Beta · for apartment buyers in NSW and Victoria
Know what the building will cost you before you make an offer.
Upload the strata report. Levywise compares your building with buildings of a similar age and size, and what they ended up spending. It flags the works that commonly come up in buildings like yours but aren't in your records, and estimates what the special levies and catch-up capex will cost your lot. You also get a suggested price adjustment to weigh up, and a note for the agent if you want to use it. Built for a market where buyers have the leverage.
Free during the beta. No account. Ready in minutes.
Not included: costs typical for a 1915 block, such as timber sash windows (about $15,000) and facade and brick repointing (about $5,000). Comparable sales already reflect these, so the report puts them in your 10-year budget instead.
A strata report only shows what's already in the records. Most catch-up costs aren't.
The costs nobody mentioned
Old drains, switchboards, floor joists and windows fail on a schedule set by the building's age. They rarely appear in the records until the invoice does.
“Cost unknown”
When big works are flagged, it's often long before anyone quotes them. Buyers are left to guess the number.
Your share, not the building's
By-laws and entitlements decide what your lot pays. A $900k job can cost one owner $50k or $300k.
Real example
A Sydney eastern suburbs unit, bought in 2024
A 1915 walk-up with five lots, converted to strata in the 1990s. The buyer got a strata report, saw the balcony problem, and bought for $150,000 under the $1.8 million asking price. Here is what the lot paid over the next two years.
| Item | In the strata report? | Cost to the lot |
|---|---|---|
| Balcony rebuild | Yes, cost “unknown” | $393,000 |
| Windows | No | $26,300 |
| Stormwater brought up to standard | No | $12,600 |
| Main switchboard | No | $8,800 |
| Floor framing below standard | No | $8,600 |
| Fire safety upgrade | Partly | $8,000 |
| Sewer relining | No | $2,400 |
| Total | $460,000 |
How it works
Step 1
Upload what you have
In NSW, the strata inspection report. In Victoria, the vendor's statement with its owners corporation certificate.
Step 2
Check what we found
Levywise reads the building's age, size, your lot's share, works already flagged and warning signs. You confirm or correct them.
Step 3 · The Levywise engine
Finds what buildings like yours usually need, and what it costs
The engine compares your building with buildings of a similar age and size, and what they ended up spending. It flags the works that commonly come up in buildings like yours but aren't in your records, then prices each one from more than 5,000 real jobs on existing apartment blocks in government records and current trade rates: how likely it is in the next ten years, what it's likely to cost, and how much your lot pays under its entitlement and by-laws.
Step 4
Get your report
Free during the beta: get a fair estimate of the catch-up costs and capex to allow for in your price, a ten-year budget, a suggested offer range, and a note you can send the agent.
What's in the report
- The cost to your lot, item by item, with how likely each is in the next ten years.
- Works already flagged, priced and split the way the by-laws or state rules require.
- The costs nobody mentioned, estimated from the building's age, size and construction.
- Warning signs such as a missing fire safety statement or an out-of-date capital works plan.
- A fair allowance for your price: works in the records, plus only the risks above the norm for the building's age, because comparable sales already reflect the rest.
- A suggested offer range, from where to start to the most to pay, and a one-page note you can send the agent.
Built on real costs
Victorian building permits for work on existing apartment blocks, 2020 to 2026
NSW development applications for works on existing strata buildings, from 341,000 lodged since 2019
trade rates for relining, roofing, windows and concrete repair
Plus real strata invoices. Every line in your report says where its number comes from.
NSW data: © State Government of NSW and NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure 2026, CC BY 4.0. Cost ranges are Levywise estimates derived from it.
Free during the beta
The buyer in our example under-allowed by about $250,000. While we're in beta, reports are free. In return, tell us what we got wrong.
- NSW and Victorian strata buildings
- Report emailed as a PDF
- No subscription, no account
Already own a strata unit? Tell us what it really cost.
Share what your building's works cost your lot (about 5 minutes, no address or name) and get a free report code for your next purchase, or for a friend who's buying.
Share your costsQuestions
What do I need to upload?
In NSW, the strata inspection report you or your conveyancer ordered. In Victoria, the vendor's statement (section 32) including the owners corporation certificate. AGM minutes or a capital works or maintenance plan make the estimate sharper.
Is this the same as a strata report?
No. A strata report tells you what is in the records. Levywise turns that into a dollar figure for your lot, adds the costs the records usually miss, and suggests what that means for your offer. Use both.
How accurate is it?
It gives a likely figure and a range, not a quote. Each item shows whether it comes from published trade rates, real invoices or building permit data, so you can see how firm it is. Get quotes for any big item before you commit.
Which buildings does it cover?
Strata and owners corporation buildings in NSW and Victoria during the beta. Older buildings benefit most, because their costs are the hardest to see in the paperwork. Other states are coming; you can join the list on the upload page.
What if you can't read my documents?
Tell us at hello@levywise.com.au. Reports are free during the beta, and every problem you report makes the reader better.