Stuart Zullo
Sometimes people get confused by some of the real estate lingo that us agents often use. The terms levies, by-laws and title all seem to be met with puzzled looks and the word strata seems to particularly baffle some people.
Well a Strata Title or Scheme for those that are confused is a building or a collection of buildings where people own a portion of the entire property but then also share a common area that all of the owners must maintain.
A strata title normally applies to apartments or townhouses and is a little different from buying or owning a typical house.
The important things to know about buying a home with a strata title is that you will need to obey special rules (by-laws) and also pay a levy each and every quarter that helps to maintain the common property. Some of the rules that you may expect to see for a strata property may include parking restrictions, not being able to keep pets or guidelines to maintain the appearance of the property.
The by-laws of a strata property are pretty much in place so that everyone on the property is happy with the common property and everyone can live close by in harmony. If you are unhappy with a by-law, as an owner you will have the option to go to a general meeting to discuss the change (motion) and this will be voted on so that a resolution can be met.
So with all of these by-laws and levies to be paid you’re probably wondering why anybody would buy into a strata scheme, right? Well they actually have many benefits. First of all they are low maintenance as all common property is taken care of. You do not need to worry about paying your own building insurance and generally anything on common property that is damaged (i.e Roof tiles , fences, windows, brick work) and you have not been proven negligent, they will fix it for you.
Generally Strata Title properties are also a cheaper alternative to a house.Many people also just prefer to live in a close-knit environment and many strata titles and found in convenient locations such as near cities or community facilities.
Now there is a whole heap more jargon and strata lingo that I could talk about, but this should be enough basics if you are thinking about buying into a strata scheme.
If you are still confused or a looking into buying a Strata Title then I would be more than happy to help you out, just leave me a comment or use my contact page and I will get in touch with you.