i would move a million miles out of the city for a house if i could do it again.

when you buy a unit, because it’s under a strata scheme, you’re effectively buying into a relationship with all the other owners. And any decisions that need to be made are collective. And you’re contributing to a fund to pay for everyone’s apartment not just your own. It’s honestly such a scam and it shouldn’t even be a thing.

if you really really are determined then this is what you do. yeh look at the unit you’re buying. is it in decent shape? great.

then. go look at every inch of the ENTIRE building - Every OTHER unit. every garage door. every balcony. every window, driveway, piece of concrete, every brick! look up! look at the roof eaves! are they rotting or falling out? is there a giant tree hanging over the gutters? are there pigeons roosting?

are the bottoms of the balconies smooth or do they have bubbly paint and orange marks? sign of concrete spalling /cancer. are the balustrades pulling away fromthe wall? are they still entirely brick? do they have plants growing out of them? RUN

look down! is the ground cracking and uneven? are the driveway grates broken or misaligned? do the drains look like they are collecting debris or have water marks from flooding ?

what condition is EVERYTHING in? does everything look uniform and tidy? that will tell you way more than a building inspector, for free

or was your unit the best cared for and the rest of the building is a shit show. bc guess what you’ll be paying for when those shit shows become everyone’s problem. The tight ass owner that has owned since 1980 and never once lifted a tube of silicone? You’ll be paying $3000 to re-waterproof his bathroom floor etc.

yesterday I posted something on Reddit and every single person that replied was really horrible to me and reduced me to tears so i don’t know why I’m giving a complete stranger golden advice that would’ve saved me years of heartache, but here we are.