NEWS last week about escalating energy prices is sure to boost the values of existing green homes and commercial premises. According to building advisory service Archicentre, this will lead to a new wave of environmental design, housing products and marketing approaches by the real estate industry. “Home owners with well-designed and insulated homes, including solar panels and rainwater tanks, stand to see hundreds of dollars a year cut from their energy and water bills as prices escalate dramatically,” Archicentre’s David Hallett said. He said the pressure of housing affordability today was not just in initial building costs because housing affordability had spread into the services such as power, water and gas to run a home. “The property market will become increasingly driven by running costs that will be automatically factored in by buyers who are looking at balancing their mortgages and other costs,” he said. He predicted the trend in new homes and renovations was likely to be around the introduction of “quality based building inspections” aimed at ensuring homes with a six or more green star design were actually built to the standard. Mr Hallett said that at present no one checked the quality of the construction or insulation, with the six-star performances quickly evaporating if there were gaps in the door or window seals or poor-quality insulation or the roof was faulty. CLEARING AIR ON STAMP DUTY Reductions to stamp duty for first-home buyers don’t come into effect in Victoria until July 1, but it seems it may already be causing some confusion. Our piece a couple of weeks ago about Goodman Group Conveyancing warning about changing contracts until after July 1 drew some comment from several readers, as well as agents. The agents quite rightly pointed out that stamp duty is assessed at the date of settlement, not the date the sale contract is signed – a fact confirmed to Home Truths by the State Revenue Office. The confusion may have come from the fact that eligibility for the $7000 First Home Owners Grant is assessed at the time the contract is signed. So that’s good news for agents, who would be worried the market may be further impacted if first-home buyers stayed away until July. Still, with a stamp duty saving of about $4000 for first-home buyers who settle after July 1, it will not come as any surprise if people who have already bought and settled before July 1 try to stall. VALUE FOR MONEY As Melbourne’s housing market starts to tighten, valuation company Opteon is urging potential buyers or sellers to have an independent valuation before dipping a toe in the water. Opteon residential operations manager Chris Knight said [...]
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Painting is certainly something we can all have a crack at and the results are instant. In fact, a fresh coat of paint really will breathe some extra life to your place if you’re considering selling. My advice is to do it well before inspections as the smell of drying paint may put people off and it also says you’re trying a bit hard. There are many savings to be made when it comes to painting and obviously the biggest is the labour cost if you do it yourself. Paint is relatively inexpensive compared with timber or bricks, and equipment can be bought so easily from hardware and retail stores. Preparation, however, is the key. Walls should be scrubbed clean beforehand, cobwebs removed, furniture moved around or stacked, drop sheets put down, holes and gaps filled. There are also decisions to be made on the colour scheme, and quality rollers and brushes are a good investment. There is a lot of cheap painting gear out there, especially at the front of house in hardware stores, but it will make the job look cheap, so quality brushes and rollers will make a world of difference. If it is a touch-up job, don’t change the colour scheme as you’ll have to do extra coats, requiring more drying and more of your time. If time is not on your side, just do the walls and skirting boards rather than the ceiling. Ceilings require more skill and, nine times out of 10, are messier! You can contain the paint splatter more easily on the walls. Play it safe and make sure you have a good ladder to work off. Start out in a room that is not so noticeable – in other words, practise your painting technique and skills in the kids’ bedroom. That way, once you get around to the living room, you’ll be in tip-top form. When it comes to picking the paints there is a lot to consider. The best advice would have to come from the paint shop assistant, so go to a proper store to get the right advice. For the preparation, use No More Gaps for all interior gap work and a strong polyurethane sealant for outside. New work inside will need a sealer then two coats of a finish paint. Go with water-based enamels for all the skirting boards, architraves, doors and windows. Exterior painting is a whole other world. Weathershield and Solar Guard are the big names and you’re going to need a big brand to withstand the harsh Aussie sun and conditions. Weigh up the savings when it comes to the outside of your house. The exterior painting of a house is the most difficult because of those hard-to-reach areas and height issues. So get some quotes as a professional job will ensure your house is set apart. Save inside for the DIY. Always wash out brushes and rollers into the garden and not into the drain. Leave the lid off empty paint tins to dry out and harden before disposing of properly. Look after the brushes and rollers and remove any dried paint with a steel brush. Most of all, enjoy the serenity of painting – it’s a quiet time and requires a steady hand and mind. Don’t rush it and, most of all, step back and admire the fact that you can do it yourself. Tom Williams is a licensed carpenter, qualified residential builder and a presenter with Channel 7. [...] |
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