Student Housing
Kelowna has quite a few choices for student housing close to Okanagan College and UBCO. Buying a 2 bedroom condominium for your child and renting out one room to another student is a popular way of helping with the financing. If you are not sure of which condo building would be good for your student, then please call a Realtor. They can advise you of the ins and outs of each strata complex and which ones would be most suitable for the location, price, and bylaws for your situation. Andrew Smith has over 20 years of experience in buying and selling strata and can make your purchase a smooth transaction.
Buying Your First Apartment
Age, pet, and rental restrictions are the first thing you need to know about. If you have a pet, or if you think you might want a pet, it’s important to know what’s allowed and what isn’t. Same for renting. Same for parking. Same for a lot of other things. I have a client who moved to Meadowbrook apartments on Enterprise after retiring here from Whitehorse a few years ago. He was a card player looking for a quiet lifestyle and wanted to join a good bridge club. This is fairly typical and every realtor has come across this type of buyer….just substitute bridge player for the quilter, bowler, square dancer, etc. This particular buyer also wanted a private deck on the top floor where he could smoke cigarettes in peace and quiet. Again, not uncommon, and let’s not judge anyone here. Imagine his horror though two years later when his strata wanted to pass a bylaw prohibiting smoking everywhere. Luckily for him, the resolution failed because he would have moved out.
Condominums
Most Strata Board people I’ve come across are run by reasonable people who know what they’re doing and are willing to volunteer their time freely answering my questions and giving forthcoming information on their little micro-communities. They understand how to read financial statements and are aware of the issues in their building. I’ll even go further and say that most people who live in strata-titled properties are generally happy home owners who like condo living.
If you are thinking of buying into a condo you really do need to take the time to read all the minutes of the strata board and past annual general meetings to familiarize yourself to the culture. Reading strata minutes and bylaws might take a while but I promise you will be glad you did. If reading dry documents isn’t your cup of tea any Realtor or real estate lawyer will read and explain things to you and you will be able to make an informed decision.
Or call Andrew Smith directly at 250-979-8066. Over 22 years experience helping people achieve their dream of home ownership!
