Real insights to assist your property knowledge
- Show all categories
- Property Investment & Management
- Selling Your Home
- Market Updates
- Buying a Home
- Renovating & Presentation
- Consumer Advice
- RealWay Community
- Agent News
- Property Investment
- RealWay Home
- Living Discussions
- Smoke Alarms
- Topics of Interest
- Property Maintenance
- Renting
- Renovating
- Research
- Buying
- Management
- Selling
- Tips
Jun 3, 2022
Moving home in winter: Six Tips
The winter months can sometimes be unpredictable when it comes to the weather. Rather than it dampening your moving plans, take some steps to ensure that moving home in winter is as seamless and stress-free as possible. Check the weather app Rain has the potential to cause havoc on your moving plans so being prepared for any inclement weather can reduce those moving day jitters. Your weather app will be able to tell you what is expected, and it is best to plan for any event and those just in case moments. If it does look like rain, purchase some plastic sheeting from your local hardware store to cover furnishings and floors, even old sheets can work in these scenarios to protect those precious items. Matting outside the entry doors will also help in minimising the potential for dirt to be tracked through the property. Hire the professionals Where you can, hiring professional removalists can make the move an easier process. They can help you pack up your belongings and deliver them to your new home so that you can minimise the heavy lifting and focus on unpacking and settling into the new property. Outsourcing the clean-up to professional cleaners, carpet cleaners and gardeners can also make life easier and if you are renting, this can ensure that you are taking steps to help get your bond returned sooner with an easier handover. Outsource your connections There are some great companies that can assist with the connections and disconnections of your services to get you set up sooner in your new home and have the lights on for move-in day. They can also help with closing off old accounts for your previous residence and finalising those accounts. Label your boxes This one is the same whether you are moving home in winter or any season. Do the little things like labelling your boxes relevant to the room that they belong to or what they contain when you are packing up. If you have hired removalists this will help them identify the areas that the boxes need to go when they are unpacking in your new home, and you will be able to unpack the ones that you need more urgently. Prepare for a full day When you are organising your time of move-in winter, keep in mind that the daylight hours are shorter. Get started as early as you can to use most of the daylight that you have. If you have pets or children, moving day can be quite a stressful experience. You might consider where possible to arrange for friends or family to care for them which can reduce potential anxieties around the move. Having a bag of essentials on hand including things like a small tool kit, some smaller cleaning items, snacks and even a change of clothes while they might seem insignificant, can help make the day run smoother. Schedule an overlap when moving home in winter Alternatively if you can, see if you can see if you can arrange a move in date that is a few days before your move out date. Allowing yourself more than one day for the move can always make final tidy-ups and unstacking necessaries in your new home a little calmer. Energy bills on the rise in winter time? Have you considered buying an investment property in a town or city different to your own? Take a look at what is available in Bunderberg.
May 29, 2022
Tips to save your energy budget this winter
Rising costs and tightening household budgets are front of mind as we head into the winter months and as the temperatures start to cool off, the increased use of appliances to heat our homes can contribute to the biting energy prices. To avoid the bill shock that can sometimes arrive in time with your next energy invoice, there are a few things that you can do to reduce energy consumption and the costs associated with it. Fix draughty areas Look at areas where draughts may be prevalent in your home, typically under doors and windows. Around 40% of heat from the home escapes from windows and if you are a homeowner you may consider investing in double glazing which can bump up the energy efficiency of your home and have the added benefit of reducing sound. If you are renting, many hardware stores have solutions for draught excluders around windows and doors. Thicker curtains can keep colder air at bay and thicker rugs over hardwood floors can provide a cost-effective insulation approach. Check the hot water Hot water usage can contribute a substantial amount to energy costs. Tips like adjusting the temperature as well as washing with cold water or ensuring that you are only washing full loads are key to reducing those energy outputs. Turn off appliances Appliances in standby mode, not in use can still use energy. Even your phone charger that is switched on at the wall and not in use is still generating power. If you are not using the appliance or going away, ensure that you are switching appliances off at the wall to reduce the energy consumption being used by those appliances. Price check your current plan There is a myriad of energy suppliers in the market now. Check your current electricity and gas bills to make sure that you are getting the best deal and negotiate to find the best solutions for you. The Australian Government has created a very useful website to easily check all available competition within the market and provides estimates on how much each company charges. This can be one of the most useful energy saving tips to follow through with. Swap your light globes Where possible, make the switch with your light globes to those that are the most energy-efficient for the types of light fittings that you have in your home. More energy-efficient bulbs use as much as 75% less electricity and have the added benefit of lasting longer, which means replacing less often. Making a few small changes in our living spaces and habits can assist with reducing those energy bills and adds to one less shock the next time you receive your electricity or gas bill. Have you checked your property for signs of mould lately? Recent weather conditions has caused mould to appear in all sorts of spaces it isn't normally seen.
May 12, 2022
Smarter communities: why do we build them?
Smarter communities can be large or small and are ones where a successful hybrid of residential, commercial and community-focused features and amenities coexist. These smarter communities are essentially managed by industry experts in the fields of technology, sustainability practices, infrastructural development and individual/family wellbeing. Together, these elements enhance community cohesion. The creation of this cohesion ensures longevity and sustainability for its developments and lifestyle benefits for its residents. To build a smarter community is to adopt a big-picture outlook; melding affordability with investor/owner/renter appeal, state-of-the-art technology with user-friendly applications and design and interior trends that inspire a biophilic quality. As such, developers in the sector of smarter communities quite simply create happier residents. An industry working with a united vision, delivers intelligent solutions to create a better lifestyle for people living and investing in those communities. Strata and community management firms are driven by customer-centricity and innovation, developing communities and competing in a billion dollar industry. Somewhere near you, this type of community has been built Developed communities are diverse and extensive, covering small-to-medium residential and commercial blocks including townhouses and villas, shop lots and hotels, to large mixed-use high rises. Like smart homes in the era-of-connectivity, smart communities are a natural progression. Television advertisements for newly developed suburbs may have surprised viewers at first. Communities used to require time to develop organically and even though they still do this, applied thinking has changed the way that they can emerge. Development and marketing opportunities Opportunities abound for developers and real estate agents to embrace the challenges of building and marketing newly formed communities. Investing in a smarter community is at the forefront of long-term change for all industry proponents. If created to exact standards and marketed within an affordable price range, the sustainability focus and lifestyle benefits of properties within smarter communities invariably sell themselves.
May 6, 2022
Smart homes: If these walls could talk
What is a smart-home? Not very long ago these words didn't have much meaning to us. Buildings used to be inanimate structures — but no longer. The advent of conversation-friendly buildings injects life into the membranes of homes (present and future). In terms of possible developments in technology, 5G will enable an era of connectivity like never before from autonomous driving, tactile internet, immersive technologies and next-generation IoT (internet of things) applications. The internet of things describes physical objects that are embedded with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the internet or other communications networks. This is also true of the built environment, which is increasingly helping its users to connect smartly, efficiently and more productively. Smart homes can warm the air temperature before you get home and remind you to get milk. The rise of conversation-friendly buildings As society transforms, powerful trends are reshaping businesses; driving new technologies, shifting our needs and changing human behaviour. Global think-tank FutureScope explores the complex journey from innovation to commercial success on a global scale. Even as far back as 2010, FutureScope reported that architects using sound-mapping software developed at Cardiff University in Wales could see the noisy hot spots where conversations in a room might become unintelligible. By altering room shapes and materials, they will be able to make meeting spaces, open-plan offices, and even cafes more compatible for conversations. The construction of smart buildings, technology-based structures that improve efficiency, helps to achieve objectives that benefit both the user and the environment. Sharing and integrating data between building systems enables the value of the combined smart homes to be greater than the sum of its parts. The reality On a broad scale, these smart-building aims have been realised at the National Grid in the UK (to improve the utilisation of buildings within the estate) and at the University of Technology Sydney (to synchronise air conditioning with a room-booking platform). Next-generation technology and artificial intelligence are also being utilised in our homes via pre-programmable applications and platforms (from self-locking and opening mechanisms to robotics-based domestic aids, including AI wardrobe choice assistance and grocery shopping reminders). When used smartly and wisely, advancing the breadth of technologies such as these frees up invaluable time and ultimately enhances our quality of life. Smart homes and smart buildings are now part of our society's landscape. One of the original smart home technologies - the smoke alarm - has recently changed had a legislation change.