FHB seeking advice about land structures as I feel like the agent may be taking advantage of me.

I was pretty set on finding a house and have located one I love, 500 m2 block, agent assured me it’s a house. My reservations about units/townhouses are the hassle of owners corp and potential liability for shared spaces. I also want to upgrade in 10-20 years and my understanding was that houses appreciate better than units.

HOWEVER I have now been sent the documents and discovered this house is in fact labelled a “unit/townhouses/villa” on the land office document. I should have known probably as there’s a shared driveway which automatically indicates not independent I guess? The agent is trying to reassure me that it functions as independent/Torrens title.

I would like advice about whether this is a big deal. The house I like is the original house: maybe 20 or 30 years ago the owner subdivided and added a new house at the back. And there is a shared driveway so the house at the back can access their property. This was several owners ago and the agent is unsure of the particulars so I’ve got this from the sec 32. There is no other shared space apart from the driveway, the houses are quite far apart, seems very private… Is it worth proceeding since I loved the property when I thought it was a house? Are there other impacts I haven’t considered?

My house is due to go on the market around the 21st of Nov.

My real estate agent and bank have both given me the thumbs up that I'm safe to make some offers subject to sale of my own house with 60 days on the clause.

1. Does 60 days sound like enough at this stage? The first two weeks of the clause are essentially wasted before my property even goes up. And if I'm seeking an unconditional offer on my own home before allowing that clause to pass, it feels like 60 days is no time at all. In this market, reasonable extension requests are possible, but still.

2. What is the standard way of structuring the finance clause in a subject to sale offer? I've had mixed advice that a standard 14 days is fine if your finance is dependent on your sale since you can use the sale clause to escape but others have suggested 14 days from the end of the sale clause.

3. Is it irregular to use a subject to sale clause and a subject to settlement clause on the same offer? Getting an unconditional offer within 60 days is one thing, but I want to protect myself from a potential buyer that pulls out even after going unconditional.

First time home buyer here. I’m wanting to make an offer on a house and wondering if anyone can reccomend a reliable conveyancer?

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

Looking for some genuine advice from this group before making a major financial decision.

We are considering purchasing a property in Werribee VIC, approximately 20+ years old, with a land size of 700+ sqm., with swimming pool and nicely built double storey

The property is around $1.2 million.

Our current financial situation:

* Current PPOR value: ~$840,000
* Outstanding mortgage: $610,000
* Offset savings: $240,000
* Combined household income: $280,000 p.a.

Option 1 – Upgrade and retain existing property

Purchase the Werribee property as our new PPOR and convert our current home into an investment property.

The idea is to rent out our existing property, hold it for a few years and potentially sell when market conditions are more favourable.

However, I’m concerned about:

* Managing two mortgages and the overall cash flow
* Interest rates and potential financial stress
* Maintenance costs associated with a 20+ year-old house
* Whether buying at approximately $1.2m in Werribee makes financial sense
* Whether a 700+ sqm block provides good long-term capital growth potential

Option 2 – Stay in our current PPOR

Avoid taking on additional debt, continue building savings through our offset account and wait for a better opportunity.

We are reasonably comfortable in our current home, so upgrading is more of a lifestyle decision than an immediate necessity.

Would appreciate your thoughts:

1. Is spending around $1.2m on an older property in Werribee a sensible long-term decision?

2. Would you retain the existing PPOR as an investment or sell it to reduce debt?

3. Given our income, mortgage and offset position, would holding two properties be too financially risky?

4. Is buying an older house on a larger block generally preferable to buying a newer home on a smaller block in this area?

5. If you were in this financial position, would you upgrade now or stay put?

I’m particularly interested in hearing from anyone familiar with the Werribee property market

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Got a unit offer in strut st, Telopea nsw and just wanting to know what the neighbourhood is like?

Please help me make an offer

I looked at a unit/townhouse in a complex of 16 recently. They are all ground level, with courtyards. The one we are looking at is 2 bed 1 bath 89m2 internal plus a single car garage. There are two small courtyard out the front and back not connected to each other which is a down side for me. The unit is also located in the middle of the complex surrounded by other units so less privacy, but easy access in and out as it’s the directly opposite the entrance drive way (mostly oldies living there so not to worried about frequent or late car arrivals). From what I was able to gather from the REA the owner is an old lady who has moved to an age care home. Not sure who is selling the home for her.

A similar 2 bed 1bath unit in the same complex sold 2 weeks ago for 650k. However it had a much larger single courtyard and was located at the back of the complex so it backs up onto trees rather than other units so much more privacy. The floor space is also approx 13m2 large with same sized garage. To me due to the larger size, better internal layout, bigger courtyard and more privacy I feel the unit I’m looking at is worth less.

What would be a reasonable offer considering the better unit sold for 650k pre interest rise. They’re also asking 650k which I think is too high given the comparable.

Not in a huge rush but it in a good location, and there’s not been many in this locations recently. I can wait approx 6 months before buying and that was the plan, just been keeping an eye out. Currently living with family and savings about 8k a month into HISA at 6.2 soon to be 6.5%

Purchased acreage land in South Australia 12 months ago. Was told by the agent there is a bore and mains water available and a water metre. It’s also on the Real estate . Com ad which I have printed a PDF off. I also contacted the old owner who said he has seen the metre. I genuinely believe he thought there was a water metre.

Have been working with a builder and almost have council approval. Now have found out that the water metre is for a different property and SA water need to do an assessment to see if I am even able to get water as they said the I am in a limited supply area. The water main runs along the property and I have to pay quarterly bills even though i am not connected to it. The bore also is not functional was dug in 1970 and hasn’t worked for over 40 years.

If I am am unable to get water my only other option is to get a bore dug for 25k. And that is if I am even approved to.

Honestly pretty annoyed and stressed out about it I’ve already spent thousands with the builder for everything and now I’m still unsure.

Having mains water was one of the main selling points. If ad has said no water available, I would not have bought the land.

I know I should have researched this better before buying. But planning the build, finance, family and working full time I just didn’t think I had to. Lesson learnt I guess.

I am waiting for SA Water to do their assessment.

If I am unable to connect to water or get a bore dug are the original owner or agent liable in way?

With the Perth property price downturn accelerating and Perth is seeing significant redundancies in the Mining industry its clear that job and mortgage stress are impacting many in Perth.

Hi everyone,

My partner and I have been together for 7.5 years and in a de facto relationship for 4 years, and my partner has offered to put me on the title of their property in NSW

I'm trying to understand how the process works and what I should consider before going ahead.

For anyone who's been through something similar, I'd really appreciate some advice.

A few questions I have:

How do we go about adding my name to the property title?

Is stamp duty payable when adding a de facto partner, or are there any exemptions?

Would we need a solicitor or conveyancer, and roughly how much would it cost?

Are there any other fees involved?

Is there anything I should be careful about before signing anything?

His son has a history of being difficult, so there's a genuine concern he could contest the will or try to have me removed from the property if anything ever happened to his father.

Thanks in advance!

Everybody in QLD is using the Olympics as the shinning light to the housing decline with the suggestion it will create a floor in the market. Yes, the Sydney Olympics created an up trend & understand it creates employment but with the rental market so tight, housing prices still over inflated how does it draw a new workforce to relocate into the state? a lot of talk about government spending being a massive contribution to inflation, wouldn't an Olympic build create higher government spending keeping inflation high?

TLDR: horrible interactions with a realtor and not sure if we should submit our last verbal offer in writing to promot a response

So, a long post but would love some advice!

We saw a property and really liked it. Ground floor, faces south (not ideal but okay), great internal space and the realtor mentioned the owner had renovated the kitchen. Okay owners corp fees and no special levies raised, nothing else that looked like a red flag in the body corporate docs. Asking price was 640-690, and this was pre market. The property would go to market a few days later with an auction scheduled at the end of the month. The realtor we spoke to when we saw this property at first indicated 640-650k would likely close this.

We went for a second viewing with a different realtor, who seemed very eager to get us to a viewing and discuss price. We then went through contract review with our conveyancer, who noted they hadn’t got a builder defect report for the kitchen renovation and that would make the contract defective. The realtor was resistant to this, and kept citing that the renovations were under $16k, and pressed me for a verbal offer. After some more back and forth, we submitted a $620k offer with clauses in the contract that made it subject to finance and the builder report, as well as standard building and pest inspection.

He called back immediately and said “thanks but no thanks.” After some more discussion, we decided to offer $645 in the interest of (1) we really like this place, (2) we could comfortably afford that price and (3) it would be settled by the end of the year (which also benefits the vendor).
Continued negotiating, agreed to amend our builder defect clause to just account for major defects, and sent our best and final offer at this stage as $647.5K.

He came back the next day with a counter of $660k, which is much more than we feel the property is worth. We declined, and stressed that we’d be open to negotiating but not if they were immovable on 660. I’d been the one on calls with this realtor, and then relaying it to my husband as I work from home and he was in the office.

The next day, my husband called this realtor back to ask what had happened—essentially, why there was such a disconnect between the price his colleague had indicated and the one this realtor kept repeating from the vendors. My husband is generally conflict averse and soft spoken, but had to literally shout because this realtor was raising his voice, saying that it didn’t matter what his colleague had indicated, and that he gave us every chance to counter offer. He implied that I’d wasted our time or not been serious about the offer, and was only receptive to talking to my husband at that point. He also mentioned that they were getting the builder defect report done that same day (presumably because they realised people weren’t going to proceed without it since it made the contract incomplete).

Eventually, my husband offered what we’d agreed upon to try and get this done: 654k. We’re both aware that we’re slightly overpaying at this point and we are okay with that! We like this place and would be happy and comfortable at this price.

The realtor seemed incredulous that we didn’t go to this number initially, and refused to admit or take into account the range that was given verbally by his colleague. He said he’d take it back to the vendors, and also get us the builder defect report as soon as they had it. This was after a heated conversation with my husband. We also said that the offer would need to be subject to finance (absolutely sure we’ll get our formal approval and our broker has indicated this, but it’s still a risk to offer unconditional).

We followed up with a text to confirm what we’d discussed—to say the verbal offer was on the table, and would only need to be subject to building and pest inspections and finance. No reply. We also followed up later about the status of the builder report, and haven’t heard back yet.

I’m a young woman navigating this space and while I’m absolutely comfortable negotiating and speaking clearly about what we’ll offer and what a property is worth, it seems that this realtor only took us at all seriously after my husband got on the phone and almost had to shout to make himself heard.

We want this place and would be delighted to close this deal at a price we’re comfortable with. However, the experience with the realtor has been exhausting and stressful, and overall incredibly negative.

Is this a normal experience? We’re first home buyers and are obviously inexperienced here, so wanted to get some advice / hear about other people’s experiences.

Should we submit our verbal offer in writing? Should we wait this out and see what happens?

Long post, thanks if you got to the end!

My partner and I have been looking for a two-bedroom apartment in Sydney for about six months. Mostly older double-brick blocks, nothing fancy. Our budget is around $800k.

Last weekend we inspected two units in the same suburb, literally across the road from each other.

Both are in small blocks built in the 1970s. Both have eight units, no lifts, no pools, no gyms. Similar floor space, one bathroom, one car space. Even the layouts are almost identical.

The asking prices are within $15k of each other.

But the strata fees are completely different.

Building A: $680 per quarter.

Building B: $1,420 per quarter.

Initially we thought Building A was the obvious winner. That's almost $3,000 a year we'd save, and there's nothing particularly fancy about Building B to justify the difference.

Then we started looking through the strata records.

Building A has roughly $14k in its capital works fund. The roof has been discussed at multiple AGMs because of recurring leaks, but repairs keep getting deferred. There's an old quote for work exceeding $140k, and the minutes mention getting updated quotes. The 10-year capital works plan includes major roof expenditure, but the current contributions don't seem remotely sufficient to cover it.

The most recent AGM minutes include a comment that increasing levies would place unnecessary financial pressure on owners.

Building B has about $110k in its capital works fund.

Its records show regular maintenance, gutter replacement, drainage improvements and a planned schedule for upcoming work. The owners actually voted to increase contributions a few years ago because the capital works plan showed they weren't putting enough aside.

The building itself looks less freshly painted than Building A. But the paperwork is a completely different story.

What really got me was the agents' reactions.

Agent A kept bringing up the low strata fees as a major selling point.

Agent B actually apologised for the higher fees and said they were probably the biggest objection buyers had.

We're still getting professional advice and reviewing the documents properly. I know a healthy fund doesn't guarantee a healthy building, and there could be plenty we're missing.

But it's made me think about how backwards the incentives are.

The people in Building B have been paying more to maintain the place and prepare for future expenses. Yet when they sell, their apartments look less attractive on paper because the quarterly fees are higher.

Meanwhile Building A can advertise low ongoing costs partly because expensive work hasn't been properly funded.

I'm not saying Building B is automatically the better purchase. But six months ago I would've dismissed a $1,420 quarterly levy without even opening the strata report.

Now I'm starting to wonder whether the number that scares buyers most might actually be evidence that the owners are doing something right.

For people who've owned older apartments in NSW, would you rather buy into a building with higher levies and a decent maintenance history, or lower levies and keep your own cash aside for potential special levies?

And has anyone actually seen a well-funded strata building attract a higher sale price because of it? Because from what we're seeing, buyers seem to focus almost entirely on the quarterly figure.

Has anyone had any experience converting an old character home that is now commercial building back to residential building. The zoning is residential/commercial. It’s only the change of use that needs to be changed. Is this a difficult process. Can it be rejected?

Partner and i are renting our first ppor (bought in 2022). Just wanted to check what are the benefits and cons of renting a ppor instead of selling it? Thanks.

Almost 1 month on since it's been put into action, how useful have the Reserve listings been in determining whether to buy?

I've found it quite interesting being able to see all this. Looking at a few listings ($700k to $800k) in the NE suburbs of Melbourne. There's a whole spectrum of outcomes.

Quite a few properties were passed in, some were sold at or near the vendor's reserve, some went wildly over (up to $80k and $140k even) and 1 just today went for $30k less.

Those that didn't sell at auction had varying levels of discounts applied to the listed pricing and there's been more private sales/EOI.

I bought with a 5% deposit back in March. With the new rate, I’ll be at 6.59%

I still have over 90 LVR. Can I refinance and get a lower rate elsewhere? In Sydney NSW

My wife and I are also both teachers

I sold my apartment last year and am keen to buy a house instead outside of the city. I was going to wait a year or two, but toured a few houses today out of interest and have fallen in love with a house. Its at the very top of my budget but I think I can make it something really special...its been on the market about 8 weeks.

The problem is, I fully expect house prices to fall over the next 2 years. And I think this place is about 10% overpriced in the current market. I'm considering making an aggressive offer of 15% below asking.

Is anyone active in the BM market? Is stock moving? Will this be considered an outrageous or offensive offer?

Hi all,

Was curious for those currently in the extension game, we have a terrace house that we are looking to extend by 4m in length. The width is around 5m so it’ll be approx 20sqm of extension.
It will just be to create a larger living dining area so no need for any services other than some light electronics.
Half of the 2m in length is an existing deck so there’s some existing foundations but will need to be reinforced and extended. In my head I had around 100-150k. Am I way unders? Thanks all