A Milford beachfront home, designed by architect John D’Anvers, is one of approximately 55, high profile New Zealand properties being showcased by Harcourts Cooper and Co to the international market at the World Expo in Shanghai, China, in August 2010. The elegant, five bedroom home has been owned by the same family since it was built approximately ten years ago, and is now being offered for sale on the open market. Tucked discreetly away from the road, the home sits in an elevated position at the Black Rock end of Milford beach, with sweeping views of the Hauraki Gulf and islands, and the beach and ancient lava rock formations just beyond the bluestone wall.

John D’Anvers specialises in Pacific-style architecture, and this home has the feel of a luxury island resort, with the waters of the Pacific Ocean lapping not far from your door. Bifold doors and windows in the living rooms and master bedroom open to allow the gentle Pacific breeze to flow through the house, and the sound of water is ever present. The moods of this coastal environment are in constant flux – sometimes sultry and relaxed, at other times turbulent and invigorating – and the design of the home reflects this diversity. It is at once grand and homely, a place to entertain important guests, and a family home where memories are forged. This is a structure that blends the elegance and sensuality of a sweeping curved staircase with the rough and tumble of a mega-sized games and media room where your children can chill out with their friends and family parties will be the stuff of legend.
This is undoubtedly the best place to live in Auckland. What could be better than the clean, safe swimming beaches of the North Shore, the white sand and the waves, the beachfront walkway and easy proximity to some of the best schools and shopping precincts in New Zealand. God’s own indeed!

Click here for more information, and open home times.

To view now, call Tony White on 0800 61 8888

Harcourts Cooper and Co wants to take your North Shore property to China. Your property can be showcased to millions of visitors at Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China, including our database of Chinese millionaires and billionaires. Don’t hesitate -  if you would like to know more right now, click here!

Here’s why you  need to market your North Shore property, right now, at Expo in Shanghai. This offer is exclusive to Harcourts Cooper and Co, and reservations close soon.

“The person of virtue makes the difficulty to be overcome their first business, and success only a subsequent consideration”- Confucius (551-479BC)

Many owners of big ticket properties have been finding it difficult to find buyers within New Zealand who have access to sufficient funding to purchase their big ticket home, property or large land holding. And yet here, on the North Shore, Harcourts Cooper and Co have had considerable success selling waterfront, large land holdings and development projects to our Chinese neighbours.  If you want your property sold on this market you need  exposure to Chinese buyers who are cashed up and ready to buy. Here’s another quotation;

“If Mohammed can’t go to the mountain, let the mountain come to Mohammed!”

We are very excited to offer you a unique opportunity to market your property with Harcourts, on our mission to Expo 2010, Shanghai, China

Why…

• China has surpassed the United Kingdom as the largest group of immigrants to New Zealand.
• The Chinese see New Zealand as a safe and secure, clean and green country to invest.
• Between Feb 2009 and Feb 2010 New Zealand gained 3646 new permanent/long term residents from China.
• The latest Chinese rich list shows that the country is now second only to the United States in the number of billionaires it generates.
• Five years ago there were only 100 people in China with a net worth of $150 million; today there are over a thousand.
• China has the world’s fastest growing economy.
• Visitor arrivals to New Zealand from China are up 41% in February 2010 compared to the same month last year.
• Chinese media says the country has spent much more on the Expo than was spent on the Beijing Olympics.
• We have access to databases of Chinese millionaires and billionaires who have shown an interest in investing and living in New Zealand.

Guanxi (Shanghai) equates to “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”  If you’d like to know who Harcourts and Cooper and Co know in China click here.

When…

19th, 20th, 21st August 2010- Harcourts Cooper and Co have hired New Zeaalnd Central, NZ’s Trade and Industry Headquarters in Shanghai. Take a look at our HQ here.

23rd, 24th, 25th August 2010- Harcourts Cooper and Co have secured the VIP corporate lounge in the New Zealand pavilion on site at the Shanghai World Expo where we are hosting by invitation 600 clients over the three days to showcase your big ticket property. Here’s the corporate lounge, waiting for you and your property.

Who…

Matty Ma, Harcourts No 1 Salesperson for 2008, 2009, 2010 will lead our mission to China.

Our multi lingual team of highly experienced real estate sales people, chosen for their expertise within the industry and supported by translators, administration  and IT staff will travel to Shanghai. View the team here.

Harcourts has seven real estate offices trading now in Shanghai and will be working closely with them for support in our endeavour to sell you property.

Want to know more about Expo? Then visit www.shanghai2010.co.nz.

Want to know more about showcasing your property at Expo 2010 in China this August. Sign up here!

A selection of Harcourts Cooper and Co sales to Chinese buyers in 2009-2010:

945 Kahikatea Flat Road, Dairy Flat, Oct 09, $3,700,000

1546 State Highway 17, Diary Flat, $2,180,000

10 Quail Drive, Albany, 3.4h lifestyle farm, $1,840,000

Group Deal, 28,30,32, 34, 46 Killarney St, Takapuna, $1,860,000

1367 East Coast Road, $1,565,000

62 Edward Jonkers Drive, Riverhead, 2.46h lifestyle, $1,920,000

166 Lloyd Road, Riverhead, $1.750,000

34 Marguerita Place, Hobsonville, $1.189,000

26 Pupuke Road, Takapuna, $1,189,000

4 Wilson Road, Dairy Flat, $1,100,000

664 State Highway 17, Dairy Flat, 4.0h, $1,439,000

1428 State Highway 17, Dairy Flat, 2.7h, $1,439,000

50 Rosedale Road, Albany, Development, $6,000,000

56 Kowhai Road, Campbells Bay, $1,033,000

11a Aberdeen Road, Castor Bay, $1,040,000

89 Forrest Hill Road, Milford, $1,200,000

11 Lomond St, Takapuna, $1,1oo,000

88 Oak Manor Drive, Albany $1,330,000

Harcourts Cooper and Co wants to take your property to China! In August 2010, our multi lingual team will showcase and sell your North Shore property in the VIP corporate lounge at the New Zealand Pavilion. Want to know more? Send me an email right away!

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A standard form and a rubber stamp

The Reality

Whether you are buying or selling a property,  conveyancing means a lot more than most people realise. When a Property Lawyer handles your conveyancing, this is what they do to make sure the biggest investment of your life is safe and secure for you.

First your lawyer will check the Title and in particular, any easements or land covenants that might restrict things like access and right-of-way. They’ll Check for property-usage rights that you might want immediately or in the future. For example you may want to run a home business, tell your lawyer and they will ensure that you know what you can and can’t do. These are not things to be treated routinely, just so a sale can go through. Once the deal is done you may not be able to cancel it if there’s a problem?

Your lawyer will check the local authority LIM reports and Compliance Certificates. Thanks to “leaky buildings” and some cowboys, many people have been badly caught out. Don’t be one of them.

Your lawyer will understand the ownership issues – partnerships, trusts and companies are often involved. It’s not simple, it’s complicated and it matters to you. For example, in the future you may wish to gift part of the equity to a family trust, or your business may own the property, with associated taxation issues.

Relationships need to be taken into account. Are you married, de facto or otherwise? And what will it mean if everything turns to custard? Not easy territory for all sorts of reasons but the Property (Relationships) Act means a lawyer should at least think about it for you.

Guarantees and loan securities come in many forms. They have long-term implications and have returned to haunt many a trusting or careless soul. Before you commit to acting as a guarantor for a loan, perhaps to your family, your lawyer should explain to you the implications.

Managing the money. It is more than you’ll probably ever hand over (or receive). Banks trust Property Lawyers to prepare loan documents and to provide the certificates that mean the funds will be there when you need them to be. It doesn’t get any more serious than this. If you are handing over $100,000′s or millions of dollars you need to be able to sleep at night secure in the knowledge that someone trusted is handling that money for you.

Overseas Investors

If you are an “overseas person” and you purchase land adjoining a river, lake or the sea or acquire an asset larger than a certain size adjoining a reserve of any size whatsoever; or are an international company acquiring another international company with New Zealand landholding subsidiaries; you will or are likely to need to apply for consent under the OIA. If you think your purchase is likely to require consent under the OIA then you should consult your solicitor prior to making an offer. Here’s a link to the Overseas Investment Act 2005.

You’ll be able to find a lawyer at the New Zealand Law Society directory here or at the Auckland Districts Law Society here.

Or try my favourite lawyers here in Milford on the North Shore. These lawyers work closely with Harcourts,  Cooper and Co and I to ensure your property transaction is legally trouble free.

Greg Dunning

Greg Dunning and Associates
Phone: 09 486 3237
Street Address: 166 Kitchener Road, Milford
Email: greg@gregdunning.co.nz

Andrew Stokes

Phone: 09 09 489 9359
Street Address: 126a Kitchener Road, Milford 0620
Email: andrew@astokes.co.nz

David Schnauer

Schnauer and Co Ltd
Phone: 09 486-5801
Address: 218 Kitchener Road, Milford 0620
Email: dschnauer@schnauer.com
Web: www.schnauer.com

Thanks to New Zealand Law Society, Property Law Section.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has just decided not to alter the Official Cash Rate. If you are borrowing right now it is unlikely you will see further big interest rate reductions, so while you can get money at 5.4% the banks are suggesting you fix that rate for the short to medium term.

Here’s the big banks’ forecast:

• ASB economists are sticking to their belief that the Reserve Bank (RBNZ) will cut the official cash rate (OCR) by 25 basis points in September and again in October, despite its views putting it squarely in the minority. Regardless of this, it believes there will be little impact on mortgage rates whether the RBNZ cuts or not.
• ANZ Market Focus is holding equally tightly to its view that the OCR is unlikely to see further cuts, suggesting there is only a one-in-five chance of an OCR fall. However, it suggests that should the RBNZ decide to cut, it is likely to be a 50 basis point reduction, rather than 25 basis points. It describes the interest rate curve as caught in a “tug-of-war” between global sentiment and the RBNZ’s “on-hold for longer” view.
• Westpac’s Weekly Commentary states that the RBNZ struck a “surprisingly dovish chord” in last week’s OCR review, suggesting it was more “downbeat” than June’s Monetary Policy Statement. There was no acknowledgement of the improving global outlook, or that domestic factors are “setting the stage for recovery”, it says.
• With much focus on the high NZ dollar in the RBNZ statement, Westpac’s central view is that if the market is overestimating the recovery’s strength, the NZ dollar will fall by itself; while if the market is right in its recovery assumptions then a strong NZ dollar will not be enough to negate that. It continues to believe that interest rates have bottomed and recommends fixing for six months to one year.
• When it comes to refixing most are recommending that short term is still the way to go.
• Best rate advertised this week 5.39%. Best quoted rate this week 5.30%.

For more information call Sue Isherwood or Craig Jones at Mortage Express on 0800 226 226.

When you leave the airport, which cab do you take? The FIRST cab. Make sure your property is the FIRST property buyers see, not the last. Let me explain…

On the North Shore almost 30% of buyers don’t live here. Many transfer from another area, and immigrants and expats returning from overseas make up a significant proportion of buyers. In fact, the buyer or buyers for your home may come from anywhere in New Zealand or the world. After all the North Shore is New Zealand’s lifestyle city! The buyer for your house could likely come from Christchurch, Sydney, London, Johannesburg, or Beijing. So, advertising in the newspaper may not be the best way to get exposure for your property.

The internet is the easiest and most practical way to reach those buyers and today, 70% of buyers in New Zealand say the internet is the top source for real estate information. Making sure your property is right at the forefront of the market is easy, here’s how:

7 easy tips on how to get the best from your internet advertisement and get more enquiry and buyers to your home!

1. Get great photos! Nearly every buyer wants more, bigger and better pictures of your property. Low quality photos look grainy and awful. It is the most important part of your property ad. Make sure your pics are taken by a professional. (I recommend open2view, they can take great photos and load them to their website as well.)
2. Check that you are happy with the headline and copy and make sure it is designed to attract the buyers. The more buyers you have the better!
3. Ask your salesperson if they have a database… and then ask them how often they email to that database. Get put on their database so you can see what they do and how often and make sure your property is featured in their email marketing.
4. Does your salesperson have a personal website? Ask to see it. What will your property look like when it is advertised there?
5. Feature your property on the internet. realestate.co.nz have great feature property positions on the front page of the area you live in and the big realestate companies have their own websites; feature your property on them.
6. Don’t let your property be lost amongst the thousands online, have one good advertisement. Buyers find it boring to find the same property advertised by lots of companies with the same pictures and advertising copy. A general listing can show up 7 or 8 times on one website, making your property seem hard to sell and a bit bargain basement.
7. Ask your salesperson about setting up a website for your property. It is not that expensive and lots of information can be attached to it, e.g. LIM, Title, house-plans, contracts. This is especially helpful for out-of-town buyers. Your salesperson can email links to the website directly to buyers and attach it to social networking sites and internet listings, easily.