Or not ?  It seems that there a number of opportunistic landlords out there who are so focused on short term gains that all other considerations are excluded . . .  like the effect evictions may have on existing tenants. Landlords need to be careful here, as what they are doing is opening up their houses (and in some cases…

Since the introduction of the new 15% GST rate on 1st October this year, most of the hype has been around the new rate and not the implication of the changes on investors and their future property transactions. In an attempt to clarify exactly the changes for investors, listed below are changes as we see them and how they will…

On the 1st of October this year, the government enacted their new Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2010 revealing a number of new and quite startling amendments that directly affects investors. One in particular is the requirement for any Landlord who is intending on being out of the country for more than 21 days MUST appoint an agent to manage the  property…

Over the last month or so, we have noticed that there has been an increase in activity with more investors referring properties for management. After discussing this with them, they mentioned that their recent experiences with the banks has been easier and not as arduous in terms of the amount of information that has been requested by the banks (as…

It seems that this could be the start of an Australian spend up in New Zealand with LJ Hookers acquisition of Harveys in New Zealand. The grandson of Leslie J Hooker founder (together with an investment group) bought the company back from Suncorp around October last year for $67 Million. Although, since the purchase, there has been very little activity…

Imagine coming home from a long night shift at work and look forward to a decent fry up to feed your hunger, or you come home from a great night out with the lads to a cold house and turn the old bar heater on in the lounge (which just so happens to be too close to the curtains) and…

A new service that we have introduced very recently onto our website is the facility for prospective tenants to book a viewing on-line.  This is a very new initiative with only a handful of property management companies in NZ adopting this tool. One of the most common complaints from tenants was that it was difficult to coordinate a time to…

We had an interesting tenancy tribunal case recently where we were seeking the reimbursement of our clients insurance excess after a tenant reversed their car into the entrance way pillar adjacent to the front door of their house.  The adjudicator ruled that the tenant didn’t have to pay!  How is this possible I hear you say ?  According to the…

Press Release: Harcourts 28 July 2014 Harcourts is thrilled to announce we are now a primary sponsor of Surf Life Saving Northern Region. It means Surf Life Saving Northern Region can continue to do its amazing work patrolling the beaches north of Raglan and keeping Kiwi families safe. Harcourts Northern Region Business Development Manager Debbie Brett says Surf Life Saving…

Sarah joined us approximately 3 months ago having joined us from another local Harcourts office.  She is an absolute delight to work with and has merged into the team as if she has been with us for years.  Her years of Property Management experience and her no-nonsense approach to making sure that everyone abides by the Residential Tenancy Act is…