Body corporate vs detached unit

Discussion in 'What to buy' started by Petal, 29th Dec, 2021.

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  1. Petal

    Petal Member

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    Haha, posted this is the wrong forum before... My bad
    Hey,
    First time buyer

    Having extreme trouble with making a choice between 2 options I have

    Buying a cheaper property that is a part of a body corporate or purchasing a more expensive detached unit and leaving myself with minimal cash for the next deposit/purchase.

    Whats everyones experience with body corporate? Has anyone had any major repairs to roofing and had to get the neighbours and other owners to contribute? Any nightmare stories?

    Im a little bit truamatised from the property I live in, the builder slapped the place together.. the bathroom feel apart within 5 years, the oven is non-functional, he didnt finish the guttering which caused moisture to come into the property causing damage, the garage roof collapsed and needed the rebuilt and fixed properly by a plumber. And on and on and on... Luckily the value of the place has gone up 3 fold from purchase time and the area is still growing.

    After going through this I have major concerns if I were to purchase townhouses which are connected and there is any issue with guttering or really anything that its not isolated to my property and becomes everyones issue and then what do I do then?

    Please share experiences and thoughts on this

    I have a very small budget for Melbourne of $620,000... Would strongly prefer closer to CBD. Cant bring myself to buy in Wollert/Werribee/Tarniet/Melton or something of that nature
     
    Petal, 29th Dec, 2021
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  2. The Y-man

    The Y-man Moderator Staff Member

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    Just to be pedantic, in Victoria, they're call owner's corps (OC) not BC ;)

    I've got 4 ips that have an OC.
    1. IP 1 OC is inactive. There are 4 on the block, we pay the common property insurance but one recalcitrant owner refusing to pay - so splitting the bill 3 ways.
    2. IP 2 OC - highly active in large apartment development. Undertaking some major structural works, OC AGM is pretty lively, especially with one recalcitrant owner letting a dog run loose in common areas leaving doggy doo around for people to enjoy.
    3. IP 3 OC inactive - similar to IP 1 but everyone pays their share!
    4. IP 4 OC - active but very little excitement (no recalcitrants!).

    The Y-man
     
    The Y-man, 29th Dec, 2021
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  3. The Y-man

    The Y-man Moderator Staff Member

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    A connected townhouse does NOT mean there is an OC. OC usually only if there is common property (eg shared driveway etc).

    The Y-man
     
    The Y-man, 29th Dec, 2021
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  4. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    It's nice to have a well connected OC.
     
    Scott No Mates, 29th Dec, 2021
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  5. Petal

    Petal Member

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    Hey, Yman.. Ive seen some townhouses Im looking at that have no Owners Corp. Why would it ne set up that way?
     
    Petal, 29th Dec, 2021
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  6. The Y-man

    The Y-man Moderator Staff Member

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    There's nothing shared i.e. you could probably tear your townhouse down (subject to approvals etc) without affecting the adjoining house. Although the walls and roof might look joined, there's actually 2 "layers" - your house and theirs - and a firewall in the roof.

    We go back over 100 years with this design with no OC/BC

    eg
    [​IMG]


    The Y-man
     
    The Y-man, 29th Dec, 2021
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  7. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    There are two types of title we discussed when we did our townhouses, and I can't recall the names.

    If a townhouse has no common areas, and no shared driveway (which would mean an easement would be required), it can stand alone and there's no need for an OC (my understanding anyway).

    We looked at doing this for our townhouses, to make them more attractive to (eventual) buyers who don't want to put up with the shenanigans often heard about with OCs.

    My understanding is there would be no need for sinking fund, each owner looks after maintenance and repair of his/her own townhouse. Basically it is like a house, with nobody able to tell you what you can and cannot do.

    One tip was that if we chose not to have an OC that we would need some documentation to stop any individual owner painting his/her townhouse purple.
     
    wylie, 29th Dec, 2021
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  8. boganfromlogan

    boganfromlogan Well-Known Member

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    What's wrong with purple?

    75 Beautiful Purple Exterior Ideas & Designs - December 2021 | Houzz AU
     
    boganfromlogan, 29th Dec, 2021
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  9. Stoffo

    Stoffo Well-Known Member

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    Detached, every hour of every day for every year PLEASE.
    Go the OC if you want to pay and pay for a very small say !
    The OC pays for strata management (often its a very expensive mediator), your detatched place won't have this expense
     
    Stoffo, 29th Dec, 2021
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  10. Petal

    Petal Member

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    Yes, thats definately what Im thinking, I just cant stomach it and might just have to go all in on one property and try and save for the next deposit...
     
    Petal, 29th Dec, 2021
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  11. Petal

    Petal Member

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    That image is so interesting and I didnt realise its actually 2 layers... No I mean newer townhouse that are attached. I recently looked at one of 3 attached at the rear though the real estate agent said there was no Owners Corp, so Im just wondering why and what are the risks involved if there is no Owner corp. I feel like this stuff is just too messy for me... but keen to learn more about it in general too
     
    Petal, 29th Dec, 2021
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  12. Petal

    Petal Member

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    Sorry for my ignorance, whats an easement?
     
    Petal, 29th Dec, 2021
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  13. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    With townhouses facing the street with no shared driveway, each could have its own title (can't recall the name of it) that means no OC required as far as my understanding goes.

    With a driveway that all townhouses use, that is common property. If those townhouses were to be titled so that there was no OC, there would have to be an easement registered so that nobody could park anyone else out.

    You'd also need something written to stop someone painting their house pink. But there would be no sinking fund because each title holder would repair and maintain their own property.

    That's my understanding of how it was explained to me. Could be slightly wrong, but even with common walls, there doesn't have to be an OC (similar to the photo shown above of old terrace houses).
     
    wylie, 29th Dec, 2021
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  14. The Y-man

    The Y-man Moderator Staff Member

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    Old or new - no difference. NO common land/facility, no OC. If you want to tear your house down, just talk to the 2 neighbours (and the council).

    [​IMG]


    The Y-man
     
    The Y-man, 29th Dec, 2021
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  15. The Y-man

    The Y-man Moderator Staff Member

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    An easement is a patch of land that you can't build over because there is something important like a big storm drain or sewer running under it.

    The Y-man
     
    The Y-man, 29th Dec, 2021
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  16. Petal

    Petal Member

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    Thanks for that explanation, I was wondering how that worked
     
    Petal, 29th Dec, 2021
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  17. Petal

    Petal Member

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    Hey Y-man... Where do you look up auctions that have been passed in please?
     
    Petal, 29th Dec, 2021
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  18. The Y-man

    The Y-man Moderator Staff Member

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    The Y-man, 29th Dec, 2021
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  19. jaybean

    jaybean Well-Known Member

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    Ok so about this, my lawyer (NSW, not sure if the same in VIC) told me that you are legally allowed to compel the assignment of an OC without a majority vote.

    He said it forces everyone to play ball. Don't want to pay your share of a tiny $3,000 insurance bill? Ok fine, legally compel an OC and add $5k to the yearly bill. That usually gets people to fall in line.

    I can tell you right now if I had a troublesome neighbor, I would happily pay my share of a $5k p/a bill just so I didn't have to argue with them directly.

    (he said the cheapest OC's he's heard of cost at least 3-5k p/a, not sure if there are cheaper)
     
    jaybean, 29th Dec, 2021
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  20. jaybean

    jaybean Well-Known Member

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    I think you can build over it, but you need to accept that you bear all the costs if it needs to be dug up.

    So a relatively cheap shed that costs say $5k is probably palatable. Anything else gets tougher to justify.
     
    jaybean, 29th Dec, 2021
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