Curious to know where you get detailed information about condo fees, making sure
you have the right information goes a long way when buying a condo. In this
video I talk with a condo buying expert and we discuss all the
information you need to know about condo fees for your next purchase.
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Hi everyone welcome to another
edition of Homebuyer's School. Today I'm joined by Karen McDonald, community
manager with Brookfield Residential and today the question we're gonna answer is,
where do I get information before buying a condo?
So Karen, where are some places
that I can get myself educated on buying a condo and all the related
passes to that?
Well all the information that you would need in buying a condo as
far as how its operated would be in your condominium documentation, so when
you're buying a resale home the present owner should really provide you with all
of that information, should they not have it available to them you can always go
to the management company and request it, a lot of the times it comes with a
little bit of an admin fee that you pay in order to get copies of that. In a new
build the builders should be providing you with all the documentation in order
to review before you end up buying your home so all of that information should
be readily available to you before you firm up the purchase.
And all that you can probably do online?
Yes you can do the requests for it from the management company online.
Same thing with financial documents,
bylaws, that's all--it should be all in the same group?
Yes.
Awesome. I've always been
hearing about the reserve fund study, what is that?
The reserve fund study is-- analyzing what the costs are for the
reserve fund for future expenses, so from the point of registration of the condo
plan in a new build the reserve fund study has to be done within a two year
period so that's at a new built in a--oh and then every five years after that-- So
in a resale you would have access to information on what the reserve--last
reserve fund study would be because it has to be accompanied by a written
report and so every five years in a resale, a reserve fund study has to be
done to ensure that there is enough allocated to that reserve fund to
maintain future expenses.
Is there a minimum that that reserve fund has to
have based on say the cost of the building?
Well I would say that there's--
there's no absolute minimum, it would all depend on how much common area
there is, what the expenses would be to repair that. I would say that a lot of
times in a say, a resale where you're buying maybe a refurb, something like
that, the suggested amount would be at least fifty thousand dollars into that
reserve fund on a yearly basis but again the value depending on the size of the
development, it can vary if it's a huge development, you might be looking at more
you want in that reserve fund.
Is there any other pockets or places of
information I can get I can go to before I decide to buy my condo?
Absolutely you--I have a number of resources likely at your fingertips, talk
to the professionals, talk to your mortgage broker, talk to your realtor,
talk to your builder representatives, they are all the professionals within
the industry, they will have all of the information that you need to make this
huge, huge decision before you buy your new home.
Perfect. What are some--
like let's say if I had to ask the top three questions before I decide to buy a
condo, what would that be?
I would say buying the condo that fits your
lifestyle, if you're--if you're buying an apartment is it--amenities that
are in their townhome, just the maintenance-free aspect of it and where
are you gonna see yourself in three to five years? What are you going to be
doing? Is it gonna fit your lifestyle for the next three to five years?
Where are you gonna be? And then from
there is it--is the price comparable to what's in the area? You have to shop
around you have to make sure that it is it's comparable to everything within the
next three communities that you should be paying fair value for your new home.
Thank you very much Karen.
Thank you very much for joining us and we'll catch you next time.
That's another edition of
Homebuyer's School. Tune in next time
for more expert tips and tricks and visit
homebuyersschool.ca to bring you one
step closer to finding your dream home.
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