Strata Problem Not Picked up by Strata Inspection Report

berry580 on 13/10/2020 - 07:52

Hi ozBargainers,
I recently bought a villa and did a prepurchase strata inspection report, which revealed nothing adverse, and the purchase settled.

Couple of months later, we had an GM and first thing that came up was about one of the unit experiencing subsidence matters. A concern that's been on going for 2 years plus according to the committee members and strata manager.
The quote to fix is close to $500K, about $50K each.

I feel deceived, is there any recourse on the company which completed the strata inspection?

Thanks all
Berry580

Home & Garden

Comments

  • charzy on 13/10/2020 - 07:55

    Is it noted in the strata inspection report?
    If it was the onus is on you to perform due diligence. If it's missing then maybe it is something you can pursue.

  • whooah1979 on 13/10/2020 - 07:57

    Read the contract when in doubt. Try contacting the company and ask them. If that doesn't work contact the NCAT.

  • Porker on 13/10/2020 - 09:12

    Does sound like something that the Strata Report should've picked up on - it's not a minor cost.

    Have you spoken with the report provider? Maybe it wasn't picked up because it wasn't an expense, but rather a quote? I don't know.. definitely something you would've wanted to know before purchase, hence, report.

    I'd say show the report provider the relevant AGM minutes and issue, and ask them why it wasn't picked up (?).

  • Earl of Lemongrab on 13/10/2020 - 09:35
    +1

    Considering it's been an ongoing issues for 2 years it should have been documented in previous meeting minutes.

    Did the Strata inspection scope consider the minutes of past meetings to draw out these potential issues?

  • Seraphin7 on 13/10/2020 - 10:23
    +1

    The primary question here will be what is in the minutes of the strata plan.

    If it was in the minutes, it should have been included in the report.

    If it wasn't in the minutes, the report has no way to identify this.

    You'll need to ascertain this situation and then determine your course of action.

  • vinni9284 on 13/10/2020 - 10:25

    I would assume that person/company that conducted the report is external and should have indemnity insurance?
    You can try to claim .. or unfortunately lawyer up.
    Good luck

  • wallet72 on 13/10/2020 - 10:27

    if it wasn't in the minutes then are you liable? I mean it would seem that it was either hidden maliciously or left out through incompetence, either way it should be enough to not be your problem?

    • berry580 on 13/10/2020 - 17:34

      That's my thought. But what recourse can there be when committee members deem certain sensitive issues are to be left off record? Especially when no actual work had been done on the matter yet.

      • wallet72 on 13/10/2020 - 18:20

        see even with that there are regulations about strata committees and minutes etc. An issue like this cannot be left off the minutes - even if they think it can, law trumps committee

  • Donaldhump on 13/10/2020 - 10:51

    which state?

    ins some states contingent liabilities and defects must be disclosed and covered by implied warranties so you can sue the seller for the costs if they failed to disclose this.

    go engage a lawyer.

    • whooah1979 on 13/10/2020 - 16:15

      Properties in NSW that are older than 13 weeks are normally not covered by a statutory warranty.

    • berry580 on 13/10/2020 - 17:31

      NSW.
      Spoke with my solicitor, in NSW, buyers are to do their due diligence. I.e. seller is free to hide all defects.
      That's just the rule of the game here apparently.

  • brad1-8tsi on 13/10/2020 - 11:56

    A lot of stuff at my place wasn't in the report or recorded in the AGM minutes but was known about outside of the AGM. Not big numbers but $20k-$30k among 8 properties

  • Meho2026 on 13/10/2020 - 15:12

    You should arrange to inspect the strata records yourself.
    Go back 2 years and see if you can find the documentation relating to the subsidence. It sounds like from what you are saying this exists.
    Photocopy all of the evidence.
    Check with the strata inspection company to see if they have professional indemnity insurance, they often advertise that on their website. If they do ask them for the details of their insurer and submit a claim directly with their insurer.

    For anyone else out there planning on obtaining a prepurchase strata inspection report be aware that some of these companies outsource the actual record inspection to people with no experience or qualifications.
    Any prospective buyer of a strata property is able to inspect the strata records themselves by appointment and by paying a fee roughly $35/hr and $0.50 per photocopy. Its a lot cheaper than engaging one of these companies, its usually pretty easy to find out what you need and if you do have a query the strata management staff can answer it there and then.

    • berry580 on 13/10/2020 - 17:29

      Thanks.
      I've just obtained last 3 year's worth of meeting minutes from the strata manager. Will be going through them in detail.

      As with doing the strata inspection yourself, never came to me as possibility. Should I buy another property in the future, I'll certainly keep that in mind.

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