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My brother John has had a lucky escape after being buried under over 1m of snow in an avalanche in New Zealand over the weekend. John is ok, although he has a black eye to show for it.
Here is an extract from the Herald Sun Story:
AT FIRST the Melbourne multi-millionaire John Castran thought he had escaped the avalanche unscathed, unaware that metres away his Sydney skiing companion was dead.
Buried under more than 1.8 metres of snow on a New Zealand mountain range, Mr Castran, 53, could still move his arms and legs. But then the snow shifted and he was crushed.
Pinned beneath the overwhelming weight of what moments earlier had been featherweight powder snow, Mr Castran realised he did not have enough oxygen to yell for help.
The real estate agent survived the avalanche at Ragged Range, near Methven, west of Christchurch, yesterday, but a NSW businessman, 61, whose name has not been made public, was killed.
As Mr Castran ran out of air, he too thought he would perish under the ice. "You choke with the snow, you can’t breathe, you’re suffocating … it’s like being poured into plaster of Paris. The only thing I could move was my tongue, to push the snow away from in front of my mouth.
Here is a link to the full story: http://www.smh.com.au/world/avalanche-victim-shut-himself-down-to-survive-20090724-dw62.html
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Sometimes its hard to believe that we’re in the middle of a Global Financial Crisis, especially when you read articles like the one in the Herald Sun, here is an extract (http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25703449-5013926,00.html):
HOME hunters locked in bidding frenzies are pushing the prices of some properties through the roof.
Four bidders went hammer and tongs for a house in King St, Richmond, at the weekend, pushing the sale to almost $100,000 above its asking price of $620,000.
Eventually it went for $718,000. The price for the imitation Edwardian was touted in the $550,000-plus range during the campaign.
Even more spectacular results were achieved across the suburbs with even bigger margins.
Staggering results and a record price for the suburb saw do-or-die bidders vying for a parcel of land in Brunswick, which sent it almost $1 million over its reserve.
Quoted at $1.6 million, the block sold on Saturday for $2.58 million. Edwardian "Illoura" in Kew, advertised in the $750,000 plus range, changed hands for $915,000.
The weekend clearance rate of 86 per cent kept the overall clearance figures above 80 per cent for the seventh week in a row.
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FIRST-home buyers are flooding into the market thanks to falling interest rates and slumping home prices.
But investors are shunning cheaper homes because they fear prices could fall further.
Read the full article here: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25014496-5013926,00.html
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Despite everything, Australians do buy in Bali -attracted to the beauty, lifestyle and people.
The holidays are well and truly over. Surely, everyone will be back at work on Monday . . . if they’ve still got a job. With the financial situation so grim, many people will wish they could move to a tropical island to see out the rest of the year.
What about Bali? OK, so there’s been the Schapelle Corby and Bali Nine dramas, terrorist attacks, executions, threats of reprisals, security warnings, rapes and murders, even a rabies scare and a booze shortage recently but Australians do buy property there.
“There’s a whole heap of Australians,” says Charles, a Sydney caterer who bought land in Bali several years ago and intends to build a villa.
“I just fell in love with the island, the people, the scenery and the fact it offers such a relaxed lifestyle . . . and no one’s going to deny having cheap household help can swing the deal.”
This opportunity to live in the lap of luxury, complete with staff, at a relatively affordable price has transformed the Bali tourism market in the past decade - particularly around Seminyak, a haven for upmarket restaurants.
Some love it so much, they want to own a place in Bali for holidays, to rent out and eventually live in. Despite the 2002 and 2005 bombings, by last September, when Domain visited, agents said buyers were more concerned about movements in the dollar than terrorism.
Phone calls this week, though, revealed the financial crisis has had an impact and some luxury villas have had price drops of 30 per cent.
“We have a number of foreign owners who have lost money in the stockmarket and they need liquidity,” says Mike Pugh of Exotiq Real Estate in Seminyak.
Last year, when the Australian dollar was strong, nearly half his sales were to Australians.
“Especially when it went above 90 [cents to the US dollar] we had a mad rush of people coming to buy,” he says. (This week, it was 66 cents.)
Even now, some of the villas - especially with the price drops - look appealing. Particularly if you’re still employed or have a healthy redundancy cheque. Most of the foreign buyers in Bali are so rich they don’t need to borrow from a bank, which is fortunate since it’s impossible to get a loan either within Indonesia (unless they marry a local) or at home. There are also restrictions for foreigners buying freehold, though they can easily buy leasehold. Many keep quiet about their purchases for tax reasons.
“Bali is a cash market and there are no subprime mortgage meltdowns here and there are no bankruptcies or foreclosures, the only problems are that some of the developers have got their initial funding from foreign banks, which is proving difficult for some,” Pugh says.
Mira Sawitz of Jones Lang LaSalle says the financial crisis has had an impact.
“Inquiry is slowing down and clients who were hot prospects have decided to postpone their decision to buy anything,” she says.
Read the full article here: http://www.domain.com.au/Public/Article.aspx?id=1232818695940&index=NationalIndex&headline=Your%20own%20slice%20of%20paradise
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Dreams become a reality sooner thanks to Castran Gilbert’s hands on approach!
Why?
Castran Gilbert’s company Principals’, get involved with all the “behind the scenes” aspects of any new project!
From interior design, floor plans, to choosing which bank to finance the project, the Principals’ aim to take the pressure off the developer by offering educated advice ensuring developers make the most from their investment. This also sees the developer’s project gets to the marketing stage quicker!!
Testimonials
At Castran Gilbert we recognise the importance of pre-selling!
It instils confidence and allows you, the developer, to finance other projects sooner!
Here’s what a few of clients have to say.
Anton Wilson: This is my 3rd pre-sold project since dealing with Castran Gilbert. Their sales team pre-sold 220 apartments giving my company on this latest project more than $50 million in sales revenue …I’m sold on Castran Gilbert!!
Peter Arundel: I first dealt with Castran Gilbert in 1991 with them pre-selling a project of mine in South Yarra within just a couple of weeks! As a developer, this made me feel confident in the project seeing their ability to pre-sell!
Martin Tissot: My latest project has seen another 100% Castran Gilbert pre-sell! They gave me the confidence they could pre-sell then actually did it!! Their huge volume of pre-sales allowed me a construction start and also financed my next project …I have never had so much success since dealing with Castran Gilbert!!
Adding to these testimonials, recently one of our clients went to 1 of the 4 major banks to finance a project and on discovery that Castran Gilbert were involved, the bank proceeded to inform them Castran Gilbert is their preferred selling agent…the bank signed off immediately on the project!!
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Paul Castran and the team at Castran Gilbert would like to wish all their customers and blog readers a merry Christmas and a safe new year.
Paul Castran
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Heres an interesting article about developers who are spending up to $100,000 to help buyers imagine they’ve already moved in.
http://www.domain.com.au/Public/Article.aspx?id=1228585093054&index=NationalIndex&headline=Dressed%20in%20show
Below is an extract:
Discounts on new apartments, deals to pay stamp duty for buyers, special offers galore . . . With developers desperate for buyers of new apartment projects as the banks continue to rein in credit and with many consumers lacking the confidence to actually commit, there’s still one great weapon left in their armoury: the display suite.
Fitted out with top-quality designer furniture, painted in the latest stylish colour palettes, decorated often with original artwork and regularly finished down to the last detail with cutlery, glasses and plates, it’s guaranteed to leave every potential buyer salivating.
"Apartments look so different when they’re empty to when they’re well-furnished," says Andrew Finlayson of developer Carrington, with penthouses for sale at Kensington apartment complex Capella and Wahroonga’s Beumont both beautifully fitted out by stylists.
"It sets the mood and feel, and shows off the architecture of an apartment and it helps people get the sense of how much space is available."
Selling tools
In today’s soft property market, the chief executive of the developers’ lobby Urban Taskforce Australia, Aaron Gadiel, says display suites have never been more important as marketing tools. Today developers are under huge pressure to sell as many apartments as they can off the plan because of the credit crunch tightening bank finance.
"They’re not able to borrow as much as previously, so a good display suite is vital to enable them to sell as soon as possible," Gadiel says. "You’re seeing a lot more developers at the moment using them and their look, feel and quality are now much more important than ever."
At Mirvac’s new Springdale development in Killara, the display apartment cost between $80,000 and $100,000 to be fully furnished and decorated. Marketing director James Bell says the outlay, with apartments still for sale priced from $1,025,000 for two bedrooms and from $1.03 million for three, is absolutely worthwhile.
"If you’ve got good design, good finishes and a good location, it only makes your product even more attractive," he says.
At Beumont, where the three-bedroom-plus-study, three-bathroom penthouse is for sale at $2.5 million, spending about $80,000 on the display styled by Coco Republic was similarly worthwhile. By the same token, the fit-out of the three-bedroom-plus-study, two-bathroom Capella penthouse at $2.2 million was worth slightly less.
"You can fill a place up with utilitarian furniture but really you want people to feel they can see themselves in the space," Finlayson says.
"And you furnish according to the taste of your target demographic."
How to read a display suite
It’s all very well to fall in love with the look of an apartment display suite but don’t forget: love can be blind. Craig Yelland and Ian Briggs of Plus Architecture advise:
- Take a tape measure.
- Understand how an apartment is measured - mostly from mid-wall to the middle of the party wall.
- Confirm the ceiling heights in the display suite are the same as in the end product.
- Check the size of the beds. Double beds make rooms look bigger because they are smaller but many people assume they’re queens.
- Work out whether your fridge will fit in the fridge well.
- Don’t assume what you see is what you’ll get. What are the standard finishes and optional extras? Ask lots of questions to find out exactly what you’re buying.
- Check what you can’t see. Are the walls strong enough to hold a plasma television? Test the firmness of the vanity basin.
- Ask if there are enough power points in every room. In bathrooms and kitchens particularly, adding extras can end up costing thousands.
- Make sure the lift is big enough to fit your couch and fridge.
- Don’t forget to check other items such as the communal gym and pool, strata fees, location and local amenities.
Paul Castran.
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Wizard home loans have produced a list of 12 mortgage myths that are of concern to Australian home buyers, here are the first six:
Myth 1
A bad credit history doesn’t matter if you eventually pay it off
Your credit history records any missed or defaulted payments on things such as credit cards, interest free contracts, and mobile phone plans. A patchy credit history can haunt you – even if it is very old or just a one off small amount. There are two major credit reporting agencies that record all of these debts and lenders consult these agencies before they complete your loan application.
Myth 2
Assets are the same as income
No matter the strength of your assets, what really makes the difference is your capacity to repay the loan through a regular income. When it comes down to servicing, a lender will only lend as much as people can afford to repay. The amount of income earning capacity you have will ultimately determine how much you are able to borrow.
Myth 3
It’s the credit card balance, not the limit that counts
When it comes to credit cards it’s not all about the balance on your card, or cards, it’s the total available credit that counts. Having a large range of credit does not necessarily equate to a good credit history.
Myth 4
You need a 20 per cent deposit to get started
Not true. These days, you can borrow up to 97 to 100 per cent of the property value, which is proving to be an attractive option for many cashed up first home buyers who often wonder whether they’ll ever get their feet onto the property ladder. What’s important to remember is a lower deposit may mean a higher interest rate and fees.
Myth 5
Cheapest is the best
A ‘cheap as chips’ interest rate may be a good incentive to sign the dotted line, but beware – in many cases these loans may have higher fees and less flexibility, costing you more money over the life of your loan. A standard variable loan at a slightly higher rate with flexible features, such as the ability to make additional and lump sum repayments, can save you more money in the long run.
Myth 6
A fixed rate is always safer than a variable rate
Every home loan is different – so too are your home loan needs. What’s important to remember is that fixed rates are calculated by the capital markets over the period you sign-on for, whether that be for three, five, or seven years. If variable interest rates go down during this fixed period, you could end up paying a higher interest rate than compared to the standard variable rate.
Get the full 12 mortgage myths here:
http://www.realestate.com.au/doc/Resources/Buy/fhbg/mortgage-myths.htm
Paul Castran
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More than 40,000 unlucky people have been caught out in a fixed mortgage rate trap, having taken out their loan at the highest fixed interest rates in a decade, denied any saving from the recent cuts and confronting costly break fees if they decide to refinance.
Figures from the Bureau of Statistics show 43,632 borrowers signed on to new fixed home loans between March and September, when lending rates were at a decade high. The official cash rate has since fallen by a full 3 percentage points.
According to the research group Infochoice, someone who took out a fixed loan of $500,000 in March would now be paying $800 more a month than if they had opted for a variable rate.
But borrowers looking to refinance face a difficult choice: continue to pay a higher interest rate, or incur thousands of dollars in penalty fees for breaking their fixed contract.
“It’s not just all about the rate,” the head of Infochoice, Shaun Cornelius, said. “There are all sorts of conditions attached to the exit fees. They can be quite expensive.”
While fees vary, borrowers who cancel their loan within the fixed period are typically forced to compensate their lender for the “economic cost” of breaking their contract. This is the difference between the interest the borrower would have paid the lender and the prevailing interest rate. As interest rates fall, this gap is becoming ever wider, meaning it may already be too late for fixed borrowers to save by refinancing.
On top of the economic cost fee, all four major banks also charge an upfront fee, ranging between $300 from ANZ and $900 from NAB, for breaking a fixed loan. Administrative and establishment fees are also charged by the new lender.
Read the full article from Jessica Irvine and Ehssan Veiszadeh of the Sydney Morning Herald here:
http://www.domain.com.au/Public/Article.aspx?id=1228257193360&index=NationalIndex&headline=Fixed-rate%20trap%20snares%2043,000%20home%20owners
Paul Castran
