Hi folks,
We are about to purchase our first property so would appreciate some advice. The property is a unit in a 9-10 year old building. The current tenants are not very clean but overall the unit doesn't seem to have any problems (at least visually). Our conveyancer has recommended that we just get a strata report. He reckons there is no need for building/pest inspection.
Does this make sense ? Thought I will just check with others on the forum before agreeing to this.
Thx in advance
salilI personally would get a inspection done just for piece of mind. Last month I put an offer in on a unit which was accepted. I wasnt gonna bother doing a pest or building inspection but ended up doing one for piece of mine. Turns out there was some very major structural damage to the unit complex with up to $150K worth of repairs to be carried out. OF course these costs woudl have been spread out over all owners being body corp but still would have meant some large costs for each person. If I didnt do the inspection, I wouldnt have known that there was this much damage to the building.
PS. After all it is tax deductible if you go ahead with the purchase. And if you dont, well consider yourself spending a few hundred dollars which could have saved you thousands.
I agree with lopetha. I have pulled out of deals because of issues with building/pest inspection reports.
It gives you the peace of mind that you are not buying a dudd.I'd agree with the conveyancer – a pest inspection will not reveal building defects (although it may reveal the existence of active or previous termite activity). An inspection of the minutes of the strata meetings will reveal whether there have been issues relating to structural problems, pest and other infestations. (lopetha – costs prior to the settlement are generally capitalised as they are related to the purchase not the the income derived from the property).
It is more critical to have a pest & building inspection on freestanding premises eg houses or individual townhouses/villas as opposed to strata units as the costs of repairs in strata premises are shared between all owners.
Hi Salil
It depends on how confident you are at assessing the likely problems yourself, if you arent; then get them if you feel the need.
Otherwise I agree with the conveyance and a strata report may be useful in deternining if there are other issues you need to consider.
Don;t assume that ecause the building is young it doesn't have say termites or other problems, those depend on how well it was built in the first place and maintained since. You will know whtehr or not you feel comfortable getting or not getting the report, go with that.
Warm Regards
sueMIT | Owen Real Estate
Email MeI would definitly go with the building report.
I've had building reports done on a unit within a block of units where I already own a unit.
The report showed up damage to the bathroom that had been fixed, but was still an issue.
I negotiated a reduction in price of $2500.
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