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Monday September 9 2024

Buying a condo: what to look for

It’s a well-known fact that real estate is often the biggest investment a person will ever make. This makes it all the more important to take the time to analyze every facet before plunging into the adventure.

You’ve looked at your options and a condominium unit catches your eye? Here are a few points to consider before finalizing the transaction.

 

Buying a new condo off-plan

Sometimes, buying a condominium before it’s even built can be a good deal, because the developer has to sell a certain percentage of the units to get the project off the ground. Except that, at this stage, the project is still only in the conceptual phase. This is what we call « buying off-plan ».

Not everyone can read or understand blueprints, and that’s perfectly normal. Between the conceptual phase, the preliminary plans and the final plans for construction, differences may arise due to various constraints that evolve with the project: municipal requirements in terms of the size of openings, material constraints, the arrival of new standards, and so on.

t’s important to pay attention to the plans at every stage, even if you haven’t requested any changes. For example, a customer approached us to mention that the number of windows had decreased since the first version of the plans, yet he hadn’t paid any attention to it.

It was only when he moved in that he realized this detail. Or another customer complained about the direction of opening of his garden doors leading to his balcony. True, it wasn’t particularly practical, but referring to the building plans, it wasn’t a mistake on the builder’s part; the doors really were designed that way.

Before you buy, it’s a good idea to hire an outside professional or qualified person to check the plans and gain a better understanding of the space you’re about to move into.

 

Checking available funds

When Law 16 came into force in 2019, the financial health of condominium corporations will be in increasingly good shape, as the requirements for contributions to the contingency fund have been significantly increased.

However, some condominiums are lagging behind due to insufficient contributions to this fund in the past. The contingency fund is of the utmost importance, as it is the money that is set aside to carry out major work when certain building components reach the end of their useful life.

If the condo you’re interested in is relatively new, this fund will be less imposing, since the co-owners have only been contributing to it for a short time. This should be carefully considered for older buildings. You can ask to consult the study of the condominium’s contingency fund to find out what work needs to be carried out, mainly in the short and medium term, and the amount of contributions suggested by the expert who wrote the report. You can also check whether the syndicate is complying with these recommendations.

Ignoring these checks could prove costly if major unplanned work is required, and the contingency fund is unable to cover all or most of the costs. At that point, co-owners will have to quickly disburse a large sum of money to the syndicate to enable the necessary repairs to be carried out.

As for Bill 141, it now requires condominium syndicates to set up auto-insurance fund for claims. The accumulated amount should be at least equivalent to the value of the syndicate’s insurance deductible. If there have been claims, the fund may be insufficient, and the syndicate will have to call on co-owners to replenish it. You’ll need to check this if you don’t want to have to contribute for sums dating back to before your purchase.

 

The neighborhood

Of course, before buying a property, it’s always a good idea to take the time to check out the neighborhood. For condominiums, this is even more important, as your neighbors are very close !

Apart from talking directly to residents when you visit, you can also check whether the syndicate has a page on social networks. Some condominiums use these networks to enable communication between co-owners, and a quick look around may give you an idea of the dynamics between residents.

Neighborhood checks, however, are more difficult for new condos and neighborhoods.

Finally, would you be a good condominium neighbor yourself ? To find out, I invite you to read about the qualities required here in our recent Blog article.

 

Valérie Vincent
Director of Technical Projects

 

 

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