A showing of a new multiplex home is short, and the finishes are what you see first. The questions that matter are about the strata, the warranty and the paperwork, and the listing won’t answer most of them. I’m Avery Nowosad, a real estate advisor with The Donum Group at Oakwyn Realty, and these are the questions I’d take to every tour of a new home in a 3 to 6 unit building in Vancouver.
Most of them have a document behind them. If the answer comes back as “don’t worry about it”, ask for the document instead.
Which parts of this property are mine?
In a strata, you own your strata lot. The rest of the building and land is common property, owned by all the owners together. Some common property can be set aside for one home only. The Strata Property Act calls that limited common property: common property for the exclusive use of the owners of one or more strata lots.
In a multiplex, this decides who gets the front yard, the back patio, the roof deck and the parking pad. So ask to see the strata plan, and find each of those spaces on it.
The plan matters because of how a space gets that label. The developer can mark it on the strata plan when the plan is filed (s.73). After that, the owners can only do it by a 3/4 vote at a general meeting (s.74). A yard that “comes with the unit” but isn’t marked on the plan belongs to everyone.
What will I pay each month, and what does it cover?
Before you sign a contract on a new strata home, the developer must give you a copy of the interim budget (Strata Property Act s.13). It covers the first 12 months, starting the month after the first home is sold. It shows the building’s expected costs, the money set aside for future repairs, and each home’s monthly share.
Many multiplex listings show no strata fee at all. Morgan Browne counted them in her post comparing condos and multiplex homes. A blank fee on the listing doesn’t mean the home costs nothing to run. The strata must insure the buildings on the strata plan and the common property (s.149), and someone pays for that policy. So I read three lines of the budget first:
- the insurance cost
- the insurance deductible, since owners may share it after a claim
- the amount going into the reserve fund for repairs
VanPlex has a full post on what the developer pays in year one, if you want the details.
What rules will I live under?
A new strata starts with the Standard Bylaws in the Strata Property Act, unless the developer files different bylaws with the strata plan (s.120). Ask which set applies, and ask for a copy if the developer filed its own.
Three rules to check:
- Renting it out. A BC strata can’t restrict long-term rentals (s.141). The landlord must still give the tenant the bylaws and rules before renting (s.146). Short-term rentals are a separate matter. In Vancouver, the City’s own rules apply, and a strata bylaw can limit them as well.
- Pets. A strata can pass a bylaw that limits or bans pets. A pet already living in the home when the bylaw passes can stay (s.123).
- Age. A strata bylaw can’t restrict who lives there by age, except a rule that residents must be 55 or older (s.123.1).
If you plan to rent the home one day, or you have a dog, read the bylaws before you write the offer. Changing a bylaw later takes a 3/4 vote at a general meeting of the owners (s.128). In a building of 4 homes, your vote is one of four.
What does the warranty cover, and when does it start?
Every new home built by a licensed residential builder in BC must have home warranty insurance. BC Housing calls it 2-5-10 coverage. For a strata home, the minimums are:
| What is covered | How long |
|---|---|
| Defects in materials and labour in your own home | 12 months |
| Defects in materials and labour in common property | 15 months |
| Electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, cladding, windows, doors | 2 years |
| Building envelope, including water getting in | 5 years |
| Structure | 10 years |
On a strata home, the clock starts at first occupancy or transfer of title, whichever comes first. That’s worth checking on a home that was finished months ago. If the builder or a tenant lived there first, part of the warranty has already run.
You can check the home yourself on BC Housing’s New Homes Registry. Search by address, and it shows whether the home has a warranty policy and whether a licensed builder built it. If there is no policy, the home may have been built by an owner builder, or it may be a rental building that is exempt.
How will I hear my neighbours?
A multiplex has shared walls and, in a stacked layout, shared floors. A showing is quiet, because nobody lives there yet. So I ask the builder what is inside the wall or floor between this home and the next. Then I stand in the bedroom while someone walks around upstairs.
Look at where the stairs, bathrooms and laundry of the next home sit. A laundry room on the other side of your bedroom wall is something you can find on the floor plans before you visit.
Who runs the building in the first year?
Until the owners take over, the developer runs the strata. The developer must hold the first annual general meeting within 6 weeks of whichever comes first: the sale of more than half the homes, or 9 months after the first sale (s.16). The notice for that meeting must include the budget and financial statement.
At that meeting, and at every annual meeting after it, the owners elect a council (s.25). In a building of 4 to 6 homes, the council can be every owner. VanPlex has a guide to meetings in a small strata. On a tour, it’s fair to ask how many homes are already sold. It tells you when that first meeting will come, and who your neighbours on the council will be.
My short list for the tour
Print this and take it with you:
- Where are my yard, patio and parking on the strata plan?
- Can I have the interim budget, and what does insurance cost?
- Which bylaws apply, and do any limit pets?
- Who is the warranty provider, and when did coverage start?
- What is in the wall and floor between my home and the next?
- How many homes are sold, and when is the first owners’ meeting?
Ask the same questions at every home you see, and you can compare the builders by their answers. You can browse new multiplex homes for sale on VanPlex’s multiplex-for-sale page, and if you want someone to read the documents with you, you can reach my team at The Donum Group.
Avery Nowosad, Real estate advisor | Oakwyn Realty | The Donum Group
