Guest Guest26110 Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 (edited) dreadfully maintained well thats been my opinion of the 18 houses we've viewed so far up here in SE Queensland. The most disappointing thing here in Oz so far for us has to be the housing! Why oh why are they so crap? Its like very few people here have any pride in there homes. One thing we've ratherl worryingly laughed at is the lack of any washbasins in the toilets yuk! The rental we are in has had three water pipes burst thats more than I've ever had in the UK! Sorry to rant but I'm really fed up looking poorly built houses. We've looked at some of the older Queenslander homes I know they are old but clearly the term renovate hasn't filtered down under yet, some of the kitchens etc date back to 1950 lol I have noted that they have the biggest plasma screen tv you can find lol regardless of the state of the house Edited November 4, 2014 by Guest26110 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Have you thought of building? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddball Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 I guess it depends where you come from and where you're going. I moved from Perth to the UK (having never visited the UK before) and I've found the standard of housing in England to be much lower than I was used to for a comparable price in Perth. All a matter of perspective I suppose, not that it helps your situation much! I wish you better luck in hour house-hunt... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest26110 Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Have you thought of building? I have.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freckleface Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 The old saying you get what you pay for springs to mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 I guess your budget must be low or it is the area you are looking in. I know if I looked at houses in the M suburbs of Cairns I probably wouldn't let a dog sleep in half of them. In other suburbs I could quite happily live in their gardens they are maintained so well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flybyknight Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 the standards appear to be optional. as such if someone is building a house with the intention of renting it out, it will be a hardened tent. the problem is most builders will build even the most expensive houses to only a slightly better standard, as it's the way we have always done it. i would recommend you look into the passive house standard, it costs more to build but critically it's tested once its built. it cannot be signed off at the planning stage like the standard 6* build. http://passivehouseaustralia.org/what-is-passive-house/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest26110 Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 the standards appear to be optional. as such if someone is building a house with the intention of renting it out, it will be a hardened tent. the problem is most builders will build even the most expensive houses to only a slightly better standard, as it's the way we have always done it. i would recommend you look into the passive house standard, it costs more to build but critically it's tested once its built. it cannot be signed off at the planning stage like the standard 6* build. http://passivehouseaustralia.org/what-is-passive-house/ Thanks I'll look into it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest26110 Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 I guess your budget must be low or it is the area you are looking in. I know if I looked at houses in the M suburbs of Cairns I probably wouldn't let a dog sleep in half of them. In other suburbs I could quite happily live in their gardens they are maintained so well. Hi Pom Queen, nope my budget is the average for Hervey Bay/Maryborough Fraser region and we're looking in all areas the so called good and bad suburbs. Compared to what I'm used to the build and general up keep is very poor. The same goes for the NSW central coast also, the homes there are very sad indeed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifi69 Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 When we arrived in Perth we rented in quite an affluent area. when it came to buying, we knew we couldn't afford or were willing to pay thoses prices just to stay there. it felt like we house hunted forever...but after 3 months, we moved 40mins away from where we were. And we love it. we first went down the building route, but in the end we could get more for our money buying established . we had to trawl through a lot of IMO badly designed houses..... The house we bought suits our needs, just needs brining up to scratch, I like modern up to date houses. so we comprised .....sat out now as i am, love my little house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest26110 Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Badly designed Fifi tell me about it lol one house we looked at recently had the front door open into a bedroom, I couldn't believe it. You had to enter the house from a side entrance, unless of course you didn't mind going through the bedroom lol quite what visitors would do I have no idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Hi Pom Queen, nope my budget is the average for Hervey Bay/Maryborough Fraser region and we're looking in all areas the so called good and bad suburbs. Compared to what I'm used to the build and general up keep is very poor. The same goes for the NSW central coast also, the homes there are very sad indeed I've lived in Victoria and Queensland and viewed houses in Darwin. Whilst I can say there are some really crap houses out there I would say they are in the minority. You mentioned the sink being in the same room as the toilet, isn't that the norm everywhere, our ensuite has the basins in the same room. Although I admit the main bathrooms have always had a separate toilet, I have never really thought about it as that's what all the properties in the UK were like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Badly designed Fifi tell me about it lol one house we looked at recently had the front door open into a bedroom, I couldn't believe it. You had to enter the house from a side entrance, unless of course you didn't mind going through the bedroom lol quite what visitors would do I have no idea Forgot to ask are you looking at buying or renting? What budget? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifi69 Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 I've lived in Victoria and Queensland and viewed houses in Darwin. Whilst I can say there are some really crap houses out there I would say they are in the minority.You mentioned the sink being in the same room as the toilet, isn't that the norm everywhere, our ensuite has the basins in the same room. Although I admit the main bathrooms have always had a separate toilet, I have never really thought about it as that's what all the properties in the UK were like. Nooooo....for the many reasons I bought the house I did....both our wings of the house have separate toilet/ sink areas.. We technically have two en suites to the main bedroom, one is shower and sink..ie mine OH gets a separate room of toilet and sink. then in the west wing is three sperate rooms. One bath and shower, one toilet, and another with sink and basin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest26110 Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 I've lived in Victoria and Queensland and viewed houses in Darwin. Whilst I can say there are some really crap houses out there I would say they are in the minority.You mentioned the sink being in the same room as the toilet, isn't that the norm everywhere, our ensuite has the basins in the same room. Although I admit the main bathrooms have always had a separate toilet, I have never really thought about it as that's what all the properties in the UK were like. The houses we've looked at have NO sink in the toilet, only 1 out of 18 has. We're looking at buying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith and Linda Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 dreadfully maintained well thats been my opinion of the 18 houses we've viewed so far up here in SE Queensland. The most disappointing thing here in Oz so far for us has to be the housing! Why oh why are they so crap? Its like very few people here have any pride in there homes. One thing we've ratherl worryingly laughed at is the lack of any washbasins in the toilets yuk! The rental we are in has had three water pipes burst thats more than I've ever had in the UK! Sorry to rant but I'm really fed up looking poorly built houses. We've looked at some of the older Queenslander homes I know they are old but clearly the term renovate hasn't filtered down under yet, some of the kitchens etc date back to 1950 lol I have noted that they have the biggest plasma screen tv you can find lol regardless of the state of the house Welcome to Australia, and 'she'll be right' the older properties are just that and were built to suit the economic climate at the time. Even the more modern ones can be poorly built but look good ( for a short time) and many are built just for the investment/rental market. That is why I was an owner builder for our house, our design too, we even have a solid concrete 1st floor( no squeaky floor boards). We have it on the market at present and trying to get people to appreciate all the differences is very hard going it comes down to the look and price. Linda was at a function yesterday talking to an Aussie lady about it and she had real trouble trying to get the lady to understand any differences, well a house is a house was the final conclusion by her was what does it matter if its wood or concrete, 4mm glass or 7mm laminated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 It's personal choice with houses how we use them though surely. I'm sure the house that had a front door open on to a bedroom, that room wasn't designed as a bedroom it was a lounge or an office originally. As for loos not having sinks, put one in yourself if your bothered. We built from a bog standard design but made a few changes to suit our needs. But someone else might view those changes as unnecessary . We are very happy here but others may hate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 The houses we've looked at have NO sink in the toilet, only 1 out of 18 has. It's standard in Australian houses for the toilet to be next to the bathroom and you walk into the bathroom to wash your hands. The only houses I've ever seen with a separate basin in the toilet were upmarket types with a "powder room" - a euphemism for a separate toilet room for guests. Re standard of houses: rentals are a money making investment. Most landlords will do as little as possible in order to maximise their profit. It's owner occupiers who will renovate their property to a higher standard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausborn Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Welcome to Australia. If only everyone new the joys of building residential housing in today's industry. I'm getting a house built at the moment . Every time I do an inspection , the trades are sent back in to do their job properly. Last week the electrician wired the house. Two days later I had him back to do his job properly. He just ran all the wires across everywhere without clipping any of his wires off and running them in the right place. My loft area just had exposed wires everywhere to trip over. I'm in the building trade , project builders are a joke. Supervisors don't supervise anything. What I see going on the the industry shocks me most days. Rentals and investment properties are getting knocked up and completed in 8-10 weeks . It's all about the money, quality went out the window years ago. I was always taught I do quality work and I'll always have plenty work getting paid well and build a good name for myself. Shame majority of the industry don't think the same. We need new regulations in place in my opinion as it's getting worse. It's not just here but, I witnessed the same in the uk in my trade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diane Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 On the subject of bathrooms - what is it with those that have no door on the sink area? We have a separate toilet, separate bath and shower, and separate sink area in our house - seems pretty standard design - but when we moved in there was no door between the general kitchen dining area and the sink area! Weird! We've put a door in now: who wants everyone to see you while you're washing your face/cleaning your teeth?? Mind you, ours was open plan with a sunken lounge when we bought it (supposedly both selling features!) but now it's NOT open plan (I want to shut the door on the rumpus room when the kids are in there, or when they are not and it's a mess! and you don't have any walls to put furniture against in open plan), and not sunken any more (because otherwise doors didn't work) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 (edited) We have a toilet and a separate bathroom in the next room where the sink is. what is so terrible about that ? Perhaps I'm opposite to you. I don't like seeing a toilet in the main bathroom where the shower and bath are. I don't really like those miniscule sinks that some old houses have in the toilet either. Having said all that I do have an ensuite of my bedroom with shower toilet and sink. But I don't like that setup in the main bathroom. Edited November 5, 2014 by parleycross Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucharmily Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 We a have a toilet and a separate bathroom in the next room where the sink is.what is so terrible about that ? Nothing really. Just personal choice I guess. Some people prefer to wash their hands immediately but that said, it's no different to public toilets where the sink is outside. How did the thread get down to these kind of specifics?!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Perhaps because you made an issue of it ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucharmily Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Perhaps because you made an issue of it ? Nope, just commenting on what has already come up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucharmily Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 While pondering this issue, have just realized we have a separate toilet with the sink in the main bathroom next door while the ensuite has everything in the same room. I had hardly even noticed the difference, so for us, it's not an issue at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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