For many, many years I have been totally anti-apartments. All I did was take a look at the amazing opportunities in buying houses – often for a much lower price – and I wouldn't even give apartments a moment of my time.
Apart from the major point that you have total control over a house, what really turned me off was the strata fees . . you never can tell how crazy these fees will become over time and if you have a hopeless strata manager, your apartment (or town house) will be a financial mess.
Jump to 2023 and we're facing a mix of forces that justifies a re-think of the apartment option. Yes . . this comes with qualifiers but first let's consider the factors impacting this type of property.
Anyway . . . we're basically going to need a lot more property than we have available. So, while you will definitely have more opportunities when buying a house – as long as it's the best one for you – the reality is we're going to have to consider apartments and new builds in the future. As a strategy, buying apartments has an upside as well as a downside.
On the upside = More variety than you realise
To ensure our clients buy successfully, we're always looking for property that will (1) match their specific requirements and (2) provide as much opportunity and flexibility as possible. When we're looking for apartments for clients we always assess each apartment on all the critical success factors, including future potential. We have built up an extensive number of ways to really amplify performance.
If you're considering an apartment purchase, there's more variety and range of strategies you can use than just the basics. Consider the following for starters.
The other benefit of apartments is land tax issues will usually be a long way into the future, and the buy-in price is currently fairly good [though this won't last long given the supply issues outlined above]. Also – while I hate the control restrictions of strata – the upside is your strata fees should cover most maintenance of the common areas.
On the downside – Restrictions abound
Well let's be honest . . there's quite a long list on the downside. Sharing the property with sometimes questionable tenants of other units, lack of control over improvements, exposure to poor strata management, a limited strategy range when compared to houses . . to name just a few.
However, as long as you make good choices, the upside of apartments is starting to strengthen. So how do you make good choices? Unit block by unit block will have it's pros and cons depending on the suburb and block location, but generally if you're buying into strata (and this could be an apartment, town house or duplex) at least start by considering the three critical documents of the Strata Report, Building and Pest Inspection, Strata Meeting Minutes.
If you want to be sure you're buying the absolute best option for your budget, let us do all the work for you. Email me if you would like to book in for a strategy session that is guaranteed to save you time and make the most of your current position.
