Book lifts lid on apartment struggles

9 July 2004

A lot of pain and expense could be avoided if buyers of apartments did some simple research before signing on the dotted line. Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson, authors of a new book, Apartment Living, learned the hard way.

When they bought their apartment in Sydney off the plan in 2001 they encountered so many problems they decided to put up a fight. "We became very involved in looking at the law and how it pertained to new apartment buildings, at the way real estate salesmen, developers, and builders operate and we found there was not much information out there," Williams says.

"It's very hard when buying off the plan to make sure you get what you pay for. Often developers will show you a display apartment but what you end up with is quite different. Ceilings can be lower, finishes can be completely different, it can be smaller.

"We didn't know then what we know now: that you should always take photos and measure the display apartment so when you walk into your apartment it's exactly what you expected." One of the nightmares faced by the author was the ban by their body corporate, after they moved in, on pets. They had two cats and their neighbour had two small dogs. The option was to sell, have the animals put down or move out and rent their apartments.

(They ran such a good pro-pet campaign - the ban on pets was outvoted by a landslide.)

"People don't realise with apartments that other people can have complete control over their lives," Williams says.

"But you can get involved and if you know what you're doing you can make apartment living a fantastic experience. There's a lot to be said for it: it can be stress free, relaxed, secure, with access to facilities you might otherwise not be able to afford such as a gym and swimming pool."

Buying into older buildings can be a problem if the body corporate won't invest in the building, the sinking fund shrinks and if something goes wrong they have to raise a special levy.

When the authors' situation became problematic, they contacted other bodies corporate about their experiences and organised a meeting of people from around Sydney. As a result, they formed the Owners Corporation Network of Australia Inc. "Now we have regular meetings and I'm in touch with lots of bodies corporate in most states ," Williams says. "We ended up doing research right around the country so we became quite expert. We're holding our first half-day seminar in August."

Williams points out that while in Europe people have been living in apartments since the Romans, Australians are so wedded to the garden that apartment living is still relatively new. But it's catching on fast: a quarter of people in NSW live in apartments.

The Network presented a paper to the NSW government's Campbell Inquiry into building standards and many of their recommendations were accepted.

"It's a big adjustment living in an apartment. It's good to be able to know how to get the most out of an apartment and how to choose the right one whether you're a tenant, an owner or an investor."

Williams found writing the book cathartic. "We're now really happy here, it's a well-run building and a great place to live, and in high demand," she says.

"Within the first year of moving in, we'd sacked our management company, then our strata company and we were in a fight with our developers. It was really hard work, horrendous. It's lovely to come out the other side."

The authors are asked to address other bodies corporate eager to avoid the pitfalls.

"I gave a talk last week," Williams says. "They were going through exactly the same problems and I sat there and thought 'thank god I never bought into their building'. The problems are the same all around the country. You end up knowing which buildings to avoid."

Apartment Living by Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson, published by ABC books, $29.95

Reproduced from the Australian Financial Review, 9 July 2004.