An Age of Magic

Holiday apartments vs hotels

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When we go on holiday we prefer, where we can manage it, to rent a holiday apartment or villa rather than stay in a hotel. Why? because this kind of accommodation gives you so much more freedom than the four walls of a hotel room can offer. The kids like to have space to play and move around and you yourself always prefer to have some space around you as well. If you were holidaying in a romantic location such as Mexico - by the sea and in full view of sunsets, wouldn’t you prefer to see it all from a villa?

There is ample choice for this option and just looking at Rocky Point vacation homes here are prime examples of what you could be in store for on your next holiday. A complete change of scenery, luxury surrounds and a great choice of beautiful properties to choose from. These look fantastic and would suit any type of getaway - family, romantic or just a break from your usual life and environment.  Oceano specialise in rentals in this region and are on hand to assist you get the most of your money and holiday.

Popularity: 68% [?]

Don’t worry about doomsday - the seeds are safe

Norway has it all sewn up in case life on earth gets blasted away. A “Doomsday” seed vault opens this week in the Arctic to preserve crops in the face of climate change, war and natural disasters.The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is intended as a back-up to the network of seed banks around the world which store, grow and replenish thousands of varieties of crops.  At the vault’s official opening tomorrow a quarter of a million samples - totalling around 10 million seeds - from virtually every country in the world will be carried deep into the mountain in Svalbard, to the north of mainland Norway.

It is no exaggeration that wars, droughts, floods and human kind are all combining to destroy our vast resources of seeds and plant life - so what better way to preserve them…and at what better time? It is the diversity that is being threatened and that is what this scheme is attempting to save. Diversity is threatened by climate change and we all know about that don’t we.

Popularity: 51% [?]

Can you afford a mortgage today?

I was reading recently about how the growing trend of adults continuing to live with their parents due to the fact that young people these days are finding so much more difficult to get their foot on the property ladder. And it is true. The days of cheap mortgages are clearly numbered and as for cheap or affordable housing…you can just about forget it. You cannot afford to buy in the cities and even the rural areas have seen a huge boom in property values due to the interest in living in the country. So why is this and what do you do?

I blame two factors; the banks and the real estate industry. Estate agents and banks have conspired to spoil the house-buying party over the past few years. If the banks will lend it, the agents can charge it. Simple. Until it all goes wrong, and it has done so often. So here’s hoping that when these professions get their own houses back in order, and common sense returns, houses will become affordable again. But who can see this happening in the near future? Access to affordable mortgages for those wanting to buy and live in their own home should not become an impossible dream.

As it has been the norm for a child to inherit his/her parents house in the past people were content to wait years. They rented and saved then moved into Mum and Dads house. Now they rent and save and find it difficult to do anything else; the problem is on retirement - having enough money to keep paying that rent or be able to buy that house. 

I would say that mortgage brokers are having a field day right now as potential housebuyers are lining up to grab what is left at the cheaper end of the mortgage market and there are still good deals to be found. It pays to get an expert to do the legwork for you though - saves you heaps of time and gets you the best deal around. You have to live with the results for many years afterwards!

Popularity: 44% [?]