I Take off the MASK!

I have been trying to envision my dream house lately. It’s one of those things that helps motivate me to do better and earn enough money so I could purchase it or to have it built soon, not only for me but for my loved ones as well. Acquiring one would indeed be a milestone and a major decision in life.

Being the head of my family, I have no skill in inspecting buildings or in assessing accurately how much they’re worth. What I have though, is the skill to spot risks and the resourcefulness to research how such risks could be mitigated.

One of the things that could help people like me is a person or a company that specializes in inspecting buildings. The more costly the property you want to purchase, the more you need professionals who are experts in their field. Such services may not be cheap, but they could save us a lot of money later on. For those in New South Wales, I have done a bit of an analysis of Childs Property Inspections.

Childs Property Inspections covers building inspection and helps avoid purchasing properties with defects unknown to us and would cost us a lot later on. Their inspections include a broad spectrum of reports including their combined pre-purchase building and pest report. Using a state of the art thermal camera, they could easily alert us of the presence of termites and other pests in properties we’re planning to buy. They’re services are guaranteed because they are covered by an indemnity insurance.

Another good thing with Childs Property Inspections is that they give away a free RP Data Report with every report you purchase with them. This report includes key information about the property you’re purchasing including maps, property trends and prices within the area so you could better assess the price of the property concerned.

Sample reports in pdf format can be downloaded for free in their website at http://www.childspropertyinspections.com.au/ so you can better see how useful the information they could provide would be to you. Such reports even include photos of properties and the defects found in them. You have to carefully note however the scope and limitations of the report you’re going to purchase. There are certain exclusions like in areas of plumbing or electrical inspection where you may want an expert report instead of a general one. Take note also of the period within which you can file any complaint for their services.

Buying a home is such a major decision that we can’t afford to be negligent about it. Inspect before you buy so you won’t have any regrets later on. After all, what we all wanted to have is a dream house, not a life-long nightmare.

Rent, try and buy?  Buy later for only $1?!  I was intrigued when I first read these terms from Radio Rentals so I dug deeper and learned more about what they are offering.

I found out that they are offering rentals of a wide range of products and brands, which include plasmas, DVD players, refrigerators, dryers, washers, desktop computers and even treadmills and bikes.  You can check out their website at http://www.radio-rentals.com.au/ to see the whole range of equipment they are offering for both personal and business rental.

As a previous auditor by profession, I quickly saw the advantages of renting equipment instead of buying outright.  First of all, your cash outlay would be low as compared to making huge capital outlays if you purchase such equipment immediately.  Hence, if you’re low on cash, you can rent for the meantime instead of purchasing the equipment you need.  For businesses, this would mean lower capital outlay for the period.  This would also mean that you can avoid depreciating assets.  Another advantage that I saw with this arrangement is the ability to try out new models of products that you want instead of buying outright and then later on becoming disappointed with the equipment you bought.

For Radio Rentals, there were other advantages that have been made available for customers.  One such advantage is the free service and repair of the equipment being rented.  Another advantage is their free relocation and re-installation (within service areas).  Hence, for those who travel a lot, this arrangement offers the flexibility needed by such a lifestyle.  Radio Rentals also say that there is no deposit or bond on brand new products (applicable for those on an 18 month rental contract).  These advantages are on top of the wide range of brands of products available for rent.

Last but not the least, customers can avail of the rent, try and buy arrangement.  After 36 months of rental, the buyout is only $1!

There is a lot of practicality involved in renting out your equipment instead of buying them outright.  You do have to carefully list down your personal preferences as well as the budget involved.  Make your canvass, compare costs and tally both the pros and cons of renting and buying the equipment you need.  We have a lot of options these days, we just have to be resourceful enough in looking and wise enough in making the final decision that is most advantageous for us.  Would you rather buy a fridge or rent fridge from Radio Rentals?