40 — Centralian Advocate, Friday, May 11, 2012

PU

B:

CA

DV

DA

TE

:1

1-M

AY

-20

12

PA

GE

:4

0C

OL

OR

:C

MY

K

P R I V AT E S A L E

$485,000 | 7 Piper Court (off De Havilland Dr)

4 bdrm, 2 bthrm, quiet cul-de-sac home

OPEN HOME Sat & Sun 12th and 13th May 2pm – 3pm

For inquiries or photos call 0420 998 915

33

45

05

/12

Located at 3/28 Railway Terrace

PH: 89 522 849 FAX: 89 527 724

Email: Reception@prestigealice.com.au Website: www.prestigealice.com.au

58

45

05

/12

8/15 Leichhardt Tce: Centrally located, 2 Bed, 1 renovated

bathroom fully furnished townhouse, Split A/C T/out. $550 p/w

5/17 Gason St: 2 Bed, 1 modern bathroom at rear of complex,

furnished with security screen and Split A/C T/out. $420 p/w

17 Walker Cres: Freshly painted & security screens t/out, 3 Bed,

1 Bath, neat & tidy house with pool & carport. $460 p/w

6 Kekwick Ave: Immaculate 3 Bed 2 Bath, 2 Living areas, great

kitchen with servery to rear veranda, with pool. $460 p/w

2/17 Mirus Ct: Lovely 3 Bed 2 Bath duplex, separate living/dining

area, rear veranda, 3 carports. $420 p/w

Sienna Apartments: Fully renovated, 1 Bed 1 Bath furnished

unit, pool in complex, undercover parking. $310 p/w

ATTENTION LANDLORDS!!!Due to continuing tenant demand, we urgently require more quality investment

properties for rent. Licenced agent and proud member of the REINT764505/12

Sustainable House for Private SaleGreat family home in quiet court

• 3 bedroom + separate studio/bedroom

• Newly-renovated bathroom, toilet & kitchen

• Native landscaped garden & fruit trees on large block

• Shed & workshop

• Solar panels & solar hot water

• Passive solar retrofi t

• Raised vegie garden beds

OPEN FOR INSPECTION Sat May 12:11am-1pmCall 0438895471 for more details

$450,0008 Tunga Crt Braitling

35

45

05

/12

Andrew DoyleFirst National Framptons, Principal

Eli MelkyGolden Homes Real Estate, Principal

Steffi Hart Professionals Alice Springs, Principal

Justin O’BrienElders Real Estate Alice Springs, Manager

Property insights... How do you see the future of real estate here?

The future of the AliceSprings property market isstrong after two greatmonths of sales and a lot ofbuyer inquiries. It is lookingvery good for this year.

Rates watchThe only one of the big four banks to have

adjusted their rates since the historicaldecision by the RBA to drop the official cashrate by .5 per cent has been NAB. But the ANZwill announce its new rate today and the otherbanks will not be far behind.

ANZ ............... 7.42% , C’wealth...............7.41%

NAB ............... 6.99% , Westpac ...............7.46%

Sell home for more

7 TIPSProperty prices might be falling or stalling in

most areas, but there are tricks of the tradethat can still boost the value of your home —without the need for a major renovation orspending thousands of dollars. To add value toyour biggest asset, here are some top 10 tips todo it quickly.

1Remove the blinkers. You are often not

the best person to pass a critical eye overyour property before embarking on any

changes or improvements.In most cases, it helps to have a friend orsomeone independent to go through theproperty with a notebook and jot downeverything they don’t like or think needsimprovement, as well as noting the wow factorsand the good points.

2First impressions. Make sure your front

garden, fence and path makes a good firstimpression.

Tidy or landscape the front yard, paint the fenceand gate, and ensure the house is clearlynumbered.Make sure the facade of the house is in goodcondition.This can include cleaning the windows, frontporch, gutters or even hiring a water blaster togive the exterior walls, front path, fence andwoodwork a professional clean.

3Paint touch-up. Wash or paint the front

door, put welcoming pot plants either sideof the entrance, provide a coat hook, table

or stool to place shopping on while you fumblefor the door keys.Install a motion sensor front light as a safetymeasure and to welcome your visitors whenthey arrive at night.

4Quick replacements. Other easy updates

include replacing old door handles oninterior doors and updating light fittings in

all rooms.These small items help give a clean, contempor-ary and well-cared-for impression, as well asbeing very practical and easier to live in thehome.

5Curtain call. Remove heavy drapes, blinds

and curtains and replace them with light-filtering fabrics.

You still get the privacy but more light is able tostream through the home.Alternatively, make sure all curtains and blindsdo not cover any window space when they areopened fully.Fit skylights to bathrooms or any other areasthat do not have enough natural light.

6Internal space. The impression you want

people to have when they visit yourproperty is that they would like to live there

themselves. This means making sure it is wellfurnished, welcoming and comfortable.

7Better bathrooms. A shower head over a

bath may not be ideal, but it is still betterthan a bath only with no shower. If you

can’t have two bathrooms in a home, at leastmake one a separate toilet.

The short-term future issteady. Once our economystarts to grow we envisageour sales market willexperience growth. Therental market remainssound and this shouldremain into the future.

The future looks great.Planned subdivisions andallowing two dwellings onlarge allotments willalleviate the long-term landshortage. Hopefully this willresult in a vibrant buildingindustry and givepurchasers more choice.

Alice Springs’s real estate

future is in sure hands. With

supply ever in demand and

growth forecast in the

mining, tourism and remote

services industries, real

estate will always be in

demand.

Paint before sellingJulie Finch-Scally

First impressions count, and havingthe outside of the house painted gives

the building a clean, sparkling look. Itmakes your property stand out in thestreet. Even in a block of units, a freshly-painted door helps it be noticed.A revitalised outside can make all thedifference when attracting people to yourhome. A soft wash of the outside willhelp if the budget won’t go to having theproperty painted. As long as thepaintwork looks clean the effect will bethe same.Painting inside the building has adifferent set of rules. Many real estateagents will tell you not to paint because

the new owners will want to put theirown mark on the property. There issome truth to this, but if you use paleneutral colours when painting it makesthe rooms look larger and gives you andthe purchaser the chance to add yourown colour to the rooms by way ofcurtains, paintings and furniture.There is another important factor abouthaving your home painted beforeputting it on the market — the smell. Thearoma of fresh paint really does have agood impact on a prospective purchaser.Julie Finch-Scally is the founder of The

Duster Dollies Cleaning Agency and author

of The Third Oldest Profession, The A-Z of

House Cleaning, Hippo Publishing.