Warning on buying any apartment

[Bronte]

Re survey, the whole point being made above is that any consultant really has to have access to the 'innards' and this consent will not be forthcoming...

Why won't the consent be forthcoming?

 

[BOXtheFOX]

Is it possible to get details of management committees for various apartment blocks throughout the city without having to go through an Estate Agency? I would imagine that you could get more information from the members or from the minutes of the AGM than you would from an Estate Agent. The OP did some superb detective work.

 

[dam099]

I think it's rather telling that the banks will not loan on apartments outside the major cities. And some will only loan 50% value on these in some cities. There has to be something the banks know about the state of the apartment blocks.

I think this has more to do with perceived demand for apartments outside major cities than any particular knowledge about the state of the apartments.

I wouldn't expect apartments in major cities are any better built that those outside.

 

[ryaner]

I think this has more to do with perceived demand for apartments outside major cities than any particular knowledge about the state of the apartments.

I wouldn't expect apartments in major cities are any better built that those outside.

Exactly. Some of the apartments outside of the city have had next to no price discovery, and with no long term job prospects in areas with thousands of apartments, some are are worth less than 0 at this stage. Over then next 5-10 years you can expect them to start clearing out some of the really bad ghost estates. Buildings reach a point that it is cheaper to rebuild than fix up after a period of non habitation/maintenance.

 

[orka]

Well Pope J II above said that it was no problem to get an expert to do this.

What he said was that there were consultants willing/able to do this - the problem is getting permission from the current owner to open up the structure in various places - and, really, who is going to permit any/all potential buyers' surveyors to rummage around the innards of their property making all sorts of mess? I suppose one solution for a serious seller would be to get their own consultant to do whatever survey was necessary and for that consultant to stand over their work (ie accept liability) for any potential buyers.