Spend Hours on Those Condo and Co-Op Minutes

You might be amazed at how much those records can tell you. The co-op and condo board’s minutes will help you understand just about everything you need to about a building. Is there in-fighting between shareholders or owners? Are there any pending lawsuits that you need to know about? Are there bills coming due soon for repairs that might end up in your lap with special fees on top of your monthly maintenance? What types of issues are they voting on – are they worried about pets in 22a, or 33f renting out their apartment?

Numerous Complaints About Smoking

Reading those co-op and condo board minutes will let you know if that unit with the great price slapped on it has been slapped repeatedly by its neighbours for being a smoking unit. You might be surprised, but the condo or co-op doesn’t always have to disclose that the unit was smoking – all they have to do is steam the carpets, put some paint on the walls and you may not know the ugly truth for months!

Smoking, pets, weird smells, maybe even a former owner that had an issue with hoarding could all be revealed in complaints made during meetings to the board. All you (or your lawyer) have to do is check out the minutes. It’s all there.

“Let’s ban non-conforming window treatments!”

We’ve all heard about those nightmare buildings. You know the ones that won’t let you do anything without the plutocrats on the condo board approving it first. We’re not talking about outrageous stuff like renting out your terrace for $600 a month (just google it, people do this!), we’re talking about having green drapes 12 storeys up.

Yes, green drapes. One condo board infamously brought this motion to the table, but luckily owners voted against it. But what if the building you choose has too few active participants and you end up only being able to paint your kitchen walls taupe, or not being able to knock down the wall between your condo and the one you just bought next door? Make sure you always read those minutes as they can save you years of misery.

Find Out How Vigorous Approval Processes Are

Approval processes can be hellish, to say the least. If you want to be able to buy a condo you may have to provide references, a urine sample and your first born (well, it may not go that far, but they will delve into your life as much as possible to make sure you’re a great fit!).

This is why you want to work with a luxury realtor (or any qualified realtor, really) that understand how condos and co-ops work in your area. They’ll be able to help you spot and avoid trouble buildings, saving those earnest money deposits and precious shopping weeks looking at the right homes, the right condos that fit you and your lifestyle!

The Goodale Miller Team is the #1 team in Canada for Century 21 8 years running. Specializing in Oakville luxury real estate including Lakefront homes, infill building lots, condominiums and more. You can view their luxury homes for sale in Oakville here: http://www.goodalemillerteam.com/Homes.aspx