I am in the process of signing the buyer's contract for our first home. It's a townhouse in a lot of 19. The buildings seemed in decent shape, and there wasn't much that caught my eye in the minutes apart from them knowing they had a roof problem and postponing it. But this being our first time ever and reading lots of "strata horror stories" here, has made me paranoid. Could someone with experience have a look at these numbers and give their 2 cents please.

https://preview.redd.it/ozz1jzk2x8yd1.png?width=797&format=png&auto=webp&s=ae5cc1a5adb1ecb05c3a7c35eafc2953bfd51357

https://preview.redd.it/kqo2vyn2x8yd1.png?width=816&format=png&auto=webp&s=25625ab6071739d01edf1119b17335c8f3dafb6f

https://preview.redd.it/kkdy80l2x8yd1.png?width=657&format=png&auto=webp&s=21c5db2c6120f5d6be6fb7470a5619a46e8262fe

Much appreciated!

Hi everyone,

We’re just about to finish building a house in Victoria, in the Geelong area. The two side fences are sorted, with cost-sharing worked out alongside our neighbours. However, we have a question about the back fence. Our property backs onto an undeveloped block of land, owned by a different developer, which is currently for sale along with another 30-40 blocks nearby.

Does anyone know if there’s a way to recover or split the costs of putting up the rear fence, given that the adjacent block is still owned by the developer? Or will we need to wait until that block is sold before we can even consider any kind of cost-sharing?

I was planning to call the developer, but I’m hoping to get some insights first so I can go into the conversation informed and hopefully avoid being brushed off.

Any advice or experience with similar situations would be greatly appreciated!

I live in an 3-bedroom apartment in a large building (500+ lots) in NSW, not big, internal is around 130sqm. Strata levy is over $3,300 (much higher than other more premium apartments)! I went though the strata report, and found out admin cost is very high and some big ticket items look very high (including building management, concierge, insurance, fire safety, etc.). Just what options do I have? I am thinking: 1) Ask strata committee to ask build manager to get alternative quotes 2) next year, get enough owners to elect me into strata committee (I am thinking knocking doors next week, but most owners are investors, and it will take some time to get strata rolls). 3) start getting quotes by myself and then negotatie with strata committee, if they do not agree, I will try to mobilise 25% of owners.

It sounds to me that building manager just accept whatever supplier asks without challgening pricing (of course, explanation is always how good/premium services are). Many suppliers keep increasing their cost year after year.

Any suggestions on this. I am new to strata law and such kind of things.

Hello all!

My partner and I are looking into building a kit home on her mum’s land out near Kingaroy, QLD. We have a few questions and looking for some tips on going this route. We are looking to build just a one bedroom second dwelling.

Has anyone dealt with or used a company with building a kit home?

Are there any recommended companies that will service that area?

So I've found a house I love and well within budget but I really want to avoid going to auction. One because they seem like a PITA, two I've never attended one before and three there's another property I'm looking at in that goes to auction at the same time.

Few things -

• 1st opening the agent said seller was open to offers, but at the 2nd he said they're not. Either he was misinformed or they got more interest than expected (I only saw about 10 people in total attend though)

• Property is not in a sought after area (Broady)

• Owner seems to have overpaid 5 years ago

• Listed price is already within range of what has sold in the area for the past 12 months except 1 anomaly which sold for nearly 20% over (same land size, same street, worse house)

I'm willing to go 10-15% over the asking price right now to secure it, which is still well within budget by over 100k. This is a place I can foresee living in for 10 years as well, so "over paying" isn't the end of the world.

Should I just put in an unconditional offer now? Or just say fuck it and attend the auction, with a hard cap. It goes to auction next Saturday, so not sure whether it's even worth it and I'm potentially showing my hand early if they the seller is dead set on auction.

Hello! This is a bit of a light one, but one that has been bugging me for ages. Are all houses required to have a tap in the front yard? We’ve lived in our house for 6 months, it’s an older build, and we cannot find the tap for the front yard! The water meter is almost buried in the yard, but we found that. Thanks!!

Our strata is leaving soon unfortunately and we are looking for a new strata manager that takes things seriously.

I want to buy a place that's 100m from a major road and 80m from a busy road with traffic lights (so cars will be braking nearby). The noise isn't bad, but I don't know how to evaluate the health effects of living here. I've seen numbers like 50m, 100m, 500m being the safe distances. There are compromises to make on buying places, but I don't know if this is something I should be compromising on (I don't want to increase my cancer risk ten-fold).

Are there any simple articles or guides on this, or advice from people who lived near a major road?

Hey all - first time posting How much is too much for property management fees? We’re paying $150 a month for our property management but I haven’t been very happy with their communication with us so far.

Can more than one owner per unit (in an apartment block) be elected to the strata committee? Or is it only one person per unit?

Hi all

We are the most indecisive people around and would love to hear others feedback on our house plan.

The store on the first floor will be a walk in linen and we will look to move the original LP back so the doors don’t impact each other.

Any other ideas or changes you think we should make would be great!

Thank you.

I’m in my mid 20s and looking to get into the real estate market. I am pre-approved for a property up to 600 with a pretty good deposit.

Am I better off buying a house (3 bed, 2 bath) further away from the city for 550-600 or buy a unit/townhouse (2 bed, 1 bath) closer to the city for 500-550?

Alternatively, should I sit tight for a while and wait in the hope that the market falls and makes some places just outside my price range more affordable?

I know there is much uncertainty at the moment regarding the real estate market/interest rates so any insight would be much appreciated :)

Hi there, I'm a beneficiary set to inherit a stand-alone house (in QLD) that's currently in the hands of the QLD public trustee. IMO, they've given a questionably low valuation.

I intend to keep the property for the time being and will most likely rent it out, may not sell it within 2 years.

Are there any pros/cons to having the property valued this low before the paperwork is transferred to the beneficiary? I was thinking higher CGT if I were to sell after 2 years.

I'm pretty sure if it listed now, it would sell for around 100k higher than valued.

Should I have the property valued personally, before they asset is transferred to my name?

EDIT: To be clear, I'm wanting to know whether the valuation price at the date an asset is transferred to my name, will be considered my 'purchase price', and therefore any sale profits exceeding that amount will be subject to CGT. I'm concerned the low valuation will mean I make more 'profit' on the asset sale at some stage in the future.

Thanks for any advice!

First home buyer here in Brisbane Aus...does anyone know/experience of building simple 3 bed 2 bathroom prefab house would cost..say if I buy land..

I see new house going over 800 k in the area ..however the Land is around 400 k...just wondering what the caveats are ...hoping to get first home buyer subsidy and consession on stampduty if I can keep it under the govt threshold

Also does anyone know if the same consession apply if you use a old house and move it to a land that you buy...

For buying land howmuch can the bank lend..and if you buy land and build a house..does it still qualify for first home grant....

Hi everyone,

I’m Scottish and moving to Sydney soon, and I’ve saved up around $200k. I’m weighing a few options and would love some advice from those who know the Sydney market or have been in a similar position.

I could start by working as a joiner for a local company to build connections and get a feel for the market, which would also allow me to continue saving. Alternatively, I’m considering launching my own joinery business right away to establish my brand and client base directly. I’m aware of the risks involved in starting a business in a new city, but I’m excited about the potential.

Another path I’m considering is investing in property development. With Sydney’s dynamic real estate market, I’m wondering if this would be a good use of my savings. Although I don’t have direct experience in property, I’m interested in learning, and I do have some connections that might help me get started.

Any insights or experiences would be greatly appreciated! If you were in my position with $200k and moving to a new city, what would you do?

Thanks in advance!

FHB here. Found a house that ticked allllll the boxes but is very much upper end or exceeding our budget (assumed) due for auction.

Fun part is its listed its property size 10x smaller so it doesnt show on domain or realestate.com if buyers have any land size filter (my nan found it, maybe by reading the newspaper? Idk). We went to first inspection (1 of 5), and spent the majority of the time there and 10 out the front chatting with family and were 1 of 2 there. As its local ive driven past en route home for the 2 weekday arvo inspections and other weekend inspection and its dead. Last inspection is 30m prior to to auction. The REA has since called me and my wife 3 times this week to see if we're coming to the auction spruking potential "bargin", "must sell", etc (strange for us as fhb to be given any attention at all imo).

So now we, potentially naively, think we have a tiny chance at this thing and we'd kick ourselves if it went within budget and we missed it (REA jedi mindtricks working). We've never done an auction before (5 offers placed) so we'd ensure prior b&p but even bringing that up with the REA she seems to have never had to broach that topic with the client ("i will ask the seller to see if they'd be happy to do that") with not much time left till auction day.

So I'm VERY aware at how naive this is all coming across so here's where i lean on you, the brainstrust. Do majority of bidders just rawdog it with no b&p (1985 wood home)? Can you even snag a bargain from an auction nowadays (considering the weird glitch)? Do we not even waste the b&p money becuse the reserve could be over anyway? Am i falling for every REA/auction trick in the book and should I just stick with placing offers and get out of the auction arena? Oh and if we do go to auction, any strategies that may work (we have a HARD price ceiling, so that parts easy)

Thanks a bunch im advance

Bought a place last year, and after a year of living here I want to join the strata committee just to get a better understanding of what is happening in the complex.

Strata manager sent me a application form which has a section of the applicant and for a referrer.

I don't know anyone else on the committee, or really even anyone else in the complex. Can I just nominate myself, or I need to be referred?

Also they are asking what skills I can bring to the committee, but my day job would have zero relevance. Any advice on what I can put down for this section?

Anyone here a member of their strata committee that can share their experience? Is there much work involved? Any regrets?

Hi guys,

We are looking for a house to buy and the powerlines in the street look like this photo below. Do you think this is considered high voltage? Do you know what would the voltage be?

Thank you.

Hi all,

I’m currently under contract for a unit in Victoria as a FHB. The unit has just been built and is currently on an unregistered subdivision. I had a lawyer check the contract and all was well, pre-approved for finance, etc. 30 day settlement on the place, or 14 days after the subdivision is finalised (the more likely option), with a 6 month sunset clause to terminate if the subdivision doesn’t happen.

I’ve just heard from my broker that the valuation was completed by the bank and all is well, but they won’t go unconditional on finance until the subdivision is approved, owing to the fact that the bank need to provide the government the title details for the FHB scheme. My lawyer has since advised that I shouldn’t let my “subject to finance” clause lapse (this coming Wednesday) without unconditional approval from the bank, because if for whatever reason the bank decide not to finance then I’ll default and lose my deposit. I don’t really know what kind of circumstance would have to unfold for the bank to change their mind, but even as a remote possibility, it’s there.

My broker thinks the lawyer is being too conservative, given the bank is really just waiting for the title to approve us. I realise there is a vested interest there, but I kind of see his logic. That said, I also see our lawyer’s point that there’s a small risk I will get fucked over if the bank for some reason backs out.

My lawyer is currently trying to find out how long the subdivision is likely to take and see if we can extend our subject to finance clause until then, but it seems unlikely. I am feeling like I’m going to have to back out of the contract, which feels so defeating.

I am looking for advice — is this a normal situation and I’m overreacting? Or am I right to be so cautious? Are there any other levers I can pull to try and make this work out?

Would appreciate any advice

Hi all, just bought a house, got it for considerably less then expected so have a bit of cash to play with. Will put some towards home renovations, I'm wondering which is a better financial decision, putting extra deposit down to reduce repayments or keeping extra in the offset? Or does it matter? Perhaps strike a balance and bring repayments to a level I'm ok with based on current rates and put 6 months worth of living costs into the offset? Cheers

Hey everyone, Just wanted to get some ideas on what I can do in my situation. Any advice is appreciated.

I’m 2 years out of finishing my medical degree and and through various side hustles, I have saved around 200k. I established a business in 2020 and it has been profitable and is expected to grow over the next few years.

For those in property investment, I’m just wondering what you would suggest doing if I’m interested in investing in property. Should I wait until I finish my degree and start full time work? Or should I leverage my business to get into property? How should I go about getting a mortgage without a full time job (despite owning a business)?

So I’ve recently purchased a place on my own as a FHB, no help from parents. It’s been tough, doable but tough, buying an apartment on my own and dealing with the costs, repairs, strata etc.

It seems like ALL of my friends are doing the same now, with the help of their parents. One friend was given 120k, another 100k. They’ve made buying a place on their own seem so easy. Is this normal?

I know I’m just unlucky, I’m proud to have done it all on my own. I have a single mother. But honestly, I feel like shit. How can I not? Any advice?

Accidentally bumped into one of the poles in our shared parking shed this evening, and it’s now damaged. 😣 Trying to figure out who’s responsible for the repair—should I be covering it, or should I reach out to my property manager to handle it with the building strata? Any advice would be much appreciated!

Has anyone else noticed a significant rise in private investors, retail investors, REITs offloading childcare centres?
Is anyone aware of any upcoming government reforms or regulations, particularly affecting South Australia, which would make these childcare centres a poor investment?

Hi Reddit hive mind!!! Keen for some thoughts on first home buying/investment...

Parrtner and I have just over 90k saved for a deposit. First homebuyers but can buy a 550k property in a regional hub. It's the area and home we want to live in, eventually, at least for now (who knows what the future will hold!). We have to stay in Sydney for work so figuring the best thing to do is buy now as an investment and eventually move. Our desposit is currently less than 20%, obviously, so we won't get stamp duty waived (boooo) which is about 20k stamp duty + about 6k LMI.

Wondering who has done this recently and your tips for loan providers?

After a cursory look, Timely looks good to me in terms of interest amount. But as we''re new at this....

In terms of our circumstance:
Combined 205k salary not inc super. I also get a tax free 10k p/a allowance
$1250 pw rent in Sydney
No car, both walk to work $1,200 f/n in savings
We do live it up to an extent - as in, we occassionally eat out/uber eats/enjoy a drink/go to the theatre. We have most streaming subscriptions. etc. So there's fat to trim if we choose
The house we would buy is currently rented out at $940 f/n (slightly below market)

Interested in thoughts about loan providers (and are mortgage brokers are scam?!) and even just perspectives from anyone who has done the same - i.e, bought a regional "forever home" and rented out in the immediate term - plus even ny tips you've got.

Thanks in advance!!

Edit: Added info and fixed typos

what are these overlays?

• DEVELOPMENT CONTRIBUTIONS PLAN OVERLAY (DCPO)

DEVELOPMENT CONTRIBUTIONS PLAN OVERLAY - SCHEDULE 1 (DCPO1)

looking to buy a property and hopefully subdividing in the future, so wanna make sure these won’t be an issue.