Strangely enough the council can be a great benefit to you before purchasing your new home. You can visit your local council and for a small fee obtain the plans, drawings and any reports on your property. Another useful tool the council have is the LIM report or the Land Information Memorandum report. The LIM report gives information which your local council holds about the property. The LIM report costs more than the general property file and it usually take approximately 10 days to get, however it still remains a valuable check before purchase.
The LIM report contains information about any alterations that have been made to the property and any changes to zoning or the area surrounding the property. Any work or alterations which have been carried out on the property should be outlined in the LIM report. It should give details of any consents issued and if code of compliance was issued for the final works. If there is a building, structure or alternation on the property which does not appear in the LIM, you need to find out why and possibly it could be a starting point for negotiation.
LIM reports also give information regarding flooding zones, zone details and any issues with soil etc. Remember when looking at the LIM that only items reported to the council are contained within the report it is wise to perform due diligence.
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