We're both a lot happier': Why home owners are more satisfied with life

Post to Facebook on 12/1/2020 5:27 PM
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Happiness is a state of mind. Owning your own home is more than just a roof over your head, but a symbol of success and it provides you that "security blanket".

However, renters can just be happy and stress free. Most landlords do not vacate good tenants, well reasonably good tenants.

There are a lot of associate expenses if a property is left vacant. If a landlord does not do the sum properly, nor take notice of the vacancy rate in the area, they can lose a bundle if they just decide to increase rent by that extra $10 per week.

A rent increase of $10 per week is $520 per year. If the property is left vacant for 4 weeks, say $350 per week, the loss is around $1,400. What about re-letting fee and advertising cost?

If you are on a tight budget, and can't afford to own your own home, don't get distressed. Most landlords are reasonable, and you can treat the rental property as your own home, furnished with many low cost but nice furniture.

I was a renter before, in fact I shared with several other students. I did furnish my room and decorate it with my own art work. I enjoyed my stay everyday.

Thank you for reading.

Introducing Chapel Street, Prahran

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Introducing Chapel Street, Prahran

During my first year in Australia, I stayed in Armadale, and took a tram to school via the city, then from Elizabeth Street to Parkville.

Commercial Road is the continuation of Malvern Road. After school, I alighted from the tram at Commercial Road, near the corner of Commercial Road and Malvern Road, where Prahran Market was and still is.

I walked along Chapel Street which is perpendicular to both Commercial Road and Malvern Road. I loved visiting the the Pahran library, which on the first floor of the building. I normally spent about an hour or so browsing through the various science books. Libraries in those days were like gravyards, so quiet that you could hear a pin dropped. I would hate to work in a library at night; it was not brightly lit, with high ceiling and creeky timber floor.

After that, I walked back to the tram stop where I got down. There was a supermarket just a few doors away known as Nancaro. I bought my sliced Kraft cheese there for my bread roll for school lunch.

Prahran was full of life then, another suburb with mainly migrant shopkeepers. I seldom went back to Pahran after I moved away from Armadale. Later after my marriage, I dropped by to Prahran market on very rare occasions.

It was almost twenty years later, I went to Swinburn Prahran campus to study for my Real Estate full licenced course. I car pooled with a colleague. During the first year, we rushed to the college after work on Tuesday evening, and our classes finished at 10 pm. On Thursday, we had 4 classes for morning to evening.

We always had problems finding a carpark. The multi-storey carpark was not built then. As either he or I drive through the side streets, I had a good look at some of small single fronted properties. To be honest, I never fancy living in that area.

It was a lot more difficult to pass the subjects those days. There was no online reference, and many assignments were handwritten and not wordprocessed.

We developed a new way to study; no, we never plagiarised, but did it smartly. We both passed our subjects with good results.

Prahran's development is like a yoyo. Chapel Street is a shopping, dining and entertainment precinct in Melbourne. Over the past 20 years Chapel Street’s fashionable fortunes, yappy haunt and loud music night clubs, slowly nosedive, showing sign that retail sector is struggling, and changing demographics.

Like many inner areas Chapel Street are surrounded by apartments, and hopefully the streets would be enlivened by new coffee shops and restaurants replacing the closed shops.

Only time will tell!

Thank you for reading.

‘They weren’t being permitted to grieve’: The psychology of losing a home

Post to Facebook on 8/1/2010 10:56 AM
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A loss is a loss in any language, or any circumstance. It is silly to compare a loss with another loss. Comparison of the worse of two evils is no cold comfort to the victim or sufferer.

The outcome of many things we do, if within the limits of our control and management, can be predicted rather than predictable. Predicted outcome is a guaranteed outcome, while predictable outcome is a bit wishy washy guess work.

I am like many other people, treat my home as a castle. Not only do I make it a place for shelter, it also proves that I can be successful in life of owning something that my blood, sweat and tears bring-forth.

Please re-read the last paragraph. I used the word owning. Owning is an achievement, meaning the property must be paid in full, and the mortgage from the lender is discharged. Once I own the property, the use of it is at my disposal. The castle is, in fact, my security blanket!

What if you lose your home one day? It is not just about the brick-and-mortar, but also the years of hard work, good and bad memories, the laughters and tears that associated with it, seeing the members grown from babies to adulthood, etc. These remain in the brain, and will be talked about repeatedly when one suffers from dementia.

When my niece was looking to buy a property, I helped her to estimate her budget and timeline in achieving her ultimate goal. Several negative parameters were put in, in order to minimise risk of mortgage being recalled by the lender. These negative parameters were warning bells to make sure she had to top up her existing income in the early stages in life.

Spreadsheet calculations help to minimise financial risks. The parameters put in are guess work, and the final figures provide predictable outcome.

The warnings about property investing I kept repeating in my blogs are alarm bells for predicted rather than predictable outcome. Properties near densely wooded towns or suburbs, flood prone regions, coastal areas subject to constant erosion, foothill of non-dormant volcanoes, rubbish waste land, the heart of former factory suburbs, high rise apartment with no land are to avoid.

There are always some lucky people that buck the trend, and make healthy profit, but I just want to play safe with my money.

Thank you for reading.

‘One of the worst property investments people make’: Do holiday homes ever make financial sense?

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When I was much younger, say about 30 years ago, I always thought of owning a holiday house near water, although I could not swim, nor like to drive long distance.

I envied my friends who kept talking about spending their weekend at Sandy Point, fishing by day and prawning by night. It really sounded good fun.

One day, my wife and I were invited to spend the weekend with them. That was a treat, because I never thought the day would come to experience staying away from home.

Each Friday afternoon, my friends packed the essential items in the car, including bed linen, fresh food and a lawn mower. Their teenage children would accompany them. My wife and I chose to drive in the daylight the next morning.

They had to unpack the load on arrival, but as guests, we were pampered and did not have to lift our fingers, until I was asked to help kill and gut some live fish caught by them in the afternoon. I love eating fish, but not to take the life of a live fish swimming in a bucket. I felt like a torturer and executioner.

We walked along the beach, chatted merrily, and helped to prepare meals. I did not go fishing at the jetty, nor get in the water for a swim. In the evening, we caught up with the latest “gosp” around the trap.

Time past quickly for my wife and myself even though we did nothing. The husband had to mow the lawn, and other general maintenance, while the wife vacuumed the house and did other household chores.

On Sunday afternoon, the packing and loading processes repeated, but now the car boot was filled with bags of used linen and garbage, plus the lawn mower.

We had a quick meal. The sun began to set in the horizon, a beautiful sight indeed. However, sunset never lasts long, and the sky turned dark fairly quickly.

There were no street lights, and in those days, GPS was not invented then. Even with Melway, Sandy Point was not part of Greater Melbourne metropolitan, rendering the maps completely useless.

I followed their car to get to the main highway, and returned home rather tired for doing nothing.

Without that stay, I would still think of owning a holiday house. Honestly, I doubt it was “holiday” per se, but additional unnecessary chores.

I supposed time was different then. Life was simpler, and international travel was very expensive.

Will I ever own a holiday house? No way, Jose! I prefer to check in a motel or hotel near a beach if I want to have a break and stay away from home.

Thank you for reading.