Sold at Auction, Cheltenham Road

Proving our point about the benefits of auctions, Ben the Ray White Auctioneer just succeeded again, selling a fine old house on Cheltenham Road. With about eighty people in attendance, several people had registered to bid, but the high opening bid must have silenced them. Even so Ben had to negotiate between the bidder and the vendors before a second bid was made that the owners accepted. Everyone ended up happy.

More sellers opting for auctions

Ray White has always advocated sale by auction, believing it offers the best prospect for achieving a good sale price in a short time. While lots of houses get passed in at auction, sales statistics clearly show that the auction process works for the vendor, with sales achieved before the auction and in the weeks after the auction resulting in a high overall success rate.

And it seems the market is following the Ray White advice! An article by Kirsten Craze in the Daily Telegraph on Saturday, under the title above, reports that selling under the hammer is the fastest growing method for vendors. She quotes one vendor as saying, "Looking back now I think when we sold our last place we probably sold too cheaply by private treaty." This happens when an agent, keen to collect the commission, encourages the vendor to take an early offer.

The auction method lets the market determine the price for the property. If the property doesn't come up to the vendor's hopes, or the estate agent's optimistic assessment, at least the vendor can have some confidence in the price offered at the auction. That doesn't mean the vendor should always accept the best offer on the day. Unsuccessful bidders often offer more in the days after the auction, and also the auction focuses the interest of many new prospective buyers.

Cost of moving home

An interesting comment is to be found in an article in Real Estate Business:

"Recently the OECD found that Australia has the fourth highest transactions cost on property in the developed world and this situation causes major inefficiencies in terms of locking owners into their existing properties.

"Australian governments need to turn their attention to removing stamp duties on new homes so as to better encourage annual levels of new home building that will help ease the pressure on prospective home owners, particularly young Australians who are really struggling to enter the housing market.

"Housing Industry Association senior economist Andrew Harvey said renovations continue to be popular as Australians increasingly look to improve their existing homes rather than face the mounting transaction costs, such as stamp duties, that they will incur if they trade-up to another property."

New Bus Service starting, "M60"

Hillsbus has announced a new service starting 7 March, the M60 bus, connecting Hornsby through Castle Hill to Parramatta. The service goes through Pennant Hills Railway Station and up Boundary Road. Services every 10 minutes during peak hour and every 15 minutes the rest of the day, from 6am departure each way, with last departure 7.55pm.

Rate Increase Proposal by Hornsby Shire

Robert Ball, General Manager, and Julie Williams, Manager Corporate Strategy, of Hornsby Shire Council gave a most excellent presentation at the Beecroft Bowling Club last night, on the financial status of the shire and the need to consider raising rents above the cap.
The main single reason driving the proposal is to replace the Hornsby Aquatic Centre, a 50 meter pool with grandstands, providing a very important service to the youth, and schools, of the Shire.
However the rest of the justification for the increase involves a plethora of lesser items, like storm drains, road repairs, improved parks and facilities - small individually but hugely important in total.
Most of the Shire's infrastructure and facilities were built between 1945 and 1981, and much of it is reaching the end of its useful life. A very important sentence in the documentation provided reads "during past periods of rapid infrastructure expansion, little or no analysis was done to understand cumulative long term economic, social, and cultural consequences of these decisions". It was very clear from Robert's presentation that the Shire is doing their best not to perpetuate that unhappy situation.
Robert says that in Australia local government gets just 3% of total taxation, yet spends 11% of all public expenditure. The situation is getting worse, with State government passing down to local government expensive new duties without increasing finance. Just one example provided was Transport Infrastructure Development Corp acquiring land worth $580,000 at Berowra railway station without compensating the shire.
Anyway the result of all this is that the Shire needs increased funding from rates if they are to give ratepayers the service we want. After hearing all the facts, and listening to the subsequent debate, I voted for the full increase requested.
To hear more, and to have your input to the debate, please note these events:

22 Feb Have Your Say Session At Cherrybrook Village Shops
24 Feb Have Your Say Session At Hornsby Library
28 Feb Community Meeting - 7pm Council Chambers 296 Pacific Highway Hornsby
1 Mar Have Your Say Session At Brooklyn Marina
2 Mar Have Your Say Session At Kimbriki Tip Tour
7 Mar Community Meeting - 7pm Berowra RSL Club 997 Pacific Highway Berowra
7 Mar Have Your Say Session At Westleigh Shops
14 Mar Have Your Say Session At Epping Library15 Mar 2011 Have Your Say Session At Carlingford Shops

Rates Proposal Meeting

Please note the change of address for tonight's Hornsby Shire Rate Proposal community meeting.
Community Meeting - 7pm The Beecroft Club 128 Copeland Road West, Beecroft

Housing Strategy Planning Meeting

A planning meeting to discuss the Housing Strategy Development Control Plan will be held on 2nd March at First Floor 296 Pacific Highway at 6:30pm. Public participation is invited but those wishing to speak must register in advance.
Relevant documents can be found from 11 days before the meeting at the Shire offices or any council library, or on line at www.hornsby.nsw.gov.au, under Business Papers. Select "from 2008".

M2 Access to Chilworth Reserve - Hot Word

Hills M2 Upgrade Community Relations responded to an enquiry as follows:

"Thank you for your enquiry. As stated in the notification, access to the Devlins Creek compound will be from the M2 only - both eastbound and westbound carriageways. At this stage, it is planned that no access roads will be constructed from Allerton or Redgrove Avenue to this compound.

"For further information regarding the M2 Upgrade Project please visit the project website www.hillsm2upgrade.com.au or contact the project team on 1800 192 266."

I am sure we will all be relieved by that statement, although it is not clear what they mean by access from the westbound carriageway. Is this why they are opening the noise barrier on the south side of that carriageway? We know they have approval to clear a strip along the south side of that carriageway to take the extension for the extra lane, it appears that they will be allowing trucks to use that cleared path to get from the carriageway down into the construction camp. It just would be nice if they explained this in simple words!

M2 Access to Chilworth Reserve

I have been asked numerous times about access to the reserve. Many concerned people don't seem to know about the original access path between the M2 and the golf course. This photograph, looking west under the viaducts, may clarify the issue.

Regarding the Orchard Road access that might be used for vehicles leaving the site, this used to be a pleasant walking track, wide enough for 4WD work vehicles but seldom used. However over the last six months repeated M2 project use has turned it into this:

One wonders what two years use will do!

M2 Vegetation Clearing, Chilworth Reserve

I received this missive relating to a meeting held recently by the M2 Widening Project:

"When I went to the meeting last Friday about vegetation clearing it appeared that they are still making up their mind about what they will do for access. While it seems definite that they will use the original access by the golf course for incoming vehicles there now seems doubt that they will come in or leave at Allerton Road.
"They may try to build a ramp for vehicles to leave the site on the southern side of the M2 back onto Orchard Road where the detention ponds are and not on the footpath they use now.
Mark Hood from Hornsby Council has said that Council is not happy for them to use the footpath and there is also Council land involved if they came in from Allerton Road.
"The Allerton Road option would be a real loss because it would involve the clearing of a swathe of bushland which is in good condition just for a temporary access. It seems very unsatisfactory to me that consent has been given for this project without actually looking at conditions on the ground despite concerns expressed in submissions.
"Also Council are saying they are unaware that the M2 currently use the footpath off Orchard Road as access, something I am somewhat incredulous about as I know it has been a problem that trucks use that track for other bushcarers and residents in that area as well as myself since the M2 opened. It has been the only access available for anyone doing work in that area be it Council, the Water or Electricity authorities or the M2.
"I am hopeful that the Allerton Road option will not go ahead but will have to wait and see."

I am unable to name the author of the note, but I post the missive here because it certainly sums up numerous issues that are very strong community concerns.

BCCT AGM - M2 Rep Present

The Beecroft Cheltenham Civic Trust AGM will be held at 7:30pm Monday 7 March at the Cheltenham Recreational Club, Lyne Road.
As well as normal business including election of Committee members, a representative of Transurban will be there to answer questions on the M2 widening, including the Murray Farm Rd Bridge over the M2.

Neighbourhood Watch Meeting

Next meeting of Neighbourhood Watch is Wednesday 23 Feb at 7:30pm, in the committee room at the southern end of the Roselea Community Centre underneath the stage.

M2 Kirkham Bridge Project Intentions

The RTA has clarified the 3 tonne load limit restrictions on the Murray Farm Road bridge over the motorway and how this will affect buses like the 553 service. Although the span widening activity will commence late Feb 2011, only in one phase of that activity will this restriction need to be enforced, and this is currently projected to be from April 2012 until October 2012.

So at least for the next year, kids will be able to get to and from school by bus!

The RTA also state in their latest bulletin that, when one-lane operation is imposed on the bridge, traffic over the bridge will be controlled in alternating directions using signalised traffic control. This matches the opinion of local residents as shown in the recent Beecroft Cheltenham Civic Trust survey.

Sale By Tender

We are offering for sale a beautiful property in Beecroft, but instead of selling at auction, Douglas Macarthur and the owners have agreed to sell by tender. It is worth explaining why they are taking this option.

The problem with bidding at auction is that you have no opportunity to vary the terms of the contract, and in particular the contract settlement date. We have a number of people who really want to buy the property, but have to sell their existing property first, so they want a delayed settlement. This means they daren't bid at a regular auction.

A tender sale process allows each prospective buyer to submit an offer which is a mix of price and settlement date, and the owner is free to choose the most attractive offer out of all those received. The owner is not bound to accept the highest offer, or indeed any offer, but has the opportunity to consider bids from people who just are not in a position to bid at auction.

Buses won't be able to use M2 Kirkham Bridge!

The latest bulletin of the Beecroft Cheltenham Civic Trust states that heavy vehicles including buses will not be able to use the bridge over the M2 between Murray Farm Road and Kirkham Street during the work to widen the spans. Therefore school children living west of the bridge will not be able to travel to their schools by bus! Also presumably fire engines from Beecroft will not be able to attack fires west of the bridge.
Transurban claim the work on widening the spans of the bridge will take 22 months to complete, a strange coincidence because this is also the proposed duration of the whole M2 widening project. Pressure needs to be applied to the project team to actively plan this work as a fast-track activity which will assist the M2 widening project as well as minimising disruption for local residents and businesses.

Complexities of Property Management

One of the joys of property management is the variety! One of the shops we manage lost power, and to fix it we needed to take power off the shop next door, a beauty shop. I went in to negotiate with them, and was given a gap in their schedule late that afternoon, but meanwhile my shop would be without air conditioning. A bit of negotiation and a box of luxury candles allowed the work to start immediately, with the beauty shop clients enjoying wax facials by scented candle-light. A few minutes later air conditioning was restored to our shop and everyone was happy. Including the owner who didn't have to pay for a second visit by the electrician.