Owen Bigland blogs about how major repairs, maintenance and upgrades to your Vancouver condo will be coming out of your pocket via a special assessment. Some home owners seem to think that's what the contingency reserve fund is for. I'm here to tell you that it rarely is. You might vote to use some funds to help offset the cost of the repair or upgrade but chances are the majority of the funds will be paid by you based on your unit entitlement via a special assessment.

Special levy's are NOT unusual even on newer buildings. Major components are going to need upgrading or repair on a regular basis. Some are minor like painting the walls in the hallway or lobby, upgrading some landscaping or lighting. Others are major like replacing a boiler or piping, new roof, elevator upgrade, windows or sprinkler system. If you're buying a condo or any strata property make sure you set aside some funds to cover these special levy's or assessments because they are coming sooner or later. Many older buildings can have one every year or two. Again, I can't stress enough that all buildings are going to need major repairs and upgrades moving forward. Most building components have a certain life expectancy before they need to be fixed or replaced. A detached home is the same way. The nice thing about condo living (Strata) is your cost is shared by all the other owners.