Strata inspection reports or DIY?
- Thread starter sydgal
- Start date
You can make an appointment with the strata manager to review the books. It depends on what $$ you put on your time & your solicitor may prefer to have a formal strata report.
If you want to do DIY, then read this thread on which I posted what you need to do:
http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64297
For $200, in your position (which from the sounds of it, indicates to me that you are pretty new to this), I think it would be money well spent.
http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64297
For $200, in your position (which from the sounds of it, indicates to me that you are pretty new to this), I think it would be money well spent.
The Strata Reports cost between $220 - $280, your solicitor can request it, or you can request it yourself from sites like http://www.reportexpress.com.au/ we got one done on a property with dodgy renovations, it had info like the different strata laws/changes, especially useful if you have pets, and also whatever work and finances are going on.
Im a big fan of Strata Reports, but I still never know whether to order it up front, or wait for cooling off, I dont know.. $220 up-front before you agree on a price, vs $1500-$2000 to pull out during cooling-off...
It can take from 1 day to 5 days to get it too, because apparently the owner has to literally fax something back saying they give permission to access the records... I dont like that because the seller now knows your financially committing to the properly.. I know its not much money but still, and I dont know what happens if they say no, but the Strata Report lady said they sometimes do.
Im a big fan of Strata Reports, but I still never know whether to order it up front, or wait for cooling off, I dont know.. $220 up-front before you agree on a price, vs $1500-$2000 to pull out during cooling-off...
It can take from 1 day to 5 days to get it too, because apparently the owner has to literally fax something back saying they give permission to access the records... I dont like that because the seller now knows your financially committing to the properly.. I know its not much money but still, and I dont know what happens if they say no, but the Strata Report lady said they sometimes do.
$400.00 seems a bit pricey we use 2 different service providers who are well known. One charges $250 inclusive GST and the other $275 inclusive of GST. Turnaround time is 48 hours.
You can do your own but you need to know what you are looking for. Given your experience it is better to pay a professional.
And yes the owner or their solicitor needs to send an authority addressed to the strata managers whether you inspect the records or whether a professional does it. Same authority required.
Strata reports are extremely important.
Best of luck with it.
You can do your own but you need to know what you are looking for. Given your experience it is better to pay a professional.
And yes the owner or their solicitor needs to send an authority addressed to the strata managers whether you inspect the records or whether a professional does it. Same authority required.
Strata reports are extremely important.
Best of luck with it.
Oh I forgot to mention a few things I have learnt:
1) Sometimes I have seen extracts of the Strata Report in the Real Estate Contract, but I bet they hand-picked which pages went in...
2) The Strata Report isnt foolproof, its not a legally binding document (yet your supposed to risk your life savings on it), and its possible its not complete.
3) Just to scare you more, my Mums building has massive ongoing water/structural issues, im talking $10,000 one off payments for all owners, but guess what... somehow they managed to keep that out of the Strata Report... fills you with confidence huh?
1) Sometimes I have seen extracts of the Strata Report in the Real Estate Contract, but I bet they hand-picked which pages went in...
2) The Strata Report isnt foolproof, its not a legally binding document (yet your supposed to risk your life savings on it), and its possible its not complete.
3) Just to scare you more, my Mums building has massive ongoing water/structural issues, im talking $10,000 one off payments for all owners, but guess what... somehow they managed to keep that out of the Strata Report... fills you with confidence huh?
Hmmm... wouldn't it be better then for a prospective purchaser to go through the strata documents themselves than rely on these companies report?? I have been searching online forums and afew people have mentioned receiving poor quality strata reports that have missed major things.
I think it might be safer for the purchaser, armed with a list of things to look for (which you can easily find on the internet), make an appointment and spend an hour or 2 going through the documents. Assuming one is allowed to do so.
I did call one strata company to attempt to do that, you make an appointment and pay a fee + photocopy costs, but in the end it does sound like a lot of manual work getting the owners signature & then treking through the records and copying it all.. but if you have time perhaps.
I think id prefer the Strata Report people to do it though, they put a cover sheet on it with like a summary of bylaws, though it is a few hundred dollars which annoys me to lose, especially when I have to spend it before I sign a contract, which has happened twice now where I didn't win the property, but i think thats just life when buying a unit.
After thinking about it, i've decided it's easiest to go with a strata report because of the time factor--- i just hope they do a thorough job.
I spoke with one lady today who has spent $4,000 in pre-inspection reports for various auctions, and is yet to buy a home! It's a big expense if you keep missing out.
I spoke with one lady today who has spent $4,000 in pre-inspection reports for various auctions, and is yet to buy a home! It's a big expense if you keep missing out.
Reviving this old thread. I need to order a strata report. My solicitor orders one for $440 which I'm coming to think is on the expensive end. From memory - initially on the journey - I had asked him if we can order an alternative strata report. I didn't get a promising response - for obvious reasons.
Can I instead ask the agent to get the vendor to write a letter to the strata company, giving approval for the strata report?
Also, the strata manager for the property does manage other and my sister's property....could I just approach him directly and ask if it's okay for me to order the report?
Thanks
Can I instead ask the agent to get the vendor to write a letter to the strata company, giving approval for the strata report?
Also, the strata manager for the property does manage other and my sister's property....could I just approach him directly and ask if it's okay for me to order the report?
Thanks
The strata company doesn't "do" a report.
There are companies that look at the books then write a report on what they find. You can ring one directly yourself and save the solicitors fee for ringing them. You'd probably need to get the vendors permission. I suppose that's part of the solicitors costs (organising that).
Or you can get permission from the vendor to look at the books yourself. If you know your way around strata reports you can do that. Ones I've looked at charge around $30.
There are companies that look at the books then write a report on what they find. You can ring one directly yourself and save the solicitors fee for ringing them. You'd probably need to get the vendors permission. I suppose that's part of the solicitors costs (organising that).
Or you can get permission from the vendor to look at the books yourself. If you know your way around strata reports you can do that. Ones I've looked at charge around $30.
Think of the insurance if there is something missing from the report like a special levy i would spend the money its better than what it. You can get them for about $290 max maybe get your solicitor to use another strata searcher or order it yourself through the strata manager and let them do the inspection
Yes, you can. I do this on most occasions.
I usually use Inspect It for inspections. Talk to Dale. If you order often, he'd give you a really good price.
I did my last one myself but that was after looking at dozens and being on a few committees so I was confident I knew what to look for. But there is a lot of paperwork to sort through. They just dump it all on a desk and you need to sort it and search.
And when you get the report done they summarise and give recommendations and highlight any potential problems.
If you are new to stratas and don't know what a report looks like I'd pay to get one done.
And when you get the report done they summarise and give recommendations and highlight any potential problems.
If you are new to stratas and don't know what a report looks like I'd pay to get one done.
