Short answer
Ask about the current levies and any planned special levies, the capital works fund and its 10-year plan, the building insurance, any known defects, the by-law restrictions that will apply to you, and whether the scheme has any current disputes. The answers tell you whether you’re buying into a healthy scheme or an expensive problem.
The money questions
- What are the quarterly levies, and have any special levies been raised recently or are any planned?
- How healthy is the capital works fund, and what does the 10-year plan forecast for major works?
- Are there arrears across the scheme, or a history of levy shortfalls?
The building and rules questions
- Is the building insured to full replacement value, and are there any claims or defect issues on record?
- What do the by-laws say about pets, short-term letting, renovations and parking?
- Are there current disputes or NCAT matters involving the owners corporation?
Getting straight answers
Many of these questions are answered in one pass by a strata inspection report, which reviews the owners corporation’s records for you. The quality of the answers is itself a signal: a scheme that can produce clear finances, minutes and by-laws on request is usually a scheme that’s run well. Where a self-managed committee runs on a platform such as Straita, that history — levies, funds, compliance and decisions — is already recorded and easy to hand over, so a buyer’s questions get straight answers instead of shrugs.
Primary sources
- Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) — levies, funds, records and disclosure.
- NSW Government — Strata schemes (Fair Trading) — questions to ask before buying.