Third year of defects rectification in a new property

Hey slava. Im reading through your story now. What a headache. Good one you for your persistence. Have you mentioned anywhere who the builder was so that we know not to buy anything from them?
 
Ridiculous. Keep going, don't stop. The way the industry is set up it is open to abuse and cowboys and they keep getting away with it. Most people don't know their rights either and just end up paying for it.

Thanks for kind words! I agree 100% about the industry set up. It also looks like the system helps businesses that don't care about quality or responsibility at all.
Even when people know their rights it doesn't help much. because they have to spend so much time and effort to get what they are entitled to!

What is most fun is when the senior member of the tribunal is allegedly saying to our strata manager that it would be easier to fix the defects at owners expence than to seek for statutory warranty from the builder.
How cool is that?! :)
 
I completely empathise with you. We bought a brand new property in 2002 (OTP Townhouse). It took 8 years, the builder claiming bankruptcy (though he drives a 2014 Lexus) and endless back and forth with the insurer and a very expensive lawyer but it finally got done. Our ensuite was repaired a total of 22 times and the builder fell through the ensuite floor when it finally got pulled up in the final renovation as the supports had fully rotted through due to moisture.

Good luck.
vtt

Thanks for kind words! Really appreciate that.
It's great to know that you guys have made your matter sorted.
 
Hey slava. Im reading through your story now. What a headache. Good one you for your persistence. Have you mentioned anywhere who the builder was so that we know not to buy anything from them?

That's right - very painful process.
I haven't mentioned the company name yet until the process is all complete and I am sure their name could be shared righteously.
 
Ok - but really this builder should be named and shamed.

I am still reading your posts - im up to number 9. i am also finding some good advice from your posts about strata management so thank you for that!

Reason why I am so interested is that I just purchased a townhouse which is a couple years old and there was a leak in the roof of the ground floor due to a weeks worth of heavy rain. This happened during the settlement period. The owner at the time who was also the builder did repair the leaking roof (gyprock) but the explanation they gave did not instill confidence that they found the root cause of the leak and whether or not they fixed that from future occurrences.

I now have to keep a careful eye in case this happens again within the next 3-4 years (I think building warranty is 6 years now) and then go through Strata to claim? Or from your blog posts are you implying you should go direct to builder? I assume it would be quite hard to track down the builder after 5 years for example? Its one of those small family builders...

ta
Paul
 
Ok - but really this builder should be named and shamed.

I am still reading your posts - im up to number 9. i am also finding some good advice from your posts about strata management so thank you for that!

Reason why I am so interested is that I just purchased a townhouse which is a couple years old and there was a leak in the roof of the ground floor due to a weeks worth of heavy rain. This happened during the settlement period. The owner at the time who was also the builder did repair the leaking roof (gyprock) but the explanation they gave did not instill confidence that they found the root cause of the leak and whether or not they fixed that from future occurrences.

I now have to keep a careful eye in case this happens again within the next 3-4 years (I think building warranty is 6 years now) and then go through Strata to claim? Or from your blog posts are you implying you should go direct to builder? I assume it would be quite hard to track down the builder after 5 years for example? Its one of those small family builders...

ta
Paul

Hello Paul, I am glad to hear that my posts are helpful in some way. That was one of the main ideas to help others in similar situation.

In regards to your questions. If your townhouse is part of strata title then I'd first report this problem to the executive committee or the strata manager if you have any. Then if it's all owners to maintain (Owners Corporation) then the whole Owners Corporation should reach out to the builder if there is still a warranty. You may of course reach out to the builder personally.
What I'd suggest is to do it as soon as possible and if strata doesn't do anything - do it yourself.

I agree it might be hard to track the builder for years, that's why it is a good idea to notify them about the issue in writing and keep track of this for your records.
 
Thanks slava. I will get on to it. I have requested to be put on the ec as there are only 4 townhouses in the complex. The strata co said that i need to wait for the agm for that to happen.. Do u know if thats really the case?
 
Let me ask you this - has this discouraged you from buying OTP forever or do you think you've learned enough to be able to do it again with minimal risk?
 
Thanks slava. I will get on to it. I have requested to be put on the ec as there are only 4 townhouses in the complex. The strata co said that i need to wait for the agm for that to happen.. Do u know if thats really the case?

Sorry for late response, crazy busy! :)

Yes, EC amendments should happen at AGM. However you can still present at the meetings that EC runs (i.e. extraordinary meetings that are not AGMs) though you won't be able to vote on those meetings.
 
Let me ask you this - has this discouraged you from buying OTP forever or do you think you've learned enough to be able to do it again with minimal risk?

This property was bought brand new - just after completion, but not off the plan.

However it doesn't matter much in NSW whether it's already built or off-the-plan. When dealing with builders/developers who don't want to comply with statutory or legal obligations, there is no easy effective way to enforce them either build/fix with good quality or as agreed.

Yes, I learned a lot during this process. Next purchase will be different :)
 
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