Author: McDonald Partners

Lardlord Insurance – Do I need it? Which policy is right for me?

Like many things in life an investment property doesn’t come without it’s risks. And one thing I always ask my clients is “Can you afford to pay your bills and live your lifestyle if your tenant doesn’t pay their rent?”. Although it’s a harsh reality , financially you may be relying on somebody else ,…Read More→

Select the Best Tenants for your Investment

Many property owners ask the wrong questions when looking at tenant applications, potentially turning away suitable tenants because they focus on irrelevant information. Asking for too much personal information or looking for tenants with a certain lifestyle is not only intrusive but could lead landlords to turn away potentially suitable tenants. It doesn’t matter if…Read More→

Spring is Here – The Season for Selling is Here

Can you believe it, spring is here. The weather will begin to warm up and the sun will stay up for longer, but what does this mean for the real estate market? Typically there will be a large surge of properties onto the market in spring and home owners can take advantage of a few…Read More→

Capital Gains

Every home buyer wants to be assured of strong capital gain and many dream of buying in the next ‘boom’ suburb, where values increase even more than average. Can they make this dream come true? Most people who make money on property follow certain basic rules. They know that the best suburbs to buy in…Read More→

Should You Have a For Sale Sign?

With digital marketing so powerful and agents focusing mainly on the internet to advertise properties is there still a place for the For Sale sign? It depends on the property being advertised, and the cost for the sign. There were days when a For Sale sign would be referred to as your “24 Hour Agent”….Read More→

Monthly Tip – May 2014

When you are selling your property, you don’t need a slick salesperson, you need a good negotiator! A good negotiator can easily mean thousands more on your selling price. To discover if an agent is a skilled negotiator, ask the agent to teach you something about negotiation. If you are not impressed with what you…Read More→

Current Market Trends – Rental

The same thing happens every year as we get towards Christmas, the enquiry rates tend to slow down and the vacancy rate tends to jump. Not very good for investors, very good for tenants… or is it? Sure, tenants do have the advantage when it comes to this time of year, because there aren’t as…Read More→

Raising a family in a unit/apartment?

Just read an interesting article on realestate.com.au about “Apartment living with kids”. Got me thinking, what are the pro’s and con’s of apartment living with a family. Personally I follow the stereotypical Australian Dream of owner a quarter acre block in suburbia with the hills hoist, grass yard with the colourbond fence. But unfortunately, especially…Read More→

Winter Tips!

As we reach the cooler months in the Sutherland Shire, you can be sure that there is one exception from the icy chill and that is the real estate market.  That is definitely burning hot right now. Compared to the first quarter of the year we have been experiencing a huge influx of buyers that…Read More→

Great Article to Read for First Home Buyers

Hello Everyone, I just read this fantastic article by Jeremy Cabral. It’s all about saving for your first deposit. Too often I see first home buyers who dont know exactly how much they need, or how much the costs involved in purchasing property actually are. This is the link to the article: http://discover.realestate.com.au/buying/news/shoestring-savings-to-home-ownership If you…Read More→