Jimmy first of all good piece of work in your article.
But l would like to draw your attention that there is no real fighting of laws around governance of managing strata fee’s by developers in the first instance so this is where it should be addressed as part of the develop,met in the first instance.
That strata fees must be standardised as to their application.
Typically developers will:
– do the bare minimum in insuring the property complex, this should be standardised to ensure new owners are covered at a real cost of strata fee’s.
– the sinking fund component is a low guess by developers
Developers should be made to:
– have a sinking fund component is audited before the developer can sell to ensure an actuary has signed off on estimates to be reflective of a true calculation. That where a developer incorrectly omits this then there is legal recourse in law to go after them at the developers cost.
– have strata fee’s to be in line/reflect with similar built complexes in the area as compared to age, size and facilities.
– get quotations from local Australian registered companies to cover all maintenance items for a complex should be part of the selling document so buyers can see when quotes were done, cost for the complex and how this is broken down to yearly strata fee’s.
– that a full occupancy certificate must be included before any sale commences to stop building work being carried around new owners, which is currently allowed or done by overseas developers.
– that developers deviations from the original plan to which they are selling off the plan, which includes fittings in apartments should allow a buyer to opt out of the contract if these changes are more than 20% of the design change to the building to which the purchaser is purchased and if internal changes are more than 15% changes to internal fittings or lesser quality fittings supplied allows the purchaser to opt out or get an independent report to allow for a discount to cover changes to lesser quality Fittings.