Home-Buyers Package: Boon or Bane?

First-time home buyers are offered as much as $15,000 as part of the stimulus package from the NSW government. Buyers who purchase a new home that costs less than $650,000 can also waive the stamp duty. 

The NSW government’s move is designed to boost the property-development industry. Critics, however, say that this is a bane for those who don’t know any better. 

The home buyers’ package is believed to have been designed to lure the least-savvy home buyers. The assumption is that first-time buyers are not equipped with the right knowledge on property purchase. What they do not know is that there has been a steady erosion of consumer rights for strata owners. 

The country has also been struggling with the idea of shared responsibility within the townhouses and high-rises. 

Fair Trading Minister Anthony Roberts said last much that NSW strata lawyers are in for a fight, adding that defective buildings have become a big problem in NSW. 

According to a study conducted by the University of NSW, more than 50 percent of the respondents said they have reported some kind of problems with their developments. Close to 80 percent also said they observed defects in their properties. 

Home warranty insurance has always been a problem.  The statutory requirement for buildings that are more than three-storeys high was removed a long time ago. 

Owners also found it harder to pursue legal actions. First-time owners, meanwhile, struggle with the responsibility of strata living as well as the challenges of home ownership. 

It remains to be seen now if the home-buyers’ package would benefit them or this is just a move to cushion the challenges they will face in the near future.