Tony Gioventu
Province
Dear Condo Smarts:
I recently purchased a 12-year-old townhouse in Richmond. My plan was that my parents would live in the complex for their retirement and we would some day move into the home for our retirement.
I hired an agent and found a strata-document-review service online that we thought was credible. The transaction was fairly smooth but before we signed the papers the sales agent recommended that we obtain an independent engineer’s report. She had some concerns over the condition of the balconies.
We contacted the review service and they said current work was completed on the balconies and, according to the strata records, everything was fine, so we completed the sale.
We have unexpectedly received a notice of a special general meeting from the strata corporation advising of a serious problem with the decks and wall assemblies. The notice refers to an engineering report that was just received. The estimated repairs are going to be about $47,000 per unit.
We contacted the review service and they advise they were not provided all of the strata documents so had no way of knowing. So we’re stuck with the bills. Do we have any chances of recourse ?
— JG, Richmond
Dear JG:
Everyone should exercise caution when dealing with services that are available online. There are many online services on line that claim to have the answers, but is there anything behind your screen for your protection?
Online strata document-review services in B.C. must be licensed under the Real Estate Services Act because they fall under the definition of trading services Anyone who contemplates using document-review services needs to first identify that the agent/company are licensed and complying with the Real Estate Services Act.
The next step is to review the contract for the services you are engaging. Look at the terms and conditions of service, liability, reliability of records, responsibility of the service to ensure that all records are reviewed, and ask what happens in the event of a defect or error in the service.
If the party is not licensed, insured or a definably registered company with a real business address, you should probably look elsewhere. Don’t rely 100 per cent on documents that are available online. Unless you see the originals, how can you tell if they are complete or have been altered in any manner ?
Listen to your agent, personally review the documents and reports and, if ever in doubt, request clarification in writing from the vendor, your agent or the strata corporation.
Tony Gioventu is executive director of the Condominium Home Owners Association. Contact CHOA at 604-584-2462 or toll-free at 1-877-353-2462, or e-mail [email protected].
© The Vancouver Province 2008