Tony Gioventu
Province

Dear Condo Smarts: We just closed the sale of our retirement condo in Kelowna and were appalled to be hit with over $450 in fees for documents from the strata corporation. I used a real estate agent and lawyer that advertise as condo specialists for purchases and sales, and never expected such a high fee. How is the strata corporation and its manager permitted to charge such fees in B.C.?

— FP

Dear FP: There is only one document that is a mandatory requirement for the completion and conveyance of the strata lot, the Form F Payment Certificate. The form basically ensures the seller cannot skip town without paying money owing to the strata. The Form F is valid for 60 days from issue.

The maximum amount that the strata corporation, or their agent, is permitted to charge is $15 for the Form F and 25 cents per page per copy. The other document requested may be a Form B Information Certificate. That form represents information about the strata lot and strata corporation and is valid for the date it was issued. The Form B is often requested before a sale is finalized, as buyers make their decisions based on financial, legal, and governance conditions of the strata and liabilities of a strata lot.

This form must also be provided within seven days, and a charge of $35 may be imposed along with 25 cents per page per copy. However; this is where it gets costly. If the strata or their agent receives a minimum seven days notice, they may charge only that prescribed amount for the Form F or B, but if you, your agent or lawyer or notary requests the form, with less than seven days notice (48 hours notice for example), the strata may charge a premium for the cost of rush requests.

If the amount is being charged by the manager, that amount must be disclosed to and approved by the strata corporation, and if the strata is charging that amount they often set rates for rush charges, but there are no restrictions.

This might be an important matter to raise with your sales agent or your lawyer, especially in your case. You removed the subjects on July 15 and closed the sale the last week of October. Why did your agents wait until one day before the closing to request the documents? What should have cost $47 ended up as a $469 charge.

Tony Gioventu is executive director of the Condominium Home Owners’ Association

[email protected]

© The Vancouver Province 2008

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 16th, 2008 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Strata Information. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.