On this episode of The Drive Home to Hawkesbury Rachael talks about Local Community Projects such as Bells Line of Road development which follows on from the community meeting on Wednesday with BLORCAG, attended by the community, Local and Federal Members and other Government Departments such as NSW Transport.
We will also catch up with mother of five, Hypnotherapist and Naturopath, Kathryn Hams with some further insight on the questions raised this week from last week’s podcast.
Lots to cover and something for everyone in this Community Noticeboard episode. I Live, Love, Hawkesbury and can’t wait to get into today’s episode.
Rachael: Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening depending on what time you’re tuning into The Drive Home to Hawkesbury. I’m Rachael Goldsworthy, local real estate agent for those that haven’t met me or I haven’t met you, and I’m looking forward to that opportunity. But I’m also joined today by Kathryn Hans. How are you, Kathryn?
Kathryn: I’m good. Thank you, Rachael. It’s a lovely day out there today. The temperature is getting too … you wouldn’t think it’s winter, would you?
Rachael: I know. I was only thinking that over the weekend actually. The temperatures we’ve been enjoying are almost like spring time versus autumn which we’re meant to be into, aren’t we?
Kathryn: That’s right. I mean, this time you’re usually getting your timber together so you can start making those fires for those who have those stove combustion fires inside. And-
Rachael: It’s interesting-
Kathryn: With the way we’ve been having that temperature, too warm.
Rachael: I know. Exactly. Everybody’s been talking about the fires like you said. And interesting you say that too because on the weekend I had a question from a buyer and also from a tenant. The question was around fireplaces and those sorts of things and some times with leases properties have fire places or combustions, and they’re not too sure whether to use them or not. So it’s really important that as part of the lease that it’s included on the lease that the fireplace is okay to use. Because some of the older fireplaces, like those heritage houses that we have in and around the Hawkesbury, they do have fireplaces that have been blocked off because they’ve got such a narrow flue, or they might have been blocked off for other reasons that it might be so wide at the top of the flue that there’s a big draught coming through.
So depending on what the situation is there you need to check before … and this time of year I think … like you, you’ve got an open fireplace or a combustion fireplace. You would know that it’s good to check whether those things are working before you stoke it with copious … and you add some fodder and create a bit of a situation with smoke and also sorts of other things.
Kathryn: Yeah. And most definitely because I do know that with some of those older houses like you’re saying that if they haven’t been used for a while that you really do need to sweep them because you can catch fire inside. And I don’t know if this is correct or not, but some of those really old places, well, they’re not only coal based on something? So they have different sort of fire mediums I think it is that you can use.
Rachael: Yes, it’s an interesting topic, isn’t it? And you’ve quite rightly said the inside of the fireplaces can often have, say for example, a bird’s nest that’s been created over spring time, and if you don’t realise this and you don’t get a chimney sweep in to clean the flue, do what you need to do, sweep it out as you said, you can create a lot of heat in the flue and that may create a fire. So it’s really important for that maintenance on a regular basis. So it’s like anything, isn’t it, whether it’s houses or whether it’s people or whether it’s life in general? If you keep up with that regular maintenance and you stay on top of things life flows a little bit better.
Kathryn: I think also people that have put insulation into their roof … now, I had this happen with my own place where I’ve got a open and a slow combustion. And I had insulation put in the roof making sure that I try to do the good thing for the environment and everything like that. Well, the fellow that installed the insulation batts put it all nicely around the flue that went through, but you don’t do that. And then the first fire we put in there it actually burnt them which then put a fire down into ceiling and then melted the paint back and created the most interesting of smells in the place that took quite a few weeks to get rid of.
So even with people that have newly had things insulated and things, it wouldn’t hurt just to pop up in the roof and just have a look around and make sure everything is okay, because it’s not an experience you’d want to have.
Rachael: No, that sounds dreadful. And I guess too, like you said, making sure you’ve got the right people on the job because if they’re not qualified or if they’re not familiar with that style of house or that style of insulation in and around particular products or materials it’s really important to get it right. So once again engaging the right professional to do the right thing. So we do have contacts with chimney sweeps and those sorts of people and people that insulate the roofs. So if anybody needs any referrals for that, happy to put you in touch with the guys and girls that do that for us. So with all this cooler weather but then beautiful weather at the same time I believe you’ve taken a trip to visit your beautiful grandchildren.
Kathryn: I have. I went up to the Hunter Valley about a week ago and my oldest daughter has got her child up there, my lovely granddaughter Sidney, Sidney Rose. She is teething. So of course as soon as I walked it was, “Hello mom. Here’s the baby,” which is wonderful. So it was great because for everyone out there that’s had children and is going either into grandparenthood like I am it’s when you’re handed the baby you don’t go, “Oh, what do I do?” It just comes back so quickly, so quickly. So I thank God our mind is great and it stores what we need to store. Sometimes it stores not very good stuff. But that was great.
But I think that young moms go through such a lot of new things and things that they haven’t experienced, and to see your child crying and uncomfortable and not being able to help, and of course at that age they can’t speak, apart from being really hard for the child that’s cutting those teeth for the mother or the father it’s also a really hard thing as well. And the grandparent. Don’t forget the grandparent.
Look, my daughter tried cold things, an amber necklace that apparently … my other daughter has a baby. She does that do. The heat of the body is supposed to let off this acid that has got relieving properties for pain and things. By the way that my granddaughter was screaming I don’t think it was working to its maximum that day. But the other thing they’ve got a lot of other natural things they can do with camomile and things like that. But at the end of the day it’s just what happens.
Rachael: Yeah, yeah. I think it’s really important to I guess acknowledge too that when you’re a young mum or dad there’s lots of resources out there but you don’t sort of read a book and go, “Okay. I’ve got this. I know exactly what I’m doing.” Because it’s like anything in life. We’re always learning, aren’t we?
Kathryn: We are. And hands-on experience. I mean, no one can tell you what to experience before you have a child, what it’s going to be like, and every child is unique and different. So in some ways the book is a great guide and with the internet, I mean, a lot of young moms and dads will be just googling away on their phones, and that’s really great, but the one thing I just want to is put out there for everyone is to make sure the information you’re getting is really good quality information. You don’t want to be going to a blog or something, going, “Oh, well, I’ll try that little bit of hocus-pocus,” because it’s your child. So any information. Dr Google is great but really always make sure your source is good.
Rachael: Yeah. No, absolutely. That’s great advice. And what else has been going on for you, Kathryn? Anything exciting?
Kathryn: Well, I’ve been doing my cooking as I always do and been sort of working on the broth situation of doing those. I’m going to put a few videos up. And I want to cook as well, doing the broths with people and teaching them, and just teaching them actually. I did a lot with my daughter when I was up there, the nutritional value in them, but also it’s cost effective. So coming into winter, wonderful time to do it.
Rachael: I love your broths. I think they’re brilliant. You gave me a few pointers on putting things together and what to put in there and it’s so simple. You put them in the slow cookers and away you go. So I’m looking forward to seeing those videos on the broths, and I might be able to help out a few people. And also when you’re marketing a home, I mean, they talk about the bakery and the coffee, but broths go a long way too because there’s some great aromas coming through the house from that. So yeah, really important to get that right.
Kathryn: Gives that homely feel, doesn’t it?
Rachael: It does. I think it’s really important to have that homely feel. It’s like with the feng shui of the house. It’s a harmonious feel as you’re walking through the house. You either walk into a house and go, “Oh, gee, this feels really good. I feel great. I feel energetic. And I could see myself living here,” whereas if you walk into it and you think, “Oh, gee. Look at that colour. Oh, gee, that furniture is out of place,” or things just aren’t right to that person. And I think it’s really important for the art of placement and I guess the positioning of different things throughout the house that makes a difference, the aromas throughout the house. It’s back to the senses, the basic things in life, the decluttering, all of that.
And I’m happy to help out anybody in regards to the feng shui of the home or in regards too just general tips on how to maximise a return on your investment and how to get the most out of your investment. Because a lot of people it’s hard out there trying to look after a family, look out after the young ones, and go to work and is so expensive. So the amount of money that you have left in the pay pack to spend on the house is minimal I suppose in comparison to some other things. So there’re low cost strategies that I employ to make sure you get that maximum bang on the house and just to make sure that it looks great and it feels great, because you want to come home to a nice environment. You want to come home to a peaceful environment and you want to enjoy the space that you’re in whilst you’re living in that house, don’t you?
Kathryn: Well, you do. And I suppose what you’ve got with the home is you’ve got your memories and everything that you go to create. And we have such a big thing about the family home and everyone wanting to buy one that it’s important to have that, as you say. I mean, even when selling, I mean, people are wanting to get the ultimate because they’re move on to either another scale house because their family has grown or something like that.
Rachael: That’s right.
Kathryn: I know when I first walked into the home I have that there was a smell in it that as soon as I walked in I went, “Oh, this is my home.” And I don’t know what it is but it was just something that did that. And it’s all our senses that we have, it’s what we feel with the feng shui and all that. It’s very important to have that declutter. And I know you’ve helped us out. And decluttering I think also declutters your mind as well.
Rachael: Yeah. But I think too a lot of people … and you’ve lived there with your partner for a quite a number of years, what, 16 years I think, 17 year. I think that over time we don’t realise what we accumulate. We all do it. But I’ve been to some client’s homes where they just don’t know where to begin, and I think that that’s the hardest thing. But when you have somebody objectively come into your home … I guess that’s the hardest call to make for somebody to put their hand out and say what’s going on and how can I help.
But equally it’s just the basics, going back to the basics, and once people start making the inroads with that it’s very easy to create the space that you want. And you’ve been really inspired lately in doing some great things around your place. You’ve been painting and you’ve been creating, and it just looks terrific. And I think everybody wants to do different things over the time with their homes, and it’s all positive as you’re moving towards the common goal.
Kathryn: I think what happens, Rachael, I know that with my lot of five kids I’ve got that … and as you wrote I’ve been with my current partner for 17 years. But I’ve been here for about 32 years and, I mean, 32 years of gathering children’s belongings is an interesting thing. And I’m sure there’s a lot of parents out there that have either sheds or garages or rooms that have still got piles and piles of [inaudible 00:12:23] things. And as a parent you don’t want to throw them out but the children also don’t want to take them. But then they come back a few years and they go, “Have you got this? Have got that?” It’s a hard thing. It’s like cutting those open ties that we have as parents with the children and getting to that point.
I know for me that it was overwhelming, totally overwhelming. And because I had Hashimoto’s I didn’t need that extra pressure on me. But to walk around and to look at the house and all the things that were there and you just look and you think, “How did I do this? How did I accumulate it?” It’s like turning around and one day bang, you’ve got clutter. And the best thing for me has been clearing, sorting. And I think if people have some rules and not necessarily rules I say now but work out what works for you. That’s what it’s going to be. One of my children said recently when they were doing a wedding and they said, “If we haven’t spoken to them for two years they’re not coming to the wedding.” Well, look if you haven’t looked at it for so many years or you haven’t used it or you forget about it-
Rachael: That’s right.
Kathryn: Do you need it?
Rachael: Get rid of it. Yeah. Exactly.
Kathryn: That’s it.
Rachael: Out it goes.
Kathryn: You’ve got to have some sort of boundaries and if you can keep that template in your mind and a mindset of how you can create that peace within by decluttering then good luck with it and go for it. And you know what? Garage sales are great. You get a bit of money too. So there you are.
Rachael: No, that’s so true. But, I mean, how many people and ourselves over the years … you have guilt trips everywhere around the house, whether it’s that shirt that you bought 10 years ago that you probably haven’t worn or that dress that’s sort been hanging in the cupboard that somebody gave you and seeing, “Oh, I really love that and I want to wear that but would I? Probably not.” But you don’t want to throw it out because somebody has taken that love and care to give that to you or it’s cost a lot of money or whatever it might be. Or the piece of furniture that your parents or your grandparents or your family members, it’s such a difficult thing to analyse as to which is important to keep or which is not important to keep.
And I think it’s nice to have those things in and around your house that remind you of your family and your friends and the great things that you all did together. But also you’ve got to be practical about what you keep because you can’t keep everything. And as you said 32 years of … which is generally speaking anywhere between 15 and 30 years people have been staying in their houses in and around The Hawkesbury and I find that that’s a pretty common timeline. So there’s a lot of stuff that we all collect over that time.
Kathryn: And I think that when people like giving away … have to get things passed on, like I know I have a piano of my mothers, huge item. What do you do with it? Well, I can’t let it go because it’s my mother, and for that, I mean, that’s where you need some sort of grief sort to part with that thing and look at it with the emotions out of it and say, “Well, okay. I’ve had the piano for so long. Maybe it could go to someone else who could get enjoyment from it.”
Rachael: That’s right. Yeah. So I think decluttering, all that, it’s a really good thing, certainly homes that have a lot of memories. And talking about a lot of memories with homes. You went to that talk during the week on Wednesday night about what they’re doing up at [inaudible 00:16:00], didn’t you? And you got a lot of-
Kathryn: Yes.
Rachael: Interesting things from that?
Kathryn: Yeah. Look, it was a community meeting held by the Bells Line op Road Action Group and I’ll put a link up here as we speak so that everybody’s got that there. But yeah, it was an interesting talk. There was a lot of people there. There was a lot of emotion in and around what was said, and you can understand why because there’re homes that have been lived for a long period of time, there’s families that have got businesses that have been there and they’re reliant on the income from the produce from those farms. And also it’s getting close to being gazetted. So local council was having a meeting tomorrow again, and I believe if you wanted to attend you can. And if you wanted to say anything you can speak. Yeah. You can contact council and let them know before 3:00 PM tomorrow that you wanted to have something to say or put forward your ideas. From 6:30 the meeting starts.
But I’m getting to try and get a couple of interviews, one with the BLOR group and also one with some local councillors just to get some different ideas as where things are headed with this and what’s actually going to happen as a result of it being gazetted if that does actually happen. But there’s a lot of … It was emotionally charged and I think it was a difficult night for a lot of people. But I thinking the discussions need to be had so that we can all get to the bottom of it and work out what the best way forward is. And I think out of the 192 kilometres of corridor that the New South Wales Transport were putting forward, they suggested that that would change because there’re such a large amount as to what was going to change. There was questions around that and also how the properties were going to be taken over.
So if they gazette it and they put that down for that particular area or that particular option then those homes are earmarked. And with the flow-on effect of sale value for people what information was available, how that was going to be calculated, what sort of timeframe it would take for these sorts of things to come into play. So yeah, interesting to follow it. But once again I’ll put up the website. If you go to their website you can join it if you’re a local person, and it is on Facebook. That’s their group there, and a bit of information in and around. And whether you’re for or against it doesn’t matter. It’s just good to be aware of what’s happening in your area and good to have the discussions so that it reduces fear and equitable for all parties moving forward.
Rachael: And the trouble is with this sort of thing, and it’s happening a lot through Sidney and other areas as well, is that when people I should say get their homes affected or their business or where we’ve just been talking about, the family home and 32 years of memory and things like that, that you can understand when going [inaudible 00:19:17] like that there’s a lot of emotionally charged people that are working off the fact they’ve paid their taxes, they’ve paid their council rates, they’ve done everything they thought, and even when purchasing their property it was never what had been written of where it was going to go, they trusted all that, but their feelings it’s ripped out from under their feet.
The problem is though that when you get a whole group of people together and even though it’s great to be united in your stats that emotional charging tends to get knee-jerk reactions. And those reactions aren’t actually positive, unfortunately, and sometimes it’s good to get a solid sort of group of information and really sit down and try and nut it out with council and to go along to [inaudible 00:20:08] and really try to work positive for a really good outcome for everyone.
Kathryn: Yeah. No, it’s a really good point. I completely agree. It is an emotional time for people but if you don’t go to the meetings or of you don’t talk to councillors, if you don’t speak to New South Wales Transport, if you don’t get involved your vote doesn’t basically. So ultimately fit in, get involved, find out what’s going in your local area, and make a contribution if you wanted to do that. And speak to the local councillors. They’re very approachable. Speak to New South Wales Transport, speak the Bells Line of Road Action Group because everybody is open to discussion and I think that that’s a good thing.
However, I guess it’s come to a point where there’s for and against and it’s just trying to nut all of that out. And as you said it’s good to try and get to a common ground that yes, you may not all of the points from one side to the other, but at least there’s some sort of compromise on both parties, and hopefully we’re able to get to that point where the majority are able to secure the best future for themselves and for the community. Yeah.
Rachael: And I think that when you say about the councillors that they’re approachable and even your local members and things like that-
Kathryn: Absolutely.
Rachael: I think people have to remember that we’re all people. We’re just people with jobs. That’s it. And they have to carry out the job they have to carry out to bring home the income to their families. So in the end they’re people and their families and we’re all living in The Hawkesbury. Absolutely. So working together really is a great thing to do.
Yeah. I completely agree. And as you say they’ve all got families, they’ve got children as well and they’re people. So whilst the anger may be directed at them perhaps it should be redirected to working out the best way forward rather than personal attacks on people, because it’s hard enough as it is I would imagine for them being in the public eye, but to be able to have a conversation with them, approach them, and speak to them because they are human beings. They’re just like all of us. And they want the best way forward for their community too. And whether we’re on the same side or not on the same side it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day if you don’t have the discussions you’ll never know, and I think it’s good to have those discussions and catch up with people as much as you possibly can and get involved.
Kathryn: Yeah. And as you said, working together, working hard at things is good. And from what I have heard from a little birdy and a puppy dog that you got there that you’ve been nominated was it was for the Women’s Altitude Businesses Excellence Awards.
Rachael: Oh, thank you Kathryn. Yes, the team and myself had been nominated for the Business Excellence Awards and we really appreciate the nomination from everybody. I guess it’s a lot of hard work of years, slugging away at different things. But we want to feel as though we make a difference and to be recognised we’re very humbled for that. And there’s a lot of great business out in the Hawkesbury and Nepean and abroad and in the mountains and I applaud everybody for the nominations, and also the ones that weren’t nominated. It doesn’t matter. We’re all in there together. And essentially that’s one of the reasons why I set up the Drive Home to Hawkesbury too is to reach out to other local businesses, because sometimes it can be a lonely place when you’re working in that business. And to have those other local businesses working together on the same page and to share ideas and thoughts.
I know that that wasn’t available to me when I first started business years ago, about 20 years ago. So I thought it was a really important part of that, and it’s just really nice to be nominated. There’s some great sponsors for that event for Women with Altitudes, Commonwealth Bank and Goodford Home Loans and there’s some other great people that are involved with that. But also great local business too. And I’m very proud and humbled to be part of that process and thank you for saying something [inaudible 00:24:32].
Kathryn: So when does it actually happen, Rachael?
Rachael: I think we’ve got a cocktail party on this week to announce the nominations. So that should be a fun night, getting to catch up with everybody, networking as they say, and just running out what going on for other business and how they’re doing things better out there in the community.
Kathryn: And where are they holding that?
Rachael: That’s at the Commonwealth Bank I believe at Penrith. So that should be good, “Hi, Barry. How you going?” Yeah. That should be really good, and we’re looking forward to catching up with everybody on the night. Yeah.
Kathryn: That’s good. And so you have the cocktail party. And what comes after that?
Rachael: I think it’s a gala ball that will be held coming up, get the party dress on and-
Kathryn: Yeah. That’s what I’m thinking here. Cocktail dresses, party dresses.
Rachael: All of that and more. Yeah. No, it sounds like a great night out. And I think Women With Altitude is a terrific organisation. They’ve been doing this for quite a few years now and supporting the local business. And I think the more people realise that the more you do things together with people the more we all achieve. And in essence that’s what I think is our businesses. We can’t do what we do without working cohesively with our community, with our staff, and we really appreciate the opportunity to do that.
I started as a solo practitioner. I had my two puppy dogs and one cat. We lived and worked from home. And that was my office. And then we’ve grown the business from that to essentially six staff or five staff and sign written vehicles and commercial premises and signs everywhere. And business is great, rent roll and those sorts of things. Strata, we look after the sales, we look after … but more importantly the community I think because it’s a big part of my life and big part of being involved with that. And I think Women With Altitude do that very well. So thank you very much to the team over there, Andrea, Stephanie, Erica, Christine and everybody else that’s involved with that. They’ve also got a men’s component to that. So there’s also a men’s awards night. So they don’t miss out as well. Some great guys in business too and it’s nice to applaud everybody within the community.
Kathryn: Yeah. And I think that like you say with the sign writing on cars I notice when I drive around that I see so many businesses and people getting out there and having a go, and I’d have to say that it really pumps me, it makes me feels good that we’ve got that attitude that get out and have a go. And there’re young people too some of them that got these aspirations of X, Y, Z. And people like yourself, Rachael, that work your way up and put the hard hours in and you to what you’re doing then you get recognition. It’s what you give in a mentoring talk to everyone else out there or young women that think, “Oh, I can’t do this.” You stand there as a person saying, “Well, you can.” And I think that’s really important.
And these awards are important to recognise the excellence in that sort of format. But as you said too there’s other people that may not get mentioned but they’re down there and they’re still working and they’re still doing it. And I just think it’s great to have that attitude in life of having a go and being able to stand up and say, “Well, look, it’s possible.”
Rachael: Yeah. And I thank you, Kathryn. It’s a great experience and it’s lots of fun to be involved with. I’m in the trenches with everybody else. I’m at the cold phase of the business. I certainly don’t ask anybody to do anything that I wouldn’t be happy to do myself. So I’m putting up signs, I’m putting up flyers. I’ve done lots of different things over the tears, and it’s all part and parcel of it. But I think having these online platforms as well to be able to say hello to everybody and meet so many great people, tenants and landlords, and owners and buyers, they’re all people like ourselves.
And we’ve all got unique situations, and it’s just a matter of finding out what it is that they need help with and how we can best help them achieve what they want to with their goals and aspirations in regards to their homes. Because some people they’re renting a home and they’re so house proud that they love catching up with you and I love catching up with them, and the same thing with owners and people that have Strata. It’s all part and parcel of it. And it’s nice that you get to met their family, you get to meet their partners, you get to meet the important people in their lives, and you become part of the fabric of their life.
And I love that about my job. I love being involved with everybody in the community, and your clients actually become your friends and that’s a nice thing. And you get a lot of referrals from generations of families. So I’m getting grandchildren now from people that I’ve sold, from their children and their grandchildren, giving my age away a little bit here. But certainly it’s terrific to be involved in that process and certainly making me really exciting.
Kathryn: And I’ve got a question here for you because you say you get the grandchildren coming through now too. And you would have seen a lot of movement in house pricing over the years that you’ve been doing that, and I know because I have children that are trying into the market and it’s so hard. I mean, when we look at the prices of housing and what they have to put down as deposits and things like that do you think that somehow with how it used to be that [inaudible 00:30:39] the houses percentages the same or do you think it is really, and do you come across that a lot? That would have to pull on you to know that there’s young people out there trying to break in and yet the prices are what they are.
Rachael: Look, it’s a really good question, Kathryn, and I think that the stats that we’re looking at at the moment is 50% of the population currently are millennials. The median house price at the moment is just over a million dollars in Sidney, which seems really unaffordable. However, the projections for the next 20, 30 years is that the median house is going to move to 3.5 to 4 million and the millennials obviously will grow and then we’ll have a new group of people through. But it is all relative. You look at the wage amount now versus 20 years ago, the first house that I sold in The Hawkesbury was about 100000. Now, you just sort of think, “Well, why weren’t people buying the streets out? That’s so cheap.” But the wages weren’t very much at all in comparison to that.
So what the Asian countries have gone to they’ve gone to a generational loan scenario so that whilst the house and land, all those sorts of things, generally not land because there’s not much of it over there now available, but they’ve moved to generation loans because nobody can afford to buy a home themselves. So mom and dad might buy the house, they’ll start the loan, and then as the years go by they’ll pay down the loan to certain amount but then the kids will take over. The parents will still live with the children. However, the loan is then taken over by the children. And then so it goes down to the grandchildren, and you might find three generations are living within that home, which is such a nice thing to do. They really care for their family and their parents. It’s important part of Australian life and culture as well. But I think that they do that really well and their generational loan then becomes more affordable or more achievable because it is sort of worn down over the time.
But certainly it’s difficult. You’re quite right with median house price in and around a million dollars. Where do people get that from? But I guess the best advice I could give in that regard is to start saving early. Put away that 10% that you can, but also get in touch with a financial advisor that can give you the right advice around the best strategies to save the right amount of money or what sort of deposits you need for that house. Because sometimes you can buy houses with smaller deposits instead of paying the 10% deposit down to a 5% deposit. And that can often be very prior to the negotiations. So that’s possible. But also you can buy property with very little money down, so depending on whether it’s an option or whether it’s something else that you’re looking at. There’s all strategies that can be tackled to help you secure that house.
Kathryn: I know with my children that I could help them out as a person owning a home with some sort of guarantor help them to the bridge in. and I suppose that I don’t have a lot of … probably people know about this, but I think different lending agencies have different requirements and things. But I suppose I thought of that because of what you said about the family home and … We really are talking about starting today’s interview with the chimney right down to your excellence awards in what you’ve been doing which has just been producing this wonderful atmosphere for people to be able to buy or rent places in, to the point of actually people being able to do it and the young ones coming through and getting their down.
Rachael: Yes. I think it’s hard. I do agree that it’s all relevant to wages. It’s probably because … and I’m older than you and I’m looking at it and saying, “Well, you’re right.” I mean, the place I purchased was $75000 and why didn’t I buy up heaps either because $75000 was a lot money back then.
Kathryn: It was. My parents have told a few stories about $14000 as one of the first purchases that they made. And back then that was really difficult to find that $14000, and you’d look at houses every weekend. You’d do the same thing. But instead of scouring the internet you’d be scouring the newspaper, instead of ringing on a mobile you’d be ringing on a landline, or you’d be sending a letter to somebody, very official, that they wanted to have a look at the house on the weekend. So those sorts of things. Lots of things, the changes.
But I think that it’s important to look at the alternatives because even though you may be a millennial and you may be struggling with, “How I’m I going to get this deposit? There’s no way I’m going to afford a million dollars. There’s just no way I’m ever getting into the property market. That’s it. I’m going to live with mom and she’s going to take care of everything for me. Mom and dad they’re just going to look after me.”
Rachael: Well, you know you do it a lot for your family and you do help to a certain extent. But there comes a time where we’ve all got to stand on our two feet and we’ve got to go to the right people that can give you the advice. I’m happy to help out, work out a strategy with people in regards to what their strategy is for a home. Equally, I can put you with the right financial people that can help you with that plan. It’s not only just a home loan that you’re looking at from a financial plan but also people … big shout out to Sue Wingate. She’s brilliant at Windsor. She looks after lots of people, financial advisor. There’re accountants that know exactly what they need to know to be able to get people heading in the right direction and how to maximise the return for your properties and how to do it the best way.
So there’s lots of alternatives, and that’s what I say to people. Don’t worry. If you feel as though it’s too overwhelming or you can’t do it there is a way around different things or a strategy that we can work out to head towards that. It might not be yesterday when you wanted to be in the house. It might not be today. But it might be in a couple of months that we worked towards, 6 months or 12 months, depending on what it is. Because even some things like whether you’re a casual at your employment or whether you’re part time or whether you’re full-time will all adjust the amount of money that you can borrow. So whilst I’m not a financial advisor and I’m not giving any financial advice I think it’s important to understand the distinctions between there and to be able to refer onto the right people.
That’s the same thing with what you do, Kathryn, with your hypnotherapy and naturopathy. It’s important to have the right person to go to and trust and have that information on hand so that you’re able to get out to the community. So if somebody did want to get in touch with you how would the do that, Kathryn?
Kathryn: Well, they could call me on my mobile phone, 0408 411 865 or they can email me or there’s a link probably somewhere that we could put on for them if them to my Facebook page. No, I think that’s really good [inaudible 00:37:58] about working towards a home and while they work towards it with you, Rachael, I’ll help them create their dreams.
Rachael: Terrific. Happy to help out. And for those that I haven’t met or Kathryn hasn’t met we’re looking forward to catching up with you. I’m Rachael Goldsworthy and I can be contacted at the rachaelgoldsworthy.com.au website or you can email me at rachael@rachaelgoldsworthy.com.au or contact.
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