Letter from the editor: Misunderstandings lead to bad decisions
When Property Observer journalist Nicola Trotman came back from a CBRE event this week, she told us that there was a buyer who, speaking poor English, was upset about being 'misled' by an article he had read in the media.
Any questions for the panel? We have Lord Mayor, CBRE, PWC and king & wood mallesons #cbreseminar #propertyobserving
— Nicola Trotman (@NicolaKTrotman) November 13, 2013
He told everyone there that he had bought a development opportunity block in Fisherman's Bend believing that he could develop it to an "unlimited height". That, in fact, there are no restrictions.
The Lord Mayor Robert Doyle, who was in attendance, quickly told him he had been misinformed. Angrily, he said he had read it in an article.
This had us all thinking. There's misinformation rife on the internet, in print and in the industry generally, however there's also always the chance that someone will misunderstand the information that is presented. We don't know the article he necessarily read - however, we've had our guesses from what we've read in the past.
This brings it back to always double checking the information you're reading and, if it sounds too good to be true, or unusual (as in the case of 'unlimited' anything, we've found), then asking more questions. We're also letting you ask questions of us. From now on, we'll endeavour to include our email addresses at the bottom of the stories we write. Each of our journalists welcomes queries from readers, and any extra information is also very useful for us.
Sometimes, we actually find that articles themselves come out of misinformation and confusion around numbers themselves. If you think this has been the case anywhere online, that you think there's misunderstandings happening on forums or similar, let us know and we'll do our best to clear up the confusion.
One of our more recent articles, about what you can actually claim as a tax deduction, came out of noticing a similar confusion. I've heard many times, particularly over the past few months, that you can claim seminar tickets as deductions when you buy a property. This isn't quite true - it's a little more nuanced that you might think.
Part of our function as a property news site, is to straight out report and give you what is happening, while it's happening. But it's also to listen to you and give you the coverage of what matters - such as the suburbs you've been emailing to us, with requests about what is going on there. We also want to open up what happens behind the scenes here.
As you can see in the tweet at the top of this post, we're asking you to join in with the dialogue, bringing in the burning questions that you have as well. Keep an eye on the #propertyobserving hashtag to see where our reporters are, who they're speaking to, and feel free to use it yourself! We're keen to read about your own adventures observing property, or renovating, or just your thoughts. Share with us your concerns, misunderstandings you may have, and what you want us to cover. Our request for this Geelong suburb report came from a tweet. We read every reader email, and are more than happy to take the time to respond to you.
One for sale around Sandy Bay.... Gorgeous area, wonder how much will sell for? #propertyobserving @propertyobs pic.twitter.com/YP4IVD7g84
— Jennifer Duke (@JennieDuke) November 3, 2013
107 Richardson St. Albert park sold at auction today for $2.93m big result for DF Victorian #propertyobserving pic.twitter.com/cxJgyC3c8q
— greville pabst (@grevillep) October 26, 2013
@CCASHMORE_BUYER reader was just asking about Geelong - outlook? @tnicopoulos
— Jennifer Duke (@JennieDuke) October 23, 2013