Nor'West News: December 10, 2020

20 Thursday December 10 2020
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
NOR’WEST NEWS
RAY WHITE PAPANUI NEWS
Dressed to Impress - Open Homes
Your home looks perfect to you but when
it comes to open inspections, potential
buyers may beg to differ. So, how best
can you impress these crucial people? By
asking for objective opinions. When you
live at a house all the time, it’s easy to
miss touch up areas as well as pet smells
and general clutter. So, well before your
first inspection, invite a second opinion
into your home. Preferably, someone
who has a completely different domestic
view to you, this friend should be as
honest and helpful as possible. Clean, fix
and declutter – inside and out. Your key
aim when preparing your property for
inspection is to create an inviting place
that people will fall in love with. You
already love it, it’s true, but do they see
the potential for them to love and live in
it too? If not, you’ll need to get cleaning,
renovating, decluttering and fixing ASAP.
If you are time poor or it’s not quite your
thing then bring in cleaners before the
first big inspection and aim to keep the
house in a similar condition throughout
its market period. This means it will
only need a fairly simple clean before
inspections, rather than a top-notch
makeover every time. Remember to
thoroughly buff and shine the inside of
ovens, cupboards and wardrobes and
clear away shoes and other possible trip
hazards from door entrances. Declutter
big time, especially if you love
pretty bits and pieces, as this
will make rooms appear larger
and more spacious. Don’t forget
crucial first impressions and
street appeal either. Wash down
the outside of your home and
start weeding and pruning –
again, calling in a professional if
needed.
Aim for a balance between clean,
fresh and attractive and plenty
of emotional and actual space
wherein buyers can imagine
how they too can live a great
life here. Light, air and scents.
Open all blinds, curtains and
windows to ensure sunshine
and fresh air floods through the
home. Deodorise naturally with
flowers, scented candles and
potpourri, or warm coffee and cake. But
don’t overdo this either or you’ll have
buyers wondering what smells you’re
trying to conceal. Along with appealing
scents and light comes the importance of
temperatures and sounds. Already overemotional
buyers will find particularly
warm or cold houses as unappealing as
dark ones – with the home showing up
badly as well. Therefore, turn on the air
conditioner or light that cosy fire to give
welcoming comfort and relief to those
inspecting your house. Finally, turn off
the television and dishwasher and put on
some quiet music, in a style and volume
that will add to the property’s ambience.
Content originally appeared on The Real
Estate Voice.
Property Management Update
Existing Rentals Owned Under Trusts, Changes you Need to Know
Vanessa Golightly,
Business Owner
and Licensee Agent
Ray White Papanui
027 664 9292
Vanessa Golightly
Licensee Agent &
Business Owner
027 664 9292
Stuart Morris
Licensee Agent
& Auctioneer
027 422 6395
Claire Morris
Licensee Agent &
Business Owner
027 662 4822
Katrina Green
Operations Manager
Property Management
027 606 0030
Did you know that if you have your rental
property owned under a company or
family trust, then you are not legally
allowed to give tenants notice that
you require vacant possession of the
property for the purpose of you or a
family member requiring the property to
live in? Chances are, you didn’t!
Now this won’t be a problem for a lot of
rental property owners as they never
intend to either move into the property
themselves, or have family move in.
However, there are a lot of New Zealand
landlords who intend to rent their
home out for a shorter period of time.
Historically, this could have been because
they intended to live overseas for a while
(not so common just now), but of course
there are many other reasons for wanting
to do this.
Currently the legislation states that the
owner of a property, or a family member,
can give 42 days notice to a tenant on a
periodic tenancy. From 11th February
2021, this notice period will increase to
63 days, however it will still be legal to
give this notice.
But, and it is a big but, if the property
is owned under a company, or a family
trust, then these entities are not
recognised as “humans” so they can’t
physically move into the home, therefore
this notice would not be permitted.
I am in no way qualified to go into the
pros and cons of property ownership
under companies or trusts, but I
definitely recommend that if you have
investment properties under this form
of ownership, and if there is even a slim
chance that you or family may at some
point need to move into it, that you speak
to your lawyer or accountant and look at
changing this, before you need to!
This is yet another of those anomalies
which are popping up under the
residential tenancies act, and with even
more legislation coming into effect next
year, it has reminded me of how much we
need to be aware of when owning rental
properties.
Having said that, our Landlord Academy
which has been running each Thursday
evening in November, is a fabulous
resource to help you understand the
changes that are coming into force and it
is not too late - we have recordings. If you
would like access to these, or any of the
many resources we have, please just ask,
I would love to help.
Katrina Green,
Operations Manager
Property Management
027 606 0030
Katrina Green
Operations
Manager Property
Management
027 606 0030
Tracy Thomson
Licensee Salesperson
027 440 3035
Ashleigh Pattullo
Licensee Salesperson
027 865 9672
Allie McConnell
Property Management
Assistant
Joy Coughlan
Mortgage Broker
027 223 3572
Tania Ikin
Licensee Salesperson
022 509 2755
Olivia Hendry
Executive Assistant
Estelle Schuurman
Property Manager
Level 1, 7 Winston Avenue, Papanui
Phone (03) 352 0567 | rwpapanui.co.nz | /RayWhitePapanui Morris & Co Limited | Licenced REAA 2008