North York Condo Resource Site

What You Should Know Before Buying a Condo in North York

If you’re considering purchasing a new construction or existing condo, then you already know that every condo has maintenance fees that must be paid by you, the owner. You may also know that not all condo maintenance fees are the same. Why are the fees different from condo to condo? One factor that influences condo maintenance fees is whether or not the building or corporation includes some or all of the utilities in the cost of the condo or if you, the owner pay those fees directly to the utility company.

Next, many North York Condos have a variety of different amenities that come with the condo. These amenities may include 24-hour security, gated community parking with closed circuit television monitoring, valet parking, free shuttle bus to local attractions and shopping venues, swimming pools, fitness facilities and club houses with banquet rooms. All of these things can increase the cost of your condo’s maintenance fees because they are available to you as a member of the community where the condo exists.

If you are in an attached or detached North York condo community, there may also be services like lawn and shrub care, which creates and maintains outdoor continuity in the community, snow removal service and other outdoor requirements. For seniors, these services are of great value and the price is typically not an issue. Many senior condo owners rely on their condo association since they can’t do them.

Condo fees are also often required, even in existing older North York condos, to establish and maintain an account that has a specific balance on reserve for major repairs that may come up. This is an excellent resource to have as a condo owner, particularly if the condo is not new and needs a major repair such as a furnace replacement or other major appliances such as the washer and dryer. Sometimes condos who keep such a fee do have higher condo fees than many others but in the long run the replacement of major utilities does pay for itself when compared to the small amount that has to be paid monthly for condo fees.

In North York, you can request a copy of the Status Certificate to find out the status of the corporation that is offering the condo. This is your right to know information. You should always request this Status Certificate before bidding on or buying a condo. The Status Certificate is required to have information contained in it about the condo fees that you would be responsible for paying as a condo owner in that particular community.

If you are comparing condo fees between a new construction and an existing one, take into account all of the factors that influence the fees. New construction fees are often higher simply because they require added expenses for completion such as final paving, grass or sod placement, bushes or shrubbery, street signs, mail boxes, exterior lighting or other expenses associated with the initial set up of newly constructed condos.

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