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Things to look for in townhouses
Topic Started: 6 May 2012, 09:13 PM (1,160 Views)
jester77
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Hi all,

For a Change of pace, I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice of things to be mindful of when looking at townhouses? There was a set at Calamvale I was looking at a while back, and looking at the online listings, they have all been reduced by about 20k or so from when I viewed them. There also seem to be quite a few from the same complex, and many have been there for a long time, in one case over 300 days. Could this be a problem with the complex, such as a low sinking fund, and what woudl be the best way to find out about such things?

Cheers,

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stinkbug
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Lots of stuff...

How thick are the walls that border other dwellings? Think noise, heat transfer, even security. What about floors?
Are firewalls in place? Check and be sure.
Body corp fees? Who manages it?
Sinking fund values?
Are insurances up to date?
What is the situation for parking? Are your carparks actually allocated on the title?
How old is the building? You'll need a building report to check for issues, and consider this within the context of the building age.
What is the condition of the common property? What work is required to maintain this?

I'll add some more if I think of them.
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miw
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stinkbug
6 May 2012, 09:50 PM
Lots of stuff...

How thick are the walls that border other dwellings? Think noise, heat transfer, even security. What about floors?
Are firewalls in place? Check and be sure.
Body corp fees? Who manages it?
Sinking fund values?
Are insurances up to date?
What is the situation for parking? Are your carparks actually allocated on the title?
How old is the building? You'll need a building report to check for issues, and consider this within the context of the building age.
What is the condition of the common property? What work is required to maintain this?

I'll add some more if I think of them.
Good list. In addition I would add:

Try to get a year or two's worth of body corporate minutes. Is there ongoing argy-bargy or litigation? To me that is a red flag and you should run, not walk away. Life is too short.
Read the By-laws. Is there anything wierd in there? Are you going to have to beg someone to be able to change the floor coverings?
How about history of special Levies? This is related to the sinking fund....
Ratio of land value to total cost.
If the size of the lots is different, how have they carved up the lot entitlements?
The truth will set you free. But first, it will piss you off.
--Gloria Steinem
AREPS™
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jester77
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Cheers guys, very helpful!

Yea just struck me as odd, if anyone is interested the property is on formby street Calamvale. They seemed fairly nice when I inspected, and I swear they were going for around 320k at the time. If you check them out now, there are a number in the same complex listed for some time at about 280k, which is a fair drop. Can't help but think there may be something with the complex that has spooked investors perhaps? They had parking, places seemed nice, the agent told me the sinking fund had about 20k in it, body corp was about 50 a week, so pretty much oar at the time. Could be a different scenario now though.

Just helpful to know what to look out for.
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zaph
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jester77
7 May 2012, 12:48 PM
Cheers guys, very helpful!

Yea just struck me as odd, if anyone is interested the property is on formby street Calamvale. They seemed fairly nice when I inspected, and I swear they were going for around 320k at the time. If you check them out now, there are a number in the same complex listed for some time at about 280k, which is a fair drop. Can't help but think there may be something with the complex that has spooked investors perhaps? They had parking, places seemed nice, the agent told me the sinking fund had about 20k in it, body corp was about 50 a week, so pretty much oar at the time. Could be a different scenario now though.

Just helpful to know what to look out for.
the sinking fund is stinking! there are at least 49 in the complex with a 20k sinking fund that's around 400 per townhouse, not even enough to paint them. what if some serious maintenance was required?
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