This was published 12 years ago
Unit buyer beware, warns expert
By Daniel Hurst
Unit buyers have been urged to shell out the extra cash for detailed property searches at the time of sale, following concerns over the plight of a group of Kangaroo Point owners.
Yesterday, brisbanetimes.com.au highlighted the case of nine owners who want the right to live permanently at the Quest on Story Bridge apartment complex near the Story Bridge Hotel.
Kangaroo Point resident Cameron Green in the one-bedroom unit at the centre of a development battle.
Unit owner Cameron Green said lawyers carried out standard property searches for him in 2009 but this did not reveal that only short-term occupants were allowed.
He said he and other buyers were not made aware when they bought their homes that they could not live in them permanently, due to a development condition imposed on the 14-year-old building.
It is understood a building approval search would have revealed the problem but this type of check is generally considered to be “optional” during conveyancing.
Unit Owners Association of Queensland vice-president Paul Cassels said buyers should be cautious and recommended they go beyond standard property searches.
“When you spend $500,000 or $1 million [on a unit], to me spending another $1000 on a report is money well spent,” he said. “It's such a specialist area.”
He said buyers should check building classification and should also familiarise themselves with body corporate arrangements.
Asked whether real estate agents should disclose short-term or long-term occupancy rules, Mr Cassels said they may not know.
He said buyers should engage specialist lawyers and body corporate experts to do such checks.
Mr Cassels also advised people buying apartments off the plan not to simply use the developer's lawyers.
The state government's Office of Fair Trading last night encouraged homebuyers to carry out adequate property searches.
“Queensland's real estate laws are based on the concept of 'buyer beware' and purchasers are encouraged to carry out their own searches and due diligence to their satisfaction when purchasing a property,” the office said in a written response to questions last night.
“Agents must give buyers a copy of the warning statement before they sign any contract. The warning statement stresses the need for the buyer to get independent legal advice regarding the property they are about to buy.”
The office said state regulations also required real estate agents “disclose information about a property to a buyer if it has been specifically requested or if non-disclosure would be unfair to the buyer”.
Conveyancing and body corporate inspection expert Dee Pannell said in her experience it was not uncommon for unit buyers to find out important information after the sale had been completed.
Ms Pannell said she hoped buyers would become more aware and solicitors more diligent in sourcing property “search agents” who provided a thorough inspection report.
“I have been beating my head against a brick wall for at least 10 years trying to get buyers to understand the worth of a comprehensive report,” she said.
The owners of nine units at the Quest on Story Bridge apartment building have lodged a development application with Brisbane City Council seeking approval to use them for permanent residency.
The 14-year-old Quest on Story Bridge apartment complex, opposite the Story Bridge Hotel, currently contains mostly serviced or rented apartments but also houses several owner-occupiers.
Local councillor Helen Abrahams backflipped on her initial support for the development application after inspecting one of the units at Quest and speaking to businesses and council officers.
The Quest on Story Bridge franchise, which manages the building and services apartments in its letting pool, wrote to the council saying it often had to turn business away because short-term accommodation was in such strong demand, while warning that local shops relied on visitors.
Brisbane City Council neighbourhood planning chair Amanda Cooper said she could not comment on the matter while the development application was being assessed by council officers.
However, she said planning rules distinguished between short-term and long-term accommodation because the impacts on neighbouring residents were different.
Mr Green, a first home buyer and lawyer, said the residents simply wanted to use their units for the purpose for which they were sold.
“While we may have be let down by a number of people along the way, the critical thing to remember is that we haven't given up,” he said.
“Instead of pointing the finger at others, which would have been an easy option in many instances, we've tried to fix this mess.
“We've engaged lawyers and town planners and collectively spent tens of thousands of dollars trying to comply with the law.”
He said the issue was complicated by the fact business owners were “looking to force us out of our homes to further their own commercial interests”.
Quest on Story Bridge was contacted for comment on Friday and yesterday, but so far it has not responded.
This reporter is on Twitter: @danielhurstbne