Condo buyers are told two things that are both half-true: that the corporation takes care of everything, and that the status certificate tells you what you need to know. The status certificate tells you about the corporation's finances and rules. It does not tell you that the previous owner's bathroom renovation was done without a permit and is quietly wetting the ceiling of the unit below.
What is actually yours
In an Ontario condominium, the boundary between unit and common element is set by the declaration, and it is not where most people assume. In-suite plumbing, the HVAC unit serving your suite, interior finishes, appliances and often windows and balconies in some fashion — those are where your money is exposed. We inspect them properly.
What we can see of the building
We review the accessible common elements: entry, corridors, parking garage where accessible, mechanical rooms when the property manager allows, roof access if permitted, and visible exterior envelope. Water staining in a parkade, spalling concrete, or a garage membrane at end of life are early signals of a special assessment in your future — and they show up long before the reserve fund study makes the news.
Read it alongside the status certificate
Your lawyer reviews the status certificate. We inspect the physical asset. Together those two documents tell you whether the monthly fee is realistic or whether you are buying into a deferred bill. We will tell you plainly when the physical evidence contradicts the paperwork.
What is included
- Full in-suite inspection: plumbing, electrical, HVAC, appliances, finishes, windows and doors
- Infrared scan for hidden moisture — the single most common in-suite defect in condos
- Balcony, guardrail and slab-edge review where accessible
- Accessible common elements: corridors, parkade, mechanical and roof where permitted
- Notes on unpermitted alterations by previous owners, which become your liability
- A plain-language read on how the building's physical condition compares with its fee
Why this matters in Ottawa
Ottawa condo stock splits sharply: 1970s and 80s concrete towers in Centretown and Hintonburg with aging envelopes and parkades, and newer glass-and-steel builds downtown and in Little Italy with window-wall systems that behave very differently in a −25 °C week. We inspect both, and the questions we ask are not the same.