Hi Jacque,
The market is great in Hornsby with the exception of high rise units. Most properties, if priced right (and are not the dogs!) are selling easily within 6 weeks, often much sooner. We flattened out about Aug 05 and have been pretty steady since then. Even the interest rates have affected us much. I sold 9 in Nov, 5 in Dec and so far…[Read more]

Hi Devo76,
Don’t forget monthly management fees (somewhere between 5% and 10% depending on the agency), water rates (the tenant only pays the usage) and ongoing maintenance and repairs!

I know, it’s a lot to think about!
Linda

Hi Tammy,
It’s OK, no offence was taken. I know us agents don’t have a brilliant reputation (in a lot of cases with good reason). I wanted to explain as a lot of people just assume it’s the agent, when it actual fact, it’s the vendor.

It puts us in a horrible position and I hate it when it happens, but ultimately, we work for the vendor and…[Read more]

Hi Peachy,
Tammy (above) is correct in what she says. I am a real estate agent in Sydney. I never ask for a ‘good faith’ deposit as it is not legally binding in any way. The only way a property can be ‘taken off the market’ is when the purchasers are willing to exchange contracts with a .25% deposit and this will buy them the right to have the…[Read more]

Hi Red Nails,
I use Peter Bentham, he is located in Sydney and will travel anywhere to meet with you face to face. He is very experienced and certainly knows the industry inside out. His number is 0414 347-009. I have referred him to a number of people and I’ve never heard a bad comment come back.

Good luck.
Linda

Hi Lesley,
I’m a real estate agent in Hornsby in Sydney and whenever I am trying to sell a house that has an asbestos roof, it’s always a nightmare. If you simply paint it, it will still come up in a building inspection and is likely to scare off potential buyers.

That said, asbestos is not dangerous unless it is deteriorating, dusty, broken…[Read more]

Hi danhob,
Good advice from LA Aussie, but also check with council whether they will approve the house for a dual occupancy. Certain fire related restrictions may have to apply in relation to the dividing wall and even though the area is zoned for units, they may not deem the house suitable for dual occupancy from a building code point of view.
Linda

Hi Daniko,
I specialise in selling properties in the Hornsby region, and am not familiar with other parts of Sydney, so I couldn’t tell you why there are a lot of properties on the market in Campsie, other than the fact that 1. lots of people are looking to get out of the area for some reason or 2. there aren’t a lot of people that want to move…[Read more]

Hi Bridgebuff,
Thanks [cap]!

On the ‘get out clause’, in NSW (and this might be different in other states), you don’t have to actually add a special clause to the contract. The contract states on page 3 that you can rescind the contract at anytime in the 5 working days after exchanging contracts ‘for any reason’ and any deposit paid minus .25%…[Read more]

Hi Ems,
Don’t do it!!!!

I am a real estate agent in Sydney and in my experience of selling over the last 6 years, the closer a property is to a busy road, the harder it is to sell and the cheaper people want to buy it for. The same applies to renting it out. I have 5 investment properties in Sydney and a rule of thumb that I follow is “IWould I…[Read more]

Hi Peach,
I am in NSW and am a real estate agent, so here’s what usually happens!

1. Get your pre-approval before you do anything, you need to know what the maximum is you can spend. (Don’t offer over this figure). Find a conveyancer/solicitor that you are comfortable with. Trying to find someone later on when you are in a hurry when you want…[Read more]

Hi AO,
My experience as a real estate agent in Sydney is that 99% of people when purchasing a unit or townhouse will rely soley on the strata report to determine if there are any problems. THIS IS A BAD MOVE! I exchanged contracts on a unit with NO KNOWN problems (therefore the strata search report would have showed nothing!), but my purchasers…[Read more]

Hi Daniko,
I live in Sydney and have 5 investment properties as well as my own residence where I live. I am also a real estate agent!

I live approx. 25km to the north of Sydney near Hornsby and you are mostly right in what you say, you can’t spend $500k on a normal property and expect much more rent that around $400/week, but I have found a…[Read more]