Talent Search: Sell sand to sell the castles

A real estate business is on a mission to teach four newbies how to sell the most coveted homes, hotels and boats in Australia. But first, they have to prove they can sell the unsellable. Sand. Ray White Surfers Paradise, the number one business in the largest property company in Australia, is scouring the nation to find four energetic, creative people to participate in the perfect first year introduction to a real estate career. “Real estate is one of those careers where the base start is low but the highs are unlimited. Our best agents out-earn the most prestigious of jobs. It’s ... read more...

Rental Properties on the Gold Coast

By Tanya Westthorp. Read full article here. People vying to rent sought-after Gold Coast properties are pulling out all stops to secure the homes. An acute shortage of family rental homes on the Gold Coast and Tweed has spurred fierce competition between the scores of people applying for each property. There are reports of some even offering to pay more than the advertised rent and others paying six months rent upfront. Local property managers now regularly hold open inspections for rental properties to cope with the volume of interest every time a premium home is listed. Ray White Broadbeach, which has a ... read more...

Breaking a Lease

The sudden need to move house can be driven by a variety of life events – the loss of a job, getting a new job, a family crisis, financial issues or relationship breakdown, just to name a few. But it’s an urban myth that a tenant handing over the keys to a property equates to handing over the responsibility for the property. In this article, we’ll explore what happens when a property is being rented on a fixed-term lease and the tenant wants to move out before the agreed end date, known as “breaking the lease.” There are two ways a lease can be broken ... read more...

Paying the Rent – Tips For Tenants

As a tenant, a wrong decision relating to the financial part of renting can result in the major life change of having to move home. Put simply, there are three key issues relating to rent that all tenants should consider before signing on the dotted line to avoid any potential pitfalls later on. Firstly, it’s important to look at how much rent you can afford to pay. Just like the banks evaluating a home loan, most property managers are looking for prospective tenants to have a net income of three times the rent they will be paying. For example, if a ... read more...

How Rising Interest Rates Will Affect The Rental Market

RENTS: Rising interest rates will result in tenants nationwide collectively paying an extra $2 billion in rent over the coming year, according to Australasia's largest real estate group, Ray White. Property Management director Ben White said the RBA's strategy to increase official interest rates would flow on to the rental market. He said every force in the marketplace would drive rents higher. Source: Weekend Gold Coast Bulletin read more...

Cheap Suburbs Property Prices

74 cheaper to buy than rent suburbs It has now become cheaper to buy than rent in some 74 Australian suburbs with New South Wales having the most cheaper-to-buy-than-rent suburbs available, an RP Data report revealed today. Modest property price falls in 2008, interest rates at 45-year lows and record rental increases have all contributed to renters finding that is cheaper to pay off a mortgage than pay a landlord. The research also showed an almost even spread across regional and metropolitan areas with 54 per cent of locations being regional while 46 per cent were located in metro city areas. The strong rental ... read more...