Menno van Driel

You do not HAVE to place a deposit in trust when proposing a real estate purchase. However, it’s very common and if you make an offer without a solid deposit, it may not be taken very seriously.

Many people don't know this and strange it is, indeed: you don't actually have to put money on deposit when you are making an offer to purchase a home.

In real estate, we tend to use a deposit to sh ...

Usually, a property sells slightly below the asking price; sometimes, however, for full price. Occasionally, we have sales above the asking price. What’s the logic in the spread between asking price and selling price?

Maybe, the asking price is an indication of a listing's value or final selling price - but there is no hard and fast rule linking the three. It's more complicated than that.

W ...

With today’s flood of “automatic valuations”, generated by fairly intelligent computer systems, could there still be a need for a “real” property appraisal? Are banks still using appraisers to reach valuations?

The need for actual personal appraisal services has decreased with the advance of the automatic valuation system now used almost exclusively by most banks.

If you open the phone book ...

Many people have noticed that the number of SOLD signs on the Sunshine Coast has been going up lately. It might be a useful exercise to rehash what that actually means when we call a property “sold”.

Why are we talking about this? Sold is sold - isn't that simple enough? Actually, the path from FOR SALE to SOLD is much more complicated than it looks at first glance.

Some might laugh at this ...

Many good things can happen in a house; it’s often the place where great memories are created. However, bad things also sometimes happen in houses. The question is: does such bad stuff carry over to the next owners?

When a house has stood for a while, things have happened there, both good and bad. Are there any particular things that would bother you if they had happened there?

Bad stuff th ...

What do real estate sales people actually do other than to sit by the phone and wait for it to start ringing. In fact, real estate agents use phones less and less. There are other ways of bringing the product to market.

It's a mystery to most people what real estate people actually do. Do we show properties all day? Do we drive around all day? Do we sit at our offices all day?

A real estate ...

It’s easy enough to blame “the banks” for any and all financial troubles we may be in. More realistically speaking, could it be that our own financial over-reach is at the root of our own financial troubles and that of society?

When it's our primary goal in life to make more money, own more, bigger and faster stuff, spend more and borrow more, then it's no surprise the banks are playing alon ...

Today, we’ll quickly look at a darker side of the real estate business: the fallen deal. The question is: what happens when a buyer decides to walk away from a real estate deal and what are the possible consequences?

It can happen to all of us and it probably HAS happened to most of us: you regret a purchase that you made a short while ago. Now what?

It does happen – thankfully not very oft ...

Every house and each location may have a bit of a history. What has happened there earlier and whether that may bother you or should concern you or the new owner is the topic of today’s blog article.

Most people would react strongly if they suddenly found a grave in their backyard. Many such scenarios can be imagined and all have an impact on our appreciation of a property.

Famous examples ...

When you bump into a real estate agent, it’s possible that the individual will NOT be working for you but for an opposing client. Dealing with an opposing real estate agent may actually harm your negoting position.

Generally speaking, a real estate agent only gets paid when a deal goes through. How, on earth then, could a real estate agent be "opposing" in a real estate transaction?

Meeting ...