Monday 23 June 2014

Pre-inspection can make a home more attractive to buyers

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140620/LIFESTYLE01/306200007

Pre-inspection can make a home more attractive to buyers

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·         Jeanine Matlow

Whether you plan to buy, sell or stay put for now, a home inspection can be a valuable tool in different situations.

Though the housing inventory in Metro Detroit remains low, Jim Dietrich, certified home inspector and owner of AAA Home Inspections in Flushing, is still in the midst of his busy season.

As he explains, “The purpose of a home inspection is to identify the condition of the home, especially defects or safety issues that would affect the buyer’s decision.”

While Dietrich recommends a full home inspection for potential buyers, he also suggests considering a radon inspection, which is separate.

“Your neighbor’s could be high and yours could be low,” he says.

His most prevalent find during inspections is a lack of ventilation in the attic. Water issues are common, as well. Sometimes a situation in the basement can be resolved by extending the downspouts or increasing the grade around your house to drain water away from the foundation.

Whenever selling, it’s smart to stay ahead of the game.

“It’s very important for the seller to do a pre-listing inspection to identify items that they can easily fix,” says Dietrich. “It might not be anything major, but first-time buyers can get overwhelmed by too many issues.”

“It is the inspector’s job to describe and identify those problems,” says Dietrich, who spent 30 years as a licensed builder before transitioning 10 years ago.

He recommends finding someone with a track record and experience.

A maintenance inspection is an option for anyone not planning a move that has lived in the same house for years without a thorough check of its overall condition.

“A lot of issues might relate to the exterior that people don’t see every day,” says Dietrich. “Over time, they can really create a problem.”

Though some homeowners have components like their furnace checked regularly, Dietrich says it’s not a bad idea to have an HVAC professional, a plumber and an electrician look for major problems once a year. He has discovered everything from extremely high levels of carbon monoxide during a visit to a friend’s house to faulty wires while working.

When he first started doing inspections a decade ago, the process took many hours to complete and record. Today’s technology makes it easier on everyone, says Dietrich, who has progressed from a three-ring binder and a notepad to a camera and a clipboard to an app.

The state of homes has also improved since many sellers prep their properties before putting them on the market.

“Staging homes and making major repairs in advance helps them sell,” says Dietrich. “Everybody is more aware of big issues like roofing.”

Because move-in-ready homes are more common, Dietrich doesn’t always find major issues.

Still, he says, “On average, there are lots of minor problems that can become major.”

For information, contact Jim Dietrich at (810) 241-3651 or go to www.aaahomeinspections.org.

Jeanine Matlow is a Metro Detroit interior decorator turned freelance writer specializing in stories about interior design. You can reach her at jeaninematlow@earthlink.net.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140620/LIFESTYLE01/306200007#ixzz35Q47YGuP

Sarah Turner
New Zealand Operations Manager



Ph: 09 834 7936
Mob: 022 043 1226
Toll free: 0800 86 36 36

www.abuyerschoice.co.nz
sarah.turner@abuyerschoice.com

Client referrals are our greatest reward. If you know of anyone who can benefit from our building inspection services, please do not hesitate to let me or them know. I would appreciate the opportunity to assist.

 

Wednesday 18 June 2014

Home building inspection business has expansion plans

Home inspection business has expansion plans

BILL POWER BUSINESS REPORTER
Published June 5, 2014 - 1:56pm
Last Updated June 5, 2014 - 1:58pm

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The people behind A Buyer’s Choice Home Inspections in Halifax want to expand their franchised organization throughout Atlantic Canada.

“We currently have four franchised operations in the region and want to add 21 more,” Rick Mayuk, a partner in the business with Trevor Johnston, said Friday.

Mayuk said he and his business partner recently acquired the Atlantic regional rights for A Buyer’s Choice and are intent on establishing a regional network.

The organization has about 120 franchised operators across Canada.

“We’re bringing the brand recognition and operational standards of a national franchised organization to the home inspection business,” Mayuk said.

“A franchise is an effective way to go for people interested in the home inspection industry.”

Franchisees buying into the organization have to meet above-industry standards, including a boot-camp training session, field training and a period of mentorship with another franchisee.

“The home inspection industry has varying levels of regulation across Canada. Our standards are above those in effect in Alberta, where home inspections industry regulations are among the most stringent in the country,” Mayuk said.

He and Johnston are both transplanted Albertans who relocated to Nova Scotia several years ago.

They do not actually get out to homes to do inspections but handle the business development side of things, he said.

The pair have signed a business development agreement that allows them to market the franchise to small-business-oriented people in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, Mayuk said.

The company is now expanding into the United States, Chile, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and New Zealand.

Mayuk said Bill Redfern, CEO of A Buyer’s Choice Home Inspections, launched the business in Halifax several years ago and is now leading the expansion of the operation into the United States and Europe.

 

 

Sarah Turner
New Zealand Operations Manager



Ph: 09 834 7936
Mob: 022 043 1226
Toll free: 0800 86 36 36

www.abuyerschoice.co.nz
sarah.turner@abuyerschoice.com

Client referrals are our greatest reward. If you know of anyone who can benefit from our building inspection services, please do not hesitate to let me or them know. I would appreciate the opportunity to assist.

 

Congratulations to Hank Lobdell on his new Franchise Development Role

on 17 June 2014.

We would like to congratulate Hank Lobdell, our franchisee in Tampa, Florida on his new role with A Buyer's Choice Home Inspections as Franchise Development Team Leader.

Many of you have worked with Hank during bootcamp in Ft. Lauderdale in his role as lead field trainer, which he will continue to perform.

As Franchise Development Team Leader Hank will work directly with Franchise Owners and Inspectors in the US after they complete bootcamp, to continue supporting and coaching them through their business start-up and operations. This will include regular coaching and update calls with franchisees, and acting as support contact for inspection and marketing related questions within the US.

We look forward to seeing Hank grow in this new role. His skill set and encouraging, supportive, and likeable personality will be a great asset to the team, and to the franchisees who will benefit from his leadership abilities.

Hank can be reached at hank.lobdell@abuyerschoice.com This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 1-800-792-5118.

 

Sarah Turner
New Zealand Operations Manager



Ph: 09 834 7936
Mob: 022 043 1226
Toll free: 0800 86 36 36

www.abuyerschoice.co.nz
sarah.turner@abuyerschoice.com

Client referrals are our greatest reward. If you know of anyone who can benefit from our building inspection services, please do not hesitate to let me or them know. I would appreciate the opportunity to assist.

 

Tuesday 17 June 2014

Budget 2014: Little to lift spirits of first home buyers

5:00 AM Friday May 16, 2014

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English admits suspension of tariffs, duties on materials modest offering.

Kanav and Shruti Malhotra, with 3-year-old daughter Kashish. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Aspiring first-home buyers looking for a leg-up into the property market in yesterday's Budget had little to cheer about as Finance Minister Bill English offered little more than a few dollars off the cost of a new home and a pledge to do what he could to control interest rates.

The Government's sole new home affordability measure yesterday was the temporary suspension of tariffs and duties on building products which Mr English said would reduce the cost of a standard new home by about $3500.

The move drew derision from the Opposition. Labour Leader David Cunliffe dismissed it, along with the removal of cheque duty also announced yesterday, as "desperate little ideas that show no vision and very little substance".

"Kiwi first-home buyers could get a better deal from their mortgage broker than the paltry $3500 the Government is offering."

The Budget had "nothing for first-home buyers," he said.

"There's no KiwiBuild policy, that's one of our ideas they haven't yet plundered. There's no capital gains tax, there's no limit on property speculation of urban real estate, there's nothing to get New Zealanders into homes."

Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei said: "Cheaper Gib board and a discount on a few nails must sound like a joke to a young person trying to get into the housing market."

Mr English acknowledged it was a modest step.

However he also said the biggest factor affecting home affordability was interest rates.

'The best thing that Government can do is limiting its own spending to take pressure off those rates."

He warned a Labour-Greens Government with less-disciplined spending could push interest rates to over 10 per cent, which for those wanting to buy their first home, would mean "their dream is dead".

The home buyers: Kanav and Shruti Malhotra

House-hunters Kanav and Shruti Malhotra are no closer to their first home after yesterday's Budget, but are pleased with its package of goodies for children.

The Malhotras, both in professional jobs, have saved a 20 per cent deposit towards a first house which they expect to cost them $450,000 to $500,000.

They do not expect to buy a new house, so they will not benefit from lower import duties on building materials. They are not in social housing so they are unaffected by higher spending there.

"Nothing really affects us with those changes," said Mrs Malhotra. "Not that we were expecting anything. Just in terms of releasing more land, I think that would benefit us the most, so I don't think that would be in the Budget."

She did not qualify for paid parental leave when their daughter Kashish was born three years ago, but because she is now in a permanent job she hopes to get paid leave if they have another baby.

"By then we will have our house so that puts extra pressure on me [for the mortgage], so being able to be with your family for an extra month will be very important," she said.

She is also delighted with the extension of free health care for children from age 5 to age 12. "When they start school in the first one or two years they do tend to fall sick." 
- Simon Collins

- NZ Herald

 

 

Sarah Turner
New Zealand Operations Manager



Ph: 09 834 7936
Mob: 022 043 1226
Toll free: 0800 86 36 36

www.abuyerschoice.co.nz
sarah.turner@abuyerschoice.com

Client referrals are our greatest reward. If you know of anyone who can benefit from our building inspection services, please do not hesitate to let me or them know. I would appreciate the opportunity to assist.

 

Reserve Bank lending rules hit harder than expected

9:15 AM Wednesday May 14, 2014

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Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The Reserve Bank's restrictions on the level of mortgage lending with low deposits took more borrowing out of the system than expected, and have helped douse the property market's potential risk to the nation's financial stability.

House sales dropped 11 per cent since the central bank imposed the restrictions on high loan-to-value ratio lending, with a 23 per cent slump in turnover of houses under $400,000. That's more than the bank's estimates of a 3 per cent to 8 per cent reduction in house sales, according to the Reserve Bank's six-monthly financial stability report. The restrictions were estimated to have slowed house price inflation by 2.5 percentage points.

Governor Graeme Wheeler said the country's financial system remains sound and is well-placed to support the economy, though there are still risks emanating from the high levels of debt in the household and dairy sectors.

"Debt in the household sector remains high relative to income, and house prices are overvalued on several measures," Wheeler said in a statement. "As a result, financial stability could deteriorate if there is a sharp correction in house prices, particularly if accompanied by a reduction in debt repayment capacity."

The central bank limited the level of low-equity home loans banks could write from October as a means to take the sting out of a heating property market, particularly in Auckland and Christchurch, without having to resort to early interest rate hikes, which may have fuelled demand for an already elevated currency. Since then, the bank has embarked on a tightening policy, hiking the official cash rate twice to 3 per cent.

The financial stability report said the LVR restrictions appeared to be having the desired effect, and reiterated deputy governor Grant Spencer's comments last week that the bank doesn't envisage removing them until at least late this year. The prospect of rising interest rates had also tempered housing demand.

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"Although the LVR speed limit is helping to contain the risk of a sharp housing correction, house prices remain at elevated levels and have continued to grow faster than household incomes," the report said. "Housing demand will likely continue to outstrip supply in the near term, particular with strong net immigration adding to population growth."

Elevated agricultural debt levels, particularly in the dairy sector, were also a risk to the nation's financial stability, as a drop in commodity prices could lead to a fall in land prices and put pressure on highly leveraged borrowers.

"Give the existing indebtedness of the sector, a significant increase in credit growth and farm prices would pose a significant risk to financial stability," the report said. "There are also several potential global shocks, including a disruption in the Chinese economy, which could trigger a more significant decline in commodity prices and a consequent drop in collateral values specifically land prices."

The bank noted there was increased activity in farm sales which could risk higher levels of debt being taken on, while acknowledging farmers had been using strong commodity prices to repay debt.

The report also cited a disorderly correction in Chinese lending and property markets as a risk to New Zealand's financial stability if they increased funding costs for local banks, ad sapped demand for exports.

- BusinessDesk

 

 

Sarah Turner
New Zealand Operations Manager



Ph: 09 834 7936
Mob: 022 043 1226
Toll free: 0800 86 36 36

www.abuyerschoice.co.nz
sarah.turner@abuyerschoice.com

Client referrals are our greatest reward. If you know of anyone who can benefit from our building inspection services, please do not hesitate to let me or them know. I would appreciate the opportunity to assist.

 

Migration key to rates rises

By Brian Fallow

5:00 AM Saturday May 10, 2014

 

Reserve Bank predicts 7-8% by 2016 as effect on housing of LVR, high kiwi playout

Grant Spencer

The strength of the surge in net immigration will influence both the outlook for interest rates and how long loan-to-value ratio curbs remain in place, says Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Grant Spencer.

In a speech on the housing market in Auckland yesterday, he said float-ing mortgage rates could be 7 per cent to 8 per cent in two years, up 2 percentage points from present levels.

While that would only take mortgage rates back to their average over the past 20 years, the impact of interest rate rises would be felt more quickly than during the boom of the mid-2000s.

That's because 70 per cent of home loans by value are either float-ing or fixed for less than a year, whereas a majority were fixed for between two and four years a decade ago.

Also, the starting level of debt relative to income is higher, meaning the proportion of disposable income pre-empted by mortgage payments would be greater.

A big uncertainty in the extent and timing of interest rate rises ahead was the exchange rate, Spencer said, because of its bearing on prices of traded goods and economic activity.

"The other big area of uncertainty is around housing," he said.

"Will inward migration continue to underpin housing demand? Will the dampening impact of the LVR restrictions be long-lasting? Will the supply response soon start to have a moderating effect on house prices? Will homeowners increase their spending out of capital gains? And how will rising mortgage rates affect spending by borrowers?"

The bank believes the LVR restrictions have had a moderating effect on the housing market and are supporting monetary policy, but it has always seen them as a temporary measure with their effectiveness reducing over time.

"Before removing the LVRs, however, we will want to be confident the housing market is responding to interest rate increases and that immigration pressures are not causing a resurgence of house price pressures," Spencer said.

"It will take some time to gain this assurance. At this stage we consider the earliest date for beginning to remove LVRs is likely to be late in the year."

In its March monetary policy statement, the bank forecast the net inflow of migrants to peak at 29,400 in the middle of this year and then ease gradually as economic conditions in Australia improved.

But the net inflow in the year to March was already 31,900 and the monthly tally shows no signs of easing. ASB economists expect annual net migration to peak at 40,000 later this year.

"Cyclical turning points are hard to predict and there's a risk the net migration inflow remains greater for longer, which would underpin the demand for housing," Spencer said.

Economists point out that net immigration boosts both the demand and the supply sides of the economy, but the former effect is generally quicker.

ASB economist Christina Leung said Spencer's comments were in line with ASB's own expectations that LVR restrictions would probably be removed between late 2014 and mid-2015.

"The Reserve Bank will not remove the restrictions unless it is confident the housing market is slowing on a sustained basis and interest rates will be sufficient to continue containing house prices, as well as confirma-tion that net migration is slowing," Leung said.

"We expect nationwide house prices will rise 5 per cent in calendar 2014, with Auckland still up 9 per cent, which suggests the risks lie more with 2015, given that Auckland is the market getting the most focus from the Reserve Bank."

- NZ Herald

Sarah Turner
New Zealand Operations Manager



Ph: 09 834 7936
Mob: 022 043 1226
Toll free: 0800 86 36 36

www.abuyerschoice.co.nz
sarah.turner@abuyerschoice.com

Client referrals are our greatest reward. If you know of anyone who can benefit from our building inspection services, please do not hesitate to let me or them know. I would appreciate the opportunity to assist.

 

Property prices, sales fall in May

Property prices, sales fall in May

12:20 PM Monday Jun 16, 2014

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The national median house price fell $2250 from April to May this year. File photo / Greg Bowker

House sale volumes and prices are dropping, according to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, which has just released its May sales figures.

The national median price fell $2250 from April to May when it was $430,000. Volumes were down 14.8 per cent from last May although they rose between April and May: 6572 houses were sold last month.

Helen O'Sullivan, REINZ chief executive, said the volume easing trend continued with all regions recording a decline in sales volumes in May compared to 12 months ago.

This was the second month in a row volumes had dropped, she said.

"We would normally expect an increase in sales in May compared to April, however, after taking seasonal factors into account the increase was just 1.6 per cent. This leads us to conclude that the drop in sales in April due to the combination of Easter and ANZAC Day has not created an offsetting increase in sales in May.

"The weakening trend is also showing up in the number of days to sell with five regions seeing an increase of a week or more in the number of days to sell between April and May," said O'Sullivan.

Sarah Turner
New Zealand Operations Manager



Ph: 09 834 7936
Mob: 022 043 1226
Toll free: 0800 86 36 36

www.abuyerschoice.co.nz
sarah.turner@abuyerschoice.com

Client referrals are our greatest reward. If you know of anyone who can benefit from our building inspection services, please do not hesitate to let me or them know. I would appreciate the opportunity to assist.

 

BNZ boss warns of higher home loan rates

  The Bank of New Zealand has posted its half-year profit. Photo/Bevan Conley Increased pressure on bank margins will mean higher home ...