Advice Please - Strata Purchase, Advice on Possible Wood Rot in Subfloor

loropy9 on 02/02/2021 - 12:12
Last edited 02/02/2021 - 13:31 by 1 other user

My ageing relatives are looking to purchase a strata title property. The building inspection had a photo of the subfloor joists and it said that the subfloor area it's in typical condition for a 30 year old property. The markings on the joists weren't mentioned at all in the report. I tend to take these reports with a grain of salt, so I'd appreciate it if there is someone on Ozb with builders experience to advise if this would be a deal breaker. Unfortunately there is no time to organise an independent inspection as the deal has to be locked by tomorrow Wednesday. I know it would be covered under the strata, however it also has the potential to drain the strata funds and to possibly drag on and be disruptive for the everyday living.
I tried google but this is SO out of my area of expertise, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. There was some wood rot on the adjacent deck on the outside of the property, but it doesn't seem related.

https://imgur.com/a/kgELBIF

I hope the link works.

Thank you upfront!

• 

  MS Paint on 02/02/2021 - 12:14

  +4

  I hope the link works.

  Hope harder because it doesn't

  • 

    loropy9 on 02/02/2021 - 13:14

    +1

    Thanks for letting me know, the link should be ok now

• 

  loropy9 on 02/02/2021 - 13:05

  Link is working now!

• 

  AndyC1 on 02/02/2021 - 13:22

  +1

  The bigger issue is the water damage and the leak look like it's still occurring as the discoloration of the particle board where the crack or join is.
  The floor joists do not look in very good condition and will either have started to rot or will rot in the next few years as they have been subjected to water for a period of time.

  IMHO unless it is cheap and you can find the source of the leak then run.

  • 

    loropy9 on 02/02/2021 - 13:53

    Yes, that leak is very unusual. The spot is in the far corner of the living room and no pipes or any water using elements there. Not too cheap and not too expensive - but the property prices are red hot and you can't think too much. It's just the state of the property prices in Sydney - hard to fathom the absurdity. You think the wood rot is a deal breaker? I assume the joists would need to be rebuilt at some stage if too serious, and the entire floor would have to come off?

    • 

      AndyC1 on 02/02/2021 - 15:55

      +3

      The water leak is more of a deal breaker as it is not going to be easy to find and therefore will cause ongoing damage until it is fixed.

• 

  Porker on 02/02/2021 - 14:28

  +3

  As a side topic, my dad refused to pay $2000 more on a house in Camberwell (in Victoria). At the time, granted it was decades ago, he only wanted to pay $73,000 for the house but the agent was pushing $75,000.

  House sold recently for over $2mil.

  So if your relatives can live with the defect, granted it may be an issue, they may be ahead in the long run given the Sydney house prices.

  Just depends on what they want out of the house of course.

  • 

    loropy9 on 02/02/2021 - 14:37

    +1

    This is still the exact reality in the property market in Sydney. Just sad.