Properties Sharing a Common Area in Metro Vancouver

Check What the Common Area Covers on the Strata Plan

Common Area on a strata listing decides what you share, what you pay for and what you may not change, so read the strata plan before you write an offer.

Two categories do most of the work. General common property belongs to every owner in the building: lobbies, corridors, the roof, the parkade and the structure itself. Limited common property is common property assigned to one strata lot, such as a balcony, a patio or a parking stall. Which category a space falls into decides who repairs it and whether you may alter it, so ask your realtor for the strata plan and read the designations rather than the MLS® description.

Then confirm what the listing implies you get. A balcony shown in the photographs of Vancouver homes for sale may be limited common property with restrictions on flooring, screens and storage, and the bedroom window you plan to replace is usually part of the building envelope rather than yours. Have your lawyer review the bylaws during the subject period.

Budget for Maintenance, Repairs and Special Levies

Shared space costs money whether you use it or not. Elevators, corridors, landscaping, the parkade membrane and the roof sit in the operating budget, and the large items sit in the depreciation report. Request both, with the contingency reserve balance and recent minutes, before subjects come off, because a scheduled envelope repair changes what you can afford more than the asking price does.

Compare buildings on that basis rather than on the amenity list. A condo in Coquitlam with a modest lobby and a healthy reserve is a safer purchase than one in Chilliwack with a pool and no funded plan, and your mortgage approval assumes a strata fee that a levy can quietly overtake. Ask what the fee has done over recent years.

Finally, check the rules attached to the space. Bylaws govern moving hours, bike storage, guest parking and use of shared rooms, and enforcement notices show up in the minutes. Cross-check what comparable houses for sale include using listing data from the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board or Greater Vancouver REALTORS®, and read the BC real estate disclosure documents in full.