Strata Units and Apartment Inspections
Unit Buyers need to do more due diligence when purchasing – Units should be inspected for building defects or pest activity. This is in addition to conducting a Strata records search. Some strata building can have major problems that are not reflected in the strata records.
Strata buyers should conduct a Building & Pest Pest Inspection when purchasing a Strata unit or Apartment property, strata records alone are not enough!
Its true that unit buyers also need to conduct a ‘strata records search’, sometimes these records are available with the contract of sale.
A strata search involves is looking at the strata records which should contain a history of work or issues in the development as well as other legal and financial conditions relating to the property and its maintenance. However it is important to understand that defects in the unit won’t necessarily be reflected in the records. This means unit buyers need to do more due diligence than somebody purchasing a house! It seems unfair but is necessary due to additional matters specific to strata laws and many people sharing one structure. It is extremely common for building defects like leaking or cracking inside a unit not represented in the strata records. This is why a thorough building (and/or) pest inspection are strongly recommended for apartments and strata dwellings.
In fact, the strata report (where provided by our client) can assist the building inspector by providing some additional background to issues experienced in the complex more broadly. A strata unit inspection will include the unit and immediate common areas and main structure but (for obvious reasons) can’t include every unit.
Strata Units in apartment complex
All strata units and apartments should be inspected as part of due diligence
Art deco apartments
These eastern Sydney apartments were inspected for the purchaser
High end strata complex
Architectural or new buildings can have issues and should be inspected
Older style units
Older units from the 1960’s-1990’s can be deteriorated and require inspection
When looking at Units or Strata Buildings…
Most of our customers include a ‘timber pest inspection’ with their booking (combined building & pest). All buildings are at risk of termite attack in Sydney due to the relatively high risk category that Sydney and the ‘Eastern Sea Board’ more generally falls into. Termites can cause damage in strata buildings where timbers are present, even many floors above ground. Not all units and apartments are at risk of termite attack, however, until we get to the property and evaluate the risk of termite attack, the issue is an ‘unknown quantity’.
Please call or SMS our office mobile for further information…..0488 900386
or book an inspection online…
