Selling house urgently - Crestmead - Advice please...

Hi, I purchased a 3bd house IP in Crestmead, QLD 4 years ago. I am desperate to sell asap due to ongoing high maintenance/repair costs and would appreciate your advice please as I haven't sold a house before.

It's an old house and the B&P at purchase suggested the house was solid and a good buy. However, from the start the maintenance costs have been excessive (about 15-20k yearly). Any gains from the rental income have been greatly outweighed by the repair costs, making it a poor investment. The PM comes up with new repairs that need to be done on a regular basis, but has put them on hold due to my financial issues. I am not currently working due to losing my job due to COVID. Currently, I'm up for 5-7k in Urgent repairs, which were found by the latest plumber callout, which found hidden leaks requiring expensive renovation. I simply cannot afford to hold on this IP while I am out of work, and the ongoing repair requests are stressful and negatively impacting my health. Along the way there's also been many tenancy issues and problems with PMs. I do realise I would be looking at significant financial losses and also early repayment break fees on my Fixed term interest loan which has 1 year left on it.

Has anyone been in a similar situation or have some advice about this situation?

I would also greatly appreciate any advice about the process of selling a house in QLD and recommendations for real estate agents & solicitors in the area. Many thanks.

 

Can you afford the financial losses? Will the sale less costs be enough to cover the mortgage payout including break costs?

 

Sorry to hear but on the balance of facts:

• lower value property with disproportionately high costs of repairs
• limited CG potential in the Logan area (in the short term)
• market for sellers in Brisbane improving
• you being out of work
• it causing you stress

Yes, I would probably sell. I hope the agent hasn't been taking you for a ride though eg kickback arrangements with tradies etc

 

I don't know Creastmead that well but it's a relatively new area isn't it? I remember it being full of new houses like 20-30 years ago (I consider 20-30 years to be "new"). How on earth is a new build from the 90's incurring 15-20k expenses pa.??

 

Have you ever actually been to the property ?
Do all these "repairs" seem legitimate ?
I have seen "padding" of repairs and req'd replacements previously, often a friend, relative of the PM (or other).
If you do sell, list it with a different agency

 

Thank you for your advice.

@Trainee: I need to work out an estimate of financial losses, which will come from my savings. I'll ask my accountant for help working losses out.
@Lacrim: The PM doesn't seem to gather several quotes, just who they've used before. I've had to research cheaper quotes myself.
@jaybean: The area has a mix of old and new builds. This is an old one.
@Stoffo: No I haven't been there personally. Seen pictures. No not all the repairs seem legit, but been told they need to be done.

This is my 1st IP and I haven't sold a house before. What steps would you take other than getting financial advice from an accountant, finding out fix loan break fee costs and researching several real estate agencies?
What costs are involved in selling a house in QLD? Any key steps I'm missing that you would take? I'm new to selling a home, so I'm grateful for any information I may not be aware of. Thanks again.

 

about 15-20k yearly for 4 years seems extraordinary
what type of repairs have been required??

 

Would you keep it if you didn't have ongoing repair work required? It might be an idea to get a licensed builder to go through it currently and assess the issues reported and check for others and then decide.
Note that if you are selling that potential buyers will also get a building and pest and may ask for a discount or you to fix those issues as well/

 

Costs to sell:
The main expense with selling in Qld currently is legal fees, ours is under $1000. There will be another fee to the bank to discharge the mortgage, I dont know exactly what that is, it will be in the loan documents. Your mortgage documents will also show you the fee for the bank' legal fees, last time I looked this was about $300, plus another couple hundred to the titles office. You can check online with the titles office. All the fees are in the 3 cm thick pile of paperwork I read two weeks ago and I am in no mood to read through them again tonight, sorry.

Agent fees:
a negotiable percentage of the sale price plus GST, then advertising on top of that. We paid the advertising up front but everything else will be disbursed at settlement by the conveyancer.

Selecting an agent:
I dont even know where Crestmead is, so I cant suggest anyone there. Others on PC can help with this.

Be aware that selling with tenants in place makes it very tricky, but can you afford to not have any rent coming in.... The other biggie is to get the mortgage discharge application from your bank to your conveyancer asap once the property goes under contract. It would be well worth the $600 to get your own B&P as @Westminster suggested, so you know exactly what condition your house is in. This info will assist you make an educated decision to sell or not.

 

It sounds like you made a bunch of errors. But its all a learning curve. I definitely know the pain of continuous maintenance requests. You could push off as much maintenance as possible till say after the end of the financial Year. Do the stuff where liability is an issue. Get to know the prices for things eg from listing the job on Airtasker. And always get a few quotes.

 

Thanks very much for all your advice.Yes, it's ongoing miscellaneous wear & tear and safety repair requests.

@Angel: Appreciate all your tips. Who is the conveyancer you went with, if you don't mind sharing?

 

Our properties are way up north. The solicitor is at Redcliffe, so probably not much use to you, although settlement will be electronic. I have not used them before and it isn't settled yet, so I am not able to give any recommendation.

 

Last year we were able to change from fixed interest to variable with zero cost. The mortgages were about one year out from the end of the fixed term. Ask your bank or preferably the mortgage broker you used.

 

Maybe sit down with a Accountant before moving forward ,and the cost of maintenance from day one sounds incredible for a property like this one ..
But I just have to ask a question with all the high yearly maintenance costs how did the taxation side work out ?..good luck..

 

I'm wondering if all those "maintenance and repairs" charges have been used by the PM to build her own granny flat in the backyard. I was thinking last night that you could build a new (small) house for that much money.

 

Have you considered moving into the house and renting out your PPOR (if you have one?) and fixing it up yourself? The maintenance costs sounds crazy, I wonder how much of that you could DYI, particularly if you’ve got time on your hands. Then once all fixed relook at the numbers for selling vs. renting it out again.

 

The OP lives in Sydney, not sure he/she would want to move to Crestmead...?! Sounds like they need a good independent opinion on the house and the maintenance issues then look at the purchase price, the amount spent so far on the repairs and maintenance and the estimated sale price. A poor PM and a problematic tenant can be hell for a landlord.

 

Its not unusual for the early years to be hit up for all the maintenance a slack previous owner put off. You might hope that most of the maintenance is now done and you're in for a period of less hassle.

 

It would be really helpful if you would post a specific list of what you are being told is now needed to be done on the house.

We may be able to help you determine if these things are really required or not.

And that might change your mind about selling.

 

This would be my advice too, hire a 3rd party, even a competent handyman depending on what the issues are, who can check over everything and give you a 2nd opinion on what is really required to have the house functioning satisfactorily.
Someone who has no financial interest in doing the repairs like the real estate agents mates.