Strata Title FAQ - Buying strata title - what do I need to know?

Date: March 03, 2011

Q. When buying a strata title home unit, what is the minimum I need to know when buying from a legal standpoint?

A. Buying a strata title unit is really little different from buying other real estate except that there are additional considerations and factors to be taken into account. Those additional considerations include among other things: information on the status of the owners corporation's funds (the sinking fund and the administrative fund); the levies applicable to the particular unit (the amount and regularity of payment); what the strata title unit entitlement is for the particular unit you are buying; insurance taken out by the owners corporation and whether it is adequate; whether there is likely to be any special levy cast because of work need to be undertaken and an insufficiency of funds, and if so, what would be your contribution; the ratio of owner-occupied units to the whole; the extent of harmony within the strata scheme; and whether there are any claims against the owners contribution, and if so, are they likely to lead to (costly) litigation. This list is not exhaustive, so there may well be other things which are of special interest to the unit you are buying, such as those relating especially to retirement village home units.