Condominium documents are essential to know the “health” of a condominium. This holds true about the condo building, its financial resources and the effectiveness of the condo board. When buying a condominium it is very important to have the condominium documents reviewed professionally so that you know what it is that you are buying and can make an informed choice. As a condo owner, you are buying into the condo corporation. With any purchase of a corporation it is good to know what you are getting into before you do.
As with most aspects of purchasing property, the general rule is “Caveat Emptor” or “buyer beware”. Part of being aware of what it is you are buying is understanding what physical, financial and managerial position a condominium is and the only real way of knowing that is through the condominium documents. If you fail to do so, you may be stuck with no action against the seller if there is a sudden special assessment or you discover that there is a law suit against the condominium corporation that you now own. People do not realize that when they buy a condo, they are buying into a corporation (like being a shareholder, which you do become). You want to make sure that the condo “company” that you are buying into has been well managed.
If you ever have any questions about this, make sure you ask your real estate agent or lawyer before you sign the contract or waive conditions. After that you may be legally obligated to buy the condo. This is why condominium documents conditions are so important int contracts. Always make sure that you get all the condominium documents. There should be no gaps in board meeting minutes. It gives you time to have a professional review the condominium documents for you. Once you waive the condition, you usually must buy.
CMHC has an excellent guide on buying condominiums.We have attached a link here to it for your reference. CMHC Guide.
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