Oh to live in Darwin at this time of the year! Temperatures in that city this week are expected to average 32 degrees, with overnight lows of 21.

For the rest of us, the pre-winter chill is certainly starting to bite. As we move into the colder months, here are 10 ways to warm up your home.

1. Prune those sun-suckers

Shady plants are great in summer, especially on the north and western sides of your property. But at this time of the year you want to get as much sun into your house as you can. Now is the time to prune plants blocking out your sunlight, if possible.

2. Let the sun in

When the sun is shining, remember to open curtains and blinds during the day, especially on the northern side of your home, but also the east (in the morning) and the west (in the afternoon).

However, you might consider leaving south-facing blinds and curtains closed on days when it is colder outside than in as the sun won’t hit those windows.

It’s very common to see homes shut up all day long with the curtains drawn. But before you head off to work or out for the day, opening the blinds and curtains on windows that get the sun can mean coming home to a much warmer property.

3. Block the cold out

Overnight you want to stop the warm air from inside your home being lost through the glass of your windows. It’s important to cover the windows to do this.

Either use thick curtains and a pelmet overhead to stop the air from getting to the window, or consider good-quality honeycomb (also known as cellular) blinds, which pull up almost out of sight during the day to let maximum sunlight in, but do a fantastic job of blocking the windows overnight, or on colder days when there is a lot of cloud cover.

The great thing about honeycomb blinds is you don’t end up with the heavy look of thick curtains but still get the insulating effect. They do look a bit like they belong in an office and not a home though, and if that bothers you, you can layer them behind a very light sheer curtain to soften their impact. Or of course, for even more insulation, a heavier curtain.

4. Fan-tastic

If you have ceiling fans, now is the time to switch them over to winter mode so that they run backwards. Put them on their lowest speed and they will direct the warm air from across the ceilings where it sits high up, and down the walls.

If you get condensation on your windows overnight, you’ll probably notice that leaving a fan on in winter mode during the day can help to dry the windows out faster.

5. Draughts be gone

Gaps around doors and windows can let in a lot of draughts. Block them up with an appropriate draught-sealer. Your local hardware store will have plenty of options.

Consider also a good old-fashioned door snake if you find it hard to seal the bottom of doors, which is often the case in older houses where steps may have worn, or doors are not quite square.

If you have particularly cold rooms in the home – the spare bedroom or laundry, for example, consider draught-sealing the door that separate that room or rooms from the rest of the home.

However, it is important to note that if you use unflued gas heating or an open fire, you will need to ensure you have adequate ventilation at home.

6. Monitor it

If you happen to be someone who is at home during the day, you’ll have the opportunity to throw open the windows and let the warmth in on the days when it becomes hotter inside than out, which can often happen at this time of year.

It can be helpful to have a thermometer with an outdoor sensor set up in a prominent spot in the home to let you know when it is warmer outside than in. Hardware stores often stock them – I have one a bit like this.

It will also come in handy in summer when you’ve got the opposite problem and you want to know when it has cooled enough to open the windows in the evening.

7. Go passive

A few months ago we installed a solar heater, which draws the warm air from the roof cavity into the home. You can read about it here.

I’m pleased to say it seems to working well at this time of year (when we hoped it would) helping to raise the home’s temperature by a critical three-four degrees, meaning the heater has pretty much stayed off so far, even on cooler nights.

Because our home is well-insulated, draught-sealed and has honeycomb blinds on almost all windows, when it warms up during the day it manages to hold the temperature overnight.

8. They mightn’t be pretty but…

Okay, I’ll admit that old-style aluminium roller shutters are butt-ugly.

When we inherited two shutters on the ’50s brick box we bought a year or so back, I was tempted to rip them off. But instead we gave them a paint job (a marginal improvement) and now find in winter, we wouldn’t be without them.

When the shutter goes down about the same time as the sun it’s like instant double-glazing, you can feel the difference because the shutter helps to provide an air pocket between our old single-pane glass windows and the cold night air.

They work so well I’m even tempted to put them on a few more windows.

9. Cook up a storm

It really is a time of year for baking and slow cooking. The house will definitely warm up, but will you be able to resist all that yummy food?

10. Control the thermostat

Running your heater at 18-21 degrees will keep you comfortable without toasting, and will also keep your winter heating bills down. Just one degree more in temperature can increase your heating costs by 15 per cent.

Story by Carolyn Boyd is a property journalist and keen follower of Australia’s housing market.

Source: www.domain.com.au

It’s one of the quickest ways to give a home a facelift, but painting like the pros requires patience, attention to detail, a steady hand and yes, tedious preparation.

It’s a messy business, with lots of bending, twisting and negotiating ladders, and inevitable dithering over the crucial colour scheme.

Decide up front who lands the back-breaking tasks of heavy sanding and painting the ceilings.

Painting is not just about getting the paint onto surfaces successfully. There’s an awful lot of work involved in not getting paint where it shouldn’t be.

To start

Start your painting project with some measurements. You will need to know how many square meters you will be painting.

Asses the surface you want to paint, is it fresh plaster or cement, is it old flakey paint or wall paper, is it a relatively new finish?

Tools of the trade. A wall scraper and painter’s tape

How dark is the current colour compared to the new colour you’ve chosen? If the old paint is very dark and your new paint is light, you may need an undercoat or have to apply more coats of paint.

What’s the quality of the surface? Is it a nice smooth surface or is it a bit rough?

If you can’t decide on a colour scheme, get some sample pots and experiment.

Surface prep is time consuming but will give the end result a more professional look.

Remember, colours can look quite different in different lighting conditions, don’t just rely on looking at the paper samples in the shop.

Paint comes in a number of finishes from matt to gloss and are either acrylic or enamel or oil-based.

Flat paint hides flaws in old walls. A semi- or high-gloss paint works best on woodwork, such as door and window frames, and skirtings. Low-sheen is the most popular finish for walls.

Careful cutting in gives a much better finish.

Wear and tear is another point to consider. For example, high traffic areas or walls subjected to small sticky fingers will call for a tough, easy maintenance finish.

Most surfaces require two coats of paint, and if you’re painting over a dark colour or a new wall, you’ll probably need an undercoat.

That said, many paint companies now offer "one coat wonders", so it’s worth having a good browse of the paint shelves.

Fantasy land: you will not look this cute or happy when you’re painting. Wear old clothes or overalls and cover your hair. Gloves are a good idea too.

Preparation

You might be a wiz with a paint brush and roller, but all your efforts will be in vain if you haven’t meticulously prepared the surfaces.

Cover the floor
Be generous with the drop sheets, taping them to the walls so they don’t slide around. Make sure the drop sheets are tough enough to resist tearing if you’re going to be moving a ladder around.

Good lighting is essential to ensure even coats of paint.

Light and ventilation
Make sure you’ve got good even lighting where you’re working so you see what you’re doing clearly. Wall surfaces and paint colours will look different in different lighting conditions, especially if it’s daylight coming from a single window.

Use a good bright portable light for best results. And check what you’re doing from different angles in the room.

Whenever using chemicals and stirring up dust make sure you have plenty of fresh air.

Move the ladder, don’t risk a fall or back strain by reaching too far.

Surfaces
Older walls will need any loose paint scraped off. Holes and cracks need scraped out to remove loose material and then patched with a suitable filler.

Blade scrapers are great for tidying up old paint jobs that left paint on window glass.

Be very careful painting over old paints, some of them are oil-based and cannot be painted over directly.

Not all fun and games: Don’t be fooled by DIY shows on TV, painting is hard work … hijinks with a paint roller in the an episode of The Block.

Water-based paint will stick to oil-based paints but only if the surface is prepared correctly. Get some professional advice on this one.

Filling and sanding
The rougher the overall wall surface is to begin with, the more your nice neat filled spots will stand out as shiny patches. Roughen up your patching a little if you want it to blend in.

Old, chipped woodwork will look exactly that if you don’t give it a really rigorous sand, starting with coarse sandpaper and finishing with a fine grade.

Use a smaller bucket to carry with you as you paint.

Give the walls a good sand over rough or shiny surfaces too and a quick sand over all the rest.

Vacuum up all the dust and lose bits of paint and plaster once you have finished preparing the surfaces.

Follow this by washing with sugar soap.

Painter’s tape
Use masking tape to protect surfaces such as light switches and skirting boards. In fact if you aren’t 100% confident of having a very steady hand… tape up the edges of everything you don’t want paint on.

A quick wipe with a rag will remove some stray brushstrokes on glass or other shiny surfaces, but it’s much easier to remove painters tape than unwanted paint, wet or dry.

This sounds like a lot of fiddling – and it is – but you just won’t get really good results without it.

Painting

Tools
Before you take the lid off the paint can, make sure you are ready to go with all your tools and equipment.

There’s nothing worse than starting to paint only to find you need to make another trip to the hardware shop or garage.

The type of surface you’re painting and the type of paint on will determine they types of brushes and rollers you will need. Always buy the best brushes and rollers you can afford, they will make the paint job look more professional.

Buying cheap rollers might seem like a good idea but not when you’re left with fuzz in your fresh paint or extra work because the roller won’t hold enough paint.

Don’t put too much paint in a roller or brush. You want the paint applied evenly but not too thick on the walls. Use a nice firm pressure when using a roller.

Step one – edges
Start painting by cutting in around all the edges with a brush or a paint edger

Make sure your cutting in doesn’t dry before you start filling in with the roller.

Using a small container for your paint as you walk around the room is easier than moving a heavy tin of paint with you and is less dangerous to carry up a ladder.

Step two – walls
then use a roller to apply the paint in long, even zig-zag sweeps, finishing in parallel strokes that even out any overlapping paint edges.

Rollers will make painting walls much faster and give a far better finish than brushes.

You don’t want it dripping down the wall or on the floor and certainly not flying off the ends of the roller in globs.

Cutting in around light fittings and wall fixtures at the same time as you roll will help to avoid a patchy finish if you have a large area and won’t start using the roller before the edges dry.

Using a straight edge tool will help keep paint off adjacent areas if you haven’t taped them up. This tool is especially useful for painting right down to the bottom of walls in carpeted rooms.

The paint is for the wall not for the tool, just put paint on the wall side of the brush. Wipe the straight edge frequently to make sure it’s paint-free against the surface you are protecting.

Extension poles are a must if you’re painting high ceilings, it will be faster and much kinder on your back and neck, not to mention reducing the dangers of trips up and down a ladder.

Use roller tray liners for easier clean up and less waste.

Drop sheets are essential but they don’t save floors from paint you walk from the room you’re painting to another.

Try to clean up spills on your drop sheet as they happen, but always check your shoes or take them off before you step off the drop sheet onto unprotected surfaces.

Wrap brushes and rollers in plastic to prevent drying out or needing to wash if you’re taking a break or continuing the following day.

Do…

• Thoroughly stir the paint before starting
• Always work your way down, starting with the ceilings first
• Choose the best quality paint brushes and paint you can afford
• Paint in manageable patches to ensure you’re not going back over paint that’s started to dry already.
• Tie up/cover your hair unless you want paint speckles that don’t wash out once dried.

Don’t…

• Use a cheap masking tape. Buy proper painter’s masking tape that won’t remove the paint or chunks of plaster when you pull it off
• Overload your roller or brushes with paint
• Stir paint with a brush
• Try to paint over crumbly surfaces you will just get ugly lumps in your paint

Safety tips

• Always wear a dust mask or respirator when sanding or using products with fumes warnings
• Ensure rooms are well ventilated
• Use a fan to assist with ventilation
• Check your ladder is rock-steady before you step on it
• If your building is old, allow for the possibility of toxic lead paint. Further information can be obtained from the Environment Protection Agency on 1800 803 772
• Reduce trips up and down ladders by using smaller paint pots when painting with a brush, use and extension handle with a roller and avoid the ladder completely.

Story Source: www.domain.com.au

When it comes to planning for retirement, paying off a mortgage should be the cornerstone of security.

Question

I am a 49-year-old single female earning $61,317 a year. I pay a compulsory members contribution of 2 per cent to the Public Servants Superannuation Fund.

I have $96,000 in super and another $11,000 in a rollover fund. I have a $232,000 mortgage on a house in the outer suburbs of Melbourne with repayments of $910 a fortnight.

My preservation age is 58 and my Centrelink age pension age is 67. I was hoping to retire well before 67 as I am barely capable of working full time now.

I realise my super balance is inadequate to enable early retirement. In one year I will attain 10 years service and my employer will match my personal super contributions up to 10 per cent.

I receive $911 a fortnight net wages after mortgage, tax and super deductions, so I struggle financially.

If I increase my super contributions it will create even more hardship.

Should I increase my mortgage repayments instead of increasing the super, or a combination of both?

Should I get income-protection insurance and trauma insurance (reducing my net income further), to avoid calamity if I were to get sick? S.M.

Answer

Yes, you can’t go past the offer to match contributions up to 10 per cent and you need to take this up to the full.

However, you also have to put priority on being able to retire in a mortgage-free home and thus avoid a drain on your retirement income. At least you can then rely on the full-age pension to meet your daily needs.

At your current rate of repayment, it will take you some 17 years to pay off your mortgage, assuming an interest rate of 7.3 per cent. Alternatively, you could pay off a loan of about $155,000 over nine years or $130,000 over seven years.

You need to decide whether you can afford this property or whether you are better off relocating to a smaller unit. Or wait until retirement to sell and then buy what you can then afford without a mortgage, but you’ll pay bigger repayments into a bigger mortgage until then.

For now, open a mortgage offset and use it as your main deposit account so that, by using a 55-day credit card, you can keep as much money in there for as long as possible. It’s the most tax-efficient way to handle your money.

Some people suggest salary sacrificing to the maximum and thus getting a tax deduction, then withdrawing a lump sum at retirement and paying off the mortgage.

This may suit those in high tax brackets, depending on whether their super investments make or lose money, but you are already struggling and will be struggling more.

Rollover the benefit from your rollover fund into, say, the AGEST super fund and buy salary continuance insurance through super so as not to reduce the amount you can put into your mortgage offset account.

That, plus your sick pay entitlements will, hopefully, insure against any trauma.

If you have a question for George Cochrane, send it to
Personal Investment
PO Box 3001
Tamarama, NSW, 2026

Helplines

Banking Ombudsman, 1300 780 808
pensions, 13 23 00

Story source: www.domain.com.au, story by George Cochrane

We’ve been so worried about plastic shopping bags, but what about the plastic we use to wrap our lunches?

As a Mum there are some things I am not imaginative enough to work out. What do you suggest as substitutes for freezer wrap to put meat or cakes etc in, and for lunch?

Like their shopping bag counterparts, plastic products such as freezer bags and cling film are not environment-friendly.

While technically it’s possible to recycle plastic bags, the reality is not simple.

Linda Edwards from the National Packaging Covenant explains: “No Australian plastic is biodegradable. Traditionally in Australia it’s been very difficult to recycle because of the sorting and collection system needed. Also there is a lack of plants able to reprocess it.”

Fortunately, there are alternative, environment-friendly options.

Substitutes such as 4MyEarth Wraps (www.4myearth.com.au) are a good choice for keeping sandwiches fresh. These reusable wraps are machine washable, and they not only wrap sandwiches but also act as a placemat to eat them off! The wraps come in sandwich and snack sizes.

A sandwich-sized hard plastic container would also do the trick.

When storing food in your fridge or freezer, consider investing in plastic containers rather than plastic bags – containers are endlessly reusable so you don’t need to discard the plastic every time you take something out of the freezer.

Multiple use freezer bags can be found in your local supermarket, although these have to be thrown out eventually.

Look out for biodegradable freezer bags that have recently come onto the market. They’re made of cornstarch, a renewable resource.

But if you can’t give up the cling wrap, remember that you probably don’t need to use very much – it only needs to cover the food, not mummy-wrap it!

Story source: www.yonderr.com.au

If you’re a parent, you likely have several giant bins filled to the brim with toys for your little ones. And with Christmas (ho ho ho!) over you’re likely to have gotten toys in all shapes and sizes.  And while I’m no bah humbug, the relative size of our children’s toy boxes has become incredibly large given their small stature, and the environmental problems are equally ill-proportioned:

• Mountains of trash: Of the 40 million toys thrown away annually, 13 million are put into the rubbish according to green living website www.ecolife.com.
• Difficult recycling: Because toys are made from many different materials – plastics, metal, glass, computer components, and more – they are incredibly difficult to recycle and in many cases are not accepted by recycling facilities.

Once Christmas is over, we try to keep the toys under control (as well as our carbon footprint) by having a post-Christmas clean-up and getting rid of toys that haven’t been used or the children have simply grown out of.

Donating used toys to a good cause can be one of the most effective ways to recycle toys. Not only does this prevent garbage from being sent to landfills, it provides a second life for your used toys, which means the materials will go on functioning for many months or years to come. The sky’s the limit when it comes to donating used toys – use your imagination to find a person or charity who could use your second hand toys:

• Children’s charities
• Children’s hospitals
• Churches
• Day cares
• Family members
• Friends
• Neighbours
• Playgroups
• Thrift shops like those through St Vincent de Paul or the Salvation Army

Not all toys can be donated to charities for various health and ethical reasons. To ensure that your toys have the best chance of being given away rather than trashed, consider these toy donation guidelines:

• Toys should be nontoxic
• Ensure that the toys are clean and are not missing parts
• Broken toys are unlikely to be accepted, especially if they pose a choking hazard
• Avoid toys with a religious theme unless you’re donating to a faith-based charity
• Toys that require batteries are not as suitable for donation as they will require the parents of the child to purchase batteries (which may be out of their budget)
• Toys made from things like fabric, cardboard, paper, and other absorbable materials are often rejected as they are difficult to clean and disinfect

In addition to donating used toys, there are many ways you can recycle toys so that they don’t end up in the landfill:

• Contribute to a toy library: Some communities have toy libraries that are like book libraries – you can check toys in and out so that your child is never bored with their personal stash. Each toy library is unique to the local community, so the best way to find one in your area is to do a search online for your city/town name + “toy library.”
• Sell or trade: Sometimes a toy is too valuable to simply give away, in which case you could try to sell it.
• Recycling centers: Some communities have set up recycling programs for large plastic toys and metals toys as well, though you will need to call ahead to determine your recycling centre’s toy recycling policy.
• Deconstruction: If your recycling centre will not take your toys as is, sometimes you can dismantle them yourself to recycle the various components, such as the paper, cardboard, metal, and plastic which can then be put with other recyclables of the same kind. Cardboard and paper components can also be composted.

If you have any good ideas for what can be done with second hand toys we’d love to hear from you.

Source:  www.ecolife.com

Read more on how to be green at www.yonderr.com.au

We’re on a roll with environmentally-friendly work tips and here are five more great ideas if you have the ear of the boss.

1. Cleaning Products
Whether you’re using an independent cleaning person or the building management has staff in place, now is the time to switch cleaning products to greener versions to drastically reduce indoor air pollution and to avoid adding questionable chemical residue to our waterways. Obviously this is easier to do when you don’t have to go through building management. But even if you can get a building to change one product to green, you’ll really be making a difference.

2. Energy Initiatives
Change light bulbs to energy efficient ones and put up signs reminding staff to pull the plug at the end of the day on things like coffee makers and microwaves, and to turn their computers off at the power point. Standby on many computers equals energy guzzler.

3. Paper Products
Set up a digital file sharing system and make an initiative to print as little as possible. Paper should be 100 percent recycled, and either unbleached, or bleached without chlorine. When you do print, set up your printer to automatically print double-sided. Speaking of printing – refill ink cartridges rather than buying new and if that’s not possible there are plenty of places where you can take them for recycling.

Reuse anything that is printed on one side only as scrap paper, reducing the need for new notebooks in the office. New notebooks, toilet paper, paper towels, business cards and more can all be found in eco-friendlier versions. If you send out lots of mailings at work, choose eco packing materials. Reuse boxes, use shredded papers for packing material and look for padded envelopes containing recycled fibre.

Consider cancelling all your newspaper and magazine subscriptions and go online instead.

4. Stock Your Kitchen
Much of the waste that is created during the day in an office is takeout food containers, coffee cups and water bottles. If you have a kitchen, use it. Simple things can make a huge difference. Fill a cupboard with reusable mugs, plates, glasses, and utensils. Stick a bottle of eco dish soap by the sink. Put in an under the sink water filter. Plug a coffee maker into the wall. Take it a step further by filling it with Fair Trade/organic coffee and putting organic milk in the fridge. You don’t need plastic or wooden stirrers when you have spoons in the cupboard. Sugar and tea also come in Fair Trade/organic versions. Bulk sugar has less packaging than individually wrapped paper packets. Coffee filters, like all paper products, now come in unbleached versions. If you have a microwave, put a few microwave safe glass containers in the cupboard (it’s not a good idea to put plastic in the microwave). If you have a bottle of hand soap or sanitizer in the kitchen, make sure it doesn’t contain an antibacterial (like Triclosan).

5. Try carbon offsetting your business

Whether you’re a unique boutique, a mobile business or a large company – or something in between, you’re impacting the environment and if you want to do more about carbon emissions and the boss thinks it’s a good idea, try offsetting.  Carbon offsetting is a way for businesses (and individuals) to invest in projects that prevent or reduce greenhouse gas emissions from being released into the atmosphere. 

Check out the various options and pricing at Yonderr.com.au

If you have any other tips to help create greener workplaces we would love to hear from you – drop us a line today.

For more information on this article, click here.

Story source: www.yonderr.com.au

Last week we talked about being green on the cheap, and this week we thought we would focus on the work place.  Here are 5 ways to give your office a green tinge – and some might even save the boss some money.  Here goes:

1. Bring your lunch
Pack your lunch in reusable containers. As well as contributing less to the already overwhelmed landfills, you will save money and your health. Don’t forget to pack a bottle (reusable of course!) of water, real utensils, and a cloth napkin. If you prefer to eat take out, try bringing reusable containers with you for your over-the-counter soup, salad or whatever.

2. Get involved
If your boss isn’t interested in making overall changes, you can still bring in a green cleaner for your desk, or put a bottle of eco dish detergent in the kitchen. Bring your own plate/cup/mug/bowl/utensils and store them in a desk drawer. People will notice and it might start a (good) trend. Find an electronic waste recycling place and help facilitate the office to take old stuff there. Put signs on office and bathroom doors reminding people to recycle and to shit down their computer at the end of the day.

3. Wash more, dry clean less
What are you wearing? Perc (perchloroethylene) the main chemical in dry cleaning solvent is a classified hazardous chemical and has been linked to cancer in lab animals. You know the smell. The chemical gets trapped in the plastic bags. Then we put those trapped items in our closets, close the door, and sleep next to the closet with the windows shut all night long. Bad idea. If you have perc-cleaned clothes you need to remove the plastic and air your clothes for several hours to let the chemicals evaporate. Better alternatives to conventional dry cleaning include sponge cleaning or hand washing. This works, even for wool. Speaking of wool, avoid mothballs. The vapours are carcinogenic and if a child swallows one, it could kill them. Use things like lavender, cedar, and temperature (stick sweaters in your freezer) for moths.

4. Transportation
How do you get to work in the morning? Public transportation is preferable to driving. Carpooling is a good option where public transport is unavailable. Walking or biking are obviously the best options, as is telecommuting (you’ll save money on petrol, too).

5. Open Windows
Studies show indoor air to be worse than outdoor air. Ventilation is key, especially if you’re sitting near a photocopier. And put a plant on your desk – some are known to act as air filters (aloe vera/ficus for formaldehyde; spider plant for carbon monoxide, and several others).

To read the full story, click here

Story source: www.yonderr.com.au

Smart design may challenge our love of huge houses.

Australians should be embarrassed about their obsession with size, according to Melbourne architect and campaigner for sustainable urban design Stuart Harrison.

It’s not how big a home is that’s important; it’s what you can do with it, he says.

Harrison, who co-hosts 3RRR’s The Architects, has written a coffee-table book of innovative housing designs. Forty-Six Square Metres of Land Doesn’t Normally Become a House showcases the work of Australian and New Zealand architects who have created spacious homes in extremely small areas.

Examples include a five-storey house in Sydney with a garage that has a small bathroom to allow conversion to a study or tenancy; a bedroom and bathroom; living room; kitchen-dining room; and sitting room or study opening to a roof garden overlooking the city.

To put the size of the property in context, the house, now home to a couple, was built on land formerly used as a car park for three vehicles.

Similarly, a young architect has transformed a 150-square-metre strip of land backing onto a South Melbourne lane into two two-bedroom homes over three levels. The possibilities of the ground level alone include car parking, granny flat, study or office space.

The utility, flexibility and beauty of the 45 featured homes is all the more impressive given Australian houses hold the dubious honour of being the largest in the world, with the average new dwelling being 253 square metres. Most new houses are well over that, with more than 400 square metres being common.

”In the real estate world there’s a concentration on big houses, big being better,” Harrison says. ”This [book] is really about saying that compact housing can be sexy, that it can be attractive to live in.”

Harrison is arguing for a cultural shift in the way Australians value property. ”Housing is normally sold based on two or three variables: number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms and number of car parking spots.”

None of those variables take into account the quality of the design, or of the space the house occupies. While Harrison is a proponent of smaller houses, he also believes a related problem is that apartments are often too small, inside and out.

”When you have smaller housing types, outdoor space becomes more important but contemporary apartments usually have only a one-metre-deep balcony. That’s effectively useless for anything other than maybe standing outside and smoking or putting an airconditioner [there].”

This lack of usable outdoor space can force people to set their sights on a house rather than an apartment. ”Whereas if we had better apartment types, that would be addressed,” Harrison says.

This misuse of space has added to the paradox of the average Australian home growing in size at the same time as the number of people living in it has decreased, along with the land size. ”So we have more interior space but less exterior space, less garden and all those things that make housing good.”

The average home size should be reduced by 20 per cent, with the cost saving then spent on good design, including the return of outdoor space and better use of light and orientation, he says.

Most of the homes showcased in the book are flexible with spaces that can be easily modified to suit different uses at different times of the day or life stages, such as garages that can be home offices or granny flats.

Living spaces are often connected to the outside to make them seem bigger and there is innovative use of light and shade.

Canny design creates possibilities for increasing housing density in spaces that would otherwise be seen as unusable.

Harrison says compact infill developments make it possible for more people to live closer to their workplaces and amenities, increasing quality of life and reducing urban sprawl and energy costs.

”More compact housing that’s located near stuff you might need, both your workplace and places of recreation, will help you get to places with less energy and then the housing itself, if it’s smaller, will take less energy to build and, of course, need less energy to heat, cool and maintain.”

Harrison is confident this shift will happen, with the financial and social cost of buying and maintaining large homes on the urban fringe being a key driver for people to value smaller and more flexible housing design.

He predicts fashion could be another factor: ”There might be a move away from larger housing in the future as it becomes slightly embarrassing to have a 400-square-metre house rather than something that’s seen as being a good design.”

Story by Kate Robertson www.domain.com.au

Consider these tips when looking for property in a depressed market.

Purchasing an investment property when the market is down can be extremely profitable.

But you still have to make sure you’re getting a good deal in a buyers’ market – and wise investors won’t be so blinded by the chance of a ”bargain” that they ignore their long-term strategy – which all means it isn’t as simple as it might look.

In a sellers’ market almost any price a vendor puts on a property results in a sale and such buoyant conditions tend to hide ”over-enthusiastic” prices.

In a depressed market, it’s much easier to buy real estate at more realistic prices because there’s more supply than demand.

Real estate isn’t a uniform market, though. There are many sub-markets that perform differently.

Good properties in certain areas can still sell within 24 hours of being listed, whatever the prevailing conditions, so it’s vital you get up to speed with the buying tactics used by seasoned investors.

Target fail-safe properties

The best properties to buy are those that will always be in demand. For many investors, this means acquiring property that’s close to the city centre. For others it means opting for houses or units priced at near the median price for their areas, which are sought-after by owner-occupiers and investors.

Areas that perform well over time and properties that have a high land content are often your best options.

With units, the golden rule is to go for an apartment in a popular location with restaurants and transport nearby. It should be in a well-constructed building with a high land-to-unit ratio.

Distressed sellers

Many vendors have been hit hard by changes in their circumstances. While mortgagee sales are a clear sign of the economic slowdown, you also need to be on the lookout for other signs of vendor distress.

The number of couples seeking divorces tends to rise in times of financial hardship. Other vendors give up on home ownership and go back to renting. You don’t always discover these factors the first time you talk to an agent. But if you prod him or her and ask the right questions, you’ll obtain information that may help you secure a good property at a great price.

Avoid speculation

It’s crazy to buy a property at below market value if it’s in an area where prices are set to fall. Some property advisers believe this is not a good time to speculate or to rely on the ripple effect to drive up capital growth in suburbs bordering proven growth areas.

Speculators do best when markets are running hot. With the number of properties for sale rising in many areas, your opportunity to make good money by targeting properties in established suburbs is higher. Why take the risk on an unproven area?

Look for multiple listings

Listing a property with several agents shows a keen vendor. Because no single agent has an exclusive deal, you may be able to buy directly from the vendor. This can eliminate $30,000 or more in agents’ selling fees from the sale. You need to tread carefully and take legal advice, however.

Many of these vendors usually want an agent to handle the final sale. Even so, the fact their property is listed by several agents means they want to sell and fast.

Go fast, go slow

A buyers’ market means buyers are more in control than sellers. It’s easier to negotiate a delayed settlement on a purchase but don’t forget that speed is also a useful bargaining tool. In a slow market, cash is king. A vendor may take considerably less for a quick settlement compared with another higher offer on delayed terms.

If you’ve found a property you want and have gone through your normal planning and checking processes, a cash unconditional offer and a quick settlement can significantly reduce the price you pay.

Story by Chris Tolhurst www.domain.com.au

According to the manufacturers cold water laundry detergents wash most clothes perfectly well. Most if us, however, still cling on to our mum’s advice about using warm water to wash our clothes.  However in the process we use up valuable energy and contribute to carbon emissions.  And remember, you don’t need a carbon tax to become more aware of CO2 emissions.

According to TreeHugger, a full 90 percent of the energy used in washing clothes goes toward heating the water, so it stands to reason that using less energy by washing in cold, unheated water would create significant environmental savings. But just how much difference are we really talking about?

The TreeHugger number crunchers came up with some pretty interesting results. It turns out that pressing the cold/cold button (instead of the hot/warm button) on your washing machine has the same impact as driving about 9 miles in a car or the production, transportation and storage of a six pack of beer.

It may not be too surprising that one load of laundry doesn’t make a huge amount of difference compared to, say, not eating meat or dairy. But, multiply those impacts by 392 — the number of laundry loads an average U.S. home washes in a year — and, all of the sudden, there are some real impacts.

Washing laundry in hot water is really wasteful
Washing every load on the hot/warm cycle (in a top loading machine and an electric water heater) for a year is equivalent to burning about 182 gallons of gasoline in a car; in an average (19.8 miles per gallon) car, that’ll get you around 3595 miles. So, wash in hot/warm, or drive almost 3600 miles — same difference.

Similarly, if you wash with the hot/cold cycle (in a top loading machine and an electric water heater), you’ll end up with 2407 pounds of CO₂ per year — just over a metric ton — which is equal to about one US round-trip cross-country flight (6171 miles of long-haul flying).

Using a gas water heater is far more efficient
If you’ve got a gas water heater, the news is a little greener. You’re looking at 3.22 pounds of CO₂ per load, which translates to just over 3 miles in a car; add that up over an average year’s worth of washing, and you’re looking at just over 1288 miles in a car or about 1262 pounds of CO₂, or most of the way from New York City to London by airplane.

Using cold water can really net you some savings
When you use cold water to wash, you just use energy to run the machine — about .24 kWh — without using any energy to heat the water. That .24 kWh translates to about .41 pounds of CO₂ per load, or about 162 pounds of CO₂ per year. That’s about 8 gallons of gas, or 164 miles of driving. Compare that to the 3595 miles of driving that the top end of the emissions scale (washing in hot/warm, using a top-loading machine and water heated with an electric water heater), and pressing that cold/cold button starts to make a sizable difference.

Using an efficient Energy Star machine makes a big difference, too
Energy Star estimates that water savings range from 40 percent to 75 percent with front-loading washing machines, so their relative impact would be comparably less.

What does this all mean? Aside from being a great example of how little decisions add up to make a big difference, it shows how wasteful heating large quantities of water can be. Just selecting the “cold/cold” cycle has the potential to save as much CO2 emissions each year as thousands of miles driven in a car, or even an airplane flight or two.

For the full story click here

Story Source: www.yonderr.com.au

Top tips to help mortgage holders avoid budget blowouts

School holidays often impact Australian families juggling additional entertainment costs and their regular financial commitments. Many parents rely on credit for unplanned expenses and may not be aware that there are simple ways to take control of holiday cash flow headaches.

Home loan features, such as a redraw facility, can provide a clever way to stay on top of spending, according to Australia’s largest independently-owned mortgage broker, Mortgage Choice.

Company spokesperson, Kristy Sheppard said, “Borrowers are often unaware their home loan may allow them to stash extra funds for cash-heavy periods such as school holidays and save money over the long term. Some still put funds away into a savings account instead even if they are aware.”

“I question why a borrower who can contribute extra funds into their home loan as a buffer, and redraw without penalty when that money is needed for unexpected expenses, would store the funds in a savings account where the interest made is taxable. Which will build a stronger financial position?

“By contributing the extra into their home loan, they’ll accrue less interest, lowering their repayments. Every extra dollar above the minimum repayment reduces the principal loan amount the interest is calculated on. This same theory applies to funds kept in an offset account attached to the home loan.

“Of course, redraw and offset account usage costs need to be taken into consideration. There may be one-off setup costs to activate a redraw facility and some lenders set minimum and maximum redraw amounts and frequencies. Such a facility works better for those who occasionally redraw extra funds.

“Borrowers requiring frequent redraws would be better suited to a loan with an offset account. This links a savings account of sorts with their home loan account and ‘offsets,’ or uses, that amount to reduce the daily interest accumulated on their mortgage while still being available to withdraw. Note that some lenders offer partial offset only and some attract set up and ongoing maintenance costs.”

Consider Mortgage Choice’s other tips to consciously save, manage spending and enjoy the holidays:

1. Set a yearly savings plan. Utilise your home loan’s features or, if it works better for you, regularly deposit funds in a high interest savings account. Review it often to stay on top of holiday spending.

2. Involve the kids in creating a holiday agenda with a budget attached. Your children may be more appreciative if they are involved in the process of deciding what outings the family can afford.

3. Keep activity costs down, but the excitement up. With so many children armed with games consoles, invite your children’s friends over for a games night where everyone brings some food.

4. Research multi-passes and other discount offers. If pre-purchasing tickets, ask for multi-park or ride passes as well as family or student discounts. Monitor group buying sites for special deals.

5. Calculate what you want to spend next holiday season. Divide the total spending of the most recent holiday period by 12 (if you are paid monthly or by 26 and 52 for fortnightly and weekly) and add a little inflation to calculate how much you need to save for the next holiday season.

For home loan tips, trends, facts, data and other information, visit MortgageChoice.com.au, Facebook.com/MortgageChoice or Twitter.com/MortgageChoice. Or, call 13 MORTGAGE.

Have you noticed the word eco has started to crop up in ads for houses? We’ve seen it on consumer products – just walk down the cleaning aisle and check out the hundreds of claims for biodegradable, environmentally friendly, green and renewable. And I couldn’t help but notice this week, that the word eco is cropping up more and more. It’s not a flood but it definitely looks like the beginning of a trickle. And that’s how streams usually start.

Of course, not all green claims apply to houses. For example, you wouldn’t expect to see a home being advertised as biodegradable. Although some tenants might be able to claim they are renting something that fits the bill because it is crumbling before their eyes.

I contacted the consumer affairs departments in a couple of states, as well as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to see if they had received any complaints about unsupported green claims on houses for sale or rent – but it seems if it’s happening, it’s not yet in big enough numbers to get noticed by those kinds of bodies.

Christopher Zinn, of consumer advocacy group Choice, says products on supermarket shelves are awash with green claims, so he wouldn’t be surprised to see it emerging in the housing market too.

"I can say my house is green or eco or anything," Zinn says. "Anyone can make [that claim] because there really is no measure or standard."

However, there is a ceiling to green claims on houses – informed buyers. It’s not quite like buying a spray cleaner, where you dash wildly through the supermarket, potentially with a trolley crammed with a couple of toddlers whose little windmill arms try to grab at all manner of colourful products as you whiz past. There’s little time or head space to give much thought to the price of the thing you end up buying, let alone the veracity of its environmental claims. But with a residential property you take a lot more time to decide – usually – have more time to investigate claims the home is somehow green or kind on the environment. And then there are building inspections that can give you some professional insight too.

There are always going to be agents who try to put a green spin on things though. Like the guy who told me the other day without a quiver in his voice or a shift in tone that it was great the unit he was selling faced west because it got lots of afternoon sun. Um yes, the type that hits you in the eyes, blinds you, and turns your place into an oven.

It begs the question. What makes a green house? Is it green if it meets the newish five star energy minimum that many new houses and major renovations must be built to? Does whacking on a couple of solar panels, or a 2000-litre water tank make it green? How about a couple of draught stoppers? Or building a whopping big house that is filled with downlights and nary a ceiling fan in sight. It might face north (a good thing) but it doesn’t pay attention to too many other details that could make it tread more lightly on the environment. Should there be some minimum standard that properties have to meet to use the label "eco"?

As flagged a few weeks ago, the Council of Australian Governments is proposing a national energy ratings scheme from next year, which could look something like the one already in place in the ACT. If the scheme is introduced, that could help shine some more light on whether houses can really be called eco, or just plain old energy and water guzzlers.

As Christopher Zinn says: "Wherever you see the word eco or green or natural you need to get out a very accurate ruler. It could mean anything and nothing."

Story by Carolyn Boyd, a property journalist and keen follower of Australia’s housing market.

Source: www.domain.com.au

Your pets will always be aware that something new is happening. As with humans, your pets enjoy comfortable and familiar surroundings. Moving away from routines will increase the stress levels.

Quotify has an excellent site detailing some of the measures you should consider when moving with your pets. Among the main concerns are:

> Keeping pet routines regular.

> Ensuring animals are registered and have all their identification tags available – especially during the moving period in case they get lost.

> Have your pet checked by the vet before you move.

> Ensure your pet meets local laws and regulations if you have moved interstate – some states have curfews (and in some cases outright bans) for different animals.

> Make sure your pet is accustomed to its familiar surrounding such as bowls and toys, etc, soon after they have arrived at your new address.

> If you’re travelling by car, ensure you have the correct size animal carrier for your pet.

> It’s a good idea not to feed pets substantial meals during the trip, but rather have snacks and plenty of water.

• Incorporate breaks and exercise time for pets into the trip.
• Take a litter box for cats and scoop and plastic bags for dogs.

> Dogs should be acclimatised to their new surroundings as soon as possible – take them for a walk to familiarise themselves.

> With cats, in particular, it is a good idea to leave one room where they feel completely at home and are not upset by the sight of packing boxes and furniture out of place.

> At a cat’s new location, it is likely to feel out of place for a while and may be happy being kept inside until it’s ready to venture forth.

• A good solution is to leave the cat in cage outside to check its new surroundings – with you not far away of course.
• Making sure your cat is allowed to look outside through windows is a good way of letting them acclimatise.

> Animals such as guinea pigs, mice, birds or reptiles, should be kept in their cages, covered and cool.

• Ensure they have access to water as soon as you arrive at your location.

> You could consider rubbing a towel around your cat’s or dog’s body at your old address and rubbing this around prominent surfaces at your new address to ensure your pet gets a feeling of ‘home’ at its new location.

> Some companies might move pets – always ensure you have up to date vaccination and vet records.

Story by Alice M –realestate.com.au

Sixty per cent of people looking to buy an investment property before mid 2011 planned to access equity in their home to fund all or part of that purchase, according to the latest Mortgage Choice property survey.

This response reveals that there’s still a high proportion of ‘mum and dad’ investors who don’t comprehend how to use equity to buy additional properties, and feel they must first repay their mortgages, said Mortgage Choice spokeswoman Kristy Sheppard.

In addition to using the equity balance, which acts as the loan security and the cash deposit substitute, meeting the lender’s serviceability criteria is also important, said Sheppard. And on loans that equate to more than 80 per cent of the property price, adds Sheppard, lenders mortgage insurance must also be factored into borrowing costs.

Risk is also a consideration when accessing equity, said Sheppard.

"Before accessing your equity it is necessary to establish whether you can comfortably afford higher loan repayments and which, if any, lender is willing to lend to you," she said.

Mortgage Choice identifies three common types of equity finance:

1. Loan top-up – is essentially a mortgage extension to fund another property purchase. Extra funds are usually made available via a lump sum payment with interest payable on the entire top-up amount.

2. Line of credit – allows a borrower to withdraw funds in addition to a home loan amount, up to a limit set by the lender. Interest is also payable on these funds. Line of credit loans generally attract a higher interest rate, are often interest-only and must be carefully managed.

3. Refinancing – allows a borrower to move to a different lender and loan product to increase the home loan amount. It’s important to shop around as lenders offer different features, fees, interest rates and measure borrowing capacity differently.

Source: API Magazine