Sociology lecturer and author Maggie Walters suggests that single parents should be eligible for assistance just as low income earners receiving rental assistance.
“There’s an awful lot of non-resident parents in housing stress. Separating, when you have children especially, causes hardship and housing hardship for everyone, and it ripples on for years.
“Both parents have poor housing outcomes in comparison to those who don’t separate, or who have not separated yet,” Walters concludes.
In a recent body of research work, Ms. Walters and her co-author analysed 4000 households with parents of children under the age of 18 in 2005, including more than 1000 separated parents.
Interestingly, the study showed a great disparity in home ownership retention. The separated parents maintained a home mortgage in 47-48% of the cases. But for parents who stayed together, that same figure hovered around 81%--a big jump indeed.
“Most people have such big mortgages now that when they separate there seems to be a pattern that both parties are thrown out of home ownership, because even if she gets to keep the equity in the house she won’t be able to afford to pay for the mortgage herself, so the house is sold,” she comments.
To remedy the situation, Ms. Walters suggests that separating parents should be able to get financial assistance to help them maintain home ownership, or to re-enter the market if they are in danger of falling out of home ownership.
If you have a question about real estate, or would like assistance in locating a property, feel free to phone me, Noel Thompson Principal Professionals Logan Lifestyles at either Browns Plains 3800 4000, Marsden 3200 4495 or Springwood 3808 5544.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
Go Green with Insulation
Government ministers call it “low-hanging fruit”. This is a term designating going green and still not changing your basic habits relative to electricity and gas consumption.
And one such “low-hanging” fruit is insulation. Not only does insulating your home mean you’re less susceptible to winter’s cold. But it also means you’re cooler in the summer heat. It’s one of the less sexier ways to go Green.
What insulation does is save you hundreds of dollars in electric bills, plus it cuts down on peak-load generation of electricity and, most importantly, reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Not bad for doing something so simple and sight unseen.
Yet despite all these benefits, householders are slow to respond with actually taking the step to install insulation. Incredibly, nearly 40 per cent of Australian homes—more than 2.7 million—are not insulated according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Worse yet, instead of seeking the cause of high energy bills, the proportion of homes with air-conditioners rose from 33 per cent in 1994 to 60 per cent in 2005. Ray Thompson of CSR Bradford Insulation calls this a “double whammy”, because it increases both energy inefficiency and greenhouse gases at the same time.
Insulating Australia’s 2.7 million non-insulated homes would cut greenhouse gas emissions by about 90 million tones by 2050, according to the Insulation Council of Australia and New Zealand.
If you have a question about real estate, or would like assistance in locating a property, feel free to phone me, Noel Thompson Principal Professionals Logan Lifestyles at either Browns Plains 3800 4000, Marsden 3200 4495 or Springwood 3808 5544
And one such “low-hanging” fruit is insulation. Not only does insulating your home mean you’re less susceptible to winter’s cold. But it also means you’re cooler in the summer heat. It’s one of the less sexier ways to go Green.
What insulation does is save you hundreds of dollars in electric bills, plus it cuts down on peak-load generation of electricity and, most importantly, reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Not bad for doing something so simple and sight unseen.
Yet despite all these benefits, householders are slow to respond with actually taking the step to install insulation. Incredibly, nearly 40 per cent of Australian homes—more than 2.7 million—are not insulated according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Worse yet, instead of seeking the cause of high energy bills, the proportion of homes with air-conditioners rose from 33 per cent in 1994 to 60 per cent in 2005. Ray Thompson of CSR Bradford Insulation calls this a “double whammy”, because it increases both energy inefficiency and greenhouse gases at the same time.
Insulating Australia’s 2.7 million non-insulated homes would cut greenhouse gas emissions by about 90 million tones by 2050, according to the Insulation Council of Australia and New Zealand.
If you have a question about real estate, or would like assistance in locating a property, feel free to phone me, Noel Thompson Principal Professionals Logan Lifestyles at either Browns Plains 3800 4000, Marsden 3200 4495 or Springwood 3808 5544
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