[deliria1]

Unfortunately we are not in a position to now walk away.

We sold our home of 11 years to purchase this apartment & have been renting for the last 12 months awaiting completion. 

We did not have to pay stamp duty when we purchased last year – we will now.

A comparable apartment will now cost us considerably more – believe me, we have tried to find one. We would have loved to have found somewhere else.

We have bought tiles for this apartment (that have been laid), we have bought furniture for this apartment that is awaiting delivery. Walking away is not so simple now.

Of course we now understand that we have purchased in a development where we will continue to have problems with the builder/developer and that saddens us no end.

This exercise has shown us that even if you do your research & you think you have found a somewhat reputable builder & developer – chances are you have not. I do not believe that any exist.

As for listening to our solicitor we have been, but everything the vendor has offered so far is conditional – we have been more than reasonable in trying to find a solution. 

Your suggestion that we just do it ourselves (as we don’t need to seek permission to “unpaint” the ceiling), and chase them up for costs is a valid one.

However, as I have explained Dry Ice Blasting is a method that uses compressed air and is very noisy & uses a large piece of machinery – and as the builders are still on site completing Stage 2 of the development, I don’t see how we can do this without drawing their attention. As they have asked we seek permission from the owners corporation (i.e. them) what if they choose to throw the contractors off site?

We have also been advised that it is best to sort the ceiling prior to moving in as we will have to move everything out again should we choose to do it later.

So alas, while some people may be in a position to just throw money away – we are not.

[deliria1]

You are quite wrong Jimmy if you think this is just about winning the fight. We were more than prepared to take the money they offered (well we would have asked for more as the quote we were given was only a ball park figure), however, the vendors added the stipulation that we needed to seek owners corporation permission – and they have a large vote. So we know if we did that we wouldn’t get permission. They dry ice blasting machine uses compressed air and is incredibly noisy – there is no chance that we can sneak it in without anyone knowing. Yes we can take before and after photos, that still might not stop them claiming we voided some building warranty or were the cause of some defect that shows up a few years down the track? The last thing we want is to have to fight them again in a few years. So we would be more than happy to take the money and do it ousrselves, but they won’t give us written permission prior to settlement that will allow us to do that.

[deliria1]

So we can’t lodge an Urgent Hearing order with the CTTT?

Our solicitor has suggested we could settle & reserve our rights and then pursue them through the CTTT – is this not correct?

[deliria1]

Hi Whale,

Would love to pursue all this through the courts, but our solicitor can’t guarantee we would be awarded costs (most likely we would, but no guarantee) – so it is something we need to think about. As we would love to recoup legal costs, moving costs, storage etc.

We have asked our solicitor if we can just refuse to settle and are awaiting their response.

If they say we can, we will just find another rental & wait it out. The vendor will be made aware that if they don’t sort it out before we recommit to another lease, then they could likely be waiting up to 12 months for settlement, as we will not break our lease and cop a penalty.

They will not let anyone in to quote on the job, but based on the information I have given to a Dry Ice Blasting company, they think it will cost somewhere between $4000 & $5000 to do (would be cheaper if the builder hired the equipment and did it themselves). They also don’t think it would take more than 2 days to complete.

The builder has offered us $5000 to do it ourselves, so why not just pay someone else to do it for them now and save all the hassle – we just don’t get it.

We think it boils down to spite, pure and simple.

They have viewed us as being problematic from the start – because we requested they do less work by leaving the ceiling untouched and by also asking if we could provide our own tiles for the bathroom feature wall & kitchen splashback – at our cost.

[deliria1]

Thanks Whale & Jimmy – we really don’t want to settle & have been pursuing this through solicitors for weeks now. The builder won’t budge the latest letter stating that their structural engineers have said 

“there is no feasible method of removing the

paint without risking damage or potential damage to the existing concrete structure.”

We have found two methods that will remove the paint without damage. One being a paint stripper. They will not accept this, even though they have previously used paint stripper themselves, which did remove the paint, but they found scraping it off too labour intensive – so they stopped.

We would just refuse to settle and that is our preferred option – however, notice has been given on our rental and we have to be out soon. holidays have been booked (that can’t be changed this late), in order to be home for furniture delivery, installing blinds etc, etc. 

It has already cost us a fair amount in solictors fees, and we are now having to waste holidays sitting around doing nothing.

We could find another rental, but once we sign the lease we will be committed for 6 or 12 months & we won’t break the lease & pay the penalty.

Our solicitors cannot believe how aggressive & stubborn the vendors are being especially as they really haven’t got a leg to stand on. 

I agree with Whale, if we do it ourselves I don’t trust that they wouldn’t try to blame a genuine building defect on work they claim we did on the ceiling.

Really at a loss right now.

[deliria1]

Thanks for the responses.

I have just checked our by-laws and I am assuming this is the one that applies:

 

Alteration or work to Lots

 

7.1 The consent of the Owner’s Corporation and the Building management Committee must be obtained if an Owner or Occupier wishes to:

 

a)    make alterations to, additions to, remove, repair or replace:

                i.         any part of the Common Property near or within their Lot (such as Common Property walls, Common Property windows and doors, Common Property floor and ceilings)

              ii.         the structure of their Lot

             iii.         the internal walls inside their Lot (such as dividing walls even though they may not be Common Property).

             iv.         The balcony attached to their Lot (such as enclosing it or erecting some permanent structure on it (this does not include plants or furniture)),

              v.         Any part of the Heritage items (even if the Heritage item may not be Common Property)

 

Now the ceiling is part of the original 1920’s warehouse – so I suppose they could say that point v. applies, and that it is a heritage item. But if that is the case, they probably shouldn’t have painted it themselves and left it in its original, raw unpainted state – as we requested!

So, if by alterations they also mean painting, then I guess point iii. means we can’t paint the internal walls without permission either?

Is this a standard by-law? 

Thanks

[deliria1]

If they want to give their cat some time outside (which I am sure the cat would appreciate) – insist that they enclose their terrace/balcony with Catmax https://www.catmax.com.au/?source=easyppc or a similar product (at their expense).

It is fairly low visibility, will keep poo off the common areas, stop the cat getting run over/hurt & protect wildlife.

[deliria1]

This is a fantastic idea Jimmy, can’t see why the Government & the Developers wouldn’t be behind it.

I for one, would be more than happy to pay an additional 1% on the cost of an apartment to ensure this level of protection.

[deliria1]

This isn’t a problem reserved for old apartments. I currently live in an old terrace in Marrickville and you can really hear a lot through the adjoining wall – and we have relatively quiet neighbours.

Prior to that, I lived in a freestanding weatherboard & could easily hear our neighbours walking around the their house and pottering in their kitchen – not to mention arguments, music etc. 

I think any situation where you live so close to your neighbours (e.g inner city Sydney), be it in a house or unit – noise can often be an issue.

[deliria1]

I have no idea why everything in our society is geared towards protecting those that have done the wrong thing. 

We have come up against a brick wall with no-one willing to help – not  Fair Trading or any other Government Dept. 

Our solicitor sends them letters and they simply refuse to respond. On what planet is this bully boy behaviour acceptable?

They made a mistake and rather than honour a legally binding contract, they try to bully us out of an apartment we purchased in good faith. 

If for any reason we couldn’t comply with the terms of the contract we would have lost our $58,000 deposit – they don’t comply and we have to take on legal costs to fight them in court.

Another example of a cashed up developer screwing over somebody who is just trying to make a home for themselves? 

They have turned something we were looking forward to, into an absolute nightmare.

I am at a loss as to how they can get away with this.

[deliria1]

I believe a low visibility mesh is the way to go for anyone who has cats. Cats love to have that little bit of outdoor space to lay in the sun & grab a bit of fresh air. 

https://www.catmax.com.au/clearnet-enclosures.php

Being allowed outdoors results in happier cats that tend to be less destructive when indoors.

In my current rental we have enclosed the 5 sqm back patio area and this seems to be enough to keep my cats happy. they have a cat tower they can climb, some cat grass they can chew, a scratching post and some nice sunny spots to enjoy the sun.

I am hoping that i will be able to enclose a portion of my terrace when we move to our apartment at the end of the month.

Cats should not be allowed on common property where they can poo where they please & bother other owners/tenants. 

[deliria1]

Personally, I think there should be a ‘name and shame’ list (similiar to the Food Authorities list of dodgy restaurants) for the building trade.

Wouldn’t we all love to know who the builders & developers were in irishpaddy’s and ‘never again’s cases?

 I have spent $600K on an ‘off the plan’ apartment (due for completion soon), why should I have to be up for thousands more, because our ‘brilliant new State Government’ has decided to jump into bed with these dodgy developers/builders? I am absolutely dumbstruck that this sort of thing can legally happen.

There needs to be a list somewhere of these rubbish builders/developers.

Knowing that you are dealing with a reputable builder/developer strikes me as somewhat more important than knowing where to avoid eating so as not to get a cockroach in your curry!

My only regret is that I didn’t find this forum until after I had exchanged contracts on my apartment.

I sold my house because I wanted something that I thought would be less maintenance and a little more stress free. Looks like I am about to find out what high maintenance & high stress are all about!

I guess there is a reason why the ‘Why I love apartment living’ section of this forum only has 3 posts and all of them written by Jimmy T.

[deliria1]

With the claim period for non-structural defects reduced from 7 years  to 2 years, surely even somewhat decent developers & builder will be tempted to cut corners etc, knowing that their work only has to ‘hold out’ for two years.

I swear I am dreading moving into my new apartment.

[deliria1]

The complex I am buying into is a joint development of [at this point we get a list of developers and builders … any of whom could sue me when they read the next part. NO NAMES PLEASE – JimmyT]

When the inevitable defects occur who do we chase up the developers of the builder?

[deliria1]

Boronia that is a good point.

However, is the terrace deemed to be part of my lot? And if so, am I able to screen it to keep random “animals” out?

Still, we don't have point (3) as part of our by-law….so doesn't really apply in my case.

[Author]

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