Is strata right for me? This is a personal question and each strata is different. When you are buying into a strata you are buying into a community and you should carefully read through the Form B package, the rules, minutes, and bylaws to ensure that who your are matches the “personality” of the community. When in doubt don’t be afraid to call the strata council president.
The Strata Form B is a large stack of documents, should I get a lawyer to review? Most of these documents are strata rule and minute and are not written by lawyers, they are written by your strata council and should be easy to understand. Unfortunately legal review of these minute is not as effective as a your own personal review as it is most important that you (and not your lawyer) feel comfortable with the way the community if being run. This being said, I always encourage my clients to, after reading the minutes, give me a call when any specific items of concern they may wish to discuss.
What are some red flag in the strata Form B package and minutes? Things to watch out for include: discussion of future repairs, reoccurring problems and disputes, and dysfunctional or disinterested councils.
What is a property depreciation report and how can I tell if a strata contingency fund is “fully funded”? Each strata is required to commission a property depreciation report every three years. This report sets out models which detail how the building will require maintenance and upkeep over the next few decades and can assist in foreseeing the likelihood of special assessments. Each depreciation report sets out three funding models and by comparing the current state of the contingency reserve and the monthly CRF contribution to these models you can determine how closely the strata is following the reports recommendations.
Written by Kelowna Real Estate Lawyer Peter Borszcz.