Selling a House in Australia

Estate Agents 2 (Photo credit: gusset)

Last year, Australian Property Investor Magazine reported that the average time to sell a house had increased from 41 days the year before to 55 days. There are a number of ways to minimize this period.

Renovation increases the value of a house, with the kitchen and bathroom being prime candidates. Pre-sales renovation has become increasingly common. At the very least, a seller should apply fresh paint and new flooring. Mark Dawes, an estate agent for Richardson & Wrench in South Sydney, said, “You'll definitely get top dollar or best possible price, and sell quickly.” People buying their first home prefer to avoid the bother of remodeling Dawes said there is no need to go over the top, and all that is required is that a buyer believes no further work on the house is required.

You should compare the house with other houses for sale in the neighborhood in the same price range, and see what assets they have that yours lacks. If the house is already at the higher end of the market in the area, increasing the price after renovation could result in the house being on the market for longer. The decision to renovate should be made sufficiently early, as renovation takes time and does not always go to plan. Rushing the job will result in an outcome of poorer quality.

Do-it-yourself home renovation is very popular in Australia, and a number of television shows show what is possible. Hardware shops often offer free renovation classes outside of working hours. An estate agent can give advice on what can be done.

Brent Courtney of the estate agent, McGrath Lane Cove, says the best time to sell a house is in September or early in spring. Summer may be better if the house has a good outdoor area or impressive outdoor views. Alas, there will be more other houses on sale at that time, giving you greater competition. A house could sell in winter or autumn if it has much natural light. If the house is family oriented, school holidays and Christmas should be avoided, but a small apartment can be sold at any time of the year.

You should market your house properly. Buyers must know that it is on the market. Marketing includes advertising online, in newspapers and real estate magazines and in mail drops in the vicinity. A house that is dirty or in disarray will repel potential buyers.

One Australian man sold his house for $135,000 more than the asking price by using social media: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr. Online contact allows you to give a more personal touch while still keeping some distance from correspondents. The trick is to use keywords that will attract the target audience and create a website using WordPress. The website should include your own stories of the house and photos and videos. Telling of what's great about living there, nearby amenities and the community turns a house into a home. An estate agent would be hard pressed to create comparable material. 

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Six Tips to Help You Qualify for Financial Aid for College

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How to qualify for financial aid for college is a dilemma that bothers high school graduates, college students, let alone their parents. It's because a college education can cost a lot and it is also not something that everyone can to afford to pay for. Many students who wish to take on an undergrad or possibly a master's degree typically search for financial aid so they can continue with their school work.

The tragic point is not every student who applies for federal financial aid for college, or privately-endowed student financing gets it. It's not only because the competition for grants is enormous, but it is because students getting this aid do not completely appreciate the appropriate way to to get financial aid for college.

There are many of places you can look to reference on how to qualify for financial aid for college, and the following are the six most useful guidelines which will assist you.

1. The most common suggestion is to seek the recommendations of a financial aid adviser. A financial aid adviser knows the ins and outs of the process. This financial aid advisor will take you through the process to make your application more distinct, so it will be very important that you get one and work closely together with them. Another essential word of advice you need to remember is to keep tabs on the deadlines and move promptly.

2. Almost all programs offering financial assistance for college students, particularly those run by the federal government, are awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis. The quicker you deliver the documents and requirements for the federal grants you are applying to, the higher your chances of you getting that financing.

3. If it is your child who is going to attend college or university soon, you should start converting whichever investments you have available a couple of years just before your kid would need school funding. If the federal agency that is giving the aid finds that you have the dollars to send your child to college, you will end up hurting your child's probabilities for obtaining that support. Why do you have to limit your readily available assets two years prior to application? That is because each and every sale you will be making within that two-year period ahead of the application will probably be viewed as capital gain, therefore an income.

4. Lowering your earnings can also help. Do you have any sort of extra income or perks moving your way in the couple of years before you can put in your FAFSA? See if you possibly could defer them until after your FAFSA has been approved. Do you have any money originating from ventures or savings in the bank? Sell off or dispose of what investments you will be able to so the government is not going to realize that you've got cash to send your kid to university.

5. As you are liquidating your belongings, try putting money into your residence, a 401K or 529 plan. The only financial savings that the federal government will never check out as they review your kid's qualifications for assistance to fund their higher education are financial savings needed for your primary home, your pension or a 529 account. Hence, in the act of cleaning your resources and downplaying your revenue, you could make extra payments on your property loan, get a new residence, or place funds in a 401K or any retirement account. You must also place some cash in a 529 account.

6. If you can, set that 529 policy in your child's grandparents' name and nominate your child as the beneficiary.And lastly, although not the least, use up the enrollees savings. The government considers that 35% of the student's personal funds must be employed to funding their college education right before they could be given assistance.

Consequently, to add to the prospect of securing that assistance successfully, your kid must use up that cash they have got in their name prior to asking for federal financial aid for college. It could possibly be for a brand new computer or things they may require for their dorm room or apartment.

These are only a number of recommendations you may work with to acquire the financial aid for college that you need. The matter is that you have to make the government notice that you do not possess financial assets on hand for your kid to use as college money. You will be able to end up with cash for college with success if you know how to qualify for financial aid for college. Read more.

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50+ Concerns About Retirement Savings

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Folks entering their 50s have a lot to worry about or be concerned, what with kids starting to go to college, planning for retirement, creeping health issues due to age, work, and where things will be in the near future. That said, one of the most complicated concerns tends to be how to save enough for retirement. Most want their retirement to be at least the same as when they worked, just without the job. But how that works is lost in the details for many.

Fortunately, instead of aiming for an imaginary dollar figure that seems impossible to achieve, people in their 50s need to instead focus on maximizing their savings by doing the following:

• Make the maximum annual deposit to a Roth IRA if eligible. For an individual this is $6,000 after age 50. If a spouse doesn't work, a spousal Roth IRA can take another $6,000 as well. The money grows tax free in the meantime with no deadline when it needs to be withdrawn. 

• If pre-tax money is regularly received through a business, put it into a traditional IRA up to $6,000 a year after age 50. The same spousal benefit works in this scenario as well. 

• Where a 401k is available at work, up to $50,000 can be deposited annually. If the employer provides a match, that’s an extra pot of cash added into the 401k for free. Many who do provide a match do so dollar for dollar. 

• With the legal tax shelters taken care of, savers then need to make sure they continue to add to conservative savings and market investments with a mix of at least 60% immediate savings and 40% market investment or bonds. This approach maintains value while still taking advantage of market upswings when they occur, without risking the entire balance. 

• Extra-dedicated types might want to consider taking on a second part-time job if they have the time. This allows additional earning power while young enough to handle the burden without any liabilities against the extra revenue stream. That means large amounts of incoming money each month that can be sent direct to savings and investments. 

• Consider working a bit longer to maximize both savings as well as social security benefits. By working to 67 rather than 62, the difference income and savings can as much as $50,000 or more.

Fifteen years of doing the above while working other asset angles such real estate and inheritance will definitely build a large retirement base for the dedicated saver. While it may not produce a guaranteed $5 million, the saver will have a significant amount of funds to rely on in retirement when needed. This approach will not only alleviate concerns about saving enough, it tends to get a saver thinking about other ways to live more efficiently. That in turn causes other ripple benefits along the way.

Author Bio:

Roxanne Porter is a freelancer & a regular contributor for www.nannyjobs.org/.  She helps in providing knowledge about nanny services & love writing on nanny related articles. She helps in giving a fair knowledge about nanny Jobs to the community. You can be in touch with her at “r.poter08ATgmail.com”.

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The Perks of Capital One Miles

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Whether you are currently a Capital One cardholder or if you are seeking a new credit card for your own personal or business expenses, Capital One has a variety of options and incentives to apply for one. With Capital One credit cards it is possible to earn "Capital One Miles", or, flying miles which are rewarded based on the card you have chosen and the amount that you spend using the card each month (for either personal or business transactions).

Who Can Use Capital One Miles?

Anyone who is interested in applying for a credit card from Capital One has the option to select a card that offers miles as rewards. Whether you are seeking a business credit card or a card for personal expenses and bills, Capital One has cards available for everyone who is looking for a way to get rewards for their spending and paying the credit card bills on time each month.

The Perks of Capital One Mile Credit Cards

A major advantage to applying for a Capital One Miles credit card is that you do not have to concern yourself with blackout dates and there are also no seat restrictions when selecting when you want to fly and put the mils you have earned to use. Additionally, Capital One does not limit where you can travel when you decide to use your miles, even if it is an international trip and vacation.

A significant advantage to having a Capital One Miles credit card is that all of the miles you earn cannot expire throughout your entire lifetime, making them redeemable at just about any time you want to plan a trip or getaway.

Redeeming your miles is simple and can be done through the online Capital One banking and rewards system. Upon logging in with your Capital One banking username and password, you will have immediate access to the company's virtual catalog of rewards that are redeemable with the miles you have to your name. You can select from flights and travel to redeeming your miles for home goods, gift cards, and even services that appeal to you and that are offered in your area.

What Are Capital One Miles Useful For?

Although Capital One Miles seems to only offer free flight miles from the name itself, they can also be redeemed for gift cards, vacation packages, merchandise, car rentals, and even hotel rooms that are available from the actual Capital One redeeming center online.

Using your miles earned from your Capital One card can be used for personal items, even if your credit card is intended to be used only for business purposes--as the rewards are of no cost to you additionally.

Finding a Capital One Card to Earn Miles

When you want to apply for a Capital One card to begin earning Capital One Miles, you can do so right from home using the internet. Comparing different Capital One cards, APR on each card, and even the number of miles you will earn based on your spending are all ways to determine which card is ideal for you and even for your business.

Author Bio: Jacob brown has a vast experience in writing articles on insurance and related topics. In this article he has discussed the ways to avail a Cheap Life Insurance. He suggests his readers to visit Arc-protect.com for further information.

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4 Ways to Save Money on Expensive College Textbooks

iPad vs. Textbooks (Photo credit: Abstract Machine)

In another week my kids will be returning to college. Besides paying the tuition and fee's, colleges have to gouge you one more time by charging insane prices for textbooks. For many years the college bookstore has been the only source of these books but thankfully things have changed.

A course my daughter had to take called for an expensive book for her Chemistry class. The college bookstore wanted to charge $226 for it. Today, if I went on Amazon the book was going for $147. A third party vendor on the Amazon Marketplace was selling the same book for $98. Not bad. But lets try for a better deal.

A real lifesaver for parents and students is the companies that rent text books. This expanding and growing business has exploded because it has provided students with their required textbooks for a price which is at a fraction of the cost of a new book purchase. The required chemistry text book mention previously rents for $24 at many textbook rental websites. That's an overall savings of $202, wow!

Textbooks have become a commodity. The same version of textbook, rented by many online sources allows the costs to come down. The success of the textbook rental business has made them affordable again. Now it's just a game to find the cheapest source for your textbook. To save money sourcing your textbooks I have listed a few tips to help you get started.

Shop early. Campus bookstores usually carry a good number of used books, but if students wait too long, they could be forced to go new or look elsewhere.


1. Look online. This is pretty obvious, but there are still some students who go by the book and buy all their books at the bookstore. Be careful of shipping costs; most big rental websites offer free shipping, but buying new and used could incur big shipping costs. Amazon is the kingpin, but Half.com, AbeBooks.com, or BigWords.com may have better deals, depending on what students are looking for.

2. Go digital. Electronic textbooks are really starting to become more of a factor in the textbook world. E-readers are gaining popularity and offer students an easy and convenient book-reading experience. It's important to look at software requirements, however, as some computers can't run certain book software. E-books usually don't come with access codes or accompanying CDs, either.

3. Don't buy, rent. Renting books can save a lot of money, that's no secret. Renting also eliminates the dreadful book-selling process at the end of the semester. CampusBookRentals, Chegg, and BookRenter are the big players in the rental business, and those companies advertise up to 90 percent in savings over the retail cost of books. Don't miss the due dates because there are late fees and they can make a dent in the savings.

4. Save your receipts. The American Opportunity Tax Credit may be available to students who qualify because of textbook and other out-of-pocket higher educational expenses.

Students can save up to $2,500 on their 2012 federal taxes and up to 40 percent is refundable. The full $2,500 is available to those who pay $4,000 or more in qualified expenses for an eligible student.

Another avenue for textbook shopping seems to be on the horizon. PostYourBook.com is a social networking website dedicated to connecting users so that they are able to buy and sell textbooks with each other. Students are able to search textbooks and find the best possible price, and then exchange books with other students from their school.

My hope for the future is for textbooks to go totally digital. Apple Computers new platform for digital textbooks is incredible. An entire textbook can be uploaded to an iPad. It has the entire book and also the capability to have video and audio. For an affordable rental fee a textbook can be used by a student during the semester and afterwards can be erased when the semester is up. This purely electronic supplying of textbooks would be environmentally better and increase the bottom line for textbook providers. And of course save parents lots of money.

5 Ways to Stretch Your Casino Vacation Dollars

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If you’re a real penny pincher like me, finding ways to have the most fun for the least amount money is a necessity. Whether you are going to Vegas, Atlantic City, or a Mobile Casino; setting rules and a budget is important. Just as you set a budget and plan an itinerary for your trip, why not set a budget for your gambling. Setting a daily limit to your expenditures will not only allow you to stretch your dollars but it can also take the worry away of running out of money or spending too much.

I have 5 simple rules that will help you not only save money but have a more enjoyable experience. 

1. Do your research.

If you have little or no experience with gambling it would be a great idea to do some reading about what type of gambling you would like to do. It's so easy to go online and search for information concerning gambling or gambling activities you may want to try. You can learn how games operate and if they are appropriate for you. Learning the rules and difficulty of different gambling games will help you feel more confident when you play. 

2. Gambling is Entertainment.

Gambling is just another form of entertainment that carries a bonus of monetary payback. Only the hype of the media or advertising shows you how you can win big money. It's true you can win and win big but most people don't. If you know the house has the advantage and only play for fun you will have a much more enjoyable time.

Just as you set a certain amount of money aside for vacations, dinners, and other entertainment so you must with gambling. You don't go overboard when spending money on a dinner at a restaurant, by ordering the most expensive meal. Why is gambling treated any different? 

3. Join a player's clubs.

You may think player's clubs are only for the high rollers. You would be surprised to know the bulk of any casinos business comes from the average visitor like you or me. Player's clubs are a great way to get great discounts on food, drink, shopping and accommodations. Be sure to register online before visiting the casino because there may be greater sign-up bonuses when applying online. 

4. Use your player's club card as much as possible.

You probably are not surprised to learn that when using your player's club card the casino is tracking you. Whenever possible use your player's club card. The casino will see your activity and reward you with discounted or free rooms, meals, or shows. When you’re in the casino make sure you place your card in the slot machine or show the dealer when at a table.

Another way player’s club help you save money is by mailing you money saving offers. Be sure to check your mailbox for offers sent to you trying to entice you back with free meals or entertainment. 

5. Don't have too many free drinks.

One of the great things about the way casinos try to keep you gambling is by offering you free cocktails while you gamble. This can be a great way to save money on your alcohol but it can also impair your thinking.

Remember the problem with gambling is when people abuse it by overspending. If you are frugal by setting limits on your spending you can have a great time.

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