Look beyond the apartment
Buying a strata lot means acquiring the lot and an interest in the common property, while becoming subject to the by-laws and financial obligations of the owners corporation. Problems in the building can therefore affect an owner even when the apartment itself appears sound.
The contract should be read with an up-to-date strata records inspection and suitable physical inspections. None of those steps completely replaces the others.
Ten practical checks
The focus varies between schemes, but common enquiries include:
- Current administrative and capital works fund balances
- Existing or proposed special levies
- Major defects, water penetration, cladding or fire-safety issues
- Recent engineering, building or defect reports
- Insurance coverage and significant claims
- Disputes, tribunal proceedings and owner complaints
- Minutes revealing recurring maintenance problems
- By-laws affecting pets, renovations, flooring or short-term letting
- Unauthorised alterations to the lot or common property
- Parking, storage and exclusive-use rights
Contract and title
The strata plan should identify the boundaries of the lot, car space and storage areas. A purchaser should not rely only on an agent’s description. Special by-laws, exclusive-use arrangements and common property rights may determine whether an area genuinely forms part of the deal.
The contract may also contain special conditions dealing with adjustments, defects, levies, compliance certificates and the purchaser’s ability to make objections.
Older records and new developments
For an established building, a pattern across years of minutes can be more informative than the latest meeting alone. For a newer development, there may be limited operating history, making the building documentation, defect process and proposed budgets particularly important.