I’m offshore and I need help!

October 21, 2010

Joshua and Adrienne, New York, USA I had been thinking about purchasing a property for a while but living away from New Zealand made this a daunting task.  Also not being familiar with local conditions did not help.  Having had past experience in looking for an investment property, I also realised how time consuming searching…

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The Importance of Keeping Your Finance Current

October 18, 2010

You’ve got your finance pre-approved – but that’s not a complete certainty the bank will lend you the money. The bank still needs to give you an unconditional offer once you have a specific property you wish to purchase. The last thing you want is finance to become a point of stress or uncertainty when…

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Renovating rental properties can be quite a dilemma.

October 18, 2010

We all have a tendency to want to renovate the way we like things to be.    The Floorboards A good example of this is bare floorboards.  You and I may think that timber floors look amazing and are a great design feature.  Tenants look at them as being cold and drafty in winter, and…

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Property Scams and How to Avoid Them

October 18, 2010

The Nature of Property Scams The nature of a really great property scam is that there is usually a lot of truth in the story, but never quite enough to make it work. Salespeople carefully guide us to focus on the hidden secrets, the nuggets of truth, the compelling factors, and subtly convince us to…

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LIM – Land Information Memorandum

October 18, 2010

A LIM is a Land Information Memorandum. A LIM is issued by the relevant city council and contains important council information relating to the property. A LIM is one important component of due diligence helping you make a decision on whether to purchase a property or not.  We recommend obtaining a LIM with every residential…

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How to Attract and Keep Good Tenants

October 18, 2010

It’s natural to be concerned about the tenancy of your property – after all – if it sits vacant then that’s lost revenue – and then naturally you worry about meeting mortgage payments. But rest assured – buying a good property in an ‘in demand’ area goes most of the way towards making sure you…

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Top 9 Tips for Successful Property Investment

October 18, 2010

Property investment is not rocket science. You don’t need a 3 day seminar of theory. When you learn to ski you don’t sit in a class room for 3 days. You get on some skis, get some lessons so you learn quicker, and then head down a hill. Of course you don’t ski out of bounds…

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How to find a great Buyers’ Agent

October 18, 2010

What do Buyers Agents do? A buyer’s agent, or buyer’s advocate, is an agent who you engage to assist you to acquire property. They usually identify suitable properties and negotiate on your behalf. Buyers’ agents are engaged by and act for the buyer. They do not generally (and in our opinion should never) act for…

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Overview of Property Transaction Process in NZ

October 18, 2010

The process of buying a property in New Zealand is not complicated, but it is involved. There are a number of steps and it’s important to know what happens and when so you can be confident and get it right. the purpose of this article is to give you an overview of the steps of…

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Negative Gearing Explained

October 18, 2010

In Short It goes like this – say your rental income off a property for a year was $40k, and the expenses such as interest and rates and repairs and maintenance were $60k. That would mean there would be a $20k loss on the property. We’ll also assume you earn $150k before tax each year.…

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