Real estate Talk - from Market Trend to Feng Shui

Post to Facebook on 31/8/2019 11:07 PM
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It is another happy day for me. In fact, I want everyday to be a happy day, a day I can help others.

Today's session (31/8/2019) at Brandon Park is mainly a real estate talk, with a touch of life lesson.

The attendees today are mainly first home buyers and have been in Australia between 8 and 10 years. I advised them to get in the real estate market sooner than later, because the value of money was diminishing. The market would plateau in about 2 months time, and then the rise would resume.

A topic I touched on was about maximising return. We spend a lot of time in a house, which means we must NOT overlook how we utilise the space and minimise the expenses especially utility bills.

It is never easy to decide where to start looking. The criteria of location for a property within a certain budget were discussed and revisited.

In my earlier blog I mentioned about members of family should be included when mapping out the selection criteria. I gave them my personal example how I made a big mistake that the house supposedly built for my wife and I ended up as a house of misery for my wife for many years. She could not translate the 2D floor plan and visualise the 3D finish product.

I brought up the subject how Feng Shui affects the property and the occupiers. There is nothing mystical about the pseudo science, because it is based on commonsense rationale. Using simple examples I highlighted the benefits or disadvantages of North-South orientation, entrance door from the side, mirror facing the front entrance, house at T-intersection, house number 4, high side of land topography, etc.

Again, I warned against buying apartments and off-the-plan projects. When buying a unit, or townhouse, it was important to check how well the rest in the compound looked after their properties. I went on discussing the advantages and disadvantages of buying a new and old house.

The importance of architect inspection must not be ignored. I also explained whether certain defects were more crucial than the others, and how movement took place.

It was always a concern whether a structural extension was erected by owners in accordance to Council‘s approval, how could one spot an extension.

Besides real estate, I gave a brief introduction on communication and overcoming stage fright. I also talked about my pet subject of skill transfer and multiple career path.

Hope to see more of you coming to the next meeting.

Thank you for reading.

An empty block of land in Melbourne’s suburbs? Expect to pay millions

Post to Facebook on 30/8/2019 11:24 AM
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Land, glorious land! Obviously not every piece of land is a pot of gold.

It is important to keep in mind when you invest in any property that you must have a vision.

Actually, I think I use the wrong choice of word, "vision". I am good in imagination, forming pictures in my brain without looking at things. That is not the usual meaning of vision, because sight is not a necessary factor in imagination.

You have to learn to close your eyes to visualise mentally the potential use of that piece of land, taking into consideration of future growth of the surrounding.

Scarcity means supply is not readily available or short of supply. However, that does not imply that demand is knocking on the door. Prices will only go up if demand exceeds supply.

Some people buy blocks of land and let it sit vacant for years. Land hoarding can be risky unless you have some ideas with what you want to achieve and duration you want to hold them. Some cities or shires have very high rates, in addition to water rate and land tax, and without any income generated from land, your return can be greatly reduced.

Remember, always buy on the high side or higher ground, especially near water.

Thank you for reading.

Australia’s best and worst performing suburbs since 2014

Post to Facebook on 30/8/2019 1:14 AM
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It may be true that some areas have big increase in value, but unless the property is sold and value realised, it is only gain on paper.

Closer look at the data shows that many are near the bay or coastal area. I have advised you to buy near but not too close to water. The property or just bare land must be on high ground. It is also crucial to know when to let go, because bad news is looming continuously about rising water or sea level. This has detrimental effect on the property value.

For investment property, you must look for a working class area, where majority of the population cannot afford to own their own homes, that is, a suburb of high number of renters. It is also important that there are light industries and local businesses around to provide employment.

Thank you for reading

Melbourne auctions: Clearance rate passes 80 per cent but Abbotsford four-bedder just scrapes over the line

Post to Facebook on 25/8/2019 10:59 AM
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Ouch! The real estate preliminary auction results on 24 August 2019 for Melbourne cracked 81%.

Let's look at some statistics:
Total auction : 596
Confirm result : 456
Sold: 380
Withdrawn: 12
Passed in: 76

In fact, the worse case scenario is 63.8%. Using 380/(456+12), I assume, to gives a higher number rate, over 80%, is fairly misleading.

Selection Criteria Tips

Post to Facebook on 24/8/2019 1:29 AM
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So, you have decided to buy a house to be used as your home. Have you a list of selection criteria?

Who is "You" in this context? I mean who are included, if any, in the context of "you"? When preparing that selection criteria list, you MUST NOT forget the rest of the people who will be living under the same roof.

The master bedroom may be great for the parents, but the rest of rooms are so small that the children can't have a study desk in their rooms. This is not uncommon for many display homes which intentionally put minimum furniture in the exhibit to make it larger visually.

Do you prefer to have your children bringing their friends home or the other way round? There are good and bad points for either option. The choice can affect the desired sizes of the living area and backyard. A pool may not be a chore, but a valuable asset depending on the life style and children's preferred activities.

You may like to have a big house, but are you going to do or help in the household chores? You like a landscaped garden, but are you going to maintain it yourself or paying someone to upkeep it?

It is very difficult to find big single storey house at a reasonable price. Stairs in a double storey or split level house can be challenging for older baby boomers, many of whom are starting to have weak legs or experiencing other conditions that going up and down the stairs may cause serious fall.

Your selection must not just centred on the building itself. The immediate neighbourhood and the presentation of the streetscape can affect your psychological wellbeing.

These are some of the tips to take into consideration. You may have the money to buy THAT house that you like, but is THAT house also one that liked by the rest of the members who are going to live in there?

Thank you for reading.

Rising seas raise questions over long-term beach box appeal; others say no impact to value

Post to Facebook on 23/8/19 at 10:58 AM
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https://www.domain.com.au/news/rising-seas-make-valuers-question-beach-box-long-term-appeal-agents-say-it-wont-affect-value-872009/

There are three kinds of laws, and only two are relevant to me - the laws of Nature and Man's laws.

I am a logician with a still healthy mind to make rational decisions. Everyday I hear and witness destruction of properties by the full force of nature, and yet irrational humans continue to challenge these forces totally beyond their control.

Prevention is better than cure only applies to those have not been affected yet, either by some diseases or loss of tangible assets and belongings. Prevention is NOT a cure,

I'm not a weather science sceptics. On the contrary, I find those believers and scientists are the sceptics, who have such entrenched idea and tunnel vision. They believe in data or statistics which may not be able to reproduce or replicate.

Sometimes I seem like a very gullible gasbag, expounding unscientific, and unproven hypotheses without unsupported statistics. Well, I supposed those recognised academics and people with certain standing have the brains and connections I do not have, neither do they have my specially wired neuro-cognitive system.

Two years ago, I decided to forget about my investment near coastal area, and I did say goodbye to my holiday home site. This year seems like a popular year about coastline or beachline erosion, and within these few weeks we read reports about problems in Inverloch, Mornington Peninsular and Brighton Beach.

Do you know about the Twelve Apostles of the Great Ocean Road? Only eight crumbling limestone Apostles are left and the so called London Bridge had fallen down awhile ago.

I recently wrote about Feng Shui. Do you know the Chinese meaning of these two words or characters? Just in case you don't, Feng means Wind, and Shui means Water. So the study or understanding of Feng Shui is nothing mythical as long as you do not take note of the Taoist's supernatural contamination of this "study of living and blending in with the environment".

Thank you for reading.

East Melbourne luxury apartment’s price discounted by up to $10 million

Post to Facebook on 23/8/19 at 10:58 AM
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https://www.domain.com.au/news/east-melbourne-luxury-apartment-discounted-by-up-to-10-million-872651/

A vendor can ask for any sale price when putting a property in the market or just testing out quietly, but that does not mean buyers will pay the asking price. The deal is only sealed if a buyer is willing to pay at the final asking price, and accepted by the vendor.

I find it amusing to read about properties worth millions of dollars require a kitchen. I wonder who do the cooking, and what sort of meals are produced from the kitchen.

Without doubt many luxurious properties have very good view, even 360 degree view to the surround. Two critical questions one must ask are:

How often do you sit down or get close to the full length windows to enjoy the view?
When looking down from higher ground, do you see all the ugly roof tops or untidy backyard of the neighbourhood down below?

After the initial excitement, a view is just a view, and once the novelty wears off, you may want to move on.

My accountant used to have an office facing the bay. Through the "picture window", I enjoyed viewing the calm sea and occasional yachts or boats sailed pass slowly at the distance. In fact, the speed was so slow, I could hardly detect it.

A few years later, the accountant moved to an office close to a main road. He told me that enough was enough, because the office is a workplace, and no matter how good the view was, the bay was "lifeless" most of the time. He preferred to see moving vehicles and people walking in the street.

Like stories I heard before, the scene of a coming big storm with howling wind, turbulent water and glooming dark sky, was shockingly depressing.

How often do you go to Mt Fuji, Grand Canyon or climb Uluru? How often to you visit the same restaurant for your night out? How many times have you view from a revolving restaurant "on top of the world"? Once or twice may be the maximum.

When you are buying a property and establish your home in it, do not pay something with just a WOW factor. That can set you back a fair bit without any added value of happiness and warmth.

Thank you for reading.

Flood of wealthy Hong Kong residents hopeful of buying Australian property

Post to Facebook on 22/8/19 at 12:51 AM
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https://www.domain.com.au/news/hong-kong-residents-hopeful-of-getting-into-australian-property-market-through-migration-agents-872208/

On 1 July 2019, I made a bold prediction about the next wave of investors are from Hong Kong, not mainland China. Looks like I am correct with prediction again.

Feng Shui Unleashed

Post to Facebook on 18/8/2019 11:17 PM
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FENG SHUI UNLEASHED

After I touched on Feng Shui briefly a few days ago, I read a message from a member who requested advice about her intended renovation of their (hubby included) house.

I am interested in Feng Shui but not an expert. However, I try to explain the rationale behind certain Feng Shui beliefs using my scientific knowledge and logic.

Bedhead should not be under a window that can be opened. The reason is simple - a window that is not sealed properly or can open to the external can be draughty, and you may get a chill while sound a sleep.

It is also not "good" to have anything directly over the head like a shelf that hold books, picture frames, or flower vases. Similarly, large pictures or painting should not be over the bedhead too. Obviously, this is to avoid things fall over and cause an accident.

By not installing the airconditioning split system module or the old style airconditioner over the head minimises the risk of the unit falling over you while asleep. In addition, the noise level is higher if the units are closer to the ears.

Bed facing a door is not lucky. I cannot find logic to dispel this, but Feng Shui stipulates that a deceased body is carried out through the door. Well a motionless people in deep sleep is not dead! LOL

I do not like my bed to be facing the door for a different reason. If I am fast asleep, and someone, say my wife, enters the bedroom, light from outside the room will shine through to my eye direction, and therefore disturb my sweet dream.

Good Feng Shui stipulates that kitchen and toilets must not be in the middle of the house.

The reason why it is not good to have a toilet in the middle of the house instead of near a window, is simply due to lack of fresh air to displace the foul one.

Can you imagine in the early days when electric ventilation or exhaust fan was not around, and after one had done his big business, the foul smell would linger on for a long time, and the quality of air was definitely not good for health.

Similarly, can you imagine cooking belacan or salted fish in a kitchen not close to any window, even with the best exhaust fan, the smell can be quite unbearable.

Having a kitchen in the middle of the house presents additional risk. If the a fire breaks out, it can spread to more parts of the house than one located near the external wall with windows.

Obviously some modern designed house, especially apartments, have not taken this risk minimisation into consideration. Domestic exhaust fan is generally not powerful enough to exhaust the strong smell for some Asian cooking.

Even with the use of an electric ventilation fan, it is best to draw in fresh air from the outside, and expel the "bad" one externally.

Having the kitchen and toilet near a external wall also reduce the cost of plumbing due to ease of connection, and future maintenance.

Thank you for reading.