Techniques For Getting Beach Real Estate

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Strata Searches

As with any major investment decision in life, it is crucial to do your research. Before purchasing a house, buyers may be aware of organising a building inspection and pest inspection. These are to ensure the integrity of the proposed purchase and identify any current or potential shortcomings or liabilities that may soon be present.

In Strata Titled properties, one of the tasks in completing proper research and due diligence would require you to arrange an inspection of the records and accounts of the Owners Corporation by a suitably qualified strata searcher. This is called a Strata Search and is covered under Section 108 of the NSW Strata Schemes Management Act 1996.

The Strata Search report should include:
The financial status of the scheme
Pending building works
Special levies
Past works history
All expenses for the past two years
10-year budget analysis
General information on:
Insurances
By-laws
Any disputes
Any other areas under investigation

What are the current balances in the Administrative and Sinking Fund account?
Are there any current or proposed litigation matters involving the Owners Corporation?
Are there any limitations or restrictions on the use of common property which may affect me?
Are there any outstanding public liability claims involving the Owners Corporation?
Are animals permitted? and if so, are there any restrictions or conditions?
Have any alterations to the unit been approved by the Owners Corporation?

These can be arranged by you or your conveyancer and are really a must do item for purchases of such value. A physical inspection of the property when you are shopping around will give you a good indication of some things, but without a proper executed Strata Search you would be purchasing without all the facts at hand.

Furthermore, when purchasing property and you can see a lot of work required to be done to the building and common property, you are able to negotiate a lot more aggressively on the eventual sale price. It leaves the buyer in a position of strength and enables a cheaper purchase price, or at least safety in the knowledge that the purchase made is at a fair price.

After you have gained entry into a building you then have the ability to elect yourself on the committee and have a voice in the day to day and also strategic management of the building. This can only improve your awareness and increase the value over time.

About Elevate Property Group

The team at Elevate focus on ethics, excellent customer service and ultimately, better relationships with clients - whether they be vendors, buyers, landlords, tenants or a myriad of other people involved in a property transaction.

Why You Should Have Mortgage Insurance (An Abridged Version)

Mortgage insurance ensures that in the event of the death or the permanent incapacity [commonly known as total and permanent disability (TPD) in the policy] of the loan taker, the outstanding Singapore home loan can still be paid off with the assured sum. For Housing Development Board (HDB) flats, it is mandatory to have a mortgage insurance if you are making your monthly loan installment with your Central Provident Fund (CPF) balances. You can either take the Home Protection Scheme (HPS) which is administered by CPF or eligible type of insurance policies by private insurers.

These type of policies are:

    Whole Life
    Term Life
    Endowments
    Life Riders (must be attached to a basic policy)
    Mortgage Reducing Term Assurance (MRTA) / Decreasing Term Rider

In Singapore, mortgage insurance is also commonly known as a Mortgage Reduced Term Assurance (MRTA). This is because the coverage / assured sum falls as the housing loan gets paid off.

For private properties, you can only use a private mortgage insurance and it is optional to have one. Consequently, some owners may choose not to have it. However, the below outlines some reasons for buying one.

Property sales

If you believe literally that your house is a goldmine, and that you or your family can always sell it to settle the outstanding mortgage, think again.

Properties are non-liquid assets. The sales process usually involves a lengthy period of time. It takes time to find a willing buyer and after that there are paperwork required to see the sales through.

Finally, you have to wait a while to receive the sales proceeds. Several months will have passed by then. Unless there are savings to fall back on, you or your family may not be able to meet the monthly mortgage repayment.

And this is only the best scenario.

It could be that the property market is in a slump, and your house had fallen into negative equity (ie. market price is below the outstanding loan amount). Selling your house would not only be unable to settle the mortgage but you (or your loved ones) would also be left homeless.

Therefore, having a MRTA safeguards against these eventualities from happening.

Lower premium

Life and term insurance come with mortgage protection. However, these policies command a higher premium compared to a MRTA. The premium for the latter is lower because the coverage falls in line with the mortgage.

In addition, for life insurance you have to pay the premium throughout the lives of the policies; whereas for a MRTA usually no premium payments are required towards the last few years of the mortgage tenure. For regular premium, typically you only need to pay premium for 75% to 90% of the mortgage tenure. For single premium, a portion of the premium can be refunded upon early termination.

Additional insurance coverage at lower cost

Riders or supplementary benefits can be added to a MRTA at lower cost, then if you are to buy a standalone policy. For example, you can buy a rider plan for major illnesses.

Portable coverage

MRTAs are usually portable (as are mortgage insurances that are bundled with life or term insurances). This means if you are to refinance or dispose of your current house and buy a new one, you do not have to buy a new MRTA policy. Do note that if you are to buy a new policy at an older age or when you have a medical condition, you will have to pay a higher premium, or not be able to buy one at all.

Flexible premium payment

For a MRTA, most insurers allow you to select from a range of payment schedule: monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly (regular premium). Or even a one-time lump sum payment (single premium). This flexibility may allow you to better manage your cash flow.

Different type of coverages

Single, joint or dual coverage is available. Joint is not offered by many insurers though.

If the loan is financed by two persons, with joint coverage when either or both parties die, the outstanding mortgage will be taken care of by the insurance and the remaining owner need not pay for the mortgage.

Real Estate - Great Investment for Rich Harvests When the Time Arrives

The financial meltdown has seriously affected the real estate market in the United States. The real estate prices are lower than the value of the mortgage, creating a peculiar situation for the government, the financial institutions and the property owners. Recently the federal authorities have pulled up some of the major mortgage providers by for unethical practices of liquidating mortgages without proper grounds. This has offered a ray of hope to those unfortunate mortgage holders whom these institutions cheated without a conscience.

Many property consultants argue that, notwithstanding the horrendous past few years, the real estate in the country is galloping back to its pristine levels. They will foretell a glorious tomorrow with the return of a premium realty market shortly. The realty sector is going all out to woo the clients, with developers displaying their new properties at various Realty exhibitions and seminars.

There are however some area specific properties that are showing strong signs of recovery and the realty agents are making merry at these locations. For other locations where creating demand needs hard work, the consultants are wooing the customers with promises of gifts and discounts galore. Interest rates are at a 40-year-old low and this is really the time for investment in Real estate. For many, spending on real estate under these circumstances is a great investment, which can reap rich harvests when the time arrives.

Notwithstanding the plight of the down trodden, all over the world, the rich are getting richer because they have the financial ability to finish a new deal and leave it to appreciate in value in due time, when the real estate goes up. Several sectors of the real estate have seen a high growth rate, leading to the development of a new category of housing companies, builders and the Nuevo rich buyers.

Some of the key factors that count for development of realty are:

1. Consider wealth flow prudently and make sure of the return on investment
2. Leveraging funds in the belief that the real estate prices will shoot up and give you unbelievable profit
3. The best way of dealing with realty equity is to buy into it. In other words search for a property owner who is willing to sell the property for an amount that is lower than its real value.
4. You choose your property for the profits you think you can make on it. This is no doubt a risky proposition, but an unavoidable one for you.
5. Try to keep your liability limited, as realty investment can become liable to unlimited liability.

Lease Abstraction at Six-Sigma Accuracy

Lease Abstraction is the process of reading and interpreting a lease document and then summarizing terms into a form called a lease abstract. These data-points can then be systemized into a central data repository called a property database or alternatively known as a lease administration database.

The database is only as good as the accuracy of the data input. My findings in the past are that most companies' databases have significant errors, and this places them 'at risk' of missing critical dates such as lease renewal options or termination options. The end result can be financial losses or the company's operations being placed in jeopardy. For example, a global technology company with operations in the UK missed a lease break option that ended up costing them in excess of 700,000 British Pounds ($1.1M).

Common Abstraction Methodologies

As most corporate real estate organizations utilize brokers, in-house lease administrators, or specialist service providers to perform lease abstraction, it is worthwhile to discuss the benefits and detriments of each of these methodologies:

Lease Abstraction performed by real estate brokers: Real estate is a 'local' business and many companies hire brokerage firms to help with site selection and property transactions. As brokers are familiar with local lease norms, a common methodology is to have the broker to also perform the lease abstraction following completion of the real estate transaction.

While brokers are typically familiar with local practices and lease forms, experience has shown that broker-prepared abstracts are not always complete. My experience is that broker-produced lease abstracts average 82 percent accuracy. It is also worth noting that brokers sometimes document the 'intended' outcome of the lease transaction and not the actual legal obligations shown in the lease.

Abstraction Performed by the Real Estate Organization's Clerical Staff: A normal process for most companies who have a lease administration group is to have lease administrators perform lease abstraction. This is a good methodology when lease administrators have paralegal training and have been trained and tested for abstraction accuracy. However, experience has shown that it takes a minimum of 4-weeks of full-time training for lease abstractionists to reach 96% accuracy--so there is a significant training curve. Also, most corporate real estate groups do not have a review process to detect abstraction errors and there is significant risk of missing critical dates and options.

Abstraction performed by Service Providers: Companies that use outsourced specialists to perform lease abstraction usually achieve the highest levels of accuracy at the lowest cost. Service provider's staff are often legal professionals who have been given additional training and testing to ensure abstraction accuracy--and they have the knowledge to question unusual lease provisions. They perform lease abstraction on a full-time basis and often operate in a production-style environment. The best service providers have multiple in-process measurements and produce very high levels of abstraction accuracy.

Three-steps to Six-sigma Abstraction

Most corporate real estate organizations typically choose between these three methodologies, but, I suggest portfolio accuracy can only be produced utilizing the combination of brokers, outsourcing, and in-house lease administration to perform lease abstraction. The proposed six-sigma process is:

Step 1: Have the broker to perform the lease abstract on a standard lease abstract template. As the broker's abstract will often provide the 'intended' terms, and not necessarily the legal obligations, having the broker to complete the abstract template serves as a quality check for problems in the lease form. Since the broker should perform the lease abstract as part of performing the property transaction, there should be no additional charge for this service.

Step 2: Outsource the primary lease abstraction work to specialist service providers. Specialists companies perform this type of work on a full-time basis, and are highly efficient. Outsourced service providers can most often perform the work with higher levels of accuracy at only a fraction of the cost of having the abstraction done by in-house lease administrators.

Step 3: Have lease administrators to take a statistical sampling of the quality of the lease abstracts being received from the service provider. The process of checking dates and monetary amounts does not take too much time and also serves as a quality check of the performance of the service provider.

In summary, experience has shown that by utilizing this simple three-step process, companies achieve a 20-30 percent cost savings via outsourcing and this considerably increases the accuracy of the lease administration database. Higher accuracy will also reduce the risk of overpayment of lease-related expenses and missed critical dates. Additionally, in-house lease administraton staff can be redeployed to other activities that promote portfolio savings such as data analytics, benchmarking, and desktop audits.

Keith Roberson is Managing Director of PropertyPERFORMAX, LLC., a leading provider of business process outsourcing services in support of the property industry. Mr. Roberson has managed the abstraction of over 30,000 leases for some of the world's largest companies. Having served in senior management positions in Fortune 100 companies, Mr. Roberson now serves as a speaker and coach to property organizations in support of optimizing property portfolios.

What Drives a Real Estate Brokerage Business?

Inventory: The lifeline of a property broking business is the inventory that an agent has to offer the real estate customer. When a person walks into a real-estate agent's office and he finds a good number of options of properties matching his needs, he goes back satisfied and happy that it is possible to get options for the location of his choice.

Personal Time: Without giving personal time into the business, it is impossible to expect that property business can grow. The fact remains that the property is still bought because of relationship building process that an agent carries out with his customers. Without giving it full time, it is impossible to succeed in the property broking business.

Trust: Building trust is very important to get more clients. It is very important that property consultants take their business in a way that they are looking to do it for multiple transactions in the year and not just for 1 or 2 transactions in the year.

Technology: The thrust on the use of technology to increase the number of buyers considering your property has never been so big. People use technology to manage their operations, scale it up and then also look at it to list properties and market them in various platforms and channels.

Brand: Building a real-estate brand is critical to one's business. Be it your fliers, collaterals, properties brochures - they should all communicate the same message towards building the brand which is very important. Being in the same place for long also helps build the brand.

Network: Network helps you build a base of people who are in touch with the end-user. It could be the builder, property buyer, seller or any other form of property customer. Also, property agents have a good network which can be used to build and sell inventory to customers. Ultimately, what matters is your ability to meet customers' requirement to complete the transaction.

Referral: A true worth of a real-estate agent is the number of referrals it can generate. If your past clients, business partners, vendors all are referring clients to you - you have really scaled up your business.

More than 60% of a person's net worth is in real estate. Property brokerage is one of the most unorganized industries in India. In spite of the fact that the government has regulated all other asset classes like insurance, mutual funds, stock broking, real-estate remains to be the only industry which seems to be unregulated and unlicensed. The only entry barrier to a realtor joining the real estate broking industry is a mobile phone and a visiting card. This makes property broking a place where there is quick money, single transaction brokers and various people willing to do transactions.

Real Estate Market Outlook in Dubai and the UAE

The outlook for the real estate market in the United Arab Emirates is much improved over that of the previous few years. Much of this is due to all segments of the real estate market in Dubai currently experiencing a recovery, to the extent that prime office rents are rising for the first time since 2008. The bursting of the real estate market bubble in 2008 dropped these prices in Dubai as much as 65%. In order to avoid a repeat performance, the government is taking steps to ensure that sustained growth is not over exuberant.

However, up to 70% of property purchases are made in cash, which makes it difficult for the government to regulate the market's growth. Experts remain cautiously optimistic, as they watch Dubai's market making a broad recovery; though regulations are not yet in place to avoid another recession, they do not foresee a repeat of 2008 in the near future. Abu Dhabi's real estate market, on the other hand, is estimated to be 18-24 months behind Dubai's market. Plans are now in the works that should see Abu Dhabi experience a recovery on the scale of Dubai's sometime in 2014.

The real estate market is expected to continue its broad recovery during the next few months and well into the rest of 2013, though growth approaching an economic boom is not expected for this year. Financial experts have identified seven major trends expected to determine the UAE's market for the rest of 2013:

    Dubai's market will display a return of investor confidence. The Abu Dhabi market, however, will not yet see a similar upturn. Factors driving Dubai's market gains include the UAE's economic growth, increased employment, safe haven status, improved pricing and rental performance, multiple new real estate project announcements over the past six months, and the UAE Central Bank setting new mortgage caps.

    Several factors will limit the rate of development. Off-plan sales, IPO bonds and bank loans barely support the current rate of growth. This means most developmental funding will come from private money and overseas cash investors.

    Much of the foreign funding in 2013 is expected to come from Chinese and South Korean investors.

    Increased supply in real estate will benefit buyers and tenants, but may offset the positive impact on the market.

    2013 will see a greater concern for health and safety, with occupants making demands and legislation ensuring the adoption of best practices. This favors a best-value vs. lowest-cost approach to investments.

    Likewise, 2013 will likely see a greater focus on initiatives for sustainable, 'green' buildings.

    UAE government will continue to influence the market's growth with initiatives such as mortgage caps, and stimulus packages.

These trends support the widely-held view that the UAE's real estate market will see a broad recovery in 2013; a good, stable growth, that, if not an economic boom, will not result in a dangerous market bubble like that of 2008.

The Advantages of Living in Apartments Near Campus

So, you're heading to college this fall. That's super! But have you given any thought to where you'll live? If living in a dorm isn't something you're looking forward to, have you considered living in one of the many amazing apartments near campus?

Living off campus has many terrific advantages. But first, take a look at the disadvantages of living in a dormitory.

Little Privacy

Finding a space where you can truly be alone in a dorm is as hard to do as figuring out who actually did create the Internet. Sharing bathrooms, bedrooms and sound space is challenging. In fact, you probably won't be able to ever have any quiet time because, with so many other students, there's always something going on.

Little Space

Dorm rooms are notoriously small. You won't even be able to bring everything to school from home that you'd most likely want to bring. And, if you're a true fashionista, you'll have to leave some of your clothes and shoes at home.

Low Grades

Dorm life can also be extremely social and your GPA may even be affected negatively. If you're not a disciplined person in your study time, you may make many unwise choices over when to study.

As stated previously, living in apartments near campus has many great advantages. Here are a few of them:

True Independence

One of the best reasons for living off campus is that you won't have as many rules to adhere to. It's true dorm rules are geared to each student's safety and protection but for the older or more independent student, they can be quite a hindrance. Living off campus affords you the ability to set your own rules.

Privacy

Does having your own bedroom, a huge closet and a nice little kitchenette sound appealing to you? Even if you choose to have roommates to help with living expenses, you can make sure you have your own space quite easily right in your very own home.

Sense of Responsibility

One day you may choose to buy your own house. Living in apartments near campus will enable you to establish a rental reputation and build a credit history. This, in turn, will increase your sense of responsibility. You'll be the one to make sure your rent is paid on time, your living space and clothes are clean and your groceries are purchased and cooked. These are excellent ways to become more responsible.

When making the choice to live in a dorm or in apartments near campus, you are the only one who can decide what's most important to you. A good way to decide is to make a pros and cons list. And, be sure to check first with your school's housing regulations. Some schools don't permit freshmen to live off campus.

Living in apartments near your school can be a true delight. It can definitely help make your college experience a memorable one.

Buying Smaller - The Cons

Recently we highlighted a few benefits of owning/living in a smaller arrangement. i.e. downsizing or reducing your "lebensraum."

What irks you about these living arrangements? Normally in apartments as opposed to houses you will find yourself living 'smaller.'

This week we look at some of the detriments associated that cramps your style...

Negative 1 - Less Control

You have got slack strata managers, poorly trained/careless real estate agents, fellow tenants and neighbours, executive committees, sub committees and stubborn owners and minorities holding a building back. This lack of control can really affect some people. Beware the fun police and beware the constant meddling into each others affairs!

Negative 2 - Space (lack thereof)

Yes, this one is pretty obvious. With most smaller properties, the lack of internal and external space (balconies, decks etc) can impact on 'your quiet enjoyment' of a property. Not having the ability to simply sun bake nude (if you so wish) or escape from the world and worry about peering neighbours, can cause concern for some people! Having your kids, partner or your flatmate seemingly everywhere in your abode can be mind numbing as well. To prepare, think about how much room you have now and assess what your dynamics will be in the future as well.

Negative 3 - You can't host (as many) family and friends

Some may argue this is a great thing! Having no room for sleepovers for friends and families can upset the in-laws, visiting children and cause a nuisance when you have dear friends wanting to visit and spend some time with you. I guess that is what a hotel is for...

Negative 4 - Organisational skills

As you have less cupboard space now and you may have downsized to an apartment, it is unlikely you now have a garage, shed, man cave or storage - your ability to hold onto past materials and memories will be reduced. You will have to find your "de-clutter self" and be more organised to put away toys, bikes, clothes etc to keep the living arrangement with some semblance of order. Can you handle throwing away all your 'precious'?

Negative 5 - A good party

Having a large property can mean having a large party and entertaining people on your deck, lawn or having a 6 burner sizzling away the magic from the BBQ. You may even have to downsize your friends list!

Of course we like to stay positive and these are just some elements that may sway a decision or two.
That's enough from us, what are some of your gripes in living smaller? As we age, don't we get smaller anyway?!

About Elevate Property Group

The team at Elevate focus on ethics, excellent customer service and ultimately, better relationships with clients - whether they be vendors, buyers, landlords, tenants or a myriad of other people involved in a property transaction.

How to Choose the Best Construction and Development Company

Construction and development companies are able to work on a range of projects no matter how big or small. Common projects include those within the retail, commercial, mining, educational, manufacturing, industrial and public sectors. There are so many construction companies out there that it can often be a hard task to know what company to choose. This article provides some top tips on how you can find and select the best construction and development company for your project.

The Construction Team

You will want to ask some specific questions about the company and their construction team. These questions can include things like:

- How long have they been established for?

- What areas do they service?

- How many members are in the construction team?

- What qualifications do they hold?

- Do they specialize in a certain area?

- Do they outsource any of the work?

- What members or associations are they members of?

- What communication methods are offered through the project construction process?

-Are they generally able to complete projects on time and within budget?

Previous Projects

It is definitely a good idea to ask about the previous projects that the company has completed. You will want to make sure that they have had experience in working on similar projects to the one that you want to have completed. Many companies will list some information on the projects that they have completed on their website. You can also browse their portfolio of work to check that the projects are completed in a similar style to what you would like. Some companies will also offer testimonials from past clients.

Budgeting

Once you have narrowed down your search to several construction and developments companies that you like the look of, you may want to receive quotes from several companies on the total approximate cost for completing for your project. The quotes will most likely be different from one another. Remember it is not always necessarily the best idea to go with the lowest quote, you need to take into consideration the whole package and what services each of the companies are offering.

Where to Find Construction and Development Companies

There are several ways you can locate a construction and development company in your area. One of the most convenient ways is to search for a company online. To find these companies you first need to open up your search engine and type in 'construction companies' along with the town or city that the project is being completed in. If you need a more specialist project to be completed then it may be worth searching further afield for the right team. All major companies will have a website which will list more detailed information on the services that they offer, along with their contact details. Follow the above advice to pick an established and reputable company to ensure that you will be receiving a high quality service, and that your project will be completed on time and within budget.