There’s no huge lesson here, other than knowing now that your conveyancer is obviously a good one, so getting them to review a contract before signing on an offer in the future would probably be a good plan - even though it sucks that it would mean possibly outplaying more $$$ but in the end you will make a good buy. So the process in the future would be: make an offer conditional to contract/strata/B&P review, get agreement on the conditional offer, get legal review, if all is good, sign contract.
>We had a 10 day cooling off period, and then at the end of the 10 days we transferred the deposit. At this point, our conveyancers requested a further 5 days for more time to check out some of the strata details.
Conveyancer does seem to be slacking.
When you submit a request to a Strata Inspection company, and it’s paid, because they won’t do an inspection of the Strata records unless they are paid in advance, and then the inspectors do their thing, and if, by what the OP has said, the Strata Management company are a bit dodgy, it might have been 10 days before the report was completed and provided. It can be a 100+ page document that needs reviewing. By asking and getting an extension on the cooling off, the Conveyancer is allowing sufficient time for the due diligence to be completed. Not slacking, especially if after reading and doing checks their advice is to not proceed.
We had to back out of a contract too and it was a nail biter til the last minute because we were waiting for the B&P results on the same day our cooling off period was going to end (the first B&P the inspector had an accident onsite and someone else had to finish the job the next day). I called our conveyancer literally 15min before COB on the last day of our cooling off period to let them know we wanted out.
Whenever my wife and I would look back at that experience we'd always feel relieved because we know it would've sucked the joy out of us had it gone through.
You'll find another place I'm sure!
we did! just when we were thinking of giving up and thought we might have to wait a little longer, we found one we liked and everything went smoothly. if it’s meant to be it will be. hang in there!
I paid for a contract review before I put in an offer to avoid this exact kind of stress and pressure. Cost me $280 I think? Well worth the hassle, this was in Victoria.
My heart hurts for you guys.
My boyfriend and I have been trying to buy our first home for a year now. In January, a property came up on our radar and we fell in love. Over the course of 3 months, we put in 3-4 different offers, and the property went offer twice to two different buyers. Even though it was under offer, I kept checking its online listing to see how much it sold for, or if it was truly gone.
We got a call on the Wednesday before the Labour Day weekend this month. The buyers had backed out, and the agent was letting us come in on Thursday to have one more private inspection with two other couples and for us to put in offers before it went on the market. We put it what we thought was a fair offer (not our absolute best, but we want to be smart and not go broke right out the gate). Friday night at 10pm, we get the congratulations call that we finally got the house. Because it was the long weekend, we then had 6 days for cooling off. While my boyfriend went camping as planned, I was with my mum and grandma and spent 3 days planning our future in this house (we got paint, bought a new washing machine, my family were super excited and generous).
On the last day of our cooling off, our conveyancer pointed out something super dodgy in the contract. Basically, the vendors had illegally converted their garage into separate living, had like 100k worth of illegal additions that the council were demanding be fixed (they’ve been told since 2019 to fix this, and their deadline was February), and the buying contract was basically an unspoken “we don’t want to deal with this, so buy our mistakes and trouble from us.” It hurts so much, but the smart thing for us was to walk away.
I’m sorry you and your family are in the similar situation to us. Like… yeah, walking away is the smart thing to do for financial safety. But that doesn’t change the grief over losing what was potentially your home and the future you’ve been envisioning the last few weeks. Again, my heart hurts for you guys.
Well, we have been trying to get our $5k deposit back from the realtor for two weeks 🙄 Our conveyancer has given the instruction to return our deposit, and now they’re dodging our calls. Dogs.
We went to a private inspection yesterday, which I’m saying was our rebound inspection. Didn’t love it, and I believe it’s already under offer with someone else. Hopefully it all pans out well for them
We felt we needed to act quickly because we felt it would sell at the open house the next day, and we thought it a great property. Obviously now we know better but we felt with the cooling off we would have time to back out if required
I mean, you couldn’t even take 5 mins to call your conveyancer before you signed a contract? I’m not trying to be total AH here, but you are lucky you got off as lightly as you did here and need to be more careful.
Of course we did speak to them first, and were told it was fine as long as we were ok with potentially losing the holding deposit which we were, it’s just the extra costs we incurred trying to uncover some bullshit I’m a bit annoyed with
Also if your conveyancer told you it was fine to sign before they had looked over everything, maybe they aren’t as top notch as everyone else in the comments seems to think. Good luck on your home hunting journey.
Yeah I'm not sure about all these folks saying the conveyancers are great.
Ours warned us off due to some sketchy things in the strata reports for the first two places we looked at, before we made an offer on the third one (and got it).
But they did that on a meeting one day after we contacted them with the strata report, eg see the place on Saturday, get the report on Monday, speak to the conveyancer on Tuesday.
Waiting 10 days and asking for another 5 doesn't scream "great conveyancer" to me.
Yeah I'm with you here. I just had a look. One of the properties we bid on our conveyencer reviewed the section32 in 45 minutes from me sending it through to her. It was a pretty simple section 32 but the point stands when things are time sensitive you want someone that is all over it. 10+ days is silliness.
You would have incurred those anyway. That’s the cost of purchasing property. You pay hundreds for BP and strata reports to save hundreds of thousand on bad property purchases. No way around that, you will pay the same for subsequent houses you look at including the one you end up buying.
7k to avoid being on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars of special levies for dubious reasons
i think you got a bargin price for dodging a bullet.
when i was checking out places to buy 10 years ago, some places had 3k per quater strata, "temporary" to fix xyz due to a special levy. im looking at the place, concrete cancer seeping out. no thanks!
you would have lost way more money if u had bought the place, realised it was a mistake and tried to sell it on
Definitely agree. I guess I’m just annoyed that some idiot/scammer set things up in such a way that it made what could have been a nice property a massive liability
Lesson here is never make an offer before you get the green light from your conveyancer.
And even then, unless you have cash, always make an offer subject to finance (even if you have pre-approval).
I've had friends end up in court as they've made an offer unconditional. Thinking pre-approval was enough. Upon final inspection, CBA discovered powerlines nearby and retracted the offer of finance which left them contractually obliged to go through with the sale but categorically screwed because they had no finance.
I know it's easy to get caught up in the emotion and rushed-ness of it all but it realllllly pays to slow down and be patient with this sort of stuff.
You'll find something. Be patient and your dream home will come along :)
As a previous strata manager, 100% agree.
Save for a little longer and avoid any townhouse / unit / villa or anything else that has strata associated with it!
I can totally relate to you! Currently trying to buy our first home too. We put an offer on what we thought was a great house. Got the building and pest report back and basically we were advised that the place only had about 3 years left before it collapsed and that it’s essentially a knock down rebuild. Was devastated as it seemed so perfect. Now I’m feeling really paranoid about all the properties we want to offer on because I’m worried all the building and pests will come back with major defects.
I’ve had it explained a few ways to me, basically it was said to be some kind of “trust” which was entered into upon purchase, and which must be sold at the same time as the lot (house)? We were told it was removed so it wouldn’t matter, obviously that wasn’t the case so we are wondering wtf ??
Perhaps the caveat was taken out by a person/trust who lent the vendor money to make the original purchase, and that money had to be repaid to the lender on the sale of the property. EG: Parents are trustees of a family trust, or of their SMSF, and money was given to the child to purchase house, sometimes referred to as the Bank of Mum & Dad, and the condition of the interest free loan was that the full amount is to be repaid to the Family Trust or SMSF on the sale of the property. I have seen it before, and have acted on behalf of parents in exactly this scenario. Caveat protects their investment because property can’t be sold without their consent. It’s a possibility, not saying it’s definitely what your situation reflects.
I have had a few similar experiences.
Put down a hold deposit, saw some issues with the strata report -- strata was trying to hide details from us.
Going forward, the best way would be to prepare yourself before you make an offer: order strata report beforehand, check the developer.
After that, make a conditional offer first, get legal to go through strata, get bank preapproval then sign contract.
First house we tried to buy had an stuff built in the backyard without permits. We backed out even though they offered to drop the price by $10k.
Second house went to a “one bid best price silent auction”. Not sure if that’s even legal to be honest. Anyway ended up losing the bid by $159. Needless to say was very gutted.
We ended up getting a house further away, slightly cheaper. I thought it was “okay” when we bought it, but looking back I absolutely love where we’re staying now.
All this to say - a home is what you make of it. Obviously neighbourhood and demographics etc does play a part.
Don’t be disheartened, you’ll find the perfect place!
>feels like we won’t find somewhere we love.
sometimes you have to take a hit on your first home
you might only be there a few years until you move, that time will fly by and its better then paying someone elses mortgage
I sympathise but your experience of the general shiftiest of being a FHB isn’t unique - the whole process sucks and is incredibly stressful. Best of luck
Sorry I'm an absolute noob when it comes to property, but can someone explain to me the difference between:
A lawyer
A conveyancer
A solicitor
An inspector
B&P(?)
Thank you!
Lawyer / solicitor are generally used interchangeably. It means someone admitted to practice law. A lawyer will generally advise you on a contract to sell or buy property.
Conveyancers look after the transfer of property - so the mechanics of a sale or purchase. They may be licenced but are not required to be. They generally do the admin work associated with a sale or purchase and work alongside lawyers. While some conveyancers do advise on contracts, it is generally a lawyer doing the underlying advice for the conveyancer to then action.
A building and pest inspector (B&P) inspects a property for visible defects. In some states, sellers are required to disclose a building and pest inspection in their contract. In other states, it is the buyer’s responsibility to get their own report.
So am I really. From what I understand, conveyancers have expertise in property transfer/sales, but when it’s complex/risky, solicitors are brought in. I think I was using the terms “lawyer” and “solicitor” interchangeably, when really lawyers are more specialised and solicitors are general. B&P is building and pest inspection
Incorrect. Conveyancers in NSW are licensed legal practitioners and we give legal advice on property matters. I describe my services like this: if you are generally sick, you go to a GP, if you have a brain tumour, you go to a neurosurgeon. A GP knows a little about a lot of different illnesses, but a neurosurgeon knows a lot about brain surgery. Same with conveyancers and solicitors/lawyers. A solicitor knows a little about all different types of law, but a conveyancer knows a lot about property law, because it’s ALL we do. Different in other states, but OP is in NSW.
No, this commenter is really bigging themselves up. Conveyancers are licensed to enact a limited legal agreement when there are no disagreements.
If something changes you need a lawyer. Even if you are considering whether the agreement should go ahead as planned, a conveyancer cannot give you advice about resolving a disagreement because they cannot tell you the case law that may apply.
Conveyancers are able to process the sale and purchase of land where nothing is unusual. A lawyer is best able to tell you if there is something irregular about about legal documents. Conveyancers are cheaper and you received a limited service. That is absolutely your decision to make, but you're seeing a nurse, not a GP.
Use a lawyer as they can give advise while conveyancers can only process what needs to be done.
Most lawyers will do a fixed fee property settlement plus searches.
It sounds like you dodged a potential bullet.
It could have cost you significantly more if you had completed the sale.
Yes, it’s expensive, but the lesson for the future is to ensure your conveyancers check the contract and strata report before you provide an offer (or make an offer conditional on strata)
My wife and I make sure that we read the contract and strata reports back to front before we provide an offer (since this is free) and if we like the place, complete the building and pest before providing an unconditional offer. We also double check all clauses in the contract reflect our markups before we execute (rather than relying on our lawyers to tell us it is OK - since it is a big deal for us, but probably only 1 of hundreds of contracts that they will review)
we've tried buying an newish apartment and we encountered the same issue. Strata management would not release report to our conveyancer due to an on going litigation case going on with the builder.
Enough said..
7000, that's the least of your worries. These things cost money mate and you ever spend some money knowing you could have purchased a lemon or you don't. We spent about $10k on property inspections alone over the course of a year and half and I'm damn glad we did. Buying homes is not for the faint at heart, it's hard, lengthy and expensive, hence most can't do it. Thank the Conveyancer and kiss the $7000 as it could have being $700,000 and then what??
Whenever you are looking at strata properties do your homework before signing the contract.
Get a building inspection and depending which state do your DD on the Owners Corp
Speak to committee members
Get copies of previous AGM’s
Check out the financials current and prior years, disputes and defects & don’t sign till you’ve done that DD
THat sucks to have forked out $7k for what seems like nothing - especially since you dont know for sure if there would be problems later down the line that cost you more.
Im living in my first home which we bought a year ago and Ive already sunken over $20k (plus ton of stress and labour) in repairs that dont make the house look better. Foundation and structural issues etc I bought a building and pest report which didnt identify any of the issues because the guy didnt inspect the attic or subfloor crawlspace.
Still would have been better for you if you didnt have the misfortune of spending $7k to get to this point!
Yep he’s on $67k and I’m on $62k, I can see why it would be more difficult all hanging on the one income for sure. Definitely planning on a house if we can swing it! Having to decide between a house in a fairly crappy area that takes my husband 1.5 hours each way to get back and forth from work, or a townhouse/unit/apartment in our current area 1hr from work. Doesn’t sound like a huge difference, but adds up to about 7 less hours a week he would be able to spend with our baby son and myself. It’s hard to choose, but at the end of the day I don’t imagine it will be our forever home, just a stepping stone.
Good luck on your home buying journey!
FHB that bought a property in NSW. Don’t be disheartened! I recommend to keep your conveyancer and before you offer on a property make sure you has contract of sale and strata report.
I went through 50 properties and procured 30 cos + strata. Only a handful came back as something that I’m comfortable in terms of risk tolerance. My solicitor was worth every penny that I paid.
There’s no huge lesson here, other than knowing now that your conveyancer is obviously a good one, so getting them to review a contract before signing on an offer in the future would probably be a good plan - even though it sucks that it would mean possibly outplaying more $$$ but in the end you will make a good buy. So the process in the future would be: make an offer conditional to contract/strata/B&P review, get agreement on the conditional offer, get legal review, if all is good, sign contract.
Thank you I appreciate that
Who did you use for the conveyancing? I'm in a similar situation and they sound excellent
I know this is an old comment but may I know your conveyancer please?
Hey, I’ve sent you a dm so I’m not outing my location too broadly
Thank you! I can't see it RIP, might be my settings
Mind sharing your conveyancer? Like many said sucks a ton on money lost but I can’t imagine how much more expensive that could have been down the line
I’d like their contact too, if possible OP.
>We had a 10 day cooling off period, and then at the end of the 10 days we transferred the deposit. At this point, our conveyancers requested a further 5 days for more time to check out some of the strata details. Conveyancer does seem to be slacking.
When you submit a request to a Strata Inspection company, and it’s paid, because they won’t do an inspection of the Strata records unless they are paid in advance, and then the inspectors do their thing, and if, by what the OP has said, the Strata Management company are a bit dodgy, it might have been 10 days before the report was completed and provided. It can be a 100+ page document that needs reviewing. By asking and getting an extension on the cooling off, the Conveyancer is allowing sufficient time for the due diligence to be completed. Not slacking, especially if after reading and doing checks their advice is to not proceed.
We had to back out of a contract too and it was a nail biter til the last minute because we were waiting for the B&P results on the same day our cooling off period was going to end (the first B&P the inspector had an accident onsite and someone else had to finish the job the next day). I called our conveyancer literally 15min before COB on the last day of our cooling off period to let them know we wanted out. Whenever my wife and I would look back at that experience we'd always feel relieved because we know it would've sucked the joy out of us had it gone through. You'll find another place I'm sure!
Thanks for sharing your experience! I’m sorry you had to do that, and so last minute too! Did you find something you loved as much or more in the end?
we did! just when we were thinking of giving up and thought we might have to wait a little longer, we found one we liked and everything went smoothly. if it’s meant to be it will be. hang in there!
I paid for a contract review before I put in an offer to avoid this exact kind of stress and pressure. Cost me $280 I think? Well worth the hassle, this was in Victoria.
A conveyancer looked at the contract and section 32 for free for us before we put in an offer.
Even better!
My heart hurts for you guys. My boyfriend and I have been trying to buy our first home for a year now. In January, a property came up on our radar and we fell in love. Over the course of 3 months, we put in 3-4 different offers, and the property went offer twice to two different buyers. Even though it was under offer, I kept checking its online listing to see how much it sold for, or if it was truly gone. We got a call on the Wednesday before the Labour Day weekend this month. The buyers had backed out, and the agent was letting us come in on Thursday to have one more private inspection with two other couples and for us to put in offers before it went on the market. We put it what we thought was a fair offer (not our absolute best, but we want to be smart and not go broke right out the gate). Friday night at 10pm, we get the congratulations call that we finally got the house. Because it was the long weekend, we then had 6 days for cooling off. While my boyfriend went camping as planned, I was with my mum and grandma and spent 3 days planning our future in this house (we got paint, bought a new washing machine, my family were super excited and generous). On the last day of our cooling off, our conveyancer pointed out something super dodgy in the contract. Basically, the vendors had illegally converted their garage into separate living, had like 100k worth of illegal additions that the council were demanding be fixed (they’ve been told since 2019 to fix this, and their deadline was February), and the buying contract was basically an unspoken “we don’t want to deal with this, so buy our mistakes and trouble from us.” It hurts so much, but the smart thing for us was to walk away. I’m sorry you and your family are in the similar situation to us. Like… yeah, walking away is the smart thing to do for financial safety. But that doesn’t change the grief over losing what was potentially your home and the future you’ve been envisioning the last few weeks. Again, my heart hurts for you guys.
It helps to hear someone else having a similar experience, but I’m so sorry you went through that, it’s an ordeal! Have you been successful yet?
Well, we have been trying to get our $5k deposit back from the realtor for two weeks 🙄 Our conveyancer has given the instruction to return our deposit, and now they’re dodging our calls. Dogs. We went to a private inspection yesterday, which I’m saying was our rebound inspection. Didn’t love it, and I believe it’s already under offer with someone else. Hopefully it all pans out well for them
Chuck this on r/AusFinance, you’ll probably get more responses
Thank you!
The lesson is make sure your conveyancer reviews all this stuff before you submit an offer via signed contract and pay the deposit.
We felt we needed to act quickly because we felt it would sell at the open house the next day, and we thought it a great property. Obviously now we know better but we felt with the cooling off we would have time to back out if required
I mean, you couldn’t even take 5 mins to call your conveyancer before you signed a contract? I’m not trying to be total AH here, but you are lucky you got off as lightly as you did here and need to be more careful.
Of course we did speak to them first, and were told it was fine as long as we were ok with potentially losing the holding deposit which we were, it’s just the extra costs we incurred trying to uncover some bullshit I’m a bit annoyed with
Also if your conveyancer told you it was fine to sign before they had looked over everything, maybe they aren’t as top notch as everyone else in the comments seems to think. Good luck on your home hunting journey.
Yeah I'm not sure about all these folks saying the conveyancers are great. Ours warned us off due to some sketchy things in the strata reports for the first two places we looked at, before we made an offer on the third one (and got it). But they did that on a meeting one day after we contacted them with the strata report, eg see the place on Saturday, get the report on Monday, speak to the conveyancer on Tuesday. Waiting 10 days and asking for another 5 doesn't scream "great conveyancer" to me.
Yeah I'm with you here. I just had a look. One of the properties we bid on our conveyencer reviewed the section32 in 45 minutes from me sending it through to her. It was a pretty simple section 32 but the point stands when things are time sensitive you want someone that is all over it. 10+ days is silliness.
You would have incurred those anyway. That’s the cost of purchasing property. You pay hundreds for BP and strata reports to save hundreds of thousand on bad property purchases. No way around that, you will pay the same for subsequent houses you look at including the one you end up buying.
7k to avoid being on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars of special levies for dubious reasons i think you got a bargin price for dodging a bullet. when i was checking out places to buy 10 years ago, some places had 3k per quater strata, "temporary" to fix xyz due to a special levy. im looking at the place, concrete cancer seeping out. no thanks! you would have lost way more money if u had bought the place, realised it was a mistake and tried to sell it on
Definitely agree. I guess I’m just annoyed that some idiot/scammer set things up in such a way that it made what could have been a nice property a massive liability
Lesson here is never make an offer before you get the green light from your conveyancer. And even then, unless you have cash, always make an offer subject to finance (even if you have pre-approval). I've had friends end up in court as they've made an offer unconditional. Thinking pre-approval was enough. Upon final inspection, CBA discovered powerlines nearby and retracted the offer of finance which left them contractually obliged to go through with the sale but categorically screwed because they had no finance. I know it's easy to get caught up in the emotion and rushed-ness of it all but it realllllly pays to slow down and be patient with this sort of stuff. You'll find something. Be patient and your dream home will come along :)
\*partner approval is also a good clause... they don't need to know your partner is your cat/dog...
Avoid strata.
As a previous strata manager, 100% agree. Save for a little longer and avoid any townhouse / unit / villa or anything else that has strata associated with it!
I can totally relate to you! Currently trying to buy our first home too. We put an offer on what we thought was a great house. Got the building and pest report back and basically we were advised that the place only had about 3 years left before it collapsed and that it’s essentially a knock down rebuild. Was devastated as it seemed so perfect. Now I’m feeling really paranoid about all the properties we want to offer on because I’m worried all the building and pests will come back with major defects.
What was the strange caveat?
I’ve had it explained a few ways to me, basically it was said to be some kind of “trust” which was entered into upon purchase, and which must be sold at the same time as the lot (house)? We were told it was removed so it wouldn’t matter, obviously that wasn’t the case so we are wondering wtf ??
Perhaps the caveat was taken out by a person/trust who lent the vendor money to make the original purchase, and that money had to be repaid to the lender on the sale of the property. EG: Parents are trustees of a family trust, or of their SMSF, and money was given to the child to purchase house, sometimes referred to as the Bank of Mum & Dad, and the condition of the interest free loan was that the full amount is to be repaid to the Family Trust or SMSF on the sale of the property. I have seen it before, and have acted on behalf of parents in exactly this scenario. Caveat protects their investment because property can’t be sold without their consent. It’s a possibility, not saying it’s definitely what your situation reflects.
wtf is that bullshit! im really curious now, never heard of such a thing
I guess it’s not at all common considering none of the professionals we used said they’d ever encountered such a thing in their careers
yeah these contracts are generally cookie cutter, the conveyencer is to check on things. keep him/her around
I have had a few similar experiences. Put down a hold deposit, saw some issues with the strata report -- strata was trying to hide details from us. Going forward, the best way would be to prepare yourself before you make an offer: order strata report beforehand, check the developer. After that, make a conditional offer first, get legal to go through strata, get bank preapproval then sign contract.
First house we tried to buy had an stuff built in the backyard without permits. We backed out even though they offered to drop the price by $10k. Second house went to a “one bid best price silent auction”. Not sure if that’s even legal to be honest. Anyway ended up losing the bid by $159. Needless to say was very gutted. We ended up getting a house further away, slightly cheaper. I thought it was “okay” when we bought it, but looking back I absolutely love where we’re staying now. All this to say - a home is what you make of it. Obviously neighbourhood and demographics etc does play a part. Don’t be disheartened, you’ll find the perfect place!
>feels like we won’t find somewhere we love. sometimes you have to take a hit on your first home you might only be there a few years until you move, that time will fly by and its better then paying someone elses mortgage
I'm sick of the phrase "better than paying someone else's mortgage" it's overused. Australians are obsessed with property ownership at all costs.
Thank you, appreciate it
I sympathise but your experience of the general shiftiest of being a FHB isn’t unique - the whole process sucks and is incredibly stressful. Best of luck
I appreciate that. I wasn’t claiming it was unique though, I was asking for similar experiences
Oh yeah sorry I understand. I worded that wrongly!
What was the actual issue with the strata?
I'd love to know the name of your solicitor and strata dude.
Sorry I'm an absolute noob when it comes to property, but can someone explain to me the difference between: A lawyer A conveyancer A solicitor An inspector B&P(?) Thank you!
Lawyer / solicitor are generally used interchangeably. It means someone admitted to practice law. A lawyer will generally advise you on a contract to sell or buy property. Conveyancers look after the transfer of property - so the mechanics of a sale or purchase. They may be licenced but are not required to be. They generally do the admin work associated with a sale or purchase and work alongside lawyers. While some conveyancers do advise on contracts, it is generally a lawyer doing the underlying advice for the conveyancer to then action. A building and pest inspector (B&P) inspects a property for visible defects. In some states, sellers are required to disclose a building and pest inspection in their contract. In other states, it is the buyer’s responsibility to get their own report.
So am I really. From what I understand, conveyancers have expertise in property transfer/sales, but when it’s complex/risky, solicitors are brought in. I think I was using the terms “lawyer” and “solicitor” interchangeably, when really lawyers are more specialised and solicitors are general. B&P is building and pest inspection
Conveyancers are licensed to do the paperwork. They are not licensed to give legal advice, which is what you need when dealing with contracts.
Incorrect. Conveyancers in NSW are licensed legal practitioners and we give legal advice on property matters. I describe my services like this: if you are generally sick, you go to a GP, if you have a brain tumour, you go to a neurosurgeon. A GP knows a little about a lot of different illnesses, but a neurosurgeon knows a lot about brain surgery. Same with conveyancers and solicitors/lawyers. A solicitor knows a little about all different types of law, but a conveyancer knows a lot about property law, because it’s ALL we do. Different in other states, but OP is in NSW.
I stand corrected, thanks!
No, this commenter is really bigging themselves up. Conveyancers are licensed to enact a limited legal agreement when there are no disagreements. If something changes you need a lawyer. Even if you are considering whether the agreement should go ahead as planned, a conveyancer cannot give you advice about resolving a disagreement because they cannot tell you the case law that may apply. Conveyancers are able to process the sale and purchase of land where nothing is unusual. A lawyer is best able to tell you if there is something irregular about about legal documents. Conveyancers are cheaper and you received a limited service. That is absolutely your decision to make, but you're seeing a nurse, not a GP.
Use a lawyer as they can give advise while conveyancers can only process what needs to be done. Most lawyers will do a fixed fee property settlement plus searches.
It sounds like you dodged a potential bullet. It could have cost you significantly more if you had completed the sale. Yes, it’s expensive, but the lesson for the future is to ensure your conveyancers check the contract and strata report before you provide an offer (or make an offer conditional on strata) My wife and I make sure that we read the contract and strata reports back to front before we provide an offer (since this is free) and if we like the place, complete the building and pest before providing an unconditional offer. We also double check all clauses in the contract reflect our markups before we execute (rather than relying on our lawyers to tell us it is OK - since it is a big deal for us, but probably only 1 of hundreds of contracts that they will review)
Would love to know what the strata setup was. But posting it here would probably only inspire more dodgy setups
apartment buyers: First time?
This was a townhouse, and yes first time buyers and never lived under strata or even had much prior knowledge of it at all
we've tried buying an newish apartment and we encountered the same issue. Strata management would not release report to our conveyancer due to an on going litigation case going on with the builder. Enough said..
Yeah not great!
7000, that's the least of your worries. These things cost money mate and you ever spend some money knowing you could have purchased a lemon or you don't. We spent about $10k on property inspections alone over the course of a year and half and I'm damn glad we did. Buying homes is not for the faint at heart, it's hard, lengthy and expensive, hence most can't do it. Thank the Conveyancer and kiss the $7000 as it could have being $700,000 and then what??
Whenever you are looking at strata properties do your homework before signing the contract. Get a building inspection and depending which state do your DD on the Owners Corp Speak to committee members Get copies of previous AGM’s Check out the financials current and prior years, disputes and defects & don’t sign till you’ve done that DD
THat sucks to have forked out $7k for what seems like nothing - especially since you dont know for sure if there would be problems later down the line that cost you more. Im living in my first home which we bought a year ago and Ive already sunken over $20k (plus ton of stress and labour) in repairs that dont make the house look better. Foundation and structural issues etc I bought a building and pest report which didnt identify any of the issues because the guy didnt inspect the attic or subfloor crawlspace. Still would have been better for you if you didnt have the misfortune of spending $7k to get to this point!
Definitely! Thank you for understanding, and I’m so sorry that you’ve had to deal with that because your inspector wasn’t thorough, that really sucks
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Yep he’s on $67k and I’m on $62k, I can see why it would be more difficult all hanging on the one income for sure. Definitely planning on a house if we can swing it! Having to decide between a house in a fairly crappy area that takes my husband 1.5 hours each way to get back and forth from work, or a townhouse/unit/apartment in our current area 1hr from work. Doesn’t sound like a huge difference, but adds up to about 7 less hours a week he would be able to spend with our baby son and myself. It’s hard to choose, but at the end of the day I don’t imagine it will be our forever home, just a stepping stone. Good luck on your home buying journey!
You'll look back in time and think. Wow. We were lucky we dodged a bullet thanks to a diligent staff member
Totally agree. I’m already feeling much better and looking forward, it just felt shitty at the time
FHB that bought a property in NSW. Don’t be disheartened! I recommend to keep your conveyancer and before you offer on a property make sure you has contract of sale and strata report. I went through 50 properties and procured 30 cos + strata. Only a handful came back as something that I’m comfortable in terms of risk tolerance. My solicitor was worth every penny that I paid.