Kelowna Condo 101

Photo: Contributed

A few weeks after my wife and I bought our townhouse on Lequime Road my son and I were goofing around playing road hockey in our driveway with a tennis ball and makeshift net using the garage door as a backstop.  This scene is common and goes on in driveways all over Canada and has since the invention of the tennis ball.  The next day there was a note from our strata president telling me there was a complaint because the white garage doors were getting too dirty from the tennis balls and we had to stop.  I just sort of assumed that it was a Charter right of all Canadians that you could play road hockey against your garage door regardless what a strata board said.  I spend my days trying to convince others that I’m a condominium expert and I’ve read more minutes, bylaws and rules from many strata complexes but I had never been on the receiving end of one of those letters where others were able to govern my behavior.   As a new strata owner my first reaction was that we might have made a big mistake moving from a house but fast forward seven years, things have worked out well and the fourteen families in our little corner of the world get along well.  The issues we deal with are minor and usually involve parking but we always find a solution without much fuss.

The fact is that strata living has a lot of benefits but it also has pitfalls.  It isn’t for everyone.  We moved from a hundred year old heritage house on Christleton where we spent every weekend fixing something and spending more than we bargained for on almost everything.  Our heating and air conditioning bills were sky high because of older insulation and pipes sometimes froze during the winter.  We loved it, but we were always sinking money into it.  With a newer townhouse there’s nothing that really needs fixing, we have no yard work to do and the larger issues like roofs are dealt with as a group.  I think it’s better but it certainly takes getting used to.

Traditionally strata properties were marketed to the first time buyer crowd who couldn’t afford to get into the market and the last time buyer crowd downsizing who didn’t want the responsibilities of a detached house.  This has certainly changed over the years especially in Kelowna with many out-of-towners buying  a condo as a second residence, using it as a rental or place stay when they visit. Regardless of what age you are, if you’re considering buying a condo it’s really important to know what you’re getting into.  Age, pet and rental restrictions are the first thing you need to know about.  If you have a pet, or if you think you might want a pet, it’s important to know what’s allowed and what isn’t.  Same for renting.  Same for parking.  Same for a lot of other things.  I have a client who moved to Meadowbrook apartments on Enterprise after retiring here from Whitehorse a few years ago.  He was a card player looking for a quiet lifestyle and wanted to join a good bridge club.  This is fairly typical and every realtor has come across this type of buyer….just substitute bridge player for quilter, bowler, square dancer,  etc.  This particular buyer also wanted a private deck on the top floor where he could smoke cigarettes in peace and quiet.  Again, not uncommon and let’s not judge anyone here.  Imagine his horror though, two years later, when his strata wanted to pass a bylaw prohibiting smoking everywhere.  Luckily for him the resolution failed because he would have moved out.

Most strata board people I’ve come across are run by reasonable people who know what they’re doing and are willing to volunteer their time freely answering my questions and giving forthcoming information on their little micro communities.  They understand how to read financial statements and are aware of the issues in their building.  I’ll even go further and say that most people who live in strata titled properties are generally happy home owners who like condo living.  

If you are thinking of buying into a condo you really do need to take the time to read all the minutes of the strata board and past annual general meetings to familiarize yourself to the culture.  Everyone hears about the horror stories about a crazy person in a building causing trouble for other owners but these people are few and far between.  Reading strata minutes and bylaws might take a while but I promise you will be glad you did.  If reading dry documents isn’t your cup of tea any Realtor or real estate lawyer will read and explain things to you and you will be able to make an informed decision.

For a complete list of condos and townhomes in Kelowna check out www.condosofkelowna.ca

Or call Andrew Smith directly at 250-979-8066. Over 22 years experience helping people achieve their dream of home ownership!

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.