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Difference between revisions of "Buying a Condominium"
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→Pay attention to issues important to you, and to the following:
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# '''Is the community right for you'''—review the minutes carefully for issues which might concern you. If you are on a fixed income, or borrowing heavily to buy a strata lot, then watch for discussions which might indicate expenses, such as ongoing or threatened litigation, water leaks, building envelope problems, and structural or major repair concerns. | # '''Is the community right for you'''—review the minutes carefully for issues which might concern you. If you are on a fixed income, or borrowing heavily to buy a strata lot, then watch for discussions which might indicate expenses, such as ongoing or threatened litigation, water leaks, building envelope problems, and structural or major repair concerns. | ||
#:A careful review of the minutes can tell a lot about the strata corporation. You might see noise complaints relating to an adjacent strata lot, or very strict enforcement of the bylaws, recurring disputes, the existence of factions or similar trends which may concern you. Are the minutes a well-organized and well-written record of decisions, or do they resemble a gossip column? Is there a licensed strata manager involved in meetings? Do they appear to have difficulty electing a full strata council? Does the Council meet monthly or infrequently? | #:A careful review of the minutes can tell a lot about the strata corporation. You might see noise complaints relating to an adjacent strata lot, or very strict enforcement of the bylaws, recurring disputes, the existence of factions or similar trends which may concern you. Are the minutes a well-organized and well-written record of decisions, or do they resemble a gossip column? Is there a licensed strata manager involved in meetings? Do they appear to have difficulty electing a full strata council? Does the Council meet monthly or infrequently? | ||
# '''The type of ownership''' | # '''The type of ownership: freehold or leasehold'''—our legal system distinguishes between freehold ownership and leasehold possession. In a '''leasehold development''', the landlord owns the property, but gives possession to the tenant for the term of the lease. In most condominium developments, people own their strata lots. These are called '''freehold developments'''—each owner holds “fee simple title”. | ||
#:Leasehold | #:'''Leasehold developments'''—in these, a landlord owns the entire property parcel, but grants a long-term lease to a developer (often, for 99 years) to build a strata development there. The developer is a long-term tenant who, with the landlord’s permission, creates a strata development on the landlord’s property, and then the developer sells leasehold interests in each strata lot to buyers, for a specific term. | ||
#:If a person is registered on title as the long-term tenant under a long-term lease in a leasehold strata development, the Strata Property Act treats that person as an owner. The long-term tenant must pay the monthly strata fees and any other contributions, such as special levies, and can sell their leasehold interest in their strata lot to the next leasehold buyer. | #:If a person is registered on title as the long-term tenant under a long-term lease in a leasehold strata development, the Strata Property Act treats that person as an owner. The long-term tenant must pay the monthly strata fees and any other contributions, such as special levies, and can sell their leasehold interest in their strata lot to the next leasehold buyer. | ||
#:Depending on the project, the developer may prepay all the rent due under the long-term lease, or ongoing head lease payments may form a part of the leasehold strata corporation’s budget payable as part of the strata fees. | #:Depending on the project, the developer may prepay all the rent due under the long-term lease, or ongoing head lease payments may form a part of the leasehold strata corporation’s budget payable as part of the strata fees. | ||
