Hi there,
As someone who usually has more questions to ask than answers to give, I thought I’d even things up a bit by reminding any newbie buyers of the importance of checking the minutes of recent body corporate (BC) meetings if you are considering buying into a unit complex. Here is one example of what could happen if you don’t:
I recently looked into buying a unit up for auction. Had it inspected, contract reviewed etc etc. Asked for BC minutes twice from the agent – these never showed up. Finally contacted the BC secretary, who said they didn’t take minutes…hmmmm worry sign number 1 .
The secretary (who also happened to be the vendor of the unit I was interested in – worry sign number 2) then went on to say that some external building maintenance work had been approved for next year and would cost each unit about 10K each. At this stage, although a bit concerned, I was still happy to go and bid, thinking I would just have to allow for the 10K in my bid limit.
Anyway, come to auction night, the property is withdrawn from offer 2 minutes before it was due to be auctioned – another resident in the block had come forward on the day of sale and told the real estate agent that the building works was likely to be at least 30K per unit, and that not all of the required maintenance had even been defined (and therefore not costed) as yet.
This naturally upset a few would-be bidders, and hence temporary withdrawal of the property to sort things out.
The result of all this is that now the vendor has agreed to put 30K of the property sale proceeds into a fund that the new owner can use for the repairs when they are required. In addition, all quotes are to finalised, so that potential buyers will know exactly what repair costs they will be up for.
This would never have come to light unless the other resident had come forward, and the new owner would have had a nasty surprise to the tune of 30K+ waiting.
In this case, reading the minutes wouldn’t have helped, because there were none, but it goes to show you how important it is to find out as much as possible about your intended purchase beforehand. If there are no minutes to peruse, at least try and talk to the other residents and confirm what details you have been told by the vendor.Cheers,
AnastasiaThanks for the Info Anastasia!
Hi Anastasia,
Great points. I bought under a body corporate. Trust account was in the black, only a single insurance claim with one break in, proposed improvements were minimal and the complex was only 9 years old at the time of my purchase.
Kind regards, Phil
i have a problem with body corp, my own bloody fault.
found out body corp, council rates etc.
as i had bought in darwin, hired a conveyancer rather than a solicitor to check everything for me. i rang local council etc to double check what council rates were etc, but left it to the conveyancer to check body corp.
any way the stupid cow didnt tell at all, the following till after i had bought
rates were 265 per quarter (as i was informed)
wasnt told there was no money in the float so we all had to fork out an extra 40 per quarter till june next year to get a float up and running.
i also didnt get told that the pool in the complex was not council approved, i should have offered lower right there.
still turned out an all right deal, just very annoying to find out i’m paying more than i budgeted/accounted for.I bought a unit in Sydney last year that had an outstanding issue with the local council regarding the height of the balustrading which my solicitor happened to come across. Estimated cost $2,000. The solicitors held the money in trust until the work was completed, at no cost to me.
I am in the process of purchasing another unit in Qld and the solicitors asked if I was happy to pay the $70 for a search of the Body Corporate minutes. Based on my previous experience I was happy to pay.Hi Shaunwalker,
What do you exactly mean “i also didnt get told that the pool in the complex was not council approved“? If this is in regards to fencing, my understanding is and I may be wrong, that no property can be sold if the fence is not up to council regs in the NT and the REA’s are required by law to let you know this. An agreement can be made between the seller and the buyer in regards to the costs, but the fence must be completed before new ownership is acquired. There were a few loopholes but I believe they have all been closed now.
C2
“Is it true the more you owe the more you grow until the bank steps in?”there is a fence around it, its just that the pool isnt on the plans. rang the council about it but they dont know anything about there being a pool there.
Hi All, noticed some mention of conveyancers…
Though I might mention that there is no qualification at all required to do conveyancing. All conveyancing courses are entirely optional if you choose to be a conveyancer.This means that any conveyancer you may employ doesnt necessarily know any more than you do. Be very careful in who you choose. Preferably use a solicitor – the old cliche “you get what you pay for”
What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.
riffraff and Shaun,
Precisely riffraff, get what ya pay for.
Shaun .. have you engaged another conveyancer (I’m sure it should be conveyancor) since returning to Canberra? If not, I have a good bloke for you to use. Talk saturday.
Kind regards, Phil
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