, ,

Press Release – Harcourts Holmwood Auctions

Outstanding auction success

On Wednesday 25th January, Harcourts Holmwood achieved outstanding success in their auction rooms with all four properties listed for auction, selling under the hammer.

With five properties programmed for sale, one sold prior to auction. The four properties that sold under the hammer today, each had multiple bids.

Tony Jenkins, CEO of Holmwood Real Estate said, “today was a great day in the auction rooms and we are beyond thrilled for our vendors and buyers.” He continued, “there is a lot of conversation around the Real Estate market and auction as a method of sale. Today we have proven that there is still great activity in the Christchurch market for all price ranges, and auction is indeed a great way for people to buy and sell.”

With listings and prices ranging from a modest section in New Brighton to an established four-bedroom home in Ilam, buyers were a plenty in our auction rooms.

For further information, please contact Tony Jenkins CEO of Harcourts Holmwood on 0274 432 2896 or tony.jenkins@harcourts.co.nz.

About Harcourts

Harcourts was founded in Wellington in 1888 and remains proudly Kiwi owned. Harcourts New Zealand has 205 offices and over 2600 sales consultants nationwide. We specialise in residential, commercial, and rural property sales and provide property management services. Harcourts has been at the forefront of the real estate market in New Zealand for 134 years. Today, Harcourts International has over 900 offices in nine countries around the world. Our success has been built on ensuring our people have the knowledge, expertise and tools to achieve the best possible results for our customers. *We are also proud to be New Zealand’s Most Trusted real estate brand. *Readers Digest Most Trusted survey, 2013-2022.

Real Estate Christchurch: Presenting Your Home

Real Estate Christchurch: Presenting Your Home for Sale

So you are ready to sell your real estate in Christchurch, it’s very important you consider the way your property is presented. First Impressions Count!

Kitchen
Stove, refrigerator and sink should be spotless with all work spaces clean and uncluttered.

Bathrooms
Neat, spotless and fresh. Display your best towels.

Halls and Stairs
Remove any clutter to give a spacious appearance.

Wardrobes
Leave tidy and don’t have overcrowded wardrobes.

Lights
Dust off and replace all burned-out bulbs or faulty switches.

House Exterior and Garage
Remove mould or moss, wash down and paint if required. Keep tidy.

Children and Pets
We suggest that you allow buyers to inspect your property without distraction. Ensure your pets are secured.

Driveway and Patios
Water blast or use moss remover if required.

Windows
Clean if dirty.

Plumbing
Repair dripping taps, leaky toilets.

General Condition
Dust, wash, paint, fix defects as required.

Real Estate Christchurch - Presenting your home for sale

Consider
Creating a feeling of spaciousness, store away unneeded items to enlarge room size. Also consider placing fresh flowers throughout your home.
It is important to ensure your property looks its very best from the moment it goes on the market. A clean and tidy home will attract more potential buyers and has a better chance of selling or reaching a premium price.

Advise your Sales Consultant
††Let your sales consultant know which rooms benefit from morning to late afternoon sun or summer breeze.
††Tell your sales consultant the things you like best about your house, section and location.

When your home is being marketed:
*Open drapes in the daytime, close at night.
*Turn on sufficient lights when showing.
*Use a fragrant diffuser, or light a scented candle.
*Turn on soft background music.
*In winter make sure the house is warm and cosy when showing.
*De-clutter.
*Deoderise pet areas and secure your pets.
*Check your flower arrangements.
*Depersonalise as much as possible by removing personal items and some family photos.

 

, ,

SuperStart: IGNITE 2023

At Holmwood, inspiring and motivating the growth of our people is a top priority to us. We are dedicated to providing opportunities that empower our agents to reach their full potential! For this reason, we are very excited to announce Harcourts Holmwood SuperStart: Ignite 2023!  🎉💙

We had so much fun last year, that we couldn’t help but do it all again!

SuperStart: Ignite 2023 will be bringing an all-new line-up of speakers from all around New Zealand and beyond, as well as sessions from some of our very own!
Stay tuned to our Facebook and Instagram as we introduce them in the coming weeks!

Pre Auction: Due Diligence

Bidding for and buying a house at auction can feel intimidating if you have never done it before but a little bit of preparation and homework can make the process far less stressful and more empowering.

Pre Auction: Due Diligence

So you’ve found a house you want to buy and it’s being sold by auction process. First things first, you have to do your due diligence. What this means is reviewing all of the information made available, assessing and ensuring that you are ready to make an informed decision. Typically the agent handling the sale will provide you with a copy of the Title for the Property and the LIM. Those two documents should be reviewed by your lawyer. You will also need to have a conversation with your financier or bank and particularly in Christchurch you will need to discuss with your potential insurer for the property.
The vendor may provide you with a Builders Report. Be aware, this is there as a guide only. It has been commissioned on behalf of the vendor so if there is anything missing from that report, or anything not correct within it, you will not have any comeback. For this reason, it can be a good idea to commission a Builder’s Report of your own.

Typically in Christchurch you will also you will also get documentation around what has happened to the house after the quakes and what has been done to the house. Your bank and your insurer will likely want to take a look at this just to make sure that any repair strategy has been carried out correctly. Particularly for older houses in Christchurch, spend some time looking through the reports, through the insurance documentation consider getting your own Builders Report.

Some buyers get frustrated at the expense of this process, only to not be a successful bidder and having to repeat the whole process with a new property. It helps to think about what the long-term cost could be of not completing that due diligence only to find something critical is wrong with the property. This due diligence process is vital in Christchurch now following the rebuild, do not bid on a rebuilt or remediated property that does not provide the necessary basic documentation of the repair strategy.

Jim Davis
Christchurch Regional Manager

Helping Your Kids Buy a Home

With the rising cost of property across New Zealand, it’s not surprising that so many parents are having to help their grown-up children buy property. In fact, it’s estimated that the “Bank of Mum and Dad” is the sixth largest lender when it comes to mortgage lending in New Zealand. While bank lending requirements have made it harder for first-home buyers to use their parent’s help to get onto the property ladder, there are still a few ways you as a parent can help.

Cash loan

Helping with a loan towards the deposit could be the kickstart your child needs to buy their first home. As with all loans though, it’s important you document the loan properly in a loan agreement, specifying whether you want your child to make regular repayments and how much, how long the loan term will be, and whether or not you’ll charge interest – and if so, how much.

Things to think about: if you have other children, will you be able to help them with a loan too? If you’re borrowing from a bank to lend to your child, can you realistically afford it? Many retirees are asset rich and income poor – and the bank will want to know that you can afford to repay your loan.

If you’re still paying off your own mortgage, consider the financial implications of dipping into your own equity or taking on a much bigger mortgage without having the income to cover repayments.

Monetary Gift

If you have the money, you may want to give your children an early inheritance with a monetary gift they can use as a deposit. This is a really straightforward process as you simply gift your child the money they need.

Things to think about: can you afford to gift more than one child? Will you have enough money to live on comfortably in retirement? Be mindful of your future health and medical needs. An early inheritance should only be for families who have significant capital, who won’t be placing a financial burden on themselves by gifting their children.

Guarantor

Acting as a guarantor for your child’s first home purchase is another way that you as a parent can help your child onto the property ladder. It’s a decision not to be taken lightly though: if your child defaults on repayments, the bank will look to you to repay the loan. If you need to put your own house up as security in order to act as guarantor, you could end up losing your own home to repay your child’s debt.

Things to think about: does your child have the means and motivation to repay their loan? Will you be placing a serious financial burden on yourself by acting as guarantor? To limit your exposure to risk, ensure that you guarantee the absolute minimum amount that the bank will allow and obtain legal advice before making any decisions.

Co-ownership

Buying a property with your child means you have a share of the property and will be registered on the title of the property. It’s a good way to protect your investment and have a share in the capital gain on the property when it’s sold.

Things to think about: ensure you sign a Property Sharing Agreement that specifies who pays what, who lives in the house, and what happens when the property is eventually sold.

 

As always, it’s worthwhile seeking sound financial advice when it comes to buying property. If you’d like to sit down with an adviser and review your current situation with a view to helping your children onto the property ladder, simply call Kevin Burrowes on 027 232 2316 or email kevinb@mx.co.nz.

Our thanks to Mortgage Express for this insightful article.

,

Christchurch Real Estate: November 2022 Update

Jim Davis, Harcourts Christchurch/South Island Regional Manager, shares his latest view on the property market in Christchurch.

With just one week to go until Christmas day, it’s fair to say the interest in the property market locally will not be a high priority for most people over the next few weeks! However, for those of you who are in the market currently or perhaps are thinking about what your options and choices are over the holiday season then the following information may be helpful.

There are a lot of comments out in the marketplace currently and the current situation is best summed up by the following statement. “Buyers are again weighing up the likely impact on mortgage rates with current downward pressure on property prices. Those thinking of selling are again looking at the market and asking, ‘is this the right time?”

So, is this the right time?

All I can say is that you have all the information currently available, and all the information indicates that Harcourts in Christchurch should be the brand of your choice. The right time is when you are ready and if you are ready then now is as good a time as any. The bigger decision is choosing the right person and the right company to represent you. It’s interesting that even some of the builders and developers who previously did it all themselves are now asking Harcourts to help sell their stock. If you need any more convincing this data might help:

REINZ Figures:
Median $680,000
Average $767,140

Harcourts Figures:
Median $715,000
Average $790,433

You have all the facts; all you need to do is decide whether “the time is right now?”
If so, Harcourts is the logical choice.

, , ,

Proud to Support Cholmondeley Children’s Centre

Donate a gift and bring a smile to a child’s face, who otherwise might go without.

A vital part of the Holmwood culture is giving back to our community. This Christmas we will once again be supporting Cholmondeley Children’s Centre.

Cholmondeley Children’s Centre provides short-term emergency and planned respite care and education to children aged 3-12 years whose families are experiencing genuine stress or crisis. Their aim is to give these children the opportunity to build their resilience, while issues at home are resolved. We are extremely proud to support this important charity.

You Can Help Too!

  • Gifts needed for children aged 3–12 years
  • If you’re having trouble deciding on a gift, gift vouchers from retailers like Toy World and Farmers are great too
  • Donations of new, non-perishable food items or Christmas Hampers are welcome
  • For monetary donations please visit cholmondeley.org.nz/support-us/donate

We are collecting presents for these children under the Christmas tree in our Auction Room. If you would also like to support this worthy cause, please bring your gifts to the upstairs reception of our head office at 397 Ilam Road before midday on Wednesday 7th December (unwrapped).

You can also visit www.cholmondeley.org.nz to read more about the amazing work Cholmondeley do in the community to help families flourish.

Thank you for your continued support.

,

Holmwood’s Continued Support of Nurse Maude…

The name Nurse Maude is seen by many as the brand associated with district nursing in Christchurch, however it was over 120 years ago that Nurse Maude herself took to the streets of Christchurch to care for the poor and sick. While the principles and values are the same, nursing has been transformed by continual advances in training, research, and technology. At the centre of all Nurse Maude’s Community Nursing Services is keeping people out of hospital and residential care wherever possible so they can live in their own homes and communities.

Through snowstorms, earthquakes, pandemics and the ups and down of the real estate market, Harcourts Holmwood hasn’t missed a beat, sponsoring nearly half the fleet of Nurse Maude cars since 2009. Every day of the year Harcourts Holmwood agents are travelling the length and breadth of Canterbury on the back windows of the Nurse Maude cars to support their work across the region.

Holmwood agents are much more than just a face on an ad. Whether our agents have been supporting Nurse Maude from day one, or have just come onboard as a new sponsor, each and every one of those agents contributes to the care of those in need in our community. These are also the people who supplied their own four wheel drive vehicles (or found someone who had one) when patients needed to be transported through deep snow. They helped to shovel mud and silt from the hospice shops and run vital supplies to patients in the community after the earthquakes. Although these events had a direct impact on Harcourt Holmwood and our agents, we never let them down, which is probably why Harcourts has won the Most Trusted Brand consistently since 2013.

In every respect Harcourts Holmwood is certainly Nurse Maude’s kind of people.

,

We’ve struck gold for the sixth consecutive year!

Harcourts is thrilled to have been awarded the Reader’s Digest Quality Service Gold Award in real estate agencies, as voted by the people of New Zealand, for the sixth year in a row.

We know that working with a real estate brand that truly understands your needs when it comes to buying, selling or investing is what really matters, so we are delighted that you have voted with your feet and yet again given us your gold seal of approval.

“In a challenging market in a year full of change, it is humbling to see first-hand that the team at Harcourts has yet again got the vote of confidence from New Zealanders,” says Harcourts New Zealand Managing Director Bryan Thomson.

“It is Harcourts’ consistent commitment to service excellence that has been instrumental in us retaining the Gold Quality Service Award for six years and the Reader’s Digest Most Trusted Award for 10 consecutive years. We are proud of our people from all across New Zealand and what they deliver but even when we know we are winning awards such as this, our people continue to strive to be the best. This is what keeps Harcourts at the top.”

This year’s Reader’s Digest Quality Service awards are based on five pillars: understanding, consistency, simplicity, satisfaction and personalisation. Market research agency, Catalyst, surveyed 1,620 New Zealanders who were asked to nominate a service provider in a wide range of categories, including real estate agencies. To qualify to vote in a category, the respondent must have used a service provider from that industry.

In the research our clients told us that “Harcourts have a knowledgeable team who go the extra mile” and that “Harcourts went over and beyond what they expected.” Reader’s Digest says it is confident that the Quality Service survey results for 2023 are a truly accurate measurement of New Zealand consumer sentiment.

If you’re buying or selling property,
we’re here to help.

,

Landlord responsibilities

Section 45 of the Residential Tenancies Act – Landlord responsibilities

Section 45(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) lists the Landlord Responsibilities, with the most important, or perhaps most obvious responsibilities being at the beginning, which is where we will focus for the purpose of this article.

It is important to be aware that failure by the landlord to comply with any of paragraphs (a) to (ca) below is declared to be an unlawful act and may attract exemplary damages payable to the tenant of up to $7,200. In recent cases, the Tenancy Tribunal has awarded tenants $4,000 in exemplary damages for premises being provided to tenants when they do not meet a reasonable state of cleanliness.

(a) Provide the premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness – It is a reasonable expectation for anyone moving into a new home, whether a purchaser or a tenant, or even hiring an Airbnb or a hotel room, that the premises are reasonably clean, and it is the landlord’s responsibility to ensure a rental premises meets this standard. Your Harcourts property manager understands the ‘reasonably clean’ standard, however interestingly, tribunal adjudicators have stated in tribunal decisions that there is an expectation that landlords will professionally clean a rental premises between tenancies, therefore acknowledging that there is a difference between the expectation of ‘reasonably clean’ when a tenant vacates, to the standard expected of ‘reasonably clean’ when a tenant moves in.

“The landlord shall provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair….”.

(b) When a tenancy commences, the property must be provided in a reasonable state of repair. It is an unlawful act to provide a property in disrepair, and rather to get the work performed after a tenant has moved in.

The next requirement is that the premises must be maintained in a reasonable state of repair. This includes any fixtures or fittings, or chattels. For example, if the property is rented with an alarm system and the alarm stops working during a tenancy, the landlord must repair or replace it. This is the same as an old fridge. You cannot include an item on the Tenancy Agreement in an ‘as is where is’ state, and then decide not to repair it. In this case, the landlord would be well advised to remove any item they do not intend to maintain.

Interestingly in the past few years since the Healthy Homes Guarantee Act became law, the healthy homes standards (HHS) are cited in complaints and referenced in tenancy tribunal hearings when properties are not in good repair, however not all homes are required to meet the healthy homes standards, yet.

All private rentals must comply with all five of the healthy homes standards within 90 days of any new or renewed tenancy after 1 July 2021, with all private rentals complying by 1 July 2024.

The healthy homes standards provide minimum standards for heating, ventilation for kitchens and bathrooms, moisture ingress and drainage, insulation (additional to 2019 legislation) and draught stopping.

Providing and maintaining premises in a reasonable state of repair has nothing to do with the healthy homes standards and has everything to do with being a requirement of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

Maintenance Examples vs Healthy Homes

Drainage– A standard property is likely to already have a drainage system that includes gutters, downpipes, and drains, and these need to be kept clear and working as part of the requirement to maintain a property in a reasonable state of repair. Therefore, landlords should have the gutters cleared regularly if this is necessary to ensure the drainage system is working properly. The HHS has simply made it law that all properties must now have efficient drainage systems.

Heating – Since 1947, it has been law that all properties must have a heating source in the living room, not just rental premises. Although some interpreted this to mean that a power point in the living room was sufficient as a heater can be plugged into the power point, this argument has not held up in recent tribunal cases. So, prior to the HHS, any heating source was acceptable, however now, the HHS heating standard states that the heat source must be fixed, efficient and meet the minimum heating capacity for the main living room.

Ventilation – If a property had an extraction fan in the bathroom, then it needs to be working. With the HHS, extraction fans must be ducted outside and any new fans since July 2019 must meet minimum requirements. Regardless, they must always be in working order.

Draught stopping – For the HHS draught stopping standard, landlords must make sure the property doesn’t have unreasonable gaps or holes in walls, ceilings, windows, skylights, floors and doors which cause noticeable draughts. However, a property in a reasonable state of repair does not have holes in the wall and it would be completely unreasonable to rent a property in this state. We don’t need the healthy homes standards to tell us this.

A property is not required to have a healthy homes assessment done between each tenancy, because quite simply, it is already legislated in the RTA that the premises must be maintained. So, once a property has been upgraded, or appliances installed, it is the landlord’s responsibility to ensure that these are maintained and are in good working order for the duration of the tenancy.

(ba) Smoke alarms – Smoke alarms protect both the occupants/tenants and the property, and Harcourts encourages all landlords to comply with industry best practice and have the supply and testing of smoke alarms outsourced. Your Harcourts property manager can recommend suitably qualified and experienced companies for this service.

(bb) Healthy homes compliance – Landlords must meet the healthy homes standards by the compliance date for their current tenancy, or by 1 July 2024, whichever is sooner. Harcourts advice is to meet the standards as soon as possible to retain great tenants.

(bd) Contaminants – There are regulations being developed by Government setting out acceptable levels of meth contamination, however these are not in place yet. Always get advice from your Harcourts property manager if you suspect that your property may be contaminated.

(c) Compliance – Landlords have an obligation to ensure that any premises that are rented must be lawful and in good condition and must comply with all legal requirements before being rented out. This includes requirements around buildings, health, and safety.

There are other responsibilities listed on Section 45(1) (included) which are likely to be selfexplanatory. Contact your Harcourts property manager if you have any questions.

Section 45 – Landlord Responsibilities

(1) The landlord shall—

(a) provide the premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness; and

(b) provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair having regard to the age and character of the premises and the period during which the premises are likely to remain habitable and available for residential purposes; and

(ba) comply with all requirements in respect of smoke alarms imposed on the landlord by regulations made under section 138A; and

(bb) comply with the healthy homes standards; and

(bc) [Repealed]

(bd) comply with all requirements in respect of contaminants imposed on the landlord by regulations made under section 138C(3)(c); and

(c) comply with all requirements in respect of buildings, health, and safety under any enactment so far as they apply to the premises; and

(ca) if the premises do not have a reticulated water supply, provide adequate means for the collection and storage of water; and

(d) compensate the tenant for any reasonable expenses incurred by the tenant in repairing the premises where—

(i) the state of disrepair has arisen otherwise than as a result of a breach of the tenancy agreement by the tenant and is likely to cause injury to persons or property or is otherwise serious and urgent; and

(ii) the tenant has given the landlord notice of the state of disrepair or made a reasonable attempt to do so; and

(e) take all reasonable steps to ensure that none of the landlord’s other tenants causes or permits any interference with the reasonable peace, comfort, or privacy of the tenant in the use of the premises.

This article was featured in Property Management Focus Issue 10, 2022.