Metropol CANTERBURY REBUILD MAGAZINE December 2012 Issue A day in the life By John Wright, Harcourts Ilam 2 A pleasing difference I have noticed between house sales I have made over the past three months compared to the same time last year is that the properties selling now are generally not on behalf of people intent on leaving the city. It was very disconcerting last year, dealing with large numbers of folk who had given up on Christchurch and that were convinced there was a better life to be had elsewhere. One thing I know to be true: you can take the boy out of Canterbury, but you can never take Canterbury out of the boy. As you drive around the city you may notice more cleared residential sites dotted about. I personally like cleared sites as it is the precursor to a new building project which I love to watch progress. I detest seeing broken houses, it’s much the same for me as wreck diving; it gives a sense of wrong. Ships should be above the water and buildings standing up straight for us to admire or dislike, depending on their architectural merit. What is exciting is that we have no shortage of enquiry from people looking to buy sections in all locations, as well as all technical categories, which says there will be new houses on the go very soon. Judging by the number of new vans and ‘utes’ you see driving around - with building company names emblazoned on their shiny paintwork, things are starting to happen. Just a few words to you builders out there – use an architect. With more individual sections becoming available across town you have the opportunity to make real statements. New builds in established areas have the ability to really stand out, with the hum-drum neighbour’s houses picture framing the real artwork; so why not do something special that you get pleasure from building and that you want to be remembered for. Christchurch has fantastic architects and the higher price you get for an architecturally designed house when you sell will more than cover the fees. My office administrator has been in tears this week because of the frustration she has endured trying to settle an insurance payout on her family home. When I sat down to write this I fully intended giving insurance companies a ‘right old blast’, but hey, what good will that do? My only comment on the matter of insurance payouts and insurance companies removing ‘munted’ houses is to recommend you ask your solicitor to try and remove ambiguity written into the documents you are asked to sign and to insert some dates for performance of the promises made to you. Who would be a property valuer at the present time? I am pleased they are busy again after a period of inactivity in the market, but when someone (generally) relies on historical information – that is past sales in order to value a property, how difficult it must be in this current market to get things right. The pressure is certainly on them not to make mistakes. We get a sense of who is on the ball because we regularly get calls from valuers working on properties close to our listings. They ring to find out what properties go under offer for as that information can take some time to get into the ‘system’ Like solicitors, this group of professionals are an integral part of buying property and many have specific areas of expertise. Get referrals, as valuations can be crucial and may mean the difference between owning your dream home and missing out.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Jul 2013 00:05:11 +0000
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