http://www.homeiown.com How buying, building or renting a house works in Australia Thu, 20 Nov 2008 03:16:51 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It seems to me that all we hear lately is recession, recession, recession. The economy is in downturn, the interest rates are being slashed, the unemployment is on the rise, jobs are at stake and people are panicking. This has to stop. Recession or not, life goes on and nobody should ... http://www.homeiown.com/get-through-recession-with-household-survival-tips/ You've heard me - tenants have rights too. There may not be enough rentals on the market and 50 people compete on every single house that is advertised, but that is not an excuse to let the landlords and the agents push you into the corner. Here is what you ... http://www.homeiown.com/tenants-get-control-of-your-rights/ As promised, more about buying a house at auction. If you've missed the first part, read it here. During the auction Here are the terms you must know to understand what's going on during the auction. Reserve price - the vendor has set a minimal price that he would be willing to sell ... http://www.homeiown.com/what-everyone-should-know-about-buying-a-house-at-auction-part-2/ Even now, when the real estate market is slowing down, at least 50% of the houses are sold at auctions. This means that any home buyer should know exactly what to do at auction, what are the rules, understand and speak the language of auctions. Before I knew all the ... http://www.homeiown.com/what-everyone-should-know-about-buying-house-auction-part-1/ If you've been reading Homeiown for a while, you know I don't usually do the news here - simply because it doesn't make any sense to re-publish stuff other websites are full of. This time, when they announced the third successive interest rate cut, I made an exception, because I ... http://www.homeiown.com/homebuyers-homeowner-they-cut-the-interest-rate-again-how-much-we-save/ This is part 3 (the last one) of Section 32 in plain English for simple folks. You can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here. Building permit All the building permits for the house issued 7 years back from the date of contract should be listed here. Also if the house ... http://www.homeiown.com/section-32-vendors-statement-what-is-it-part-three/ As promised - part 2. You can read part one of "Section 32 in plane English for simple folks" here. Road access Make sure this section says that there is a road access to your property. Outgoings, including Rates and Statutory Charges All the taxes, rates, body corporate fees and charges of that sort ... http://www.homeiown.com/section-32-vendors-statement-what-is-it-part-two/ Short version: One boring, awfully long, barely readable document that you get with the house contract. You can't sign the contract if you haven't received Section 32 for the house. Long version: The real name of this document is Section 32 Vendor's Statement - but we all call it just Section ... http://www.homeiown.com/section-32-vendors-statement-what-is-it-part-one/ In one word - YES. If you have missed on the new increased FHOG (First Home Owners Grant) because your contract was dated a couple of days before they announced the boosted FHOG, it sure is annoying. It may also seem perfectly natural to just change the date on the ... http://www.homeiown.com/is-changing-my-contract-to-get-fhog-increase-a-crime/ In my previous article for first home buyers I started this list of questions - and reasons to ask them, to make sure you are buying a great house for a good price. As I promised, this is the rest of them: Questions about the house: Ask: What is the size of ... http://www.homeiown.com/how-to-find-a-great-house-for-a-good-price-by-asking-the-right-questions-part-2/