Welcome
We trust that all our valued members of the Urban Sensations family are well. We have been busy over the past month adding additional information to the Urban Sensations website and getting some new things up and running. We are really excited about our new website page - Need a tradesman? - where you can contact some of the tradies that Urban Sensations uses for your own projects.We recently surveyed some of our past rejuvenation clients to see what value Urban Sensations provided them with by do their rejuvenation for them. Whilst all the surveys are yet to be returned, it is very pleasing to see the benefits that Urban Sensations has delivered to its clients;
- saved weeks of their time
- saved headaches!
- quality of the rejuvenation work
- fixed costs
- saved $
If you want to experience these things for yourself, now is the time to get your Urban Sensations rejuvenation booked in.
This month, we introduce Michelle and Silvana from Lifestyle refocus as our Guest Business. Lifestyle refocus is a business designed to help you enjoy your life more. Silvana and Michelle were responsible for organising my office over January. This has resulted in actually having some space to work, which means that I enjoy working in my office more! They also helped me set up some much improved filing systems. Bliss!!!!!Thank you to everyone who came along to the Jewellery Evening. We all had a fabulous time whilst raising much needed funds for the Starlight Foundation. I really enjoyed being able to just chat with people about themselves, rather than needing to provide them with a project update.
Enjoy this month's edition of the Urban Sensations newsletter......
Warm regards
Rosalie
In this Issue
Property UpdateGuest Business Section - Lifestyle Refocus
Urban Sensation News
DIY Tips
Rosalie Recommends
Speaking Engagements
Recent Project
Property Update
The REIV’s Residential Vacancy Rates for April shows an improvement in the availability of rental homes in Melbourne’s outer suburbs.
| Apr 2009 | March 2009 | Feb 2009 | Apr 2008 | |
| Inner (0-4km) | 1.3 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 |
| Inner (4-10km) | 1.3 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.6 |
| Inner Total | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 0.9 |
| Middle | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 1.0 |
| Outer | 1.8 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 1.1 |
| TOTAL | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.0 |
REIV CEO Enzo Raimondo said that over the last six months the vacancy rate in the outer suburbs has improved from 0.7 per cent to 1.8 per cent. “The improvement may be due to the number of first home buyers that are moving from rented accommodation to their own home with the assistance of the grants, bonus and boosts."
“We would consider that the rental market would be in balance once we reach a Melbourne wide vacancy rate of 3 per cent."
Interestingly the REIV figures for the March quarter reveal Melbourne's house-price median has dropped 3.1 per cent since the previous quarter, from $423,000 to $410,000. this represents a 4.7 per cent decline over the past 12 months. The decline is directly attributed to the continuing economic uncertainty and a lowering of investor and consumer confidence.
The figures highlight the importance of the financial assistance provided to first-home buyers, which has been a critical factor driving demand in the past few months. Indeed, 15 of the 20 top growth suburbs for the March quarter have a median price of less than $500,000, which is a sign of first-home owner activity because the maximum grants are available only for homes below that value.
Only four suburbs recorded double-digit growth in the March quarter (as in the December quarter). These suburbs were Doncaster East (up 20.1% in the quarter), Mount Martha (up 16.3%), Keysborough (up 12.9%) and Brighton East (up 10.8%).
However, unit and apartment prices over the March quater have faired better, posting a mere 0.8 per cent drop over the quarter. The annual median for units and apartments, however, shows market activity more consistent with the house price median (-3.2 per cent and -4.7per cent respectively). The 2009 March quarter median price for a unit or apartment was $360,000, compared with the December 2008 figure of $365,000.
The relative stability in the apartment market can be attributed to a consumer rush to claim federal and state government first home buyer financial assistance. At a time when the rental market is still tight and interest rates historically low, this incentive to buy is reflected in only a slight lowering of the quarterly median.
Source: REIV website, Friday 15th May 2009
It gives me great pleasure to introduce Silvana and Michelle from Lifestyle Refocus. Lifestyle refocus specialises in helping people organise themselves. Thankfully, they helped me to re-organise my office so that I could actually work in it!
Your personal assistant when you need one.
Inspiring fulfilment at home
LifeStyle Refocus is your personal organiser and lifestyle manager. Our services are all about saving time, making your life easier and helping you achieve the lifestyle you dream about by taking care of your “to-do” list.
Services
Managing your life just got easier . . .
· house and garden
· gifts and shopping
· events and parties
· entertainment
· seniors services
· home and office de-cluttering
· holiday and travel
· special occasions
· someone special
· gift certificates
Benefits
The benefits to you are . . .
· simplify your life
· more time with family and friends
· time to enjoy your interests
· never forget a special occasion or important date
· give you more time to live life to the fullest
· ensure you are relaxed, refreshed and recharged
Inspiring fulfilment at work
Lifestyle refocus will create a better life for you and your business. We are a specialist lifestyle management company enabling organisations to provide their greatest asset, staff, with real employee benefits and incentive rewards that focus on increasing employee motivation and productivity.
Services
Managing your business just got easier . . .
· staff incentives
· team building
· reminder service
· recognition program
· event management
· social club
As every client is unique, we tailor our services on the basis of your individual needs. If you would like Silvana and Michelle to assist you with your life, you can contact them via;
e: info@lifestylerefocus.com.au
w: www.lifestylerefocus.com.au
M: 0417 595 744
New Website page - Need a tradesman?
We have been busily working behind the scenes to bring even more value to our Urban Sensations family. We have joined forces with some of our tradesmen to enable you to use, whenever you like, some of the tradesmen that Urban Sensations uses. So when you (or your friends) require a painter, cabinet maker or have a bath/shower/tiles that need re-enammelling, simply go to the Urban Sensations website and click on the Need a tradesman link? from the menu the left hand side of the page.
To assist us with ensuring that this is a valuable service, please let the tradesman that you are contacting know that you have received their contact details from Urban Sensations.
For those tradesmen and suppliers who would like to be added to this page, please contact karen@urbansensations.com.au to discuss how your business can be added to the Urban Sensations website.
Starlight Foundation
This month is Starlight Foundation's fundraising month. Urban Sensations will be making a donation. If you would like to add to this donation, please contact rosalie@urbansensations.com.au to arrange payment options - EFT or cheque.
Why does US contribute to the Starlight Foundation?
I am a strong supporter of all businesses contributing to Not For Profit organisations. US has specifically chosen to donate to the Starlight Foundation because of my experiences with hospital settings. My son needed to unexpectedly spend a couple of days in the Royal Children's hospital when he was nearly 4 years old. Thankfully his condition was acute, and whilst we have returned each year for a check up, his is now back to normal. Many years before Urban Sensations was created I worked as the dietitian for adults with a chronic disease - Cystic Fibrosis at the Alfred Hospital. We had a strong link with the Cystic Fibrosis unit at the children's hospital, as once the children reached adult age (and many do), they are "transferred" to the adult CF unit at the Alfred Hospital. People with Cystic Fibrosis (and many other chronic diseases) can spend many days and weeks in hospital getting their disease under control. The Starlight Foundation have a special room, many Captain Starlights and many mobile Starlight Express centres that children and their families can access whilst in hospital. The Starlight Foundation operates Australia wide. It is so emotional seeing how the Captain Starlights can bring a sparkle to many children's eyes - particularly in the face of some pretty awful times and treatment regimes. These rooms and people help to "normalise" the hospital setting and they provide enormous support, not only for the child themselves but for the entire family. So please, help Urban Sensations to support the Starlight Foundation today. Fax (98092335), email (admin@urbansensations.com.au) or phone (0411 323877) your support through now.
DIY Tips
When planning a new bathroom renovation, make sure you check where the plumbing leaves the bathroom - does the outlet from the vanity unit go through the floor or the wall? Also, where do the hot and cold tap pipes go? Make sure you measure and record where these are and the distance from the closest wall. As most vanity units have drawers on the left or right hand side of the unit, you need to know which side you want the drawers on when you order the vanity unit. You need to ensure that the drawers will not be in the same position as either the tap pipes or the outlet.
Rosalie Recommends
I recently attended the Designex trade show in Melbourne. this annual event showcases the latest trends and new gadgets that we will see appearing in our homes in the near future. The 2 really cool products that really caught my eye this year were:
Mirrorvision - a flat screen LCD TV that functions just like any other flat screen TV but with one important difference. when you switch it off, it becomes a perfect mirror! Want more information.... go to www.mirrorvision.net.au
Izona CoolDrawer by Fisher & Paykel - this is a fabulous idea. One large drawer that can fit under a kitchen bench. The magic difference - set the temperature to what you want it to be - freezer, fridge, chill, wine storage, pantry, when ever you want to! So this week, you might need some extra fridge space to fit that party food in, next week turn it back into a wine storage area or freezer. The choice is yours. Want more information - contact me as one of our suppliers is one of only 6 suppliers in Victoria.
I am happy to send out information packs on both of these products. Simply email me with your contact details.
Speaking Engagements
Rosalie can speak on a range of different topics such as property design, planning, time management, products to use, ideas to save you money etc….
To book Rosalie to speak at your next property event, please call Rosalie on 0411 323 877 or email info@urbansensations.com.au
Recent Project
Buy and hold rental 1 bedroom apartment renovation
What was done:
- new kitchen, including flooring
- bathroom refurbished - including more storage space, repair of water damaged shower area
- all wall cracks repaired
- new carpet and blinds throughout
- new handles on BIR, additional storage unit in BIR
- painted throughout
- fuse box upgraded
- new doorknobs throughout
- new front wire screen
- air-conditioner repaired
Before After
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