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How many apartments are there?
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157 in total, spread out in a L-shaped block.
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What
am I buying?
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You are purchasing a freehold strata-titled
residential apartment.
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What
is Seasons Apartment's address? |
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Seasons Apartments
is conveniently located at the junction of
Swanston St and Pelham St, opposite Lincoln Square, 150 metres to University of Melbourne and 600
metres to RMIT.
Its address is 604 Swanston Street, Carlton, Melbourne.
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Who
is the developer? |
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The
developer for Apartments Uropa is International Equities Corporation (IEC) Limited. IEC Limited is
a publicly listed company on the Australian Stock Exchange. IEC Limited is responsible for the very
successful St. James Apartments and the Sebel Suites Serviced Apartments on St Kilda Road.
Having recently sold out Polaris North Star
Apartments in North Melbourne, and with Apartments Uropa, (the first stage of the Carlton development)
being a runaway success, IEC is keen to stamp their expertise and attention to
detail on Carlton's premier residential
development opportunity - Seasons Apartments.
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Who are the builders and project
manager?
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Construction
is undertaken by Multiplex Constructions Limited.
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Who
is the architect? |
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The
architects responsible for Seasons Apartments is Hayball Leonard Stent
Architects. Residential developments have remained
a significant component of Hayball Leonard Stent's
project focus and the firm has been at the
forefront of designing new inner urban and special
residential developments. The firm is an
acknowledged leader in providing sound design
based solutions with a high level of architectural
excellence as demonstrated by the numerous awards
for its residential projects.
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What
are the facilities available? |
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Facilities
in Seasons Apartments include a landscaped
courtyard and on-site management services.
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What
does the Body Corporate do? |
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The
Body Corporate is responsible for the
administration and general running of the complex
such as all general maintenance and upkeep of
facilities, foyers & corridors areas, common
areas, grounds and the building.
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What
does the Body Corporate cover? |
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The
body corporate covers a variety of expenses and
includes cleaning of common areas, building and
public liability insurance, garden maintenance,
fire services maintenance and management.
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Can
I, as an owner, be on the Body Corporate? |
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Yes.
There are a limited number of people on the Body
Corporate and elections are held each year to
elect Body Corporate members (owners committee).
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What services
do the on-site
management service provided? |
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The
management office of Seasons Apartments will be
located at the entry to the complex on Pelham Street and will essentially act as a reception
facility similar to that in a hotel. The list of
services provided by the on-site management service are:
- Leasing and management of
permanent rental accommodation on both an
unfurnished and furnished basis.
- Holiday and business letting
of fully furnished apartments on a short term
basis.
- Co-ordination and
implementation of cleaning services to
apartments and monitoring levels of cleaning
and maintenance to common areas such as the
garden, barbeque areas, arranged through the
Body Corporate.
- Other
minor services such as delivery pick-up and
mail services, dry-cleaning, apartment
cleaning, etc.
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Should I pay cash for an investment property? |
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Generally,
no. The golden rule for property purchase, be it
for your own use or for investment, is to use
leverage, i.e. to use other people's money (in
this case the banks') to pay for an appreciating
asset. Interest expenses are fully tax deductible.
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Are
there restrictions on resale? |
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All
"secondary sale" properties in Australia
(i.e. not off-plan or new) must be resold in the
Australian domestic market, i.e. resold to an
Australian Citizen, an Australian PR (permanent resident), or a student with one-year visa.
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What
is the purchasing procedure? |
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Off-the-plan
purchasing provides for delayed settlement.
The purchasing procedure is as follows:
- Pay SGD3,000 booking fee upon
booking of a unit.
- Sign the sale and purchase
agreement within the next 3 working days.
- Pay 10% of total purchase
price within 5 days of signing of sale and
purchase agreement.
By law the
10% cannot be used by the developer until the
property is fully completed. Deposits
shall be held in an interest bearing trust
account with the vendor's solicitors. Net
interest shall be either credited to the
purchaser on settlement date against purchase
price or paid directly to the purchaser on
settlement.
Booking fee of SGD3,000 shall be refunded to
purchaser.
- Balance of total purchase
price upon completion - no progress payments.
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What
are stamp duty savings? |
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Stamp duty is
a State Government tax on the transfer of property
and is charged in all Australian States.
Stamp duty savings are ONLY AVAILABLE IN
VICTORIA and have been a powerful incentive for investment in
Melbourne property before construction has
commenced. This saving is not available on
refurbished or existing buildings.
On purchase of an
established property, full stamp duty is payable
on the total purchase price of the property. If
you purchase "off-the-plan", you only
pay stamp duty on the value of what physically
exists at the time of purchase, i.e. if
construction has not commenced, you only pay stamp
duty on the value of the land, which can be a huge
saving.
Therefore, the earlier you
buy, the less stamp duty you pay and the more you
save.
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What are the advantages in purchasing
"off-the-plan"? |
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The main advantages include huge stamp duty
savings, delayed settlement where you only
pay 10% deposit which is held in a legislated
trust account, the opportunity to select from a range of
finishes and options, and also significant
depreciation tax savings that are greater
than those available on existing buildings
if purchased for investment purposes.
As only a small deposit of 10% is needed until completion (usually 1-2 years), investors funds
are free for other investments. Furthermore, you
are able to lock in at today's price which is
beneficial in a rising market and enjoy the
time-flexibility to organise finance be for settlement in 1-2 years.
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What about Goods and Services Tax (GST)? |
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All
residential properties are subjected to GST
regardless of whether the purchase is for own use
or investment purposes. The sale price is already
inclusive of GST.
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Why
should I buy an apartment at Seasons Apartments? |
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Seasons Apartments is
one of the few upmarket residential developments in
the Swanston area, functionally designed with the latest
in security and communication technology, an on-site
management service, and each unit comes with its own
car park lot which is a very sought after commodity
in the area.
Its superb location, coupled by its proximity to
amenities and established educational institutions
and medical facilities makes it a well-sought after
asset.
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