Let’s start with the obvious: Buying a condo has a number of key differences from buying a freehold detached home. As with any major purchase, it’s certainly important to do your research before jumping into anything with both feet. Being ill-prepared can lead to costly mistakes, especially when our home is the biggest investment most of us ever make.

Below is a list of important questions to ask prior to buying into a condo development:

What is a condo?

Let’s start from the beginning on this one. The word “condo” often gets associated with either a towering residential building with a hundred-plus units, or a beachside villa. Great as both may be, “condo” -or condominium, if you want to sound refined/bore people- actually refers to the type of ownership you’re buying into, not the building itself. Condos can even include townhouse complexes or entire communities.

Not only do you own your own “unit” within a complex, you also own a proportionate share of the common areas. In a building, this can include the elevators, hallways, amenities, etc., as well as the exterior land (parking lot, greenspace, landscaping). As a buyer, you become responsible for the maintenance of your unit, but also for common areas, often by way of paying common expenses or condo fees to the condo corporation or a property management company.

What do condo fees include?

In every condo, there are costs beyond your monthly mortgage payment and property taxes that you must consider. Both the amount and components of a condo fee can vary greatly, depending on where you buy. One of the biggest considerations to make is the types of amenities you desire. A condo with high-end amenity spaces (lobby, theatre, etc.) will naturally have higher condo fees than a building which doesn’t have any amenities of note. Two of the biggest drivers of condo fees are concierge service and pools. While they’re nice to have, consider how often you will use a pool in your building, and make sure the additional expense is justifiable.

The age of a building can also increase the condo fees. While it may seem counter-intuitive to pay more to own an older unit, an older building requires greater maintenance expenses. Also, look over the financials and see the accumulation of the condo’s reserve fund. A reserve fund covers major expenses like a new roof or the re-finishing of a parking lot. Without a strong reserve fund, you could be on the hook for an unforeseen rise in your condo fees, should either of those need replacing. I’ve seen condos with locked up pools and hot tubs because jets or filtration systems have broken, there was no money in the reserve for them, and the residents that didn’t use them refused a special assessment to pay for it.

On top of maintenance and amenity costs, and reserve fund contributions, some condos will have utility charges bundled into the condo fees as well. This makes for a huge difference, especially if one $300 condo fee includes heating, cooling and water; and another one doesn’t.

Bottom line, find out what is included in your condo fees, and what you’ll have to pay on top. It’ll save you a lot of hassle down the road.

Will I be subjected to any rules or regulations?

The simple answer here is: “Probably, yes”. The number and flexibility of the rules varies from condo to condo, but there will likely be some degree of control put in place. Some of the most common rules surround:

Unit appearance (door/hallway decorations, window coverings, balcony contents)

Pets (size, number, noise)

Access (number of visitors, guest parking)

Noise (party limitations, quiet hours, amenity room closings)

It’s important that you find a condo that suits your lifestyle. After all, it’s a major key to enjoying your new living arrangement. There’s nothing worse than feeling restricted within your home, so make sure that the rules are conducive to the way you live.

What’s a better purchase, a new condominium or a re-sale?

At the risk of being blatantly non-committal, it’s hard to say whether one choice is better than another.

If you’re looking at a new build, there’s usually a cost benefit to buying pre-construction. Builders will offer lower prices earlier in the process and some buyers will flip the condos upon completion for a profit. If you buy pre-construction as well, you’re open to a greater selection variety. Not only can you choose the floor and location of your suite in the building, but you can also select the interior finishes such as flooring, cabinetry and countertops. The new building is also protected by the Tarion New Home Warranty program and condo fees are usually lowest at the birth of a new building due to the lack of depreciation and wear on structures & systems.

On the other hand, there are a number of advantages to buying a condo unit that has already been completed, whether new or previously lived in. For one, your occupancy or closing date will be fixed. In a new build, the builder can delay occupancy given adequate notice and building registration can require a certain number of occupied units before the purchase actually closes. Until the building is registered, buyers who live in the building pay an occupancy fee which basically equates to rent until the mortgage can be applied to the deeded unit. Deposits held in trust for a resale are often much lower than the required deposits in a pre-construction project. Not to be confused with a down payment, the deposit a builder requires can vary from about $20,000 to 20% depending on each builder’s unique structure. On a resale, a $5k deposit will usually suffice until closing. Older buildings often have larger unit sizes, and you can actually tour the suite prior to buying. More and more builders are creating model suites or vignettes; but resales allow you to experience the actual unit, its colours, sizes and views prior to pulling trigger on a purchase.

Whether you buy a new or re-sale condo, here are a few personal tips:

1. Builders always have a target market in mind. Get a feel for what that market is, so you live in an atmosphere wherein you’re completely compatible. If you’re a 20-something, a trendy downtown condo may be more suitable than a suburban tower with amenities geared to older buyers.

2. Spend some time in the unit, especially if it’s your first condo. Moving can be pricey, you want to make sure you get it right the first time. And a condo can be more of an adjustment for some than others. Take a coffee and a book, sit there and see if you can picture yourself spending time in your new home. If not, then maybe that unit’s not quite right for you.

3. Look at a few condos. Especially with new developments, the first impressions are great. Everything is clean and new. But that fades, so make sure the meat and potatoes of the unit is to your liking as well. By comparing multiple buildings and becoming a more educated buyer, you certainly decrease your chances of buyers remorse.

4. Act quickly with new developments. Not to contradict my previous point, but if you really like a unit, chances are someone else will too. Odds are, you can get a few of those units in the building, but not necessarily with the same view or options. Once you’ve decided that a condo is right for you, try and see a few in a short time. It makes it easier to compare and feel comfortable in that decision. New developments here allow a 10-day “cooling-off” period wherein you can change your mind and back out of a deal without penalty. Prices of new developments don’t go down after the launch, they only go up. And after all, you’d hate to miss out on that perfect unit.