Dream Lands Design
  • Home Improvement
    • DIY
    • Remodeling
    • Woodworking
    • Accessories
    • Home Design
      • Furniture
      • Organize
      • Tips
      • Decor
        • Interior
        • Exterior
    • Design Ideas
      • Bathroom
      • Bedroom
      • Dining Room
      • Living Room
      • Kitchen
  • Gardening
    • Backyard
    • Front Yard
    • Landscaping
  • Building Staircase
  • Home Improvement
    • DIY
    • Remodeling
    • Woodworking
    • Accessories
    • Home Design
      • Furniture
      • Organize
      • Tips
      • Decor
        • Interior
        • Exterior
    • Design Ideas
      • Bathroom
      • Bedroom
      • Dining Room
      • Living Room
      • Kitchen
  • Gardening
    • Backyard
    • Front Yard
    • Landscaping
  • Building Staircase

Categories

  • Accessories
  • Backyard
  • Bathroom
  • Beauty
  • Bedroom
  • Cars
  • Decor
  • Design Ideas
  • Dining Room
  • DIY
  • Entertaining
  • Exterior
  • Finance
  • Front Yard
  • Furniture
  • Gardening
  • Green Living
  • Home Design
  • Home Improvement
  • Interior
  • Kitchen
  • Landscaping
  • Lifestyle
  • Living
  • Living Room
  • Organize
  • Outdoor Living
  • Photography
  • Real Estate
  • Remodeling
  • Tips
  • Wall Improvement
  • Woodworking

Archives

  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Disclosure
  • Sitemap
  • Contact Us
29K
98K
0
Dream Lands Design
  • Home Improvement
    • DIY
    • Remodeling
    • Woodworking
    • Accessories
    • Home Design
      • Furniture
      • Organize
      • Tips
      • Decor
        • Interior
        • Exterior
    • Design Ideas
      • Bathroom
      • Bedroom
      • Dining Room
      • Living Room
      • Kitchen
  • Gardening
    • Backyard
    • Front Yard
    • Landscaping
  • Building Staircase
featured image - What Should Each Condo Buyer Know About Status Certificates
You're here: Home Real Estate What Should Each Condo Buyer Know About Status Certificates?

What Should Each Condo Buyer Know About Status Certificates?

  • Perla Irish
  • November 21, 2021
Total
1
Shares
0
0
1
0
0
Table of Contents Show
  1. Status Certificates – What Do They Contain?
  2. The Rules, Bylaws, and Declarations
  3. It Also Shows a Recent Study Regarding the Condo’s Reserve Fund
  4. Information Regarding Special Assessments
  5. Why Do Condo Buyers Need to Obtain One of These Certificates?
  6. How Can Prospective Condo Buyers Obtain a Status Certificate?
  7. Conclusion

Those who are searching for condos to buy and are doing so the first time, they are more than likely to encounter some hurdles and some concepts they were not familiar with.

Among those terms first-time buyers will encounter is the ‘status certificate.’ Whilst many may not know what this certificate is, having it for the condo to buy is key to making a successful purchase of a condo.

image - What Should Each Condo Buyer Know About Status Certificates
What Should Each Condo Buyer Know About Status Certificates

In simple words, a status certificate provides crucial information regarding a condo unit as well as the financial status of the condo corporation overseeing that unit and the whole complex.

With the aid of a lawyer, It can be used to see whether the condo complex is managed properly or not before buyers sign the papers to buy a unit.

For those who are searching for the right condo unit, here is what they will need to understand about status certificates.

Status Certificates – What Do They Contain?

When prospective buyers receive their status certificate, it will come to them as part of a packet pertaining to the unit they are considering buying. Inside the package, they can find financial statements, information regarding maintenance fees, and disclosures related to any lawsuits or related legal issues.

This package should also contain the budget of the condo corporation as well as the minutes from the condo board’s recent committee meeting. Additionally, here are some of the specific things buyers should look for in the status certificate package:

The Rules, Bylaws, and Declarations

A condo declaration is a key to the formation of a condo corporation. Fundamentally, it is a set of documents containing basic information about a particular building.

Examples include the boundaries of condo units and the amount each owner must pay for common elements (exhibited as a percentage of the overall budget).

The declaration is one of the two legal documents that are needed to make a condo corporation, especially when a new building is registered with the local Land Registry Office.

ByLaws are instrumental in explaining and laying out the way a building governs itself. It includes details like the number of directors present on the condo building’s board, the common board meeting procedures, and the way the condo corporation’s affairs are being carried out.

They are usually administrative details but are useful for new condo owners to understand a thing or two.

The condo building’s rules relate to what condo unit owners can do and cannot do. There are things like whether or not condo owners can have pets, understanding noise regulations, and whether or not residents can have a propane-powered barbecue on their condo’s patio. Also, allotment policies surrounding parking spaces also comprise part of these rules.


Read Also:

  • What is a Condominium: Definition, Disadvantages, And Advantages?
  • Homeowners’ Insurance for Condo Complex – Things to Consider
  • The Pros and Cons to Expect When You Buy a Home with an HOA
  • All 5 New Launch Executive Condos in Singapore in 2021
  • Buy a Townhouse Instead of a Condo: Here’s Why

It Also Shows a Recent Study Regarding the Condo’s Reserve Fund

A condo’s reserve fund contains money set aside for repairs and replacements in common areas that come unexpectedly.

The complex’s reserve fund is a separate account from the condo’s operating fund and is usually set up within a financial institution like a bank, a loan & trust corporation, or a credit union.

To find out how much should be present in a given condo reserve fund, a financial specialist must complete a study within the first year of a building’s incorporation (and after every three years too from that study).

Prospective owners of new units of Toronto condos will definitely want to see what is in a building’s reserve fund before they opt to purchase a unit there.

Why? Because a portion of their monthly building expenses will be directly deposited into the reserve fund. This fund ensures the condo corporation has enough money to carry out any future repairs.

This is the reason why the status certificate will contain the results of the building’s most recently created report. Hence prospective buyers must keep a vigilant eye for that report when they are inspecting a condo’s status certificate.

Information Regarding Special Assessments

A special assessment is basically a financial contribution that unit owners must pay in addition to their monthly fees.

Special assessment fees are basically charged that the board of directors of a condo building can charge without the need to receive permission from owners of individual condo units first.

These charges can be charged by the condo board for covering a specific expense (like an unexpected expense or a legal judgment against the condo complex). Within the status certificate, buyers can find information about existing special assessments, provided if there are any.

It is also important to note that for most condo associations, homeowners neglecting to pay special assessment fees risk consequences that arise if they neglect to pay their common element fees as well.

Why Do Condo Buyers Need to Obtain One of These Certificates?

The whole idea behind obtaining a status certificate and reviewing it carefully is that buyers obtain real-time insights into how good is their prospective condo building doing and whether or not, should they proceed to live there by purchasing their desirable condo unit.

Questionable building management is an indicator of high costs, future maintenance problems along with other potential issues even when condo unit owners try to exercise their rights.

Fortunately, prospective buyers should be able to spot some common red flags in their status certificates. Among those indicators are a badly balanced budget, a reserve fund having an insufficient amount, or pending legal litigation (which could be a bad sign depending on the situation at hand).

At the same time, it is also important to ensure that any building buyers take into consideration should suit their lifestyle. This is why they must read the rules and bylaws in the certificate carefully and with diligence.

If prospective condo buyers have numerous pets that may not be allowed to come with them, or love to have a barbecue but are not allowed to have one on their deck space; they could be potentially negative lifestyle-related obstacles found in the status certificate.

How Can Prospective Condo Buyers Obtain a Status Certificate?

For prospective buyers to obtain a copy of a status certificate for a condo unit, they should submit a written request to the condo corporation, along with the required charges (usually C$100).

Torontonians are lucky because a condo unit’s seller will usually be willing to pay that amount for them as this aspect of the purchase can be negotiated.

Once it has been requested, it will take only ten days for prospective buyers to receive the status certificate documents package.

If buyers are planning on purchasing the condo after they have reviewed the status certificate, they will have a limited amount of time to review the certificate before signing their Purchase and Sale Agreement.

Usually, they have between 48 to 72 hours to review the certificate. Fortunately, the buyer’s agent can be able to negotiate for more time on their behalf, if the need arises.

It is important to have the legal representative also carefully examine the status certificate buyers have before the purchase agreement can be signed. Hence, buyers must have more time so their lawyer can examine the document before the purchase can be finalized.

Conclusion

Obtaining and reviewing the status certificate is one key step in the process of acquiring a condo unit. For buyers to be sure their next purchase is smooth and free of hurdles at all points, it is recommended for them to work with an experienced local real estate professional with expertise in dealing with condos because many realtors nowadays use property management software because which makes them more efficient.

Total
1
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 1
Share 0
Share 0
Perla Irish

Perla Irish, who is more familiarly known as Irish, is the Content Manager at Dreamlandsdesign.com. She loves following trends around home and garden, interior design, and digital marketing. Through this blog, Irish wants to share information and help readers solve the problems they are experiencing.

Related Topics
  • building
  • buyers
  • certificate
  • condo
  • information
  • purchase
  • units

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

You May Also Like
featured image - Synchronize With the Christmas Spirit on the Tropical Island With Your Outfits!
View Post

Synchronize With the Christmas Spirit on the Tropical Island With Your Outfits!

  • December 7, 2023
How Much Does It Cost to Make a Trailer Home for Two People with One Bedroom Design
View Post

How Much Does It Cost to Make a Trailer Home for Two People with One Bedroom Design?

  • December 7, 2023
featured image - 14 of the Best Diy Bathroom Remodeling Tips
View Post

14 of the Best Diy Bathroom Remodeling Tips

  • December 5, 2023
featured image - Marble Wallpaper in Modern Homes Brings the Elegance
View Post

Marble Wallpaper in Modern Homes Brings the Elegance

  • December 5, 2023
featured image - Trusted Furnace Company - Heating Services in Thornton, Co
View Post

Trusted Furnace Company – Heating Services in Thornton, Co

  • December 5, 2023
featured image - An in-depth Manual on Installing and Replacing Windows
View Post

An in-depth Manual on Installing and Replacing Windows

  • December 4, 2023
featured image - 6 Home Additions in Alexandria, VA That’s Perfect for Your Home
View Post

6 Home Additions in Alexandria, VA That’s Perfect for Your Home

  • December 4, 2023
How to Find Out if Your Locksmith is Trustworthy
View Post

How to Find Out if Your Locksmith is Trustworthy?

  • December 4, 2023
Dream Lands Design
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Disclosure
  • Sitemap
  • Contact Us

Input your search keywords and press Enter.

Add Dream Lands Design to your Homescreen!

Add