Home upgrades to help save the planet
Hidden Gems:
Bagging a bargain through unexpected places
Avoiding tricky tactics when buying a home
Mufasa: The Lion King
Lion King fans will be excited to see the tale of King Mufasa arriving on streaming platforms including Disney+. This prequel/ sequel to the 2019 remake of the 1994 classic explores King Mufasa’s journey as a lost cub, separated from his parents and rescued from the jaws of a crocodile by Prince Taka (later known as the wicked Scar). Taka initially loves Mufasa as a brother, but an act of betrayal while fleeing from a deadly enemy puts lives in danger. While the movie may not surpass the original remake, it’s an adorable and moving tale perfect for a cosy night at home.
Win $1,000 cash
Disastrous DIY
Ever started a DIY project that turned into a complete disaster? Maybe fixing a leak created an indoor river, or your bookshelf project ended up looking like modern art. We want to hear all about it!
Send us a photo with a brief explanation, or tell us your story in fewer than 250 words about your most disastrous DIY moments. You could win $1,000! And who knows, maybe you’ll choose to use the prize to hire a pro for your next project.
How: Send your photo, with explanation about the disaster into havencompetitions@afgonline.com.au placing ‘DIY disaster’ in the subject line.
Include: your name, address, email, phone number and the name of your mortgage broker.
Dates: opens on May 12 and closes on July 4.
Winner: will be decided on July 6 and notified by telephone after this time. Terms and conditions: visit http://bit.ly/HavenWin
HAVEN PROPERTY
Mind over chatter: What happens when the scented candles and staging furniture vanish?
Buying property is always an emotional decision. And, to a certain extent, it should be. You need to love where you live.
But don’t fall for tactics that aim to play on emotions from pleasure to panic.
Understanding how to keep your head during a property negotiation can save you from a bad case of buyer’s remorse. And forewarned is forearmed when it comes to resisting psychological tricks.
Real estate agents may deploy a range of tried and true tactics that play on emotional cues to fire up the often-illogical part of our brains, known as the limbic system. The limbic system – often referred to as the emotional nervous system – plays a role in processing memories and emotions, governing how we interpret social cues to respond with either anxiety, anger, fear or excitement.
Here’s how it can be used against you, and how to guard against it.
Using smell to sell
Scent is one of the strongest triggers of emotion and memory. Pleasant or familiar smells can put you at ease, triggering memories of feeling comfortable and cosy. What better way to make a house feel like a home?
Be mindful of things like scented candles, coffee brewing or bread baking. These are are all designed to trigger your limbic system to take over and make you feel predisposed to finding a space warm and inviting.
DO: Bear in mind nice smells can create a disproportionately positive impression and, at worst, may be used to mask unpleasant odours that may point to other issues with the property.
Creating a sense of urgency
Some physicists will have you believe the strong nuclear force is the most powerful fundamental force in the universe.
But these physicists have clearly never shopped online and received a notification that interest in the DIY unicorn hat for cats you saved is increasing. Before you know it, you have a cat in a hat.
Without a doubt, FOMO (fear of missing out) is one of the most irresistible forces in nature. Multiple consumer studies have shown people feel the pain of loss much more acutely than the pleasure of a gain. So, it’s little wonder this fear is exploited as a sales tactic the world over.
Some ways vendors and agents can pull the loss aversion lever on a property purchase include:
• Telling you another buyer is coming for a second inspection and will probably be submitting an offer.
• Encouraging offers before an upcoming auction date in return for taking the property off the market.
Fruit-tastic
Planting fruit trees in your back garden makes sense for many reasons. Not only do you get to pick your own fresh, delicious produce, there’s plenty of other perks ranging from cost savings to knowing you’re doing your bit for the environment. Some favourites in Aussie gardens include lemons, limes, apples, mulberries, figs and avocados.
There’s plenty of reasons to get planting:
Fresh and nutritious produce - It’s divine being able to harvest your own fresh produce. The taste of fruit picked straight from the tree is unparalleled, often sweeter and more flavoursome than storebought options. And you can ensure your fruit is free from harmful pesticides and chemicals.
Cost savings - While supermarket bills are spiralling, picking your own grown fruit can help save money at the checkout.
Environmental - Like all other trees, fruit trees are beneficial to the environment by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen, improving air quality. They also provide habitats for wildlife including birds and beneficial insects. Growing your own fruit also reduces the need for transportation and packaging associated with store-bought fruit, lowering your carbon footprint.
Aesthetic appeal - Fruit trees add beauty to your landscape. Spring blossoms can be divine, and the shade offered by bigger trees in summer can provide a welcome bonus.
Education - Planting and caring for fruit trees can be a fun and rewarding activity for families, teaching children about where their food comes and the importance of caring for the environment.
In most cases planting in winter or early spring is ideal. Pick a sunny, well-drained spot with plenty of space to grow.
And for some types of fruit tree you don’t even need a garden to reap the benefits. Thanks to the increasing range of small or dwarf trees available, a sunny balcony or courtyard could do the trick.
HAVEN PROPERTY
Flip your house hunt
Taking your search into unusual corners can pay off.
Fancy a beachfront unit on the Gold Coast for more than $200,000 below market value? Or how about the chance to bid on a house with no rival buyers in the picture?
House hunters willing to take their property search into unusual corners can find some gems among the discarded, forgotten or shunned homes of Australia.
Buying this way doesn’t come without risk – there’s a reason it’s the path less travelled. However, thinking differently about your next property purchase can pay dividends if you’re willing to do a lot of the research and legwork yourself.
Council auctions
Not many people are aware, but many councils around Australia can, and do, take properties to auction to recoup unpaid rates.
These properties regularly sell for significantly below market value because they’re often not advertised on real estate websites (you need to be signed up to obscure council email notifications), and there are restrictive purchase conditions. For example, buyers cannot inspect properties before the auction and are also responsible for securing vacant possession if the property is still occupied.
Some councils are more aggressive than others in pursuing overdue rates, but one local authority worth following is Gold Coast City Council. Properties on the Glitter Strip are regularly sent to auction and many feature holiday units in highly desirable locations because the City of Gold Coast levies significantly higher rates on properties used for short term accommodation.
An example of the kind of bargains to be had is a two-bedroom unit in an absolute beachfront apartment block at Main Beach that sold at a Gold Coast City Council overdue rates auction in 2020 for $421,000. An identical unit in the same building sold for $620,000 three years earlier. The buyer reportedly went on to pocket more than $1 million just over a year later when a developer bought the small unit block.
The Gold Coast Council has a mailing list. Check whether your preferred council area does the same. If so, sign up for similar notifications.
