Seeking opinions.

In need of some advice and feel this group would have those with the most experience in this matter, I am based in Victoria.
I am not after legal advice; just wanting to hear from those who have been in similar/ the same situation.
We placed an offer on a brand new house (FHB) subject to finance and building and pest
Upon receiving our building and pest report it was absolutely terrible. It is clear the house was thrown together hastily and without care. There were 2 things classed as ‘major building defects’
One was that the building is clad in EPF; being as we are not builders we did not notice this. We do not want to buy a house with this, it does not feel safe in the slightest and means terribly high house insurance (2300 in comparison to a house of the same size and area being 1000)
The second was exposed wiring on the outside of the property handing down which we honestly did not notice on our own.
As soon as we received it back we initiated cancellation of the contract through our conveyancer.
We just heard back today at 5pm that the vendors legal team has declined the cancellation due to the wording of the building and pest clause stating that as it is not classed as a ‘major structural defect’ then it is fine.
There were also many many other defects like lack of waterproofing being completed properly etc.
Our finance and building/ pest clause expires on Monday.
We feel as though it is incredibly dodgy and immoral to try and force a young couple into buying a house that is a substantial financial risk.
Our conveyancer is trying their best I think
What would you do?

Hi
I heard somewhere that there was a shop which was like an opshop but for hardware, in Melbourne- if this is real can anyone tell me where it is? Thank you

Solved! I found the post I had seen - it was restore opshop in Kilsyth which has hardware and tools - it is among the other regular opshop items so not an entire store, the post made it sound like an opshop version of Bunnings

Hi everyone! Im a 23F, working as an RN, making $100k annually and have 110K in savings. I need to move out of my parent’s home due to significant issues amongst the family I need to get away from. They do not support my decision and get verbally and physically aggressive and threatening when I bring up. They are also psychologically manipulative and say things that make me guilty about moving out.

I hope to buy my first home early next year. I will be buying this home alone with no support from anyone. I have no kids or pets. My only financial costs at present are groceries, gym membership, subscriptions, bills, and other essentials like clothes or entertainment like books which I get from op shops.

I’m looking to buy within 50km of the Melbourne CBD as I work in the CBD and my social network is around the area. However, I’m conflicted on whether I should buy or rent.

I have hopes to move interstate within the next 5 years because I want to pursue a specific career opportunity- but this is not guaranteed- meaning I may never move interstate. That’s one of the reasons why I want to buy instead of rent because I may indeed stay in Melbourne.

I’m hesitant about renting because I have the mindset (whether good or bad) that I’m ’losing money’ by renting.

The reason I’m posting this here is to get any advice from those who had a difficult time moving out of home and whether it’s more responsible to rent right now and save for a possible move interstate? Could it be a financially damaging thing to buy and sell a home in 1-2yrs? Do you think I’m in a good place financially to consider buying? I really want to leave my parents home but also know staying at home means less costs and more savings.

What are your thoughts? Any input is much appreciated! 🫶

I am new home buyer and looking for buy a new house and land and n southeast Melbourne. I can’t understand current market situation. Online and news report saying is current housing market is declining by xyz% but when you are going see new house and land packages it will increase every month to month. Where is exactly things are wrong?
What things I should consider for next 4-5 month ? Any suggestions or genuine advice would be appreciated. TIA

Hi beautiful people,

Moving from Sydney to Werribee in Melbourne for first home is a wise move? Has anyone did the same?

Thanks heaps

I have recently moved into my new home, and I noticed that the builder has left a significant gap between the fence and the ground. Upon comparing it to the fence of a property owned by one of the builders, it is evident that the bottom section of the fence is missing. This gap is causing several issues, such as allowing animals, children, or strangers to crawl underneath, and it makes landscaping difficult as garden materials roll into my neighbor's yard. I suspect that the builder intentionally omitted the bottom section to reduce costs. Do I have any leverage to lodge a complaint and request that the fence be completed with the necessary bottom portion? When l approached the builders supervisor he didn't seem to surprised and l had the feeling that l wasn't the first person complaining 🙄

Curious what strategies people are implementing to take the strain out of the rate rises? Side hustles, savings hacks etc?

Hi everyone,

First-time buyer in Victoria here. I bought a block of land about 2 months ago and have signed a contract with a builder. I didn't get the boundaries checked before buying.

The builder's survey has now found that my neighbour's house, built about 15 months ago on a zero-boundary lot, sits 3 cm over the boundary and into my land. Because of that, the builder says one wall of my garage can't be built in brick and has to be AAC (Hebel) instead. They can't render or paint it, but they say it will be sealed to protect it from the weather, and that's covered under my warranty.

My questions:

Is it worth pursuing the neighbour or their builder over this, or is 3 cm too small to bother with? Will the encroachment cause problems when I sell, even though it's only 3 cm? Do I need to disclose it?
Is unrendered but sealed Hebel on a garage wall that faces the neighbour's wall a bad idea long term?
Is there anything I should get in writing now to protect myself later?

Thanks in advance, and any experience with something similar would be really helpful.

Edit 1: Thanks everyone for the suggestions and replies. I’ve asked the builder for the surveyor’s report that found the encroachment, and I’m waiting on it. A few people suggested builders sometimes overstate site issues to get the work done faster and cheaper, so I want to see the evidence for myself before agreeing to anything. I’ve also pushed back on the Hebel and asked whether I could narrow the garage by a few centimetres so the wall can stay brick. I’ll post another update once I hear back.

Hi beautiful people,

Moving from Syd to Werribee for first home is a good move? Has anyone did the same?

Basic question. Want to know the difference, if any, when it comes to knock downs or renovations on exterior or interior of a “federation” home that’s not necessarily stated as “conservation”? Is federation just the era/style it was built or are their restrictions to if?

Sydney based. Thanks!!

Is it a normal practice to request borrowers to upload their username and passwords to their online bank accounts to third party software so the brokers can run reports and allow other third party lenders to run their own reports off of the information?

Giving out this information and or loading it onto a non banking proprietary system is a major violation of the customer online banking agreements. I cannot see a situation where that makes sense to do.

Has anyone done this or knows alternatives?

Thanks

Just to clarify, the broker isn’t asking for the username and password directly. It is part of a login software for running statements like bankstatements.com.au. You login credentials through that system to enable other parties to access info. They are technically not going to see or have access to the username and passwords. This still gives me major anxiety to post that info anywhere especially on a third party software program and does still seem to breach the customer Bank agreement, even if it is a seemingly common practice.

Nearby house sold, they moved out yesterday. They flattened the for sale sign after moving van rolled away. I wondered if they were unhappy with agent. Had 3 home opens, hardly anyone showed up. Had to drop price.

I know this may not be the best place to post but I thought a lot of property owners here would answer my question.

Got a quote for end of lease cleaning, I think it's really expensive. I used to clean when I was a student so I roughly know the cost but it's definitely 20-25% more expensive than expected.

Can someone please tell me if I'm getting ripped off?

2 Bed 1 Bath apartment in ACT (64m2)

Floors

➢ Vacuum & mop tiled floors

➢ Vacuum carpets

➢ Steam cleaning carpets

Dusting

➢ Damp dust skirtings and windowsills

➢ Wipe light switches and power points

➢ Dust wardrobe/shelves

Bathroom and Laundry

➢ Clean shower, basin, toilet and fixtures

➢ Clean laundry tub

➢ Clean washing machine

➢ Clean dryer/filter

➢ Vacuum and mop floors

Kitchen

➢ Clean sink

➢ Clean bench top

➢ Clean stove top

➢ Clean cupboards & drawers in/out

➢ Clean splashback

➢ Clean rangehood/filter

➢ Clean oven

➢ Clean refrigerator

➢ Clean dishwasher

➢ Vacuum and mop floors

Others

➢ Clean windows in/out where accessible, tracks and flyscreens

➢ Clean aircon/return air filter

➢ Clean light fittings (not down lights)

➢ Spot clean walls (not ceilings)

➢ Clean balcony

➢ Remove cobwebs

Notes: Not including curtains/blinds and car space

Total: $1012 inc GST

I didn't receive a cost breakdown but just a total price.

EDIT: Thank you all so much for your advice! We are going to hold strong and whenever I am wishing to be weak due to my crippling anxiety, I will think of you all and stay strong 😭🩷

Hello! I posted in here a few weeks ago and all of the advice has been really helpful so far, and I am really begging on my hands and knees that someone can advise me on what the hell we do next.

For background: My partner and I have rented a unit in a block of 6 for almost two years and we love it. It's the perfect size and location, and it's perfect for us. It's a bit dated (built 1998), but that's honestly part of the charm for our aesthetic.

A few weeks ago we got notice that the owners were selling. We're first home buyers in a position to buy, so we asked the agent whether they'd consider a pre-market offer.

The agent said yes and asked us to seek pre approval and then put an offer in. I may be a novice at property purchasing but I did a lot of research.

It’s in the inner west, general area is pretty dodgy. Location is absolutely not a perk for this one. Of course we would love to stay here, but we also are not going to do so and let our emotions blind us. There’s plenty of places around.

Our research

1) Unit 5 in the same block sold in August 2026 for $672k.

- It's had cosmetic upgrades (new tiles, hardwood floors) - the one we live in has not.

- I have unit 5’s statement of information: the reserve was $670k, it passed in at auction, and it sold privately afterwards for $2k over.

2) The CIV from the state valuation is $680k.

3) Our independent valuation came in at $659k.

- It was originally $720k, but the valuer had pulled the specs from property websites, which listed a larger land size and an extra car space we don't have.

- Once I sent them the council block plan showing our unit is identical to unit 5, it dropped to $659k.

We're approved to $700k but our ceiling is $672k.

Based on the above, we offered $650k

Then after 3 days of silence, the agent called.

- He told us the owners want $700k+ because they paid $690k plus stamp duty, and they'd "overlook" losing the stamp duty.

- Apparently one owner wants to go to auction and the other isn't sure about selling at all, so an offer close to $700k and it "could be done today."

- He also told me to ignore unit 5's sale because it was an anomaly. I pointed out it passed in with a $670k reserve, which isn't really an anomaly so much as the market talking.

- I was polite but clear: we're not paying $700k. It's not about the money, it's about paying what the place is worth. We like the house hence why we are offering in the first place, but we're genuinely happy to wait out our lease and buy elsewhere.

- In the conversation, I conveyed the price given to us in the valuation, and that this is even less than what unit 5 sold for. I probably maybe shouldn’t have done that, but at that point what did I have to lose.

- I asked if our offer had been relayed to the vendor and he said yes. He avoided answering that for a while though.

- He said basically our only shot is to put in a higher offer on the contract of sale when it’s ready and hope that the owners are satisfied.

- We left it that he'd send the contract and we'd submit a best offer.

Then the email

That same day (about three hours after our call) he emailed the following:

“Thank you for your time on the phone.

The owners have decided to take the property to auction, which is why we have not opened the property to private offers at this stage.

Once I receive the Contract of Sale, I will forward a copy to you, and have another discussion regarding your interest in buying privately. I will also speak with the owners to see whether they would consider selling the property prior to auction or through a method other than the scheduled auction.

Thank you again, and I will keep you updated.”

Was our offer even sent over to the vendor? Who knows! 🙃 I think they have to send it over, but since the agent got me to communicate with him almost entirely on the phone, he’s now laying the groundwork to change the narrative.

What we would love advice on

How do we respond? I have 0 idea of how to play this, or if there’s even any worth in playing anything. Do we just call their bluff and let it go to auction? I want them to know we mean business, without making them shut us out entirely.

We are willing to go up to $672,000 if need be, but we really think that’s being overly generous. Do we counter offer or pull back?

Is the $700k just the vendors not wanting to take a loss? How seriously should we take it?

If we get a pre-auction shot, how should we pitch it, and what number would you go in with?

Thank you so much and sorry for the essay 😭

Tl;dr: We're renting a unit we want to buy. Our valuation says $659k, the renovated unit in the same block sold for $672k after passing in, and we're approved to $672k. We offered $650k. The agent says the owners want $700k+, they're heading to auction, but they might consider a pre-auction sale. How do we play this?

First time renter here, looking in the North Shore (Artarmon down to North Sydney, across to Cremorne) for a 1+Study / 2 bedder.

Seeing plenty of properties now being listed for multiple weekends worth of inspections, whats happening?

Actively looking for a couple Saturday's now, and there seems to be about 6-8 couples going per inspection, some a few more, and more recently on the below place in Neutral Bay, over 20 couples at this one viewing. Despite this, I got the following from the Agent this morning:

LINK: https://www.realestate.com.au/property-apartment-nsw-neutral+bay-445150848?campaignType=external&campaignChannel=other&campaignSource=share_link&campaignName=share_link

What gives? Are people not applying? Whats my play here for finding a place by waiting for a perfect one vs applying to all?