Before buying an apartment in Brisbane, it’s important to understand what you’re buying into beyond the unit itself. That means looking at the building’s condition, body corporate records and finances, levies and potential liabilities, by-laws and whether the price is supported by the market.
Thorough due diligence can bring issues, upcoming costs and restrictions to light before you commit.
Key Takeaways:
- Buying an apartment means assessing the building as well as the individual unit, including defects, maintenance history and planned major works.
- Body corporate records and finances can expose costs and risks you won’t see at an inspection, including inadequate sinking funds, disputes and special levies.
- Due diligence should inform what you’re prepared to pay. Defects, liabilities or restrictions may change your assessment of the property and what represents a fair price.
Table of Contents:
- The Apartment Itself for Defects
- The Building for Defects and Major Problems
- The Body Corporate Records
- The Body Corporate’s Financial Position
- The Body Corporate Levies and Special Levies
- The Insurance Position
- The By-Laws and How You Can Use the Apartment
- What’s Planned for the Building and Surrounding Area
- Whether the Apartment Is Fairly Priced
- The Contract and Seller Disclosure
- The Biggest Red Flags When Buying an Apartment in Brisbane
- Know What You’re Buying Into
- Frequently Asked Questions
Buying an apartment in Brisbane means buying into more than the four walls you inspect. What appears to be a great property at first glance can come with risks and costs that aren’t immediately obvious.
Here are the key things to check before buying.
1. The Apartment Itself for Defects
A well-presented apartment can still have issues that warrant a closer look. When inspecting the property, look for:
- Water stains, bubbling paint or musty smells
- Mould or signs of moisture
- Cracks in walls, ceilings or tiles
- Poorly sealed bathrooms, balconies and other wet areas
- Doors and windows that stick or don’t close properly
- Evidence of previous repairs that warrant further investigation
If anything raises questions, consider having the apartment professionally inspected. Queensland’s building regulator recommends pre-purchase inspections to help identify defects and areas requiring further investigation.
2. The Building for Defects and Major Problems
The condition of the wider building matters just as much as the condition of the apartment. Apartment building defects to look into may include:
- Waterproofing and drainage problems, particularly around balconies
- Rust, corrosion or deterioration
- Poorly maintained common areas
- Evidence of significant repairs or rectification work
Apartment owners share responsibility for maintaining common property through the body corporate, so problems elsewhere in the building can have financial implications for individual owners.
Queensland Government guidance recommends investigating the ongoing maintenance and upkeep of common property before buying.
3. The Body Corporate Records
Some of the most important information about an apartment won’t be visible at an inspection. Body corporate records can reveal:
- Recurring maintenance problems
- Disputes
- Previous or proposed repairs
- Defect or engineering reports
- Issues raised at committee and general meetings
Read the records with an eye for patterns, not just individual problems. The same leak appearing across several meeting minutes, for example, tells you more than a single maintenance request.
In Queensland, prospective buyers can inspect body corporate records or authorise someone to conduct the search for them.
4. The Body Corporate’s Financial Position
A well-maintained building needs money behind it. The body corporate’s latest financial statements and budgets can give you an indication of how it is positioned to meet its ongoing and future expenses.
Pay particular attention to its administrative and sinking funds.
The administrative fund generally covers recurring costs such as maintenance and insurance, while the sinking fund is used for capital and non-recurring expenditure, such as major repairs and replacement of significant assets.
5. The Body Corporate Levies and Special Levies
Regular body corporate levies form part of the ongoing cost of owning the apartment. It’s also worth checking whether any special levies have recently been raised or are being considered.
A special contribution (often called a special levy) is an additional contribution owners may be required to pay when the body corporate needs funds that aren’t adequately covered by its existing budget.
Where a special levy appears in the records, look at why it was raised, what your share would be and whether the underlying issue could lead to further costs.
6. The Insurance Position
The body corporate’s current insurance certificate will help you understand what the scheme’s policy covers and what you’ll need to insure yourself. In Queensland, bodies corporate must insure common property and body corporate assets, as well as buildings in certain types of schemes. The body corporate certificate provided when buying should include a copy of the insurance certificate. Queensland Government guidance also notes that owners remain responsible for insuring their own contents.
7. The By-Laws and How You Can Use the Apartment
Body corporate by-laws are worth reading in the context of how you intend to use the apartment.
Depending on the scheme, by-laws can cover matters such as pets, parking, use of common property and renovation restrictions.
A property can suit you in every other respect but have by-laws that don’t suit the way you intend to live in or use it.
You can obtain the current by-laws from the body corporate records or the scheme’s community management statement.
8. What’s Planned for the Building and Surrounding Area
It’s worth understanding what’s planned both within the complex and on neighbouring sites, as these can affect your future experience of the property.
A new development nearby could affect views, natural light, privacy, noise or traffic, while major works within the complex could mean disruption and additional costs.
For Brisbane properties, you can go to Brisbane City Council’s Development.i to search for development applications and approvals near the property.
9. Whether the Apartment Is Fairly Priced
Recent comparable sales provide a useful starting point for assessing the apartment’s market value. Look at differences in size, condition, floor level, aspect, views, parking and the quality of the building rather than comparing sale prices alone.
Anything uncovered during due diligence should also form part of that assessment. Upcoming works, defects or other liabilities may affect what you’re prepared to pay.
Automated valuations can be useful as one data point, but they don’t replace a property-specific assessment.
Property Pursuit Advisors combines pricing analysis with on-the-ground Brisbane market knowledge when assessing a property.
10. The Contract and Seller Disclosure
When buying an apartment in Brisbane, the seller must give you a disclosure statement and any applicable prescribed certificates before you sign the contract.
Have your solicitor or conveyancer review the contract and disclosure documents before you commit. The seller disclosure process doesn’t replace your own due diligence.
The Queensland Government’s Seller Disclosure Statement warns that it doesn’t cover matters such as the building’s structural soundness, pest infestation, flooding history or current or past building and development approvals.
The Biggest Red Flags When Buying an Apartment in Brisbane
Some findings warrant closer investigation before you decide whether an apartment is right for you:
- Recurring water ingress or unresolved building defects
- Major rectification works underway or proposed
- An underfunded sinking fund
- Recent or proposed special levies
- Repeated disputes or problems in body corporate records
- Significant nearby development that could affect the property
- A price that doesn’t stack up against comparable sales
No single issue automatically makes an apartment a bad buy. What matters is understanding the extent of the issue, who is responsible for it and what it could mean for you as an owner.
Know What You’re Buying Into
An apartment doesn’t need to be perfect to be a good purchase. But any problems, upcoming costs or compromises should be known before you agree on a price.
Due diligence gives you the information to decide whether the property still stacks up and what you’re prepared to pay for it.
If you’re thinking of buying an apartment in Brisbane, talk to us.
Property Pursuit Advisors can handle the research, inspections, due diligence and pricing analysis, giving you the information and advice you need to make the final decision with confidence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it better to buy a new or established apartment in Brisbane?
Neither is automatically better. With an established apartment, you have an existing building, body corporate and maintenance history to investigate. A new apartment requires a different due diligence process because there may be less operating history available.
Is an apartment a good investment in Brisbane?
It can be, but the Brisbane location alone doesn’t determine whether an apartment is a good investment. The individual property, purchase price, ongoing costs, local market and how the property fits your investment strategy all matter.
How long does it take to find a property in Brisbane?
There’s no fixed timeframe. How long it takes will depend on your requirements, budget, available properties and whether the right opportunity is already on the market when you begin your search.
Can a buyer’s agent help me buy an apartment in Brisbane?
Yes. A buyer’s agent can search for suitable properties, inspect and evaluate them, conduct due diligence and pricing analysis, and negotiate the purchase on your behalf. These services form part of Property Pursuit Advisors’ buying service.
