garage and granny flat - certifying /approval status unknown

[tang]

hi all
i have a potential purchase in the works however i do not know of the following:

Granny flat - half completed - it use to be a shed.

The original garage has been rennovated to a room, WC and living area

A new garage was built on the other side. not sure if its been approved

house is approx 25 - 30 years old

could someone please let me know how i can determine the legitimacy of the above? or what the next steps are in determining whether i should proceed

how do i query to council if there has been any potential notices from council to remove the garage/granny flat if it has certifying issues - without disclosing to council that there is a potentially problematic build?


council said that they have not been able to locate any applications for the garage however i do not know how long their records go back

Any advice will be greatly appreciated

 

[virgo]

Gf

Hiya

Two words: "title insurance..."

 

[tang]

Hiya

Two words: "title insurance..."

thank you very much virgo

can u elaborate on title insurance? that wont stop council from enforcing an order?

thanks,
newb

 

[neK]

I would ask the agent.
If its properly approved, the agent will tell you it is (you can then ask the agent to ask the owner for proof).
If its not approved, then the agent will say "I don't know"

 

[RetireRich101]

if council is able to retrieve the information in their database while you're on a phone call or in front of them, they would ask you to fill in a form something like 'request for information' form.

you can basically ask for information about what is approved on the property rather then tell Council you have this and that... if its not listed than I assume its not approved... This request fo information may take long like few weeks and may not met your requirement before someone takes it...

in this heat up market, you have to take that risk and do your own assessment on worst case scenario and assume it is not approved and if your CAN get this approved.

 

[tang]

if council is able to retrieve the information in their database while you're on a phone call or in front of them, they would ask you to fill in a form something like 'request for information' form.

you can basically ask for information about what is approved on the property rather then tell Council you have this and that... if its not listed than I assume its not approved... This request fo information may take long like few weeks and may not met your requirement before someone takes it...

in this heat up market, you have to take that risk and do your own assessment on worst case scenario and assume it is not approved and if your CAN get this approved.

they did

an offer has to be made...yesterday as the house price is very attractive in a very high demand subarb.
not yet on the market but will be if the deal falls through
at this point the risks - questions marks - need to be measured against time!!!

 

[RetireRich101]

they did

an offer has to be made...yesterday as the house price is very attractive in a very high demand subarb.
not yet on the market but will be if the deal falls through
at this point the risks - questions marks - need to be measured against time!!!

as a suggestion. if your offer got accepted try to negotiate with owner and get in writing for you to perform work such as getting it approval, building and renovation after 10% deposit, so hopefully you get ti approved and rented as a dual occupancy when settlement comes.

 

[tang]

hi everyone
thank you, i wouldnt have gotten title insurance if it wasnt for this thread.
thank you very much!

 

[RetireRich101]

did the deal fall thru and you end up buying the property?
one thing to watch out for is the valuation, as walk thru valuer will NOT see the potential as you would simply because the potential is not approved in paper.