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TPC Gold | Property Due Diligence: What to Know Before Buying an Existing Unit

This snippet is from one of our previous episodes: Is Now The Right Time to Buy a High Rise Apartment? 

When it comes to buying an existing apartment or unit, doing the right due diligence can save you from years of costly surprises. 

In this TPC Gold snippet, Bryce and Ben break down the must-do checks every buyer should know before purchasing a strata or medium-density property.  

From digging into the body corporate minutes to having quiet chats with the neighbours, they share the practical (and often overlooked) steps that separate a smart buyer from a regretful one. 

If you’re buying into a building, you’re buying into a community—and sometimes that community has stories you won’t find in the contract. – Bryce” 

Whether you’re a first-home buyer, upgrading, or planning your forever home, this is a must-listen if you’re considering purchasing an existing property. 

Want Help Finding Your Dream Home—Without the Guesswork?

Due to popular demand, our sister company Empower Wealth has recently launched a brand-new Owner-Occupier Buyers Agent division. 

Where our existing Buyers Agents have helped thousands of investors find the right property to build wealth, this new division is specifically designed for everyday Australians looking to find their dream home. 

So—why engage a Buyers Agent when buying your home? 

Clarity and confidence: Cut through the overwhelm with guidance tailored to your exact needs and lifestyle.
Save time and stress: Let a seasoned professional handle the search, shortlist, inspections, and negotiations.
Avoid costly mistakes: With experience across different property types, our agents know what to look for—and what to avoid.
Access off-market opportunities: Get access to homes that never even hit the open market.
Emotional balance: Stay objective in one of life’s biggest decisions with a calm, strategic expert by your side. 

Book a free consultation with one of our Buyers Agents today and take the stress out of your next home purchase! 

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If You Enjoyed TPC Gold | Property Due Diligence: What to Know Before Buying an Existing Unit, You Might Also Like:


Transcript

Ben Kingsley
So what’s the DD, what’s the due diligence we need to do, Bryce? What’s the number one thing?  

Bryce Holdaway
Number one due diligence is you go and have a look at the past track record of body corporate minutes, because what does that tell you? You’ve got a community of people coming together saying the body corporate’s got a responsibility for X, Y and Z and if there’s something wrong with the building they’re going to let you know, or if there’s something wrong with a defect or a person who’s living there or something that is affecting the peaceful enjoyment of that community, it is usually going to be in those minutes. And I would go back as many as you can possibly get your hands on, minimum two, but it’d be nice to see three, so you can see if there’s anything back in the past where there might have been an issue. Now I’ve got a beware on that Ben, because based on what we’ve been talking about today, would there be an incentive Ben for… 

Ben Kingsley
…the body corporate not to disclose, Bryce? 

Bryce Holdaway
Correct.  

Ben Kingsley
Yes. 

Bryce Holdaway
Because what’s one of the biggest challenges that you’re going to have with the current issue around the crisis is people protecting the value of their asset. And how do they protect the value of their asset? They have an off-record chat, Ben, about some issues that they do not put on the minutes because they know this is what the diligent people will do. But first of all, that’s what I would do, Ben. Notwithstanding there’s an issue.  

And secondly, I talked about it before, but do you have a body corporate that is proactive about realising that a building will need some maintenance done? And are they going to be reactive or proactive? And reactive means that they will just deal with stuff as it happens versus people who go: Hey here’s our 10-year maintenance plan. Here’s that divided by 10; here’s that divided by the 18, the 16, the 12, the 8 owners. Here’s your contribution each year, so that you make that. Have they got a sinking fund balance for a rainy day? 

Ben Kingsley
A healthy sinking fund balance is a good sign of a couple of things, Bryce; a well-built building as well. Because if they haven’t had to do anything with it, and I’ll give you a good example. Where was I? I was in Brisbane, and I was looking for an apartment for a client of ours and I came across this one in about six kilometres out of Brisbane and I went and had a look at it and I thought, okay, it’s really well-priced, good floor plan. I did notice a couple of cracks, so I’m like, okay. So everyone goes, well, can you still get a building and pest inspection on the building? I go, yes, you can. And you can even get them on high rises.  

Now, some building and pest inspectors will say there’s a limited scope in terms of the external work they do, especially if it’s 20 or 30 stories, they’re not gonna be able to get up on a scaffold and go and have a look at it. But they can still do the underground car parks, they can still do that, because most stuff comes from the foundation and works up. So in this particular case, I got a building and pest inspection done and I was like, oh, a couple of cracks there I’d like an engineer to have a look at. As soon as he said that, I said, no, no, don’t even worry about it. As soon as you say that I’m out. That’s it, I’m moving on to the next block because you can pay $400, $500, $600 and you get that and all of sudden it’s like, okay, if that’s worse than I thought it was because it’s structural in an area… I don’t even need to engage in an engineer; I’m not gonna buy that for my client. It’s like, next property please. Even though I thought it was a good buy, I’m moving on.  

Bryce Holdaway
That’s what we call self-selection, Ben.  

Ben Kingsley
I don’t need to spend a few grand to have the engineer tell me what’s wrong with it.  

Bryce Holdaway
Yeah, so there you go folks. And the last one is, I apply this particular one, Ben, even if it’s a house, if it’s a townhouse… I go and talk to the neighbours.  

Ben Kingsley
Yeah.  

Bryce Holdaway
Because they are only too willing to tell you.  

Ben Kingsley
Well, it comes back to that story about whether the body corporate is fully disclosing right? So if you are buying into a medium density; again, owner occupiers could be listening to this saying: I do want to live here and that is the price point to get me into that suburb and there are lots of apartments with 30 or 40 apartments in them now, so go and door knock. You know how they’ve still got the security that you can’t get through the front door? Just door stop them. I’ve done it before, my door stop is: Oh excuse me do you live here? 

Bryce Holdaway
But what happens if you’re not a Collingwood supporter…?  

Ben Kingsley
There’s a nice way of doing it, and here’s the approach. It is as simple as: Oh hi. Because what they do is: Oh do you need to get in? And it’s like: No actually, I’m interested in apartment number 31. But I would love to have a chat with you. Do you own or rent here?  

Bryce Holdaway
“Ohhh, you’re buying the one that Jessie’s divorcing in, eh?” 

Ben Kingsley
Thank you, tick; nice bit of information. “Oh lovely couple, didn’t know what happened there.” Especially the old folk who have been in the building forever. Some of them ask you up for a cup of tea. “Would you like to come up and have a look at my place as well? Are you a buyers agent? Oh you can probably value it, what is my property worth?” You get the whole thing right. And “are you on the body corp? Oh you’re on the body corp? What’s happening?” Oh it’s just unbelievable. I would stop three or four people to get the information that I need to get to. 

Bryce Holdaway
That could cause a crisis Ben because people are wondering if they’re gonna buy this they might get stopped by you for a little chat and they might not buy anymore, so yeah. 

 

TPC Gold | Should I Build or Renovate?

Today’s bonus snippet is from an episode with guest Amelia Lee, the architect behind Undercover Architect – an award-winning online resource teaching folks how to design, build and renovate their homes. 

Tune in to the full episode here: Episode 249 | The 4-Step Framework to Renovate or Build Your Home…AND Enjoy It! 

In this TPC Gold soundbite, Amelia shares her thoughts on what you MUST consider if you’re tossing up between building new or renovating! 

Whether that’s determining your property’s worth, understanding budget constraints, or navigating the complexities of home renovation and new construction…discover the hidden costs of it all as well as how to avoid common pitfalls.  

Whether you love the charm of an old home or the fresh start of a new build, tune in for practical tips and expert guidance on attaining a home that perfectly fits your needs and aspirations! 

Free Stuff 

Previous Episodes on Renovating

 

RBA Cash Rate Feb 2024 | Shifting Tides: Exploring the Global Influence on Australia’s Economy in 2024

Welcome to the first RBA Rate Announcement of 2024, a year that heralds a fresh and insightful approach to our economic updates! This year, we’re thrilled to announce a dynamic new partnership: Ben will be teaming up with Evan Lucas for all future RBA insights. With this powerhouse duo at the helm, you can bet we’re diving far beyond the basics.

Evan Lucas isn’t just any analyst; he’s a titan in the world of economics (and he’s appeared multiple times on our show!) As the author of the best selling book, “Mind Over Money: Why Understanding Your Money Behaviour Will Improve Your Financial Freedom,” Evan brings a wealth of experience as a market strategist and a fervent passion for investment. His keen insights promise to enrich our understanding of Australia’s economic landscape like never before.

Together, Ben and Evan will take us on a deep dive into the undercurrents and nuances of Australia’s economy, shedding light on the forces shaping our future.

In this month’s video, they tackle several pivotal topics:

  • The Global Giant – Dissecting the US Economy: The US economy acts as a barometer for the global financial climate. Our experts dissect its latest GDP growth rates and Federal Reserve decisions to uncover how these factors ripple across the globe, impacting Australia directly.
  • Navigating the Waters of Global and Domestic Inflation: The spectre of inflation has loomed large over economies worldwide. Ben and Evan explore whether inflation remains a pressing concern or if recent trends suggest it’s receding into the rearview mirror. #Finally
  • Employment Data – Decoding the Numbers: The duo delves into the complexities of employment data, advocating for a closer look at underutilization rates as a more telling indicator of the job market’s health than traditional metrics might suggest.
  • Forecasting Australia’s Economic Voyage: Armed with data and insights, our hosts chart the course of Australia’s economic journey through 2024. They assess the potential challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, asking: will we navigate calm seas or face turbulent waters?

Will 2024 be a year of contrasts? As we look ahead, Ben and Evan discussed whether 2024 will unfold as a year marked by starkly different halves. What will the coming months bring for the RBA’s cash rate, market dynamics, and property trends?

Now, what are you waiting for? Let’s delve into this month’s update!

 

 

 

 

RBA Cash Rate Dec 2023 | Market Wrap and Property Trends in 2024

Welcome to the final Economic and RBA report for this year! In this edition, Ben delves into crucial topics:

  • Has the US concluded its Interest Rate tightening cycle?
  • Unpacking the Governor’s recent slide deck on inflation and the signals outlining the problem.
  • In the extensive property update, Ben recaps the 2023 Property Market and shares initial insights on the ten Macro forces shaping different property markets in 2024. Stay tuned for this at the end of the update!

And folks, anticipate more charts in this edition compared to our previous release too. We recommend checking out the video version of this release here: www.thepropertycouch.com.au/rba-cash-rate-dec-2023

Before we get started, we’ve recently unveiled two brief videos on property selling. If the rate hikes are impacting your cash flow, explore these videos below:

Now, let’s delve into this month’s update!

Note: Apologies for the technical glitch occurring at the 7-second and 5-minute marks of the video. Rest assured, our team is actively addressing this issue and working towards a swift resolution. Thank you for your understanding.

 

RBA Cash Rate Nov 2023 | Inflation – Material Enough?

Hey folks, welcome to the November Economic and RBA update. This time around, Ben got his sight set on a few key things:

  • RBA’s November Board Meeting: We’ve all been eagerly waiting to see if the RBA is going to hike the cash rate again. This could mark the 13th time they’ve done it in this upward cycle. Find out more in this episode!
  • Inflation Rant: Hold onto your hats because Ben got a bit of a rant brewing about inflation.
  • Property Market Scoop: Of course, last but not least, the most popular part of Ben’s RBA updates…. the latest data on the property market!

But before we dive into all that, we can’t ignore the elephant in the room – the heightened geo-political tensions and the Middle East conflict. This isn’t just a humanitarian crisis; it’s also making waves in the global economy.

All this uncertainty and instability is putting a damper on global economic confidence, sentiment, and investment. Plus, it’s affecting oil supply, prices, and trade, which is basically throwing a wrench into the works of the world economy.

Let’s cross our fingers for some speedy resolutions in the Middle East and Ukraine to ease these troubles. But for now, the world is feeling jittery. With all this geopolitical drama, the inflation scare, and the rising cost of debt, both the stock and bond markets are rollercoaster rides. Stock markets are taking a double-digit dip, and there’s more downside risk ahead if these issues continue to weigh on developed economies.

We know these aren’t uplifting news to share, but it’s important to acknowledge the economic consequences tied to these global events.

 

And folks, if you’re feeling the pinch with those rate hikes and worried about your cashflow in the next few months, we’ve got a couple of handy resources for you:

A) MoneySTRETCH Tool on Moorr:

This cool tool lets you play around with different scenarios and see how they impact your cashflow and savings right away. For example, you can check out what a 2% bump in your loan might do to your cashflow and figure out how long your current spending can keep going. And the best bit is… This tool is free! Just create your free account on Moorr and away you go 😉.

Learn more about MoneySTRETCH here >

 

B) Free Finance Checkup with our Award-Winning Crew:

If your loan payments are eating up a big chunk of your budget and you haven’t looked into it lately, it might be time to chat with your broker or banker.
Don’t have a broker? Our sister company, Empower Wealth recently snagged the Australian Brokerage of the Year award from the Australian Mortgage Awards, and they would be thrilled to assist you! The initial consultation is free and there’s no obligation to engage after that as well so if you’re keen, please don’t hesitate to learn more about them below.

Learn more about Empower Wealth’s Mortgage Broking services here >

 

Alright, what are you waiting for? Let’s jump into the data for this month!

 

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