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  • Profile photo of JFisherJFisher
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    Colourbond also make a wave profile iron fence sheet helps with noise reduction; cannot remember what the name of the profile is but it would be on their website.

    Flipside to the negative reaction from residential renters is that the property could be altered to accomodate a Doctors surgery or something like that where a busy street location would be sought after. You would need to speak to the planning section of your council to see what the zoning would allow; you never know, you might have a property that has potential in more than one capacity.

    Profile photo of JFisherJFisher
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    Originally posted by jamiedellam:

    The reason i want to sell my house is becuase i dont see any future in owning a house in perth. I paid $198,000 (built) my house in 03 i have probarly spent about 50,000 on it and now it is worth well over 600,000. I cant see it going up 7% a year over the next decade i think it will stay very much the same as it is now… I want to sell it to invest the money elsewhere…
    Also what about the drought in bendigo If things get worse there the whole town could disappear. I have heard of 3rd generation farmers who now have no water and the goverment is forcing them to kill all their cattle…

    Hello Jamiedellam
    I have heard somewhere along the tracks that once a city reaches a certain population that it is relatively self sustaining. The figure that was given to me was 70,000. Bendigo was about that size when I lived there over 15 years ago (for less than a year). I wouldn’t think that the plight of agriculture would have a severe effect on a major regional centre like Bendigo. Mildura, where I am from, is nowhere near as big and we also don’t suffer as much as we did years ago when things were bad; still hurts, but the town doesn’t die!

    Profile photo of JFisherJFisher
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    As with a spec’ home done by a builder you would take a deposit and balance on completion. Even a custom built home isn’t allowed to be paid in full until the C of O is issued.

    As you would have signed a contract with the builder then it would be also your responsibility to complete the transaction with the builder.

    You may also find that the potential purchaser’s lendor would insist on with-holding at least a portion of the money until the job was completed to the satisfaction of the new owner.

    You will also have to take out a warranty insurance policy on behalf of the future occupants if you are an owner/builder. If you engage a builder to do the complete house then his warranty insurance will be transferred to any subsequent owners.

    I am in Vic so some warranty advice may not be applicable in other states.

    Profile photo of JFisherJFisher
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    I don’t know any where you can access that sort of info for free, but if you buy the Australian Property Investor (magazine) it has that info broken down into states and postcodes at the back of the publication.

    It is roughly a 3 month cycle with units and rentals in the other months for memory. I think it is good value for money for that, as well as the other articles it has; many of which feature some of the experienced forum contributors from this and a couple of the other forums.

    If you have narrowed your search down to a couple of suburbs and are happy to part with the $ as part of the DD then Residex and RPData have specific information for purchase.

    Profile photo of JFisherJFisher
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    I hope as part of your due diligence that you include a valuers appraisal of the apartment. You will need to supply him with a set of plans and the specifications of the apartment. You will then have an independant idea of the end value, regardless of the cost to the developer. If you are paying more then you walk away.

    Profile photo of JFisherJFisher
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    Originally posted by AmandaBS:

    Great posts Julie [thumbsupanim]

    AmandaBS
    http://www.propertydivas.com.au
    FREE online Property Resources

    “It is better to be inconspicuously wealthy, than to be ostentatiously poor…”

    Thanks Amanda! [blush2]Just ‘paying forward’ the help and advice others (such as yourself) have given to me. It’s a great forum.

    Profile photo of JFisherJFisher
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    Were the trees removed prior to the cracking starting? How long has it been since the trees were removed? Underpinning has to involve an engineer and can be a lengthy process if they shoot levels and conduct soil tests to determine the severity of the movement. However if it has been over 2 years since the trees were removed then it would be feasible that the majority of settlement has finished (if it is the trees causing it?). In this case you could get the brickwork/mortar repaired and hope for the best.

    It is highly unusual (but I won’t say impossible) for ‘movement’ related external cracking to not be reflected internally (and vice versa). How old is the house? Does is have articulation joints? A true brick veneer has the brick sitting against the wall of the house on top of the rebated footing; brick veneer plays no structural role in supporting anything (although single skin brick with piers in a garage will so note the difference). I would suggest that any garden beds (or other consistently damp areas laying against the house) are removed/rectified immediately. Make sure that all paving and concrete paths that adjoin the house are sloping away from the house to remove water from near the footings.

    In wet weather the soil swells and pushes footings upwards and when it dries the footings move downwards again; footings will always settle down a bit lower than their original starting point.

    In your case however I wouldn’t be convinced that this would be the case, I would suggest that you ask a reputable (and experienced) bricklayer to come and inspect the mortar (masonry bed and perpend joints are to be a nominal 10mm and if raked shouldn’t be deeper than 10mm to comply with BCA2006) and the bricks (could be shrinking/expanding).

    An engineer in Swan Hill told me last year when we did an insurance assessment on a house that had been flooded that the bricks that were used had shrunk a few mm, the accumulating total of each brick shrinking a few mm over the space of a whole wall, combined with the fact there was no articulation joints to absorb the movement, pulled the bricks away from the mortar at their weakest points. The weakest point will always be to the nearest door or window corner and once the initial crack is set then it acts as it’s own expansion joint and moves in and out as it needs to.

    What may need doing is that the brick walls will need to be pulled down (I have done this so it is easy) and relayed . You can reuse the same bricks if they are not the problem. This work will able to be done without too much disturbance to the existing dwelling if it a veneer.

    Make sure you get some articulation joints put in the walls on the affected sides above all windows and door openings. If you speak to a building inspector he will advise you on where to put them in order to minimize future damage.

    Good Luck, hope something in that lot helps.

    Profile photo of JFisherJFisher
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    We took carpet out of our bedroom and then put it back in a few years later. We get big temperature differences from winter to summer and the floorboards were still too cold in winter, in saying that we are up on stumps with a conventional timber floor that is over 60 years old; if you are laying floating floor on a slab then draughts wouldn’t be an issue.

    Profile photo of JFisherJFisher
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    Originally posted by propertypower:

    Being rich means having choices, the ability to choose to work not because you have to but because you love to; the ability to spend time doing things you love, with people you love; the ability to contribute to the society; the ability to appreciate what you have and being thankful for that; and lastly & most importantly, rich is loving and being loved.
    Some people may achieve this with $5k in the bank account and others may not find it even with $1 million cash. You have to find out what’s important to you and define your own richness.
    I FEEL RICH!!!

    cheers,
    Sanjiv Gupta

    “There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” – Nelson Mandela

    I’m with you Sanjiv, that’s beautiful.

    Profile photo of JFisherJFisher
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    Tom
    There are many causes for cracking which can be narrowed down by the location and appearence of the cracks. Without photo’s or discriptions it would be hard for anyone to direct you to someone you haven’t already been.

    Diagonal cracking appearing from the top of doors and windows is usually slab movement from moisture levels fluctuating in the soil below the house. This movement is naturally occuring but has increased considerably since the drought started, with many homes (including very old ones) suddenly heaving apart in places.

    Have you done any work on the house where internal walls were removed? If they were structural and suitable beam wasn’t installed in the ceiling to carry the weight then this may explain some.

    Do you have a tiled roof, has moisture come under your tiles during heavy winds (they lift up tiles) and damaged the ceiling sheets etc.

    Are the cracks in the brickwork or the plaster; windows are set into the timber frame (in a BV house) not into plaster or brickwork so big windows would not explain plaster cracking inside a BV house. Brick walls have steel lintels above the windows to support the brickwork so that should be looked at too.

    Really without knowing more about the cracks it is hard to direct you. I would say an engineer is the best, but then my husband is a builder and he has a good eye for such things (assessed for an insurance company). It would depend on the experience of the person whichever way you go. Sorry that is not much of an answer for you! Feel free to post some pictures and I will get him to have a look.

    Julie Fisher
    daryl fisher homes

    Profile photo of JFisherJFisher
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    I love the idea of bamboo flooring, as Kelly said it is a sustainable flooring and is right up there with the more hard wearing timber floors. In this day and age with people being very receptive to sustainable design I think it would be a great marketing feature if the property was ever sold, but if kept for an IP then the flooring would look as good, if not better, in a few years time than any other floor that you could lay . Go for it I think.

    Julie Fisher
    daryl fisher homes

    Profile photo of JFisherJFisher
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    Yes, I agree. Christie’s Beach is one of the suburbs that I have narrowed down to my 5 picks in Adelaide and seems to have alot going for it.

    Profile photo of JFisherJFisher
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    Originally posted by L.A Aussie:

    marry Paris Hilton or James Packer

    Cheers,
    Marc.
    [email protected]

    “we get sent lemons; it’s up to us to make lemonade”

    ….without the (obligatory) pre-nup agreement….easy street!

    Profile photo of JFisherJFisher
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    I am sure that a relocated house is considered a ‘new’ house and has to comply with all current legislation, including Basix. You do your own Basix report using a hypothetical of the house and land, providing you have already bought them both, and know the details. I did one last year when we had to work out (for a quote) what requirements were needed to rebuild a fire damaged home. I just completed everything up until the point I knew it was OK (but didn’t have to issue the certificate). You will then be able to change some of the factors to see make it work if needed. This info isn’t ‘instead of’ AmandaBS advice above either.

    Julie Fisher
    Daryl Fisher Homes

    Profile photo of JFisherJFisher
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    I have never been on forums before February this year. I have learnt heaps from your posts and experience in my short time on this forum Marc. As experienced builders with plenty of experience, I did agree with your analogy about the making money in some areas at the moment, so I also understood your reply to be one of concern with the figures that were posted (that were in error it seems).

    This highlights one problem with forums that I have had to get used to; there is plenty of room for misunderstanding when you are not experienced in writing concisely as it leaves room for the reader to fill in the gaps.

    I am not picking on anyone’s grammer, as I have been guilty of it myself (refer to avatar). In my enthusiasm to help others when I first joined, I quickly learned
    – that if you are not sure about a question you should ask for clarification.
    – If it appears someone has misunderstood your post, don’t take it personally until you have clarified the facts again with them.
    – That everyone, including experienced tradesmen like us, can learn something off people who have never hit a nail on the head.
    – that, unfortunately, I will never be able to write a short post for fear of being ‘bombed’. LOL

    So relax browny he was only trying to help and I am sure that you will be able to contribute in a valuable manner to many people on this forum.

    Julie Fisher
    Daryl Fisher Homes.[happy3]

    Profile photo of JFisherJFisher
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    50million dollar shopping complex has been earmarked for Mt Barker but this has been known for a few months and I would suspect that many investors would have known way before it became public as well. Mining activity touted nearby also. Check out the SA govt planning website for information. Big Govt spending should always be part of research for an area.
    I have been researching Adelaide for 4 months (I know too long but it’s my first) and have purchased the residex reports (rent and best growth) and both list the mentioned northern suburbs amongst the good buys. Also big infrastructure spend soon in northern area and new suburb created at Buckland Pk. I have a feeling that we’ll have to be quick so I am hanging out for my LOC to come through (thanks Qlds007).

    Profile photo of JFisherJFisher
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    As insurance assessors for North West Vic for a couple of years we went to 3 total loss fires and every single one of them were underinsured. The insurance company will include every structure on your property as included in your premium whether you state it or not. So if your house burns down but your sheds and fences are ok they will deduct the cost of replacing these and you will have the balance to spend.

    Also consider the cost of rebuilding. You cannot just use a price that is comparable to buying a similar property, you should have the option of rebuilding on the same land. To do this you will need to add demolition and council/permit fees etc plus the going rate for a new home to be built that is a similar size to what you had (anything much bigger and they may investigate the fire a bit closer…lol). Use at least $1100 per sq mt as a base and at least 10k for demolition and removal. Add another $5k for plans conservatively. You will probably find you definately aren’t overinsured.

    We went to a fire in rural Vic where an elderly couple lost their homestead on the river right on the edge of town. They had only estimated the replacement value using the prices of similar properties in the town so could not replace the home with something similar and had to make do with a small unit. To make matters worse their old home had heaps of asbestos in it which made the demolition even more expensive…anyway you get the drift. It’s only a few bob a year and will give you more choice if the worst happens. BTW $30k contents insurance seems very lean to me; are you aware that curtains and carpets are considered contents by most insurers?

    Julie Fisher
    Daryl Fisher Homes

    Profile photo of JFisherJFisher
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    The more complex the development the longer it has taken some of the people we have built for, but it all depends on how thorough/accurate your architect/town planner are with the drawings and submission. We looked at a 3 unit site recently and our planner said 3-4 months but that is in rural Vic. Must depend on the location if some areas take longer. If it is going to take 12 months I would be renting out the house while it all gets sorted.

    Julie Fisher
    Daryl Fisher Homes.

    Profile photo of JFisherJFisher
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    Hi noclue
    There are too many variables to answer this question with any accuracy. It will depend on the soil type, complexity of design, council requirements for the area, local trade prices, prices allowed for fixtures/fittings/bricks etc. You would be far better off to ring some builders in the local area and ask them if they could give you an estimate or quote (if you have plans) and ask them what is included. If you have plans you can specify what you want included and get 3-4 builders to quote the same items. Then you know for sure where the best deal is.

    Julie Fisher
    Daryl Fisher Homes.

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    What about going to your local nursery and talking to them about low growing native grasses to your area. There may be some in there that self seed or creep and, once established, will require little maintanence.

    Just another thought!
    Julie

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