Home loans for apartments with building defects

Send me the contract price, proposed loan, finance date and the report that raised the issue. Ask your solicitor or conveyancer what the contract requires, including whether you need to give notice or can request more time. For the loan, I would put the questions in this order:

Check how the levy will be collected: one payment, quarterly instalments or repayments on a strata remediation loan.

Example only. Actual due dates, strata-loan interest, fees and body corporate contributions change the result.

The lender may include the levy in your household budget and check that the repair funding is enough to finish the work.

Ask your solicitor to check approved levies, payment dates, arrears and any strata loan, then explain your obligations and settlement adjustments under the contract. Do not assume the seller pays every levy announced before settlement. Queensland's buyer guidance warns that outstanding body corporate debts can affect a new owner; its selling guidance explains the need for current figures.

Sarah negotiated the price reduction with the seller. Her experience shows why the body corporate records need a separate review, even when the building inspection has passed.

Group the documents by what they confirm, and check which ones the lender needs before paying for reports.

Ask the seller or body corporate manager what is available, and arrange a records search where needed. In Queensland, the seller generally needs to give you the body corporate certificate and a seller disclosure statement before you sign. Check them for levies, insurance and the latest financial statement, then ask for the minutes and reports they do not cover. For cladding, the body corporate can tell you the building's status under the Queensland Safer Buildings program. In Queensland, buyers can seek access to body corporate records; the official access guide explains the process. A unit inspection and a body corporate records review answer different questions, so one does not replace the other.

The Consumer Affairs Victoria apartment checklist is also useful for questions about planned works, warranties, insurance and proceedings. Follow the requirements for your state and building.

For cladding, confirm the material, location, extent, fire assessment, any orders and the repair, funding and insurance position. Lenders may rely on the valuation, a development register or a manual review by the lender's credit team rather than one universal rule.

Do not read a finance approval as 'the building is safe'. The lender is deciding whether it will take the property as security, and its valuation is not a fire-safety certificate. A qualified building or fire specialist must advise on the physical risk. The Australian Property Institute's cladding protocol separates the valuer's observations from the building and compliance enquiries that may still be needed.

Check whether the issue affects insurance, value, legal use, access or resale.

For flood, identify the mapping, known event history, damage, remediation, dwelling position, insurance and valuation. For power lines or an easement, identify the line type, location, registered easement, position of the dwelling and the valuer's comments.

The bank is not deciding whether living near a power line is safe. It is deciding whether it will accept the property for the proposed loan.

Use the power lines and easements guide for distance rules and title checks. The FloodWise guide explains the Brisbane flood report.

A valuer may accept the apartment with a risk comment, reduce the value or request more information before the lender decides. A building can also be difficult to finance if suitable insurance is unavailable, even when the unit itself looks normal.

If the problem is a factual valuation error or weak comparable sale, use the bank valuation challenge guide. A challenge is not a way to erase a correctly identified defect.

Client examples are based on real situations. Names and identifying details have been changed.