The true cost of home ownership (from rates & repairs to termite infestations)

[@w0mblemania]

You absolutely must get an inspection before you buy property. I have a friend who failed to get one on a house where another buyer had dropped out of the bidding contest... It's very likely that buyer got an inspection done, and then ran away as fast as they could. The house had so many serious problems, which have cost several hundreds of thousands to fix. Or at least mitigate. So it's been a financial disaster. The reality is that a lot can go wrong with homes, and when they do, they can be hugely expensive. Some problems aren't fixable. Like folks in flooding areas that are no longer able to get flood insurance, which means it's going to be very hard for them to ever sell their homes. And even if they can get insurance, it can cost them $10K a year or more. Yes, inspections are pricey, but this is likely the most important financial decision of your life.

[@Bobafe77a]

I would like to add that building inspectors are very limited by regulations of what they can and cannot inspect. For example they can only inspect by sight. They are not permitted to alter the building by cutting, drilling etc. If you really want to know the construction of the building, you won't discover it just by looking at things.

[@Rask-invest]

Yup. Agreed. That said, jumping in the roof or going under the house (if on stumps) to look for rot, damp, eaten timber is a great step. Some pest inspectors will use cameras that can 'look through' walls to see termites.

[@josephj6521]

Good discussion. Apartments with lifts/pools cost a lot for strata fees. I’m seeing on average $2,000 to $2,500 per quarter! If you include council and water rates, you’re looking at $12,000 to $13,000 per year. I’ve never seen value with many apartments. Then there are the special levies! Can send you broke! Homes are best due to land. Most renovations you don’t always get value (sometimes you do), but land value is the most important part. Nearly all homes you need to fix things. Expect to spend money on maintenance. I compared an ETF stock on the ASX to home ownership. If I put $1m into an ETF, it’ll be worth almost $2m after 10 years. Then think about mortgage costs on your home plus the stamp duty tax. It can get expensive. Hmm, maybe I won’t buy an investment property.

[@Rask-invest]

So well said! It's crazy what can happen with slow and steady fees and costs build up.

[@razadaza9651]

Exactly why I don’t own a property as yet…

[@Bobafe77a]

Real estate is really just the land on which the building sits. So apartments aren't real estate, they are leaseholdings. Old expensive houses in cities are high risk investments. It's much easier to buy something than to sell it. And its getting more difficult to sell for a profit because there are many different valuations for properties, not least the online algorithmic valuations which use gathered data. And those valuations are getting increasingly accurate and more trusted by home buyers and investors. Right now properties are extremely overpriced. If you want a home badly enough to buy now, that is your decision but it is a bad financial decision, especially if purchasing with a mortgage.

[@paulsmith5116]

Apartment owners have shared ownership of the land under the building.

[@Bobafe77a]

@@paulsmith5116older flats , mostly yes. But today , most apartments are on strata titles. This means that apartment owners do not own the land and have limited shared autonomy ( body corp ) over common areas in the building. An apartment owner owns the space between their walls and that's about it.