{"id":21500,"date":"2018-06-15T01:00:28","date_gmt":"2018-06-14T15:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/realestatetalk.com.au\/?p=21500"},"modified":"2018-06-15T01:00:28","modified_gmt":"2018-06-14T15:00:28","slug":"dont-chase-hotspots-good-things-in-small-spaces-firb-figures-need-explanation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/dont-chase-hotspots-good-things-in-small-spaces-firb-figures-need-explanation\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t chase \u2018hotspots\u2019 + Good things in small spaces + FIRB figures need explanation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em><u>Highlights from this week: <\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Are FIRB figures a good guide?<\/li>\n<li>Getting creative in the bedroom<\/li>\n<li>Common finance misunderstandings<\/li>\n<li>Why chasing hotspots is not smart<\/li>\n<li>Borrowers wise up to the banks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Transcripts:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Getting creative in the bedroom &#8211;\u00a0Adrian Ramsay<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>One of the challenges we find in real estate as we have a requirement to put things in smaller places is just how can we creatively use these small living areas? I was fascinated to read the feature in the latest <em>Your Investment Property<\/em> magazine, which came out about a week ago. It was an article around my next guest, the CEO of Adrian Ramsay Design house. Adrian Ramsay is in fact the CEO of his own company.<\/p>\n<p>Good day, Adrian. How are you doing?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Adrian:\u00a0 <\/strong>Good day, mate. Yes, really well, Kevin.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes. Good article in <em>Your Investment Property<\/em> magazine about the bedroom.<\/p>\n<p>What are some of the key things that you find in getting good things in small spaces?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Adrian:\u00a0 <\/strong>I think that you have to look at the whole space. for starters. One of the key things there is keeping a color pallet that actually transitions comfortably. Not necessarily exactly the same, but just keeps it a gentle transition. Because what happens is your eye doesn\u2019t have to adjust to a sudden change.<\/p>\n<p>That doesn\u2019t mean you don\u2019t use feature walls or something in your coloring, but like if you were chopping your floor up into three or four different surfaces, you\u2019re more likely to run into problems than if you keep it consistent. Or if you have hallways and living rooms, if you\u2019re keeping the shades tonal as they run down through those, your eye extends down the line.<\/p>\n<p>Obviously, light is always a huge one, and the other one is getting variation in your ceiling heights. Something I learned from looking at Frank Lloyd Wright\u2019s work years ago now was just the way he would steal a bit from one room and put it into another room in the form of like a bulkhead. So he might add some space into the living room and take it out of the bedroom, but only 300 mm from the ceiling down or something like that.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re more likely to do that one the opposite way around, by the way. You\u2019re more likely to add the 300 mm into the bedroom because it\u2019s going to be the smaller room, and then make it a bulkhead in the other room.<\/p>\n<p>And in doing that, it extends the ceiling in one part and it reduces it in the other. But it doesn\u2019t actually change the volume from wall to wall. It changes the effect of the volume in the room.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, you deal with bulkheads, I think, in step one of the article. But they can also occupy a lot of space, can\u2019t they?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Adrian:\u00a0 <\/strong>They can. You have to be really careful with them. Often, they become service ducts and stuff like that, and suddenly you have plumbers or electricians or air conditioning guys designating what size they\u2019re going to be. So, you have to be very mindful of where you position them and how you position them.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve often used them as a way to, say, take power off a power point to put lighting above a bed when I don\u2019t want to rip off wallboard, I don\u2019t want to chase into walls, and I don\u2019t want to chase into ceilings. Because in a lot of apartments, the ceiling is actually the floor below. It\u2019s just got a spray coat over it. It doesn\u2019t have battens and there\u2019s no extra space.<\/p>\n<p>So, I\u2019ll often use something to bring myself up the wall with a small buildout on the wall, but then a low bulkhead in the ceiling so that I can spread the lighting around.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes. The article is just fantastic because it gives you so many great ideas on what you can do inside a very small space. And I have to say that there\u2019s some really creative furniture that\u2019s come out that allows us to put a lot into a very small space, Adrian.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Adrian:\u00a0 <\/strong>Totally agree; there is. The furniture market has really met this, and one of the things that I see has happened there is (a) we have a lot more urban, inner city living, so the furniture market has\u2026 In Australia, different from overseas. Take somewhere like Europe; they\u2019ve always had small spaces.<\/p>\n<p>You have to remember that in Australia, we have the second biggest homes in the world outside of America, so if you\u2019re looking at that and you go \u201cEurope have shoe-horned themselves into tiny spaces and the Japanese have done the same,\u201d and then when you look here, this new urban density living that we do in cities with apartments and stuff is actually relatively new to us. It\u2019s been a holiday home before, it\u2019s been an investment property, but now we are going into our urban density as city dwellers more and more.<\/p>\n<p>And because of that, the furniture market has responded to it by going \u201cHow has Europe dealt with that before?\u201d And other big cities. And then they get clever about it: storage solutions, the way the pieces are made modular so that they can fit into lift-shafts, all of those things.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, you have to bear all that in mind. I noticed, too, that wallpaper is making a bit of a comeback, and I\u2019m really pleased about that because you can get so much feature into a wall with design and with color, can\u2019t you?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Adrian:\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, I totally agree. Wallpaper has been a cold climate off the back of Europe and also Melbourne, Victoria, Tazzie, those kinds of places, and places like New Zealand. At one stage, it meant you didn\u2019t have to finish the wall behind it, so it was cheaper for the plasterer. He\u2019d just bang up a bit of plasterwork and then he\u2019d put wallpaper over it.<\/p>\n<p>And I think that mainly the trend has been off the back of the show <em>The Block<\/em>. Those guys are obviously working in New South Wales or in Victoria, and with that, what they tend to do is they\u2019re using it as a feature thing. And even up here in Queensland where we tend to paint things white, there\u2019s a big call for wallpaper. We\u2019re using it more and more and more.<\/p>\n<p>And when we\u2019re designing a whole structure \u2013 not just a redesign or a remodel but if we\u2019re designing a new home for somebody \u2013 then when we get through the actual design phase of the bones of the house, then we\u2019re doing the interior, we\u2019re going \u201cThose walls need to be plastered for this and these walls need to be plastered for that,\u201d and we\u2019re featuring wallpaper in our design brief right from the time that we start drawing from the slab.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes. Now, the renovation that\u2019s featured in <em>Your Investment Property<\/em> magazine \u2013 which, as I said, is out right now \u2013 your budget for that was $200,000 and the total spend was $220,000. Is that quite normal, the 10% over? Is that how you would do it?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Adrian:\u00a0 <\/strong>I have a process that I developed over the years, which I call design magic, and I say, \u201cLook, there are things that you\u2019re going to be looking for that you want extra.\u201d If you have a budget of $200,000, start out that you\u2019re going to spend $180,000.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>I was going to say $180,000, yes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Adrian:\u00a0 <\/strong>Bring your budget back, and once you\u2019ve done that, then you have the opportunity to actually go \u201cI have that extra piece.\u201d I say to clients \u201cYou\u2019re not going to keep that money; we\u2019re still going to spend it. Don\u2019t think that you\u2019re going to the Bahamas; that money is actually going to get spent in here, but it\u2019s going to be when you ask us for something extra.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Our budget over-runs in that particular one was we spent an additional $24,000 removing the asbestos from the place. They came with a $200,000 budget, we trimmed it, and then we trimmed it back at the time to about $190,000.<\/p>\n<p>And then I said to them, \u201cLook, when this is being renovated, we have asbestos in these different areas, and I know that for you guys in particular, you had feared about how much asbestos is in it.\u201d Now, we had asbestos ceilings, asbestos in most of the walls, and don\u2019t forget in that case, we were actually doing a four-bedroom apartment as well, so a big apartment.<\/p>\n<p>And so I got onto the guys and we got the builder to getting various different quotes. And our asbestos removal quotes ranged from about $40,000 to about $18,000. We went with the guys at about $24,000, so that was our biggest budget over-run, but it wasn\u2019t actually something that we\u2019d ever budgeted to do.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>Just very quickly \u2013 we\u2019re going to have to move \u2013 in removing asbestos, is it more expensive to do it in an apartment block than it would be on a single house?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Adrian:\u00a0 <\/strong>Oh, yes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, I thought it might be.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Adrian:\u00a0 <\/strong>There are a lot of complications, especially because by the time you\u2019re doing an apartment block, you have to air monitor the whole space. We shorted out the entire building a couple of times with the amount of water that we were using, and you have to be water vac-ing it, everybody is going in and out through a sealed space, and there are guys sitting there with monitors. So, the cost of doing it over a regular house\u2026<\/p>\n<p>And also in a case like this, every ceiling was asbestos as a spray-on, so it had to be scraped off the ceilings and made damp for the guys in the space suits when they were bagging it and removing it from there. And asbestos removal costs have gone up considerably.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, those asbestos ceilings, they were great in their time but horrific to rectify nowadays.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Adrian:\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, just awful.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>Mate, great talking to you. Thank you so much for your time.<\/p>\n<p>Adrian Ramsay has been my guest, he\u2019s the CEO for Adrian Ramsay Design House, and you can read all about his renovation in the latest edition of <em>Your Investment Property<\/em> magazine, which is our right now. It\u2019s the July issue. It comes out in June. I don\u2019t know why they do that, but that\u2019s what they do anyway, Adrian. They like to be one step ahead of us.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Adrian:\u00a0 <\/strong>Get a jump on the month. Maybe they\u2019re trying to get the profits in before the end of the financial year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>That\u2019s a good idea. Mate, great talking to you. Thanks for your time, Adrian.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Adrian:\u00a0 <\/strong>Awesome, Kevin. Thank you. Take care, mate.<\/p>\n<h2>Geeting the facts on finance &#8211;\u00a0Cate Bakos<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>Joining me once again, Cate Bakos. Cate is a buyer\u2019s agent out of Melbourne. A couple of weeks ago, we talked about the four incorrect assumptions that investors can make. I want to swing this across\u2026 Cate is back with me again.<\/p>\n<p>Good morning, Cate.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cate:\u00a0 <\/strong>Good morning, Kevin.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>I want to talk about finance now, because there are some finance misunderstandings that I\u2019ve come across as well, and I\u2019d love to get your tilt on these. People get equity confused with savings.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cate:\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes. This is a significant point, but it\u2019s a really short and sharp point for me to make. There is a big difference. When you have equity available to you for investment purposes or for whatever, it\u2019s really just an easier way than saving the old-fashioned way where you\u2019re putting money aside until you have a substantial enough deposit. You can use that equity as a deposit, but the key thing is that you\u2019re still borrowing it.<\/p>\n<p>So, when people say \u201cI have equity and I have $1 million borrowing capacity, so I have $1 million plus the equity,\u201d the equity needs to form part of that borrowing capacity because they\u2019re borrowing it, they\u2019re not <strong>[1:02 inaudible]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, very important. What about P&amp;I as opposed to interest-only? Because P&amp;I at a lower rate is sometimes thought to be better than interest-only at a higher rate. What\u2019s your take on that?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cate:\u00a0 <\/strong>It\u2019s a really topical discussion right now, because obviously, we\u2019ve had a lending clampdown on interest-only that was instigated by APRA some time ago now. But a lot of people are asking me this question, and sometimes when we run the numbers, the P&amp;I option might win. It really does depend on the differential, but there are critical things to bear in mind. You have to factor in your cashflow, obviously, and there are tax deductions to calculate.<\/p>\n<p>Now, I never let tax deductibility be a reason to do something, but it\u2019s definitely a benefit. So, when you\u2019re deciding between interest-only lending or principal and interest, you have to be looking at what else that principal could be doing for you. And if you could offset it against a principal place of residence and achieve your goals that way and it still stacks up for you to do so, then the interest-only option might be the one to go for.<\/p>\n<p>You also have to bear in mind how it impacts your future borrowing capacity, because interest-only will be for a period of time, and then when that fixed term lapses, you\u2019ll then face the prospect of P&amp;I over a shorter period, so your payments will be pushed up as well.<\/p>\n<p>So, it does require sitting down and running the numbers, and if you\u2019re unable to do so, you need to talk to your banker or broker about giving you that information so that you can see it for yourself.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, I think it\u2019s an important point that you actually discuss it with your banker or your broker, because everyone\u2019s situation is different, isn\u2019t it, Cate?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cate:\u00a0 <\/strong>It absolutely is, and future planning comes into it, where you might be with your income. There\u2019s a lot to take into consideration, and it shouldn\u2019t be taken lightly.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>I want to deal with another one now, Cate. This is a big one, I think, and that is that past approval borrowing as a capacity and the conditions that apply to that approval don\u2019t last long-term and they need to be renewed or reviewed, don\u2019t they?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cate:\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes. This is one that I couldn\u2019t agree harder on. We\u2019re in a really turbulent time when we consider lending pre-approval and the rate of change in policy and how tough it is out there for a lot of borrowers.<\/p>\n<p>So to assume that your borrowing capacity has lapsed but you\u2019re in a safe place because your situation hasn\u2019t changed is really na\u00efve and really dangerous, because the lenders are changing their policy at quite a rapid rate, and for some people who did service a particular loan comfortably, they can go back to the lender and find that that amount has reduced because the lenders have really clamped down on all kinds of things, including discretionary spending, and they\u2019re paying very careful attention to it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, and this applies very much to anyone who\u2019s, say, bidding at an auction, as an example, or buying in any situation where you don\u2019t have a finance clause. Another instance in here could be \u2013 and I\u2019d love to talk to you about this \u2013 buying off the plan, because when you buy off the plan, it\u2019s possible that you won\u2019t be settling for anything up to a year, and with finance-only, that approval sitting in place for three months, it should be renewed before you go to settle.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cate:\u00a0 <\/strong>A really interesting point, Kevin, and it\u2019s a frightening one when you think about it. Off-the-plan purchases can sometimes span for years, and you can look at sunset dates, but there is no pre-approval that will eclipse a sunset date that\u2019s a year or two.<\/p>\n<p>People need to have contingencies for all kinds of things, whether there\u2019s market movement and the price drops, whether lending scrutiny continues and they find themselves unable to settle the purchase themselves. They really need to think carefully about plan B if they\u2019re taking that risky step.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, that\u2019s a great topic, and we\u2019ve demystified a few more of those finance misunderstandings for you. Cate Bakos has been my guest. Cate is a buyer\u2019s agent out of Melbourne.<\/p>\n<p>Cate, thanks again for your time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cate:\u00a0 <\/strong>Thank you, Kevin.<\/p>\n<h2>Are FIRB figues a good guide? &#8211;\u00a0George Chmiel<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>My next guest is Georg Chmiel. Georg is the director for Juwai.com. I want to focus very much on the most recent Foreign Investment Review Board report, which covers the period up to the end of the financial year last year, the end of June. It shows a very clear picture about what\u2019s happening with foreign investment in view of some of the recent changes that have occurred to investment in Australia.<\/p>\n<p>Georg, were there any surprises in this report? Because it does actually reflect that investment may have just slowed down from China?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Georg:\u00a0 <\/strong>There were a couple of surprises, especially in the reaction to the report by various media outlets. I was reading headlines like \u201cChina crackdown sees property investment fall by 65%,\u201d referencing the study.<\/p>\n<p>Now, first and foremost, the total investment into Australia has dropped from $250 billion to $200 billion. Of that, residential property is a small share. So, all the other investments stayed pretty stable \u2013 so investment in non-real estate and investment in commercial real estate.<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to residential, we are talking about approvals. We\u2019re not talking about actual purchases that the report covers. And there was a fee introduced for lodging an application to obtain FIRB approval. And this has actually distorted the result, because people in the past lodged multiple applications for approval \u2013 the same person multiple applications \u2013 and with the fee, that has slowed down.<\/p>\n<p>So, even the FIRB says \u2013 and I quote from the report \u2013 \u201cThis suggests that the resulting reduction in approval may not imply a corresponding reduction in actual investment in residential real estate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So, long story short, on the one side, we have the press who obviously say China is slowing down its investment into Australia. On the other side, there\u2019s actually far more to this story. Yes, there have been capital controls put in place on the Chinese side to streamline the investments overseas. However, this hasn\u2019t really slowed down overseas investments.<\/p>\n<p>The second bit is that there have been some factors being put in place \u2013 like stamp duty increases, certain regulations on the side of Australia \u2013 and that has led to a certain change in terms of the investment pattern. But I would not want to say that there is a dramatic drop in purchases.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, and we\u2019d hope that wouldn\u2019t be the case, because if we look a little deeper into the figures, about 88% of investment approvals in residential property are actually for new development, and we need new development. We need increased housing stock. We\u2019re not even meeting the current demands, Georg.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Georg:\u00a0 <\/strong>I completely agree. The ultimate aim of everyone living in Australia is to live the Australian dream \u2013 to own a home, be it an apartment or a house. This is for the people in Australia. The focus for foreign investors is only on the new properties.<\/p>\n<p>There were certain legislation introduced that actually make complete sense. One is a cap for foreigners to invest into a property to 50%. So, 50% of the units in an apartment block can go to foreigners. Why is this important? It\u2019s very important for people coming to the country \u2013 I migrated myself \u2013 to get integrated. Not live in isolation in a foreign community but become a real Australian.<\/p>\n<p>The second bit of legislation that was introduced was around vacancy, a penalty for leaving properties vacant. Again, this makes perfect sense. And the last one is I think it\u2019s very important to get these foreign investments into Australia because there\u2019s also additional investment and infrastructure investment following, and that actually helps everyone, the foreigners as well as the locals.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>Georg, just turning our focus to commercial property for a moment, I noticed that commercial real estate investment dropped by just a touch over 10%, from $50 billion down to $44 billion. How much of that has to do with the new China-Australia free trade agreement?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Georg:\u00a0 <\/strong>There might be a link to it, but I don\u2019t have any data to say it has a lot to do with it. There could be many factors. There are always variations from year to year, so the investment in service assets has more than doubled, the investment in mineral exploration has come down by roughly 40%. So, there are year-on-year changes.<\/p>\n<p>I think that the big trend is pretty stable in commercial investments, but the key determining factor was really the big variation in residential real estate, which got everybody a bit excited.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>I notice in that free trade agreement that Chinese investors no longer need to request investment approval before purchasing developed commercial property worth less than just a touch over $1 billion. I just wondered whether that had something to do with it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Georg:\u00a0 <\/strong>It probably would have something to do with it, but there wasn\u2019t much context given.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>So, what does the future hold? What sort of properties are Chinese investors looking for? What are you seeing through Juwai?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Georg:\u00a0 <\/strong>It depends a bit on the usage. There\u2019s the education segment. Obviously, that targets predominantly the apartment market. There\u2019s a certain retirement segment, which is more towards apartments and also detached houses or townhouse categories, and there\u2019s the investment segment, which goes across apartments as well as houses.<\/p>\n<p>Most of the new building approvals and the big growth in the building approvals has been in the apartments. And even Australians are preferring more and more apartments. It swung back a bit to landed properties a couple of years ago, and it seems to go back because the type of apartments are getting far more sophisticated, far more luxurious, and so on, and they\u2019re hassle-free for people who want to downsize.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>It\u2019s always interesting to follow it, Georg, and I appreciate you giving us that update. Georg Chmiel has been my guest. Georg is the director of Juwai, which is the number one Chinese international real estate website.<\/p>\n<p>Georg, thank you so much for your time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Georg:\u00a0 <\/strong>Thank you, Kevin.<\/p>\n<h2>Borrowers wise up to the banks &#8211;\u00a0Siobhan Hayden<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>With so much talk about what\u2019s happened through the Royal Commission with the banks, many people are wondering how they can go about getting a better home loan. What\u2019s their relationship with the bank? What\u2019s it going to be like going forward? Joining me to talk about this is Siobhan Hayden. Siobhan is the CEO of HashChing.<\/p>\n<p>Siobhan, thanks again for your time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Siobhan:\u00a0 <\/strong>Thanks for having me, Kevin. Nice to chat.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>There have been some revelations coming out of the Royal Commission, haven\u2019t there? People are very concerned about what the banks have done.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Siobhan:\u00a0 <\/strong>Definitely. I suppose it\u2019s quite disappointing to see such large institutions that people have traditionally put a lot of trust in really breaking that trust.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>Do you think that\u2019s irreparable, or is it going to drive more people to not be as loyal to their bank? Because there has been a lot of loyalty in the past.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Siobhan:\u00a0 <\/strong>I think you definitely have the traditional view of loyalty to big banks, but that is costing people a lot of money. That loyalty is sometimes misplaced. And I think we\u2019re also seeing an emergence in the last five to ten years \u2013 with the advent of social media and phones and consumers\u2019 voices \u2013 that consumers do put themselves at the middle of a transaction far more than we ever did, and we care more about how we\u2019re treated and what services were offered.<\/p>\n<p>So, I think we\u2019re getting more and more groundswell of consumers wanting to get a better outcome for themselves and think that they should be able to do that.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>Is it driving change? Are there more people who are actually getting proactive about shopping around for a better loan?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Siobhan:\u00a0 <\/strong>We\u2019re definitely seeing it. The cash rate, as you know, in August of 2016 was sitting at 1.5%. It hasn\u2019t changed in that time, but what customers have been seeing is basically out-of-term rate hikes on their existing variable rates, whereas new customers are being offered enticing interest rates to come and join the bank.<\/p>\n<p>So, we\u2019re seeing a trend, particularly with customers\u2026 Over 25% of our customers are on rates less than 3.7%. Whereas a year ago, 4% was enticing, now it\u2019s getting even better.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>It\u2019s an interesting view that because the rate hasn\u2019t changed from the RBA, most people think \u201cOh, the rate that I have now is probably the best rate I can get,\u201d when in fact, as you just said, many of the banks are offering much better rates to newer customers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Siobhan:\u00a0 <\/strong>That\u2019s right. Look, there are two real options: customers can get on the phone and talk to their bank, and I would recommend they do that. Not always do we have the right terminology to demonstrate we\u2019re quite committed to changing banks, so if you can\u2019t talk to your broker to negotiate a better rate, or of course, look at the option of refinancing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>What sort of language should you use with the bank when you\u2019re talking to them?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Siobhan:\u00a0 <\/strong>Definitely talking about what rates are available in the market \u2013 so, you need to know what other options are there \u2013 that you\u2019ve been offered a great rate already by an alternative bank, and that you\u2019re willing to move today or tomorrow if you don\u2019t get some relief on the current existing rate that you\u2019re repaying.<\/p>\n<p>Asking for a mortgage discharge form is always a good way to say that you\u2019re willing and prepared to move.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>What\u2019s a mortgage discharge form?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Siobhan:\u00a0 <\/strong>It\u2019s a form to say that you\u2019d like to discharge your mortgage to obviously refinance a move to a new bank.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>That would be a trigger for them, then they\u2019d want to know where you\u2019re going and what you\u2019re doing?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Siobhan:\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, and they would also be aware that you\u2019ve spoken to another bank that has asked you to get a mortgage discharge form for you to then move to them.<\/p>\n<p>So, I think you need to be a bit fore-armed. We look at our health plan every 12 months; I think looking at your home loan rate every 24 months makes good sense. It doesn\u2019t mean you need to do anything or move or refinance, but it does mean you know you\u2019re in a good position.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>For those uncomfortable with being that confrontational with the bank\u2013 and there would be many people like that \u2013 the alternative is a broker, HashChing as an example.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Siobhan:\u00a0 <\/strong>We\u2019re an absolute broker advocate, and brokers are supporting customers nearly 60% of the time around Australia with new residential lending. So, definitely partner with a broker.<\/p>\n<p>Obviously, we have great broker partners at HashChing, both rated and reviewed, so customers can definitely come to us and find a local broker in their area.<\/p>\n<p>But definitely get the professional to lift a phone and do that work for you.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>Tell me how HashChing works.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Siobhan:\u00a0 <\/strong>HashChing allows customers to come to our site. They can look at the options on deals that we have, which are all broker-introduced home loan deals. And once they\u2019ve added their basic information and their mobile number and what they\u2019re looking to do, we instantly partner them with a local broker in their area that they can then have personalized service to complete the transaction.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>As I said, for those who are uncomfortable and want to stay at that arm\u2019s length, if they were to do that, is that going to affect their credit rating?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Siobhan:\u00a0 <\/strong>No. The broker working with you will first look at your financial aspirations and goals, work out where you\u2019re at currently with your income, expenses, and your current repayments, and then ensure that you are moving to something that will make it a better outcome for you and your family.<\/p>\n<p>It doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you\u2019re going to refinance, but it does mean that you\u2019ll get a bit of a mental health check that you\u2019re actually in a good position.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>Because if I were to shop around and maybe go to one of the other banks, the moment I make an application or an inquiry with them, that is recorded on my credit file, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Siobhan:\u00a0 <\/strong>It definitely is if you make a formal application. A number of ours are actually committed to doing the research firstly. So, you need to know before you make the application that you are moving to something that will be better for you and your family financially down the track.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>That is very much why so many people are now using brokers, because you don\u2019t have to make that commitment there across all those home loans and can give you that advantage, can\u2019t they?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Siobhan:\u00a0 <\/strong>Absolutely. It\u2019s not uncommon to see a customer who comes to HashChing and says \u201cMy bank said I couldn\u2019t borrow.\u201d So, they think because one bank has said no, every bank will say no. That\u2019s completely not correct.<\/p>\n<p>And brokers are well positioned across nearly 30 different lenders to provide a good review of the market and what is actually possible for that particular customer.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes. HashChing, we\u2019ll put a link inside this interview so that you can get to them. Siobhan Hayden is the CEO for HashChing. She\u2019s been my guest.<\/p>\n<p>Siobhan, thanks very much for your time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Siobhan:\u00a0 <\/strong>Thanks for having me, Kevin. Have a great day.<\/p>\n<h2>Why chasing hotspots is not smart &#8211;\u00a0Veronica Morgan<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>One of the most common questions I\u2019m asked is about location. \u201cWhat\u2019s the best location? How do you find a good one?\u201d Well, there\u2019s no one better to ask than someone who hosted a show called <em>Location, Location, Location Australia.<\/em> I\u2019m talking about Veronica Morgan. She joins me.<\/p>\n<p>Good day, Veronica.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Veronica:\u00a0 <\/strong>Hello, Kevin. How are you?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>Wonderful. It\u2019s great to be talking to you again. If anyone knows about location, it has to be you.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Veronica:\u00a0 <\/strong>You\u2019d think so, wouldn\u2019t you?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>You\u2019d hope so. How do you go about choosing a good suburb?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Veronica:\u00a0 <\/strong>Very good question, and it is the question that everybody seems to want to know the answer to. So, as is typical with any question that I answer, there\u2019s no short answer. We first start by saying \u201cWell, are you an investor or an owner-occupier?\u201d Now, investors and owner-occupiers often make very different decisions about where they want to buy, but obviously, an investor isn\u2019t as wedded to an area that is suiting their particular needs or their particular lifestyle requirements.<\/p>\n<p>But the question that everyone wants to know is where\u2019s the next hotspot?\u00a0 And that is the big area of danger that I find. In fact, interestingly, lately I\u2019ve been doing a lot of research into various data sources and various advisory services trying to help people predict what\u2019s going to be the next hot spot, what\u2019s going to be the next area or location to move within the next, say, 12 to 18 months, and all I can say is that I absolutely get very alarmed by the drive for this sort of information because I like to avoid risk.<\/p>\n<p>Whenever I\u2019m talking to somebody about choosing a good location, I say let\u2019s think about the long game. Let\u2019s really try to get out of this hotspot type of mentality, this idea that \u201cI want immediate growth.\u201d Let\u2019s look for areas in which we\u2019re going to have sustained, consistent growth.<\/p>\n<p>Because the thing is that a flipper, for instance, they need to get their timing spot on and they also need to know those areas where there\u2019s going to be a rapid rise in the short term, but most of us aren\u2019t flippers.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, the first thing that I talk about is I want people to really understand that there is an enormous amount of risk in chasing short-term gains in property.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>And like you, I\u2019ve followed a lot of the people who do make these predictions, and it\u2019s a bit like throwing a dart at a dartboard in some cases because they don\u2019t always hit the bullseye, do they?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Veronica:\u00a0 <\/strong>No, and who\u2019s bearing the brunt of that? Who\u2019s actually suffering from that? It\u2019s the people who follow their advice, not them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>That\u2019s right. What other things would you recommend?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Veronica:\u00a0 <\/strong>Really, where you buy determines when you buy. Where I\u2019m coming from there is that when you\u2019re buying in areas that are subject to or sensitive to property cycles\u2026 And we also have to understand that the whole of Australia doesn\u2019t follow one cycle. So, you have to understand the local dynamics for starters, but where you buy determines when you buy.<\/p>\n<p>So, if you\u2019re buying in a very cyclical market\u2026 Say Perth, for instance. The analysts are saying that Perth finally hit the bottom. Well, that\u2019s the trough, one very long downward trend. Obviously, if you\u2019re going to buy in an area that goes down and then it holds a bit and then it goes up again, when you buy is critical to actually making money as an investor.<\/p>\n<p>Whereas if you buy in a blue-chip area, they don\u2019t have cycles in quite the same way. Obviously, the safest \u2013 and as a result, the most expensive \u2013 blue-chip areas are those inner suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne, because their growth cycle over time \u2013 or the pattern, if you like \u2013 doesn\u2019t have the same look to it of peaks and troughs. What it does is it tends to flatten off in slow periods, and then it\u2019ll grow again and then it\u2019ll flatten off.<\/p>\n<p>So, understanding the actual underlying historical trends, getting into the data, and looking at the past and saying \u201cWell, how much of that past is likely to replicate itself in the future?\u201d And that comes down to what\u2019s underpinning that market.<\/p>\n<p>So, in a cyclical market, there are usually big things that drive it \u2013 like in Perth, for instance, where it\u2019s mining \u2013 that might have very little to do with the actual individual houses, but it impacts on people\u2019s earning potential, it impacts on population, and it impacts all those big things that really underpin a market.<\/p>\n<p>Whereas in Sydney and Melbourne you have large populations, high incomes, high employment, and all those lifestyle markers that underpin a solid market.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>In summary, Veronica, your top three tips for picking a good location.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Veronica:\u00a0 <\/strong>Okay. I think the first pick is that if you\u2019re looking at an affordable location purely because you can\u2019t afford a less risky location, then you have to question whether you should be investing in property at all.<\/p>\n<p>The second tip is when you\u2019re looking at a blue-chip location, however, it\u2019s unfortunately going to cost you money on a monthly basis. Yield is a function of risk, and unfortunately these solid areas with very good foundations underpinning their long-term growth aren\u2019t going to deliver the yield that a lot of people want. But they have to understand that yield equals risk.<\/p>\n<p>And thirdly, not every property in these low-risk suburbs are low-risk properties. It\u2019s really important that you drill down, because the finer detail and the real success of an investment is understanding the local dynamics and buying the type of property that locals want in the right price bracket and all those sorts of things. So, you have to really tap into that local understanding.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, and just those three points alone, Veronica, summarize beautifully why it\u2019s so difficult to pick a suburb and say that it\u2019s the next hotspot, because they just vary so much, even street by street and property by property.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Veronica:\u00a0 <\/strong>They do, absolutely.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin:\u00a0 <\/strong>Great talking to you. Veronica Morgan has been my guest. Veronica, thank you so much. If you want to reach out to Veronica, her website is GoodDeeds.com.au.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks, Veronica.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Veronica:\u00a0 <\/strong>Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Highlights from this week: Are FIRB figures a good guide? Getting creative in the bedroom Common finance misunderstandings Why chasing hotspots is not smart Borrowers wise up to the banks Transcripts: Getting creative in the bedroom &#8211;\u00a0Adrian Ramsay Kevin:\u00a0 One of the challenges we find&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176692473,"featured_media":21501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,11,13,24],"tags":[101],"class_list":["post-21500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kevin-turner-sponsored-channels","category-kevin-update","category-latest-story","category-shows","tag-podcast"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Don\u2019t chase \u2018hotspots\u2019 + Good things in small spaces + FIRB figures need explanation - Realty Talk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/dont-chase-hotspots-good-things-in-small-spaces-firb-figures-need-explanation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Don\u2019t chase \u2018hotspots\u2019 + Good things in small spaces + FIRB figures need explanation - Realty Talk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Highlights from this week: Are FIRB figures a good guide? 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