Newbie Buying an Apartment in Auckland.

[amado]

Hi all. I am a newbie to the property market here in Auckland. I am looking to buy a mid-range apartment in the inner city area. My main concern is the whole leaky syndrome business. Is there a list of known leaky syndrome infected buildings to be found anywhere? I found it rather disconcerting when the real estate agent I was talking to wrote off some apartments on the list as 'leaky' ones [where no such thing was mentioned on the sales list], and promoted others where no problems had been found...... as yet!

[eri]

spend a few hours searching and reading the results in this forum

and ALWAYS

get the selling agent to tell you in an email (you need a record) that the apartment you are looking at

"has no leak issues as far he/she knows"

[Bob Kane]

The vendor has to supply a disclosure form indicating if the apartment/building is subject to any leaky building actions.
The agent would have this form - ask for a copy.
Assume every building is leaky (unless there is clear evidence otherwise) and price accordingly.

[PTILoveYou]

ask for the past 12 months or even 24 months of body corp minutes.

ask for the body corp's long term maintenance plan. If there's no such plan, run! because the body corp is crap. If there is a plan, look at the expensive items on the plan. That will tell you the issues (if any) the building currently has.

ask for the building managers contact details and have a chat. be friendly with the manager, buy him/her a coffee and let him/her spill the beans on the building. Also good to ask what type of residents are there in the building, any HNZ tenants, owner occupied or tenants majority etc.

never ever trust what the real estate agent says, because he/she may not have asked the questions I have posted above!

[amado]

Thank you Gary for the info. Much appreciated. Looking at apartments with a real estate from High St today. I have a good sized deposit, and hoping to get small sized mortage. What concerns me most after the leaky issues is the body corp fees. Some of them seem excessive, northwards of 5000 yearly. Perhaps this is why apartments are still relatively lowly priced. Though you have to wonder if there will be a 'seachange' toward apartment living in NZ with immigration pressures building in Auckland. Have apartment prices increased much over the past few years?

[amado]

Thanks Eri, Will keep that in mind. A friend of mind suggests I buy into an older style apartment complex as they are solid without the usual risks of the leaky home thing.

[amado]

The vendor has to supply a disclosure form indicating if the apartment/building is subject to any leaky building actions.
The agent would have this form - ask for a copy.
Assume every building is leaky (unless there is clear evidence otherwise) and price accordingly.

Thanks Bob. Actually, I'm also wondering whether it might be an idea to buy something that does need remedial work for a heavily discounted price as in no mortgage required.

[NomoneyNotalk]

Hi Amado,

I used to live in Metropolis Apartment on High Street for 6 years. There was no leaky issue there, but better check again just in case. Good gym and swimming pool, and nice residents. But make sure to choose the one facing Albert park as the other side has noise from the bars on high street.

Good luck

[amado]

Hi Amado,

I used to live in Metropolis Apartment on High Street for 6 years. There was no leaky issue there, but better check again just in case. Good gym and swimming pool, and nice residents. But make sure to choose the one facing Albert park as the other side has noise from the bars on high street.

Good luck

Cheers for that. It is a nice building that. I'm just at the entry level though and wonder if it may be a bit expensive for me. At this stage I'm wondering whether to go mortgage free, and just use the deposit to buy a large apartment needing 'remedial' work done. All up it may cost only 200,000. the other option I'm thinking of is going lease hold on a property worth 150,000. Would then be mortgage free in a few years [off overseas to work] and have only the land rental/ body corp to pay for rent. Decisions, decisions. Thoughts anyone?

[elguapo]

ask for the past 12 months or even 24 months of body corp minutes.

ask for the body corp's long term maintenance plan. If there's no such plan, run! because the body corp is crap. If there is a plan, look at the expensive items on the plan. That will tell you the issues (if any) the building currently has.

ask for the building managers contact details and have a chat. be friendly with the manager, buy him/her a coffee and let him/her spill the beans on the building. Also good to ask what type of residents are there in the building, any HNZ tenants, owner occupied or tenants majority etc.

never ever trust what the real estate agent says, because he/she may not have asked the questions I have posted above!

Good list, add one more and that is to hit the buzzer on other residents and look for owner occupiers and see what they think of the place.

[PTILoveYou]

Usually if an apartment comes with its own gym and pool, then expect $4000+ more body corp fees...

Also you need to look at how much is the levy contribution as part of the body corp fees.

If the BC is like $5k a year, that's $100/wk gone...

[eri]

your neighbors can have a large impact on your life

visit the buildings you are interested in late at night and see what the noise and people are like

building in the middle of hobson street are right opposite the city mission and can be pretty late at night

and LOTS of traffic noises during commuting times

kiwi on queen and imperial gardens have a lot of HNZ tenants who are often there all day with friends

story about that recently in the herald, link posted in 1 of the apartment threads

[amado]

Usually if an apartment comes with its own gym and pool, then expect $4000+ more body corp fees...

Also you need to look at how much is the levy contribution as part of the body corp fees.

If the BC is like $5k a year, that's $100/wk gone...

Yep. Looks like even with the mortgage paid, you'll be paying 'rent' in body corps. Still, a lot cheaper than proper rent. I'm inclining towards buying a good-sized three bedroom cheapy with outstanding and unknown remedial issues. Either that or a low priced lease-hold down on the harbour. Then you have the ground rents to deal with. Crikey, just about makes one want to go and live in a campervan. No wait, I've been in a camper these past two years.

[amado]

your neighbors can have a large impact on your life

visit the buildings you are interested in late at night and see what the noise and people are like

building in the middle of hobson street are right opposite the city mission and can be pretty late at night

and LOTS of traffic noises during commuting times

kiwi on queen and imperial gardens have a lot of HNZ tenants who are often there all day with friends

story about that recently in the herald, link posted in 1 of the apartment threads

Yes, this is a biggie. Everybody needs good neighbours! Even though I plan to rent it for a few years, I still don't want to buy something if I wouldn't be happy living there myself.

Was shown a place today. It was a rabbit warren. By the time we finally got to the door I was dizzy. A second floor box in a monolithic complex.

[amado]

Good list, add one more and that is to hit the buzzer on other residents and look for owner occupiers and see what they think of the place.

Thanks Elguapo. This could be the key. owners living there has to be a good sign.... and most probably quieter more considerate neighbours.