Are you looking to buy a condo? We recommend obtaining an Eli Report here through your realtor.
Did you know that on average, 10-25%* of your strata fees go towards paying your buildings insurance policy premium?
It’s a big number, and strata corporations in BC are entering 2020 with some unfortunate news. As recently reported by major news outlets, strata insurance premiums are on the rise, with policies increasing anywhere from 50% to 300%, with one strata corporation seeing a whopping 780% increase year over year. An increase this high would likely lead a significant increase in strata fees, or a special levy of the owners.
We did some math, and are seeing strata corporations budgeting for increases anywhere from 25% to 240% year over year, with an average budget increase of 35% based on data sampled.
There are a number of reasons as to why insurance premiums are increasing – and according to the IBABC, these include global insurance losses, increased replacement costs and increasing claims in strata buildings.
We have some tips for condo buyers trying to navigate through the current climate:
- Know when the strata’s insurance renews – this is when you can expect the new insurance climate to start affecting the unit you are looking at buying.
- Obtain up-to-date documents – be sure that you have obtained the most current strata documents from your realtor, which will contain the most recent discussions around the strata’s insurance situation.
- Review meeting minutes – Insurance claims or premium increases are often discussed in strata council minutes, and we now extract these instances in every Eli Report, along with other relevant categories like leaks, special levies, theft and common by-law restrictions.
We’ve got you covered!
Eli Report is an artificial intelligence platform that assists real estate professionals in reviewing and uncovering potential issues contained in condo and strata documents.
Are you looking to buy a condo? If so, be sure to talk to your realtor about obtaining an Eli Report!
*Eli Report data