Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jul 12, 2009 10:24 pm Hi guys and girls, we are only new and are seriously thinking of buying a half built house. Basically the owner has walked and the bank is selling in Queensland. Its a 2 storey brick house. All the internal walls and ceilings are in ,same as stairs and the floors are down , there seems to be pipeing through out the house same as power but no kitchen toilets or bathroom or laundry,how ever the pipes seem to be there. We are looking to buy it and do as much as we can is this a mistake? I guess what i need to know is..... How do i find out what inspections have been done on the house? and by whom? At what stage can we move in and what inspections need to be done for this? And from whom? As we are buying through Auction i believe that means i can not put in an offer on conditions of a condition report is this correct? how much would i be looking at on average for a kitchen and bathroom? Should i get a building report done ? As i am sure we will have many more questions before the auction next week i thank you in advance for your help Re: Hi from a newbie, a question on buying a half built house 2Jul 13, 2009 2:02 pm Auswithspirit As we are buying through Auction i believe that means i can not put in an offer on conditions of a condition report is this correct? Not true (at least in SA). You need to propose to the real estate agent that if you win, it'll be subject to ...... . The agent will discuss with the vendor and they'll tell you prior to the auction whether the special condition(s) is acceptable or not. Chris Re: Hi from a newbie, a question on buying a half built house 3Jul 13, 2009 4:43 pm We bought a half built (well slab and frame really only!) house 2 years ago. It wasn't an auction, but basically we got all the reports/plans/inspections from the real estate agent prior to even signing a contract. You can call the council and ask them what has been approved and what has been formally inspected as well. We had a private builder finish it off and organise our occupancy etc. The main thing you need to be aware of, is that not every builder will take on a half completed home due to their liability if there is something wrong with the slab/frame.. or basically any work that they didn't do. And we found the quotes were coming back the same as almost starting from scratch! I would make sure you get all your quotes before you start bidding, or you could find you will end up spending more than you anticipate. Kristi Living the dream. 4 horsey acres in the country. What's the next project??? Re: Hi from a newbie, a question on buying a half built house 4Jul 13, 2009 8:45 pm ChrisL Auswithspirit As we are buying through Auction i believe that means i can not put in an offer on conditions of a condition report is this correct? Not true (at least in SA). You need to propose to the real estate agent that if you win, it'll be subject to ...... . The agent will discuss with the vendor and they'll tell you prior to the auction whether the special condition(s) is acceptable or not. Chris Hi Chris and thanks for your response, apparently Queensland is diffrent they can sell with out conditions. Thanks thou Kristi We bought a half built (well slab and frame really only!) house 2 years ago. It wasn't an auction, but basically we got all the reports/plans/inspections from the real estate agent prior to even signing a contract. You can call the council and ask them what has been approved and what has been formally inspected as well. We had a private builder finish it off and organise our occupancy etc. The main thing you need to be aware of, is that not every builder will take on a half completed home due to their liability if there is something wrong with the slab/frame.. or basically any work that they didn't do. And we found the quotes were coming back the same as almost starting from scratch! I would make sure you get all your quotes before you start bidding, or you could find you will end up spending more than you anticipate. Kristi Hi Kristi And thanks for your reponse, aparently the story we re being told is that the owner just up and left the bank with it, there for there are no records in regards to inspections. I have phoned the Council and asked if i can find out what has and hasnt been done and they have said they cant tell me anything as i am nt the current owner. If i buy it without knowing it is built to standard then they will happily answer my questions The real estate is of no help what so ever Re: Hi from a newbie, a question on buying a half built house 5Jul 13, 2009 9:43 pm Oh bummer. Our RE Agent had all nearly all the info we needed. Hmm. it sounds a bit risky to be honest. Does your council have an online building and development site? You can do certain property searches online through my council website. If you really want it, maybe look at getting an independent building inspector in, or see if you can find out the name of the previous builder/architect. Best of luck with whatever you decide. Kristi Living the dream. 4 horsey acres in the country. What's the next project??? a building inspector should be able to tell you about any major problems but we need a floor plan with dimensions to clarify options for extra bedrooms ... sometime an… 1 8709 DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair We purchased a 1960s property that is on timber stumps mostly, and a newer section is on concrete stumps. We had a building inspection initially and they reported some… 0 12709 Yeah I don't know why I came to a forum. Place is full of wierdos/pedos thought internet may help but I suppose I'll try my luck with someone in person. Cheers. I tried… 0 6386 |