The NSW Government has put in place new requirements for pool owners.
In NSW, an average of 11 children under five years of age drown annually, with a further 62 children being admitted to hospital each year for near drowning. Approximately 70% of drowning deaths occur in swimming pools. In many cases, these deaths are preventable
In the interest of lowering this statistic, in 2012, a review of the Swimming Pools Act 1992 was finalised and a number of amendments were made to improve the safety of children around swimming pools in NSW.
These changes have now taken effect and include:
From 29th October 2013
- Current swimming pool owners are required to have their swimming pool registered. If you haven’t already done this, go to http://www.swimmingpoolregister.nsw.gov.au and register online.
- There are also checklists of things that should be in place to keep your family safe around the pool area. This is a self-assessment and it costs nothing to do.Councils will be carrying out inspection programs.
From 29th April 2014
- A valid compliance certificate will be required to lease or sell any property with a swimming pool and will need to be attached to the sale contract or given to the tenant.
- All multi occupancy developments will require a valid compliance certificate if they have a swimming pool. For example, if in a unit complex with pool, the strata manager must have this compliance certificate.
Compliance certificates are valid for 3 years and can be organised by contacting the council.
A swimming pool is defined in the law as an excavation, structure or vessel that is capable of being filled with water to a depth greater than 30cm and is used for swimming, wading, paddling or any other human aquatic activity. Generally this includes, but is not limited to, swimming pools and spa pools.
For more comprehensive information visit http://www.swimmingpoolregister.nsw.gov.au or speak to your local council.
Dougmal Harcourts’ Career Information evening is for people who are looking for a career change into Property Management, or for current Property Management professionals looking for a new challenge.
On Tuesday 29th of October we will be hosting a Careers Information Evening at the Rydges Hotel in Campbelltown for people who wish to learn more about the Property Management field and a career with Dougmal Harcourts – The Property People in Campbelltown.
Topics to be covered include;
• The real estate industry and the roles within it.
• A day in the life of a Property Manager.
• Process and training requirements for the role.
• Why people succeed in the work place.
• The support behind our people.
There will also be presentations from real estate professionals, and the opportunity to ask questions.
The event runs for approximately 1.5 hours, providing comprehensive information about the real estate profession.
After the presentation there is the opportunity to meet some of the people from our office, and to apply for current positions in Property Management.
We only have limited seats, so please book your seat by emailing kirstenf@propertypeople.net.au.
Event details:
Tuesday 29th October, 2103
Dougmal Harcourts Career Information Evening
Time: 6.00 – 7.30pm
Rydges Hotel Campbelltown
1 Old Menangle Road, Campbelltown (next to the Campbelltown Catholic Club).
October’s Auction Extravaganza event was held last week at the Rydges Hotel in Campbelltown.
On Wednesday 9th of October we had the first of our two in-room auction events for October.
The auction event achieved outstanding results, selling 5 out of 7 properties. That’s a whopping 71% success rate! The most impressive part of the night were the results, with most properties selling above and beyond our sellers’ reserve prices!
GLEN ALPINE, 12 Clydebank Crescent – SOLD BEFORE AUCTION!
LEUMEAH HEIGHTS, 15 Conjola Crescent – SOLD!
MACQUARIE LINKS, 35 Lord Castlereagh Circuit – SOLD!
CAMPBELLTOWN, 2 Linn Street – SOLD!
GLEN ALPINE, 12 Gracemere Place – NOT YET SOLD
LEUMEAH, 28D/541 Pembroke Road – SOLD!
CAMPBELLTOWN, 47 Grandview Drive – NOT YET SOLD
The two properties not sold on the night have good interest from buyers, and we expect that they will sell in the next few weeks.
Another fantastic effort by my team in getting such great results! Thank you for your commitment, determination, dedication and teamwork. It really was a fun night, with everyone in the room enjoying lots of laughs.
Also, congratulations to all our successful sellers and purchasers.
Again I must thank our highly experienced Auctioneer, Paul Casarotto, and the wonderful support from Domain, The Macarthur Advertiser and Harcourts NSW.
NEXT IN-ROOMS AUCTION TO BE HELD ON 30TH OF OCTOBER, AT THE RYDGES HOTEL, CAMPELLTOWN.
Available government incentives make buying a new property in the Campbelltown region an attractive proposition for first home buyers, owner occupiers, and investors.
The current government incentive for first home owners who purchase or build a new home up to the value $650,000 is $15,000. There are also concessions on duty for first home owners (see www.osr.nsw.gov.au or call them on 1300 130 624).
For everyone else who purchases a new property, whether off-the-plan or newly built, with a value up to $650,000, there is a $5000 grant available. The $5000 grant is also available to buyers of vacant land that is intended to be the site of a new home valued up to $450,000.
To get the $5000 grant, the purchaser can be any entity, a person, a company, or a trustee of a trust. It is available to investors as well as owner occupiers. However, applications for the grant must be made within three months of the date of execution of the agreement for sale or of the transfer.
Off-the-plan apartments are an obvious fit for the NSW Government’s $5000 grant. Off-the-plan apartments are becoming more popular in Campbelltown for many reasons. Firstly they are mostly positioned close to the CBD for easy access to all amenities including shopping, restaurants and essential services. Apartments are also located close to all the main transport hubs – freeways, train, and bus routes for ease of getting around. These features save time and money, and are attractive to owner-occupiers, investors and their tenants.
Developers of off-the-plan apartments truly know what buyers are looking for. They design attractive and functional eco-friendly modern apartments with quality fixtures and fittings. They know Australians love the outdoors, and so many include entertaining/BBQ areas, large balconies, great aspects, gardens and park areas.
Most modern developments also have sophisticated security systems and secure car parking areas.
Dougmal Harcourts – The Property People have many new homes and off-the-plan developments currently for sale.
The signs are there that it’s going to be a hot summer! Our region in particular often experiences some scorching hot days. Now is the time to start thinking about how to keep you and your home cool and comfortable over the coming hot months.
Here are a few simple tips to get your home prepared. These tips can not only help keep you comfortable, but they will save you money on power costs, and should you wish to sell your home in the future, they are attractive features to buyers.
Here are a few suggestions:
- Ceiling fans reduce room temperature by four to five degrees. Additionally, if an air conditioner is also used, together they more efficiently keep your house cool.
- Air conditioners should be maintained and used properly. A dusty filter reduces air flow and increases energy costs by 5-15%. Clean the air filters every couple of months and replace when necessary. You should also keep heat-producing appliances such as televisions or lamps away from the air conditioner’s thermostat. The heat they produce can fool your thermostat into continuing to cool. Set the fan speed on high to help push cool air around the house.
It’s worth getting some advice from an air conditioning technician on efficiently running your air conditioner. A little advice can save you thousands of dollars long term.
- Use white shades and drapes on the inside of windows to deflect heat away from the house. In the morning keep the shades and drapes closed on the east-facing windows, and in the afternoon closed on the west-facing windows. This stops a lot of heat entering the house. Combine this with opening north and south facing windows for maximum air circulation.
- Cover the outside of the windows with shades, shutters or screens to further prevent heat from penetrating through the windows.
- Common culprits of internal heat build-up are appliances, electronic devices and lights. Compact fluorescents produce the same light as incandescent lights, but use a fifth of the energy and generate less heat. Also, avoid cooking during the hottest part of the day, and if possible use a range hood fan to direct the hot air out of your house.
Dougmal Harcourts – The Property People is the leader in local real estate sales and property management. Should you have any enquiries please call us on 4628 7444.
September’s Auction Extravaganza event was held last week at the Rydges Hotel in Campbelltown.
On Wednesday 18th September we had another sensational in-rooms Auction event, featuring five great properties.
My team sold four under the hammer, with the fifth generating good interest and I expect will sell in the coming weeks. The event was a solid team effort with some tough and skilful negotiations resulting in outstanding results for our sellers.
Two properties were sold above our sellers’ reserve prices, and two were sold at the reserve price.
CAMPBELLTOWN, 20/31-35 Chamberlain Street – SOLD!
BRADBURY, 8 Anembo Street – SOLD!
ELLIS LANE, 5 Tarcoola Place – SOLD!
ESCHOL PARK, 39 Eschol Park Drive – SOLD!
APPIN, 12 Glebe Close – NOT YET SOLD
Well done to all our successful sellers and purchasers - it was a great night!
I must congratulate my sales department for all their hard working leading up to and at the auction event. Our in-room events are a great reminder to me of how lucky I am to work alongside some of Macarthur's most talented, passionate, and courageous real estate agents.
A big thank you to Paul Casarotto, our highly experienced and successful Auctioneer, and to our sponsors Domain, The Macarthur Advertiser and Harcourts NSW for your support and sponsorship.
NEXT IN-ROOMS AUCTION TO BE HELD ON 9TH OF OCTOBER, AT THE RYDGES HOTEL, CAMPELLTOWN.
If you want to know more about the process and the benefits of selling your property by auction, speak to one of our highly experienced Sales Consultants on 4628 7444.
The corner-stone of a successful investment property is having the right people managing it!
Property management is a highly important service that is often undervalued. Having a great property management team looking after your investment often means the difference between a smooth or rocky investment. It can also be the difference between a profitable an unprofitable investment!
Our property management team at Dougmal Harcourts works extremely hard to bring the very best service to their clients. In recognition of this effort and their results, our property management team scooped up all the major property management awards at the recent Harcourts Awards ceremony.
Property Management Business Development Award - Sarena Rowley
Property Management Office Excellence Award -1st place
Property Management Business Development Award - 1st place
Property Management Office Revenue Award - 1st place
Here’s a little insight into the first class and award-winning service our team at Dougmal Harcourts provides:
- When first advertising a vacant property, we work swiftly to advertise the property to as many potential tenants as possible. This results in maximum applications for the property, and the smallest amount of time the property is vacant.
- From the applications received, our property management agency uses our systems to diligently scrutinise applying tenants, and help the landlord make the final selection. This is a highly important part of the process, as the “big picture” of the final selection is: less maintenance expenses, little or no rental arrears, and maximum capital growth on the property.
- Our first class service and systems ensure rent is paid on time, expenses and bills are tracked and paid, and there are regular inspections conducted on the property to ensure it is being kept as agreed.
At Dougmal Harcourts our property management team are leading the way in local property management service. Eight dedicated Property Managers and several support staff work to ensure that all details are attended to.
Investing in a quality Property Management agency makes a lot of sense. A well-managed investment property will provide maximum income, no hassles, and the best long-term outcome.
For more information, speak to one our award-winning property management professionals on 4628 7444.
