Your Guide To NZ Property
Post-election house price worries seem to have subsided, ASB’s latest housing confidence survey shows.
The bank’s research showed, in the three months ended May this year, a net 32 per cent of respondents thought house prices would rise over the next year.
If you’ve recently been the unfortunate victim of a house break-in, you may be unsure of what you could do next in terms of making your more property safe and secure. Once the police and forensic scientists have been and looked over your home for fingerprints or other forensic procedures such as meth testing, you will be eager to get your home back to the way it was before this incident. We will therefore provide you with a guide of what you should do next to get your home safe and secure once again.
Improve Standard of Locks
Higher quality locks will be harder to snap by thieves which means this will slow down the entry to your property. These are called anti snap locks and are readily available from most DIY stores or locksmiths. If they have been installed, they are usually obvious to a thief and they therefore act as a good deterrent.
Install Security Lighting
Security lighting is a great way of protecting your property as it keeps would be burglars guessing. There are two main forms of security lighting to consider. Then first is external lighting and the second is internal lighting.
Exterior lighting, whether its PIR or dusk till dawn, will keep your dark areas luminated at nightfall. Although most burglaries take place during the day, this extra protection at night will act as a great deterrent, as no burglar likes to operate in well-lit conditions. To explain in more detail, PIR lighting is triggered by movement or the heat of a person or an animal. Dusk till dawn lighting comes on at dusk and remains on until dawn.
Internal lighting works by a timer. You can connect any free standing internal light to a timer. The times can be set to come on at a random time of the day or night, as if you have entered that room. The illumination of these lights can be seen from the outside, giving the illusion that the house is occupied, even when it is not. These timers are inexpensive to purchase but very effective in what they do.
Consider Security Alarms
Adding an alarm to your property is important as a visual deterrent and as an actual deterrent. If for example, a burglar sees that you have an alarm fitted, they may think twice about trying to enter your property. If, however, they are still intent on gaining access to your home, the alarm will be triggered. The noise that an alarm creates will shorten the time that the burglars are in your property unnoticed and the alarm will alert neighbours and passer byers that something is not quite right. You can contact local security services providers to find out more information about the latest technology when it comes to security alarms and which alarm may be the best for you and your property.
CCTV
Closed circuit television is a great way of catching criminals in the act. As with alarms, CCTV also acts as a great deterrent to deter any burglars from your property. Most CCTV units can hold at least one week’s worth of recording, but there is the potential to increase this, it all depends on which CCTV option you go for. Modern CCTV can be purchased so that the footage is in HD Quality and you can even download an app on to your smartphone which enables you to watch live footage of your property.
Upgrade Windows/Doors
Another option to consider is to upgrade your windows and doors to combat criminal activity within your property. Your windows can have an option known as laminated glass. This would mean your windows have a Perspex insert which is very hard to penetrate. This again slows down any potential burglar. Windows can also be fitted with additional locks that will stop the windows from being able to be physically opened.
Upgrade your doors so that they are harder to get in to. For example, you could look into getting composite, steel or wooden doors. These are stronger and therefore harder to be forced. If you have any French doors then it is worth purchasing a lock which prevents the handles from opening. If you have any patio doors, once again you could consider having the glass laminated and adding additional locks to the top and bottom of the doors.
When Your Home is Empty
When your home is empty i.e. you are away on holiday it’s worth asking a friend, family member or neighbour to keep an eye out on your property for you. Ask them to take any post that has been delivered through your door away from the door so that it is not obvious to a burglar that no one is home as the post has not been picked up. Additionally, keep to your normal routines, so for example if you have a gardener or exterior window cleaners which come to your property every two weeks, make sure that they still continue to carry out the work they would have done if you were home, as you don’t want to change any routines or habits, as again these can be picked up by potential burglars.
Additional Points
Other aspects that you could consider are:
– Leaving a dog bowl at your front door, regardless of whether you have a dog as this could be a potential deterrent.
– Leave your car parked on the driveway so that there is the illusion that someone is home.
If you take as much of this advice into account as possible, you will start to see and feel the benefit. Your home will feel safer and it will be more secure, which hopefully will work as the best deterrent to scare off any future burglars.
In life we all face many challenges and there is nothing more trying than having to sort out your affairs upon your death. We all have an ideal, that any money that you have amassed over the years with be left to those that you care the most about. However, all too often we have not planned our futures in time and many aspects of your estate may not have been dealt with, which therefore makes it difficult for those who are left behind. Below we will outline why you should have an estate plan in place and what it is involved in estate planning.
Your Estate Size
The size of your estate can affect the way in which your estate is legally handled. For example, larger estates are liable for more taxes and charges and are often more complicated in nature compared to smaller estates. If you have property, it is worth contacting some estate agents to value your property and a property manager from a property management agency to then take over with the sale side of things. Once you are happy with the valuations that you have received for your property, you can now look at getting a home property management company to manage your affairs for you. It is also worth bearing in mind that it is good practice to get a builder’s report for any property or properties that you have as this will give the people that are inheriting your property the peace of mind that they will not have any headache or costs resting on them.
Taxes
Depending on the size of your estate, there is usually a tax liability to pay. Around the world, there are different rules and regulations that are in place related to inheriting money. Contacting an estate lawyer is the best way to obtain advice and information on how to best deal with your affairs. Even if you have a relatively straightforward case of one property and material effects, there still needs to be a solid, robust plan in place so that any beneficiaries have a stress-free situation when you pass away. It is hard enough dealing with a loss and grief without having to deal with messy affairs related to an estate.
Children / Future Children
Your children are often the first in line when it comes to inheritance. Therefore, if you already have children it is worth having a conversation about their inheritance with them, so that everyone is aware of your decisions and wishes. If you have no children at present but you may do so at some point, you need to make sure that they are included in your estate plan and in your will.
If your children are under the age of eighteen, having an estate plan would be highly recommended. The reason for this is because any money is often held in trust until a child turns eighteen and some cases, the plan can initiate regular payments when your child hits specific milestones in age. For example, eighteen years of age, twenty-one years of age etc and the money is then fed to them in stages.
To Keep Affairs in Order
Having a complicated estate or leaving things unfinished will only give your beneficiaries trouble when it comes to inheriting. It is important that any outstanding debts are dealt with and a clear plan is put in place for any properties, assets and personal effects that you may have. It is not worth leaving leave things to chance because if you have a particular wish or request, this may not be fulfilled legally as it’s not been noted officiated. Try not to over complicate matters related to your inheritance.
To Protect Beneficiaries
Having an estate plan in place will help to protect your beneficiaries. There are two reasons why people use estate plans to protect beneficiaries:
– Adult Protection: this will help the beneficiary with their inheritance. It will help them avoid making bad decisions, creditor problems, outside interference and divorcing spouses.
– Protecting Minors: young people don’t have the maturity to deal with inheritance and therefore they are protected in this aspect.
To Avoid Probate
It is becoming more and more popular that people are now giving over their inheritance to their children and family before they actually pass away. This is to avoid any charges and taxes which arise through probate. This also eliminates solicitors being involved and having to work out who inherits what. Even in a case where an estate has not been contested, it can take over twelve months for an estate to be settled and there is no guarantee that it will settle in the way that you would have wished.
Privacy Concerns
An estate plan is imperative if you wish to minimise any concerns related to privacy that you may have. When somebody’s estate is in probate, information can be accessed by the public. Therefore, this can affect your privacy. It is also worth noting that other relatives and creditors can access these records and are able to make challenges to your estate, via the courts. If however, your estate plan is robust, then these challenges and claims will be thrown out of court.
Charity
If you wanted to make a charitable donation with your estate, having an estate plan would be the best way to go about this as giving an estate to charity is not something that would happen under normal circumstances. This is unless it has been specified in your estate plan.
It is clear that there are many reasons for having an estate plan. Although we may think that this issue may never affect us, it affects everyone at some point their their lives. An estate plan is a relatively simple thing to organise and the benefits of it are far reaching.
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