Personality Testing Lets Buyers Check Strata Community 8/10/2008 Buying into a strata titled property sounds eminently attractive now that much of the world is thinking hard about all things economic. Sharing space and at least some common costs have suddenly taken on a new light.
A few short weeks has seen a major move for many people toward becoming more economically prudent. This is especially true within real estate circles following on from the USA inspired economic meltdown in sub-prime mortgages. But as with Wall Street, there can be traps awaiting the uninitiated and lessons to be learnt.
Mr Richard Tooker, the director of New South Wales Strata Management, says property buyers should use caution and pay careful attention to the company they will keep.
“Each group of apartments can have a personality of its own. This is of course one of the strengths of this style of living. But it can pay to do homework into the personality of the building you may be thinking of moving into.”
Each building, or scheme as they are formally known, can have rules and regulations (by-laws) that set out how the occupants will conduct themselves. As Mr Tooker is careful to note, even the interpretation of such rules may differ according to the very people that own the various lots.
“It can be a very wise move to speak to a number of people to ascertain how the lifestyles of the owners compare. And, you will be able to get a good feel for how happy they may be with the overall administration of their building.
“A strata buildings owners corporation can in itself have a specific style of administration, and this can provide insight into how things are being run.”
He says some may be more conservative than others, adopting or taking aboard various by-laws, and enforcing them with various degrees of action.
“If you wish to have a pet for example, you would be well placed to see if there are restrictions on size, type, or number. And if car parking or some other issue such as gym use is of particular importance, you might see how these issues have been handled in the past and what plans are in place about how they will be handled in the future.”
Mr Tooker believes that getting a full strata inspection report, including a financial report and minutes of meetings, before a purchase is settled, is good business.
“There are moves afoot that will require all strata titled buildings to provide for a sinking fund that extends ten years into the future. Does your building have such a fund in place? It will pay you to know.
“You will need to know how extensive the sinking fund is. Will it be sufficient to meet future expenses, for repairs or maintenance that has been noted in the inspection report? If not you may be called upon at some time ahead to help fund such work.”
He says it is the role of the strata management company to assist the owners corporation in ensuring that all legislative requirements are satisfied.
“This protects the assets of the owners whilst meeting the full compliance aspects of the Act.”
An owners corporation seeking assistance and wishing to ensure that they are in full compliance can contact New South Wales Strata Management on 9890 1841 for an obligation-free consultation.
New South Wales Strata Management (formerly Gilmour Strata Management) commenced business in early 1991, as a member of the highly respected J A Gilmour & Sons group of companies. Licensed solely and specialising only in strata management services, the company has steadily grown to become one of the largest such organisations in New South Wales.
|
|
|
