Hi,

We are thinking of buying a house by end of the year(in NSW) and these days we are searching the areas, houses which we can buy. We are planning to buy a used house/town house.

So i would like to know what are pros and cons of buying a town house over Torrens title house ? Also would like to know BE members' experiences about buying a house and what things i should pay more attention, like carrying out pest report, structural reports etc. ?

Thanks in advance.

Muditha

I personally prefer torrens as I can decide what maintenance I do when (plus OH is handy so we don't have to pay a tradie). If you like everything to be done for you then a townhouse and just paying fees may be a perfect choice.

If going for a townhouse I'd suggest a smaller strata as fees in the big ones with lots of units and pools etc. can be very high and you may get unexpected bills such as for your share of painting the complex.

Also with a townhouse if you want to renovate with things that need DA approval you will also need body corp approval too.

I have not worked put what torrens title means, is it same as freehold in UK?

Yes, it's exactly that, strata is sort of leasehold apart from there is no lease to expire

OP with regard to reports, with a house pest and buildings are both sensible to have done particularly for torrens, with townhouses a strata report should also be done to check the financial position of the body corp. For a townhouse you should also check if there are any works being planned that haven't yet been paid.

For any place I'd also suggest checking neighbouring properties DAs on you local councils website to see if anything is in progress or has been approved which would negatively impact the property.

Does anybody can suggest how long a buyer will get to check pest control and structural reports ?

In NSW as long as you don't buy at auction the it's normally a 5 day cooling off period after contract signing. At contract signing the buyer pays 0.25% which the lose if they pull out. It is possible to extend the cooling off period if the vendor agrees.

For properties bought at auction or shortly after there is no cooling off period so you need to do all due diligence in advance. If a vendor accepts a pre auction offer then again they are likely to insist the buyer waives their cooling off period.

If the market in your area is really hot you may find the vendor refuse so accept a contract with a cooling off period so you would need to do all your checks before signing the contract.

ok. Thanks spottydog.