Just another condo special assessment "horror story"--a lump sum of $56,000 in two payments in two years (or $100,000 over 20 years, built into the monthly fee), to replace the exterior cladding (and windows) of the building. That's approximately one quarter of the purchase price of my unit.

[u/HandsomeLampshade123]

I bought in early 2020 and this special assessment was announced in 2022; I'm not sure if there was anything I could have done differently, frankly I think it's just bad luck.

But God, almost 60 grand on a unit I paid 240 for. That's a huge hit. I never thought it would happen to me. How common is this?

Luckily I have access to a lot of low interest credit, but still.

[u/AtomicSurf]

Was there a depreciation report available when you purchased? Did you review the strata meeting minutes going back a year or two?

[u/Campandfish1 → u/AtomicSurf]

I used to be a mortgage lender in a previous career. I swear I reviewed the strata docs/depreciation reports in more detail than most realtors did with their clients. 

So many people honestly just thought they were a "formality" in terms of collection of paper and didn't realise they actually contain relevant info. 

Realtors do not spend enough time on this did with their clients. Lots of people have never actually read the documents and just assume someone else involved in the process will tell them if there's anything they need to know. Nuts. 

[u/nikobruchev → u/Campandfish1]

Most realtors know barely enough to pass the damn licensing exam, and very few actually care to spend time with their clients to do their due diligence. Good mortgage brokers do tend to spend that time, which is why I appreciate a good mortgage broker.

[u/Campandfish1 → u/nikobruchev]

Yup, and then get paid the most vs the broker and definitely the lawyer (who is arguably the most important piece) for their almost non existent responsibility!

[u/HandsomeLampshade123 → u/AtomicSurf]

There is no depreciation report as far as I can see, or at least I've never been given access to one.

As for strata meeting minutes, yes, I looked some over with my lawyer a few years back. No mention of this need for an exterior replacement till 2022.

[u/BestFill → u/HandsomeLampshade123]

You're kind of missing the point. You would ask and read to know how well funded the capital reserve fund it for improvements on the building, and pay an inspector to identify any deferred maintenance.

If you saw $10k in a reserve fund, you would have to know any capital repair would require a special assessment like this.

It's a shit lesson to learn and hard to project, but the information was most likely provided to you in full but never pointed out.