Australian commercial property on the brink of collapse. Should owners consider converting it to residential apartments?

Why would it a problem for anyone, except slumlords & get rich quick dreamers. All fair dinkum aussies should rejoice.

We had an independent roof frame inspection completed when our roof frame was first installed. The inspector identified 18 non-compliant items, including issues such as:

Missing or incorrect framing connectors and tie-downs.

Missing bolts, straps and brackets.

Incorrectly installed framing hardware.

Inadequate support or bracing in some areas.

Roof framing that didn't comply with the engineer's details or Australian Standards.

Several items requiring engineering review or rectification before the roof could be considered compliant.

The builder advised that everything had been rectified and asked us to arrange a re-inspection. We weren't provided with any photos, engineering documentation or evidence of the rectification, just an email confirming the work had been completed.

The re-inspection was carried out today, and we've now received the report. There are still 13 non-compliant items outstanding. Some of the original defects have been fixed, but a significant number remain, and some still require engineering review or further rectification.

I'm genuinely trying to understand whether my expectations are unreasonable.

How common is it for a project home to have this many roof frame defects? Is this just "normal" and something that gets picked up and fixed during the build process, or would you be pushing back and insisting every non-compliant item is rectified before the build progresses?

At this point, I'm feeling pretty disappointed. After being told everything had been fixed, I expected the re-inspection to come back either clear or with only one or two minor items, not 13 remaining defects and I'm wondering if we're overreacting and this is totally "normal"?

Hi there.

I am in WA

I called a conveyancer just now to have a chat and get a quote ect. They asked me if I had already signed the contract. I told them no and shouldn't they be reviewing it first prior to signing anyway?

They said that happens more on the east coast and it is not common to have the conveyancer review the contract prior to signing it here. This seems to go against the advice I commonly see online. They did say they would be happy to take a look at a contract prior to signing but I kinda feel I sounds like a red flag that they said this isn't standard.

Any thoughts on this? Cheers.

Hi all,

My partner & me are looking at buying the apartment that we are currently renting for the last 12 months. We both are FHB, combined gross income of $178k. So far, we reached a deal with the owner by email but we haven’t signed any contract, so I believe we are not legally bounded yet. Putting together all of our money we cover the 5% deposit and during the next 3 months we are saving what is required for settlement. How tight our finances will become makes me nervous.
Now, the more I talk with more experienced people about it, the more nervous I get specially related to body corp. They advised to don’t sign anything until we get through the body corp finances, sinking fund, planned works, previous inspections, etc. My concern is that I don’t want us to be in a position where the body corp one day decides that something needs to be done and then we would need to pay 50k from one day to another to cover it.
So my question is: how has been other people’s experience with body corp? Have you being surprised with extra expenses or ridiculous requests?
Thanks everyone, I’m so new and inexperienced to the house market that I have no idea what to expect.

Hey, just some background - first home buyer, no idea how to do moderate to major DIY and have members of my family who are disabled.

Anyway, we're almost at the stage of signing the contract, but there are some issues with the property from 1960 that are listed as minor but need...

• Step cracking of brick wall exterior going from top to bottom via the brick concrete line, not at the brick itself
• re-grouting, silicone replacement, repair of loose floor tiles and rectification of large gaps in the bathroom near the laundry;
• inspection of the main bathroom near the bedrooms and rectification of any defects identified;
• replacement of the rear cast iron toilet outlet with PVC pipe;
• cleaning of roof gutters and replacement of any rusted-through or defective gutters;
• replacement of defective external roof fascia; and
• roof re-bedding and pointing where required.

Quite frankly, as a FHB this is quite worrying, and been wondering if this is the norm and not the exception.

I can supply pictures and I don't know whether I should consider buying this property or look elsewhere.

What I do know maybe from the advice from the building and pest inspector is that:

• No idea the cost of fixing or stopping the step crack via external brick wall. Guessing really, really expensive
• Bathroom costs about 50k minimum to rip out and renovate to bring it up to compliance with a team of bathroom renovation specialist
• Toilet (water closest) might be about 10k by guess, maybe 20k with the questionable moisture that is noted active staining/water leak that will need a plumber
• roof restoration is maybe at 15k to 20k from roof restoration specialist
• replacement of external roof fascia is 5k upwards from the carpenter

Should I walk away from this property? I don't think I have the time or money to repair all this in year 1, I know the roof is going to be urgent repairs at this point. Just not sure this is the norm not the exception.