Michael helped the reviewer buy this property

Never again

Michael is nice but I'm really disappointed as a first home buyer and would not want to deal with Bennett Property ever again. The duplex I purchased was advertised as "NO STRATA FEES!" on the listing title and description. When I questioned Michael Bennett (Principal) and Jacob Bennett, they told me each owner looked after their own home and contents insurance. Because the property is a two-lot strata scheme, this is actually illegal under NSW strata legislation. The correct insurance is a single strata building policy in the name of the owners corporation. This means the "NO STRATA FEES!" advertising is misleading in my opinion, as strata fees are made up by the shared building insurance and any damage to common property (e.g. roof) would not be covered under the original arrangement. In my opinion Michael and Jacob showed no understanding of this. I challenged them during cooling off and was made to feel like I was wrong. After spending hours speaking to NRMA I convinced them and the Vendor they were wrong and the insurance was corrected. Without me pushing this, I believe it would’ve been left wrong. Michael also told me the roof was "not common property" despite being physically connected on both sides, which is bizarre in my books and extremely concerning. Less than 5 business days before settlement, the Vendor booked a new settlement date without agreement. The property also settled late and the keys were not returned on time. I was left waiting at the office. This whole process was stressful and what should’ve been a happy moment was soured. This experience has turned me off ever using Bennett Property again as I have zero confidence that they know what they're doing.