Many thanks to you Klair, Working with you was painless and efficient, even if our end proved challenging at times. I am certainly happy to endorse your settlement services if the opportunity arises, and I hope we can engage you again in any upcoming opportunities.
Cheers and thanks once again.
Regards
Darren
Hi Klair,
Thank you very much for all of your very hard work to get settlement through on Cook Ct and Ellendale St. Your rapport with Kailie is clearly a great benefit and everything was communicated extremely well and handled very professionally. I will have no hesitation in recommending you to anyone in the future.
Kind regards
Chris Hyde
Klair Skinner your local Rockingham settlement agent will be at the Secret harbour spring fair this Sunday the 13th October so why not come along and have a chat. Klair will be available all day giving out her expert knowledge on all things property settlement related. There will also be Balloons and a colouring competition for the kids. The secret harbour spring fair is open from 10am till 4pm hope to see you there
I just want to say a very big thank you to Klair from Madora Bay Settlements for all your help with our friends recent home purchase. In assisting our friends through a difficult settlement, Klair has been easily approachable, very professional, quick and efficient on every occasion and I highly recommend her and her business Madora Bay Settlements to anyone buying or selling a home. Thank you Klair, your help is very much appreciated
Sharon Giles
MANDURAH has retained its tourism town holiday feel despite its recent rapid population growth.
The establishment of the Mandurah train line in December 2007 aided this increase with expectations that Mandurah’s population could double by 2021.
Between the Indian Ocean, the extensive waterways of the Peel-Harvey Estuary and the lower stretch of the Serpentine River, Mandurah is growing into a thriving coastal community.
L.J. Hooker Mandurah principal Mitch Watt said despite fluctuations in the economy, property sales in Mandurah were booming.
“Prices have come down to the point where buyers have stopped sitting on their hands,” he said.
“July was the strongest sales month in my office since August 2009.”
Mr Watt said house prices in Mandurah varied considerably, depending on the location and standard, but the average was about $350,000.
Mayor Paddi Creevey said one of the city’s main priorities was to foster creativity, innovation and diversity to ensure its natural and cultural history was retained.
“When we have asked people what they love about living in Mandurah, they tell us that it’s the natural beauty, the waterways and the regional- town atmosphere,” she said.
“So, our focus on retaining our natural and indigenous heritage is so important.” Mandurah is also home to the WAFL team Peel Thunder at Rushton Park.
The facility has had a $9.2 million upgrade and a further $20 million was invested in the past year to develop and improve other sporting facilities in the area.
With tourism being a major generator of business opportunities and employment, Mandurah also annually hosts Crab Fest and the Mandurah Boat Show.
The place
Mandurah 6210
72km from the Perth CBD, Mandurah covers 173.5sq km from its northern end in Madora, to Lake Clifton 50km to the south. The local authority is the City of Mandurah.
History
The Binjareb people were the first known inhabitants. The suburb was referred to as Mandjoogoordap, which translates as “meeting place of the heart”. This name was later adapted to Mandurah.
The vibe
Retirees, young families and fly-in, fly-out workers.
Buyers
Mostly locals, though there has been a surge in migrants from Britain, South Africa and the eastern states.
Schools
Assumption Catholic, Mandurah, North Mandurah, Halls Head, Glencoe, Dudley Park, Falcon and Greenfields primary schools; Mandurah Catholic, Living Waters Lutheran and Mandurah Baptist colleges. Mandurah High, Frederick Irwin Anglican, Foundation Christian and Coodanup Community colleges.
Shopping centres
Centro Mandurah.
Public transport
Rail link to Perth. Also a stop on Transwa bus services between Perth and the South-West.
Nearest hospital
Mandurah Hospital.
source www.perthnow.com.au
MADORA Bay has witnessed the highest growth in median house sale price for a regional centre in Western Australia in the past year.
Property in Madora Bay increased by 15.3 per cent during the 12 month period with the median house price now $506,250.
The median house price is still down -0.8 per cent from where it was five years ago.
In comparison the Mandurah/Murray median house price rose just 1.6 per cent in the same 12 month period.
Lakelands was ranked number nine in the highest median house sale price increase for the period with a 6.6 per cent increase.
The median house price for the suburb is now $370,000.
Coodanup, Dudley Park, Erskine, Meadow Springs, Ravenswood, San Remo, South Yunderup and Furnissdale all saw median house prices decrease.
Greenfields and Silver Sands median house prices stayed the same
Source www.mandurahmail.com.au
Always an interesting read to see how your local area is performing.
The following data is from www.reiwa.com.au
Suburb Median House Price Growth Percentage (Dec 2012- Dec 2013)
Baldivis $430,000 1.20%
Bertram $375,000 -1.10%
Beeliar $490,000 10.70%
Calista $269,500 -0.20%
Cooloongup $290,000 -0.20%
East Rockingham $775,000 0.00%
Golden Bay $340,000 -9.30%
Orelia $318,000 13.60%
Parmelia $275,000 3.80%
Port Kennedy $380,000 0.50%
Rockingham $375,000 -2.60%
Safety Bay $385,000 4.10%
Secret Harbour $461,000 6.00%
Shoalwater $415,500 0.10%
Singleton $424,000 -3.10%
Waikiki $348,000 -1.10%
Wellard $412,000 5.80%
Madora Bay $510,000 15.3%
Lakelands $405,000 6.6%
Meadow Springs $385,000 -1.3%
This is just a sample of the data from the local suburbs surrounding Rockingham. So if you can’t find your suburb on the list please visit www.reiwa.com to see how your suburb performed. And dont forget Madora Bay Settlements are able to act as your settlement agent no matter where you are based in WA
Madora Bay Settlements supplied the team with a new uniform which has been much appreciated by
all. Playing at Warnbro Aqua Jetty in their Tuesday night league the Unfavourables are well on course
for finals action again this season having featured in the past 3 finals. Madora Bay Settlements hope
to become involved with more community teams in the near future.
Courtesty of www.watoday.com.auLenders have cut interest rates for the most popular type of fixed-rate mortgage to their lowest levels in more than two decades, amid bets the cash rate will fall to a record low as early as next month.
As Westpac cut its rate on two-year fixed loans below 5 per cent on Thursday, figures from comparison website RateCity showed the average cost of a three-year fixed home loan has fallen to its lowest level in 23 years, at 5.53 per cent.
A spokeswoman at RateCity, Michelle Hutchison, said it had become cheaper for the banks to offer these mortgages because of growing market bets the Reserve Bank would cut the cash rate from 3 per cent.
‘‘We have never seen average three-year fixed rates this low,’’ Ms Hutchison said. ‘‘It came close in early 2009 but it didn’t reach the average 5.53% that we currently have right now.’’
NAB’s three-year fixed loan is 5.29 per cent and ANZ, the Commonwealth Bank and Westpac charge 5.39 per cent, she said.
Westpac cut its two-year fixed rate by 0.4 percentage points to 4.99 per cent on Thursday. The bank now offers the cheapest two-year fixed loan among the big four.
Fixed-rate mortgages are priced off bank bill swap rates — which measure market expectations of moves in official interest rates.
Investors are betting there is a 50 per cent chance the Reserve Bank will cut the cash rate to 2.75 per cent next month, after governor Glenn Stevens this week said there was ‘‘scope to ease policy further.’’
The cuts come amid signs a growing number of borrowers are choosing to fix their home loan, although most still choose a variable interest rate.
Official figures show about 14 per cent of new loans had fixed interest rates in November, up from about 10 per cent six months earlier.
With credit growth remaining sluggish among consumers, banks are also pushing fixed-rate loans as a way to attract more business
With the new Land Title ID check in place settlement agents are well on the way to stopping these fraudsters!
Courtesy of www.news.com.au
Australian property scams continue – real estate agency and settlement agents.
August 12, 2011
A Perth couple who returned home to find their property had been sold without their knowledge or permission might not be the only victims of a real estate scam targeting absent owners.
The couple, who were living overseas, discovered their house had been sold only after they made a trip home to inspect the property. A real estate agent has told investigators he received a phone call in February from a man claiming to be the owner. The agent later received an urgent request to sell the property, in Ballajura, in Perth’s northeast, with the caller claiming funds were needed for a business investment, later described as a petro-chemical project. Police have launched an investigation and are working with Consumer Protection and representatives from Landgate, the state authority responsible for the register of land ownership. It is the second time in a year that Perth property has been sold while owners were overseas. Roger Mildenhall’s $485,000 Karrinyup investment property was sold last year while he was in Cape Town after a real estate agent was conned by scammers posing as the owner. Detective Senior Sergeant Pete Davies from the Major Fraud Squad said it appeared the scam had originated in Nigeria. He said police were still in the early stages of the investigation and were examining computer, phone records and bank accounts. “We are conducting a full criminal investigation with the view to try to identify and bring to justice those responsible,” he said. “It’s difficult with the overseas connection, but we will do everything we can.” Det Snr Sgt Davies said no one had been charged as yet in relation to Mr Mildenhall’s case. Consumer Protection Commissioner Anne Driscoll said it was “worrying” and “distressing” to authorities that such a similar scam could happen again so soon. She told reporters that the owners were in “shock” and had requested privacy. “We can put in place checks locally to try to minimise this (fraud), but the unfortunate reality of our existence in the Australian community is that we are targets and this is another example of it,” she said. Ms Driscoll said real estate and settlement agents should confirm the identity of absentee owners wanting to sell their properties and ensure the person they are dealing with was the rightful owner. Ms Driscoll said the standard 100-point identity check used by banks and other institutions should be used when dealing remotely with clients. Landgate Registrar of Titles Bruce Roberts told reporters the authority had processed about 280,000 transactions in the past nine months, of which 400 were for overseas clients. Mr Roberts said Landgate would examine those 400 transactions to make sure no other properties had been sold fraudulently. “It is impossible to eliminate fraud. Our actions are aimed at reducing the risk and minimising the chance of the fraud occurring,” he said. Mr Roberts said Landgate had made changes to its internal processes since the previous scam and would continue to review the processes. “We are learning from example to example … the scammers are getting better and we need to catch up with them,” he said. Mr Roberts said he did not know if other fraudulent transactions had been processed but said that was why an investigation had to be conducted. He said the person responsible for the “honest mistake” would be retrained. Ms Driscoll said there was no evidence to suggest the agent involved in the transaction had failed to act with “due care and skill”. However, it was a timely reminder for agents to be aware. Ms Driscoll said that since the last scam was reported, an “extensive” government and industry education campaign had been conducted with real estate and settlement agents. She said that that campaign had to continue to avoid future scams. Real Estate Institute of WA chief executive Anne Arnold said real estate agents had already been sent an email reminding them of their obligations. Ms Arnold said she supported stricter rules to make sure the likelihood of a similar scam occurring were minimised. Source: News.com.au AREAP comments: 1.A written signed listing selling authority must be obtained by real estate agents under the Real Estate and Business Agents Act in Western Australia. The owner must complete the details on the listing authority and sign the authority. (Comment: It would be reasonable to assume any unusual information or suspicious information would be detected by the listing agent and the real estate office secretary who files the information? This could be a simple 2 level administrative check.) 2.The licensed listing real estate agency must obtain a recent certificate of title (CT) from Landgate confirming the correct legal owner. The owners signature is not recorded on the CT. It will list the owners legal name and registered address only. (Comment if the legal owners address did not match with the listing authority address this would be unusual and could cause suspicion. This could be detected by the listing agent and the real estate office secretary who files the information? This could be a simple 2 level administrative check.) 3.The certificate of title will also list any registered mortgages over the property. A registered mortgage cannot be discharged until the legal owners sign mortgage discharge documents with their lender. (Comment: It would be assumed that the scammers are targeting property with nil mortgage and nil encumbrances. So when the property is sold settlement can be achieved with less steps to take. A property with an absent owner and nil mortgage on the CT should alert the real estate agency and the settlement agency to potential fraud risk) 4.The listing selling agent should conduct a 100 point ID check to confirm the identity of the seller. To confirm that the person(s) presenting themselves as the sellers can provide a legal signature confirming their identity. (Comment: This is recommended by authorities, but is not a legislative requirement under the REBA Act, so therefore is not enforceable. There is no penalty if the real estate agency does not complete this check. This could be legislated and could improve consumer protection) 5.Most sellers live in their property and are owner occupiers. It is relatively easy to identify the correct legal owner. 6.Other sellers are investors and may live in that city or interstate. There should be simple checking procedures in place to confirm the identity of the investor owner. 7.Other owner occupier sellers may be living interstate and overseas. If this is the case there should be a higher diligence process for the real estate agency, the settlement agency and Landgate to follow. As this clearly represents a high risk situation if a checking process is not followed and fraud committed. 8.In order for the listing agent to sell the property they must gain access to the property with house keys and show the property at home open. If the listing agent was suspicious of the absence of the seller they could simply ask the seller to describe the property internally and externally. This may confirm that the seller owns the property. 9.When a willing buyer makes an offer on a contract for sale of land and property, this written offer must be presented to the seller. The real estate agent would normally fax the written offer to the seller and call the seller on the telephone to discuss the offer. Did the real estate agent actually speak to the alleged sellers on the telephone or just fax the contract through for signing? (please sign the contract so we can settle quickly and I can get paid!) 10.When an offer is accepted the seller and buyer must sign the final contract. Then the final contract is sent to the licensed settlement agency. Settlement Agencies must be licensed under a Settlement Agents Act. 11.The seller must engage the settlement agent under a written authority and agreement to act on their behalf. 12.The settlement agency should also conduct a check of the identity of the legal owner prior to settlement. The settlement agency will now also be in contact with the legal owner, communicating and corresponding. (Clearly the current legal checks are inadequate and could be improved?) 13.Prior to the final settlement a transfer of land document must be signed by the legal owner and submitted to the sellers settlement agency. The sellers settlement agency will then lodge the ‘transfer of land document’ with Landgate. 14.Landgate should have a legal checking procedure in place to confirm the correct legal ownership and signature of the owner. Has this procedure occured in this case? 15.Also not forgetting that the buyer will have a seperate settlement agent and the buyers settlement agent could also have a checking procedure in place if the sellers details are unusual and suspicious? There is probably no checking procedure in place? 16.It appears in this case of fraud that the listing real estate sales representative, the licensed listing real estate agency, the sellers settlement agent, the sellers licensed settlement agency and Landgate are all denying any accountability and responsibility in the checking process. 17.Let’s face it the real estate agency and settlement agency are probably more focussed on achieving settlement and getting paid than consumer protection? 18.Landgate may not have well developed checking procedures in place to adequately protect consumers. Landate is a government organisation and should improve their checking procedures. 19.If the Real Estate and Business Agents Act and the Settlements Agents Act does not legislate to offer more protection for sellers any future case of fraud will just be an interesting academic discussion. All care, no responsibility and no accountability for the real estate agency, settlement agency and Landgate. 20.Of most importance we hope that the police are able to catch the fraudsters and they are bought to justice. 21.Otherwise Australia might be seen as a soft target and a bit of joke. When a guy on the end of an e-mail address, a fax and a phone line can so easily defraud an Australian citizen? After all a similar fraud and modus operandum occured in Perth 12 months ago. 22.Well done to the Australian legal system for being proactive and protecting it’s citizens from overseas
Hi Klair, That is good to hear settlement is done. I have greatly appreciated your superb organisation and helpfulness in settlement. Thanks and best regards, Lisa … [Read More...]
