5 Travel Tips For Travel to Fiji
Fiji offers a unique blend of culture and natural beauty and travelling to this friendly country always promises a magical vacation. Most people go to Fiji for the gorgeous beaches and relaxing sun and none are disappointed.Whether you’re looking to dive amongst spectacular coral and fish, laze on the beach under the sun, or explore rich cultural and historical sites, Fiji offers the diversity to please any traveller. As you plan your trip, consider these 5 travel tips:#1 Choose the Right IslandThink about what you hope to get out of your trip as you start to plan. If you are looking to swim, snorkel, surf and kayak, try the Yasawa Group. If you and your family are seeking a fun time in the sun, look into the Mamanuca Group. If you want to experience awesome diving, consider Taveuni, Beqa Lagoon, to name a few. If you want to tuck away in a romantic secluded spot, escape to the remote beaches of Kadavu, or the Northern Islands of Fiji.#2 Learn Some LanguageEnglish is the official language in Fiji, but the native language is well persevered and widely spoken. There are many terms that you might hear incorporated into everyday language. Before you go, make an effort to learn a bit of the language for the full cultural experience of Fiji.#3 Book a cheap flight onlineAustralians and New Zealanders should rejoice in the fact that the flight to Fiji is not only short (3 hours from Sydney to Nadi) but that there is a good range of cheap flight deals and packages to Fiji. There are several international and regional airlines that operate flights to and from Fiji as well as affordable domestic flights to whisk you comfortably from island to island.#4 Pack SmartUnless you are planning to take a trek high up into the mountains, don’t worry about packing clothes for cold weather. Fiji is almost always warm, even in the evening and night. Pack plenty of light clothes including bathing suits and cotton shirts, shorts and dresses. Even formal evening events won’t dip below the ‘crisp casual’ range of clothing, so don’t worry about packing formalwear. Prepare yourself for the occasional tropical rain and with a waterproof jacket. As with any beach outing, protect yourself from the elements with hats, sunglasses, sunscreen and insect repellent.#5 Know the CustomsWhile beachwear is perfectly acceptable at the resorts, scanty clothing is inappropriate in villages. When shopping, remember that bargaining is encouraged at small local shops and stalls, but not at all in major department and grocery stores. Tipping in Fiji is not customary. Visit any village or private home, especially on a weekend, and you will undoubtedly be offered a coconut shell filled with kava, a traditional drink with mildly intoxicating properties. Enjoy!
Commercial Property Management – Checklists for Property Management Handovers
As a commercial property manager, you will frequently be involved with property management handovers. When you are on the receiving end of the process, you will understand just how important the information gathering process can be.It is not unusual to get a level of reluctance on the part of the previous property manager or landlord to cooperate through the handover process. When they are losing a property to another agent, they are really not greatly interested in telling you everything. For this reason attention to detail in the handover process is very important. If you are at the receiving end of the handover you will have to be very careful that you collect all the right detail and ask all the right questions.The simple fact of a property management handover is that you must achieve full awareness and accurate details of all the property elements and activities. Without these facts you can make mistakes and create errors.The larger and more complex the property to be managed and taken through the handover, the greater the variety of issues that potentially can be involved; so be prepared to ask the right questions and gather the right information.Here is a simple checklist of some of the major issues involved in the property handover.Get a copy of all plans associated with the property title, improvements, surveys, and tenancies. These will be invaluable when it comes to managing the property into the future.
Get details of contractors appointed to the property and the maintenance duties that they undertake.
Any fit out plans associated with the individual leases should also be provided to you. All fit outs should have been approved through the previous property owner and those works should comply with the current building codes. This says that the tenant should have achieved approval for construction prior to the fit out work commencing.
As built drawings associated with the building will give you details of design factors associated with the improvements within the property at the time of construction. The as built drawings will normally be for electrical, hydraulic, mechanical, air conditioning, lighting, and structural issues.
Particular rules and regulations will apply to the function and occupancy of the building. The local building codes and planning regulations will stipulate what those rules and regulations are. It pays to visit the local council offices to ensure that you have awareness of any rights restrictions and obligations that apply to the property.
The essential services to the property will have to be managed within building safety codes and compliances. Your property contractors should provide some assistance here.
Look for unusual property matters such as those associated with energy, heritage, environmental, and statutory charges or notices. Visit the local building authority to check for any outstanding matters here.
Copy of all lease documentation will be important to the ongoing occupancy in the building. Those leases will have particular critical dates relating to rent reviews, options, lease expiries, and other particular lease obligations. When you get a copy of the lease documentation, it pays to go through all leases comprehensively to collect and understand the critical dates. These dates should be entered into some form of a diary system to alert you at the right time in the future to take the right action.
The leases should be checked against the current rent invoices. The rent invoices should be accurate for and with regard to the terms and conditions of each of the leases. On this basis you need to check and cross reference the rental invoices and charges raised. Look for not only rental matters but also outgoings charges and any other charges that can be raised against the tenancy.
Are all tenants on current leases that have been correctly enforced? It’s a smart question to explore early at the time of property handover.
Any matters of arrears or breach of lease should be flagged to you for continued appropriate action. Copies of existing correspondence in these matters should also be provided to you. Problem tenants should be flagged for action and attention.
The outgoings charges and recovery strategy within the property will be supported by the lease structures and dates. Some tenants will be contributing towards building outgoings as part of their monthly or weekly rent charges. You will need to understand just how the process has been handled in the past and get the current status of recoveries from the various tenants today.
A history of outgoings reconciliations and payments over the last few years will help you with future budgets and tenant lease reconciliations. Outgoings impact the net income and property price and should be respected on that basis.There are other matters relating to the handover process that should be added to these we have detailed above. The best way to approach the handover of a property is to use a checklist specifically taking into account all the factors of the property type and the local area.