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Showing posts with label michael marquette. Show all posts
Showing posts with label michael marquette. Show all posts
Thursday, November 13, 2008
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Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The Little Black Book of Scams
The ACCC has just released a brand new edition of its very popular The little black book of scams.
The little black book of scams highlights a variety of popular scams that regularly target Australian consumers and small business in areas such as fake lotteries, internet shopping, mobile phones, online banking, employment and investment opportunities. It also offers consumers tips on how to protect themselves from scams, what they can do to minimise damage if they do get scammed and how they can report a scam.
Scams do not discriminate; they target people of all backgrounds, ages and income levels. There is a scam out there for everyone. The little black book of scams has been designed to be appealing and accessible to a broad range of people–younger people; older people; families; and business people alike. It is colourful and engaging and the information is clearly set out so you can find what you are looking for.
Stay one step ahead of the scammers. Read The little black book of scams get the low-down on scams which target you! You can also check out Scamwatch
You can download a free pdf of The little black book of scams clicking on the link.
Love That Place: Social Networking meets Real Estate
Love That Place, which just launched earlier this month, is a social network designed to let users search, discuss, rate and register interest in property, whether it's for sale or not.
Property owners begin by creating a page and uploading photos of their place—simply to gather feedback and advice, or to test the market and see what other people think. Members of the site can leave comments or send private messages (forums are coming soon), and admirers of a particular property can even send a virtual "door-knock" to see if the owner would consider selling.
If the owner is interested, the two parties can negotiate privately or through a facilitated process with an agent. Both casual users and serious investors and developers can use Love That Place, with services tailored accordingly. Membership options range from a free, standard option that covers listing up to 3 properties, all the way up to a "property guru" level that's AUD 249 per year for up to 300 properties.
Property owners begin by creating a page and uploading photos of their place—simply to gather feedback and advice, or to test the market and see what other people think. Members of the site can leave comments or send private messages (forums are coming soon), and admirers of a particular property can even send a virtual "door-knock" to see if the owner would consider selling.
If the owner is interested, the two parties can negotiate privately or through a facilitated process with an agent. Both casual users and serious investors and developers can use Love That Place, with services tailored accordingly. Membership options range from a free, standard option that covers listing up to 3 properties, all the way up to a "property guru" level that's AUD 249 per year for up to 300 properties.
Love That Place is definitely more of a social network than the other real estate 3.0 sites we've covered, with its features for conversation and networking. But the basic premise is the same: Even property owners who aren't actively trying to sell their homes can often be convinced to sell when the offer is right. It's a matter of facilitating intentions, and it's a new approach to selling property around the globe. Those in real estate: Don't delay too long!
Website: www.lovethatplace.com.auAustralian's Repossessed: Foreclosures on the Rise
Foreclosures in New South Wales set to rise to a record this year after the central bank increased rates twice in the past two months to a 12-year high.
Banks are in the middle of their third mortgage rate increase this year and that's pushing more Australian families out of their homes.
Mortgage payments are increasing at least 2 1/2 times faster than household incomes. Lenders including Commonwealth of Australia Bank Ltd. and National Australia Bank Ltd., the nation's biggest, have raised loan rates three times this year, boosting the average monthly mortgage payment by more than the average annual increase in wages.
We're only now really starting to see a situation where defaults arise because people aren't able to meet their payments.
The Reserve Bank of Australia last week increased its benchmark borrowing cost for the fourth time in seven months to 7.25 percent to cool inflation that grew at its fastest pace in 16 years in the fourth quarter.
Banks are charging more as the global credit crunch raises funding costs after investors fled debt markets, as fewer residential mortgages are being granted after funding costs are increasing in the wake of the U.S. subprime market's collapse.
Global financial turbulence and the peculiar exposure of the Australian financial system which is heavily dependent on foreign markets for funding, and this leads to the banks having to charge more.
A situation in Sydney's West recently saw one mortgage holder owed A$600,000 and received bids of no more than A$330,000 when his property went to auction.The seller had previously refinanced, adding more debt to the A$475,000 or so he borrowed to buy the house. Some people are just walking away from their properties: the equity's halved in many cases.Housing affordability dropped to the lowest in at least 33 years in December, as average disposable incomes stayed below the amount needed to qualify for the median home loan for the fifth- straight quarter, according to an index compiled by the Housing Industry Association and the Commonwealth Bank.
Repossessions in New South Wales rose 1.6 percent to 5,454 last year, according to figures from the state's Supreme Court. Victorian repossessions increased to 2,720 in the year to June 30 and have tripled in the past four years, according to the state government.
The actual number of mortgage defaults may be four times the repossession figures, which only include seizures and sales approved by the Supreme Courts of New South Wales and Victoria.
Rising borrowing costs are pushing more families into housing stress, with some 1.1 million Australians paying more than 30 percent of their income in rent or home-loan costs. In fact, Australians are paying the second-highest mortgage rates in the developed world.
Layman's Terms: Low Doc & No Doc Finance Explained
These types of loans are generally suited to small business & self employed. Specifically these loans have been designed for borrowers who may not be able or do not want to substantiate their income for a variety of reasons.
Lenders of these loans require an applicant to evidence business activity, currently the primary test for most lenders is an ABN for 2 years & GST registration. In the absence of a full set of recent financials other substantiation may include letters from Accountants, BAS statements, proceeds from sale of assets & other business documents to support this business activity status.
There are some lenders operating in this space that do accept a lower set of criteria. Of course it makes more sense for investors to have access to a wider range of lenders, so our advice is to try and conform to the main level of lenders’ expectations.
Another important aspect to these types of loans involves mortgage insurance. In the Australian market today most of these types of loans are insured by a mortgage insurer. Depending upon the specific arrangements between the lender & the mortgage insurer these institutions cover all or part of the lenders risk in the event of a loan defaulting. In some cases the lender will absorb this fee generally up to certain Loan to Value Ratio (LVR) or loan value thresholds.
Relative to the number of products & lenders in the market there are very few mortgage insurers, in fact currently only 2 mortgage insurers dominate the Australian market place. It is these bodies that set many of the parameters, rules & guidelines for the finance industry including lenders at the higher LVR (where mortgage insurance is applicable) end of the finance market. Some of the major elements that are impacted by mortgage insurers include: security type, location (post code), maximum LVR & maximum lending amount.
Obviously these measures are used to minimize the risk & the extent of potential loss. Let’s face it lenders first aspect in lending money is “not to lose any money”. They do this by lending on assets that are not likely to go down in value & to lending to individuals & entities that have the capacity to repay their money!
Simon Turner simon@marquetteturner.com.au
Thursday, March 6, 2008
7 DAYS: a Longtime in Politics, but a Lifetime in Real Estate
Seven days is a long time in politics and a lifetime in real estate. After I wrote last weeks’ article on “The Death of Real Estate As We Know It” we have seen the very public demise of three franchised offices in North West Metropolitan Sydney. The issues were all just a little close to home and I am gob smacked to see how Raine and Horne Corporation have dealt with the situation. If I were a Raine and Horne Franchisee at least I would now be aware of the “process” and “support levels” that I could expect if the worst were to happen. Angus Raine’s comments regarding the collapse should send a shudder down the spine of every Franchisee – it should be a shudder that lasts for hours, maybe days, maybe weeks and for some longer. A shudder that should see smart operators exit the brand sooner than later.
Marquette Turner Directors have been in contact with staff from Raine and Horne in all three offices and the collapse has brought forward the release of our “Marquette Turner Licensee Program”. We have been very loud and clear about the pending disaster that current franchised models are facing and have spent hundreds of hours planning and are now releasing our solution to what is a critical situation. Marquette Turner Corporation is the result of thousands of hours of planning, travelling around the globe as well as around every State and Territory in Australia to see what the real estate world was doing. What were the best bits? What were the worst bits? How can both start-up and current operators maximize their incomes? The old fashioned franchised model just doesn’t maximize incomes for franchisee’s, and certainly doesn't for their Licensed employees. There are limited protections in place which really assist franchisees when the chips are down. I will release the exact detail of our brand new, innovative “Licencee Agreements” in next weeks’ E Mag.
For anyone interested in real estate there will be a information evenings in both Newcastle and Sydney in April, 2007. We will release the exact times of each once suitable venues have been confirmed. We are extremely excited that we have been able to take care of the “cost” of setting up a licensee as once approved by the Board you will not be forced into wasting money on a shop front, getting a receptionist etc. You can work from home (or out of your boot). Our aim is simple – have the best agents possible representing our brand, who are committed to the brand, aren't burdened with huge overheads, continual training and most of all the positive growth of each other. In doing so we are confident of creating many other income producing opportunities for every licensee as we work tirelessly to produce a better and better brand.
What we have seen this week is a shocking display of the failure of what was and still is the typical business model of a real estate office. The scary thing is that there are thousands of offices around Australia which are all set up in the same way and anyone of them may be the next to fall. The inefficient business models that current franchises operate within have taken little except email and word processing from the Information Revolution. The internet has changed the way we live forever but the same people who insist on expensive Newspaper Advertisements (at the vendor’s expense of course) – portraying it as extremely effective in achieving the highest sale price (Studies show that property ads are more effective in getting more business for real estate agents than they are in actually selling properties – National Association of Realtors) are also the people with the biggest stake in keeping things just as they are – inefficient, antiquated . My prediction: We have not seen the tip of the iceberg!
WATCH THIS SPACE!Michael Marquette michael@marquetteturner.com.au
The Battle for Tenant's (plus some good news)
NEW renters have been locked out of some of Sydney's most sought-after suburbs as real estate agents report that they have no properties for lease. This is certainly the case for Marquette Turner. It has not been uncommon to see upwards of 50 people competing for properties in the city, inner-west, eastern suburbs and the lower North Shore. Occasionally that figure surpasses 100. There are so few places available that applications are being thrust into agents' hands even when people are dissatisfied with the property on offer. Bidding wars are frequently bumping up asking prices, and keen home hunters are giving three to six months' rent in advance.
The President of the Real Estate Institute of NSW, Steve Martin, said the vacancy rate in Sydney last month was 1.2 per cent, the lowest January figure in at least five years.
"People are literally lining up to inspect rental accommodation," Mr Martin said. "And subsequently what's happening is they are looking at the competition they've got and they are filling out application forms and offering in excess of what the asking rental is just to secure rental accommodation."
The lack of properties is putting the squeeze on potential tenants, literally, with agents forced to separate interested parties into groups so they can fit into small, inner-city apartments. Viewing times are also being extended to cope with the huge demand.
Prospective tenants will be pleased to know that not al hope has gone. Marquette Turner will have available a 2 bedroom apartment in Surry Hills from 10 March.
CLICK HERE to view more
Contact: Michael Marquette
Michael@marquetteturner.com.au
Mobile: 0433 170 170
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Kylie Minogue Puts French Island Up For Sale
Pop princess Kylie Minogue is selling her holiday house on French Island in South Australia.The 221 acre property, including a lavishly renovated four-bedroom home is where she sought refuge after breast cancer surgery in 2005.
The four-bedroom property on French Island, a two-hour boat trip from her Melbourne hometown, is expected to go for $2 million Australian ($1.8 million US dollars). She has has spent close to $1 million on the retreat, including planting 1,000 trees.
French Island has no piped water, electricity or gas. It is served by a ferry that runs services to the mainland.
Some Gloom but NOT all Doom: Australia's Outlook
Home buyers have been squeezed by rising property prices and a string of interest rate hikes, and this is having a knock-on effect to tenants too.
So could the property bubble burst? That is now a real possibility. The 0.25 per cent rate rise of this week will push more Australian families into housing stress, and whilst many will cope many will not. This will force many to sell up, many for whatever they can get.
That trend is already evident in the outer suburbs of many Australian cities, particularly Sydney. So property prices, in some suburbs, might well fall further in the months ahead.
Is it all gloomy though? Another rate rise could attract a flood of hot money into this country.
Australia’s interest rates are already substantially higher than those in America, Japan and many other countries.
So foreign investors are likely to find relatively safe, interest only, investments very attractive indeed. This will, once again, strengthen the $A, which will help to ease inflationary pressures in Australia. But this will be relatively slow.
.
None of this, though, will help sustain property prices, particularly in the outer suburbs.
One factor might, however, and that is a strong migration program.
Western Australia and Queensland are still keen to attract more migrants. The two big resource States still need many more people to fill the gaps in their workforces. Those shortfalls are restricting development, in those places. But neither New South Wales or Victoria are likely to benefit much from that.
High house prices are already forcing people out of Sydney, and the current slowdown, in the manufacturing sector is likely to limit job opportunities in Victoria and South Australia.
So while the outlook is gloomy for some, it's not all doom.
Simon Turner simon@marquetteturner.com.au
So could the property bubble burst? That is now a real possibility. The 0.25 per cent rate rise of this week will push more Australian families into housing stress, and whilst many will cope many will not. This will force many to sell up, many for whatever they can get.
That trend is already evident in the outer suburbs of many Australian cities, particularly Sydney. So property prices, in some suburbs, might well fall further in the months ahead.
Is it all gloomy though? Another rate rise could attract a flood of hot money into this country.
Australia’s interest rates are already substantially higher than those in America, Japan and many other countries.
So foreign investors are likely to find relatively safe, interest only, investments very attractive indeed. This will, once again, strengthen the $A, which will help to ease inflationary pressures in Australia. But this will be relatively slow.
.
None of this, though, will help sustain property prices, particularly in the outer suburbs.
One factor might, however, and that is a strong migration program.
Western Australia and Queensland are still keen to attract more migrants. The two big resource States still need many more people to fill the gaps in their workforces. Those shortfalls are restricting development, in those places. But neither New South Wales or Victoria are likely to benefit much from that.
High house prices are already forcing people out of Sydney, and the current slowdown, in the manufacturing sector is likely to limit job opportunities in Victoria and South Australia.
So while the outlook is gloomy for some, it's not all doom.
Simon Turner simon@marquetteturner.com.au
Asian Expats Vote For The World's Most Liveable Cities
Asian expatriates have ranked Singapore as the best place to live in the world for its safe and clean environment, while Europeans chose Copenhagen, a survey showed on Tuesday.
Asian expats chose Singapore over Hong Kong (15th place) and Shanghai (78th place) and placed Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra as well as two Japanese cities Kobe and Yokohama in their top ten list of favourite locations, said ECA International, a human resource consultancy for multinationals.
Lee Quane, general manager of ECA International, said that Singapore’s solid infrastructure, low crime rate and clean air made it a favourable place to live. ‘While Hong Kong has seen an improvement in some categories, such as personal security, air pollution remains the biggest cause for its lower rankings relative to Singapore,’ he said in a statement. Singapore is competing with Hong Kong as a location for banking and financial services.
For locations in China and India, Shanghai and Chennai (138th place out of a total of 300 locations) came in top for Asian expats, said the annual survey.
European expats ranked Copenhagen as their top choice to live in the world. They placed three Swiss cities - Geneva, Basel and Bern - and three German cities - Dusseldorf, Bonn and Munich - in their top ten.
East European cities such as Bratislava and Bucharest have made improvements in this year’s survey because of advances in security, housing and health, the survey said.
European expats rated Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, as their 20th choice and Romania’s capital of Bucharest in 14th place.
In the Middle East, Manama, the capital of Bahrain, ranked top in the region along with Dubai and Muscat. Baghdad, in last place globally, lost marks for poor security, the survey said.
Top 10 best locations in the world for Asian expats
1. Singapore - Singapore
2. Australia - Sydney
3. Japan - Kobe
4. Australia - Melbourne
5. Denmark - Copenhagen
6. Australia - Canberra
7. Canada - Vancouver
8. Japan - Yokohama
9. New Zealand - Wellington
10. Ireland - Dublin
Source : Business Times - 4 Mar 2008
Asian expats chose Singapore over Hong Kong (15th place) and Shanghai (78th place) and placed Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra as well as two Japanese cities Kobe and Yokohama in their top ten list of favourite locations, said ECA International, a human resource consultancy for multinationals.
Lee Quane, general manager of ECA International, said that Singapore’s solid infrastructure, low crime rate and clean air made it a favourable place to live. ‘While Hong Kong has seen an improvement in some categories, such as personal security, air pollution remains the biggest cause for its lower rankings relative to Singapore,’ he said in a statement. Singapore is competing with Hong Kong as a location for banking and financial services.
For locations in China and India, Shanghai and Chennai (138th place out of a total of 300 locations) came in top for Asian expats, said the annual survey.
European expats ranked Copenhagen as their top choice to live in the world. They placed three Swiss cities - Geneva, Basel and Bern - and three German cities - Dusseldorf, Bonn and Munich - in their top ten.
East European cities such as Bratislava and Bucharest have made improvements in this year’s survey because of advances in security, housing and health, the survey said.
European expats rated Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, as their 20th choice and Romania’s capital of Bucharest in 14th place.
In the Middle East, Manama, the capital of Bahrain, ranked top in the region along with Dubai and Muscat. Baghdad, in last place globally, lost marks for poor security, the survey said.
Top 10 best locations in the world for Asian expats
1. Singapore - Singapore
2. Australia - Sydney
3. Japan - Kobe
4. Australia - Melbourne
5. Denmark - Copenhagen
6. Australia - Canberra
7. Canada - Vancouver
8. Japan - Yokohama
9. New Zealand - Wellington
10. Ireland - Dublin
Source : Business Times - 4 Mar 2008
Sydney: A Tale of Two Cities?
Sydney is home to Australia's sharpest divide between rich and poor.
The harbourside suburb of Milsons Point was rated Australia's most advantaged and Claymore in the south-west the most disadvantaged in a new study by sociologist Scott Baum, based on 2006 Census data. Associate Professor Baum said the study, for Brisbane's Griffith University Urban Research Program, was not just based on real estate prices or household incomes.
It included a number of factors, including participation in the labour market, public housing, whether or not they spoke English well, the number of single parents and the number of elderly people in the suburb who required help on a daily basis.
"It's interesting that Sydney, the most global city and the one that is supposedly pulled along by the global economy, is also the most polarised," Prof Baum said.
"So, in a large sense, you've got this feeling that some suburbs have more in common with places in New York and London than they do with suburbs in their own city. "In Sydney's case, it really is a tale of two cities."
Researchers drew on the Census data to compare and overlay several indicators of disadvantage to come up with a rating, with "band one" being the poorest or most deprived and "band six" the wealthiest or least deprived.
Melbourne was rated the most liveable city, with its worst deprivation in the suburban industrial heartland of Broadmeadows and Sunshine.
East Melbourne and newly-gentrified inner urban areas of Docklands were least disadvantaged.
"While not suffering the extreme polarisation of Sydney, economic spin-offs (in Melbourne) ... don't flow evenly across the metropolitan area," Prof Baum said.
Neither Brisbane nor Perth had a band one area of highest deprivation, but Brisbane's outer suburbs of Inala and Logan Central were rated as band two, along with Perth's Karawara and Crawley.
The harbourside suburb of Milsons Point was rated Australia's most advantaged and Claymore in the south-west the most disadvantaged in a new study by sociologist Scott Baum, based on 2006 Census data. Associate Professor Baum said the study, for Brisbane's Griffith University Urban Research Program, was not just based on real estate prices or household incomes.
It included a number of factors, including participation in the labour market, public housing, whether or not they spoke English well, the number of single parents and the number of elderly people in the suburb who required help on a daily basis.
"It's interesting that Sydney, the most global city and the one that is supposedly pulled along by the global economy, is also the most polarised," Prof Baum said.
"So, in a large sense, you've got this feeling that some suburbs have more in common with places in New York and London than they do with suburbs in their own city. "In Sydney's case, it really is a tale of two cities."
Researchers drew on the Census data to compare and overlay several indicators of disadvantage to come up with a rating, with "band one" being the poorest or most deprived and "band six" the wealthiest or least deprived.
Melbourne was rated the most liveable city, with its worst deprivation in the suburban industrial heartland of Broadmeadows and Sunshine.
East Melbourne and newly-gentrified inner urban areas of Docklands were least disadvantaged.
"While not suffering the extreme polarisation of Sydney, economic spin-offs (in Melbourne) ... don't flow evenly across the metropolitan area," Prof Baum said.
Neither Brisbane nor Perth had a band one area of highest deprivation, but Brisbane's outer suburbs of Inala and Logan Central were rated as band two, along with Perth's Karawara and Crawley.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
The Death of Real Estate As We Know It
Soon household names like LJ Hooker, Ray White, Raine and Horne & Century 21 could be brands of yesteryear.
It is hard to think that companies like “Google” were started in September 1998 – less than 10 years ago. Their initial public offering was in August 2004 – less than 4 years ago. Google is currently ranked number 289 in the Forbes 2000 List. This means that Google is now the 289th largest company in the world with a share price of $US472.86 and market capitalization of over $US200 billion.
Google has done all of this without a shop front, without an office in every suburb, without an advertisement in the Wentworth Courier, Mosman Daily, Newcastle Herald or any other real estate related newspaper in Australia. Yet they are the largest internet search engine in the world and are growing by the day. In the last 12 months Google have grown so much that their company ranking in Forbes Magazine had increased by around 200 spots.
Also have a think about E Bay – have you seen an E Bay store in your suburb? The answer is no and yet this business is now one of the most recognized and fastest growing in the world.
The importance of the shop front has gone. The internet is the new shop front. So where does this leave the local franchised real estate agent? The reality is that the local shop front is under such financial pressure that they are on the brink of extinction – the local shop front is dying. Buyers rarely search in every shop window in every possible suburb they are looking in to find a new home – they search on the internet. They search by suburb name and by price – they are able to define their search criteria online better than ever.
With total spending on real estate advertising in newspapers tipped to decrease by around 18 % annually for the next three years according to the National Association of Realtors the world is evolving rapidly. We are moving to a point where remnants of the past are discarded quicker than many companies can keep up with.
The new shop front is the internet and the new real estate agent franchise is one that can innovate, minimize costs, provide exceptional customer service, reward and incentivise their people like never before and take the lead with a completely new business model.
Real estate agency’s are not keeping up with change, stubbornly sticking to business practices that most other industries have left behind.
Thus, who will “do a Google” by transforming real estate? Whoever it is, it surely is not far off. Watch this space!
Michael Marquette michael@marquetteturner.com.au
It is hard to think that companies like “Google” were started in September 1998 – less than 10 years ago. Their initial public offering was in August 2004 – less than 4 years ago. Google is currently ranked number 289 in the Forbes 2000 List. This means that Google is now the 289th largest company in the world with a share price of $US472.86 and market capitalization of over $US200 billion.
Google has done all of this without a shop front, without an office in every suburb, without an advertisement in the Wentworth Courier, Mosman Daily, Newcastle Herald or any other real estate related newspaper in Australia. Yet they are the largest internet search engine in the world and are growing by the day. In the last 12 months Google have grown so much that their company ranking in Forbes Magazine had increased by around 200 spots.
Also have a think about E Bay – have you seen an E Bay store in your suburb? The answer is no and yet this business is now one of the most recognized and fastest growing in the world.
The importance of the shop front has gone. The internet is the new shop front. So where does this leave the local franchised real estate agent? The reality is that the local shop front is under such financial pressure that they are on the brink of extinction – the local shop front is dying. Buyers rarely search in every shop window in every possible suburb they are looking in to find a new home – they search on the internet. They search by suburb name and by price – they are able to define their search criteria online better than ever.
With total spending on real estate advertising in newspapers tipped to decrease by around 18 % annually for the next three years according to the National Association of Realtors the world is evolving rapidly. We are moving to a point where remnants of the past are discarded quicker than many companies can keep up with.
The new shop front is the internet and the new real estate agent franchise is one that can innovate, minimize costs, provide exceptional customer service, reward and incentivise their people like never before and take the lead with a completely new business model.
Real estate agency’s are not keeping up with change, stubbornly sticking to business practices that most other industries have left behind.
Thus, who will “do a Google” by transforming real estate? Whoever it is, it surely is not far off. Watch this space!
Michael Marquette michael@marquetteturner.com.au
Sydney Prestige Property Sales Dive.
Sales of Sydney prestige homes, properties worth more than A$2 million ($1.8 million), slowed more than 35 percent this year, the Australian Financial Review reported.
There have been 190 such properties sold since the start of 2008, compared with 295 in the year-earlier period.
We are, however, expecting the market to pick up as people become more tolerant of, or held hostage to changing market conditions.
Michael Marquette michael@marquetteturner.com.au
There have been 190 such properties sold since the start of 2008, compared with 295 in the year-earlier period.
We are, however, expecting the market to pick up as people become more tolerant of, or held hostage to changing market conditions.
Michael Marquette michael@marquetteturner.com.au
Saturday, February 23, 2008
One Good Real Estate Agent Saves The Life of Another
Canberra real estate agent Cory McPherson has parted with something priceless to save the life of his co-worker Jenny McReynolds. The father-of-two donated a kidney to Mrs McReynolds who was suffering from polycystic kidney disease an inherited condition that can cause renal failure and death.
A mother-of-three, Mrs McReynolds, said "thank you" was thoroughly inadequate to express her gratitude. The real estate agents were professional competitors before they became colleagues at Richard Luton Properties.
Mr McPherson, 35, made the extraordinary offer to Mrs McReynolds at their work Christmas party in 2006. "Richard Luton made an announcement saying 'anyone who doesn't know, Jenny's very sick. "She's got kidney disease and if anyone's o-positive and has a kidney, please see Jenny'," Mr McPherson said.
"I went up to Jenny almost immediately and I said 'look you might not believe me now but I tell you I'm your man'." Mrs McReynolds, 44, was "floored".
"I couldn't believe it. What an amazing thing for him to do. What a gift. It's lifesaving for me," she said. She was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease in her early 20s and her health had started to deteriorate in recent times. She was hooked up to a dialysis machine for four-hour stints, three times a week.
Mr McPherson had a battery of tests to ensure he was physically suitable and psychological fit to donate his kidney. The results revealed that the co-workers were "almost a perfect match", which was extremely rare when the donor and recipient were not blood relatives.
The transplant was successfully performed at RPA the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney on December 4. Mrs McReynolds spent 712 hours in the operating theatre and seven days in hospital before she was sent home. It took 512 hours to remove the kidney from Mr McPherson who was discharged from hospital after four days.
Mrs McReynolds said people suffered immense hardships and pressures as they waited for a transplant. "A lot of people who do get sick lose their homes [and] they lose jobs," she said.
Mr McPherson said the organ donation rates "aren't impressive" in Australia."So many of us are busy in our own lives. We don't kind of look around much to see the people who are not doing so well and often there's things we can do to help," he said.
Australians who want to become organ donors should discuss their wishes with family and register by telephoning 1800777203 or visiting www.medicareaustralia.gov.au
Simon Turner simon@marquetteturner.com.au
A mother-of-three, Mrs McReynolds, said "thank you" was thoroughly inadequate to express her gratitude. The real estate agents were professional competitors before they became colleagues at Richard Luton Properties.
Mr McPherson, 35, made the extraordinary offer to Mrs McReynolds at their work Christmas party in 2006. "Richard Luton made an announcement saying 'anyone who doesn't know, Jenny's very sick. "She's got kidney disease and if anyone's o-positive and has a kidney, please see Jenny'," Mr McPherson said.
"I went up to Jenny almost immediately and I said 'look you might not believe me now but I tell you I'm your man'." Mrs McReynolds, 44, was "floored".
"I couldn't believe it. What an amazing thing for him to do. What a gift. It's lifesaving for me," she said. She was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease in her early 20s and her health had started to deteriorate in recent times. She was hooked up to a dialysis machine for four-hour stints, three times a week.
Mr McPherson had a battery of tests to ensure he was physically suitable and psychological fit to donate his kidney. The results revealed that the co-workers were "almost a perfect match", which was extremely rare when the donor and recipient were not blood relatives.
The transplant was successfully performed at RPA the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney on December 4. Mrs McReynolds spent 712 hours in the operating theatre and seven days in hospital before she was sent home. It took 512 hours to remove the kidney from Mr McPherson who was discharged from hospital after four days.
Mrs McReynolds said people suffered immense hardships and pressures as they waited for a transplant. "A lot of people who do get sick lose their homes [and] they lose jobs," she said.
Mr McPherson said the organ donation rates "aren't impressive" in Australia."So many of us are busy in our own lives. We don't kind of look around much to see the people who are not doing so well and often there's things we can do to help," he said.
Australians who want to become organ donors should discuss their wishes with family and register by telephoning 1800777203 or visiting www.medicareaustralia.gov.au
Simon Turner simon@marquetteturner.com.au
The (Lack of) Housing Affordability Conference
The federal opposition has called on federal and state governments to cut land tax and stamp duty to help boost rental stock. Thousands of people across the country are skipping meals to pay rising rents, a housing affordability conference in Sydney heard on Thursday. And housing experts warn the home affordability crisis threatens to destabilise the economy and drive the country into recession.
Opposition frontbencher Greg Hunt said on Friday this week's national housing conference was an ideal opportunity for federal Housing Minister Tanya Plibersek to address land tax and stamp duty, to lessen the burden and help increase the stock of homes available for rent.
"These are killers for people and what they do is decrease the rental stock," Mr Hunt, opposition spokesman for Climate Change, Environment and Urban Water, told the Seven Network.
"A lot of people have said we're not willing to pay the cost of holding a rental property if we're whacked with a huge land tax or we have to deal with stamp duty and today is the day, Tanya, stamp duty, land tax and more land releases - you have a great opportunity."
Ms Plibersek said a lot of people had taken money out of investment property and put it into superannuation when favourable tax treatment was introduced last year under the previous government.
She said the Rudd government had committed to introducing the first home saver account to help people into their first house. "We know that as a proportion of all home buyers, first home buyers have shrunk as a proportion, so we want to help them save through a superannuation-style savings account," Ms Plibersek stated. "We've also got a national rental affordability scheme, 50,000 new rental properties, because there is a terrible shortage all around the country."
Experts told the housing conference on Thursday that Australia faced great social unrest and human suffering as well as chronic labour shortages without affordable housing. Professor Rachel Gatt, an affordable housing policy expert from Tufts University, Massachusetts, said the housing affordability equation was brutally simple. "Either wages have to stay high enough so people can afford to buy housing on the private market or if the private market is not able to meet the housing challenge then you need to have government subsidies," she told reporters.
"If you don't have affordable housing, and if your wages don't keep pace with the cost of housing, you are going to find people doubling up with relatives, turning into homeless people and creating a great deal of social unrest and human suffering than what you have now."
Research presented at the conference show people are going without food as they struggle to pay their rent. Professor Terry Burke of the Australian Housing and Urban Research Unit presented the research, which showed 26 per cent of low-income renters sometimes go without food and 42 per cent of low-income renters cannot afford school excursions, Fairfax reported.
Labor says the Howard government failed to acknowledge the rental crisis, despite knowing more than two years ago that more than one third of renters were suffering from rental stress.
Australia's Property Scandal: Town Planner Seeking "Approvals"
A sex-and-property scandal involving a female city planner on a "mission for sex" in return for approvals of high-rise buildings is threatening to engulf the beluigered New South Wales State Government.
An undercover sting by anti-corruption investigators uncovered a web of affairs involving 32-year-old town planner Beth Morgan in the steel-and-surfing city of Wollongong, south of Sydney, with three prominent building developers. Morgan, said by one of the three men to be "on a mission for sex", gave approval for millions of dollars worth of unlawful city building developments in return for gifts and affairs, the powerful Independent Commission against Corruption(ICAC) heard.
Morgan gave testimony to the commission about the affairs, admitted to by two developers, while a third denied the pair actually had a sexual relationship. The scandal, however, also threatens several ministers in the state government.
Australians generally believe their country to be largely corruption free and we rank well on the international index prepared by Transparency International.
Amid the public ICAC hearings, state Premier Morris Iemma promised to sack a senior minister if he was found to have improperly given a job to a Wollongong city councillor linked to the scandal. Four other state ministers have also been indirectly linkedby the ICAC to central figures in the furore.
The ICAC hearings have been given front-page treatment,with corruption investigators documenting lurid details of emails and phone messages between Morgan and her alleged lovers, which in turn have run in newspapers nationally. Adding to public shock are photographs of the stylish Morgan and the men she pursued, receiving from them cameras, cash payments, a China holiday and designer handbags, the ICAC heard.
Simon Turner simon@marquetteturner.com.au
An undercover sting by anti-corruption investigators uncovered a web of affairs involving 32-year-old town planner Beth Morgan in the steel-and-surfing city of Wollongong, south of Sydney, with three prominent building developers. Morgan, said by one of the three men to be "on a mission for sex", gave approval for millions of dollars worth of unlawful city building developments in return for gifts and affairs, the powerful Independent Commission against Corruption(ICAC) heard.
Morgan gave testimony to the commission about the affairs, admitted to by two developers, while a third denied the pair actually had a sexual relationship. The scandal, however, also threatens several ministers in the state government.
Australians generally believe their country to be largely corruption free and we rank well on the international index prepared by Transparency International.
Amid the public ICAC hearings, state Premier Morris Iemma promised to sack a senior minister if he was found to have improperly given a job to a Wollongong city councillor linked to the scandal. Four other state ministers have also been indirectly linkedby the ICAC to central figures in the furore.
The ICAC hearings have been given front-page treatment,with corruption investigators documenting lurid details of emails and phone messages between Morgan and her alleged lovers, which in turn have run in newspapers nationally. Adding to public shock are photographs of the stylish Morgan and the men she pursued, receiving from them cameras, cash payments, a China holiday and designer handbags, the ICAC heard.
Simon Turner simon@marquetteturner.com.au
Friday, February 15, 2008
Agents Leading Their Clients "Down The Garden Path"
Thousands and thousands of dollars in so-called “marketing” is being ripped out of clients’ hands by real estate agents. Agents that claim they tailor every campaign to suit the needs of each property – as long as it involves thousands of dollars on newspaper ads!
There has been an enormous amount of research done by The National Association of Realtors on how buyers are finding their new home. The results are damning with less than 5% of buyers indicating they found their new home in a newspaper.
The so-called “expert” agents in Sydney are preaching how important it is to capture every possible buyer and therefore place numerous advertisements in several newspapers at the clients’ expense. It seems more than a little suspicious that the majority of the money in a marketing campaign is being spent on newspapers that evidence is suggesting fails more than 95% of the time. If we look at it another way it only succeeds less than 5% of the time – yet it costs a fortune.
So who is really benefiting from this? The answer of course is real estate agents. It is wonderful branding to have pages of property advertisements in the local paper. Those looking through perceive that these agents are successful and fall into the trap of calling them into sell their home and also spend thousands of unnecessary dollars promoting the agent – not their home.
The internet age is well and truly upon us. The National Association of Realtors suggest that more than 80% of buyers find properties on the internet, around 15% from signboards and less than 5% in newspapers. The real estate agent’s own magazine doesn’t get a mention and nor does the agency database. When you decide to sell your home do not fall into the trap of wasting thousands of your hard on dollars on promoting the agent and not your home. Food for thought?
Michael Marquette michael@marquetteturner.com.au
There has been an enormous amount of research done by The National Association of Realtors on how buyers are finding their new home. The results are damning with less than 5% of buyers indicating they found their new home in a newspaper.
The so-called “expert” agents in Sydney are preaching how important it is to capture every possible buyer and therefore place numerous advertisements in several newspapers at the clients’ expense. It seems more than a little suspicious that the majority of the money in a marketing campaign is being spent on newspapers that evidence is suggesting fails more than 95% of the time. If we look at it another way it only succeeds less than 5% of the time – yet it costs a fortune.
So who is really benefiting from this? The answer of course is real estate agents. It is wonderful branding to have pages of property advertisements in the local paper. Those looking through perceive that these agents are successful and fall into the trap of calling them into sell their home and also spend thousands of unnecessary dollars promoting the agent – not their home.
The internet age is well and truly upon us. The National Association of Realtors suggest that more than 80% of buyers find properties on the internet, around 15% from signboards and less than 5% in newspapers. The real estate agent’s own magazine doesn’t get a mention and nor does the agency database. When you decide to sell your home do not fall into the trap of wasting thousands of your hard on dollars on promoting the agent and not your home. Food for thought?
Michael Marquette michael@marquetteturner.com.au
Shopping List: Bread, Milk and a New Home!?
Tesco has set the cat amongst the pigeons of UK estate agencies and property portals by announcing that it intends to launch an online estate agency service. The financial strength behind Tesco could see undercutting the traditional estate agencies. The move is response to the difficulty it experienced with it private sellers website services. Rightmove and Primelocation could also be forced, under competition rules, to list Tesco's properties if it becomes a fully fledged agent.
Tesco now operating in various countries of Europe and Asia are the biggest chain in England, Scotland a Wales with a turnover of over 15 million pounds. It has ventured into various sectors of the market including clothing, electrical goods, and insurance services. Its attempt to enter into the online private sellers market was met by closed doors from competitors who refused Tesco property listings on their websites.
The world's third largest supermarket chain, Tesco's of Britain, has issued a written statement "While being an online estate agent was never our immediate intention, we are so encouraged by the positive reaction from customers to Tesco's entry into this market that we are now reviewing our business with a view to launching a new and exciting online estate-agency service.
Ian Springett, the chief executive of Primelocation.com (the main internet portal that the British use in searching for real estate), said: "We are not surprised to hear that Tesco is planning to launch as an estate agent. Clearly it is an extremely powerful brand and already offers a number of services related to home moving. But it will be entering an already very competitive market and may find it difficult to gain a foothold.
Fronted by TV property expert Louisa Fletcher, www.Tescopropertymarket.com
will begin displaying homes for sale both in Britain and abroad from March – traditionally the busiest period of the year for house hunters.
Simon Turner simon@marquetteturner.com.au
Tesco now operating in various countries of Europe and Asia are the biggest chain in England, Scotland a Wales with a turnover of over 15 million pounds. It has ventured into various sectors of the market including clothing, electrical goods, and insurance services. Its attempt to enter into the online private sellers market was met by closed doors from competitors who refused Tesco property listings on their websites.
The world's third largest supermarket chain, Tesco's of Britain, has issued a written statement "While being an online estate agent was never our immediate intention, we are so encouraged by the positive reaction from customers to Tesco's entry into this market that we are now reviewing our business with a view to launching a new and exciting online estate-agency service.
Ian Springett, the chief executive of Primelocation.com (the main internet portal that the British use in searching for real estate), said: "We are not surprised to hear that Tesco is planning to launch as an estate agent. Clearly it is an extremely powerful brand and already offers a number of services related to home moving. But it will be entering an already very competitive market and may find it difficult to gain a foothold.
Fronted by TV property expert Louisa Fletcher, www.Tescopropertymarket.com
will begin displaying homes for sale both in Britain and abroad from March – traditionally the busiest period of the year for house hunters.
Simon Turner simon@marquetteturner.com.au
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Straight Talk: Economic Round-Up Blow By Blow
The Reserve Bank says inflation will be worse than almost everyone expected.
Equity prices plummet. The Aussie dollar rises. Respected economists run round like headless chooks squawking "more rate hikes to come!"
Financial markets dramatically mark up the chances that the next rate hike will be in March. Businesses plan their price hikes. Unions think harder about how to protect the bruvvers and sisters.
Ordinary people - whose inflation expectations were already elevated - grimly recalibrate their household budgets.
The government says all this was the Liberal Party's fault. John Howard hits the international speaking circuit. Peter Costello leaves for a supposedly lucrative overseas job. Malcolm Turnbull flips between saying "look what Labor has already delivered" and "there is no problem, inflation is still in the target band".
What about the blame that should be sheeted home to the Reserve itself? It is the agency with formal responsibility for controlling inflation, a responsibility that, after initial scepticism by its then leader, it embraced warmly.It is the organisation that after a long intellectual struggle was given by financial deregulation, including the flexible exchange rate, the technical ability to control inflation. It is the mob that was given salaries sufficient to attract and retain what it saw as the "best and brightest" of Australia's economists.
To read more from Henry Thornton, simply click on the link.
Equity prices plummet. The Aussie dollar rises. Respected economists run round like headless chooks squawking "more rate hikes to come!"
Financial markets dramatically mark up the chances that the next rate hike will be in March. Businesses plan their price hikes. Unions think harder about how to protect the bruvvers and sisters.
Ordinary people - whose inflation expectations were already elevated - grimly recalibrate their household budgets.
The government says all this was the Liberal Party's fault. John Howard hits the international speaking circuit. Peter Costello leaves for a supposedly lucrative overseas job. Malcolm Turnbull flips between saying "look what Labor has already delivered" and "there is no problem, inflation is still in the target band".
What about the blame that should be sheeted home to the Reserve itself? It is the agency with formal responsibility for controlling inflation, a responsibility that, after initial scepticism by its then leader, it embraced warmly.It is the organisation that after a long intellectual struggle was given by financial deregulation, including the flexible exchange rate, the technical ability to control inflation. It is the mob that was given salaries sufficient to attract and retain what it saw as the "best and brightest" of Australia's economists.
To read more from Henry Thornton, simply click on the link.
Buy One House, Give One Free!
Donating money to charitable causes is all very well and good, but there's usually an abstractness about it that makes one wonder if the funds are really helping those who need it. A new project by California eco-urban design firm LJ Urban aims to make giving more concrete—quite literally—by matching its sales of homes domestically with funds to build homes in the impoverished African nation of Burkina Faso.
LJ Urban has designed a new eco-urban community of 35 LEED ND Certified homes in the urban core of Sacramento, its home town. The community is suggestively named Good, and for each home within it that gets sold, LJ Urban has committed to funding the complete training of a West African mason to build sustainable homes for families in Burkina Faso.
By partnering with the Association La Voûte Nubienne (AVN), which has already trained about 60 local masons to build durable homes out of earth bricks and mortar, LJ Urban aims to go beyond just providing homes to impart enduring skills and jobs to the local community. Taking the notion a step further, LJ Urban has also opted to skip the expensive marketing campaign to promote its Good community, and to use that money to train more African masons instead.
So, for every 100,000 people who visit LJ Urban's new, dedicated website by July 1st, the company will fund the complete training of another local Burkina Faso mason—up to 20 in all through this viral approach.
The Good project was inspired by Toms Shoes, a project that donates a pair of shoes for every one it sells. "[That] approach captivated us because it broke through the 'charity fatigue' all of us have felt at one time or another," LJ Urban's team explains. "The question then became: 'What if we could do something like that with our houses?'…" The project is also reminiscent of One Laptop Per Child's (OLPC's) "Give One Get One" campaign last year through which consumers could donate a laptop and get one for their own use at the same time. A model of giving to bring to your neck of the woods...?
Website: http://www.dosomegoodnow.com/
Simon Turner simon@marquetteturner.com.au
LJ Urban has designed a new eco-urban community of 35 LEED ND Certified homes in the urban core of Sacramento, its home town. The community is suggestively named Good, and for each home within it that gets sold, LJ Urban has committed to funding the complete training of a West African mason to build sustainable homes for families in Burkina Faso.
By partnering with the Association La Voûte Nubienne (AVN), which has already trained about 60 local masons to build durable homes out of earth bricks and mortar, LJ Urban aims to go beyond just providing homes to impart enduring skills and jobs to the local community. Taking the notion a step further, LJ Urban has also opted to skip the expensive marketing campaign to promote its Good community, and to use that money to train more African masons instead.
So, for every 100,000 people who visit LJ Urban's new, dedicated website by July 1st, the company will fund the complete training of another local Burkina Faso mason—up to 20 in all through this viral approach.
The Good project was inspired by Toms Shoes, a project that donates a pair of shoes for every one it sells. "[That] approach captivated us because it broke through the 'charity fatigue' all of us have felt at one time or another," LJ Urban's team explains. "The question then became: 'What if we could do something like that with our houses?'…" The project is also reminiscent of One Laptop Per Child's (OLPC's) "Give One Get One" campaign last year through which consumers could donate a laptop and get one for their own use at the same time. A model of giving to bring to your neck of the woods...?
Website: http://www.dosomegoodnow.com/
Simon Turner simon@marquetteturner.com.au
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