What key things should I be looking for to ensure I'm buying an apartment that isn't going to be a lemon?

If it passes building and pest and I think it's all looking good and I can imagine myself living there, what else am I looking for?

I'm very afraid to end up living somewhere only to be told a year in oh turns out we installed this stuff wrong, and the building is unsafe as a result and you and your complex friends will now pay for this and the government will tell us we did the wrong thing and we may have to cover 0.01% of the cost however good luck we now no longer exist also here's a 50k bill each pay or sell up.

I am expecting costs to appear at times however a scenario like the above is making me anxious as ever.

in AusPropertyChatby Boz029

91%

1mo

lovedaddy1989

1mo

Strata report

elleminnowpea

1mo

Yes and no. It certainly helps, especially for a newer build, but it’s of limited value in an older building. Strata report may come back showing not much maintenance has been done, which is often interpreted as the building being low maintenance vs the owners corp deferring essential maintenance.

funattributionerror

1mo

This might be NSW specific but there should be a capital works plan updated every 10 years with a budget forecast - and you can see if it has been updated and followed, and how the capital works & admin funds are able to handle projected costs.

Spicey_Cough2019

1mo

Do not buy an apartment built in the past decade
Do not buy an apartment built in the past decade
Do not buy an apartment built in the past decade.

Nottheadviceyaafter

1mo

Don't buy a apartment from when they jet set the public service building inspectors and replaced with private certifiers. The certifiers rely on the builder for future work no conflict to be seen here...... ie they ain't going to raise much as they will not bite the hand that feeds them. Depending on state you can nearly rule out the last 30 years.

morris0000007

1mo

This is the only answer to listen too.

ififivivuagajaaovoch

1mo

I think the building standards went to shit early 2000s, many of those properties are starting to show defects also

Aseedisa

1mo

New apartments are better than old apartments

melb_grind

1mo

New apartments are better than old apartments

You're being sarcastic right?!

Spicey_Cough2019

1mo

Mascot towers has entered the chat

Aseedisa

1mo

Anecdotal evidence. MH17 crash happened, don’t fly on new planes, only old.

Spicey_Cough2019

1mo

That is a terrible analogy.

You do know what the definition of anecdotal is right?

because this is the opposite of anecdotal evidence

Aseedisa

1mo

Of the 1000’s of apartment blocks that are built each year, you’ve found one that is having issues. That’s anecdotal evidence. One example does not refute a pattern.

I used MH17 as an analogy for you trying to say that new apartment blocks are bad. Planes have improved safety standards over time and have less issues and fatalities. The exact same can be said for apartment blocks. It’s the perfect analogy.

Spicey_Cough2019

1mo

anecdotal adjective an·ec·dot·al ˌa-nik-ˈdō-tᵊl

: based on or consisting of reports or observations of usually unscientific observers

Engineering reports are pretty scientific ;)

Aseedisa

1mo

“When someone uses one example to refute a pattern or generalization, it's called "anecdotal evidence" or "anecdotal fallacy." This occurs when an individual uses a personal experience or a single example to make a broader argument, even though the example may not represent the typical or average case.”

Happy to help

Ancient-Range3442

-2

1mo

Not buying an apartment older than the last decade

Aseedisa

1mo

Exactly, new apartments are much better.

singledogmum

1mo

Sharing what state you're in could be useful. Seller disclosure, Strata laws can vary by state as does build quality due to different regulations. NSW seems to have far more horror stories since developers appear to be able to mark their own homework there. Victoria seems to be a flammable cladding hell hole. In QLD it's on the buyer to fact check any strata info given by the seller.

The larger issue with apartments that are coming up to that random 50k bill/per unit is that things are often discussed offline before they hit the official paperwork such as meeting minutes, voting, agm's ect. This can often give owners a sneaky heads up to sell as it looks like XYZ is fucked. You'd have to be super unlucky of course - but I do think it's best when you're looking into strata to literally read over all emails to and from the strata manager as it might uncovered things yet to hit minutes. A seller in this situation might of course choose to go with an offer that isn't subject to a body corp records insepction.

Main-Ad-5547

1mo

Don't buy anything built after 2010.

rades_

1mo

Check surrounding zoning and DAs
Is capital works / admin fund healthy? But not too healthy as you want to ensure maintenance is actually being done.
Who was the developer?
What's the Strata report look like? You want evidence of a stringent preventative maintenance schedule being followed.
AGM minutes if possible
Who is the Strata Management company (and Building Management company if applicable)?
Search the SP and see what comes up. You may find evidence of NCAT proceedings which can include things like dysfunctional Committees.

Edit: Age of build is not a good indicator. The whole county is covered in old builds that have been mismanaged to the point of neglect and danger.

diggeriodo

1mo

how do you check zoning?

lolmish

1mo

https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/spatialviewer/#/find-a-property/address

Nsw has this map tool.

diggeriodo

1mo

thanks!

PhilodendronPhanatic

1mo

Read the body Corp minutes to see what’s been going on. Get your conveyancer to look over all the strata info before you commit. Get a building and pest inspection. Visit at different times/days to scope out neighbours and light. Buy something with good natural light.

Ancient-Range3442

1mo

Check noise from surrounding apartments and beware of leaky balconies. Don’t buy any apartment that has a balcony over the rooms.

make_havoc

1mo

100% this. The Balcony over my daughter’s room in our 3 story townhouse has been leaking since we bought it 3 months ago.

Thankfully it’s still under warranty as it was finished in 2019, but it’s a bloody nightmare.

Builders have come back several times to try and fix, and it’s still leaks a little bit.

Poor kid been able to be in her room since we moved in

No_Ninja_4933

1mo

Any apartment that has a bit of age to it personally is preferable to something new or even worse, something off the plan. Too many horror stories in the news. Nobody ever hears about that 70s block of flats needing extensive works.

Aside from that, the strata report, how much cash they have set aside, what sort of levies there are, what is the quality of the common areas and for example, is there a pile of rotting garbage in the bin area or is it all orderly.

OstapBenderBey

1mo

70s stuff often has concrete cancer. It's a cost but you know it's coming. New buildings are so complex that who knows what's happening and what the costs are and who the right specialist is

SuchTrust101

1mo

One of the things you have to watch out for with 70s apartments is fire codes.

melb_grind

1mo

70s apartments is fire codes.

What sort of things need adjusting if it is non compliant?

car-tart

🍰

1mo

I do believe that “faulty towers” are mainly a NSW/Qld problem as I have worked with owners trying out to rectify a number of them over the last decade. It is a problem caused by Australia’s richest developer who stated it cost too much to arrange building insurance for buildings 4 storeys and over and this requirement should be excluded to make home units cheaper. Super rich developers are generous benefactors to politicians and the law was changed for buildings 4 storeys and over. Every other residential building is still covered by a home owners warranty insurance. So some developers then started cutting costs on waterproofing, fire protection, concrete pours, steel usage and general engineering hoping that the problems would be hidden for the warranty period of some seven years and if not it should not matter as each building was built by a separate company which was bankrupted on the sale of the final unit, protecting the developer from being sued. Some companies made billions by making these savings and cost their clients billions more in repairs and lost value. If you do buy a new or off the plan property, Great Builders do arrange home owners warranty insurance. Ask the agent if it has HOW Insurance, if not walk away. Bad builders cannot get this insurance at any price. It would be easy to solve this poor building problem, simply go back to the requirements that all builders must insure their work through a HOW Policy, but that would mean no work for the dodgy builders and no more payments to politicians or councils. Alternatively make sure you buy something 10years old or more so that the defects have been ironed out.

Flashy_Passion16

1mo

Nothing oval shaped and yellow

paralyticparalegal

1mo

Check the carpark for any water pooling, leaks etc.

Also not really a lemon problem, but check where your car spot is and if it's easily accessible / you can get your car in there etc. For example, a lot of the red brick places have quite narrow LUGs - I just watched two of my neighbors abuse each other on Sunday morning because one can't fit his shiny new Mazda ute in his LUG and is parking it on common property / making it hard for the neighbors to access their spots.

It's a minor thing to think about but can be a pain!!

salty_tealeaves

🍰

1mo

The inner city Melbourne blocks built 1970-80 with around 10-15 apartments max. are usually pretty good value. The buildings are simple and are unlikely to have a lift, which reduces your body corp fees significantly. Call and get the minutes of previous body corp meetings to get a sense of how they are working together. We didn’t do pest inspection etc. as it gets a bit exey once you start bidding for places but not be successful.

Reasonable_Gap_7756

1mo

An old red brick apartment with no elevator, built in the 80s/90s - about the only one I would ever touch

In about 2 years, new will be alright in NSW at least. I work in them and the building commissioner is definately doing his job

DeliveryMuch5066

1mo

Coming in to say not to buy a building with an elevator aka money sink.

blueflash775

1mo

There are some decent built apartments built in the 2000's, at least 5 or 6!

See if you can find the builder and check them out. It can be harder if the building is a bit older (10 years). Use the property address to find what the development name was if you don't know it. From there you should be able to find the builder.

Search the builder, avoid the known bad ones like Toplace, mer1t0n.

Ask for information about past, current and future special levies. Ask for engineers reports.

One of the tricks that some builders like mer1t0n use is to run the strata for 7 years and supress attempts to identify and resolve problems. When the warranty runs out they vacate and let the owners clean up the mess.

Check who the strata company is.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-02/fees-and-kickbacks-poorly-regulated-strata-managment-industry/103654322

Buying an apartment in NSW is now a undertaking not to be attempted by the faint hearted. It's as if, I dunno, the government had the interests of anyone except the poor buyer who is about to make a lifetime commitment.

Good luck.

chickchili

1mo

How does the builder get to manage the strata. The owners decide who they want to be the Strata management company and then the owners control the decision making process from the floor.

TenantReviews

1mo

High strata without facilities and many selling at once in the same building.

Exciting_Eye9268

1mo

If it passes bp and no red flags from strata report and reasonable sinking fund, then should be ok quality wise. Also defs don’t overpay for apartments

preparetodobattle

1mo

Nothing with a light snorkel

[deleted]

1mo

One that's not managed by net strata 😂

https://amp.abc.net.au/article/103609380

Other than that you'll be fine.

Lifts are cheap to run. Pools are cheap to clean.

AmputatorBot

1mo

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aus-bigdaddy

1mo

DO NOT buy an apartment built in at least the last 10 years. They are trash and you will pay.

Spicey_Cough2019

1mo

How's 25% of all apartments

Bit more than a one off And I've seen this personally in complexes I've audited. Even the luxury ones.

Special-Ad-9293

1mo

Avoid buying apartment if you can. I'd do 80-90s duplex or units first before touching an apartment if it was an affordibility issue.

mypenisinyourmouth_

1mo

Double check your real estate isnt named James

Or you might find out that you just bought a giant peach 🍑

carolethechiropodist

1mo

No new builds, never off the plan, small builder is better.

beatrootle

1mo

Oh how come a small builder is better?

carolethechiropodist

1mo

you can talk to the guy who does the job.

oziecom

-1

1mo

Use a buyers agent worth their salt. It's worth the money imo.

make_havoc

1mo

1000%

Ugliest_weenie

-3

1mo

Don't buy anything with a strata

flutterybuttery58

1mo

Will make it difficult given OP wants advice on an apartment.

TinyCucumber3080

1mo

A townhouse or Villa with low strata fee is fine.

chickchili

1mo

How do you think an apartment block can be managed without strata?

TTBB007

-2

1mo

Or don’t buy apartments at all

Wonderful-Run-1408

16d

Did you end up buying an apartment (and by that I assume you mean a condo)? If you haven't yet, take a look at this article which has a calculator to help you determine if you're better off renting or buying.

New York Times Rent vs Buy Calculator

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/upshot/buy-rent-calculator.html?unlocked_article_code=1.sk0.Ihfc.NakH1eZWGVdr&smid=url-share

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