Blogs

Brisbane City Council has declared Friday 14th November a public holiday for the G20.  If your work place is located in the Brisbane City Council region (similar to the Ekka), then you are requested not to go to work.  The reason for this is to keep the roads clearer and help with security during the […]

With only a few weeks left on Channel 9’s The Block, we’ve been wondering whether the amateur renovators are worried about getting their building & pest inspections.  We don’t think it will be a problem as they’ve had qualified tradies helping them out and Keith overseeing all the structural work, but still, you’d hate to […]

When you’re looking to purchase a home in Brisbane or other Queensland areas, one of the considerations is – can I extend or build-in underneath the house?  Many of the older style homes have what was originally a breeze way to allow better air ventilation for cooling as well as to keep termites away.  The […]

RealestateVIEW recently conducted a study of how baby boomers think about the property market.  Only 34.4% of baby boomers think they can afford to stay in their own home.  This will result in many larger houses coming onto the market and smaller houses / town houses and units being bought quicker, thereby increasing the prices […]

We all know that you need to have your house looking clean, spacious, uncluttered and stylish when you put it on the market but, what else will help sell your property apart from fluffy towels in the bathroom. 1. Choose The Best Real Estate Agent Choose the best real estate agent in your area – by viewing […]

Faulty electrical works are a safety risk for people and fire risk to your home.  We’ve all seen the repercussions in the media of what can go wrong when standard safety measures are not taken into account, such as installing insulation in ceilings over the top of electrical cables. It’s not illegal to buy your […]

Depending on the length of contract until settlement, we recommend you leave a minimum of 14 days to have an answer – not because it takes this long to book an inspection, but you still need to consider the outcome of the inspection. If you find there are queries that you want answers to, or negotiations […]

The property market in Brisbane’s northern suburbs has recovered and it’s definitely a seller’s market. Remarkably the average time for a property to be listed is currently only 8 days whereas two years ago it was 90 days (as stated on Channel 7 News – March 5, 2014).  With roughly between 15 and 90 people […]

As of December 2013 the Queensland Building Services Authority will be replaced by the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) as the regulator for the Queensland building industry. As one of the largest overseers of employers in Queensland, the biggest reform in 20 years will see the creation of the QBCC. Reflecting the sector’s large […]

From December 20, 2013 the Department of Housing and Public Works revised the Building Regulation 2006 (BR) and schedule 7 of the Sustainable Planning Regulation 2009 to give a more consistent approach to buildings in flood hazard areas. You can find more information and factsheets on the Department’s website: www.hpw.qld.gov.au or read the Building and Other […]

Top 10 building defects Each month, the Building Services Authority (BSA) releases a list of the ‘Top 10 defects’ reported in the Queensland building and construction industry. Note: the ‘number of defects’ figure accumulates over the financial year and begins again at ‘0’ each year from 1 July. The June defect report was: Rank Defect […]

In Queensland, it has been a widespread practice for homeowners to build rooms in the subfloor area of high-set homes. Whilst this may be done correctly by a licensed builder in many cases this work has been undertaken by the homeowner, without legislated building approval and with the work not carried out to any recognised […]