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Dougmal Harcourts - The Property People

Friday 30 May 2014

Renovate or relocate?

Your house may be bursting at the seams, or it might be in urgent need of an upgrade. If you’re at the point where your home no longer meets your needs, you face one of life’s big decisions: to renovate or relocate?

Your current and future needs
Be clear about where you’re at now, and where you plan to be in five or ten years’ time. Map out the ‘must-haves’ for your dream home versus the ‘nice-to-haves’. You might urgently need a second bathroom for your teenage children, but bi-fold doors opening onto a raised terrace might be a lower priority.

The condition of your house
Without careful assessment of older homes, what starts as a simple renovation could end up being a very costly and time consuming project. If you’re considering a renovation, it’s important to look beyond the floor plan and ask an expert to assess all the hidden elements like the wiring and plumbing.

Overcapitalising
Put simply, overcapitalizing is where you spend more money on your home than you are likely to recoup if you had to sell it tomorrow. Say you bought your house for $300,000 and then spent $150,000 renovating it. If the median price for similar houses in your area is only $400,000 and you have to sell for whatever reason, you could be out of pocket $50,000. Overcapitalising isn’t so much of an issue of you plan to live in your renovated house long term.

Your neighbourhood
You should compare the benefits of remaining where you area versus moving to a new street or suburb. Often the decision comes down to whether it’s easier to buy a new house that meets most of your needs – if not all of them – or to remodel your own home to your exact specifications.

Do your research and ask the experts
Remember, it’s important to speak to the experts, get detailed costing information (always get more than one quote for the job) and get referrals or references from trusted sources.




Monday 26 May 2014

Dougmal Harcourts - The Property People Wins at Annual Awards

Our team at Dougmal Harcourts – The Property People attended the Harcourts New South Wales Annual Awards, held at the Westin Hotel, Martin Place, to celebrate individual and office real estate achievements for the April 2013 – March 2014 year. 

We competed against Harcourts offices throughout NSW; over 150 sales consultants, and 60 property management professionals to gain these highly sought-after awards.

ANNUAL AWARDS APRIL 2013 – MARCH 2014

Individual Awards

Property Manager Excellence Award   2nd place, Irene Ghassibe 

Property Management Business Development Award   2nd place, Sarena Rowley

Top Lister   Garth Makowski

Top Marketing Budget   Garth Makowski

Top Auction Lister   Garth Makowski

Top 10 Sales Consultants - Income to Office
9th place   Cathy Furness/Shaun Moss 
6th place   Garth Makowski 
5th place   Troy Holmes

Bronze Sales Achievement   Tom Spiljar

Silver Sales Achievement   Gary Ghassibe
                                           Cathy Furness/ Shaun Moss

Gold Sales Achievement   Garth Makowski
                                          Troy Holmes

Office Awards

Top Property Management Office Excellence Award   2nd place

Top Property Management Office Revenue Award   1st place

Property Management Business Development Award   2nd place

Top Auction Office   1st place

Top Office – Highest Gross Revenue per Consultant   2nd place

Top Office – Highest Gross Revenue   1st place

Following the annual awards, the quarterly awards for January – March 2014 were also celebrated. 


QUARTERLY AWARDS JANUARY – MARCH 2014 

Individual Awards 

Harcourts Values Awards 
People First            Gary Ghassibe 
Fun and Laughter   Renee Ashton 

Business Development Manager of the Quarter   1st place, Sarena Rowley 

Silver Sales Achievement   Tom Spiljar 

Gold Sales Achievement   Gary Ghassibe
                                         Troy Holmes 
                                         Cathy Furness/ Shaun Moss 
                                         Garth Makowski 

Ruby Pin Sales Achievement   Cathy Furness/ Shaun Moss 

Emerald Pin Sales Achievement   Troy Holmes 

Top Lister   Garth Makowski 

Top Sales Consultant – no of settled sales
Equal 1st, Troy Holmes / Equal 1st, Cathy Furness/ Shaun Moss 

Top Marketing Budget   Garth Makowski 

Top Ten Sales Consultants - Income to Office 
8th place   Gary Ghassibe 
7th place   Troy Holmes 
6th place   Cathy Furness/ Shaun Moss 
5th place   Garth Makowski 

Office Awards 

Property Management Office Excellence Award   2nd place 

Property Management Office Revenue Award   1st place 

Property Management Business Development Office Award   1st place 

Top Auction Office   1st place 

Top Office - Highest Gross Revenue per Sales Consultant   2nd place 

Top Office – highest gross revenue   1st place 

Well done to the whole Dougmal Harcourts team for receiving these awards. Both our Property Management and Sales Teams were a standout on the night! I am proud and am pleased to see our hard working team recognised as being some of the best in NSW for their superior real estate service.

Here's my wrap up...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXbvEQCa3mY&feature=youtu.be











Friday 16 May 2014

May Auction Results!

Last week we had our latest in-room auction event for May, held at the Rydges Hotel in Campbelltown. 

This auction campaign gained outstanding results, selling 4 of the 5 properties – an impressive 80% clearance rate. Here’s the summary:

BLAIR ATHOL, 38 Gabriel Circuit – SOLD BEFORE AUCTION
CAMPBELLTOWN, 15/31-35 Chamberlain Street - SOLD!
ROSEMEADOW, 4 Iras Place - SOLD!
RUSE, 42 Bellinger Road - SOLD!
LEUMEAH, 70 Junction Road – PASSED-IN

MAY AUCTION EVENT STATISTICS:
  • 4 of the 5 properties submitted to auction in May SOLD – an 80% clearance rate!
  • Of the properties SOLD, our team achieved on average $13,333 above our vendors’ reserve selling prices.
  • Of the properties SOLD, our team achieved an average of 16 buyer inspections per property during the intensive 21-day marketing campaign.
This auction event was another brilliant effort by our team. Great preparation from both our vendors and agents, quality buyer management, good old fashioned hard work, and the team efficiently working together were all key to the success of the event.

Thanks again to our Auctioneer, Paul Casarotto, and the wonderful support from Domain, The Macarthur Advertiser and Harcourts NSW.

OUR NEXT IN-ROOM AUCTION EVENT WILL BE HUGE! 12 PROPERTIES WILL BE SUBMITTED FOR AUCTION ON THE 11TH OF JUNE AT THE RYDGES HOTEL, CAMPBELLTOWN.

Friday 9 May 2014

Property Value Factors

When it comes to appraising a property’s value, the building and its attributes plus land value are the main factors. 

Below is a guide on contemporary attitudes towards property values of residential homes:

Bedrooms
The number of bedrooms is a highly important factor when estimating a property’s value. Over the last 50 years the number of bedrooms in a typical home has grown from two to four, but the average household size has decreased. 

Regardless of this shrinking household size, the desire for larger homes remains strong and the market tends to put higher value on four bedroom houses and three bedroom apartments. Extra bedrooms offer flexible lifestyle options such as a home office, hobby room or guest bedroom.

Bathrooms
The number of bathrooms and toilets is second only to the number of bedrooms when it comes to buyer interest. The market looks for a second bathroom and/or en suite bathroom. 

Storage
This is an underrated influence on value. Homes with plenty of storage spaces are more highly valued.

Multiple living areas/ theatre room
Buyers place a higher value on homes with multiple living areas or a home theatre room. A room with flat screen TV, surround sound and comfy chairs are always in demand.

Garaging
Secure car accommodation is still highly important to buyers. Most households have two cars, so double car garages or larger are sought after.

Kitchen
A well-designed, functional and spacious kitchen with quality draws and cupboards, bench tops and appliances is a priority for today’s home buyers.

Outdoor entertaining area
Whether it’s a simple social space with a modest outdoor setting, or a lavish BBQ and entertaining area, a functional and sheltered outside space that expands the living area of the home is high on buyers’ want list!

All of these factors come together to establish an estimated selling value of the home.

At Dougmal Harcourts – The Property People, when we appraise a property’s value, we take in to consideration all of these attributes, plus current and relevant nearby sales to establish an estimated selling price for your home. Speak to one of our Sales Consultants and ask for a ‘Market Appraisal’to receive all of this up-to-date information personalised to your property.


Friday 2 May 2014

The Temperature is Dropping...

The temperature is starting to drop and winter is just around the corner. Now is the perfect time to make some small changes around your home to retain warmth, cutting your heating bills over the next few months. 

1. Cut back
While plants near windows offer fantastic shade protection from the sun and heat in summer, they're not so great in winter. To maximise the sun and heat getting into your home through the windows, prune back any plants that block the sunlight.

2. Hello sunshine
How many times do you drive past homes on sunny days in winter and see them all closed up? It’s very simple, but remembering to open up blinds on sunny winter days can really help warm up your home. And it’s FREE!

3. All dressed up
Single pane windows are fantastic conductors of heat and, left uncovered at night, spend the evening transferring your home's warmth out into the cool air – which is not so fantastic.

Thick curtains, honeycomb blinds, or a snug-fitting roman blinds with curtains are good options for retaining the warmth in winter. 

4. Fans work in winter too!
Many people think ceiling fans are just for hot weather, but most are great for winter too (that is, if they have a winter switch). Putting them in winter mode makes them run backwards. Set them on their lowest speed and they will direct the warm air across the ceilings back down to where you are. This will help you to feel a couple of degrees warmer and can also eliminate condensation on windows by drying them out.

5. Time to seal up
Draught-proofing your house is one of the cheapest and most effective things you can do to cut down your heating bill. Most hardware stores have an array of door and window seals on offer. Consider draught-sealing and closing doors to rooms that you don't use all the time, and are happy to leave unheated.

6. Thermostat control
For most people 22 degrees is a comfortable temperature to set the air conditioning. Some people are comfortable at 18-21 degrees. It's worth keeping in mind that every degree warmer you heat your home adds about 10 per cent to your heating bills.