Posts by Ross Mason
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Burlesque cojones.
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What do you mean Sacha??? Bexley was a model suburb. Low shrubs made the place look great!!!
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1001 uses for a swamp.
The dreams for an Avon River Park
Been doing a bit of digging about cities that heve been rebuilt after earthquakes.
Port Royal, Jamaica. Liquefaction, Tsunami
Lisbon. Tusmani, Mottos, wide streets squares
Skopje Japanese architect assisgned to redesign the place
San Francisco. Here you can discover that one of the few releif houses remaining has recently sold for $600,000. Note: Chch has not rioted.... yet.
And beware, and be very aware!!!!:
In the rush to rebuild the city, building standards were first made much more stringent, but after about a year, they were in fact lowered, instead of strengthened, "by upwards of 50%" according to historian Robert Hansen.
All rebuilt eventually. People moved. People stayed. But they seemed to have coped. And I have to say, after looking back at some of these, it seems like it was just a weekend. Time moves on. Less than one generation and it has gone. Hopefully and necessarily, the next generation will know why our new buildings are built like brick shithouses (reinforced and base isolated of course) and the Govt and local bodies will have the clout and the fortitude to ensure the standards are maintained.
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We are at the mercy of these normal "psychopaths.".
Book Review: The Psychopath Test.
Edit: Picked up off Scitechdaily.com -
DexterT
There should be all sorts of safeguards I can think of that should be going into the solution - one example could be that say if you are going to have compensation based on 2007 land values then the value of the average section during the rebuild should be based on those 2007 land values.
There is (or should that be there should have been) a mechanism for the Govt to step in and acquire subdivisional land that could be sold to the chucked off zoners at the value of their properties. The govt might even have been able to acquire sections at 2007 GVs +10% so that the present owners might not be tempted to up the price.
Or, these sections could be offered as a clean swap, section for section. Maybe even on a ballot system.
It does seem to me that the opportunity for a wee bit of profiteering is about to hit the fan around the Plains.
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Southerly: Tower Insurance Have Some Bad…, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,
Sad thing (for me always) Ben is that it comes right back down to the mindset that has enveloped the world .The fact is, it's all about the money.
Listen to this Sat Morning piece on Tax havens.
Heh. Love the Pinstripe Army.
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Moving forward.....I HATE that phrase.
This event and subsequent Govt "relief" will have a significant influence on our perceived values and the real value of our property (GVs). I am aware of only a very few people who have taken the course of asking the local council (and QVNZ) to revalue their property because they thought it was too low. I have heard of many who have asked the council to revalue their property becasue they thought it was too high. I have to say, there were more of them than the other. I alluded to this a few days ago but after a cuppla days of thinking it still comes back to haunt.
The consequences of acccepting low GVs is on show down south. We all (and I have never queried our valuation either!) accepted it because invariably we did not want the rates bill to be bigger. Councils have been voted in and out for the princely and usually miserly percentage points of rate increases they wanted to cut or propose.
It will make us all rethink what we have let ourselves in for. I am making a very big assumption that when Wellington goes, Gerry and and the Placemakers will front up similarly. And IF NZ Inc can afford another hit if it happens!
There are now distinct advantages to crank the value of your home to the hilt. I think that it might be advantageous for selling reasons as well. Imagine buying a property at $50+ below GV. What a bargain!!!!! Further, the increase in rates for a $50K+ house over what it might have been may in fact be cheap insurance because I suspect the increase in rates will take a few decades to cut out the $50+ in insurance return if you get hit.
Just thinking out loud........
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A sunday of thinking what might have been a good outcome for the citizens of Christchurch could be the basis of a good discussion. We know what the Gummint has offered and what the insurance industry are flinching on, but in the "order of things" and with consideration to the rest of the country who are effectively paying for this event - along with Chch people of course - what SHOULD the support be for those who are forced to leave.
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I am pretty sure that in Upper Hutt, you can get your property revalued but if it goes up in assessed value the rates go up.
Edite: No David, communication was good. I was unclear on the terms used and what they actually meant. I had a look at a few Avonside Drive rateable values on CCC and then tried checking out Quotable NZ to see if they were the same. I didn't find the QV numbers as they wanted money. So if anyone does have that info for their own property they can check to see if the two values agree.
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Southerly: Tower Insurance Have Some Bad…, in reply to David Haywood,
(b) The value assigned by a registered valuer -- this is supposed to be reflective of true market value, and DOES involve the inspection of the individual house and comparison with recent sales of similar properties. This, as I have already explained, may differ from the rateable value by more than $100,000.
The rock and swamp. So, take my "estimated" RV that we will charge you these rates, or, go get your own, we will accept it, but now we will charge you higher rates.
You can guess which way most people went with that one. Earthquake?? What impending earthquake? I have a reply to an email from a contact deep in the insurance industry coming shortly...hopefully...