LadyCroft Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 We are having a problem. We have been looking for a house to buy in our budget and have had such a hard time as most have ended up selling for just over our max so we have missed out. We are now (typically) in the unlikely situation where we have 2 houses we can make an offer on so must choose now. House 1 - hearts ruling heads a bit here but it is smaller than House 2. Detached single storey house has 3 bedrooms, 1 lounge area, kitchen/dining room, en suite to master bed, bathroom, laundry, double garage and small but useable half decked/half grass garden. Other houses far enough away that you can't shake hands through the windows. House 2 - Townhouse(unit/townhouse??) next door to a single storey unit attached to the left side, double garage attaches to next townhouse along. Body corporate, shared driveway to around 10 other houses but each has own garage. 3 beds, upstairs bathroom, 2 living areas downstairs, kitchen, downstairs WC, laundry, pantry, small back garden with half concrete half grass but slightly bigger area than House 1. Any advice on what might be best and why? I don't really like having body corporate and shared driveway but the house is much bigger than any detached house we have looked at so far (established house rather than new build). Just wanting any opinions or advice on whether a slightly bigger townhouse with body corporate is better or not as desireable as smaller detached house. We are trying to think of it as somewhere for our little family to live rather than a potential investment that we might sell in 5 years... If it was for potential it would def be House 1 but House 2 is more practical. Oh, both in the same area just House 1 one closer to the central area, House 2 is 5 minutes down the road from House 1. Thanks so much for any advice on this one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bungo Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 House 1 sounds preferable to me. No messing around with body corporates and strata. Also prefer to be detached. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Personally I would go for house 1 as you don't know who your neighbours would be in house 2. If they rent it off it could be nightmares for you. Also check re insurance, I know a lady up here bought a unit and she struggled getting insurance on it (buildings) because it was shared. I can't remember all the ins and outs though sorry. Also check how much the bodycorp is, in Cairns you can buy a unit for $120,000 but the bodycorp can be $15,000 a year. I don't think it will be as bad down there but check. At least with house 1 you will have more privacy, it may be smaller but is it small compared to what you have had in the past? TBH why not carry on looking and don't rush in to things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyCroft Posted August 22, 2015 Author Share Posted August 22, 2015 Thanks for the replies. That's the problem - we have been watching the house prices in the areas we wanted to live go up and up over the past year and now they are out of our budget where last year we could have afforded one but didn't know if we wanted to move there or break a lease. Didn;t realise how fast prices would rise. You are right re the body corporate thing. Never had to deal with anything like that before so don't really know the ins and outs. The fees are around $2000 a year. Will find out who the company is and look into things. It is hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyCroft Posted August 22, 2015 Author Share Posted August 22, 2015 What is "Strata"? Can you not get building insurance on a townhouse? What do you have to do to get building and contents. Good job I asked for help on here! I had no idea. Obviously we would go over all this with the solicitor before signing a contract but I had no idea about the issues with townhouses... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxboz Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Townhouses are on a strata title (simply put - meaning more than one property on a single title) and have a body corporate (can be made up of owners or a professional company). The body Corporate look after maintenance issues etc. on the common property. There are body corporate charges paid quarterly to cover the charge for any maintenance or repairs that might arise. The body corporate fees have nothing to do with insurance or council rates which are paid separately. I would go for the house mainly not to pay the body corporate fees or have neighbour issues and it is five minutes closer to the centre. Shouldn't be any different getting insurance on a townhouse or an individual house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Thanks for the replies. That's the problem - we have been watching the house prices in the areas we wanted to live go up and up over the past year and now they are out of our budget where last year we could have afforded one but didn't know if we wanted to move there or break a lease. Didn;t realise how fast prices would rise. You are right re the body corporate thing. Never had to deal with anything like that before so don't really know the ins and outs. The fees are around $2000 a year. Will find out who the company is and look into things. It is hard. I think you're worrying too much about the body corporate thing. The fees may sound like a lot,but it's probably less than you'll spend on the upkeep of a house. Remember, the body corporate fees cover your home insurance (though not contents), upkeep of the gardens, gutters and roof, garage, pest control, replacing/repairing windows - all the household maintenance you'd normally have to do and pay for yourself. What you should worry about is how well the complex is run - you can get some idea by looking at their body corporate minutes. As for choosing which house - is there any scope to extend the detached house later when you've saved a bit more money? If so, then I'd say that's the better option. If not, then it sounds like deep down, you know you'll outgrow it, and you'd have to sell and move again sooner than you'd like - and in that case House 2 would make more sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bungo Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 What is "Strata"? Can you not get building insurance on a townhouse? What do you have to do to get building and contents. Good job I asked for help on here! I had no idea. Obviously we would go over all this with the solicitor before signing a contract but I had no idea about the issues with townhouses... No you have to get strata insurance, which is surprisingly not that common. During the Brusbane floods shortly after I moved to Australia, many people were screwed because they fell between covers, The other thing with strate that would worry me is that the costs are out of your control and there can be step increases. If somebody decides the communal gardens need overhauling you are on the hook, with your own garden, you have a choice. No way would I go strate if I could help me it, it is like choosing leasehold over freehold in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 I don't know if all body corps are the same but I know a friend of mine got sent a bill for an extra $420 this was because two on the complex couldn't/wouldn't pay their share so they split the arrears between the other property owners, I found this outrageous, but heard it is legal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyCroft Posted August 22, 2015 Author Share Posted August 22, 2015 No you have to get strata insurance, which is surprisingly not that common. During the Brusbane floods shortly after I moved to Australia, many people were screwed because they fell between covers, The other thing with strate that would worry me is that the costs are out of your control and there can be step increases. If somebody decides the communal gardens need overhauling you are on the hook, with your own garden, you have a choice. No way would I go strate if I could help me it, it is like choosing leasehold over freehold in the UK. I am getting the feeling that it would be best to hold out for a proper house with no body corporate stuff to deal with. The contract states we have to go with the body corporate for building insurance and get our own contents insurance but having looked a little at strata insurance, I can see what you mean here. The other reply re building insurance not being anything to do with it is wrong in this case. I am feeling my feet cold about all this now. I just have to convince the rest of the family!!! Thanks for the replies, I am very grateful to you as this has raised a few issues I was completely oblivious to. You are all fantastic. Thank you again. PS We have always been used to 2 storey houses - even if it was a villa type in the UK we had downstairs living and upstairs sleeping with WC down and bath up as well as a taken for granted big garden. Not in such a nice area though!!!!! No way. I love House 1 myself and see A LOT of potential. I am just not sure we will get it as someone else is sure to outbid us again. I just know I will get "but House 2 had x,y,z....." even though it would be so much better not to deal with all the extra bother that appears to come with a townhouse/unit/apartment. The search continues but with further wisdom thanks to you all!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chortlepuss Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 house 1 without a doubt. Nothing good about body corporate - it's such a rort. Plus with body corporate you have to ask permission for pets..... blow that for a game of soldiers. Good luck on your purchase.... Just an aside - I note that in Oz unlike the UK there are very few small houses (terraced design) that are build with no body corporate. Is it because they are not very profitable? I would live in a town house in a heartbeat if I didn't have to be ripped off by body corporate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 I am getting the feeling that it would be best to hold out for a proper house with no body corporate stuff to deal with. The contract states we have to go with the body corporate for building insurance and get our own contents insurance but having looked a little at strata insurance, I can see what you mean here. Make sure you are looking at the right information for the right state - it varies. In NSW where I lived, there is no need for owners to have their own strata insurance, just contents. Many of the horror stories about strata/body corporate come from Queensland, where the regulations are very different. In all my thirty years in Sydney, I owned strata properties not standalone houses - I moved several times, plus I had investment properties. I had a problem with the body corporate in only one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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