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Certificate of Title Fraud and Forgery

In the past 3 month's there has been an extraordinary and widespread increase in Certificate of Title Fraud and Forgery.

There has been increased media attention with a story running in the Sydney Morning Herald "Millions swindled in land title scam" on 13 January 2007 plus Channel 7's Today Tonight running a story "Stolen House" on 15 January 2007 with a further follow up to come.

The Law Society of New South Wales together with the New South Wales Department of Lands have both issued warning notifications to members about the scams operating.

Did you know that you can now protect your Certificate of Title from fraud and forgery?

First Title offers a Title Insurance product known as Home Owners GOLD which you can apply for so you too can protect your Certificate of Title from the ever increasing Fraud and Forgery scams which are now operating.

To find out more please log onto the First Title website www.firsttitle.com.au or call
1300 362 178 for more information.

Where to buy property in 2007

15th January 2007

It's a question every property buyer would like to know the answer to:

Gavin Hegney, Hegney Property Group
"I would buy on the coastal areas on the fringe of capital cities or in lifestyle towns within one to two hours' drive of capital cities. The resort towns need infrastructure or developing infrastructure to be sustainable. In the long term there are two main states in Australia to be invested in, those being Queensland and Western Australia due to population growth projections to 2050 at rates of one and a half to two times the rate of Australia as a nation. Capital growth for me is the number one priority in investing, so rental return is not a priority. To combine the two, I would look toward Queensland at the moment due to the higher rental returns available there today."

Simon Tennent, Housing Industry Association
"My number one pick - on the back of an announcement made by the New South Wales State Government - is anywhere in the Hunter statistical division has got to be very, very promising for long term capital growth. Some of the more specific locations are Maitland and Lake Macquarie and they are earmarked for pretty solid capital growth because the push out of Sydney north is going to continue for some time. The Planning Minister made a big announcement regarding the Lower Hunter Growth Strategy - it's going to be housing an extra 160,000 people. For us, that's a sign of such really vibrant growth in an area where it's got good exposure to resources such as coal with a good mix of industry and a diverse economy."

Geoff Doidge, The Reno Kings
"I'm buying in Brisbane because of population growth and major infrastructure changes. I wouldn't invest in an area that's losing population, and I think that's partly what's happening in Sydney."

Sandra Peachy, Herron Todd White
"The general consensus in our office for houses is the suburb of Marrickville (Sydney). This is because all the surrounding areas have held their value while we've been in a very flat market. There's been very little evidence of prices going back in those areas compared with other areas in Sydney over the past 18 months. They show good value for money at the moment and we think demand for the smaller cottages in that area will show some growth over the next 12 months, however overall we're not expecting any fabulous results in Sydney."

Michael Matusik, Matusik Property Insights
"The Ipswich corridor west of Brisbane offers… in my mind, great potential for capital gain and rental returns. We look to buy older two-storey detached houses on allotments over 600 square metres in size and if possible on street corners. Being close to a railway station or local retail is important."

Angie Zigomanis, BIS Shrapnel
"There's a lot of pent-up demand pressures emerging in the Sydney market and in a relative sense prices are slowly becoming more affordable. So in the next cycle you may see prices coming back stronger than you'll see in Melbourne, Adelaide or Perth. So the demand and supply fundamentals in the Sydney market are starting to come through. The other market with very strong demand fundamentals is Brisbane. Queensland continually has been getting higher levels of migrations from interstate and overseas as well. The deficiency of dwellings is building up and the vacancy rate is very low and there's room for price growth beyond the next 12 to 18 months. Out of the capital cities they're probably the best prospects."

Margaret Lomas, Destiny Financial Solutions
"I think Brisbane still has a fair way to go. That south corridor between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, where people are still turning their noses up… You're not far from the coast (and) I can't see why that area won't continue to grow, and grow better than most other parts of Brisbane."

© Australian Property Investor magazine - www.apimagazine.com.au. Reproduced with permission. To subscribe to API, go to www.apimagazine.com.au or pick up a copy from your local newsagent.

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