Hi guys,
I am looking at buying a property in NSW. It has been heavily discounted and is possible a nice bargain. The vendors relocated due to work and are now getting desperate to sell. The problem is there is a room downstairs that has been roughly concreted and had some carpet thrown over the top. The room has not been finished all that well and It is not DA approved. As well as this there is a laundry attached that has a floor to ceiling height of around 6.5 feet [blink].
The rest of the house is fantastic and has recently been renovated.
I was thinking about making an offer (subject to building inpection). I was then expecting the building inspection to say the rooms were not approved which I could then use to bargain the price down more.
Is this a good idea? what should I watch out for in this situation?
Is your purpose to convert these rooms into habitable areas eg bedrooms. If so the Building Code of Australia requires them to be 2.4m ceiling height amoungst other things. Otherwise the rooms can be for storage only and do not require to have all the normal things people expect in habitable areas eg natural light, ventilation, dry etc. The current owners may have lodged plans for these rooms to be store areas in which case formal approvals may be forthcoming from the Council.
Good luck
Thanks for the info Swerve,
I will just clarify that the main room downstairs is full height, but the laundry has the low ceiling (it makes you feel like your in Alice in Wonderland [blink]). But the laundry has a properly laid concrete floor and the main room has a dodgy concrete floor…
This property would be a PPOR for us atm so I would turn this main room into my office. However in a few years we might end turning the house into an IP.
If the main room downstairs is an extra room, ie. the house upstairs is the original house with a living room, then the owners will probably say you are buying the house as is and the downstairs is a bonus. If you are getting a bargain already, why not just buy it so they don’t feel they are being shafted. I think it is good for each party to feel the win/win feeling.
Of course, I am assuming you think it is a bargain without relying on the downstairs room as being habitable.
I have had issues in the past with building inspections, and one even wrote in his report that the children’s cubby house in the back yard was not up to building regulations (TRUE!!!) so I don’t like the thought of using a building inspection report to gain an unfair advantage, because I have been on the receiving end, and it is not nice. I would not do it.
Wylie.
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