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The stately, two-storey Carlile House on Richmond Rd is in a perilous state after 15 years of fruitless negotiations between council and a Tongan church which has owned it for the past 40 years or so.
Category: Of Interest
Capital office buildings on the block
The city property specialist is one of New Zealand’s largest listed property companies and is selling Pastoral House at 25 The Terrace and Mayfair House at 44-52 The Terrace.
Rebuild workers village for sale
Workotel was established in Upper Riccarton in 2013 as a joint venture between Singaporean company Tee International and Christchurch construction and development company Artmatic Holdings.
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Rental squeeze tightens as Auckland CBD prices rise 10%
Kiri Barfoot, a director of Barfoot and Thompson which manages around 16,500 rented Auckland properties, said that last year, rents only rose 3.2 per cent across all categories.
But in this year’s first quarter alone, CBD rents for properties which are mainly apartments jumped 9.69 per cent and rents for two-bedroom places across the entire city are up 4.62 per cent.
Where will Wellington grow?
The plan involves a series of “tough” trade-offs that some councillors fear could spark a “not-in-my-backyard” backlash similar to previous debates around urban intensification.
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Aircraft hangar and officers’ house go on sale at Hobsonville Point
The development aims to transform an abandoned Royal NZ Air Force base in the city’s northwest into a modern housing estate, blending historic aircraft hangars and military buildings with trendy restaurants and shops.
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Titirangi kauri can be felled: court
The Environment Court has discharged a temporary order protecting a Titirangi kauri tree and refused to grant a permanent order, meaning it can be felled because it is not protected by any planning provisions.
Character homes may have to go
Wellington City Council has developed a plan with four scenarios to accommodate an extra 80,000 people.
Two of the scenarios envisage changing the rules around 5000 houses in the city’s “character” suburbs, most of which were constructed before the 1930s.
Perfect House, Wrong Location – How To Make The Most Of Your New Home
It’s the perfect house. It has everything inside you could possibly want, and you are absolutely in love. You know without a shadow of a doubt that this is the one, but there’s just one tiny problem that you can’t shake. You can’t change it, you can’t renovate it, and if you buy this house, you’ll be stuck with it forever. It’s plain and simply, just the wrong location.
For some people, the location of their new house is at the very top of their search lists. They won’t even look outside a certain radius for multiple reasons. Some of us have kids of school age that we don’t want to pull out and move them to a new school. Others refuse to move far from work or family. But there are those who may look to sacrifice the location of their dreams, for the house of their dreams.
For those of you who have found the perfect house, but in the wrong location, there’s plenty of ways to make the most of your new home. Let’s go through some of our favourites.
Up your resale value
If your location’s aesthetic, safety level and/or undesirable features stay relatively the same for decades to come, you might have a bit of a hard time selling it when it comes to that. To make sure that you have got a home that will sell eventually, make sure you complete a meth residue drug test before you even move in. If anyone asks when you go to sell, you can ensure that the home was cleared from meth residue before you moved in, which is a good selling point especially in a bad neighbourhood.
If there aren’t a lot of new houses in your neighbourhood, this is your perfect chance to make your home shine. That way when it comes time to sell, your house will stand out from all the rest by a mile. The exterior will be just as important, if not more important in this circumstance, than the interior. Making a good impression in a bad neighbourhood may help sway a buyer towards considering your home. Think about potential buyers driving through the neighbourhood, perhaps discouraged by the sight of it, and then driving up to your house for sale that’s gleaming with fresh paint and sparkles inside with new appliances. This is vital for selling your home quickly.
For the external, make sure the house is freshly painted before you think about selling, and the landscaping is clean, bright and tidy. Hire a landscape designer to help you out if you’re needing a quick revamp to your landscaping. For the interior, brand new appliances are always a huge selling point. Make sure any obvious fixes are fixed, like a broken hinge, a cupboard door that’s hanging off, or cracks in the wall. These seemingly small things that you have lived with for years can be an instant bad impression on a buyer. Use some of these ideas for increasing resale value as well.
Keep your security up to date
If the neighbourhood is really bad, you might consider keeping certain valuables, documents, jewelry, etc. out of the house. Think about a container rental or other type of safe place away from your home to keep the most important things. Make sure to install a home security system upon moving in. You might consider CCTV installation at the same time to amp up the safety.
Here are some additional tips to burglar-proof your home.
Look to the future
The truth is, nothing stays the same, and everything changes whether we want it to or not. Even if you had found your perfect house in your perfect neighbourhood, there’s no guarantee that in 10 years it’s exactly the location you wished for. Some areas of town that started out rough can turn into gems with a bit of city planning and community involvement. You might even consider getting involved in your local city council to see what kind of difference you can make for the future of your neighborhood!
Stay optimistic
It can feel a bit painful to sacrifice your ideal location for the perfect house, but it’s important that you stay optimistic. Perhaps you had to take your child out of their school and away from their friends. To be honest though, children are extremely adaptable and will surely make new friends and barely be fazed by the move within a year or two. That extra 30 or 40 minutes for your commute to work might be frustrating and annoying, but try to not think of it as that. Use that extra time for listening to your favourite music or podcast (try one of these amazing podcasts to get you started). You might even be able to negotiate different work hours or flexible working with your boss, considering your changed circumstances.
Be positive about the little things, like how friendly the movers were when you moved in, and how you’ll be able to explore a brand new part of town now. There are hidden gems of restaurants, coffee shops and retail shops all over a city, and you might have stumbled upon a heap of amazing places that you just haven’t discovered yet. Get curious and don’t be afraid to explore.
Remember that a bad location isn’t always a bad location for every single person out there. Circumstances change all the time, and while the location can be terrible right now, for you specifically, that doesn’t mean that it’ll always be that way, or that no one will ever buy your home when you sell it. Use these tips to keep your home fresh and updated, be positive about the future, and you’ll start to remember why you purchased this home in the first place – because you fell in love with the house!
How To Score A Great Rental With A Dog
The rental housing market can be extremely competitive and it can be made even harder if you have pet in tow. As we now live in a world where renting is on the increase, rental managers and landlords can now before fussier than ever and state that they do not want to rent the property to a tenant who has pets such as a dog.
However, a good rental property management team can help you to look to find a great rental, even if you have a dog. We will now also provide you with some extra tips on how to get ahead of the competition when it comes to properties for rent and get the perfect place to suit you and your beloved dog.
A Well-Behaved Dog
It probably goes without saying that one of the best ways of getting yourself a great rental if you have a pet dog is by making sure that your dog is well-behaved. Your dog needs to be housetrained, clean, have good manners and be friendly. When you go to view a rental property, it is worth taking your dog along with you so that he can take a look around the property and meet the landlord and show the landlord what a fantastic, well-behaved pet he is. Take time to show the potential landlord how your dog can sit nicely when you want to pet him. Also highlight how your dog is under good control is does not jump around or bark excessively. Finally, by introducing your dog to the landlord you can show the landlord that your dog is well groomed and clean. Ultimately, your dog will be able to show the landlord just how good he is himself.
As well as being able to demonstrate how well behaved your dog is, it is also worth with getting your dog certified as the shows that your dog is safe and friendly and should therefore be welcome anywhere. This highlights that you are also committed to having a pet that is safe. At the end of the day, any landlord will want a dog which does not show signs of aggression and the certificate will demonstrate this is for you, as well as reveal that your dog is well-trained.
Create a Professional Document
If you can create a document, which gives a nice outline as to why you would be great tenant, not only does it stand out amongst other applications, it also shows the landlord that you are serious about their property. Your document could include information such as:
- Past rental and payment history information – outline that you have always paid on time in the past and also that you have not missed any payments in the past.
- Provide references above you and your dog – you can ask previous landlords, your dog trainer or your vet to vouch that your dog is well trained, well behaved and will not destroy a property. Provide references for yourself from friends or work colleagues and outline your positive characteristics as a tenant.
- Credit and work history – Point out the fact that you have a stable job. Highlight how long you have been in your job and that you plan to remain in your job for the foreseeable.
- Your dog – when it comes to your dog, provide details of any training classes that you have undertaken with your dog and also outline any positive abilities that your dog has. For example, mention that your dog is obedient and well housetrained. Also remember to outline how well mannered and friendly your pet dog is.
Securing the Rental
With a dog or pets in general, many landlords will fear the damage that their property may encounter and for this reason, they may charge you an additional deposit for having a pet. You need to make sure that you take this into account when it comes to your budget and if necessary, offer a higher deposit for having a pet, if that’s what it takes to secure the rental.At the end of the day you know that your pet will not do any damage potential but a potential landlord does not know you or your pet. This is the reason why you should propose the idea of providing a higher deposit for your pet as this will give your landlord the confidence that you know that your pet will not damage his property. You need to also make sure that you ask your landlord if the deposit for your pet is refundable should you decide to leave the property. This is of course as long as the property is left in a good condition and the only damage is wear or tear related.
Before you move into a property, conduct your own rental inspection by making sure that you look around the property very carefully and note down any damage that you can see in the property. This way you can be sure that any damage does not get blamed on you when you are your pet move out.
When it comes to the terms of your lease, you need to make sure that any terms in your tenancy agreement related to your pet are clear. For example, will the property require carpet steam cleaning once you leave if you have a pet? If you know what expected from the offset, there will be no issues between you and the landlord at the end of your lease. This may sound obvious, but you also need to make sure that your lease explicitly states that pets are actually allowed.
By taking into account all of these tips; you will demonstrate that you are an ideal renter,even if you have a pet. These tips will help you to look committed about getting a rental property and you will be sure to stand out amongst other applicants when it comes to securing a great rental.