So far in our “new” house (built in 1990) here in Canada we have had to replace our dish washer, washing machine, dryer, and a few weeks ago our stove died. We have also needed to replace one window, and about a half dozen others have broken seals and should be replaced soon.

We had a home inspection done, but none of these things were picked up on. I was told that I needed to replace a strip of timber on one window, but in fact the entire window needed replacing because the wood rot in the frame was so bad. Other than the “small work” that they said needed doing on the window none of the other items were picked up on. We talked to our real estate agent and were told it was just “Murphy’s Law” and couldn’t follow up on anything with the inspector or with the previous owners, which sucked.

I’ve been watching Mike Holmes on HGTV since our first visit to Canada. Recently he’s started to look into shonky home inspections and even wrote a book about Home Inspections called “The Holmes Inspection”.

In The Holmes Inspection Mike Holmes looks at:

• What a home inspector can and can’t do
• The mechanicals of a house (plumbing, electrical, heating / cooling)
• The “envelope” (floors, walls, doors and windows)
• Location and sitting of the house
• Foundations
• How to see past the spit and polish people put on their houses prior to selling
• more …

I wish that I had purchased and read this book before getting this house. It certainly would have opened my eyes and helped me to see how much work was actually needed to get this house up to scratch.

After spending the last 5-years of our life in Australia renovating we were hoping to get here and take it easy for a while. No such luck so far …

Our house was relocated to the current site in about the 1930’s, probably from Charters Towers about 150km West of Townsville. Also the house that we owned and renovated before this one was sold as a removal home by the developer who purchased it from us. House removals has been a fascinating process for me, especially coming from Canada where it is definitely not as common as it is here.

I’ve been talking lately with a house removalist about some of the questions that people have had on the site about house removals. He’s been active on the site answering peoples questions in the comments, so I thought I would ask him if he would like to contribute a guest post to the site about the topic. Below is the article by Guy Drake. I hope that you find it illuminating, I know that I did …

Remove, Recycle, Renovate.

Renovation is a fantastic way to renew a home and save money at the same time, plus it’s environmentally friendly because you are helping to lengthen the life of the building making it more sustainable. Successive renovations could in theory keep a house in use and sustained forever.

There is a way however to take that concept to an even higher level. Consider saving a whole house from certain and total destruction by removing it from a redevelopment site and restoring it at another location; completely recycling the whole lot, kitchen sink and all.

Often referred to as Removal Homes; used houses that have outlived their use at one location can be brought back to active service and reused elsewhere.

It is carried on throughout Australia every day, and becoming increasingly popular. It saves enormous amounts of waste that would otherwise end up in land fill and it provides a green and affordable solution for those who love older style homes but who also want to choose their own site to put one on.

Removing, recycling and renovating a home can be surprisingly easy and profitable, providing you are armed with the right information and have done sufficient research.

Finding a home

Homes are removed from sites all over the country, mostly from within our larger cities; a smaller number from regional areas. Most are from redevelopment sites, some from road construction projects and others due to various changes going on in their local area. South East Queensland is a hot spot for house removal due to the fact that many homes there lend themselves to easy removal, and there is much redevelopment going on with a large selection of homes available.

The best way to find a selection of available homes is to search the web. You can find private sellers looking to have an old house removed to make way for a new one, and there are house removers and removal home brokers who sell and deal in removal homes.

Some companies have house storage yards where you can see a selection of homes in one place. Some even have email notification services to advise their customers when new listings become available. Being subscribed to these is a good way to research the types of homes that become available over time, and when you are ready to proceed you can get onto hot new listings as soon as they become available.

Sourcing through a professional dealer or house remover who can also arrange removal of the home can have its advantages because they will usually have assessed the viability and removability of the home, and may be able to provide a package including a range of required services including council approval.

Aim to find a home within a distance of up to 400klms from your house site to keep transport costs to a reasonable level. Within 100klms is ideal because for most moves the price will be the same or similar for any distance up to 100klms. An extra charge rate per klm beyond 100klms is common.

Houses on concrete slabs on ground are generally not viable and are very rarely moved in Australia. Fortunately many homes built prior to slabs becoming dominant in the 1970’s and 80’s were built on timber platform floors which are relatively easy to move. Avoid solid brick construction but it might be worth considering brick veneer houses (brick over a framed wall) as the bricks can be demolished and then replaced afterwards or reclad with another product, for example, weather board.

Getting approval

Council approval is required in most areas to put a used home on another site, and may also be required to remove a house off its existing site, meaning that two different council areas could be involved with two different types of applications.

Get professional advice or use a consultant with experience in removal home applications as they are quite different and more complex than a new home building application. Normally the seller of the house will be responsible to obtain removal approval for the existing site, but check to make sure it’s being done or it may delay or even prevent you from taking delivery of your house.

Getting Finance

Finance for removal homes can be difficult to arrange because banks prefer to lend against assets already bolted down to the land that provides the security for their mortgage. It is helpful if you can fund the purchase and removal costs yourself, then if need be, borrow to complete the home once it’s fixed to its new site on permanent foundations.

Fortunately there are specialist mortgage brokers familiar with the special lending requirements for removal homes and there are ways around having to fund purchase and removal costs out of your own pocket. For more information on finance for removal homes go to http://www.transportablehomefinance.com.au/

Moving the home

Make sure you are comfortable with the company or contractor who will be moving your house, and check that they have sufficient experience, insurance, and the appropriate licence to operate. The building licensing authority in each state usually regulates and licenses house removers.

The best way to move a house is direct from its existing site to its new site. This reduces the likelihood of damage during transport, saves storage and double handling costs and the house will be more secure throughout the process. To do this you will need to negotiate sufficient time for the house to remain at its existing site so the approvals to move it to its new site can be obtained before you have to move it.

Some homes are moved in one piece. Some need to be cut into two or more sections then rejoined, and some may need the roof lowered or removed for transport and re-erected later.

House relocation contractors will usually carry out the necessary structural rejoining work required, however be aware that most will not complete the cosmetic parts of rejoining such as repairing a cut made through plasterboard linings or sealing and repainting a section that has been cut, to hide the join. You should discuss such matters with your contractor so you know what finishing work you will be left with to do yourself, or employ others to do for you. You may find that renovation work carried out after a house is moved will easily incorporate these sorts of cosmetic fixes anyway.

Reconnecting services

Once the house arrives at the new site it will need to be re-stumped (posts installed to support the floor) and have power, water, gas, telephone services and so on connected.

Most house moving contractors will move and restump, or arrange others to restump, but generally they do not get involved in connecting services, or rejoining cut plumbing pipes and wiring etc, so this will probably be up to you.

Always employ properly licensed and insured plumbing and electrical contractors for this work. Do not attempt to do it yourself, unless of course you have those qualifications.

Renovating

Renovation is covered elsewhere on this site so I won’t elaborate much about it here other than to comment on how it relates to house removal.

A common perception about houses for removal is that they need major renovation and are mostly in poor condition. That is not always the case and in fact many houses that are moved are in excellent condition, some with recent and extensive renovations already done.

When assessing a home to move, assess it for its renovation potential in just the same way you would an established house. When buying any home whether for removal, renovation or otherwise, its important to have the structure checked by a qualified professional builder or building inspector to make sure its sound and to alert you to any costly areas that may need attention.

Making a profit

Each person’s idea of what a profit means is different. For some, a profit is selling the completed project for more than what it cost them. Others might consider a profit to be obtaining their dream home for less than could be achieved by other means. Others might consider the profit to be the fact that they obtained a home and saved an acre of forest and tonnes of green house gasses in the process.

Regardless of what profit means to you, it is important to make one, and you should be able to with a Removal Home. There will be some houses that are simply not viable due to the costs to move, to renovate or to obtain in the first place. Sometimes homes are even offered free to take away, and you need to be aware that some of them will simply not be worth it. Most house removal projects however will produce a significant return for the effort and money put into them if approached with some due care and attention.

Research is the key to making a profit. Learn about the types and styles of homes available and for what price. Find out which homes are easier and therefore cheaper to move. Consider the difference in costs of buying and moving an already renovated home compared to one that needs a lot of renovation.

Whatever you do, make sure you get enough information to be able to make informed decisions about your project. The rest will be experience.

Happy House Recycling.

Article written by Guy Drake.

Guy is a builder and house remover with the family business Drake Homes which for over 38 years has been removing, recycling and relocating homes in Australia. You can read more from Guy at his blog “House Removal and Recycling”

Since the shine came out of the housing market here in Australia it seems that it has also come out of the home improvement, DIY, renovation and Real Estate television shows.

Home Improvement television shows used to dominate prime time television here in Australia. I am watching a home improvement show right now, but it is a repeat, and right now it is 11.55 at night, not exactly prime time.

Lots of people are saying that with the current housing market there will be more people renovating, not less. People will want to look at improving where they live now, rather than upgrading to a new home. I guess that some of the glamour has come out of it however, since people will now most likely be making their renovation choices based on lifestyle, rather than ROI (return on investment).

The new "flavour" on television now in Australia seems to be cooking shows. What is it like in your part of the world? Are there fewer Home Improvement shows on television where you are? What has taken there place where you live? Let us know in the comments below …

Townsville is finally starting to be hit by a housing market slowdown in the last few months. There are fewer enquiries to purchase homes and what has been a sellers market is becoming a buyers market. Sellers are no longer able to set their price and not bother with negotiating, they now need to set a more realistic price for their home if they want it to sell.

With standard home loans around 9.4% here in Australia fewer people are wanting to make a move into the housing market. Also with house prices in Townsville still quite high housing affordability it at an all time low in Australia.

Townsville bucked the trend from the recent house price declines in many of the capital cities in Australia, so it was only a matter of time before this market correction came.

The question now is how far will the prices fall for houses in Townsville?

Source: ABC News – TSV Housing Market Struggles

The Federal Government has once again put home ownership further out of reach for the typical Australian owner / occupier.

In a move meant to increase the availability of affordable housing in Australia the government has provided tax incentives to investors to build 100,000 low-rent properties over the next 10-years. Investors will be able to claim a tax credit of $6000 a year for 10 years on new properties that are rented at 20% below the market rate. But who determines what the “market rate” is? A move like this also has the possibility to drive up the market rate to artificially high rental rates because of the availability of properties available at the “discount” rate.

Already the typical real estate investor in Australia has a huge advantage in terms of buying power over an owner / occupier. This comes partially from the increased borrowing ability that they have because of negative gearing and other tax breaks that investors get that are not available to an owner / occupier.

Previous attempts by the federal government to help with housing affordability have proven to be flops as well. Then the $7000 first home owner’s grant was first introduced in Australia in 2000 median prices on houses in major Australian cities rose by $32000 in average in the following 12 months. The $7000 just enabled people to borrow more and the developers to charge more. It didn’t help much at all with overall housing affordability…

The government needs to put investors and owner / occupiers on equal ground (remove negative gearing and tax breaks for investors), and get out of trying to regulate the housing market. There will certainly be short term pain as the market corrects itself, but the long term affect will be to make the “Australian Dream of Home Ownership” a greater possibility for the upcoming generations.

Sources:
- PM Doubles Rental Scheme – The Australian
- Doubling the First Home Owners Grant? Oh Dear! – domain.com.au

Technorati Tags: housing affordability, home ownership

The latest interest rate hike here in Australia sets the official interest rate at 7%, which is an 11-year high. Since 2002 interest rates have gone up 2.75%, and it is starting to hit people really hard.

Australia already has a nation wide housing affordability crisis, and this is only adding to the problems. It’s expected that up to 1000 families here in Townsville are expected to default on their home loans. Nation wide that number is expected to be as high as 300,000 for home loan defaults.

This could be only the start of a huge mortgage crisis in Australia this year, with an expected further increase of at least 0.5% at least this year to try to curb inflation here in Australia (ex. grocery bills have increased about 50% since 2000).

When we got our first home loan about 5 and a half years ago we fixed our loan at 5.99%. On this house our current loan was fixed for three years at 6.99%. If we were to re-fix our loan right now and stick with the Bank of Queensland (who we currently use) we would be looking at 8.49%. By the time our current fixed loan ends in September we could be looking at a potential rate of 8.99%! Ouch, that will be quite an increase…

I know that I shouldn’t complain. My parents and Tamara’s parents all lived through the 1980s when housing loan interest rates at 20+ per cent. I heard on a radio show that here in Australia over 35% of the average families wages already goes into their mortgage repayments. The upcoming interest rate hike will increase that percentage even further.

From what I have read there are mixed feeling about how the interest rate hikes will affect house prices. The Townsville Real Estate Market is going gang busters, and has been for a while, but even a place as booming as Townsville is vulnerable to the increases in interest Rates. Only time will tell that I reckon.

Sources:

• Townsville Bulletin – Families on the Brink
• Yahoo7 – How will another interest rate rise affect the market?

Technorati Tags: Townsvile Real Estate, Australia Interest Rate

A few weekends ago I read an article about housing affordability in Australia in the local paper. It seems that the average family now needs a household income of over $100,000.00 to be able to afford to purchase an average house!

When I first moved here to West End, Townsville in 1998 you could pick up a three bedroom house for about $90,000. There was a three bedroom house on a quarter acre block just down the street from us on Echlin Street that the owners couldn’t sell at $87,000.

Now the average house in West End, Townsville is going for about $350,000! Last year alone the houses went up by 29% in West End. A house that in 2003 was selling for $179,000 just sold recently with a list price of $369,000.

With the cost of housing going up it is becoming more and more of a luxury to be a house owner. Tamara and I are continually counting our blessings at buying into the market when we did as we would probably not be able to enter into the market as it is now. Most of our friends, who were considering purchasing when we purchased our first house, are now pretty much priced out of the market in Townsville.

Technorati Tags: housing affordability, townsville, australia, realestate, real estate

You probably have a week if you want to purchase our old spa bath. You can have the pump too, but it needs new seals in the spa bath pump as it leaks right now when you turn it on.

It’s a 1400 x 1400 cream coloured spa bath, which matching cream taps. Because I didn’t take it out I can not guarantee that all the pieces are still there.

You can read a bit of the history about our spa bath in the acticle Why our Spa Bath Leaked.

If you want the spa bath you need to make an offer below in the comments and organize to pick it up yourself. Sorry, no shipping is available.

When we were down in Adelaide visiting Tamara’s family I had a look through the real estate section of their newspaper and I thought that it was very interesting how they advertised some of the houses. Instead of having actual photos of the house they instead used an artists rendition of the house (like the one bellow).

I found this curious because it really tells you almost nothing about the house, other then how the artist thinks it should look. In my previous two posts I wrote a bit about how you can word a house advertisement to give a different perspective on it, but this is a way to back that up with an image as well.

Most of these ads that I looked at on-line tonight include no actual photos of the houses, only artists renditions of the facade and then usually a drawing of the house plans and maybe the house lot.

queenslander

Originally uploaded by cringe.

Here is a great example for my last post about What the Real Estate Ads Really Mean.

This is the sort of house that would be advertised as a “fixer upper with character” in a “nice neighbourhood”, as you can see that the house next to it isn’t so bad…