3rd Party Reviews
Why Do You need a 3rd Party Review?
When considering the purchase of a condominium, you need to know more than how it looks and what the fees are going to be. There may be other factors which are not obvious to you as the buyer. These hidden aspects of your purchase could reduce the actual value of your investment, or increase you costs significantly in the future. An unbiased advisor could make the difference in whether your deal is actually worth the price.
A DOCUMENT REVIEW FOR NEW CONDO PURCHASES IS ESSENTIAL
At Condo-Smart , we are committed to helping you make an informed decision on your condominium purchase. With 25 years of experience in condominium and non-profit property management, (and all condominiums operate like a non-profit organization) we review the documents you will receive from the seller, will give you a written report and meet with you to review the report and answer the questions you may have. We want you to be confident in your purchase, so we will not only review the report, but will also walk you through how a condominium works. We help you not only understand the particular project you are looking at, but also help you understand the qualities that make owning a condominium so unique.
We check out the documents BEFORE you remove conditions. Think of a Condominium Document Review as a Home Inspection – except – we look at the health and well-being of the condominium corporation. We examine how well the corporation manages the common property, so you can avoid unexpected costs and headaches. While our job is not to recommend whether you purchase this property or not, (we leave that to you and your Realtor) we aim to give you the tools to make an informed decision whether this is a condominium corporation you want to buy into. We think knowing what you are buying into is just smart.
Once we have all the documents, we will generate a report outlining our findings. We look at the:
* Condo Plan and title
* By-laws
* Minutes of the Board and the AGM (Annual General Meeting)
* The Financials – current and annual
* Reserve Fund Study, Report and Plan
* Mechanical and Structural Reports
* Any Agreements
* Insurance
And then we will meet with you to go over the findings and answer your questions.
If you are purchasing – it pays to examine the documents. You want to make sure you are buying into a well managed complex. You want to avoid the hidden surprises. The hidden surprises could cost you.
Not sure what you are looking and what is all means?
That’s where we come in.
Just like a home inspection, being forewarned is being forearmed. Checking the documents will give you some insight into the condominium you are investing in. What if the reserve fund is underfunded? Is the Board dysfunctional? Are the finances of the corporation managed properly? What’s a unit factor? Do the by-laws and policies suit my lifestyle? And last but not least – what the heck is a condominium anyway and how does it work? And the list goes on. In the end, checking the documents can save you from making a bad investment choice not to mention the hassle of living in a complex that is not suitable.
And what about your Realtor? A good Realtor will remove themselves from the equation and encourage you to have the documents reviewed independently. They want you to have an objective review. It’s the arms length approach. In fact – a good Realtor will not only encourage their client to do their due diligence – but will work with the us and the sellers Realtor to collect the relevant documents. Buyers need, want and deserve all that is currently available.
And when is it best to review the documents? BEFORE YOU REMOVE CONDITIONS!
The time to review the documents and make a decision to go ahead or to back out is before conditions are waived. Just give us two full business days from when we receive the documents to complete the report.
And because we will want to meet with you to review the report, appointments are not scheduled until we receive the documents we deem necessary to complete a beneficial report. We advise your Realtor that because questions often arise from the client meeting, we feel some time should be made available for follow up. We therefore strongly suggest the condition date not fall on a weekend or holiday and at least a grace of one business day be given between our meeting with you and the condition date. Moving the condition date may be necessary. To accommodate this flexibility, it is suggested that the conditions read: 5 business days from the receipt of ALL requested documents. Ask your Realtor to include this condition in the offer to purchase.
At Condo-Smart, our focus is to ensure you have the information to make an informed decision on your condominium purchase. After all, buying a condominium is also buying into a business, the business of owning and managing the common property. We think it’s just smart to check it out first – Condo-Smart.
Do you have representation in Edmonton.
What is the cost?
What about a realtor who states that an offer to purchase be made before they will allow access to the documents you need??
Hello Joe – No I don’t have anyone in Edmonton. That said, I have clients in Edmonton. We do everything via email and telephone. It works very well.
As to accessing the docs prior to you making an offer to purchase – it is common. The listing Realtor is protecting the seller. To protect yourself – one of your conditions is that you want to review (or have someone review) the docs BEFORE the conditions are removed. If the reveiw reveals something you don’t like, something that will be hard to live with – you can say bye-bye to the deal and get your deposit returned. If you are still interested in the property but want to renegotiate the price based on what you find in the docs – your Realtor can advise you on the next step. If the seller is motivated they may look at a lower price. Sometimes they are not aware of concerns facing the corporation and set the price accordingly. Or – they might go for a holdback. Whatever the outcome – you want to know the health and well being of the corporation before you say yes. Better the whack on the head you are prepared for than the whack on the head you are not.
Hope this helps