How do I research a Calgary condo building before buying?

Start with the reserve fund study, then financial statements, then at least two years of board minutes, which is the most revealing document in the package. Follow with bylaws, the estoppel certificate for that unit, and the building's insurance including its deductible.

What is the most useful condo document to read?

Board minutes. Recurring complaints, deferred repairs, disputes and upcoming decisions appear there before they surface anywhere else, and often before they reach the reserve fund study.

What should I check about a condo building that documents will not tell me?

Speak to residents in the lobby or elevator, visit on a weekday evening and a weekend since buildings feel different when occupied, inspect the parkade for water staining and patched membrane, and ask the property manager what is planned for the next three years.

Calgary Answers · Condos · Due Diligence

How Do I Researcha condo building?

You are buying the building at least as much as the unit. Here is the order to do it in, and where the real answers hide.

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The order that saves time

Reserve fund study first. It tells you what the building needs and when, and whether money is set aside for it. A healthy reserve makes most other worries smaller; an underfunded one makes everything else moot. How to read one →
Financial statements — is the corporation operating within its budget, and are owners in arrears?
Board minutes, at least two years. The most revealing document in the package. Recurring complaints, deferred repairs, disputes and looming decisions all appear here before they appear anywhere else. What to look for →
Bylaws — pets, rentals, renovations, age restrictions, and anything that affects how you intend to live there.
Estoppel certificate — the corporation's statement of what is owed on that specific unit.
Insurance — particularly the building's deductible, because a large one can land on an owner.

What documents will not tell you

Talk to residents. Five minutes in the lobby or elevator is worth a great deal. People will tell you about noise, management and the last assessment without being asked twice.
Visit at different times — a weekday evening and a weekend. Buildings feel different when everyone is home.
Look at the parkade for water staining, efflorescence and patched membrane. It is one of the most expensive things a corporation can face.
Ask the property manager what is planned for the next three years.

Two towers on the same block can be completely different purchases. The unit you are standing in tells you almost nothing about which one you are in.

How Do I Researcha condo building?

The order that saves time

What documents will not tell you

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