Judging the Building, Not Just the Apartment

A good unit in a poorly run building is a poor purchase. What to assess beyond the four walls you are buying.

Buyers examine the apartment carefully and the building barely at all, which is backwards: the building determines the service charge, the maintenance standard, the neighbours and much of what the unit will be worth in ten years.

Before stage one

Assess the building before falling in love with a unit, since a serious building issue should end the consideration regardless of how good the apartment is.

• The building's age and the state of its common areas.
• Service charge level and what it covers.
• Who manages the building and how.
• Whether major systems are approaching replacement.

Stage 1: Common areas

Walk the entrance, corridors, stairs and parking, looking at cleanliness, repair standard and whether damage has been addressed.

• Deliverable: An impression supported by specific observations.
• Owner: Buyer.
• Approval gate: Visible neglect treated as a signal about management rather than as cosmetic.

Stage 2: Building systems

Ask about the lifts, pumps, water tanks, generators and central systems: their age, service history and replacement plans.

• Deliverable: An inventory of major systems with age and condition.
• Owner: Buyer with the building manager.
• Approval gate: Systems approaching end of life identified, since replacement usually means a special assessment.

Stage 3: Financial position

Review the service charge budget, actual expenditure, arrears position and reserve balance.

• Deliverable: The building's financial picture.
• Owner: Buyer with the manager or association.
• Approval gate: Reserve assessed against the systems requiring future replacement.

Stage 4: Management arrangement

Establish who manages the building, how decisions are made and how responsive the arrangement is.

• Deliverable: An understanding of how the building is run.
• Owner: Buyer.
• Approval gate: A management arrangement exists rather than maintenance happening ad hoc.

Stage 5: Residents and use

Visit at different times to understand occupancy, noise, parking pressure and whether units are owner occupied or let.

• Deliverable: Observations across different times.
• Owner: Buyer.
• Approval gate: The building visited in the evening as well as during the day.

Stage 6: Planned works

Ask about any planned major works and how they will be funded.

• Deliverable: A list of anticipated works with funding arrangements.
• Owner: Buyer.
• Approval gate: Any upcoming assessment identified before purchase rather than after.

Handovers between stages

The information that buyers most often fail to obtain is the reserve balance and the planned works. Both are knowable before purchase and both determine whether a special assessment arrives shortly after you move in.

How you know it is finished

The building assessment is complete when you know its age and condition, what the service charge covers, the reserve position, what major works are anticipated and how the building is managed.

If you are buying a finished property, Domira can inspect it, verify the documentation and price the findings with you before you commit.