Buying an apartment
- Thread starter Lilli
- Start date
There will be some slight differences depending on whether its a new apartment or an older style flat.
* Is car park on title? (Visitor's carpark??)
* Is storage space (if applicable on title)
* Presence of any sinking fund under the Owners Corporation (new name for Body corporate) and sinking fund contributions being made. New laws now require a sinking fund to be in place for all OC's.
* Any special levies to fund capital improvements
* Is guttering throughout building OK? ie is it starting to rust away
* Which way is the apartment facing eg west - it will cop the afternoon sun, which might be OK in winter but will increase your electricity bill substantially with the a/c in summer
* Is car park on title? (Visitor's carpark??)
* Is storage space (if applicable on title)
* Presence of any sinking fund under the Owners Corporation (new name for Body corporate) and sinking fund contributions being made. New laws now require a sinking fund to be in place for all OC's.
* Any special levies to fund capital improvements
* Is guttering throughout building OK? ie is it starting to rust away
* Which way is the apartment facing eg west - it will cop the afternoon sun, which might be OK in winter but will increase your electricity bill substantially with the a/c in summer
That's interesting - most people (myself included) seem to go the other way (get started in apartments and "upgrade" to houses) 
I have found less issues to inspect for apartments - as the Owner's Corp (new name for Body Corp in Vic) should be looking after this - so checking the Owner's Corp records (minutes and financials will be in the Section 32) is more important.
Check the minutes for problem/feral tenants, big sinking funds for a huge building repair, repetitive issues, etc.
See if the property is individually metered for gas and water - otherwise the landlord pays for tenant's usage.
Check the car parking arrangements -make sure it is on title if it is supposed to be. Most contracts will have a separate unit number for the car park as an "accessory unit"
Cheers,
The Y-man
I have found less issues to inspect for apartments - as the Owner's Corp (new name for Body Corp in Vic) should be looking after this - so checking the Owner's Corp records (minutes and financials will be in the Section 32) is more important.
Check the minutes for problem/feral tenants, big sinking funds for a huge building repair, repetitive issues, etc.
See if the property is individually metered for gas and water - otherwise the landlord pays for tenant's usage.
Check the car parking arrangements -make sure it is on title if it is supposed to be. Most contracts will have a separate unit number for the car park as an "accessory unit"
Cheers,
The Y-man
Hi there,
I've just recently bought an apmt in a high rise building myself.
Things to look out for :
* Sinking fund & meeting minutes of owners corporation(Section 32 of contract), no. of body corporate fees (some have 1,2 or 3 owner corporate fees dealing with different things). If they're very high, is it going to be worth paying that much if the facilities are just mediocre.
* Good view and high elevation is a must for myself. It beats the purpose of living in an apmt if its without views/blocked out by another building.
* If there is vacant land around your apmt, call up council and check what constructions are planned.
* Fittings & Building quality is by far the most important. Can you hear your neighbours from the upper floor flushing ? Are the walls thin ?
If you have any other queries, I'm more than happy to help. Just PM me.
I've just recently bought an apmt in a high rise building myself.
Things to look out for :
* Sinking fund & meeting minutes of owners corporation(Section 32 of contract), no. of body corporate fees (some have 1,2 or 3 owner corporate fees dealing with different things). If they're very high, is it going to be worth paying that much if the facilities are just mediocre.
* Good view and high elevation is a must for myself. It beats the purpose of living in an apmt if its without views/blocked out by another building.
* If there is vacant land around your apmt, call up council and check what constructions are planned.
* Fittings & Building quality is by far the most important. Can you hear your neighbours from the upper floor flushing ? Are the walls thin ?
If you have any other queries, I'm more than happy to help. Just PM me.
