyes, and this is even before we reap the benefits that will arise from the Federal Budget 2020-21. As we come to the end of 2020 it is beginning to look like a great idea to start looking for a way into the real estate market so you too can start utilising these benefits that we have already started seeing. 

If you are thinking of selling your home and would like to get a Free Market Appraisal get in touch today.

Carmel Fulton

Licensed Real Estate

0488 443 239 | carmel@tmestateagents.com.au

www.tmestateagents.com.au

Buderim Mall

Shop 7, 86 Burnett Street, Buderim QLD 4556 | 07 5373 5077

The Federal Budget and Real estate

Now that the Federal Budget 2020-21 has been announced, we now know how the proposals are going to affect the real estate industry. The results were generally positive with the main aim being to stimulate the economy and begin reversing the effects of the pandemic recession most of the world has found itself in. Keep reading on to find out how the budget could affect you.

The First Home-Owners Grant

The news of the additional 10,000 places to receive the FHOG was a welcome outcome. Eligible first homeowners will still be able to receive $15,000 but also only require a 5% deposit to prevent incurring mortgage lenders insurance as oppose to the usual 20% required, with the government guaranteeing the other 15%.

Unfortunately, the HomeBuilder Grant was not extended, still scheduled to end on December 31st, 2020.

New Housing Developments

Another key takeaway from the budget is the $1 billion cash injection the government will be providing to support new construction builds for affordable housing. This will complement the First Home-Owners Grant nicely since the grant is for new homes only.

Indigenous Home Ownership Program

The government has also announced another $150 million boost in funding to help indigenous Australians buy their first home. With a waiting list of over 1 year, the boost is hoping to provide another 360 concessional home loans for new homes in regional areas over the next 2 years.

Granny Flats

The policy regarding granny flats is set to be revised so owners building them will not incur capital gains tax which could sway many eligible people that otherwise wouldn’t have built one. These policy amendments not only increase potential sale profits for the owner but will also provide another incentive to hire construction workers creating more jobs.

Along with the above, that directly impact the real estate market, there are a few other items from the agenda that indirectly affect it as well. These include:

• Bringing forward the planned taxation cuts that were originally set to take effect from July 2022. They will now be backdated and take effect from July 2020.

• The low-income tax offset will be increased from $445 to $700 and be brought forward the 2020-21.

• There are new incentives for businesses to hire young people aged between 16-35 which will absorb some of the initial downturn in employment due to the pandemic.

• Any businesses hiring new apprentices will be eligible for a 50% wage subsidy. Just like the above, this will help reduce unemployment rates and bring more money into the economy.

All of these measures will help the real estate market by putting more cash into the pockets of Australians thereby increasing their capacity to save, making it easier to enter the property market for many more people.

This increase in funds will also help the Real estate industry further by helping renters pay their rent on time and prevent them from falling into rent arrears. Coupled with the unmoving extremely low interest rates, existing investors and homeowners alike will have a much easier time servicing their mortgage repayments with increased savings.

All of these positive outcomes are sure to provide significant assistance to all Australians within and hoping to enter the property market with buyers and sellers both gaining huge advantages.  

If you have been thinking of selling/buying or would like more information regarding how we can evaluate property or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Carmel Fulton

Licensed Real Estate

0488 443 239 | carmel@tmestateagents.com.au

www.tmestateagents.com.au

Buderim Mall

Shop 7, 86 Burnett Street, Buderim QLD 4556 | 07 5373 5077

Property Valuation or Market appraisal?

When you decide it’s time to sell your property there are many things you need to consider. One of these things is the price you are willing to put it up for sale for. There are many factors that can affect how high a price you be able to achieve. There are two different types of property value estimates you can have done to give you a good indication of what price you should set.

Property Valuation

A property valuation is a formal process that costs between $300-$600 and are carried out by independent professional valuers, normally on behalf of banks or lenders.

The following considerations are taken into account for a property valuation:

• Property size

• Types and number of rooms

• Fixtures and fittings

• Structural condition of the building

• Architectural style and fit-out of the property

• Council zoning and restrictions

• Properties location and the size of the block; and

• Topography, aspect and layout of the block

The valuers will take into account any recent comparable sales in the area and compare them to your property using the above criteria. They will also visit your property to assess the actual condition of the building and take note of any structural defects that could affect its value and/or sale.

Market Appraisal

Market appraisals, however, are conducted by real estate agents. Estate agents draw upon their experience as well as the following factors to assess the value of a property:

• Properties location, size and features

• Number or sales and average days on the market in your area

• Successful sale prices of other similar properties in your area; and

• Overall trends in the property market

Generally real estate agents will give a higher estimate for your properties value because independent valuers look at the property from a risk perspective for the bank or lender so it may not be as high as what you could potentially achieve in the current market. Although a property valuation may be a more accurate reflection of its worth, a market appraisal by a real estate agent is a better indication of the actual amount you could achieve as people emotions play a big part when purchasing property.

Considering a market appraisal is free people generally obtain multiple appraisals from different agents to compare their fees such as advertising, commission and other associated costs related to the sale.

Specifically, at TM Estate Agents we will provide the following as part of our comprehensive market appraisals. (Subject to Availability)

• Property details and Photos

• Property floor plan

• Estimated property value and value range

• Property activity

• Property sales history

• Property listing history

• Property rental history

• Recent sold properties

• Properties currently for sale

• Properties currently for rent

• Suburb insights

• Local school details

• Number of sales

• Median value

• Change in median value

• Number sold by price

• Median days on the market

• Median vendor discount

• Median asking rent; and

• Indicative gross rental yield

At TM Estate Agents we pride ourselves in providing the best service to our clients. If you have been thinking of selling or would like more information regarding how we can evaluate property or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Carmel Fulton

Licensed Real Estate

0488 443 239 | carmel@tmestateagents.com.au

www.tmestateagents.com.au

Buderim Mall

Shop 7, 86 Burnett Street, Buderim QLD 4556 | 07 5373 5077