How to avoid a lemon as housing horror stories pile up
Viral video of a terribly built Sydney apartment sparked a flood of awful homebuyer stories. Here’s how to avoid falling victim.
A disgruntled tradie who pointed out the shocking state of newly built apartments in Sydney has sparked a pile on of buyers and renters sharing their new build horror stories.
Fed-up tiler and TikToker @monkey8u on Wednesday morning exposed shoddy workmanship in a new Sydney apartment complex, something which he and other industry insiders agreed was prevalent.
Some social media users duped by off-plan apartment purchases and other dodgy home builds wasted no time making their feelings known.
“It’s been five years since we moved into our duplex, free standing tub has rotted underneath, no grout/silicone, carpets 1cm away from the wall,” one wrote.
“ … carpets not tucked under baseboards, dust and debris fall from behind the walls into the gaps and cockroaches come. kitchen sink can’t fit a pot to wash.”
“This looks like my place,” another responded.
“I live in a brand new build, I took off a 3M hook and it ripped a hole in the gyprock, the walls are like paper – it’s a joke.”
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Some said they had received the advice to steer well clear of new homes.
“My mortgage broker told me not to buy anything built after the ’90s, and now I know why,” one commenter said.
“This is why I’ve bought a 153-year-old home in the Hunter Valley – might need new joists and lime plaster but is solid AF,” another wrote.
Stand alone homes also at the mercy of shonky builds
It’s not just large-scale city apartments that appear to be falling victim to shoddy workmanship.
Viral building inspector Zeher Khalil from Site Inspections posts videos to social media almost daily of dodgy builds in Melbourne.
Many of those are stand-alone suburban homes.
His latest was a house in Donnybrook on the northern fringes of Melbourne.
According to the inspector, the home which was supposed to be ready on January remains incomplete and is littered with defects.
So how do you avoid a lemon?
CEO of The Property Frontline Debra Beck-Mewing has compiled some handy tips for those looking to purchase apartments in the wake of Sydney’s Mascot Towers incident whish saw a Sydney apartment block evacuated over structural concerns in 2019. It has stood empty ever since and buyers lost millions.
Strata reports
The first piece of critical advice Ms Beck-Mewing gives is to obtain a strata report and go through it with a fine-tooth comb.
“If you’re too busy to read the information, ask your lawyer to summarise the key points,” she said.
Strata reports are documents which overview of how the strata scheme is managed, its history of issues and how they were addressed, insurance cover and the capital works fund (sinking fund).
“Ideally, the strata report should be obtained prior to entering into a contract for purchase,” Ms Beck-Mewing said.
“However, the cost – usually around $600 – means that most buyers will conduct the report during the due diligence period of the purchase.”
Building and pest inspection
Ms Beck-Mewing said that although a crucial step, a strata report alone won’t save you from buying a lemon.
It’s recommended buyers also commission a building and pest inspection.
“Relying on the strata report is not too bad an approach but for optimum care, an independent building and pest inspection should be conducted,” she said.
“It’s also fine to use the reports supplied by vendors as long as you validate the provider of the report.”
Checking yourself?
If you do opt to check out a new apartment yourself, here’s what The Property Frontline recommends you look for.
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