u/Old-Effective-7385

It's like all the one bedrooms are being forced under the 800k stamp duty free price, leaving the 801k to basically 950k as "would normally be over 1m but has varying levels of things wrong teehee".

I swear I've been seeing higher quality listings in the 750-800k bracket in Sydney.

p.s. and of course, the 2 bedrooms in 800-950k range aren't too great. Too rich for nice a tiny apartment, too poor for slightly less tiny apartment.

Assuming I have been told that I can buy up to 920k with the scheme, would it be silly to settle for something closer to 700k?

I'm such a chicken when it comes to these large financial decisions. Head says that it would be stupid to not take advantage of this but my heart gets scared at the thought of owning such an expensive property.

Those who have gone through something similar, please share your thoughts and experience.

I've seen posts here saying that if you buy something after 2021 you're safe but I'm seeing the same dodgy builders employing the same dodgy people building the same cookie cutter apartments. What exactly changed?

I think someone mentioned builders having a longer liability but most problems start rising after the warranty (6 years? 10 years?) ends and that's assuming that they simply don't phoenix. Even if you get a large builder that's going to hang around I have seen so many apartments having to fight the builder and sometimes even go to the Supreme Court to get fixes applied.

Please educate me on how people are so confidently suggesting these new builds.

Didn't make the APS6 interview that I have been filling as higher duty for two out of past three years. I wrote the training material for the role. I created some of the procedures. The questions were two technical questions for something that I did every day and two softball generic questions that I all followed STAR answering.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Found an apartment being sold for a steep discount in Lower North Shore area but it was built in 2020. Strata report looks okay. Still "under warranty" for whatever it's worth. Should I just avoid it to be safe?

https://preview.redd.it/p1rdwm8s7qdh1.png?width=402&format=png&auto=webp&s=a8619e7ffae312f9032a079f42933554bc16b275

Looking at units and prices have gone up but there seems to be a constant stream of units being up for sale. Is the area always like this? Seems to have the highest number of units listed in a suburb close to the CBD.

Got preapproval from CBA but wondering if it's possible to switch to BA in the future if the rate gap increases.

Got my preapproval from CBA around four months ago but looking to get it from a different bank with better rates. I recall reading that applying for preapprovals isn't an issue unless you do it 'too frequently', but how long is a piece of string?

Did a home sleep study and ANI came back at 80/hr with doctor's conclusion being "Severe obstructive sleep apnoea, associated with severe arterial oxygen desaturation". I also have an average oxyhaemoglobin saturation of 90%.

Guy made a huge fuss and wanted me to buy a CPAP machine ASAP when I got the results but:

• My blood pressure is normal
• I don't wake up gasping for air, I sleep fine
• Report showed that I had a sleep efficiency of >96%
• I had back pain and an interview the next day, not the usual conditions for sleep

Which makes me think I should perhaps give losing weight and sleeping on my sides a go first?

I asked to rent a machine before buying it outright, which was surprisingly pricey at 10AUD a day, and he didn't seem very happy. Also not sure how to feel about renting a machine that other people have also used to breathe through.

But it's mostly being immediately pushed to purchasing a machine that's giving me doubts about moving ahead with anything.

Did a home sleep study and ANI came back at 80/hr with doctor's conclusion being "Severe obstructive sleep apnoea, associated with severe arterial oxygen desaturation". I also have an average oxyhaemoglobin saturation of 90%.

Guy made a huge fuss and wanted me to buy a CPAP machine ASAP when I got the results but:

• My blood pressure is normal
• I don't wake up gasping for air, I sleep fine
• Report showed that I had a sleep efficiency of >96%
• I had back pain and an interview the next day, not the usual conditions for sleep

Which makes me think I should perhaps give losing weight and sleeping on my sides a go first?

I asked to rent a machine before buying it outright, which was surprisingly pricey at 10AUD a day, and he didn't seem very happy. Also not sure how to feel about renting a machine that other people have also used to breathe through.

But it's mostly being immediately pushed to purchasing a machine that's giving me doubts about moving ahead with anything.

I go to the office in the CBD less than a handful times a month so I've been looking at more or less the entire greater Sydney area. Thought buying would be easy with so many options available but in reality my options in 800-900k range seems to be:

1. Post 2010 build with defects in a nice suburb (strata usually 1800+ with some charging 2000+ per quarter)
2. Post 2020 build with REA desperate to offload in a 'new' suburb (strata is 'only' 1100~1300 as it is under warranty for six years)
3. 70s-90s units with no lifts (probably the best out of these options to be honest)
4. Townhouse in the edges of greater Sydney with not the best neighbours

Unsatisfied by all this I figured I'll just look for a single bedroom or even a studio in 600~800 range and it's the same as above with worse conditions (strata going for 900+ per quarter, shoehorned in studios, apartment falling apart).

Are people just YOLOing into newly builts from lack of option? I might have to push back purchasing and look for a promotion first at this rate.

Stamp duty exemption limit of 800k seems to have become the floor.
p.s. the 'ripple effect' is real and seems to have permeated across most of Sydney. Insane.

Found an older unit that I liked, second floor. Was a bit pensive about walking up so many flights of stairs every day but it's a decent price at a location I am happy with.

Read some other threads and about 80% seems to be about people complaining how the noise just bleeds through with 20% saying that they had no issues. Some people are saying the best part of moving to a newer apartment is how quiet it is.

It's a bit difficult to pay attention to the noise during inspection, should I be worried? I have very sensitive hearing and can easily have my sleep interrupted from noise.

Looking at both right now, I am getting more results on Domain for Sydney suburbs than RE. Was always told that it's the other way around.

Surely something must have been achieved by them right?

My options are new apartments whose best foot forward from the real estate agents seem to be that 'we successfully sued the builder two years ago and got things fixed' (it's fucked).
Or South facing older brick apartments on the highest floor with zero insulation but the 'rooms are bigger' and I'm not sure which is worse.

Been looking for months. I just want to get this over and done with so I can stop paying for and reading strata reports but literally nothing pulls my heartstrings.

I am even put off by units in nice 'premium suburb' like Lane Cove that all my family and friends are saying is amazing and I should definitely buy, so it's clearly something wrong with me.

Have yet to see an apartment in Sydney that doesn't have some issue with water ingress. ChatGPT claims that there are higher standards in Brisbane, any truth to this?

There certainly seems to be less complaints about Brisbane apartments compared to Sydney's here.

First home buyer sick of Sydney and thinking of moving to Adelaide or Perth. Booked a couple flights in coming weeks and already faced with the reality of the cost and limitations.

I had a friend who entrusted everything to a broker who had ties to a builder in another state but that seems a little extreme for me.

Did a bit of overtime this financial year... Surely they'll overlook just 5k?