Condominium is not a property style but an ownership style. Condominium properties can be:
Regardless of property style, if it is a condominium then there is a common ownership that is governed by the Condominium Properties Act.
When a REALTOR® works with a buyer who is interested in buying a condominium property of any style, certain documents should be gathered and reviewed before writing the offer which will inform the process and clarity in the transaction.
Condominium Documents
This is what you thought I was going to suggest right? Wrong. Although condominium documents are crucial to every condominium transaction, a full package of condo documents does not need to be reviewed before writing an offer.
It’s rare to be granted access to the full package ahead of writing an offer unless the seller already received a package from the condo board and has given the seller’s brokerage authority to provide them ahead of an offer. If you can get them ahead of time great, but don’t hold your breath. Also, a REALTOR® shouldn’t be reviewing the docs package anyways but recommending a professional condominium document review company to help when the time comes.
Unit Land Title
A current copy of the land title is one document that should be obtained before writing any transaction, not only for condominiums. The land title will tell you:
Additionally, there could be valuable information in the registrations such as mortgage registration, caveats, liens, pending litigation, and more. The information you glean from a title will help inform your strategy and negotiations before the offer is written but can cause frustration and mistrust if you wait to pull the title until after a deal is agreed to.
In situations where a unit being sold includes titled parking or storage units, those titles should be pulled as well to ensure the legal descriptions are right and the owners are on the title.
Condominium Additional Plan Sheet
The condominium additional plan sheet (CAD sheet), populates in the search when ordering a condominium unit title in the land titles system. The CAD sheet shows:
This document should be pulled to see if the condo corporation is current on updating their directors, and the last time the bylaws were changed and registered.
Registered Bylaws
The other key to pulling the condominium additional plan sheet is that it is where you can pull the registered copy of the bylaws. In the legislation, the registered copy of the bylaws is the enforceable copy of the bylaws once they are registered.
When a buyer is considering buying into the ownership of this corporation, they need to know if there are restrictions to their ownership that will not match up with their lifestyle. By pulling the registered copy of the bylaws before the offer is written, the buyer and their REALTOR® can look at the noted restrictions in the bylaws and decide if it works for them or if there is an issue. These restrictions usually fall into categories of age, pets, or use of the premises which are all potential land mines for the buyer in the purchase.
It is important to know that Realtors® are not qualified to review or interpret condominium bylaws, or any of the condominium documents for that matter, but restrictions in the bylaws should be identified and raised to the buyer’s attention since they affect the use and enjoyment of the property. In circumstances where there are no bylaws registered, the enforceable bylaws are those template bylaws included in the legislation.
Condominium Survey Plan
The condominium survey plan is the drawing that shows the physical layout of the condominium units and common property as prepared by a professional surveyor. This document can also be obtained through the land titles system by searching the plan number under survey plans.
By having this drawing of the unit ahead of the writing of an offer, you can verify the surveyed dimensions of the unit in question, its position in the complex, and compare it to others in the condominium complex providing valuable insights for a buyer.
Additionally, many times the parking of a condominium complex is shown in the same plan number which can help determine the parking type, storage lockers, and location of a stall officially. The parking plan may be separate altogether but much less common. By having the survey plan in a situation of owned or leased parking stalls you could use it as a map and physically walk to the stall the seller claims is included in the sale and verify its location for the buyer. There have been surprises!
These guidelines are best practices in working with buyers of condominiums and the best possible way to ensure they have all the information going into a negotiation. Yes, it does cost money to obtain these documents, and yes there is a possibility the negotiation fails after you have spent the money. However, the immense value this level of professionalism provides the buyer will ensure fewer conflicts in the negotiations and transaction process, but also loyalty and referrals for future buyers.